The Enchanted: Council of Seven Shifter Romance Collection

by Juniper Hart

Did he leave me here? Did he change his mind about keeping me safe? A thousand horrible thoughts flooded her, each one more inane than the next, and Simone wondered what was wrong with her. I don’t need him to take care of me. I’ve taken care of myself just fine for twenty-six years before him. Good riddance if he left!

  She hated how stupidly childish she sounded inside her own head, like she was plagued with a case of sour grapes. Had something happened to him?

  Her anger became terror. Had someone followed him the way he had followed her?

  It was then that Simone’s gaze picked him out, cornered in the living room, sandwiched between the wall and Brandy Ellerson. Hot bolts of jealousy ricocheted through her body, and Simone covered the distance between her and Theo in three strides, almost pushing over everyone in her wake.

  “—too bad,” Brandy was purring, rubbing Theo’s arm seductively as she peered up into his face. Suddenly, Simone loathed herself for not having kissed him inside the penthouse when he had so obviously wanted her to.

  He could have kissed me, too! she protested, the wash of petty jealousy and immature confusion sweeping through her as she watched Theo nod politely.

  “Are you sure? I give an amazing massage,” Brandy said, stepping in so close that her manmade breasts were fully against his folded forearm.

  Theo wasn’t granted the chance to respond. In an instant, Brandy Ellerson was three feet back and against a wall, her face contorted in shock as the wine which had been in her hand painted the white of her too-low top red.

  “You bitch!” Brandy hissed, gaping at Simone in a fury. “What is your problem?”

  “Not you,” Simone assured her, turning around to gesture at Theo. “You’re your husband’s problem. Where is that clueless asshole?”

  Theo gawked at her as she sauntered out of the living room, but out of the corner of her eye Simone saw a flash of movement. She spun and lashed out one punch as Brandy came at her with a beer bottle. The blow landed the blonde back to the floor, and a hush fell over the room as everyone stared at Simone in shock.

  “Can we go now?” Simone asked nonchalantly, meeting Theo’s eyes. “Or did you want to stay for a drink?”

  “Oh, no, no, I’m good,” he stammered. “Let’s get out of here.” The couple moved toward the door, but before they opened it to leave, Toni grabbed Simone’s arm from the stairwell.

  “Sorry,” Simone mumbled in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to cause a scene at your party, Toni.”

  To her utter shock, Toni snatched her into a hug and squeezed tightly.

  “Oh, you’re so forgiven,” Toni snickered. “Go get laid. I will forever be indebted to you for knocking that bitch out.”

  “We really should get out of here,” Theo muttered. Simone pulled away, grinning at her friend.

  “I really will call you later,” she promised. Before Toni could snort, Theo pulled her out into the lawn. He didn’t say a word until they got to her Civic.

  “I’ll follow you home,” he told her. “And then we’ll go back to the penthouse in my car.” Simone cast him a sidelong look, humiliation still coloring her face.

  “I’m sorry about how I acted back there,” she said quietly. “I don’t like that woman.”

  “I can tell,” Theo replied stoically. He turned away, and Simone sighed.

  Great. I turned him off with my stupid jealousy. She unlocked her car and let herself inside, shaking her head in disbelief at her own actions. This is going to make for some seriously awkward conversation later.

  But as she pulled away from the curb, her eyes trailed toward Toni’s house, where Brandy stood glaring at her from the doorway, Simone knew that if she had an opportunity to do it over again, she would do exactly the same thing. She gave Brandy the middle finger and drove out of the subdivision, feeling prouder of herself than she should have.

  “Can I grab some stuff if I’m going to be staying at the penthouse for a few days?” Simone asked when they had parked at her apartment. “Some clothes and whatnot?”

  Theo shrugged and nodded. “Sure. Want me to wait or—?”

  “You can come up. I mean, it’s not the penthouse or anything…”

  “I’ll try to keep my nose turned down,” Theo commented dryly. He cast her a look through his side vision. “You pack a mean right hook.”

