Bounty Hunters and Black Magic

by Kristen Banet

  “Are you going to start brewing potions for sale again? People have been hoping you’ll come back. Tobias’s potions are good, but you two working together? Amazing.”

  “I’m…Tobias is out of town. When he comes back, I’ll talk to him about it.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to jump back into another potions business. It wasn’t hard work, just long, and that would distract her from her quest to make sure the town was protected from Beelzebub’s return. She would need to manage her time better if she wanted to do both, and she was terrible at that. Adalyn had a problem with focusing on one thing, blocking out everything else to the point of detriment.

  But she also needed to make money that was more consistent than a random bounty here or there. If she ever did one of those again.

  “I’ll make a couple and bring them over,” she promised softly. She could make do well enough without Tobias.

  “Amazing. Well, your order is in, and it’ll be twenty-five dollars. Are you sure that’s all you need?”

  “It is, Forrest, thank you. Have one of the boys from the shifter Pack bring them up before sunset, please. Not one of the werewolf boys. They’re probably all looking to sleep after the full moon last night.” She walked out after dropping the money on his counter. Twenty-five dollars was costly, but it was mostly for the horses, and the other goods she got would last her a few weeks, at least.

  Next, the butcher and the bakery, right beside each other next to the General Store. She slipped into the bakery first and continued her shopping. Several loaves of bread would tide her over until she could make some fresh again. She passed on cookies when the sweet female werewolf tried to offer some. She had a figure to watch and she was already curvy as sin, as her male friends had always said.

  When she entered the butcher shop, she smiled politely at the teenage boy at the counter, but ignored him when he started talking.

  “Lawrence?” she called into the back, hoping the Alpha would be there. “Can I talk to you?”

  “What can I do for ya, Mrs. Lovett?” Lawrence said roughly, pushing out of a door from the back.

  “I had an incident last night I wanted to bring to you. Some young wolf was messing with my herd, having a bit of fun.” She kept smiling as the teen behind the counter paled slightly. “I said I’d find his parents, but I didn’t catch his name either.”

  “You threatened to shoot me!” the teen said, with all that teenage indignation she expected. “She threatened to shoot me, Alpha! I told you this morning that the witch-”

  Lawrence snarled, but not at her. “So that’s where you snuck off to last night? Get home, boy. You’re fired.”

  Even she couldn’t stop her eyebrows from shooting up. She’d expected a firm discussion, not a swift firing. “Lawrence, it’s not that big of a problem…”

  “Yeah, it is,” he snapped at her, causing her to take a step back. He looked guilty for a moment and took a deep breath. “He bit someone last full moon when he snuck off to ‘have a bit of fun,’ and we’re still cleaning up that mess. Boy was told that one more strike and I’d have his hide.”

  Oh shit. That didn’t bode well for the boy at all.

  “What do you need, Adalyn? I’ll fill your order, then deal with Pack business.” He pushed the boy out of his way. She made her order as swiftly as she could. The Alpha mumbled to himself as he filled it. “Damned brat pups have lost their minds since William died. We need a new damned sheriff so I can throw these kids in the jail for a couple of nights.”

  She knew Lawrence wasn’t going to hurt the boy, just like she hadn’t, but he was still going to punish him. On a full moon, the werewolves were required to stay on their property, guarded and restrained by the werecats. It was vice versa during the new moon.

  As she left the butcher shop, Adalyn went back to where she left Dark Prince, loading up his saddlebags with her haul, then headed home, right as Valen threw those human outlaws onto the dirt street intersection in front of the saloon. She laughed at them as she rode home, unable to contain herself. Damned humans.

  When she got home, she started a small batch of potions. It made her feel a little more normal, something she’d been missing for months. Something to take her mind off the dark magic she’d done and a need that wouldn’t abate.

  As she stirred her potions, she realized the problem. Black magic was like a high. She was still riding it, in a sense. A wild magic witch, she always got a bit horny from doing magic—but the black magic had given her a rush like she’d never felt.

