by R. A. Boyd
She was stuck. Frozen by Samiyah’s magic that held her prisoner. She yelled inside, screaming and hollering, hoping in vain that someone would hear her call. Hoping that she could break free of this spell and help her people.
Samiyah’s malevolent nature wouldn’t only affect the Ghosts. His intentions would bleed out into the supernatural world, and then on to the humans he despised and envied.
Willow knew deep down in her bones that she was about to die. In all her years, she’d never been afraid to die. Death would come for her one day. But not like this. There was so much she had to do.
Now it was done.
Just as Samiyah’s teeth made contact with the flesh of her neck, a scream tore through from her lips, waking her from the horrid nightmare that had consumed her reality.
Willow sat up in bed and brought her hands to cover her mouth to drown out her wailing. Sharp bursts of air punched through her mouth, drying her lips as her eyes darted around the room. Where was she? This wasn’t her bedroom.
It was a dream. A dream in the room where she and her mate slept last night.
The sound of splintering wood broke through the haze of her all too real nightmare. Right before Willow had a chance to shoot an energy ball at the intruder, she realized Ronin was standing in the doorway, naked as the summer days are long and covered with soap bubbles. His stance was wide, and he held his hands up as if ready to strike. And holy crap, his cock was freaking huge.
His eyes shot around the room, probably trying to figure out why she’d screamed bloody murder. “What’s wrong? Who’s here?”
Ronin’s chest heaved as he surveyed the room. As he started to walk toward her, he slipped on his sudsy feet and had to right himself before he fell.
After sliding a few more times, he made his way to the bed and sat down next to her. “Willow. What happened? Was someone here?”
The strumming of her heart slammed against her breastbone as she fought to calm down. “It was a dream,” she whispered. Adrenaline pulsed through her body, and the urge to throw up or hit something grew in her belly. Or hop on her man and drive away the adrenaline with the power of his penis. She looked down at his cock, and she felt her eyebrows try to disappear into her hairline.
His cock was long, thick, and looked heavy. The tip was swollen and red. The fear brought on by her dream slowly ebbed away. It was replaced by lust. Well, at least that was better.
Nothing to drive away the fear of being killed by Samiyah than by the power of seeing Ronin naked. It was going to be so much fun to take him for a ride once he was free. She wanted to focus on and appreciate his body more, but the vivid scenes from her dream were still too present in her head.
“Um, Ronin. You’re naked. And really hard.” Was that normal for him while he was showering.
He reached down and tried to cover himself with his hands. Shyeah. As if his hands could conceal that.
“I was… relieving myself when I heard you scream.” He huffed a laugh and shook his head. “I almost ripped off my dick and broke my neck like five times trying to get to you. Bad dream?”
Relieving himself? The words flitted around in her head before their meaning came through. Oh. He’d been masturbating. Ohh.
She nodded and dropped her head into her hands. “Yeah. Bad dream. If you could call it that. It was…”
“Ronin. What did you do to Willow?” a soft voice asked calmly.
Willow and Ronin both startled hard once they noticed Audra standing in the doorway of the bedroom. Before she knew it, Willow’s hand was raised with a bright, blue ball of light forming above her palm.
Willow doused the fire and brought her hand to her chest. “He didn’t do anything, Audra. It was a bad dream. An awful dream.”
Ronin stood from the bed and took a step toward Audra. She tensed and stood straight up. He seemed to think better of his distance to his sister, nodded, and backed away.
“Hello, Audra.” Ronin’s deep voice was barely audible. Remorse and hope filled his words. “It’s good to see you. I’m here. I hope you can talk to me one day. I won’t push.”
Audra pursed her lips and crossed her arms across her chest. “Well. If you were trying to blind me, dear brother, I wish you would use a hot poker instead of the sight of your dick.”
A giggle bubbled up through Willow’s throat as Ronin reached down and grabbed a small decorative pillow to cover his man bits.