  “I did some taekwondo back in the day,” Simone replied, making Theo laugh. He stopped when he realized she wasn’t kidding.

  “Really?”

  “What? Girls can’t do martial arts?”

  “Apparently, they can,” Theo cracked as the elevator doors opened and the two stepped onto the eighth floor.

  Simone frowned and looked at him. “It’s not funny when you’re a kid who has to take care of herself,” she informed him flatly. “It gave me confidence, and it taught me how to scare off people without doing any real damage.”

  “Tell that to Brandy,” Theo quipped. A spark of annoyance flowed through Simone, and she looked at him warily.

  “I don’t know why I did that,” she muttered, moving toward her apartment at the end of the hall.

  “I do,” Theo said, catching up to her. “You didn’t want to see anyone else touching me.”

  She spun back around and glared at him. “Yeah? So what? I’m not apologizing for it.”

  “Good,” Theo murmured, stepping toward her to cup her cheeks in his hands. “I hope not.”

  This time, I’m not shying away from him, Simone thought. I want his kiss. She raised her head and met his gaze squarely, her lips grazing against his daringly. Their eyes held, and she relished the feeling of his hot breath against her face.

  “Kiss me,” she told him. When Theo hesitated, she realized that his eyes had moved past her and were fixed down the hall. “What?” she demanded, turning her head to see what he did.

  “Are you the last apartment down the hall?” Simone nodded. “Shit. Come on. And stay behind me.” Theo was already clearing the distance purposefully, and when Simone finally caught up to him, she gasped.

  “Madre de Dios,” she muttered in Spanish as she saw the destruction before her. The apartment door had been kicked in, and it was easy to see that the place had been torn to pieces, even before she took one step inside.

  “Stay here,” Theo instructed, cautiously stepping over the threshold, but there was something in his demeanor that told her he wasn’t worried about anyone being there. Slowly, she followed behind him as he searched the ransacked apartment.

  “What the hell were they looking for?” Simone demanded in shock. “I don’t know anything about this Jackal.”

  “Jackrabbit,” Theo corrected automatically. “And someone seems to think you do.”

  “Well, they’re wrong.” She scowled. “It’s your employer, isn’t it? This is what you warned me about?”

  “Could be,” Theo sighed, rubbing his fingers against his temples. “It probably is.”

  “What would they have done if I was home? I would usually have been here on a night like this!”

  “A Saturday night?” Theo asked teasingly.

  “Really? Is this the time to be making cracks about my social life?” Instantly, a look of contrition passed over his face.

  “Simone,” he told her, gently pulling her into his space, his hands firmly on her shoulders. “Nothing is going to happen to you if you stick with me. This is my mistake. We shouldn’t have come back here. I should have foreseen this.”

  Simone blinked and shook head, feeling ashamed of herself for giving him hell.

  “It’s not your fault,” she muttered. “I’m just being a bitch. I’m sorry.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” Theo said, grabbing her hand. “From now on, you lay super low. I’m going to get to the bottom of everything.”

  She accepted his palm and followed him out of the apartment, a lingering question playing over and over in her mind. He couldn’t see my apartment from where we were standing. How did he know that something was wrong?
r />   The answer gave her chills, and she refused to believe that he had anything to do with the break-in. Then again, how else could he have known?

  9

  Simone was far too silent for Theo’s liking when they returned to the penthouse, and while he wanted to ask her what she was thinking, he was afraid of the answer.

  “Is there any alcohol in this place?” she asked lightly when they arrived. “I never did get my drink.”

  “Vodka, right?” Theo turned for the liquor cabinet in the sunken living room and dug out a bottle of Smirnoff, which had probably been there since they had found the safe house three years earlier. “How do you take it? I have no idea what mixers are here.”

  “Just pour it in a glass. A tall one,” Simone intoned with a shrug, dropping her lithe body onto the plush sofa. “I just need something to steel my nerves.”

  Theo didn’t respond, but he obliged her request, setting a full water glass of vodka in her hand.