  “Well, damn.” She dropped a cloth she’d been holding on her work counter in her shed. She began to talk to herself as she considered the problem she’d put herself in. “It’ll fade in a couple of days. I mean, I’ll still be horny, but the demand of it won’t be constant. Damned wild magic. Why couldn’t I be a normal witch?” She went back to stirring. “Thank the gods for the saloon tonight.”

  3

  Adalyn

  Adalyn looked herself over in the full-length mirror. She should wear something a little less revealing, but that just wasn’t going to happen.

  “Don’t you look ravishing,” she told herself, smiling. “Yeah, one year plus since he’s been gone, it’s time to reclaim everything. Including witch black instead of mourning black.”

  Her corset shoved her overly large tits higher than they deserved to be, pulled her waist in nearly too much, and made her hips look like they were much wider than they really were. She was a tempting hourglass that was ready to kill. From there, the black dress she wore was simple, and didn’t cover too much. She liked simple but sexy. So had every man she’d ever met. The skirt portion only went to her knees, since she wanted to be able to dance.

  Stockings came next, along with a garter, since she had no shame. She was a widow, not a classy virgin looking for a first husband. No, Adalyn Lovett was going on the prowl for something unattached, not something that meant another altar.

  A touch of rouge on her cheeks and lips?

  I’m so goddamn gorgeous.

  She was ready to go. She put on her smaller, more feminine boots and walked out of her house with a confidence that she hadn’t been expecting. She had enough underskirt that it made the entire bottom of her dress bounce with every step. She didn’t ride Dark Prince into town, preferring the short walk down the path instead of dealing with saddling him up. She was fully intending to be too drunk to get the saddle off him later in the night.

  She blew into Magic Notes Saloon and Bar like a storm, letting the music, a wild piano tune, wash over her and elevate her mood even more. She went straight for Valen behind the bar, who clapped at her appearance.

  “Adalyn Lovett, returning to the world of the living, everyone!” he announced, gesturing at her.

  She did a small curtsy. She could hear people cheer, clap, and hit their glasses on their tables. “It’s good to be back!” she said, grinning. Now that she knew her spell worked, she felt like she could relax and worry about this other problem of hers. “Pour me a drink, big man, and let’s get this party started!”

  “Everyone, the next round is on me!” He clapped his hands twice and glasses everywhere in the saloon refilled. One small glass appeared on the bar before her, filling up as well. She laughed, picking it up and taking a long drink. It was whiskey. Of course it was.

  “Are you trying to get me inebriated, Mr. Ivanov?” she asked, putting it down while trying not to cough. It had been months since she’d had whiskey.

  “And what if I am, Mrs. Lovett?” he asked, practically purring in delight. It sent a shiver down her spine. It always had. Even when she was married, Valen had been a flirt. William always thought it was funny, telling the big man to try again next time when she turned him down.

  “Naughty man.” She took a slower, smaller sip, and jumped up to sit on one of the barstools. “Tell me, do we have any new faces tonight?”

  “We have a few—and a familiar one, actually. A couple humans, a couple of unknowns, and…”

>   “Good to see you, Adalyn. It’s been awhile.”

  Adalyn put her drink down at the steel voice, a voice that never relaxed except under heavy outside influence like alcohol or too much magic. Uh oh. She spun on the barstool and smiled at the US Marshal, Maxwell Donahue. Damned warlock. Why was he here?

  I know for a fact that I haven’t gotten in enough trouble for the Magic Division to send him already. That means he’s here on his own accord. His timing fucking sucks.

  He looked exactly the same as the last time she’d seen him, not that she really wanted to think about the last time she saw him. Shoulder-length dark brown hair and a chiseled, statue of a face. Dark brown eyes that reminded her of stained wood. Scruff on his face—he’d ridden recently, over a distance, if he hadn’t shaved yet. Attractive, stern, and well-dressed, with his silver US Marshal: Magic Division badge on his work suit. A white button-down shirt with a black coat, and dark jeans with his chaps and a well-looked-after cowboy hat. He never changed.

