“Blast him Lila! Now!”
She did, and the smell of burnt hair rose into the air. The big wolf collapsed on top of Lila, dead.
“Get him off!” she cried.
Evan was next to her in an instant and he pulled the animal off of Lila.
“I’m sorry,” she said as he helped her stand. “I killed him.”
“It’s all right, Angel, you were defendin’ yourself.”
Just then three new wolves came charging up the trail from the direction of the property line. These were much larger than the two they fought, and looked more like Malamutes with black and gray coloring and blue eyes. They stopped and looked as if they were assessing the scene. They looked at Evan and Lila, and sniffed the air. Evan moved in front of Lila protectively. Then the largest of them walked to the unconscious wolf and sniffed him. He looked up at Lila again, sniffed, and transformed into a naked man.
Lila blinked in surprise at the sudden change. There was no elongating or agonizing contortion, he was just a wolf one second, and the next he was a naked man. A very manly naked man. With generous endowments. Lila closed her eyes and leaned against the back of Evan’s shoulder.
“Are you Sebastian’s student?” the man asked.
“Aye, she is,” Evan answered for her, “and I’m her guard. Are you Mr. Bishop?”
“I am Allen Bishop, alpha of the Bishop pack. The two with me are my seconds and my brothers, Aidin and Avery.”
“Hello. My name is Evan, and Sebastian’s student is Lila. Have you seen these two before?”
“No. We picked up a strange scent earlier and we were tracking it when we heard the ruckus and came running. I can force this one to shift, maybe he’ll be familiar in his other shape.”
“Aye, thank you, tha’d be grand.”
Evan stepped closer to Bishop, but kept Lila behind him. He held on to her right hand with his. Lila nervously gripped the back of Evan’s shirt with her other hand as they approached the unconscious shifter.
Bishop knelt and put a hand on the wolf. Lila felt an invisible wave of magic in the air, and then the wolf on the ground was a naked man. He looked very familiar.
“Is that one of the guys from the pizza parlor?” Lila asked.
“Aye, I believe it is. I wonder how he got out of jail so fast.”
The man on the ground moaned.
“Why don’t you ask him?” Bishop said.
Evan knelt, took off his sunglasses, and leaned over the shifter so that when he opened his eyes, the first thing he would see would be Evan.
The shifter moaned again and then opened his eyes. As soon as his gaze focused on Evan, he was caught in the vampire’s thrall.
“Who are you?” Evan asked.
“My name’s Tom Trent,” he answered with a woosy quality in his voice.
“Where d’you live?”
“Outside of Buffalo.”
“What are you doin’ here in New Castle?”
“We got hired to do a job here.”
“You and who else?”
“My brothers.”
“What’s the job? Who hired you?”
“We were supposed to take out the bitch who killed my brother the other night. I don’t know who hired us, my brother is the one who spoke to them.”
“Your brother the big brown wolf lyin’ dead over there?” Evan asked, pointing at the dead wolf behind them.
A whine escaped the man’s throat when he saw the dead wolf.
“Do you know why you were hired to kill the woman?”
“Because she will bring the end of the world down on all of us.”
“How did you get out of jail so fast?”
“The one who hired us has influence.”
Evan sat back on his heels and sighed.
“I need to call Sebastian to take this man into custody.”
“The shifter council should be notified,” Bishop said.
“And I’m sure they will be.”
“Your woman is still bleeding, you should tend to her. I’ll take this one into custody until I hear from Sebastian. You call him and take care of her wounds.”
Evan gave Bishop a hard look, and the shifter gave him one right back.
“Thank you,” Evan said, and he rose to his feet.
“You should both come by tomorrow to meet the rest of the pack, especially now that her scent’s changed. Come after 3.”
Evan nodded and took Lila’s hand. As they walked back to the mansion, he pulled his phone out to call Sebastian.
“I’m sorry your birthday is takin’ a turn for the worse, Angel. Does your arm hurt?”
“No.” She barely felt her arm at all. She was mostly numb.
Lila smiled weakly at Evan, but said nothing. The shifter’s confession had bothered her. Why did shifters want to kill her? Why did they think that she would destroy everyone? How did they even know she was here?
Evan felt her distress and put his arm around her shoulder as they walked. When they were almost home, Lila’s arm finally started throbbing with pain. She guessed that whatever shock she’d been in had worn off. She whimpered in self pity. This was not the birthday she’d hoped for, even if the morning had been spectacular.
In the kitchen, Evan peeled Lila’s jacket and shirt off so that he could clean her up. She had a number of punctures from the wolf biting her forearm. They were already healing, but they had left bruises behind that would take another day to disappear. She also had bruising on her back from falling during the fight. Evan washed the blood away with a damp towel, and then took her up to her room to lie down and rest a while. Lila stripped down to her underwear and crawled under the covers to fall asleep, and Evan stayed with her until he heard cars turning down Sebastian’s driveway.
Chapter 9
October
Evan was standing outside the front door when Sebastian parked his Mercedes. He was followed by Alexander’s Jag, and a plain black panel van which Adam drove. James got out of the passenger side and opened the back to let two shifters out. They wore all black, gun holsters, and had an ISF logo on their left shirt pockets. They were introduced to Evan as Shelby and Baker.
