"Nothing yet. It's a matter of time now; the team is closing in on her. Vengeance shall soon be mine,” he noted with a darkness to his tone that would have lesser men pissing themselves. Khol was an extremely powerful demon, and he was getting sick and tired of the never ending assignment he was on. He was due for a break.
"See you soon." I ended the call, slipping a shirt over my head.
"Bram?" Goldie's voice carried through the entrance of the closet and I gave my dick a squeeze at the sound of my name on her lips. By the fuckin' moon, I needed to have her soon. But not until I won her fair and square from whoever the fuck her body was with now. My forehead started tingling, a tell that my horns were itching to break free, and I took some deep breaths to force myself to chill out. It's all good. She's here with me. Not him.
"In here. I laid your clothes out; they're on the bed. Let me know when you're dressed," I called out.
Three, two, one… "BRAM! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"
Poking my head out from the closet, a giant grin across my face, I laughed my ass off as she held the tank top up, examining the artwork on the front that immortalized how she’d gotten the nickname tiny warrior. A snail, well, a dick snail would be more accurate. A snail shell with a shriveled up penis as the body, two sad as fuck looking balls dragging behind the thing, it’s droopy antennae hanging off the head of the dick. Fucking glorious.
"I can't wear this! Did you draw this too? By the fucking stars, Bram. I can't even with you." She tried to be serious, but she started smiling at me anyway, and that lit my heart on fire.
"Fine. I'll take it off, but it is completely appropriate. You're a warrior and every male here should know about it," I conceded, but in reality, all I did was put a glamor on the image so that she wouldn't be able to see it, though everyone else would. Laughing maniacally and congratulating myself on how much of a kick ass evil genius I was, she snatched the pile of clothes and disappeared with them. Hope she likes the cheeky booty panties I stuck in there. A more scrumptious ass didn't exist in all the realms combined. Fact.
She walked back into the room, looking like a goddess. Her curves were on full display, and she tugged at the tank top around her middle.
"What are you doing?" I questioned.
"It's a little tight, don't you think?" she asked, continuing her stretching at the material.
"No. It's perfect. You're perfect."
"I don't normally wear such form fitting shirts," she confessed, her cheeks reddening. Was she… self-conscious? The fuck?
"Well, maybe you should start, Goldie. You have a sexy as hell body and it'd be criminal to hide those curves under baggy ass clothes.”
Her gaze lifted and met mine, the tension building between us. I knew she could feel it. The bond, pulling tighter with each minute we spent together. I couldn't wait to complete it.
"Thanks. So, what's on the agenda? More exploring?"
"Hmm, maybe. Let's just go see what kind of trouble we can get into, how about that?" I offered, and she smiled, nodding her agreement.
We both headed towards the door when a pained sound from behind me had me running back to her. She was doubled over, arms wrapped around her torso.
"What is it? What's wrong?" I ran my hands over her body, checking for any visible injuries, but nothing appeared to be amiss.
"Hurts. Oh fuck, it hurts, Bram. Something is pulling my insides!" she shrieked, dropping to her knees.
"Breathe, Goldie. Just breathe. It'll be okay..."
Panic rose in me like a tidal wave. What was happening? Her wailing turned into screams and each one tore my heart apart, her pain a living thing inside my body.
"I... can't... breathe..." she gasped, writhing on the floor, and then her form began flickering, like a busted neon sign.
"Oh fuck no. They're trying to steal you back. Don't let them, stay with me, Goldie, please," I called out to her, desperation lacing my tone, but I couldn't give a fuck about that right now. My horns sprouted from my head and I felt my tail elongating, tearing my jeans, my muscles bulking out as my body grew to its full size.
"Bram... thank you..." she gasped just before another soul piercing wail filled the room.
"I'm going to track you down, tiny warrior. I will find you. I pity the bastard who would dare to steal you from me like this," I told her, a threat and a promise in those words.
I blinked once and she was gone, the scream the only thing left of her in the room, and even that dissipated into silence moments later and I was left demoned out in my full form, alone, again.