  A year since she’d seen this particular old friend.

  “What can we do for you, Maxwell?” she asked softly, leaning back to prop her elbows on the bar. It shoved her chest out in a way that pleased her.

  “I wanted to ask you a couple of questions. I rode in around noon and heard you would be here tonight, so I decided not to bother you at your home.” She liked how hard he had to work to keep his eyes up.

  “You’re always welcome to,” she reminded him, crossing her legs at the knee, causing her knee-length skirt to fall back, revealing some of her thighs and a glimpse of the garter she wore. “You and William were good friends.”

  Which is why she wasn’t all that happy to see the marshal. She hadn’t seen him since William’s funeral, where he offered her some half-assed apology for not being in Redstone when Beelzebub attacked.

  He never came back after that day, even though Redstone was in his jurisdiction.

  “Turn off the spiteful sex appeal, little witch. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t need to talk to you about something important.”

  She wanted to groan at Valen’s telepathy. Of course the big man knew what was going on. She glanced back at him, narrowing her eyes in a glare that could cut any man down.

  “I don’t know about what, only that it’s important, so turn those daggers off me.”

  She wanted to hiss at his voice in her head again, but she looked back at the marshal, wondering what he wanted. She couldn’t be mad at Valen for something that wasn’t his fault.

  “I have questions about a recent bounty-”

  Oh hell no. She was not going to answer questions about any recent bounties. She was going to put him off as best as possible. “And you can ask them of me tomorrow, at the house. Tonight, I’m going to have a good time, Maxwell, and you’re just going to have to deal with that. You should know better than to corner me at the saloon.”

  “I would prefer to get this done now, so I can ride out in the morning.” She didn’t miss how his eyes drifted to her legs, which she uncrossed and crossed again, pretending to just to get comfortable. The movement only caused the skirts to ride a little higher. His oak brown eyes were darker than normal as they glanced over her legs.

  “You should have thought about that and come to my home earlier in the day. I’ll see you tomorrow after breakfast.” She turned away from him, taking a sip of her drink.

  “Adalyn.”

  “No, Maxwell. Not tonight. I haven’t done anything illegal, so…” She shrugged, then downed the rest of her whiskey. “I’m going to go dance.”

  She slid off her stool and walked past him in a smooth strut that made her hips sway.

  “Sorry, Max. You should have known she wouldn’t appreciate it.” Valen sounded so apologetic.

  She rolled her eyes as she went to the middle of the dance floor. There were already some of the girls dancing around, but no Kitty. The girls being the vampires who worked at the brothel. Prostitution was illegal in the West, but no one was going to tell them that. They didn’t carry diseases, they didn’t age, they were strong enough to defend themselves, and they knew what they wanted: a good time. And if they were lucky, payment would come in the blood they needed to survive.

  As long as they never killed anyone, Redstone was fine with having a thriving brothel that hunted in the saloon—creatures of the night and all that. Redstone had plenty. These just also wanted to be ladies of the night. More power to them.

  One grabbed her and they spun together, laughing, stepping to the beat of the piano playing. There was no pianist. It was one of Valen’s tricks. He could get that piano to play anything.

  “I’m so glad to see you dancing again,” the vampire said, smiling as the song died. She slid her arm through Adalyn’s and they wandered back to the bar, where Valen already had drinks waiting for them.

  “Me too. Now tell me…think I look good enough to get some action tonight?”

  “Oh, Mrs. Lovett!” Cassi laughed, throwing her head back. Dark curls bounced around, looking pristine and perfect in the low light of the saloon. “Now that’s what I call living. Yes, you do. Are you sure you’re ready, though?”

  “It’s been over a year and let me tell you…fingers don’t cut it after a year.”

