Phoenixfall: A Reverse Harem Romance (The Rogue Witch Book 2)

by KT Strange

  “Um.” She blinked up at us, her face pale. “I think—" She swayed and tipped over. I yelped and bent down, grabbing her before her head could hit the ground. Eli growled and held out his hand, hauling Cash to his feet.

  “I got her,” I assured them, picking her up. She blinked at me, eyes glassy.

  “The world’s sideways,” she whispered.

  “I have you,” I promised, holding her tight. This close I could smell Finn’s bond on her skin, his mint scent woven delicately in with her own, natural aroma. She smelled like pack. I selfishly enjoyed the chance to hold her close. Cash crowded me, frowning down at her.

  “I never knew a witch who passed out every time she threw a lightning bolt,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Shit that hurt. All my muscles hurt.”

  “You’re lucky you’re alive, idiot.” Eli slapped Cash up the back of the head and glared when Cash growled at him.

  “This is nice, but I’m gonna take Darcy to the van.” I looked at them pointedly, so they’d cut it out. The bag of donuts were on the ground. “Bring those. If she doesn’t feel good, the sugar will help.”

  “I’m right here,” Darcy said, voice weak, “don’t talk about me like I’m not here.”

  A smile tugged at my lips.

  “You’re always saying that.”

  “Because you jerks are always doing it.” Her eyes fluttered shut as my feet crunched over the campground gravel. “I nearly killed him.”

  “Naw, Darcy, he’s stronger than that. He’s a big guy, he can take it.”

  “No,” her words were firmer. “It’s why I’m all loopy. I didn’t mean to spark up, I just did, and I nearly fried him, but, I dunno the words for it, I never paid attention, but it was like I shunted it right into the ground through my own body.” Her eyes were sliding shut. “I feel like I wanna nap forever.”

  “I brought donuts,” I said helpfully. Her nose crinkled, and she sighed, leaning against me.

  “You’re so sweet, Ace.”

  I didn’t want to be sweet. I wanted to be like Finn, able to sweep her off her feet and not because she was half-passing out for doing some spell-craft that was beyond my understanding. Her head lolled against my shoulder and she sighed out so loudly and went still that I had to look down and make sure she was breathing after that. Finn stumbled out of the van when he saw me.

  “I heard,” he swallowed his next word as he looked down at me. He held out his hands but I shook my head.

  “I got her.” I pushed past him and climbed into the van.

  “I’m fine,” Darcy protested, her eyes still closed. “Just need to rest. I’ll be fine.”

  I laid her down on the bed in the back with a sigh. She closed her eyes and curled up.

  “Here, sugar’ll help,” Eli leaned in the door to hand me the bag of donuts. I bit my lip. Guess my plan to make her day better would have to wait. That was fine. I settled down into one of the captain chairs.

  I’d wait all day if I had to.

  Seventeen

  Darcy

  I slept for ages, it felt like. I barely noticed when someone moved me, settling me upright-ish and buckled my seatbelt in. My whole body was done and wanted to rest. Were my powers broken from having tried to use them, successfully and unsuccessfully, a bunch of times over the last week? I’d always been so weak that I was barely able to do anything with lightning, and definitely nothing with bigger weather spells, but now?

  In my dreams I pictured actually hurting Cash, his skin blackened and crackled. His breathing shuddered through his chest, mouth gasping for air.

  “Darcy?” Finn’s voice interrupted the horrible mental image and I jerked awake, grabbing onto the front of his shirt.

  Ace was twisted in his seat, staring at me, his blue eyes searching my face. My mouth felt dry.

  “Uh, how long was I out?” My head pounded. Charlie tapped on his phone.

  “Not sure if you call whimpering in your sleep ‘out’.” Charlie lifted one hand to make air quotes. Ace lobbed an empty soda can at his head but he dodged it. Finn’s arm curled around my shoulders.

  “We’re almost to Indianapolis.” Finn’s fingers rubbed up and down my arm and I sighed, leaning into him. I felt sweaty and my tank-top was clinging to me. Changing was going to be priority number one as soon as we landed.

