Such Violent Delights: A Holiday Paranormal Romance Anthology

by S. L. Jennings

  Those green eyes of his darkened to match the leaves above us. It was intoxicating, which made leaving him nearly impossible.

  I made the first step back to the wedding, with him following behind me. His stare was like a caress over my body as I swayed with every step, putting on an ass show for his entertainment.

  There was a small woman with a growing baby belly stomping her Converse in our direction as we exited the woods. She looked feisty, and I liked her spirit. She had an energy I could be friends with for sure.

  As soon as her eyes met mine, I grinned and winked, walking past her to the party for my cousin and his new wife.

  Everyone was dancing and carrying on just as they were when I left the shenanigans. It was a smart move on their part, having the festivities outside. Lots of clashing energies in an enclosed space was never a good thing.

  Asher walked over with a drink in his hand and wrapped his free arm around my shoulder.

  “Cousin Lana! I thought you were gonna end up skipping the fun.” His grin was infectious as always, and I couldn’t help but return his smile.

  “Someone had to take over the role of the rebel now that you’ve been accepted by the old crones.” My head nodded toward the old farts in their cloaks, drinking wine at a table reserved just for them, the elite witches of our coven. They liked tradition and keeping our kind to ourselves. Asher being with a Greek descendent was an abomination to them, but she was his mate, his complete equal in this life. Mates were rare and should be coveted. Unfortunately, the older witches only cared about bloodline and breeding. I’d been a rebel like my cousin because I wanted more for myself than pushing out babies with someone I didn’t care about. The horror!

  “Now you just need to find your mate, and we’ll shock the old biddies to death. Two of the strongest witches in the world, both mated.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and my cheeks heated in blush. Asher was indeed the strongest of our kind in the world. Did he feel what just happened within my soul?

  “Do you know?” I leaned in and whispered.

  He shook his head no, the smile changing to one that was for show. Anyone looking at us would think we were just sharing silly secrets.

  “I felt the spark. It consumed me. The woods became silent, as if they stopped the wind from rustling their leaves, giving me complete focus on him. Was that how it was for you?” I felt so unsure of what was happening. To be honest, I never thought I’d find my mate. It was rare, and I was a wild woman. Intellectually I knew it was highly unlikely that I’d find an equal.

  “Exactly. Who?” His eyes were darting around to all the guests, looking for a buzzing energy among them. One to match my high frequency.

  “I think his name is A.J.”

  His body moved away from mine, scanning my face for any hint of a joke.

  “You know him?” It was obvious he did, and he needed to spill the details, stat. I was already feeling antsy that Asher knew something I didn’t.

  “A.J. is human.”

  A human? No supernatural powers at all? But how could a human be my mate—my match in this world?

  Chapter 3

  A.J.

  Asher and Lana’s eyes collided with mine, and despite wanting to shrink under the intense stare of Asher, I focused on the face of my new lifeline.

  Whoever she was.

  She looked like she was related to Asher. They both had that deep, ebony-colored hair, brown eyes, and a blend of Asian heritage in their features. They also looked like troublemakers when they grinned at me, as they were now.

  No matter what came after this moment, I was totally fucked for this girl.

  With Asher’s arm around her shoulders, they walked over to me, and I braced myself for the hellions.

  “A.J., this is my cousin Lana.”

  Lana. Her name was tugging at my protective sense of self-preservation already. My muscles tensed, aching to touch her skin again and feel that strange connection between us. I’d felt something when our lips met, a kind of euphoria flowing through her kiss into my body. She was the paddles that shocked my heart into a rhythm that would only beat for her.

  “Lana. I like the name; it suits you.” I reached over to shake her hand like we’d just met and brought her delicate skin to my lips. That little tingle ran from my lips down to my boot-covered toes then back up to burrow in my chest like an arrow.

  “That it does. Well, you guys have lots to talk about, so I’m gonna go find my wife.” Asher winked at me as he untangled his arms from Lana and turned to walk away.

  “Grab some popcorn,” I yelled at his departing form, earning a chuckle from the woman before me.

  “You’re gonna be the death of me, aren’t you?” My question was serious, but my tone was one of jest.

  Her eyes glistened with mischief, and her sweet lips tilted up into a grin that answered my question with no words necessary. Yeah, this woman was gonna be the end of me as I knew it.

  “Well, I’ll give you props for the fire inside you. Maybe that’s why you’re my mate.” She took a step closer, her heeled boots clicking on the wooden dance floor.

  I was about to give her some smart-ass comment that would be flirty as shit, but an older woman that walking by us froze and turned, her expression one of horror, as if I’d offended her.

  What’s that all about?

  “Mate?” the crone uttered in disbelief, glaring at Lana.

  I had no clue what she was talking about, but I was willing to play along.

  “’Sup, mate.” I smirked. The old woman’s glare turned from disbelief to disgust. That I could handle. I didn’t care if people didn’t like me or thought I wasn’t good enough. I could do things to fuck up their life with a touch on my watch. Being a computer genius had its advantages.

  “This is not possible, and we will not allow it,” snapped the older woman, who was wearing a deep red dress, her gray hair piled into a tight bun on her head.