Evan gave everyone the short version of the attack, and then Sebastian gave Shelby directions to the Bishop pack’s estate. He and Baker got back into the van immediately to go collect the rogue shifter and his brother’s body from Allen Bishop.
The team filed into the house and settled in the kitchen where Sebastian started a pot of coffee, and everyone took a seat at the table. Evan told the story again, this time added the details of his questioning. Now that the threat of danger had passed, Evan had time to process what the shifter had told him, and he was pissed.
“What I would like to know, Team Lila,” he growled at the table, “Is who didn’t follow up on those shifters after they attacked us in the pizza parlor?”
No one said anything.
“Did you not ask to be informed when they were bailed outa jail, Alexander? And since when do shifters know who Lila is?
“T’ank Christ at least I was doin’ my job guardin’ her, or she might be dead now!”
The team sat in silent shame as Evan yelled. He was right, they had screwed up badly by not looking closer at the shifters when they were in police custody the first time. They had not even considered them a real threat because the fight at Tony’s pizza looked like nothing more than drunk men getting out of hand. That had been a major oversight by the team. The whole reason why there was a team was to identify and investigate all threats to the Chosen One.
“I’m sorry Evan,” Alexander said.”I’m to blame for this oversight, no one else.”
“Are you sure about that? Do you not pay the others to t’ink as well as follow orders?”
Evan stood up, disgusted with the team and the situation. He rubbed his chest as if it pained him and looked at the ceiling.
“Pull your shite together, I need to check on my girl.”
Evan didn’t realize what he’d s
aid until the words were already out, and every man at the table noticed.
“Evan,” Sebastian stood, but James interrupted.
“Since when is she your girl, vampire?”
Evan stared at James, letting him see his disdain for him.
“Since she accepted my claim, mage.” Evan walked out of the room.
Sebastian followed him to the stairs.
“Evan, is she all right? How badly was she hurt?”
Evan sighed and turned to face Sebastian.
“She’s bruised and tired from the fight, and disappointed that her day was ruined.”
Sebastian put his hands in his pockets.
“I bought her a cake. Do you think she’ll come down later?”
“You promised her no meetings today, Bastian, and you know if she comes down while they’re here, they’ll start interrogating,” Evan said pointing towards the kitchen. “I’ll tell ‘er you’re askin’ after her.”
“Thank you.”
Evan turned and sprinted up the stairs. On the second floor, he entered the guest room he had been using to fetch a large gift box before going to Lila’s room on the third floor.
He locked the door behind himself and turned to see Lila open her eyes. She looked warm and cozy under the covers. Evan put the box on the end of the bed and undressed. Lila lazily watched him and Evan felt her admiration for his body through their bond. It made him hard. He slipped under the covers and right into his angel’s arms. Lila wrapped her leg around his middle and pulled him flush to her body. She was wearing lacy white panties and a bra that revealed her tight nipples to his gaze.
Evan ran his hands all over her front and back. He could feel the slight swelling from her bruises and avoided those spots. He ran one hand down over her ass and thigh, enjoying the shape of her and the tingles her magic brought. He ignored his hard cock, just wanting to hold her and caress her for a while, to ensure himself that she was whole and well. Gods, if her magic had failed her, that wolf would have ripped her throat out before I could have gotten to her. The thought gave him a fright.
“Are you all right, Evan?”
“I am now, Angel.” He brushed his lips against her temple.
Lila could tell that Evan needed to hold her, so she relaxed in his arms and breathed him in. Lila would forever associate his earthy scent with warmth and love. Even though he’d used her honeysuckle scented body wash in the shower, she still smelled him underneath it. She imagined going to bed with him like this every day for the rest of her long life and sighed happily.
“I love you Evan.”
“I---” Evan’s voice hitched and he cleared it. “I love you, Lila, more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
Evan tightened his hold on her slightly, and Lila felt how much he meant his words. Her hand found his nape and she ran her fingers over his jawline in a light caress. She tipped her head back so that her mouth was next to his and they kissed. He pulled away to look into her beautiful hazel eyes. They were a gorgeous blue/green with a starburst of gold around the pupil. They reminded him of the sea in summer, and right now they reflected his love for her back at him. Evan gently brushed some hair away from her face.
“How did I get so lucky?” he whispered in wonder.
“Magic.” Lila smiled, and she kissed him again.
Lila poured all her love into him with her kiss, and let her hands caress him and fill him with her magic. She wished she was naked too, but Evan needed her to hold him, and there was no rush. She could spend the rest of the day like this and still have all night to make love to her mate, showing him how much she loved him.
Evan held her close and breathed in her scent. Lila was his. He nuzzled her neck. Lila giggled. He loved that sound. It was filled with pure joy, and love for him. He could happily stay right here entwined with Lila for the rest of his days. He closed his eyes and allowed the feel of her magic to take him over.
A song from his youth surfaced from his subconscious. It was a ballad about two lovers whose love for each other ran so deep that they died in each other's arms in a field of flowers and their bodies returned to the earth entwined. He began to sing it as the gaelic words and tune came back to him. His tenor voice was a bit rusty from disuse, but he sang softly and it sweetened as he sang on.