Audra walked into the room and stood in the corner. “What in the hell makes you think that little ass pillow is going to cover your schlong?” She nodded toward the doorway and sat down, putting as much space between her and Ronin as she could while still staying in the room. “Go on and finish your shower. I’ll sit here with your mate until you’re done.”
Even though Willow was laughing her ass off on the inside, she could still sense the tension between the two Ghost shifters. But, score one for Audra. At least she spoke to him and willingly chose to be in the same room with him.
“Thanks,” he said, his beautiful brown eyes moving from Audra to Willow. “I’ll be right back.”
He leaned down and kissed the top of Willow’s head. That small act brought on an array of new emotions that shoved the fear of what she’d seen in her dream right out of her head. That kiss did something to her. The heat from his lips traveled from the top of her head and filled out her body, giving her the sense that everything was okay.
As he turned around, he shifted the pillow to cover his behind. Damn. It was a nice one. Firm, perfectly shaped. The sight of a man’s ass had never been Willow’s thing, but Ronin’s butt was freaking majestic. She watched him as he left the room, sliding one more time right before turning the corner.
Audra reached over and lightly punched Willow’s arm. “Please stop looking at him like that. You two are going to blind me or make me throw up before the day is up.”
“Ow, Audra.” Willow rubbed her arm. She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing her tresses away from her face. “Thanks for checking on me. That means a lot. Especially after last night.”
Giving Audra a sideways glance, Willow slid over and bumped her with her shoulder. She really was grateful that someone came to check on her. Waking up screaming in the same house as your possessed boyfriend was probably not a good thing to do around here.
Audra shrugged and stood from the bed. “It’s nothing. You’re my sister now. You were part of the clan before, but now you’re mine. Besides, I got here first. Cass was already downstairs by the time you said it was a dream. She chose to give you two privacy. I’m nosy. You’re going to tell me what your dream was about after I get the broom.”
“Don’t,” Willow said, standing and raising her hands parallel to the broken door. She looked down at the splintered wood and then to the frame. “Olim destructum aedificabo,” she said, visualizing the broken door the way it was before Ronin smashed through it.
A surge of energy pulsed in her palms. The broken pieces of the door caught up in an invisible whirlwind, and bit by bit came together again until the door was whole again.
“That is amazing,” Audra muttered. She went to the door and put her hand on it, stroking it as if to make sure what she saw was real. “Sometimes I break shit just to watch Zeke fix it. One time while we were having sex, Zeke used his magic to lift me up and down on his—”
Willow stuck her fingers in her ears and made a loud trilling sound that vibrated her throat and chest. “Audra, no! Damn-it,” she said, taking her fingers from her ears. “You already painted the picture. I’m really going to have horrible dreams tonight.”
Audra snorted, grabbed Willow’s hand, and pulled her toward the door. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I’m thirsty. And you’re going to tell me what your dream was about. Oh, and your buddy Sariel called Zeke to give him the list of everything you needed to complete the spell.”
Willow’s heart jumped into her throat for a moment as she sucked in a hard breath and puffed out her cheeks. S
he wasn’t ready to talk about the final ingredient for the spell. Not the one that would cause the most trouble. “Audra, I—”
“Why didn’t you tell us that you have to use Heaven’s Flame the free Ronin of that ass-hat? Don’t you know what could happen?”
Of course she knew what could happen. That was one of the reasons she was hesitant at letting the Ghosts know what she was going to have to do.
“Yes, Audra. I know. I’m still trying to figure it out.”
“Damn-it, woman. You could hurt yourself. And that’s if you’re lucky.”
“I know that!” Willow whisper-yelled.
She didn’t want Ronin to know just yet. She was tempted to tell him yesterday while they ate dinner together, but their growing emotions toward each other made her think he would object. She knew she would. If he knew what part she’d played in subduing him back in Ireland over seventy years ago, maybe he would jump at the chance to put her in danger.