With clasped hands we all sat around Saige, creating a supercharged magical circle that would hopefully be forceful enough to return her to her physical body. Gran was in charge, taking to the role easily as she ordered us about and gave directions. None of us gave a shit though, the severity of the situation having each of us admitting that we were not the most qualified person in the room for this task.
Gran was sitting on Saige’s left side, having already placed the necklace around her neck. Cam was on her right, Sloane beside him, Kai was sitting cross legged at the bottom of the bed, and my hand was firmly holding his and Bette’s. We’d gone over the spell; we all knew what we needed to say.
“On my start.” Bette looked to each of us, her face the picture of focus.
She began, and all four of our voices joined in, our chanting creating a melodic cadence that caused each of our magics to manifest. Soon wisps of color, yellow for Kai, blue for Cam, red for Sloane, black and silver for me, and dark green for Bette, all intertwined and began wrapping around our arms, moving through each of us, and into Saige.
Return to us, for all our sakes, we call you back to Emerald Lakes.
Sweat broke out on my brow, the hair around my neck growing increasingly damp with each pass of the words that left my mouth. I’m sure the others were feeling it too, but I couldn’t take my eyes off my sweetheart. The pentagram began glowing, a sign we took to mean whatever the hell we were doing was working. Bette and Kai both squeezed my hand in encouragement.
“Louder, boys, come on! It’s working, the color is coming back to her face, drop your mental shields and let’s do this shit!” Bette shouted before diving right back into the chant with renewed vigor.
Maven had been pacing on the floor when we’d started, but he dove through the circle and nestled right on top of Saige’s chest, laying his snout right on the illuminated necklace. Her body began seizing and horrible, awful sounds came from her throat. Noises that would haunt me for the rest of time.
“Come on, baby girl. Don’t fight us. Come home, little witch,” Cam pleaded, his voice cracking as our hair began to stand on end like we’d been electrocuted.
We call you back to Emerald Lakes. We call you back to Emerald Lakes. We call you back to Emerald Lakes.
The second the last word left our mouths, a blinding flash lit the entire room and Saige’s scream filled the space.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, we’ve got you,” Kai called out, placing a hand on her thigh. The purple robe she had been wearing was gone, seemingly traded in for some normal comfortable clothes. So freaking weird how the clothes come with her when she goes back and forth.
Saige’s eyes scanned the faces surrounding her and she visibly relaxed as her hands found Maven’s fur. Her hair was stuck to her face, the exertion it took to bring her back apparently not only having affected us.
“Are you hurt, baby girl?” Cam stroked her cheek in such a gentle gesture that should not have been possible from a man of his size.
“N-not anymore. The pull that brought me back was excruciating though. Does someone have water?” she rasped, clearing her throat.
“Right here, Red.” Sloane stood and snagged a water bottle from the nightstand, unscrewing the lid before handing it to her.
Maven hopped off of her chest, and Cam and Bette helped her sit up. She drank generously before giving the bottle to Bette and collapsing back down to her pillow.
“
We can’t tell you how worried we were, sweetheart. Were you safe? Did anyone harm you?” I questioned, needing to know if she’d been hurt, and how I could fix it.
“Safe enough. I did meet the demon king, though. Serious bastard, but the guy who I’d seen before, he’s actually his son, and he showed me around and kept me away from his shitty dad.” She paused, rubbing her face with her hands and Maven slithered up to her once again, pressing himself against her side. “So, how did you call me back?”
“Well, that was all Gran, Sprout. She took charge and is the reason you’re here. Thank the stars.” Kai all but pounced on Bette, wrapping her in a heartfelt embrace, his low words were for her alone, but I could hear the thanks and the sincerity in his voice.
Saige laughed softly, taking Bette’s hands and the two Wildes witches stared into each other’s eyes in an intimate moment that made me feel a bit like an intruder. Wanting to give them some space, I moved to stand and Bette’s hand snapped out, latching onto my arm.
