by R. A. Boyd
She’d gotten better at accepting herself since she’d been here, but she had so much farther to go. She would get there. Willow had no question in her mind. It would take time. The exact thing they didn’t have right now. The Rogue’s were going to attack at any second.
“Paige,” Willow said, moving to take the timid woman’s hand. “Your magic is connected with nature. The earth. And that’s what we need. Zeke and I can channel the magic through your connection with the land. The spell that we used last year to secure the community so that only the Ghost clan can come and go as you want is literally in the land around us. The Rogues are trespassers.”
“And we can let the land know that they are fucking trespassers,” Zeke whisper-yelled. He was getting excited. “We can do this. But we need to move fast.”
Paige’s eyebrows drew together as she considered what they told her, and Willow could see every reservation and fear pass over her face.
“Wouldn’t it be great if that dude from those comic movies was here,” Simon said. His face scrunched up as he grinned and waggled one eyebrow. “You know the guy. He’s a mutant and can control metal?”
“Simon,” Paige said through a giggle.
“He wears a helmet and cape and shit?” His shit-eating grin widened as he nodded his head like a red-headed bobble doll. “Then he could take away their guns while we pissed on their rotten corpses,” he continued. “Feel better?”
Willow snorted as she rolled her eyes. In his own weirdly psychotic way, he was trying to help. Even Willow felt better, until the sound of the community hall doors being ripped off echoed from outside.
Paige blew out a nervous breath. “Yeah. Better. What do I need to do?”
Zeke nodded at Willow as he pointed to the basement door. “Doing this outside would be better, but since I don’t want to get pumped full of Heaven’s Flame, let’s go downstairs into the basement. It’s underground. At least we’ll be in the earth. Kind of.”
Cass grasped Willow’s shoulder and gave her a tight smile. “We’ll stay up here and keep them from getting to the basement. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.” Her shoulders rose and fell as she took in a strained breath. “Heaven’s Flame may not hurt me, but I don’t want to get shot. I imagine it hurts.”
“Like a son of a bitch,” Jace spat out as he slid the thick, navy blue curtain to the side and looked out the window. “They’re inside the hall looking around. They know we must have heard them by now. Hurry.”
Willow raced down the stairs with Zeke and Paige behind her. Paige went to turn on the light, but Zeke grabbed her hand.
“Let’s not broadcast where we are,” he said and then pointed to the beige and brown throw rug behind the couch. “Sit there. Willow and I will kneel on either side of you. Once we start, just visualize the entirety of the community, including the surrounding woods. We’ll do the rest.”
Willow looked over the spell again while they got into place. “Paige.” Willow stooped down next to her and rested her hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to feel a lot of power around and inside of you. Don’t be alarmed. We’re working together, okay?”
Paige swallowed thickly and pursed her lips. “Okay. I can do this.”
Chapter 6
Ronin watched as a group of Rogue members watched a bear shifter break down the door to the community hall. He’d pushed it a few times and then smashed his body through the glass door like he expected it to fight back.
Dumb ass. All he had to do was pull the damn thing, and it would have opened for him. How the hell did Samiyah surround himself with such idiots?
Because they are easier to control.
Ronin’s breath caught in his chest as he backed away from the window. Was that his voice or Samiyah? He couldn’t tell. The thought that Samiyah, the fucking douche wagon, was still able to communicate with him despite the bracelet Willow gave him sent a chill up his spine. They were trusting him by allowing him to move around the community with the bracelet on to dampen Samiyah and his beast. Ronin would fight to the bitter fucking end not to let them down.
Damn-it. He wished he could be with his brethren right now, helping them do whatever they had planned. Being locked in the house like this made him feel weak. He should be helping. He should be side by side with Willow to keep her safe. He had no doubt she could handle herself in battle, but he wanted to be with her. Watch her back. Keep her from becoming vulnerable.
Ronin fought the urge to put his fist through the wall. He peeked through the curtains again and watched as another group of Rogue clan members walked up the street. They kept to the shadows. By Ronin’s count, there were three groups of ten lurking between the houses.
He knew this plan. He had been there when Samiyah and Remus came up with it. If they kept to what they’d practiced, two more groups of ten would be entering the Ghost shifter community any minute. They would outnumber the Ghost clan, but most importantly, they would be armed with weapons that used Heaven’s Flame. One shot would incapacitate his brethren, and the only threat left would be the mates. And it didn’t matter how strong or powerful the mates were. They would be outnumbered five to one.
Ronin bared his teeth as he thought back on the night those two assholes came up with the plan. They intended to target the mates and use them and the cubs as collateral.
Who the fuck does that?
Hatred bubbled in Ronin’s chest as he sat by the window, trying like hell to come up with a solution that would help. He had nothing, and right now, he was nothing.
His being here stirred up trouble that could bring down the happy, safe lives his people built here in New Rose. If the Rogues had their way, all of this would be dust by morning.
As if he was taking off in an airplane, Ronin’s ears popped as the pressure changed in the room. The crackling sensation of electricity zipped through him as the hair along his arms stood at attention.
