Winter's Awakening (Light Coven Chronicles Book 1)

by Alessandra Jay

  Charlie is so happy that she doesn't even care about turning every single head in here just now. Mack turns around and gives her a thumbs up. Then she looks at me and motions for me to go over there. I make my way, and Charlie grabs her things to walk with me. I wasn't planning on getting a job, especially not in my first week. But the girls are right. This place is magical. Definitely not something I should pass up.

  Evan

  I can’t stop thinking about that skater girl. On the first day I saw her, I thought she was beautiful. But it seems she gets more stunning each time I see her. And watching her on her skateboard was way more attractive than I ever thought it could be. It has been decades since I last rode and seeing her made me want to ride again but alongside her. I’ve never thought of a girl this much and don’t even know her name, not yet anyway. I'm speaking to her the next time I see her. I swear it. I almost did a cast to find her. Then I stopped myself. It would be an incredible invasion of privacy, especially if she was a caster. She would feel me searching her out. I do want to figure out why the Chamois demons are so attracted to her though. A second one in the same week is out of the ordinary. I could swear she feels them by her. But again, I sense no magic in her. Who is this mystery girl?

  Lucas grabs the remote out of my hand and says, “You're thinking about her again, aren't you? I could tell cause you have been staring at the TV without moving.” All I could do was shrug my shoulders. So he shakes his head and drops the subject. We have been waiting for Derek to finish getting ready for over two hours. That jerk set us up again. Typical for him to continue doing this. It’s always a successful night for him, if he includes Luke and I tagging along for the poor girl’s friends. At first it was pretty entertaining, but it got boring fast. When he came back inside last night from finding out what our neighbors were doing and told us we were accompanying him to their house, Luke flipped. He made Derek swear it was the last time, and I'm thankful for it. Because if he didn't do it, I would have.

  The only reason we agreed to go was because we weren't even really going anywhere. He got a date with the girl next door, which means we can get up and leave whenever we want to. We promised Derek we would stay for dinner. But if it got awkward after, we would be done and back here. He swaggers over to the front door and says, “Alright. Now that the best-looking one is ready, let’s go.” Luke rolls his eyes and stands up, as I grunt and follow. As he gives me a playful dead arm, Luke says, “Let’s just get this over and done with. Evan’s got more daydreaming to do about this mortal girl.”

  Scarlet

  After I met the owner of the cafe and his wife, who were both so nice, they asked if we wanted to get started right away to learn the basics. It was a good idea, and we agreed to stay. But now we smell like coffee. I think it was smart that we only told them we could work two to three days out of the week. Mack's guests will be here in two hours, so that gives me time to shower. I have the perfect plan. I’ll have to start cooking right away, so we can feed them and get them out quickly. If Charlie looks to be having a bad time, I’ll say I need her help. That way her and I will be in the kitchen, away from the company. The only thing that can mess this up is if Mack and the guys follow us into the kitchen. But at least I’ll be too busy cooking to entertain a guy.

  As I'm passing Charlie's room to go shower, her door swings open. “I thought I heard your door open. Listen, we need to come up with some type of plan to get out of this,” she whispers, looking nervous. “I have a plan. I was thinking I might need some help making dinner. That way, Mack and her guests can stay in the living room, while we stay in the kitchen by ourselves.” I wiggle my eyebrows at her and continue my way towards the bathroom. Just before I close the door, she yells, “You're the best, Scar!”

  Chapter 7

  Fated Meeting

  I don’t know how long I’ve been in the shower and, frankly, I don’t care. Strangely, I'm in a great mood, and I don't want to let this one nerve-wracking night ruin it. The plan I came up with is brilliant, and I can’t stop thinking about mystery guy. His eyes, his unruly hair, and his full lips. I wonder what they taste like; what his voice sounds like, or what he smells like? Louder than intended, I giddily start singing a favorite song of mine, called Teenager in Love. It’s by Dimitri's favorite band, Dion and the Belmonts.