“I don’t think so, Fish-boy. No running off. I’m exhausted, that spell took a lot out of me. I’m going to head to my house in a few minutes and you guys can fill her in. Deal?”
We all nodded our agreement, and I realized in that moment that Bette was a total alpha boss witch. She would’ve been one hell of a team lead in her hay day.
“Thank you, Gran. For everything. I love you so much.” Saige’s voice wavered as her emotions hit home.
“I love you too, child. No thanks needed, I know you’d do the same for me. The necklace you’re wearing, it’s a tether. It will keep you firmly in this realm, no more astral projecting. I’d hoped the wards we placed after the shadow demons appeared in your room would’ve stopped it, but the pull must’ve been too great. This will for sure put a stop to it. So don’t fear, you won’t ever go back there,” Gran informed her, and I raised an eyebrow when instead of relief, a flash of another emotion danced across Saige’s face. Was it sadness? Longing? Uncertainty? Whatever it was, it made me wonder if she was okay with never returning. What the fuck went on in the time she’s been gone?
Bette rose from the bed, making her way to the door, before turning back. “I’ll stop by in the morning for breakfast. French toast and bacon. Or maybe sausage? By the stars, I love sausage...” she trailed off, her eyes tracking across our bodies wistfully for a few moments before exiting the room with her usual flair.
“What can we do, baby?” Cam questioned, lying beside her, holding her hand, Kai on the other side.
“I feel like a shower is in order, I’m all sweaty. Maybe some food then? Pizza? What the hell time is it anyway? Was I gone long?” She asked, each question coming out faster than the last.
“Slow it down, Red. Last thing we need is you getting stressed right now. You were out for close to eighteen hours. It’s almost midnight, so no take-out places will be open in this tiny ass town. Any other requests for food?” Sloane told her the facts, and I thought his straight from the hip no bullshit attitude was exactly what she needed right now.
“I think I have some frozen pizzas. That’ll work. Thank you, Sloane.” She smiled at him and he returned it before muttering about preheating the oven and leaving the room.
Kai was burying his face into her neck, his purrs erupting from his chest at a volume I’d never heard from him before. Saige’s giggles had my mouth lifting at the corner, watching Kai sniff her, and lay kisses up and down her throat. Suddenly he jerked back, eyes wide.
“What is it, Kai?” Cam demanded.
Kai shook his head, bringing Saige’s hand up to his nose, running it up and down her wrist and arm, taking deep inhales.
“I just… thought I smelled something familiar, but that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Something or someone?” Cam pushed, wanting more information, and I listened eagerly.
“Thought I smelled Johnny for a second, that damn Acqua Di Gio cologne he’s always got on, and don’t get me wrong, that scent is there, faintly… but there’s something else that’s stronger, and I’ve never scented that from him.” Kai processed his thoughts aloud and then Saige piped up.
“Does it smell like old books and coffee?”
“That’s it.” Kai snapped his fingers with a dramatic flourish that only he could pull off, “But Johnny doesn’t have that smell. It just startled me for a moment.”
Kai leaned back down and continued the sniff and kiss fest, and when her hand came up to playfully push him back, he caught hold of her wrist and brought it to his cheek, the two of them staring into one another’s eyes with a longing that I could feel from where I was standing.
Silently shuffling over to scoot onto the mattress myself, Cam shot me a look that relayed his relief. We’d all been beside ourselves when our girl went unconscious, but losing someone important had always been Cam’s biggest fear. Well, at least for the past fifteen years.
"You scared me, Sprout," Kai confessed, running his fingers down her cheek.
"I was scared, too. I'm so glad you all figured out how to ensure that doesn't happen anymore, this is where I belong." Saige leaned in and pressed a kiss to Kai’s mouth.
Cam folded his huge frame around our girl, dropping an arm over her waist and snuggling his face into her hair and neck.
"Baby girl..." he rumbled, a deep sigh leaving his lips before continuing, "I would've burned down all of the realms combined to get you back. We all would have. Did you learn anything of interest while you were there? Anything that would help explain the prophecy or why this seems to keep happening?"