Lila listened to Evan’s lyrical voice sing the unfamiliar words and felt their meaning penetrate her soul and take up residence. She laid still in his arms, unable to move, paralized by the depth of feeling that was pouring into her. The song was stunningly beautiful, and a powerful love spell. It wound its way into Lila and fused with her magic, strengthening it. Lila’s magic stirred and reached for Evan. It enveloped the two of them in a cocoon of love and held them there for minutes after he finished singing.
Evan felt Lila’s magic wrap itself around the two of them so tightly that he couldn’t move, but strangely, it didn’t frighten him. It was changing them both metaphysically. Lila trembled in his arms and he worried that she might be scared.
“Don’t be scared, Angel, I’ve got you,” he whispered in her ear.
“What do you think this is?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t feel it’s bad.”
The paralyzing feeling dissipated as Lila’s magic receded. Evan kissed her forehead and pulled away enough to look at her. He brushed the hair away from her face.
“All right?”
“Yes, you?”
“Aye, Angel, never better.”
They smiled at each other.
“That was powerful magic, wasn’t it?’
“Aye.”
“Should we be concerned about it, you think?”
Evan searched Lila’s eyes.
“Does it worry you?”
Lila thought for a fews minutes, trying to feel for an explanation through her magic. When she tapped into it, she could tell it was much stronger now. Like she’d leveled up. Why now? How? No sooner had she thought the question than the answer just popped into her head.
“The song. It was a love song, wasn't it?”
“It was.”
“Did you ever sing it before?”
That was an odd question to ask, Evan would have expected Lila to ask what the words meant.
“I don’t remember, it’s been a very long time since I thought about it or singing, why?”
“It acted like a spell. It triggered something that boosted my power.”
“Did it? You’re sure?”
“Yes. Do you feel any different?”
Evan closed his eyes, concentrated on his vampiric magic, and there it was. His own well of power was deeper than it used to be.
“I think it boosted my power as well,” he said, awestruck.
“I hope this means I can control my magic better now.”
“Me too.”
They looked at each other with no small amount of alarm.
“Do you think I should test it?” Lila asked, her eyes getting big.
“Not today, and not without Bastian and maybe even James watching. Let it settle.”
Lila untangled herself from his embrace and sat up. She bent her knees under the covers and rested her arms on them. What did this mean? Thoughts whirled around inside her head. Magic, power, love, Evan singing, spells, love, Gaelic, magic, love, Evan, love…
“Evan, what do you know about magic spells?”
“Like the kind witches use?” he asked, sitting up next to her.
“Does anyone else use them?”
“Don’t know. And I don’t know much about witch magic, but I know of someone who does.”
“Who?”
“Xander’s mate is a witch, and I believe she’s fairly old. Why are you askin’, my love?”
Lila looked at him and smiled.
“I have a feeling that the song you sang was also a spell. That we either accidentally, or serendipitously set up just the right situation that activated it’s magic. Or maybe it was all my magic’s doing, I don’t know. But I feel like this was sup
posed to happen.”
“Mm. You were definitely supposed to be mine, Angel,.” Evan teased. He put his arms around Lila and lifted her into his lap just to hold her some more.
“Now I know why people take honeymoons,” Lila said with a giggle.
“I can’t keep my hands off you.” Evan held her close and rubbed his chin on the top of her head.
Lila sighed happily and hugged his bicep.
“I’m not complaining.”
They sat in silence for a minute, lost in their affections.
“You have a beautiful singing voice,” Lila said dreamily.
“I’m glad you like it. I haven't sung to anyone since I was a young man.”
A long buried memory came to Evan. He was on a small cot in a cell, holding a young man in his arms, Fallon. They were both naked and battered, and Fallon was crying. Evan sang a lullaby for him to ease his pain.
“Evan?” Lila could feel his pain. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Another time, Angel. I love you.” Evan focused and his gaze fell on the gift box at the end of the bed.
“I love you too, Baby.”
Evan smiled.
“Would you like to open your gift now, Angel?”
“Yes, please.”
Evan crawled over her to reach the box, pushing her onto her side as he did. Lila giggled, and ran her hands over his skin to arouse him. It worked. When he pulled the box back he had her caged underneath him. He leaned down and kissed her long and deep. He ran his hands over one lace covered breast and then the other, and he pinched the pert nipple, making Lila squeak.
“Eek! Present first!”
Evan let her go and backed up off of her. He handed her the large white box with a red ribbon on it.
Lila pulled the end of the ribbon and it fell loose. She removed it, opened the box, and parted the tissue paper. Inside she saw dark red silk embroidered with two cranes wading in a marsh. She picked up the fabric to reveal a kimono robe made from silk brocade. It felt thick and warm. The embroidery that had been folded to show on top was one of several different scenes that had been embroidered on the sleeves and bottom of the panels. Every scene had two cranes. In one they were flying, and in another they were nesting. Lila stood up on the bed and held the robe up to see it.
Magic's Love Page 17