  The water starts turning cold, and I immediately turn it off. As I wrap myself in my towel, I curse when I realize I forgot a small towel for my hair in my room. I'm going to have to make a run for it, so my hair doesn’t soak the floor. My hand is on the doorknob of the bathroom door, when I feel hot sparks going down my spine. I shiver, and goose bumps appear throughout my entire body. Usually with this feeling I’ll be confused, but I'm starting to savor it now. I must be thinking about him too much. Even so, I wish I could see him right now.

  For now, I’ll keep him fresh within the privacy of my mind. I don’t know how much time I have before the guys arrive now, since I took so long in the shower. So I quickly open the bathroom door and race to my room without looking up. If I look up, my hair will drip onto the floor. Bam! Suddenly I run right into what feels like the wall. But it’s not a wall. It’s a guy, a guy’s chest, to be exact. I rub my forehead because that’s what took the hit. Then I hear a chuckle, and he takes my elbows to steady me. The second his hands touch my skin, I feel heat and electricity form directly under his touch. I quickly look up, and our eyes meet. Again, my spine turns into electric lava. Being this close to him is making it a lot more potent and intense. He looks at me with confusion as we both shiver. I look down at his arms and see the goosebumps rising along his rough skin.

  He asks in a deep and sultry voice, “Are you okay?” My knees get weak, and I almost lose my footing. I nod my head and freeze. Say something, Scarlet! “I'm okay, thanks,” as I rub my soaking wet head one last time. I can feel the water in my hair pouring down my back, soaking the towel and soon, the floor. One side of his mouth lifts up, and he gives me a smirk that could melt my insides. I feel my cheeks getting hot and instantly panic. The last thing I need him to see is me in a towel, blushing. But it’s too late. I know my cheeks are beet red. I look down at my feet and mumble, “I guess I’ll see you in a minute,” while turning away without looking back at him. If I do, I’ll probably get even more red, and he’ll really think I'm crazy. I'm about to close my door, but I stop when I hear him sing the same song I was just belting out in the shower. Oh, my God. He heard me singing!

  I can’t believe he actually knows the words to the song though. That’s a first. I close my door and lock it, leaning back against it and talking myself out of having a panic attack. I’ve got to stay cool. My goal is to look really cute but not like I'm trying too hard. I race over to my closet, grab my tight denim jeans, and a burgundy peplum top. Then I quickly do my makeup and weave a side fishtail braid in my hair. I’ve been in here for 20 minutes, and I'm now so eager to get out there. After taking a deep breath, I open my door.

  Realizing that I need to start dinner right away, because I took so long in the shower, is ironically making me sad. Now that I know who the guests are, I'm hoping my plan backfires, and they do follow us into the kitchen. I'm about to turn the corner when I feel my spine go into a frenzy. I'm going to have to ask Demi about this. This is something I’ve never felt before, and I know he feels it, too. I walk into the living room, and Mack jumps up. “Scar! Finally.” I look over at Charlie, and it looks like she didn't even hear Mack. She’s trying so hard not to stare at the boy next to my mystery guy. And it looks like he’s trying just as hard to keep his eyes off of her. I'm lucky he is here, because she totally would've ruined the plan.

  “Meet our guests.” Mack steps aside and stands me right in front of three, of the most good-looking guys I have ever seen in my life. I didn't know I was holding my breath, until Mack whispered in my ear, “Breathe, Scar.” She chuckled and got to the introductions. “Scarlet Winter, this is Derek Mason. He was the one tryin’ to crash our girl’s night,” then
she giggles. He stands up and strides over to me, like he knows he’s flawless. But I mean, who can blame him? He looks to be about six-feet-tall, with a dashing comb-over on dark brown hair and dark hazel eyes. Although he doesn't look to be as built as the other two, he still looks like he can crush you with one finger. Derek slightly bends and takes my hand, kissing the top. “Hi, Derek. Nice to meet you.” I say amused. He turns and returns to his seat on the couch.

  Mack continues, “This is Derek's brother, Lucas.” This one is taller than his brother by a few inches. They have the same dark brown hair, but Lucas grew his out to reach his shoulders, long and wavy, and his eyes are tinted green. He very elaborately bows and says, “Madam.” It causes Charlie and me to giggle, and he seems pleased that he got that type of reaction from us. She finally says, “And this is their cousin.” My stomach drops, and my palms get sweaty.

