by Ivy Asher
I look away from Nash’s penetrating gaze, not sure what to say.
“Yeah, I thought all the killing would stick with me more, but when I think back on what happened, two things stick with me. How I felt when I woke up tied to a chair in that cellar, and what happened in the back of the SUV that night,” Kallan confesses softly.
I look over to Kallan as his words taper off, but he’s staring at the ground.
“I see ash and blood when I close my eyes at night...and you, curled as small as you could get in the back of the car,” Enoch tells me, his haunted gaze fixed on mine.
The ball of magic in my hands fades to nothing, and the room falls silent as the confessions absorb the weight and pain of the memories they hold.
“I was tied to a chair in that same cellar,” I monotone, staring down at the runes on my hands. “I couldn’t get free. Talon was talking to me, warning me. But I couldn’t find him, no matter how hard I tried. Then, Laiken was there.”
I rub at my chest as an ache begins to build behind my sternum.
“I couldn’t get to her. She was screaming, telling me that I need to run. She was terrified.” My voice falls to a whisper. “That’s when I woke up.”
My heart starts to pound with the memory of her voice and the terror that was in it. I look around the room for her cedar box, needing out the reassurance that it offers me, but I quickly remember that it’s not here. She’s with Sabin.
I’m not sure why I’m telling them what happened. Maybe it’s because Nash shared, and I feel obligated to do the same. Or maybe he’s right, and I just need to get it out; purge the feel and impact of the nightmare, through my words.
“Do you think it means anything?” Becket asks me, as he slides down the door frame until his butt meets the polished concrete floor.
He rests his forearms on his knees and waits for me to respond. I shrug. I scrub at my face with my hands, tired and trying to work through my thoughts about everything. I’m not safe here. That pressing feeling has been growing more and more persistent since the lamia attack. But I can’t sort out what it means exactly. I’m not safe in Lachlan’s house? That’s what I felt initially, but I’m not there anymore. I don’t feel threatened by Enoch and this coven, so does this feeling mean I’m unsafe in Solace, amongst casters, or is it the elders that are setting off this unease?
“Where’s your gym?” I ask no one in particular.
I know there has to be one here somewhere. These guys are too built and defined, to not work out on the regular.
“I’ll show you,” Enoch announces, standing up from where he was sitting on the bed.
I move to follow him and realize that I’m still just in my underwear and a tank top. I slide open the closet door and snag a pair of yoga pants from a drawer. I pull them on and track down a sports bra. I push the straps of my tank top down and pull the fitted bra over my head. I secure everything in place and pull the straps of my tank back up. I turn around to try and figure out what box my shoes might be in and realize everyone is frozen and staring at me. They’re acting like they’ve never seen a female’s back before. I know I didn’t show them anything else.
“What?” I ask irritably.
Why do I feel like I’ve just done something I shouldn’t have? Enoch clears his throat, and it snaps the others out of whatever trance they’re in. He walks out of the room, and one by one the rest of us follow.
12
I shut my door and glare at Pebble as he makes his way around the Jeep to me. I cross the street, quickening my pace to put as much distance between me and Pebble as possible. I grumble to myself as his heavy boot-clad steps sound off behind me. When my Jeep showed up this morning, I immediately jumped in, eager to put some space between me and the coven of casters I’ve shared too much of myself with over the past twenty-four hours.
Every single one of them worked out with me for hours this morning. I just wanted to work the feel of panic and death out of my system, but instead I was painfully aware of their eyes on me and a strange energy in the air. I set a punishing pace for myself, in an effort to distract from whatever the hell was going on, but it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.
When everyone broke off to get cleaned up, I took the fastest shower ever and worked on a plan to get the hell away from all of them for a little while. The sight of my baby-tank Jeep being driven through the front gates was all the invitation I needed. I was on cloud nine as I made my unnoticed escape. Well, until a sneaky Pebble opened the passenger door and climbed in. I had to make the split-second decision to either try and get him out of the vehicle and blow my chance to get some time away, or just accept that today I’d have a babysitter.
