“Hurt them?” He paced away from her and then back again. “I’ve never made any claims that I’m looking for a commitment. Those women all knew what they were getting in to when they came after me. Did you ever think that maybe, maybe, they’re the ones who have got it wrong? That they’re the ones lusting for something I made no promises about? They are fans, fanatics! Obsessed with something they can’t have. Could you truly be that naively stupid to deal vengeance, as you say, without getting both sides of the story?”
Darcy flinched and though he felt a twinge of regret, he brushed it aside. She’d fucked with his life without a moment’s hesitation. Any feelings he had for her were a result of the curse. Nothing more.
“You’re going to reverse it,” Mayhem said, taking the thoughts right out of Raven’s head.
Darcy blanched and she dropped her gaze, no longer acting the bold defender of wronged women. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” Raven sneered.
“I can’t find the counter spell to undo it.”
Mayhem took a threatening step toward her. “Well, I know how to undo it. Kill the witch.”
Darcy snapped her eyes back up, terror transforming her face. “But I’ve got a few ideas!” she screeched. “Please, don’t kill me. I’ll find a way, I promise!”
Raven put a hand on Mayhem’s shoulder and eased him back a few steps, trying desperately to ignore his own thundering heart, his fear of something happening to Darcy surely matching hers. Damn curse. “Let her explain.”
“Fine. Explain,” Mayhem barked.
Darcy’s throat worked as she looked from Raven to Mayhem. “I’ve got some leads. There might be a way to reverse it. I just need a little bit of time. And my computer…I need access to my computer.”
Mayhem regarded her for a few moments, his expression an unreadable mask.
“Mayhem,” Raven said, “the weakness I felt when she was gone seems to be abating…as long as I’m with her…”
“That’s right!” Darcy said. “As long as Raven is around me, he should start to feel okay. That’s the way the curse works! It’s the separation that makes it worse!” And then she mumbled, “I can’t believe I forgot that part.”
Mayhem looked over at Raven, an eyebrow cocked. “You’re feeling better? More like your old self?”
“Yeah, feeling much better now that she’s here.” Raven forced the partial truth through his lips. He did feel better when his hands were on her.
Mayhem leaned forward, his finger jabbing the air in front of Darcy’s face. “You fucked with the wrong man, witch. Nobody fucks with my pack. You better fix this, lady, or I’m going to fix it for you.”
Darcy nodded and Raven gulped down his own fear. Mayhem would do it too, kill the witch to protect his pack.
Chapter Eight
I’ve got some leads? I’ll find a way? What the fuck are you thinking, girl? And what was with kissing the werewolf back? Huh? Are you nuts?
She could practically hear Annie’s disapproval in her head. Her thoughts were desperate, frantic, and there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do in the name of self-preservation. The problem was she knew kissing Raven had absolutely nothing to do with a cunning escape plan and everything to do with the maddening lust she felt whenever she was around him. It was almost like she was the one cursed. She shuddered at the thought.
They’d left her alone again. She was still tied up but thankfully no longer gagged. She needed access to her computer so she could check the Hex forum and find out if anyone had responded to her query. She didn’t hold out much hope for luck there, though. What she needed was a Plan B, ’cause her Plan A sucked pretty badly. She had no doubt that Mayhem would kill her, whether or not the myth was true. If there was a remote chance it was, he wouldn’t hesitate.
So she needed to get away. If only she knew some of the more powerful spells like air deprivation or power blasting. Sadly, her skills were limited to the spells she’d learned from Annie’s grimoire and even some of those didn’t quite work as well as they should. She never claimed to be a good student—never really memorized anything but the vengeance spell, and that was only out of necessity. She couldn’t exactly carry around the grimoire when she was cursing a man. She was a pathetic excuse for a witch, mediocre at best. Annie used to call her a dabbler. She dabbled in magic and now it was biting her in the ass just as Annie said it one day would.
She heard raised voices from the other side of the door. An argument was raging on whether or not she was telling the truth. It also sounded like they were debating over her life. Very comforting.