  “I need to make some calls,” he told her gently. “Do you need anything else?”

  Her head jerked up, and she stared at him with a veiled suspicion that hadn’t been there before. “Who are you calling?”

  Theo was taken aback by the question. “I’m trying to get to the bottom of what’s happening,” he replied evasively.

  “Your employer? Is he the one who broke into my apartment?”

  He stifled a sigh of impatience. “Simone, I’m trying to figure out what’s going on exactly.”

  “But it had to be him, right? That’s who you think it is?” Theo looked at her, wondering why her tone had changed.

  “I’ve been as upfront with you as I can be without breaching my confidentiality in the matter,” he said. “You need to bear with me, Simone. I’m just as eager to put this to rest as you are.”

  Simone didn’t say anything else. She just turned her attention back to her drink and took a long sip. Theo exhaled slowly and moved toward the bedroom, both his cells in hand. He still hadn’t replied to Lane, but he knew that dealing with the senator was the more pressing issue at the moment.

  If I can get Michaels off Simone’s trail, he thought, then I can focus on whatever is happening between us. Theo dialed out to the senator’s line.

  “Ah. Just the person I was hoping to hear from,” Michaels chuckled.

  “Did you send someone to Simone Ruiz’s apartment?” Theo growled, closing the bedroom door.

  “I wouldn’t have had to if you’d done what you were supposed to do,” Michaels replied nonchalantly.

  “I was with her, Senator!” Theo barked back. “There was no reason to ransack her place.”

  “You can never be too careful, especially not when Jackrabbit is involved.”

  “She doesn’t know anything about Lanthcomb Corp. She’s just a data processor.”

  “So she says.”

  “I’m telling you, I just spent the day with her. She doesn’t know anything about the accounts.”

  “Veriday, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re purposely being daft. She left the file open to be taken—”

  “You’re wrong!” Theo’s voice was inflamed with anger. “You need to leave her alone.”

  There was slight pause.

  “Why do you sound so defensive? Do you have a personal relationship with this woman?”

  “No! No, of course not. I’m… you’re just wasting your time.” Theo closed his eyes and willed himself to even his words.

  “I’d rather you be wasting your time!” Michaels snarled in his ear. “I’m getting a little pissed having to do your work for you.”

  “Then let me do my job,” Theo retorted. “And stop making my life difficult.”

  “Captain, I haven’t even started to make your life difficult,” Michaels promised. “Find Jackrabbit. You have a week, or I swear, you’ll know difficulty.” The senator disconnected the call before Theo could respond, and he stood in his bedroom, grinding his teeth for a long moment.

  He pulled up his contacts again and called Matthew.

  “Shit, where have you been?” Matthew demanded. “I’ve been messaging you!”

  “What have you got?”

  “Can you come to the office? We’ve been doing as you asked, pouring over all the attacks, and I think we’ve found common ground.”

  “I can’t come now,” Theo told him firmly. “I won’t be in for a few days. You’ll have to send me everything you have.”

  “A few days? Captain, we have other missions to deal with other than Jackrabbit.”

  “And you can’t handle some groundwork? It’s not like we’re being deployed anywhere,” Theo snapped. He couldn’t remember a time when everyone had been so needy of his attention.

  Then again, you’ve never really given them an opportunity to be without you, he reminded himself.

  “I guess…” Matthew answered. “What’s going on? Has something happening?”

  “Nothing that concerns you right now. Just send me what you know and—” His Council phone began to ring, and Theo groaned aloud. “Just send me what you have,” he muttered, hanging up on Matthew before snatching up his other cell. “Hi, Lane. I was just going to call you.”

  “Oh, good! I wasn’t sure if my message had gotten through to you. I wanted to talk to you about the necklace.”

  For an instant, Theo considered brushing her off, but he decided it was only going to be another matter he would have to deal with later, anyway.

  “You still there, Theo?” Lane asked.

  “Yeah. What did you find out about the Collingwoods?”