  “Well, I was planning on trying to flirt with one of those two,” she whispered, leaning in. “Turn around. There’s a couple of unknowns. We don’t know what they are, but they are quite something. Other vamps are a little too scared to try something that might kill them.”

  Adalyn glanced over her shoulder to who Cassi was mentioning. And those two unknowns were quite something.

  One was a blond—not even a sandy blond, but a white blond. His hair stood out first, drawing her eyes to it. In the low light, she couldn’t tell his eye color, but she loved the light tan he sported. Just a touch, but not so much it looked like he lived in the sun, working the fields. He had long legs wrapped in blue denim, and he hadn’t bothered to take off his chaps before coming in. Gorgeous, gorgeous man, that one.

  The second was a little strange, but no less good-looking. Orange eyes that glowed in a harsh, but attractive, face made him unusual. She had never seen anything like those, and she was well-versed in Supes and what they could be. It made him an enigma like Valen, which only made her curious. He had black hair that was too long, flopping over his face like a silken curtain. It wasn’t shoulder-length, but fell past his ears. A strange style, adding more mystery to him. He was broader than his friend as well, in all black, including his denim and chaps.

  Both were dressed like cowboys on their horses too much. Both were also armed, which meant they carried a dangerous appeal to them.

  “They are quite something,” she agreed with Cassi, her eyes locked on them, unable to look away.

  The orange eyes turned to her and winked. Heat bloomed over her face and she turned away, back to her drink. She hadn’t had a man, an unknown one, flirt with her like that in a long time.

  Cassi laughed at her blush. “Are you really sure you’re ready?” the vampire asked again, her eyes flashing red like a taunt.

  Adalyn still didn’t find it very impressive. Everyone and their damn mommas can turn their eyes red. They all find it soooo impressive. I wish I could do it. No, wait. I would rather have a different color. Something that isn’t so absolutely overused. Maybe the orange of dark, sexy, and scary over there.

  “After a few more drinks I will be!” She grinned, finishing off the second whiskey. It was full again before she put the glass down. “Thank you, Valen!”

  “Anything for you, little witch.” He was wiping down his counter a few stools down. Past him, Maxwell was staring at her, nearly glaring. She huffed, turning away again.

  “Bad time with the marshal?” Cassi asked.

  “Got to be nosy?” she retorted. After a moment of silence, she sighed. “He disappeared on us, Cassi. He missed Beelzebub attacking and then left again for the entire last year. And now he’s here to talk to me? No th
anks. He might have been William’s friend, but he’s proven to be a not very good one.”

  “Oh, girl, you’re going to have to let that go. It was over a year ago, and the marshal has always been a busy man.”

  How about I don’t?

  Adalyn didn’t say that out loud. Instead, she shifted the conversation to what rumors might be going around the town. Forrest’s wife caused a scene while she was gone, threatening to divorce her husband over something. The last new moon when the werecats shifted, some human got bit and the Pride had to keep him. That poor sod was still having a hard time with his new fate. Add in the new werewolf addition thanks to the teen, and she realized the wereanimals were having more trouble than Kitty had let on.

  Four drinks in, she was ready. More than ready.

  “Let’s do this,” she whispered loudly at Cassi, who giggled. Vampires could get drunk too, and unless they got some blood, they would stay drunk longer, their systems moving slower than other, more alive beings. Arm in arm, they began to saunter for the two unknowns. “I want orange eyes. I want to see if he’ll reveal what he is. Plus, those eyes are killer.”

  She glanced back at Maxwell. He stayed where he was, a narrow gaze on her. There was something worried in his eyes too. She turned away again, looking back at Cassi as she started saying something.

  “Girl, good—because I’m really interested in that blond.”

  4

  Adalyn

  Adalyn had to muster up her courage one more time during the walk to the table of the two unknowns. She didn’t stop her forward progress, but there was something that wanted her to turn around and run. She kept her back straight, not letting the nerves get the better of her.