CURSED (a gargoyle shifter story): A prequel in the Underground Encounters series
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CURSED (a gargoyle shifter story)
A prequel in the Underground Encounters series
Lisa Carlisle
Contents
CURSED
Other Books by Lisa Carlisle
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1. Lucan
2. Danton
3. Mattias
4. Lucan
5. Danton
6. Mattias
7. Lucan
8. Danton
Acknowledgments
About the Author
CURSED
A prequel in the Underground Encounters Series
By Lisa Carlisle
Never cross a witch.
Gargoyle shifter Lucan is finding that out the hard way. What he thought was a fling turns out to be the mistake of a lifetime when he discovers she's bats**t crazy.
And has cursed him with dark magic.
Not only Lucan, but his brothers, Danton and Mattias as well. The vengeful witch locks them in stone and clouds their memories.
She has stolen their free will. How will they cope with the curse?
CURSED is a prequel in the Underground Encounters series, set in a gothic club that attracts supernatural creatures. Meet the three gargoyle shifters who guard at Vamps. Each hero appears in a separate story in the series.
· Danton in HEAT
· Lucan in INFLAME
· Mattias in TORCH
Damaged heroes, fated mates, and forbidden love--find those and more at Vamps. Escape into a thrilling new world of steamy paranormal romance featuring sexy shifters, thirsty vampires, sensual witches, and gorgeous gargoyles!
Start the Underground Encounters series today!
CURSED
Copyright © 2019 by Lisa Carlisle
Edited by Natasha Larry
Cover by Willsin Rowe
The right of Lisa Carlisle to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please do so through your retailer’s “lend” function. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at lisacarlislebooks@gmail.com.
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at lisacarlislebooks.com, facebook.com/lisacarlisleauthor, or @lisacbooks.
Created with Vellum
Created with Vellum
Other Books by Lisa Carlisle
Underground Encounters series
Steamy paranormal romances set in a underground goth club that attracts vampires, witches, shifters, and gargoyles.
Cursed
Smolder
Fire
Ignite
Burn
Heat
Blaze
Combust
Inflame
Torch
Chateau Seductions
An art colony on a remote New England island lures creative types—and supernatural characters. Steamy paranormal romances.
Darkness Rising
Dark Velvet
Dark Muse
Dark Stranger
Dark Pursuit
Underground Encounters series
Gargoyle shifters, wolf shifters, and tree witches have divided the Isle of Stone after a great battle 25 years ago. One risk changes it all…
Knights of Stone: Mason
Knights of Stone: Lachlan
Knights of Stone: Bryce
Seth: a wolf shifter romance in the series
Knights of Stone: Calum
Stone Cursed (a Zodiac Shifters paranormal romance)
Knights of Stone: Gavin
Stone Sentries
Meet your perfect match the night of the super moon — or your perfect match for the night. A cop teams up with a gargoyle shifter when demons attack Boston.
Tempted by the Gargoyle
Enticed by the Gargoyle
Captivated by the Gargoyle
Night Eagle Operations
A paranormal romantic suspense novel
When Darkness Whispers
Vampire Blood Courtesans
A multiple author shared world series.
Pursued: Mia
Berkano Vampire Collection
A multiple author shared World Series.
Immortal Resistance (Division 3)
Visit LisaCarlisleBooks.com to learn more!
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Lucan
He never should have messed around with a witch.
Lucan rolled his shoulders back to release the tension as he trekked the forest of the French countryside. The vivid image of how Veronique hid her tears burned in his brain. He hadn’t meant to hurt her.
What more did she want from him? They were too young, not even twenty. He damn well wasn’t going to abandon his clan and leave his brothers to run off with her.
Lucan walked the well-worn path he’d navigated in the few weeks since he’d started sneaking away from his clan to meet Veronique. The sound of snapping twigs behind him made him turn. He searched between the trees. The only movement was the sway of shadows from the foliage above. He listened. Was it an animal passing through? He sniffed at the air. Just the typical scents of foliage and wildlife. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Perhaps guilt was making him skittish, making him think he was being followed.
He approached the village where his clan lived on the fringes of the forest. The long blond hair of his eldest brother stood out among the shades of green and brown. Danton stood before their gas grill as he often did. He loved to cook, especially outdoors when the weather permitted. The savory scent of a rabbit cooking tempted Lucan.