  “How’s the social media, Charlie?” I tried to put my nightmare about Cash behind me.

  “It’s good.” He lifted his head and seemed to think for a moment. “That’s right. Eli, can we make a stop at the mall? Gotta get our girl a new phone. And some clothes.” He turned in his seat and winked at me. “As much as I like you wearing my swim-trunks, you can’t keep borrowing clothes from Chelsea forever.”

  My cheeks were pink. I had some money left over from what I’d taken from my father’s study, but I wasn’t exactly rolling in cash. My student loans covered housing, food, tuition and books, as well as a few necessities. I’d gotten by working part-time during the year on and off, but my bank account was laughably low. I could afford to get a few things but a new phone wasn’t in the budget.

  “Um, I’ll be good,” I said, squirming. “I don’t really think I can get on the whole new-phone train. But some clothes, definitely.”

  Charlie stretched down the aisle of the van, his hand reaching for mine. Uncertain, I reached back to him. His fingers squeezed around mine and he smiled at me, the skin crinkling around his eyes. My skin tingled where he touched me.

  “We got this,” he said. Finn made a rumbling sound in his chest as he held me.

  “What?” They had what? Finn’s hand was heavy and warm on my shoulders, and Ace twisted in his chair too to look at me.

  “We’ve been doing good in merch sales,” Ace filled in the blanks as Charlie let my hand go with a nod.

  “It’s definitely in the budget to outfit our girl,” Charlie finished. My throat squeezed.

  “I can’t let you do that. Buying me clothes? No.” With a shake of my head I looked up at Finn. It was too much. They weren’t some huge-named band with massive per-diems. Sure, the tour van was nicer than most baby bands got, but they were still getting the dregs of what was left over from the bigger bands each night.

  “We want to,” Finn murmured, his voice husky. “Let us take care of you.” My cheeks were warm, and I was sure I was blushing. These guys were always putting me off-balance, but now it felt right. I was where I belonged, close to them, and in their arms.

  Ace inhaled.

  “I wanna take Darcy on a date,” he proclaimed. Silence fell in the car and I stared at him. He flashed me a quick grin. “What? You’ve never been on a date before?”

  “Growing a pair?” Finn rumbled. Ace gave him an even cockier grin and shrugged. “She hasn’t said yes.”

  “A date with your four pack-mates tagging along for back-up.” Charlie was gazing at his phone, but even with his face in profile, I could see the corner of his lips turned up.

  “You guys can wait in the food court,” Ace countered. "Darce and I can go wander. Maybe get ice-cream.”

  “She hasn’t said yes,” Finn repeated himself, his arm somehow heavier along my shoulders. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a real date. The ones with Creston had all been family or council events, orchestrated and planned, because any time we were alone he pawed at me in a way that made me just want to shove him off.

  “Yes.” I leaned forward, pulling away from Finn. “But maybe after I get something um, normal to wear.” My borrowed clothes itched on my skin. Ace gazed at me, over his shoulders, cheeks turning pink.

  “Baby boy’s growing up,” Cash said from the front passenger seat. There was a flicker of movement in the mirror, and I caught Eli’s eye. His brow furrowed, and he looked away.

  Ace couldn’t stop grinning to himself though, even when Cash started giving him dating tips.

  “Could you not.” Finn was tense beside me as he spoke. I put a hand on his knee and looked up at him. Why was he wo
rried?

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I said softly. His eyes searched my face for a moment and he pulled me in close for a hug, burying his nose in my hair. I felt his chest expand against my body, and then deflate. “All for one, one for all, remember?” It felt right, clicking back into place with them, a missing piece in the puzzle.

  His shoulders hitched, and he chuckled.

  “That should phrase shouldn’t be a turn-on, but somehow it is.” He held onto me tight and stayed close until we pulled into the parking lot of a large, boxy mall. Ace was so tense in his seat that he rocketed out of it as soon as we stopped. I was slower, unbuckling and unwinding from Finn’s grip on me. He gave me a tight, small smile, cupping the back of my neck with one hand as we stepped down onto the pavement. “Have fun,” he whispered, and kissed me, slow and warm. My muscles loosened after our long drive, my body warming, and I reached up to him by standing on my tip-toes.