Magic.
The witches in this clan were performing magic, and it was strong enough that Ronin could feel it play along his skin and dance through the air.
A loud, piercing scream ripped through the dark and quiet street. And then another. And then another.
Someone yelled from the shadows, and Ronin jumped up and looked out the window.
A tall man he remembered from the Rogue clan bounced around the two low sitting bushes and yelled, “Get them off me! They’re all over me!”
He moved and beat his face and torso with closed fists, attempting to fend off a menace Ronin couldn’t see. It may be dark outside, but Ronin’s vision was damn near perfect. The man had nothing on him.
A woman stumbled from the side of Audra’s house. She lurched down on to her hands and knees and started throwing up. A short, stout man walked and threw up at the same time, looking as if he was running from something. What the hell was happening?
Between the houses that lined either side of the isolated street, chaos erupted and sent the Rogues running and crawling away from their attack.
Two men started fighting, and Ronin could hear the thuds and crunches echo through the darkness as they beat each other bloody. In the middle of their attack, one of the men belted out a cry and started punching himself in the face. The other guy took off running, shouting about being chased by rabbits.
Ronin laughed as the Rogues retreated, absolutely amazed by what he’d just seen. It was fantastic. The Rogues came to free him, probably thinking the Ghosts were holding him against his will. It was better if they kept thinking he was still part of their clan. He may be able to use it to his advantage. When Willow finally purged Samiyah from his body, Ronin could go back to the Rogue clan safe house and learn everything he needed to learn so the Ghost shifters could bring them down.
It may not be the best plan, but it was a start.
After pacing the room for what felt like hours, Ronin looked out the window to recheck the streets. He wondered where Willow was. He knew she was safe, but he still wanted her here with him.
As if his thoughts were enough to call her forth, Willow walked down the front steps of Aiden’s house. She had her arm around Paige. The other Ghosts trailed out of the house behind them, each walking toward their homes.
Zeke, Willow, and Paige stood together for a few moments, talking and laughing. Even from here, Ronin could see the exhaustion in Willow’s stance. She may be smiling, but her shoulders sagged and she kept yawning.
As she turned and walked away from them, bidding them goodnight, she scrubbed her hands up her face and into her hair. She was breath-taking. Her hourglass shape and messy hair reminded him of pin-up girls from decades ago. Ronin’s cock grew hard as she pulled her full bottom lip into her mouth and stopped walking. She looked over at him in the window and smiled. Her face lit up when their eyes met.
Hello, she mouthed. She waved and started moving toward the house again. Her hips swayed as she moved closer, and Ronin’s cock swelled and thumped against his pajama pants.
Her skin-tight pants looked painted on her thick, sexy as fuck thighs. Her hair was wild from her messing with it, and it made her look like she’d been thoroughly fucked. Ronin’s beast chose that moment to send a snarl up his throat, letting him know he was just as pleased watching Willow move as Ronin was.
She’s ours, his beast whispered low in his mind. There was no menace to its presence. It just wanted to see their mate and make sure she was alright.
As Willow walked to the front of the house, Ronin left his room and met her at the front door. She moved to the foyer and took a deep breath. She linked her hands behind her head and leaned back to stare at the ceiling.
There were so many questions he wanted to ask her, but the only thing that came out was, “Are you okay?”
Her posture was tense and tired. Her amber eyes were half closed, and she surprised him when she closed the gap between them and pressed herself against him.
The heat of her body set him on fire. He wrapped his arms around her and gently tucked her under his arms, wishing like hell she could gain strength from him. He would give her everything he had to make sure she was all right.
“That spell took a lot out of me,” she muttered on a sigh. Her ear rested on the spot near his heart. He knew she could probably tell by the sound of his heartbeat alone how she excited him. “Paige was the medium for me and Zeke to work the magic through this whole area. She almost passed out during the spell. I had to focus on making sure she stayed anchored until the Rogues hightailed it out of here, which almost made me pass out during the spell.”
She looked up at him. The delicate flesh beneath her eyes were darker than they had been earlier. She tried to smile, but her expression faltered. “I’m going to need your blood. Zeke, Paige and I are going to get up at sunrise and put the same spell we used tonight all around the perimeter of the territory. It’s pretty much like the repulsion spells the Salvatore Ghosts use around their community. After the spells are in place, anyone who doesn’t belong will run for their lives from their worst fear, or get sick as shit and have the urge to get the hell away from here. But right now, I’m just tired.”
Ronin bent down and slid one arm under her legs and the other under her shoulders. He could feel the relief wash over her as her body nestled into him.
He rubbed his nose in her hair and inhaled. “Rest. I’ll take care of you tonight. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll even wake you before sunrise. Can I… can I take care of you?”
“I would really like that,” she muttered.
Her body relaxed in his arms, and she was asleep before he even made it to his room.
Carefully, he took her shoes off and undressed her. His beast cursed him when he left her bra and panties on, but damn-it, the sight of her beautiful flesh was enough to make his cock hard enough to pound nails.