His other brother, Mattias, stepped out of the cottage they shared. Mattias’s hair was as long as Danton’s, but black like Lucan’s. They both took after their mother’s side, while Danton resembled their father.
Mattias hummed a tune—as he often did—or he sang or drummed his fingers. It was like a song played in his mind at all times. He carried hot sauce and skewers of vegetables. It was no surprise about the hot sauce since he put it on just about everything. The vegetables had to be Danton’s insistence, since he took on the role of caretaker for his younger brothers.
Lucan reached them. “Smells good.”
Danton turned. “Good timing. We’ll eat soon.”
“You’re alive.” Mattias grinned. He put the skewers on the grill and the sauce on the picnic table where they often shared meals. “I thought she might burn you at the stake.”
Lucan snorted. “Funny.” He kicked at a rock. “She might as well have flayed me during that ordeal. It was brutal.”
“We didn’t think she’d take it well.” Danton turned the skewers of meat.
“It was worse than I expected.” Lucan leaned against a tree trunk and stared at the sky. Wispy clouds floated above. He stared at them, trying to discern a shape. Would they somehow reveal the mysteries of women?
“What happened?” Mattias broke Lucan’s drifting thoughts.
He pulled his gaze from the clouds. They provided no answers. Would his elder brothers? Probably not. None of them had vast experience with women. “I tried to convince her that we needed to slow things down. She was taking things too seriously. What she said next totally knocked me off guard. She tried to convince me that we should run off together.”
“What?” Mattias shook his head. “Is she mad?”
“I’m starting to think so,” Lucan agreed with a snort. “I tried to reason with her that it was a terrible idea. For one, we barely know each other. Two, we can’t leave our families. And three, we’re too young.” He tapped each reason with his fingers on the tree bark. “I’m not going to leave our clan, especially for someone I’d just met. Veronique wouldn’t hear of it. She overwhelmed me with her passion, her reasons on why we should. It was like she was obsessed with the idea. She wanted us to abandon everything, everyone. She freaked me out with her insistence I run off with her. No way that was happening. I told her I was not going to leave my brothers. She tried to persuade me to change my mind. I decided I wanted out and told her it was over.”
“Uh oh. I’m guessing that didn’t go over well.” Mattias drummed his fingers on the picnic table.
“Ding, ding, ding. You guessed right, my friend. That set her off even more.” Lucan shook his head. “I don’t understand her at all. She took this fling far more seriously.”
Mattias grunted. “Sounds that way.”
“We were just having some fun.” Lucan stepped away from the tree. “That’s what I get for thinking with ma bite.”
Mattias laughed. “The little head thinks for the big one far too often.”
Lucan grunted in agreement. “I’m done with witches. Remind me never to get involved with one again.”
“To be fair, you’ve only spent time with one.” Danton motioned with the spatula in Lucan’s direction.
“And one’s enough to teach me a lesson.” Lucan paced. “They’re too passionate and emotional. No common sense. Like I told Veronique, a gargoyle shifter and witch have no place together in the long term. We live in different worlds, and that’s how it should stay.”
Danton replied with a doubtful grunt and turned back to the grill. “I’m sure some have found a way.”
Lucan peered at his brother’s profile. “Do you know of a pairing between a gargoyle and witch?”
Danton pursed his lips. “No. That’s because our clan is secluded.”
“Too secluded,” Mattias added. “We’ve closed ourselves off too much from society. We need to venture out more. We’ve barely seen Paris, let alone London or the rest of the world.”
That sounded like Mattias. Their village was too small for him. Several times over the last couple of years, he’d expressed his eagerness to explore. Meanwhile, Danton thought they should remain with and contribute to their clan.
Lucan fell somewhere in the middle. He was content here, yet curious about what else was out there. He sat on a wooden bench and let out a weary sigh. “I could use a flight to offset all that drama. The tears. The accusations. The I thought you loved me. If that’s what a relationship is like, count me out.” He spread his arms wide, punctuating his declaration.
“We can head out after we eat.” Danton poked at the rabbit. “It’s almost done.” He nodded at Lucan. “Why don’t you fill our canteens?”
“Right.” Lucan retrieved them from inside the cottage. He attempted to shake off the discomfort from the breakup with Veronique, but it buzzed in his mind like an aggressive hornet. He returned to his brothers. “I don’t know what she wanted from me. We’re too young. There’s no way I’m settling down before my twenties. Hell, probably not even my thirties. I’d say well past forty before I even consider it. There’s too much of the world to explore. I can’t do so encumbered by a female anchor.”