  Cutting her off, he steps forward to stand directly in front of me. He simply and sultrily says, “I'm Evan White.” My breath is caught in my throat, and I have seemed to forgotten how to speak. Now that I am looking at him with clarity, his stunning face sucks all of the life out of me. He’s the tallest of the three. His skin tone is light but naturally sun-kissed, leaving him at the perfect light brown. His hair is the same dark brown as the other two, but he has a few lighter strands in it. It reaches just above his eyebrows, leaving the nape of his neck open and vulnerable. He has big puppy dog eyes that stare down at me, with so much mystery and intensity. They're a green-yellow hazel. His arms are so muscular, and it’s making me wonder what the rest of his body looks like.

  That dangerous thought alone made all the blood rush to my cheeks. And there was no hiding it. Almost as if he’s reading my thoughts, he looks at me as one side of his mouth lifts up, just like he did earlier. Mack clears her throat, reminding me that we’re not alone. Causing me to blush even more, if that is even possible. He gently brings my hand up to his smooth plush lips, and leaves a soft kiss on the top of my quivering hand. In a soft whisper, I finally answer him. “Nice to meet you.” He responds just as softly, “It is certainly very nice to finally meet you.”

  I feel like we’re in our own world. We can’t take our eyes off of each other. Mack asks, “Finally?” Again, she reminds me that we’re not alone. “Wait. Scar, is this the cafe guy?” I snap my head in her direction, and I can feel my eyes bulging out of my head. She throws her hand over her mouth and apologetically shrugs her shoulders. I dare to look back at Evan, and his smile continues to grow bigger. I look down at my feet, embarrassed, and I decide that I'm going to follow through with the plan.

  “Um, I'm going to go start on dinner. Charlie, wanna help?” I look over at Charlie, who is no longer trying to hide the stare-off she’s having with Lucas. I don’t think she even heard me speak to her.

  “Charlie?” I try again. She slowly pulls her eyes away from him and shoots straight up. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Okay,” she nervously stutters. I quickly hook my arm in hers and almost have to forcefully pry her from her spot. “Okay. This night just went from zero to a million,” gushes Charlie as we enter the kitchen. “Did you see Lucas? Did you see his eyes? Oh, my God. He’s perfect. Now I think I know exactly what you mean with your mystery guy.” Amused, I ask, “Charlie, did you not notice the other two guys sitting right next to him?”

  “Well, not really. Mack and her guy can already barely keep their hands off of each other. And the other one is really quiet,” she replies, turning a little red in the cheeks herself. I quickly and quietly spit out, “That quiet one is my cafe guy!” She takes a loud sharp intake of breath, and her hands fly over her mouth. I sit up on the counter and nod my head, “Yeah, I know.” Charlie desperately asks, “What the heck are we gonna do, Scar?” I run my hands over my face, feeling defeated. “I don’t know, girl. I don’t know.” Then a thought comes to me, and I straighten up. “Wait here.” I instruct her, jump off of the counter, and run out of the kitchen towards my room. Then I pull out the perfume bottle that Demi gifted me and run back to the kitchen.

  Charlie nervously complains. “How is perfume going to help us, Scar?! I'm really freaking out over hare, and you come back with perfume?” I don't want her catching on to the perfume being enchanted, so I play it off like I just wanted to smell nice. Once I spray it on I instantly feel all of my muscles relax, and my brain is less jumbled. Without asking Charlie, I quickly spray the perfume once over her head. Thankfully it falls over her before she jumps back. I see her shoulders comfortably sag and her aggressive tone changes as she continues, “Whoa. What just happened?” All I could do was shrug my shoulders.

  I don't know why it was so funny to us, but we were both doubled over, clenching our stomachs from laughing about nothing. The knock on the kitchen door quickly shut us up. If it was Mack on the other side of the door, she would've just walked straight in. It has to be one of the guys. Charlie and I look at each other, and I shout, “come in!” Lucas pops his head in, and I hear Charlie gasp, like she’s seeing him for the first time. I know Demi said not to use more than one spritz, but what could it hurt? I’ll use one more for the both of us.