I approach the tattoo shop, and I can’t help but chuckle at the name. I’ll Get You My Pretty is stenciled on the windows in a green color that matches the face of the fictional witch that made the saying famous. I open the door, and instead of a chime a shrill cackle announces my arrival. A short, bald man in a well-fitted aubergine suit gives me a quick once-over.
“Who’s your appointment with, my sweet?” he asks me.
His voice would make James Earl Jones jealous. It’s deep and smooth, and I’m completely taken aback. I would never have guessed that voice belonged to this pocket-sized man. He gives me a warm smile, and I match it. It’s probably a safe guess that I’m not the first, and won’t be the last, to show shock over the dichotomy of his size versus the depth in his voice.
“I’m here to see Mave,” I tell him, just as my svelte pink-haired shifter friend rounds the corner.
“Vin!” She greets excitedly, skipping over to me and pulling me into a strong hug. “You finally here for those nipple piercings we talked about?”
Mave gives me a cheeky wink and a teasing smile as we pull apart. But a choking sound has both of us looking behind me to find Pebble giving himself a hard slap on his chest and coughing to clear his airway. Mave gives him an appreciative scan, and me a questioning look.
“No piercings for me, but Pebble here has been begging for a magic cross. I thought you’d be just the girl for the job.”
Mave’s smile is blinding, and she shakes her head, amused. “Just when I think I have your kink level figured out, you go busting out terms like magic cross.”
She chuckles. I flutter my lashes at her innocently and give her a sweet grin. She looks back over at Pebble and gives him a wink, motioning for him to follow her. He blushes ever so slightly and does exactly as instructed—such an obedient little puppy.
Well, well, well what do we have here? I muse, as I watch Pebble’s gaze fix on Mave’s ass. His eyes shoot up to her face when she turns around and ushers us into a small, clean room.
There’s a chair that looks like something I’d find in the dentist office, and Mave directs Pebble to have a seat.
“So, were you looking to have both piercings done at the same time, or one now and the other when you’ve healed?” Mave asks, her professional mask slipping into place.
Pebble looks at me for guidance, and it’s all I can do to keep my face straight and not crack up.
“Um, what exactly is a magic cross?” Pebble finally asks.
“I’ll show you,” Mave answers sweetly, and she moves to get something from a cabinet in the corner.
When Mave gives us her back, Pebble shoots me a glare, clearly not appreciating being out of the loop. My overly sweet facade completely falls to pieces, when Mave turns around abruptly holding a very lifelike replica of a man's lower torso; ass, dick, balls, and all. Pebble’s eyes grow huge, and he freezes when she wraps a hand around the generous prosthetic member and proceeds to shove a needle through the tip. The first needle goes through vertically and then she adds another needle through the tip horizontally.
“See, a magic cross,” Mave announces, as she slightly wiggles the fake phallus at Pebble.
He scrambles out of the chair and as far away from the needle-tipped, replica-cock as possible.
He covers his crotch wi
th both hands and stares at the needles with pure panic. “Oh, fuck no.”
He narrows his eyes at Mave, and then at me, as we both burst into hysterical laughter. Just when the laughs start to die down, Mave shakes the needle-cock at Pebble and the squeal that he lets out as he tries to get away from it would put a Belieber to shame. I wipe tears from my eyes as I get my shit together, and Mave pulls the needles out of the fake dick and drops them in a sharps container. Pebble winces and moves further back into the corner of the room.
“Oh man, that was too easy,” I admit, my laughter finally beginning to taper off.
“You really should be nicer to the casters you’re collecting for your harem, Vinna,” Mave playfully scolds me.
“Please, he should be so lucky.” I wink at Pebble as he glares back at me. “Mave this is Pebble; Pebble, Mave. He’s my assigned babysitter. Not a contender for future mate status.”