As they walked down the hall toward the kitchen, Audra stopped so abruptly, Willow almost ran right into her back.
Audra turned and rested her hand on Willow’s shoulder. “You didn’t tell Ronin what you were going to have to do to free him, did you?” There was regret in Audra’s voice.
Shaking her head, Willow tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “No. I didn’t. You can’t tell him either.”
Audra blew a raspberry and threw her hands in the air. “Bullshit. I’m usually pretty good at keeping secrets, but I’m not going to promise to keep this one. You’re going to get yourself killed. What are you trying to prove?”
That she wasn’t such a horrible person. She’d been trying to prove that to herself since she found out Ronin was her mate.
“Nothing.”
“You do know I can smell a lie. Right?”
Willow chewed on her bottom lip and then ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s the only thing to do to free your brother.”
Audra shook her head and then reached up to grab a lock of Willow’s hair. “Why did you cut your hair?” Audra asked as if she didn’t know already. “It used to be longer.” She tried to feign innocence, but Willow could see the snarky smile on her lips.
Rolling her eyes hard enough to row a boat, Willow slapped Audra’s hand away from her hair. “Cause you pulled it and almost broke my freaking neck.”
“Why’d I do that?” Audra asked, voice high as if she really didn’t know why she’d done it.
Cause you’re a psycho.
Those mean words slithered through Willow’s head, but she didn’t say it. She never would. Audra wasn’t a psycho. Yeah, she had a few issues, but she was a good person. She’d never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, and she would always make sure her family was safe. No matter what. And knowing that was what made Willow regret her sudden adverse thoughts of Audra’s state of mind.
Willow knew she was just a little pissed that she needed to tell everyone what she had to do.
“You pulled my hair because a few strands caught fire when Cass and Aiden got into a fight.”
That night would forever be etched in Willow’s mind. It was funny as hell. Watching Cass’s small frame pummel the large men of this clan always made Willow laugh. It seemed to turn her mates on.
Willow had been teaching Paige how to use her magic to call forth fire. Paige had gone years without using her magic, but after such a short time of practice, she was getting better and better. She’d been working on setting the wood in the grill on fire for over an hour. Cass kept encouraging her, telling her she could do anything she put her mind to. Aiden asked Cass to knock it off, saying that Paige was tired and had enough for the day. But Cass couldn’t let up. Hell, even Willow knew deep down that Paige didn’t have it in her to light the fire, but she stood and watched anyway.
Why Aiden thought it was a good idea to get snippy with Cass was beyond them all, but he did. Quick as a match, Cass kicked Aiden’s ass and told him to be nice. Paige was caught off guard by the violence and almost blew the grill into the next county. Both Cass and Aiden were super proud. Willow, standing close to Paige, caught the brunt of the flames. Aiden pushed her out of the way, but not before her hair was hit by a few embers. As heat zinged up Willow’s back, Audra grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the cooler.
What the hell did this have to do with what was happening now? The memory of realizing her hair was on fire still sent a chill up her spine. Yes, fallen angels could heal from almost anything, but the pain associated with the injury was still just as real as it would be for a human.
Leaning her hip against the wall, Willow shrugged and fought to keep her calm with Audra. “You did it to keep my hair from burning. That’s why I cut it. It was damaged. How is this relevant?”
Audra snickered as if she couldn’t believe Willow was missing the point. Listening to Audra mock her made something boil in her chest, and Willow had to remind herself that the petite woman standing in front of her was not to be toyed with.
A bright smile broke over Audra’s face as she shook her head. “As old as we are, we forget that we need help. We forget that we don’t know everything. Those embers got your ass good and made you think twice about what we are all capable of. You knew Paige couldn’t produce that flame, but she did.” Audra took a few steps closer to Willow and hugged her. Then she punched Willow’s arm. “You need help right now. You think you know what’s best, but you don’t.”
Willow rubbed her arm. “You really need to stop communicating with your fists.”