“Jay, give her her fucking computer and stay in the room while she works. And you—if I find out you’ve been anywhere near that witch, I’m going to tie you up too.”
Seconds later, the door to her room swung open and Jay, or so she assumed, came waltzing in with her laptop. He laid it down on the desk beside her.
“I’m going to untie you now so that you can do what you need to do. If you so much as give a hint that you’re casting a spell or up to something tricky, I’ll rip your goddamned head off. Understand?”
Darcy gulped and nodded. Her heart hammered painfully as Jay released her from her bonds.
She rubbed her sore wrists before pushing her chair closer to the desk and opening her laptop. Jay sat on the bed behind her, not bothering to speak, his glare boring into the back of her skull. She’d never felt hate before—never understood how an emotion could be palpable—until now.
She clicked the bookmark for Hex, not bothering to hide what she was doing. She had no doubt that Jay would do exactly what he said he’d do. And instead of being scared, she was actually quite angry—at herself more than anything. Here she was, a witch, and she couldn’t mutter a single spell to get herself out of this situation. It was pathetic. She was supposed to be one of the most powerful species of supernatural out there. Some of her counterparts were able to do amazingly gifted things, like heal injuries, disappear, teleport, and travel through time. And what could she do? Curse a man to lust for her. That was really it. Well, unless you counted the ability to light a candle with a breath and a whisper. Parlor trick, nothing more. What could she do with that? Start a fire? Not unless the candle fell onto a tub of gasoline-soaked rags or something.
She sighed. Stop wallowing. You’ll figure a way out of this. She logged in, clicked for messages and…nothing. Her stomach bottomed out and she felt bile rise to the back of her throat. Fuck.
She quickly closed the screen then logged into her email, hoping that maybe—just maybe—help lay in there.
A new message popped up. Her heart raced as she clicked the email open.
Heard about your problem. I’ve got the counter spell. Willing to trade or sell. There was a phone number listed. Not local.
“I can’t believe it!” Darcy whispered. Heard about her problem? She had a feeling Annie was behind this. The old woman had come through for her after all.
“Believe what?” Jay growled.
She jolted out of her thoughts and glanced over her shoulder. “I need to make a phone call.”
“Like hell—”
“No, seriously.” She glanced back at the screen and pointed to the message. “Here, read it for yourself.”
Jay leaned forward and read the message. “You’re not going to call some random person.” He stood.
“A witch. It’s a witch who has the counter spell.”
“For all I know, you’re going to call someone to come and help you.”
“Of course that’s exactly what I’m going to do, you doofus!” Darcy stood, her hands on her hips. “That’s what you wolves want me to do, isn’t it? You want me to reverse the curse, don’t you?” Her tone was clipped. She was suddenly so fed up with the situation. She was willing to help, wanting to correct the mistake she’d made and yet this dumbass was going to prevent her from doing so at the cost of her life. “Give me a damned phone and let me make this call!”
Jay
took a threatening step toward her, fists clenched at his sides. “I don’t trust you, witch, and I don’t like you either. You might have tricked Raven into falling for you but it won’t work on me. For all I know, you planted that message.”
“Planted it? Are you fucking kidding me? You saw me open it just now! How could I send myself an email without you noticing?”
“You’re a fucking witch! You can—”
Raven came barreling into the room, and Darcy’s heart ramped up even more at the sight of him. “What’s going on? I heard shouting.” Raven voice was edged with panic.
Jay moved to shove Raven back but he clearly wouldn’t have it, instead ducking to the side so he could touch her. His hands on her face, turning her head from side to side as if he needed to make sure she was okay. And she didn’t stop him. His hands, although callused and rough, were a soothing balm to her. She didn’t want to think about why. Didn’t want to even ponder how her heart fluttered uncontrollably at the thought of him coming to her rescue, wrapping her in his arms, protecting her. Nope, not even going to consider it.
“Are you okay, sweets?”
