“The unease? Yes,” I whispered. “Dark magic is present here. Its intent is unclear to me. I feel it though, oily and slithering through the celebration.”
“You are of dark magic, so you among a select few could sense it. Few have been able to dip their toes into it without losing their souls. I envy you that ability, woman.”
“Don’t be; with it comes an endless need to dip your entire foot into it.” I closed my eyes, allowing my senses to seek the dark magic that slipped through the gathering. “Curious, as the sage burns to ward it off,” I muttered, opening my eyes, accepting a chalice of scotch and mulled cider from the server who stopped at the table.
“Not as curious as to why you have remained celibate for the last fifty years,” he chuckled, pulling my attention from the drinks to his eyes.
“Forty-nine years, and the reasoning is simple. I cannot love, and while I would enjoy scratching the itch, it’s pointless for me. I am cursed; I cannot have any pleasure without Braydon. I cannot feel anything without him or his touch. My life is very much black and white, and he the only color I see. You know this, and you deserve someone who can love you, Kade. I am not her. I want that for you as your friend. Besides, why ruin a good thing?” I asked softly, hiding the twisting pain that the memories of Braydon drudged up. “Not to mention, you at least have someone to love, what with having created a life that depends on you.”
“Fifty years, my darling,” he corrected sadly. “Last time he returned, it was during a leap if I remember correctly, leap year messes up that schedule since it wasn’t around when the curse on him was placed.”
I stared at him before dropping my gaze. Lifting my eyes, I searched for Hope on the dance floor. Finding her there with yet another young warlock, I turned my attention back to the drink, swallowing hard as the realization staggered me.
“I forgot to account for that,” I admitted sheepishly, wondering how that was even possible. I’d always been so careful when the time for him to come back approached. The last time, he’d caught me outside the academy unguarded and unprotected. To protect Avery and the students, I’d gone with him willingly. The time before that, I’d found him and sped up what had to happen so I could prevent our curse from hurting others. “I need to call Avery,” I whispered. “Will you excuse me?” At his answering nod, I downed the drink and left the table.
My heart hammered as my gaze swung to the clock, then back to Hope, who danced as if nothing else mattered but the magic that poured through her. Removing my phone from my clutch, I hit call.
“Laura, is everything okay? Is Hope okay?” Avery’s panicked tone filled the phone.
“She’s fine; her feet, on the other hand, will surely be sore come morning.” Avery exhaled once she was sure her daughter was safe. “There’s a bigger problem, though. It’s something I forgot, and because of it, I need to send Hope home in the morning. She’ll be with Kade Mitchell, and…” I paused, staring as Thea, a witch who had been removed from the lines, walked through the crowd with a glowing green aura. “That’s strange,” I muttered.
“What is strange?” Avery asked, her tone aggravated with not being able to see what was happening.
“Thea is here,” I answered, following closely behind the witch that had been denounced because of her use of dark magic in ways unforgivable by the covens.
“Why would she be there? They will never rescind her disownment of magic after what she did.”
My eyes swung from Thea as I turned my attention to Hope and noted the distance between them.
“Avery, I need to call you back,” I muttered, hissing as something dark slithered over my flesh. My hand moved the phone away from my ear while I swallowed against the pungent scent of dark magic that filled the courtyard. “What the hell?” I whispered, studying Thea, who walked absently to the middle of the crowded room. Everyone in the courtyard stared in curiosity at the dark witch who’d crashed the party.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Kade asked at my side.
“Nothing good,” I hissed as the hair on my nape rose in a warning. I started to whisper the incantation of protection as my tongue grew heavy, and the phone dropped from my hand to land upon the concrete floor. “Hope,” I cried thickly, my words slurring as Thea spoke.
“’Neath silver moon or dark of night.
In shadow, deep or brightest light.
From this hex none shall be spared.
For wrath knows not peace nor care.
Betrayers! Gather close and hear
I damn you to your darkest fear
I bind you to dread’s cold embrace.