“Maybe. We’ll see. You like it.” Apparently forgetting her thirst, Audra made her way to the front door as Willow followed behind her. “This is how I see it, Willow. You and my brother are coming to breakfast this morning, and then you’re going to tell all of us every single detail of the spell. And then we’re going to help. Okay?”
“Okay,” Willow whispered. “Are you sure you’re all right with being around Ronin.”
Confusion and worry blanketed Audra’s face. She shook her head and then nodded. Then she shrugged and nodded again. “I might never be okay with what happened. I know it wasn’t him, but he hurt me pretty bad. One day when I feel up to it, Ronin and I will sit down and talk about what happened. And then I’m going to hurt him. Being that the bracelet practically makes him a mortal shifter, I know I can’t do it now. But I owe him pain.”
Willow thought it over, wondering why Audra would want to hurt her brother even though she knew it wasn’t really him who’d hurt her and their brother Gabe. But somehow, she understood. It was that way with all shifters.
“I see that look in your eye,” Audra said so softly Willow almost missed it. “I think paying him back in pain is the only way my beast will ever settle. Don’t judge me.”
“I never would.” And Willow meant it. Something like this would have seemed primitive and beyond her less than a year ago, but now she understood. “And I get it. But do it when I’m not around. I kind of like him, and I don’t want to retaliate. I may not be able to help it if you hurt him while I’m here. But I get it.”
The Ghosts didn’t let their problems with one another linger around, poisoning them from the inside out. They dealt with their issues, confronted the problem, and then let it go. And for shifters, paying back pain for pain got the job done.
Audra smiled and winked. “You are one of us. You get it.”
“I get it. And thanks for saying I’m one of you.”
Heat teased the backs of Willow’s eyes as the words sank in. Even if she hadn’t told anyone, Willow knew that she wanted to be part of the Ghost shifter clan just days after she’d come to stay with them. They shared something that no other fallen angel clan had. They loved each other, had bonded through their pain, and fought to keep each other safe no matter what.
And now, Willow was really and truly part of them.
Chapter 8
Ronin should have known better.
She was fast. He’d watched her shove the plastic bulb i
nto two other people’s faces as he packed his plate full of breakfast foods he’d been thinking of since Audra invited him to breakfast with the clan. Being happy his sister was alright with him had distracted him.
The little hellion looked him over a few times before she approached. The others hadn’t seemed to mind what she was doing. He didn’t think he would be next. She didn’t know him.
Instead of the warm, crispy slice of bacon Ronin planned on shoving into his mouth— because Samiyah was an asshole vegan who taunted Ronin about not eating meat every time he delicately forked tofu or beansprouts into his face— the round end of a turkey baster sat on his lips, still wet and warm from Aiden singing into it.
“Sing a song,” Lily deadpanned as she stared into Ronin’s eyes like she could read his freaking mind.
With a turkey baster she used as a microphone, Jace’s step-daughter Lily had been dancing around the table, demanding— not asking— different people to sing into it.
And now, it was Ronin’s turn.
Having her look at him like this made him nervous. Why the hell was he afraid of a little girl who probably hadn’t even made it past two feet in height?
Willow chuckled beside him. “Better you than me,” she whispered as she added pancakes to both of their plates.
If he wasn’t being silently interrogated by Lily, he would be happy Willow had considered him as she fixed her own plate of food. The thought of reaching over and taking his mate’s hand was heaved out of his brain as Lily hummed a tune and shook the baster at him.
Trying hard to back his mouth away from the ‘microphone’ as far as he could, he noticed that the room had gone eerily quiet. When he looked around the table, Ronin saw that everyone looked right at them. He didn’t know if they were afraid of what he would do or if they were worried about how Lily would react if he refused her.
The bitter scents of fear and confrontation invaded his nose. They were worried about what he might do. Hell, he knew he’d been a crazy fuck, but he would never hurt a child. He wouldn’t give them grief over how they felt. It would take a while for them to grow used to him again. He would be patient.