  “Well, as I told you, they seem to have disappeared about two centuries ago, but it was abrupt and without warning. The last witch I could find was Elenora Collingwood, but she had been cast out of the Enchanted.”

  “Why?” The news surprised Theo. Being cast out was virtually unheard of anymore. Death was how heretics were dealt with in the common day. Even two hundred years ago, it seemed bizarre that she had been shunned rather than killed.

  “I don’t know,” Lane confessed. “It’s strange, right? I mean, if she did something bad enough to be depowered, it should have been bad enough for death. The only thing I can think of is that she either was supposed to be punished and reinstated, or she had the mercy of a Council member.”

  “One of the Aldwin witches? Who was on Council at that time?”

  “Priscilla Aldwin.”

  Theo thought back, trying to remember her, but there had been so many Aldwins over the years.

  “She died quite young,” Lane continued. “She was only in the Council for seven years.”

  “Yes,” Theo said suddenly. “I remember. She went mad. She took her own life, didn’t she?”

  “From what I read,” Lane sighed. “Anyway, she didn’t keep great records, either, so whatever I found on Elenora is basically useless. My point is, she could have descendants.”

  Theo’s heart began to pound. “And what if she does have descendants?” he asked quietly. “What then?”

  “You’re asking me?” Lane laughed nervously. “I’m new to this. I have no idea what would be done in this situation.” She paused. “Theo, have you met your mate? Is that why you’re asking?”

  “I’ve gotta go,” Theo replied, not wanting to lie to her. “Can you do me a favor, Lane?”

  “I can try… but before you ask, Theo, you must know that I’m bound by the Council.”

  “I’m not asking you to stick your neck out for me,” he assured her. “I’m just wondering what would happen to the Collingwoods if they still existed today. Would that mean certain death for them?” Saying it aloud filled Theo with bile, and he stuffed it down.

  “I’ll see what I can find out for you, Theo, but you do understand if that’s the law—”

  “I know, Lane. You don’t need to tell me what needs to be done.”

  “Are you sure you haven’t met her yet?”

  “I really have to go,” Theo said shortly. “Thanks, Lane.”
>
  He hung up and realized that his hands were shaking. Before he gave himself any chance to think, he stalked out of the bedroom and into the living room, where Simone had risen. She was staring out the balcony doors toward South Boulder Peak in the distance. She didn’t hear him coming, and she gasped when his arm encircled her waist from behind, burying his face into the small of her exposed neck.

  As quickly as she had tensed, Simone relaxed against him, her initial surprise dissolving beneath his touch. Not a word was spoken when she turned to look at him with her head only, their eyes meeting. Theo crushed his mouth to hers.

  We have no time, he thought mournfully. This is all we’ve got.

  Though the realization was horrifying, it propelled him to do what he’d wanted since the moment he’d first seen her picture in the emails. Then an almost panicked desire overtook him, and as their tongues met, the newly familiar sparks began to fly within him.

  I can’t give her up now. I’ve just only found her. There has to be another way.

  “This is crazy,” Simone mumbled. “I don’t understand it.”

  Theo’s mouth trailed along the lines of her neck, deeply inhaling her sweet scent.

  “Don’t try to understand it,” he breathed, spinning her around to meet her eyes before dropping his head lower against the silk of her dark red blouse. His fingers worked feverishly to disrobe her, and in seconds, he had her naked form enveloped in his arms as he picked her up, his lips still exploring every available inch of her body.

  The emotions coursing through Theo were overwhelming, and when he laid Simone on the bed, he felt half-drunk, blood pounding through his veins with more intensity than he could ever remember feeling. Somehow, his own jeans and t-shirt ended up on the floor at the bedside as the two became entangled in a melding of limbs and flesh.

  Never had the amulet glowed so brightly, illuminating the path along Simone’s skin and through her curves so that Theo’s mouth could sample every aspect of her body. Her cries escalated as the heat of his kisses intensified, and with Simone’s long legs draped over his muscular shoulders, he felt her tremor almost violently as she reached to pull him upward to her.