Sloane returned just then with two pizzas and a basket loaded up with water, diet Dr. Pepper, and beer. Saige started laughing at the sight.
"You look like a pissy little red riding hood with that basket, Sloane," she giggled, bringing a smile to all of our faces.
"First of all, Red, let's get one thing straight. I'm not little anything, and if we're going with that story, you should know I'm the big bad wolf and I'm here to eat up little Red," he glowered, my dick throbbed at the sexual current that ran through his words. Jesus.
Saige's cheeks blushed, nearly matching her fiery hair.
"Get over here with that food, man. Sprout was just about to tell us more about her time in Besmet." Kai explained, helping her sit up.
"Red. What in the name of Jupiter's cock are you wearing right now?" Sloane's eyes nearly bugged out, and we all turned our attention to her.
"It's just a tank to—" She looked down at the same time Kai's howling laughter filled the space. "That dirty fucking demon dickheaded dingleberry..." she shrieked, outraged.
"Is that a... penis snail?" Cam questioned, his eyebrows nearly hitting his hairline.
"It looks like the saddest fucking creature in all the galaxies, where did you get it? Is that a thing that lives in the demon realm? Fuck, that's the shit nightmares are made of." Sloane visibly shuddered and I laughed like hell.
"So, there's this man—"
"Better not be, Sprout." Kai's eyes narrowed and a growl built in his chest. By the moon, he was turning into a jealous fuck.
Cam's eyes also narrowed and I took it upon myself to get these alpha dickheads to stop making fools of themselves.
"Enough. Let our girl tell us her story. There are other men in the world, you know this, right? It's not like she mentions another dude and that means she's dating him. You guys are going to growl yourselves into an early grave if you keep this shit up. Knock it off."
Cam and Kai both looked sheepishly at me and then Saige, muttering apologies.
"Thanks, Guppy," my sweetheart smiled at me and I longed to press my lips against hers.
Sloane had prepared her a plate of food and handed it to her, loaded with pizza, extra parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, and a fresh can of diet Dr. Pepper. After thanking him, she immediately tore into the food, sighing when she took a deep drink of her soda. The other guys slid off the bed, moving to grab their own food.
"So, like I was saying, there's this ma
n. He's the demon prince, and the two times I projected there in my sleep, I ran into him."
She went on to explain how she'd woken on the stone floor of the castle, coming face to face with the demon king and his guards, telling us how this prince had protected her from his lunatic father.
“There’s something about him that just made me feel safe so when his father was all,” she deepened her voice, “‘what are you doing here, you trashy whore?’ I told him I was there to see his son, knowing he’d get me away from the king,” she explained.
“I’m sorry, he called you what?” Cam gritted out, his jaw ticking.
Saige put her hand on his cheek and pulled his face down for a soft kiss. “It’s fine, I’m home. Don’t worry about it, big Daddy,” she winked and Kai groaned. Fuckin’ Kai. I laughed to myself.
I know I'd just scolded the others for being jealous pricks, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a twinge at the thought of another man doing what I should have been. Protecting my family was my number one priority in life. But I was thankful on the other hand, who knows what would've happened had this prince not been there for her.
"But, oh my GODS, I almost forgot." Saige's abrupt change to anger had all of us steeling our spines, ready to defend against some unknown enemy.
"MAVEN!" she shouted and the grumpy fox barely twitched an ear in response, he'd nestled in between her thighs on top of the blanket.
"What is it, little witch?" Cam questioned, staring at the fluffy animal.
"MAVE!" She tapped him on the head with her index finger and his eyes cracked open the tiniest fraction, but they were filled with death. Saige began running her hands over his fur, lifting his head to inspect his face.
"What the hell are you doing to that fox, Red?"
"Is there a way to tell if an animal is really an animal? Or if they're a shifter... or a demon? When I was in Besmet, Bram took me to the forest and he told me that the woods are infested with white, trouble-making foxes. Now, you tell me, what the odds are of that, and the fact that I have an arctic fox sitting on my bed right now?"
The Magic Of Betrayal Page 5