Mave’s smile falls, and her face becomes serious. “What’s going on, everything okay?”
I run my fingers through my hair and huff out a resigned breath.
“The elders yanked me from my uncle’s house. Things weren’t going so great for me there, and it gave them a chance to start meddling in my life,” I grumble, and shoot a scathing look over at Pebble.
He’s unfazed by my ire, too busy checking Mave out to notice my glare.
“I tried to convince them that I’m fine on my own, but apparently casters are treated like mindless children until they have their awakening.”
I roll my eyes, and Mave gives me an understanding nod.
“You’re going to love this part,” I tell her, my tone overflowing with snark. “I’ve been sent to live with Enoch Cleary’s coven and given Pebble here for my protection.”
I’m sure to put exaggerated air quotes around the last part. I’ve already proven that I can take Pebble when push comes to shove. There’s really no reason for him to still follow me around. Or pretending that he’s here for any other reason other than spying on me and keeping me from doing anything the elders don’t want me to do.
“Why the fuck did they put you with that coven of assholes?” Mave exclaims.
I give an incredulous snort. “Why do you think?” I roll my eyes. “They gave Elder Cleary temporary guardianship over me. He felt that his son’s coven was where I’d be most comfortable, being that they’re big strong casters and their magic is the most compatible with mine.”
Mave scoffs and gives me a knowing look. “Sounds completely innocent and not at all self-serving to me. I’m sure Elder Cleary and Elder Albrecht aren’t hoping that you trip and land on one of their son’s dicks, right in the middle of a bonding ceremony.”
I laugh, and Pebble coughs, obviously uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation and our talking shit about his bosses.
“Oh come on, Pebble, put on your big boy panties, and take off your blinders. You know as well as we do what’s really going on here.”
He shakes his head at me, but it’s not lost on me that he doesn’t say anything to refute our claims and suspicions.
“What are you going to do?” Mave queries.
“What can I do? The guys submitted a Bond Claim, but I’ll give you one guess as to who decides whether I can be with them or not. If the elders deny it, I’m fucking stuck until my awakening, and I come into my full power.”
“Holy shit! That was fast. Those boys aren’t wasting any time trying to get you on lockdown,” Mave exclaims with raised eyebrows, and a look that’s half impressed, half shocked.
“What can I say, my magic brings all the boys to the yard.”
I start to sing the rest of the song and dance around. Mave laughs, and the tinkling sound of it breaks up the tension that was building inside of my chest. The thought of being stuck with no control over my life for the next couple of years sits heavy on me.
“Well, you obviously need to let off some steam, and lucky for you, my pack has a moon ceremony tonight. We can party it up, get drunk as fuck, and forget all about life’s problems. Tru has been asking about you,” she teases.
“Tru doesn’t talk, Mave, and the last thing I need is another guy sniffing around where there’s not a chance.”
She laughs. “He talks in the pack link. No one wants to go running with him anymore because he just wants to recap you fucking up those caster pricks. I think it’s less of a crush and more that he really wants to see you fight again.”
I chuckle at that revelation and Mave’s look shifts from innocent amusement to saucy.
“But now that you mention it, if those delicious caster boys of yours are about to put you on a magical leash, maybe we should arrange a little puppy pile for you. You know what they say, once you go wolf you never go...well... fuck. I was going to try and come up with something on the fly, but nothing rhymes with wolf.” We both crack up. “Seriously though, they’re big, virile, bossy, and experts at coaxing out a good howl, if you know what I mean.” She elbows me and wags her eyebrows.
“Is anyone in your pack going to care that some witch is crashing their party?”
“Fuck no. Not when I’m the one vouching for you. Plus, we both know you can handle yourself.”
Mave winks at me and saunters over to Pebble. She runs a finger down the front of his black t-shirt and looks him square in the eyes. Her lips purse slightly, and I watch as Pebble’s breathing speeds up.