Until your truth you boldly face.”
My blood turned to ice as Hope’s eyes widened in horror, matching mine as the curse splintered through the air, locking every witch into place with the words Thea had growled. Her words seemed to slam through us all as she turned bright green before our eyes. All at once, curses exploded from her, slamming into the witches nearest her before seeking those on the edges of the room. I fell to the floor, crying out as pain gripped my middle, wrenching through me as nausea swirled tightly behind. Everyone present was on their knees, screaming in agony, and when my lips opened to whisper the cure, nothing came out. I closed my eyes against the excruciating pain that split my head in half, throbbing until I wanted to curl into the fetal position and remain there until it had passed. Instead, I swallowed a scream as I tried to get to my feet. My eyes frantically searched for Hope, finding her on the floor with blood streaming from her nose. I could taste my blood as I swallowed, gasping for air as even more pain ripped through me. It took everything I had to get to my feet and start through the twisting bodies of witches who had yet to gain their footing.
“We have to go,” I whispered thickly when I reached Hope, pulling her up from the floor. Kade’s hand grabbed her other one, helping me lift her from the floor.
“I have no magic,” he muttered hesitantly.
“Nor do I,” I admitted, albeit embarrassedly. My gaze lingered on the spot Thea had stood, where now only charred marks remained as if she’d exploded with the detonation of the curse. “We’re okay,” I lied, knowing that whatever had just happened, it was bad, terrible. I was pretty sure we’d just received a death hex, which meant the entire witch community was in serious trouble.
“If we go out the front, and she planned this attack with our enemies, we will be helpless against them,” Kade said crossly.
“The bayou,” I announced, gazing at him as he picked Hope up in his arms and nodded to me.
We started toward it, ignoring the others who screamed in horror as the realization of being hexed entered their minds. I should have been helping them, and yet I had to keep Hope safe. I’d made a promise to Avery that I’d do everything in my power to keep her daughter safe, and yet I had no power at the moment. I was defenseless.
We’d walked for over thirty minutes, which seemed like an eternity, before I paused, noting our surroundings. We were deep in the bayou, trudging through sludge and thick brush endlessly. I felt eyes on us, and a foreboding sensation trickled up my spine. We weren’t alone, and whoever was doing surveillance on us wasn’t friendly.
“Kade, stop,” I whispered in a hoarse voice. “We’re not alone here.”
“I’m sorry, Laura. I’m so sorry,” he said, turning slowly to set Hope on the ground before he backed away from us.
“What are you talking about?” I asked warily, watching the thick brush around us as wolves seemed to appear from nowhere. No, not wolves; werewolves. “What did you do, Kade?” I demanded in horrified terror.
“They took her, and you were what he wanted to get her back. She’s my daughter, Laura. My legacy,” he pleaded with his hands out, palms up toward the air as tears slipped from his dark eyes. “He took my daughter. She’s my world, and to get her back, all I h
ad to do was deliver you to him. I’m so sorry,” he stated, stepping further back as he turned to face the wolf who had transformed into a man. “Where is she? I did what you asked, where’s my daughter?”
“She’s being walked to the road as we speak,” Braydon chuckled, his ice-blue eyes locking with mine before they slipped to my ruined dress. “You have your instructions, Kade, I suggest you follow them. I trust no one noted you leaving the party with my wife?” he asked.
“I did the spell before Thea arrived as you instructed, and unless her hex undid it, no. All they would have seen is Laura helping Hope toward the front entrance where they vanished, and nothing more.”
Braydon smiled, triumph shining in his beautiful eyes. Eyes I’d stared into a hundred times before as we’d made love. Eyes I’d watched the life leave upon his death as my magic worked to end it. Now I was his prisoner, and worse, I was defenseless without my magic. Kade started to slip into the brush, and I screamed.
“Take Hope with you; she has no part in this, Kade. She isn’t who he wants!”
“Tsk-tsk, that isn’t his choice to make, littlest witch.”