  Lana rolled her eyes, and I wanted to high-five her for not cowering under this woman’s superiority complex.

  “Like you can stop what had been decided. It’s fate, not a choice.” Lana gave the woman a devilish grin that made my dick hard. It was a fuck-you smile.

  “If it’s fate then we shall put the truth of it to the test, in the mate trials.” The smug look on the woman’s face made a growl bubble up from my chest, especially when Lana’s face turned serious. Her gaze was nothing short of murderous. I’d had enough of this crap.

  “All right, ladies. What’s going on?”

  “You have twenty-four hours when the moon is at its peak. I suggest you give your mate the details.”

  The old woman sauntered off like she was the queen in the castle. My head swung to face Lana, and she looked angry. Was she pissed at me or the woman? I had no clue.

  “Wanna tell me what just happened here?”

  Her hand reached out to clasp mine before pulling me away from the wedding, taking us back into the woods.

  For being a woman with shorter legs than mine, she covered ground quickly.

  When we were away from curious ears, she let go of my hand and touched a tree. Her shoulders sagged slightly, releasing the tension in her body, just as she let out a deep breath. She must have magic like Asher. Nature calmed them; they all shared the same energies of the earth.

  “You two kept saying ‘mate.’ Does that mean what I think it means?” They’d said it quite a few times. I knew the whole story between Asher and Echo being mates.

  She took another breath before relaxing her touch on the tree, and turning to face me. The pissed-off look was gone, and I couldn’t quite make out the expression she wore now.

  “That tingle between us? We call it the spark. It means that you’ve found your mate. So yeah. We’re soul mates.” She declared it without any hint as to if she liked the idea or not. Kinda sounded like she felt we were stuck together no matter what. I decided it would be best for me not to speak, and to think over the words first. Holding up m
y finger, letting her know that I needed a minute, I looked up at the night sky.

  There were billions of stars shining on us.

  Kinda reminded me of the world of man. There were billions of us. So to find your true soul mate out of all those people was a miracle. Hell, I’d been looking for years for my “one.”

  I’d felt the spark, as she’d called it; my heart knew who it was beating for now. Could this really be that impossible?

  I scoffed. I lived in the world of impossible: heroes, witches, and villains. Why not a mate for me? Even a witch one.

  “Okay. We’re mates. What do we do now?”

  I may have waggled my eyebrows suggestively. If she was my mate then we would need to consummate our relationship, right? It was a teasing move, and she knew it. Her laughter made me smile, feeling like I’d won an Oscar for bringing that happiness to her face.

  “Actually, Elder Matti just made things a bit more complicated than that. She just declared that you had to face fate in the mate trials. If we wanna be together, you have to prove that you are worthy of being with one of us. Humans are rarely mates; our energies are too strong to mix. But you are mine. Clearly the universe chose you for a reason, and the trials will put you to the test.”

  Huh. Well, this was probably not going to be fun.

  Chapter 4

  A.J.

  I stood inside one of the old wooden houses in the witch colony that belonged to Asher’s parents.

  “Are you kidding me? You’re really gonna do this? You could die! I’ve been talking to Asher about what sort of trials you’re gonna face, and you could seriously die! You’re not one of them, and you don’t have powers. You’re human, A.J.! Get that grin off your face!”

  Mina was pissed that I was sitting here, awaiting my first trial to prove my worth. I didn’t care that I had no extra abilities; I was enough, and I was gonna fuck some trials up.

  “Aren’t you supposed to stay calm for the baby?” It was supposed to be a joke, but my sister’s normally pale face turned even more red than it was before. Bad time to joke.

  “My only brother is about to do something stupid, and no one else is trying to stop him! Phillip has his lips shut on the matter, and none of the other Hero Society crew have any opposition. Lilith is out there with foam fingers and a cow bell to cheer you on.” She huffed a small scream of exasperation and sat down next to me. I gripped her hand in mine.

  “It’s gonna be okay.” My words of encouragement didn’t ease her mind; she was still stiff as a board next to me.

  “You don’t even know this girl.” Her voice was low, barely above a whisper. I’d thought about this, too, after Lana told me everything. She told me about the trial’s history, and that I could very well die. But in the end, I chose her. If that kiss we shared in the woods was anything like how it worked with mates, then I was jumping into this without looking back. Even now I missed her. My skin felt tight, and my muscles were twitching with need to find her and touch her soft, olive-colored skin.

  Asher had told me it was a mate thing: you were two halves of a soul, and many mates couldn’t stay apart for very long because the ache was too much.

  “She’s my mate. I know that doesn’t sound as important to us, as humans. But even though we just met, she owns me. Thoughts of her consume me. I feel it in my skin, in my blood—she’s part of my very existence. Like you and Phillip. I know you fought it the second time around, but in the end, you always knew you belonged together. I know it’s crazy, but I know Lana is mine, and I am hers. Try to have some faith in your little bro. I’m not gonna fuck this up.” I looked her in the eyes, hoping she could see my truth. Mina had lost me for a few years after I ran away from home. We were united finally, but she’d been fiercely protective of me ever since. All the heroes had, actually. But I wasn’t the nerdy, runaway, computer kid anymore. I’d traded in my Gameboys for intense combat training. It was time I stood up and declared my place among the impossible. All of my Hero Society family had told me they were proud of me, and fully expected me to kick ass. They saw me as one of their own, and not some kid. Time to prove everyone right. I was a badass, and I was gonna show everyone I belonged, and that Lana was mine.