She nodded and licked her lips, suddenly wanting so badly for him to kiss her again.
He stared at her and she could tell he was battling with himself, and mourned the loss of his touch when he gave his head a shake and moved back, releasing her.
“I think I have a solution. I need to make a call.” She nodded toward the computer.
Raven glanced over, quickly read the message then pulled a cell phone from his back pocket. “Make the call.”
“Who are you calling?” Mayhem asked as he walked into the room.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Jay’s voice was practically a gruff bark.
“She thinks she’s found someone who might be able to help.” Raven put the phone into her hand. “Just make the call.”
Mayhem motioned for Jay to calm down. “You can make the call but we’re going to be here while you do.”
Darcy nodded. “Of course.” She quickly typed in the number and put the phone to her ear.
“So you used a lust curse, huh?” A raspy voice, barely distinguishable as a woman, came onto the line.
“How did you know—?”
“Never mind that. Name’s Kat and I’ve got the counter spell. What are you willing to trade? I need a healer. You wouldn’t happen to be one, would you?”
Darcy gulped and shook her head. “No, not one of those.”
“Damn. A spell weaver? Tracker?”
“No.” Fuck, this witch was after the talented ones. Spell weaver? Witches who could weave a spell into any material or object for later use—even by someone who was not a witch. Rare talent. And tracker? A witch who could track down other witches by trailing their magic signatures. She had no special talent.
“What can you offer me, girl?”
“I don’t know…”
The woman snorted. “Twenty-thousand.”
“Twenty-thousand dollars?” Darcy nearly choked on the words. Where the fuck was she going to get twenty-thousand dollars?
“It’s a doozy of a curse to counter. There’s a reason why you can’t find a way to do it yourself. Curses are usually irreversible.”
“I don’t have twenty-thousand dollars.”
“You’ve cursed a wolf.”
“How did you—?”
“Hush now. That’s what’s happened right? Tell me true, it’s a wolf you’ve cursed, right?”
Darcy glanced warily at the hulking men towering over her. Annie had to be behind this call. There was no other way this witch would know. “Yes, I did.”
“He can’t take his eyes off you? Doesn’t want to leave your side? Seems protective?”
“Y-y-yes.” Darcy nodded. “Effects of the curse.”
“You want the reversal, you come to me and you tell the pack to stay home. I’m only going to deal with you and the wolf you cursed. No one else is welcome.”
Darcy cringed as her stomach plummeted. This was getting better and better.
Mayhem snatched the phone and hit speaker.
“Agree to that or the deal is off. Just you and the wolf.”
Mayhem looked at her with murder in his eyes.
Chapter Nine
“You fucking broadcasted Raven’s wolf status?” Mayhem hissed.
“I-I-I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t know it was a secret.” Darcy voice was little more than a croak.
Mayhem cut her down with a scathing look.
“She’s going to find another way or we’re going to do things my way,” Mayhem barked.
“There is no other way.” The disembodied voice cackled over the line. “The spell she cast, wolf or not, it’ll eventually kill your pack-mate.”
“What?” Mayhem roared.
Darcy scrambled to the other side of the bed, her back pressed against the wall and damn if Raven didn’t want to go to her and offer his protection. He held his place, knowing Mayhem would belt him across the head if he so much as twitched in her direction.
“No, it’s a lust curse. It can’t kill him. It’s just a lust curse.” Darcy whispered the last few words as she raised her hand to her mouth, her body shaking, eyes brimming with tears. “That can’t be right. It’s just supposed to make him want me.”
“Yes, want you to the point of madness,” the woman on speakerphone said, matter-of-factly.
“No!” Darcy slumped against the wall as another tremor shook her entire body, tears flowing freely now.
“I’m fine, really. Feel great.” Raven knew he didn’t sound convincing. “I feel better than I did.”