“Braydon, please,” I begged. “You have me at your mercy, let her go. Her parents will come for her. If you let her go, it will stall them from searching for me.”
“You think I care if they come? This is my bayou, my world. Let them come, little one. My wolves enjoy hunting the undead. You once asked me for mercy and then drove your knife through my heart the moment I softened toward you. I won’t make that mistake again. You’re a traitorous, murderous bitch who enjoys hurting me. It’s my turn to hurt you. I promise you, little witch. I have no more mercy within me for you.”
“Kade! Take Hope with you,” I cried as tears of frustration ran down my face. His shoulders tensed, but Kade didn’t stop his forward progress through the thick weeds that he’d walked us into, where he’d ensnared me in Braydon’s trap. “I will find you, and I will rip your fucking heart out if you leave her here!” I screamed at his stiffened back. He turned, looking at me one last time before he spoke.
“I know you will, Laura. He had my daughter; she’s only seven years old. You’re not defenseless. You are a Cheveron, you’ll figure it out. You always do.”
“Go, Kade, before I let my boys out to hunt early,” Braydon snapped while his eyes slid over me with desire banking their wintering depths. “You, sweet girl, come to me,” he ordered.
I swallowed, straightening my spine before I glared at him. “You know how this ends, so why rush it?” I asked.
“Not this time, Laura,” he said huskily. “This time, you have no magic, but I do. I’m immortal, and I won’t be as easy to kill as I was in the past. Be a good girl, and don’t make me into the asshole who threatens to use your sweet little niece against you. Hell, we both know you want me. I’m the only man alive you can feel and can make you feel pleasure. Now, do as I say, because we have a long walk home, wife.”
“I’m not your wife anymore, Braydon.” I stepped forward, lifting the hem of my black dress, which now was beyond saving from the thick Louisiana mud. I closed the distance between us as Hope watched silently. His hand lifted the moment I was close enough to touch, and I flinched, recoiling from what I knew he would make me feel. His ice-blue eyes studied me before he pushed his hand through his long, dark blond hair. His strong jawline sported a neatly trimmed beard, and the thick Viking tattoos he always came back with were present over his sun-kissed skin.
He exhaled and let his fingertips skim over my cheek. My lips parted, and a gasp escaped from my throat while I gaped as molten heat filled his eyes. A cruel smile twisted his lips as he used his other hand to pull me closer to his muscular frame.
Braydon cupped my chin, lifting my face to his as he studied me. “You’re even more beautiful than I remember, little one. I will enjoy you fighting this thing between us. You always try to ignore what you feel, and yet you always fail. Come, your new home awaits you.”
Chapter 2
Insects buzzed around my head as sweat beaded between my breasts. I was irritable, and yet Hope depended on me keeping her safe, which I would somehow do. Braydon put jeans on while the other wolves had maintained wolf form. Anytime we slowed down, they would nip at our heels to show their displeasure. In the swamp’s silence we trudged through, my mind worried what this meant for the innocent young woman who followed behind me. I tripped over a branch I hadn’t seen, and Braydon turned, quickly catching me.
“Careful,” he said, not letting me go even after I’d righted myself. His thumb raised, tracing over my bottom lip as he regarded me carefully. “Wouldn’t want you to get injured, now would we?”
“No, no, why hurt me when you intend to kill me? I mean, logically, it makes total sense, doesn’t it?” I snapped irritably, tired of walking through the swamp and in pain from whatever it was Thea had done to me.
“Careful, Laura,” he warned as he captured my chin between his fingers and tilted my mouth to his. “Right now, I’m not sure which I want to do more, kiss you, or shove your sexy little ass off a bridge,” he hissed.
“Can I pick?” I countered, staring at his mouth as his lips curved into a sexy smile. Not that I was sure which I would have chosen. Both options held merit, and it had been fifty years since I’d even felt a kiss. Fifty years since I’d felt pleasure or pain.