His brothers laughed.
Mattias made the sound of striking a drum cymbal. “That’s one way to put it.”
Lucan carried the canteens as he headed to the spring. Although they had running water in their cottage, they preferred the fresh spring water. Before he took a dozen steps, a woman’s voice erupted from the forest.
“How dare you speak of me like that?”
Lucan stopped and turned at the sound of Veronique’s furious accusation. She strode out of the forest, eyes red-rimmed and burning with fury.
Merde. His pulse quickened. What had she heard?
So, he had heard someone following him. Damn it. How did he not see her?
“Veronique, what are you doing here?” He spoke in the calmest voice he could muster.
Danton and Mattias mumbled in low tones behind Lucan. Mattias muttered something like, Looks like somebody’s in trouble.
She strode toward Lucan with quick steps that made the fabric of her dark emerald dress rustle. “You think this was all a joke?” She waved her hand in a circular motion. “Some fun and games until you got tired and decided to go in search of a new toy?”
“No, of course not.” He opened his arms wide, turning his palms up.
“What now—you’re bragging to your brothers of your latest conquest?” She spat. “Before you go off to find a new one.”
“You misunderstand,” Lucan attempted to placate her. “Come now, Veronique, and let’s talk.” That was another problem. What could he say that he hadn’t said several times already?
“I’ve heard enough of your words. Lies.” She pointed at his chest.
“It’s not like that at all,” Danton added from behind Lucan.
“Back off!” She snapped at Danton. She turned back to Lucan and curled her fingers in. “I can silence your lies.”
“Hold up,” Mattias countered with a raise of his hand.
Gray smoke funneled from her fingers, followed by fiery sparks. It quickly swelled and swirled out like a charcoal tornado etched with streaks of fire. She hurled the growing mass at Lucan before he could even protest or try to block the magic.
The blast hit him like a weighted cloak and wrapped around him. He cried out, but then the smoke suffocated him and swallowed his words. He choked on the smoke, which had an odd saccharine taste and smelled like burning rubber.
The wispy threads turned solid and engulfed him in an unnatural powerful grip. His heart thundered and ribs clenched his organs.
Danton’s and Mattias’s voices sounded muted through the sludge. “What are you doing to him?” “Stop it!”
“You’re just as complicit,” she seethed. “Laughing at me.”
Their roars followed. She must have attacked his brothers, too.
Forcing himself to ignore the rising panic, Lucan tried to step through the heavy mist. He had to stop her, had to save his brothers.
The suffocating fog threatened to swallow him. He fell to his knees, gasping.
A trickle of blue broke through the gray, revealing sky. Which meant air. He could breathe!
Through the gray mist, he glimpsed Veronique, the darkness shrouding her like a widow’s veil. “You’ll do the same to other women,” she accused. “All of you. Leaving trails of heartache for your amusement.” Her expression turned wild and inhuman.
What was she talking about? He tried to protest, but his tongue had thickened in his mouth, so he could only utter slurred sounds.
“I can stop you.” The icy resolve in her voice promised danger, triggering an even greater sense of urgency.
Lucan tried to push toward her, but she threw another blast of magic at hi
m. His limbs screamed with the effort of movement. It was like crawling through concrete.
“Oh, this is a splendid sight,” she cooed with delight. “Three cocky shifters succumbing to a witch.” She clapped. “So worth it.”
Lucan tried to claw his way through, but it was futile. How could she even see anything through the darkness?
The powerful magic that captured him explained it—she’d turned dark.
Turned? Or, had she always been that way?
How had he not sensed the darkness in her?
He’d been blinded by lust, and never bothered to look any deeper.
His muscles turned taut while his limbs became immobile. Gravity grabbed him, yanking him to the earth, and fixing his feet to the ground.
On a pedestal. A stone pedestal.
This wasn’t right. His body was shifting like it never had before. His body melted like lava flowing down a mountain before it hardened to stone.
Once his body finally stopped reshaping, a scream welled in his throat, but no sound came out. He remained silent as a statue.
Because that’s what she’d turned him into.
She’d cursed him in his stone form.
A scent of something burning battled with the suffocating stench of the smoke. It must have been the rabbit and vegetables on the grill.
As the wispy tendrils cleared the air, Lucan spotted Danton and Mattias—as gargoyle statues.