  Lucas walks in and has his back to us, as he shuts the kitchen door. I take that moment to spray us and quickly shove the bottle into the first drawer that my hand touches. My brain and body feel numb and I definitely feel loopier than I did a second ago. Stupid, Scarlet! Always listen to your sister. I chastise myself as I take a peek over at Charlie, who is looking at me like I'm crazy. Lucas speaks, and her head snaps in his direction. “Mind if Evan and I join you in here, while the two lovebirds out there suck face in private?” Charlie is still frozen, but she looks like she’s just as loopy and numb as I am, so I speak up for her with a slur, “Sure. That’s no problem, but I’m putting you two to work.” It’s way easier to talk to him than it is to talk to Evan. But maybe it’s just the perfume really kicking in.

  Lucas claps his hands together and rubs them. “What are we cooking?” he asks. Evan walks through the kitchen door, just as I begin to announce what we’re eating for dinner. He slowly saunters over to us, and I can’t take my eyes off of him. He makes it to the counter, and he stares directly into my eyes. Lucas clears his throat, and I snap back to attention. “Um, I was thinking of keeping it simple, so spaghetti and meatballs.” I quickly attempt to recover from my silent stare-off. Evan really melts my heart, when I hear him say with a raspy moan, “Yum. My favorite.”

  Suddenly, everything that I was just over analyzing drifts away. I’m not nervous anymore. Swiftly twirling around to face the oven, I turn it on. Turning to give them their tasks, Charlie unexpectedly slams her hands on the counter. Surprising us all, she enthusiastically says, “All right, chef. What do you need us to do?” The confident Charlie that I'm used to is back, and she has us chuckling. Yup, she’s feeling the perfume now, too. That’s good news. Maybe two squirts weren’t too bad.

  I command them like a chef does to their kitchen staff. “You and Lucas can roll the meatballs. I’ll start on the pasta. And you can do the garlic bread.” Evan quickly gets to shredding the mozzarella cheese and definitely looks like he is in his element in here, like he knows what he’s doing around the kitchen. And that makes me want him even more. Charlie and Lucas begin rolling the meat, and I turn around to boil some water. I take a peek over my shoulder and notice that Evan moved closer by me. The mixture of the perfume must have really gotten to me, because I suck it up and walk over to help him with the bread. I don’t know where this confidence is coming from, but Demi would be proud.

  Giving myself a little push, I speak up first, “So, what are you guys in for?” Lucas stares at Charlie the entire time he answers the question. “Evan and I are here on baseball scholarships. I'm not really majoring in anything, so I'm taking all basic classes.” Charlie swoons as she asks him, “Baseball?” Lucas nods his head with a proud and smug smile. Evan turns towards me, and with his deep voice, he replies, “My major is business management.”

  I raise m
y eyebrows as a slow smile starts to appear on my face, and comfortably respond, “That’s my major, too. But no baseball for me. I'm more of a skateboard type of girl.” Evan stops what he’s doing and looks over at me and it’s nearly impossible to look away. His eyes are so big and deep, I feel like he’s staring right into my soul. I can see the fire and curiosity in his eyes as desire oozes out of him. Sensing that, I feel my cheeks begin to get red. So I look down at the bread and continue to butter it. Evan chuckles and continues with his task. It’s only then that I realize Charlie and Lucas have moved even closer to each other.

  Lucas speaks up, “Charlie, I would love to see this book collection you were just telling me about.” He says this with a charming smile. And of course, Charlie falls right for it. She nods quickly and grabs his hand, pulling him out of the kitchen and straight to her room. We are all going to have so much to talk about later, when the guys leave. Evan stares at my mouth and sultrily whispers, “So that was you yesterday, skating by the cafe?” He’s moved closer to me, and I'm frozen. I can’t move, speak, or breathe. It’s almost as if he’s putting me in a trance. So all I could do was nod. But then I remember the girl on his lap, and I need to ask him before I completely lose myself. Because, boy, do I know I'm going to lose myself.