  “Fine. I get it. I don’t like, but I get it. All I can say is you better kick this first trial’s ass, because if you miss game night tomorrow because you die, I’m having Asher bring you back so I can kill you myself with my famous broccoli and cheese casserole.”

  Her casserole would kill me, as it’s threatened to do every time she’s made it. I swear her secret ingredient is rat poisoning. My sister was a genius in her own right, but she was a shit cook. I was so glad Phillip hired a cook after that first night she fed us, and everyone was vomiting after her meal.

  “I promise I won’t meet my untimely end. Now, you need to get out of here and let me concentrate on what’s to come instead of worrying about you stressing yourself into early labor.”

  She sighed, reaching over to wrap her arms around me. Her body was warm, but rigid from the fear running through her head.

  After she left, I began mentally working through the process of building a computer from scratch. Piece by piece, the thought helped calm my nerves from what was to come.

  Asher came walking into the house an hour later.

  “I’m here to retrieve you and give you the rundown of what’s going to happen.” He stopped in front of me with a serious look on his face. My legs ached as I stood, having been sitting and tensing in anticipation.

  “Give me the lowdown.” I was ready for whatever he was about to say.

  “Soon, you’re gonna step out into an old stone arena. This trial will be one of physical strength. You’ll get a three-day break after you win then trial two will commence. Happy Christmas to you. Our people believe in the change of the year. If you are gonna prove your worth, you will do it over the holidays, and be officially mated on the first. Today is the winter solstice. The moon is high, and our powers are peaked tonight. But I have no doubt you’ll still win in the fight against us. You just need to use that smart brain of yours.”

  A fight against people like Asher. Great.

  “I’m not worried.” I gave him a smirk of confidence, even though I was starting to feel the nerves creep back in.

  “They are completely reliant on their powers, so you’ve just gotta outsmart them. Think wild magic, energies of the earth. And remember, at the end of all this is Lana, my hellion cousin who will make your life both heaven and hell.” He winked, and that small joke helped draw out a chuckle from my tensed body.

  Like I told my sister, I could do this. This was my time.

  “Any chance she could come give me a kiss for good luck? Maybe a hope-you-don’t-die shag?”

  I was completely joking—although a kiss might help inspire me.

  “You two really are mates.” He rolled his eyes, while shaking his head.

  Lana had a spunky personality, much like mine. I’d seen it right away. Hell, she kissed me without hesitation.

  Thinking about kissing her again helped ease my fears. If anything, I was ready to get this over with, so I could spend time with my mate.

  “You ready to show those old-school assholes what you’ve got?” Asher gave me a confident grin and nodded toward the direction of the door behind him.

  “Let’s get it on like Donkey Kong.”

  I was ready to smash this shit up.

  Chapter 5

  Lana

  It was irrational one minute, then completely possible in the next.

  I had a mate, and he was human. Not only that, but I already felt crazy, so lost in him that I was ready to just call this whole thing off and run away with him. I’d do what Asher did and leave. He did what he wanted, and that was that. A.J. had been chosen to be mine for a reason, and I felt that bond pulling me closer and closer to him, like he was my matching magnet.

  Everyone in the coven was sitting around this old rock arena that would transform once the tr
ials began, shifting into a scene of the elder’s choosing. Of course it would be in the favor of the three men A.J. would be fighting. The first trial was physical. They wanted to see how he would fair in a fight, especially against our kind, who the elders would see as more worthy of me. They just thought of me as a breeding cow, wanting the best possible bloodlines to form in my belly, making the coven stronger.

  I wanted babies, but I also wanted all the things that came with being with your mate.

  Every birthday after I turned eighteen, I’d wished for a mate who truly was my match. I liked working with my uncle at his martial arts studio, teaching people to fight. Most of the men in our coven thought I was being foolish and rebellious. They, like the rest of the women in our little happy witch town, thought women were the homemakers. Rub the husband’s feet, take care of the house, and make all the babies. Of course that worked perfectly fine for many, which was great for them. People that married for bloodlines instead of being a mating pair did their duty, but that was it. Monogamy was not always tradition in our life.

  “He looks hot.”

  “I bet he’d look even better with his shirt off.”

  Three women with young ones on their laps were watching as A.J. walked into the arena with Asher. My eye twitched in their direction. Sharing lovers might be okay for some people, but I was not one of them. Already I felt possessive over my mate. I was practically foaming at the mouth to feel the crunch of their noses under my knuckles.

  Instead of doing something that I’d get in trouble for later, I turned my head back to my mate, and silently mouthed a spell that he would feel a kiss against his cheek from me. I would have done it in person, but right now I needed to keep my distance. I wasn’t normally a girl who waited for anything she wanted, and currently I was feeling needy for those muscles of his to lift me up and impale me on his waiting cock.