  I settled down on my heels with a sigh, grinning as Ace snuck up beside me and grabbed my hand.

  “Let the kids go, Finn,” Cash drawled, amusement clear in his tone. Ace rolled his eyes, but nothing could dampen his enthusiasm. Finn pulled away and leaned back to watch us as we walked toward the mall. I gave him one more glance over my shoulder and let out a long, slow breath. Ace’s fingers were warm on mine, and he squeezed my hand gently.

  “You really okay?” he asked. The sun poured down on us form above, and I shook out my curls, letting go of his hand to rebraid the wild and rebellious strands.

  “I’m not sure,” I said after a few moments. There were some feeling inside me, shifting and churning, that I couldn’t quite figure out. Mostly, I was just happy to be back with them, and close to the pack. I could never imagine how they felt when they were close to one another, being pack animals and that sense of rightness that hummed through their veins when they were all in one place, but there was something tying me to them that had to be similar. It hummed along the edge of my senses, just out of reach. Ace grabbed my hand again as he opened the door to the mall, holding it for me.

  “You wanna talk about it?” He stayed close as the cool air prickled along my bare skin. Chelsea’s clothes were nice, but a little too small. Charlie’s swim trunks looked normal from far away but close-up they were definitely not meant for regular wear. I needed a few shirts, a pair of jeans and some shorts, underwear… shopping for intimates with a guy should have been weird, but really? After all we’d been through already, it just felt like another thing we had to do. I smiled at Ace; his eyes were narrowed slightly as he watched me.

  “Maybe later,” I said, “this is a date, right? Let’s do something fun.”

  “Talking is fun,” he grumbled but grinned back at me. “Maybe clothes first?” He gazed over my form and I blushed. New things were a priority.

  I picked the closest clothing shop that looked like the basics wouldn’t be too expensive, and Ace waited patiently at the front for me while I tried a few pairs of jeans on. I felt zero guilt about asking the shop assistant to take the tags off for me so I could wear my new clothes out, and I sighed in relief when Ace met me at the cashiers. Three shirts and a pair of jeans, some socks, and panties would get me by for a week. We’d hit the laundromats in a few days anyway.

  “You sure that’s enough?” He eyed the small bag that contained my new clothes and the old borrowed ones as we walked out. I shrugged.

  “I’m good. I can always wear merch shirts too.”

  “I like you in our merch,” he admitted with a shy little smile that made me want to kiss him. His sandy, blond hair was tousled, and when he reached for my bag to carry it, I gave in. I followed his arm pulling on the bag, leaning up. His eyes went wide for a second and slid shut. His arm wrapped around my waist and he tugged me against his chest without hesitation. His lips were so warm on mine that I shivered in the air-conditioning. Deep in my chest, my heart fluttered hard. He broke our kiss after a moment and brushed his mouth over my cheek. “You look beautiful.” He sighed into my hair and hugged me tight.

  I didn’t want to pull away. A passing teen girl staring at us made my cheeks heat up. Her eyes flicked up and down Ace and she looked at me, a clear look of envy on her face. A pulse in my belly made me cling tighter to Ace. He was mine, and I tried not to glare at the girl. It’s not like she was a threat anyway. I burrowed my face into Ace’s neck and hung on for a few moments, needing the closeness of his warmth. Maybe werewolves weren’t the only magical beings that were possessive.

  “Do you need anything else?” Ace asked as he finally let me go, and we started walking again.

  “Um,” I mentally flicked through the remaining bills in my wallet. “Some shoes probably, and toiletries and stuff. Maybe we can stop at a drug store before the show tonight?”

  “You can get anything you want, Darcy, you don’t have to pay for it all yourself,” Ace reminded me, his arm slinging around my shoulder as we ambled through the mall. Sunlight pierced the ceiling through skylights, sliding over us. “Also, maybe some food? Ice-cream?”

  “Ice-cream sounds good, or, oooh,” I paused as I saw the brightly-colored stand in the middle of the hallway. “Bubble tea?”

  “Boba?” Ace wrinkled his nose.