The woman laughed again. “You feel better because she’s there with you. I bet you’re doing everything in your power to keep yourself from touching her right now though, aren’t you?” She didn’t wait for Raven to answer. “That curse you’ve been wielding, girl, it’s very dangerous. If the subject is away from you for too long, he’ll die. He’ll stop eating, stop sleeping, stop drinking…eventually his heart will just stop period.”
“That can’t be true.” Darcy shook her head as she angrily wiped the tears off her cheeks, defiance shining from her eyes. “I don’t believe that.”
“It is true and I’m guessing you haven’t had much formal training, or you wouldn’t be using such a curse so damn flippantly.”
“So if they’re apart for an extended amount of time then Raven will die?” Mayhem’s anger was palpable. Raven knew it wouldn’t take much to force his hand against Darcy.
“That’s right. They need to stay together until the curse can be broken.”
“And you can break the curse?”
“It’s not an easy spell to break.” The witch hedged, her voice taking on a sly tone.
“Well, we could always just kill the witch.”
“No!” Raven yelled as he moved toward Darcy.
“Killing her won’t end the curse either. In fact, killing her will mean instant death for the wolf too.”
“Why should we believe you?” Mayhem growled, glaring at Darcy, his fists clenched as he took the call off speaker and put the phone to his ear.
Raven couldn’t hear what was being said, but he could see by Mayhem’s expression that the woman was somehow convincing him. Mayhem glanced from Darcy to Raven and gave a slight nod, then tossed the phone on the bed. “She wants to meet at a neutral location. Write down the address, Darcy,” he barked. “You’ll do as she says.”
He moved toward Raven, Jay pulling in as well. The three men were almost huddled but Raven couldn’t stop himself from glancing over Mayhem’s shoulder to spot Darcy. She was across the room, standing beside the desk, phone pressed to her ear, frantically scribbling on a pad of paper.
Mayhem gave a low growl and Raven snapped his gaze back, surprised to find the hard edge of anger gone from his alpha’s stare.
“She has a fix. You’ll go with the girl.”
“Alone?” Jay frowned. “You sure that’s safe,
May?”
Mayhem rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. “I’ve been given assurances.”
“For twenty thou? We forking up the money for this? And what? The girl walks?” Jay growled.
Mayhem shook his head. “The witch wants the girl.” His tone was low, too low for anyone but the wolves to hear. “Made a deal. The girl for the spell. Once she fixes this and you’re free, she’ll claim the girl. Some kind of servitude in payment for her spell. Says girls like that need to learn to respect their magic.”
Raven’s gut clenched. “I’m not leaving her there.”
Mayhem growled. “That’s the curse talking. Do what you need to for now, but once that witch breaks the spell you’ll be able to walk away free and clear.”
“I won’t take her there without her knowing what’s going on.”
Mayhem’s eyes flashed and he bared his teeth. “You will!”
“She’s my—”
Mayhem shook his head. “She’s not your mate. You know that. Come on, man, think about it. Did you feel anything for her beyond just a fuck when you first hooked up?”
Raven searched his mind, his memory of the night before foggy. “I…I…” There was a part of him that wanted to say yes. A part of him that thought…
“If she was your mate, you’d have known it immediately. You would have marked her. Trust me. That’s what the folklore says, that’s why it’s so impossible to find. The moment you caught her scent, you would have fallen in love immediately. Can you say that that’s what happened?”
Raven frowned. Could he? He leaned to the side and glanced at Darcy. Her body was calling to him and he wanted to bury himself in her, but did he love her? He wanted her. He burned for her. Lust. Not love. He gave his head a sharp shake. He focused on what his body was telling him. “My wolf…”
“The witch said your wolf will feel the effects of the spell on a more primal level. He seeks a mate. This spell is confusing the natural order of things. That’s the way it works.”
Raven concentrated again. The burn of the spell was still there, the desire to be with her like a pulse that bound them. He couldn’t remember what had happened before the spell. He knew they’d been intimate but everything else was gone. If his wolf recognized its mate at first sight, he’d know, right? The spell couldn’t alter that.
Cursed (The Order of the Wolf) Page 4