“Now, are you going to behave yourself and be a good boy tonight? Because if you start any shit with my pack, I will make sure that Vinna holds you down while I officially introduce your dick to the magic cross.”
Pebble visibly swallows, and his pupils dilate. I can’t tell if he’s nervous or turned on by Mave’s threat. I have a sneaking suspicion that he doesn’t know either.
This is going to be fun.
13
A cool breeze brushes past me and chills rise up on my skin. I’m seriously regretting the white off-the-shoulder peasant top that Mave forced me into.
“Why can’t I just wear my t-shirt again? It’s kind of cold up here,” I whine, for the thousandth time since Mave started throwing clothes at me from her closet. I magically styled my hair straight, and a breeze catches the thick black-brown strands and pushes them back and away from my face.
“Vin, I don’t care what you say, but a t-shirt that says Tryna look like one of those rap guys girlfriends does not set the appropriate tone for how tonight is going to go. Now, stop with the whining. As soon as we get a couple of sips of Cyrus’s moonshine in you, you’ll be happy you wore something light and breezy.”
Mave smooths out her maxi dress, grabs my hand, and pulls me along behind her. Pebble, my ever-present and obnoxious shadow, falls into step right behind me. We make our way from the cluster of houses that the pack resides in, through the trees, and toward a clearing. The meadow I’m half dragged to has fairy lights crossing high above it. The strands of twinkling white bulbs have been strung up in the tall branches of the surrounding trees. It’s beautiful and creates a laid back, intimate vibe. Tables of food and drinks border the large crowd of people all standing and socializing in the center of the clearing
I see Kaika’s big frame with a group of younger looking shifters. He’s playing with them, which surprises me. The one and only time I met him at the cliff diving outing, he was the wolf shifter version of Grumpy Cat. I run my palms over my jean-clad thighs, feeling a little uncertain as we approach the large gathering of shifters. Mave insists it’s fine that I’m here, and her family has been nothing but welcoming since I showed up on their front porch, but I can’t help but worry that at any second my welcome’s going to get worn out. I know that things are usually tense between shifters and casters, and I don’t quite know what to expect tonight.
Mave’s parents wave at us from across the clearing, but they stay standing with their friends chatting and laughing. Mave’s family is everything she described them to be: loud, chaotic, rowdy. But they’re loving and supportive, bonded in
a way that I’m envious of. Spending the afternoon with them while they joke and harass each other has me missing my guys more than ever.
I went outside later in the afternoon to try and call them again, but there was still no answer from anyone. When I stole my small bit of freedom this morning, they were the first calls I made. None of them have been reachable all day, and no one has called me back.
I’m starting to get a little nervous about it, but every time I go to use my runes to contact them, I talk myself out of it. They have lives and are probably just wrapped up in something. I keep telling myself not to be that girl. The one who needs to know where they are and what they’re doing every second of the day.
Mave tugs on our intertwined hands when I’m apparently not moving fast enough for her.
“I’ll introduce you to the Alpha first. Once we get that out of the way, we can start the debauchery.”
She tugs me straight towards a group of males, each taller and more ripped than the next. Mave elbows and shoves her way through, and they chuckle and slowly move aside to make way for her. She stops in front of a man who looks like he could be Idris Elba’s brother. He’s big and radiates a raw gruffness. His clothes are clean cut, he doesn’t have a beard, and his hair looks like he just came from a barber, the lines and fade are crisp and clean. His black eyes land on Mave, and I notice that she looks at him, but their gazes don’t actually connect.
“Alpha, this is my friend Vinna. She is the one who helped Tru out when he ran into trouble. Vinna, this is Trent Silas. Alpha of the Silas pack.”
Mave steps back from the large imposing figure of her alpha and lowers her head respectfully. Unsure of what to do exactly, I wait for him to say or do something that signifies a greeting; offer a handshake maybe, or give a grumpy nod of tolerance at least. But he stands there quietly. I take in his navy blue chinos and his short sleeve denim shirt that’s buttoned all the way to the top.