  “Don’t like it?”

  “Ahhh, not really, but whatever you want,” he said before making another face. “The bubbles are weird. They squeak in my teeth.”

  “They’re supposed to,” I laughed at him when he shook his head, but he went with me up to the counter anyway. The few times we were let off our leash as teenagers, Daria and I would order bubble tea at the mall and pretend like we were mundanes, sitting by mall fountains and watching the other people our age who had no idea there was magic running through the world just out of their perception.

  The chocolate milky tea was just thick enough to fill me up and Ace even tried a sip.

  “I wanted to get you ice-cream,” he protested, as we sat at a table, him nursing a plain iced tea with no tapioca balls in it at all.

  “What’s up with the ice-cream?”

  “I could’ve licked it off your lips,” he said, a mischievous smirk quirking up the corner of his mouth. My face felt hot, and I cleared my throat. I wasn’t used to him being like, well, this.

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh. Maybe next time don’t mess with my plans,” he teased. I stared hard at my bubble tea for a moment then snuck a peek at him. He was still grinning at me, looking more relaxed and happy than he had since I’d come back to the pack. I reached out for his hand and he grabbed it, pulling it up to kiss my bare palm. “I missed you, and I never want you to do that again, but I get why you ran.”

  “You do?”

  “Next time you think we just want you for what you can do for us, ask first before running.” Ace let go of my hand and settled back in his seat, arms crossing his chest. “We never thought we’d find a girl like you, Darcy, and I don’t mean a witch. I never thought I’d fall in love with a witch, let alone talk with one that didn’t want to kill me. I love you for who you are, and when you ran,” he took a breath and closed his eyes. “It felt like when the hunters broke our pack, and we almost lost everything. I still had the guys, but it was like walking around with most of my heart ripped out of my chest.”

  The lingering taste of chocolate milk at the back of my throat went sour. I swallowed hard.

  “I’m sorry,” my voice was low and weak.

  “I don’t want you to be sorry.” His eyes, normally a soft, gentle blue, were pained. “I just—please don’t leave again. Please. Unless we do something to deserve it, and I’m pretty sure Cash learned his lesson. Just talk to us.”

  “I’m not really used to talking.” I looked away, not able to meet his gaze any longer.

  “I get that, I do,” Ace insisted, leaning forward. I had to look at him, even if I didn’t want to. Shame crept across my cheeks in the form of a hot blush. “But the pack always sticks together. If we don’t, we die. We’re nothing with
out each other, and we’re nothing without you.”

  “I…” There was nothing I could say to get around his focus. He was right, though, and his voice was so gentle that I didn’t even feel attacked. I just felt like I’d let them down.

  Ace groaned and rubbed a hand over his face slowly.

  “Man, I am the worst at dates,” he said, startling a laugh out of me. “I’m sorry. I took you out, and here I am, making you feel awful.” My shoulders relaxed, and I took a slow sip of bubble tea.

  “It’s okay, I think we needed to talk this out. I can’t promise I won’t want to not talk again, like before, but I will promise to not run. Is that enough?”

  “More than enough.” Ace leaned across the table, his look intense. I knew what he wanted and leaned in as he kissed me softly. “Just you, here? It’s enough.”

  Eighteen

  Darcy

  We met up with the rest of the band out by the tour van, Ace’s warm arm slung around my shoulders. He’d talked me into getting a few more clothes, saying that they’d saved on per diems the entire time I was gone and that, plus the money from great merch sales, meant they could afford to treat me. The clothes were different from what I’d come on tour with, darker, more jewel tones, and the look of glittering appreciation on Finn’s face mirrored Ace’s expression from earlier.

  I felt beautiful and when Finn stepped up to me, eyeing Ace for a moment before leaning down to give me a kiss, Ace still pressed in close, I knew I could never run again.

  This, these guys? They were my home and my everything. Cash leaned against the side of the van, arms crossed, for once a broad and happy grin on his face.

  “Lookin’ good there, Llewellyn,” he said, and even though his posture was easy and relaxed, his tone was just this side of tight, like he wasn’t sure how I’d react. I stuck my tongue out at him and shook my head.