“And which one, little witch, would you choose?” he demanded, lowering his mouth to hover dangerously close to mine.
“Both,” I admitted, moving to claim his mouth, only for him to pull away from me with a mischievous look dancing in his eyes.
“Too bad,” he returned, his eyes watching every emotion that played over my face. “There’s the fact that your people cursed me, but you cursed me too, so I would remember every fucking life I’ve lived. What kind of evil bitch would be so cruel?”
“You remember so we can skip to the fun part, Braydon. Would you rather forget me, so that when the madness begins, you’re lost and confused about why it is happening? No, hating me, to begin with, is much easier than loving me. I grew tired of falling in love with men, only to find it was you with a different face. I cursed you to remember and to come back to me with the same face, so I would know it was you. I gave you the same memories that I’m cursed to live with, my heart. At least you get death and time to forget the pain. I don’t. I have to live knowing I killed the one man who loved me. You want me to pity you? You’re not the only one cursed. We both were. Me, for loving you, my sworn enemy, and you for loving me,” I swallowed, stepping away from him. “I’m not even a little sorry for leaving you cursed to remember. I loved you enough to leave you a warning of the madness to come. So kill me if that is your wish, put me out of my misery. I fucking dare you, Viking.”
“There you are, my foul-mouthed little pagan,” he purred. “Don’t get my dick hard yet. While I don’t mind my pack watching me claim you, I’m sure you don’t want an audience. Kade told me you remain chaste when I go away, that’s a long time without dick, little witch.”
“Didn’t Kade tell you? My vow of celibacy wasn’t because of you,” I smiled coldly. “I decided men weren’t worth the trouble. I also stopped caring what they thought of me, which is freeing when you think about it. That also means that you and your penis have no magic over me.”
“Are you sure about that?” he asked, grabbing my hand, pulling me forward until it pressed against him. I sensed his hardness stirring and bit down on my tongue to keep the moan trapped where it danced on the tip.
“You, sir, need to calm the hell down. You’re at like a twenty, and I need you at a seven,” I sputtered, and his lips twitched as he fought a smile.
“What, are you afraid to touch me now? I remember how naughty you are, dirty girl.”
“Take my hand off your penis,” I whispered huskily as heat pooled between my thighs. “I’m hav
ing feelings, and I don’t like them.”
“No,” he smirked wickedly. He was hard, and so were my nipples that chose that moment to stand up as he pressed his body against mine, forcing them to rub against the softness of the dress I wore. “You smell good enough to devour,” he chuckled.
“That’s not funny.”
“I thought it was.”
“You don’t count, Viking. I’m way too sober for this. I hurt, and you’re forcing us to walk through the fucking bayou, so the least you can do is stop making me grab your cock!” I snapped.
His head tipped to the side as he looked down between us where he’d let go of my hand. Yet I continued to hold his cock and stroke it absently. I yanked my hand back and stared at him. Braydon’s hand moved to catch me as I started to back away. He chuckled huskily as he nodded to someone behind us, and then silence enveloped the small clearing we stood in.
“Use the pond to wash the blood from your face,” he instructed.
My hand rose and found blood crusted on my nose. My head was heavy as if it was being cleaved in two by a giant battle ax instead of a hex. I eyed him suspiciously before turning to look at the murky water. I didn’t wait for an invitation; I made my way to the small creek and knelt in front of it, cupping the water before I washed my face off. The cool water was bliss against the aching of my face.
I remained there longer than needed, enjoying the respite from roaming through the bayou. Eventually, I got up and turned around and then noted what I had missed. Hope had vanished, and it left me alone with Braydon.
“Where is she?” I demanded as panic surged through me.
“Right now, she’s behind a locked door,” he shrugged, crossing his muscular arms over his naked chest. “She’s safe for the time being. How long that remains the case, well, that depends on you.”
“Do it,” I breathed, closing my eyes. “Just get on with it.”
Wicked Hexes Page 2