He covered her up and laid beside her, thinking of all the dirty things he wanted to do to her body. All the sounds he could pull from her beautiful mouth as he made her come over and over. In his mouth. On his cock.
Shit. He needed to stop. Willow didn’t need to wake up and find him ogling her while he sported a raging hard-on. Mates or not, that would be downright creepy.
No. Tonight, he would watch her, keep her safe so she could sleep peacefully.
So, he got up from the bed and moved to sit in the recliner in the corner. Grabbing a cookbook he’d found on the nightstand, Ronin read through the night and kept an eye out. Not just for his mate, but for his clan.
He would wake Willow when it was time so that she could take over and keep the community safe for their people.
Chapter 7
Willow woke up to the light of the sun shining through a crack in the curtains. A warm breeze flitted through the open window, and the sound of chirping birds greeted her. The heat of Ronin’s body against hers made her smile, and when she lifted her eyes, he was looking down at her.
He’d kept his word and woke her up twenty minutes before sunrise. She met up with Zeke and Paige, and they set the wards around the Ghost shifter community. Once they collected the ingredients, they forged the spell and then all went back home to pass the hell out. They’d had a long night followed by an early morning.
When she came back home, she was more than happy to find that Ronin had waited up for her. Sweet man.
She climbed back into bed with him and fell fast asleep. But now it was time to get up and start the day. With Ronin.
“Hello there,” she whispered, snuggling in closer.
Her head was still foggy from sleep, and her bladder was giving her the five-minute warning call. Staying close to him sounded like the bee's knees, but she didn’t want him to watch her do the pee-pee dance this early in their relationship. The urge to kiss his chin and press her breasts against his chest played in her thoughts. She shrugged off the idea. Most shifters and their mates got down with the making of the love almost as soon as they realized they were mated, but she didn’t want to give in. Not yet. Willow wanted to wait until he was free before they made love. They both did.
“I’ll be right back.”
She tried to away from him, but he held tight to her. Had it not been for his slowly lightening eyes, his resistance to her pulling away would have been one of the sweetest, sexiest things in the world.
A cold fear took the place of the warmth he caused in her body. The features in his handsome face changed slightly, making him look different somehow.
“Ronin?”
With a horrid bend of his lips, he smiled and shook his head. “Try again.”
No. The bracelet she’d given him to cut the link between Ronin and his beast and Samiyah was effective. Neither of them should have been able to break through.
“Samiyah?” she sputtered out.
Everything inside of her cried. She’d promised Ronin that he would be free; that the binding bracelet she’d made just for him would give him piece until she figured things out.
She’d been wrong.
Samiyah was too powerful for her magic. How could that be? She was one of the strongest witches on Earth. But she couldn’t even craft a binding element for her mate. She’d failed.
A scream lodged in her throat as Samiyah took control of her mate’s body. She couldn’t move. Her brain screeched at her to lift her arms and throw him off with an energy bolt, but she was frozen. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t yell. She couldn’t warn the Ghost shifters that their enemy was in control and ready to hurt them all, beginning with her.
Samiyah rolled Willow onto her back. Gone were the beautiful dark chocolate hue of her mate’s eyes. They were replaced by Ronin’s cold grey ones. He looked down at her, confirming what she’d feared all along. She was weak.
“He’s screaming in here, you know,” Samiyah said, watching her as she silently fought to free herself. “Ronin can see everything. I think he knows what I’m going to do. What I’m going to do to you all.”
Fight, Willow. Just fucking fight. The words played over and over in her head, a battle cry of someo
ne who knows they’ve already lost.
“You think that bracelet can keep me out? I’m stronger than your magic. Stronger than your mate. You’ll die with him.” He leaned down and put his face in the bend of her neck, inhaling deeply.
The only movement she could manage was a shiver as bile crawled up the back of her throat.
“Willow,” he said, his deep voice going gritty as if he’d swallowed a cup of sand. “Would you like to know what I’m going to do? I’m going to tell you what I’m going to do.”
The ache of sorrow filled the pit of her stomach. The frigid chill of horror settled in as he spoke. The grey of his eyes began to darken, first in the corners, and then slowly bleeding out to fill the entire orbs. They reminded Willow of how Audra’s eyes looked when they’d first met; when her beast tried its best every day to take over Audra’s body. Dark, bottomless holes that glimmered with evil. The growing pitch took over Ronin’s eyes until she feared the darkness would suck her in.
Samiyah hooked a ghastly smile to Ronin’s lips. “I’m going to bite you. And when I change into the powerful, ancient beast that the Ghosts were cursed with, I will kill you. And I will kill them. I will be unstoppable. A fallen angel, wielder of ageless magic, owner of a saber-tooth. This is turning out much better than I’d hoped.”
The perfectly straight teeth in his mouth began to elongate, making him look like one of the creatures who used to prowl the darkness of the Earth before the Creator called forth light. Ronin’s tanned skin lightened, reminding Willow too much of Samiyah’s unearthly porcelain pallor. She watched as his nails lengthened, threatening to rip through her nightgown and flesh as if they were pieces of tissue paper.
