Surviving Ivy

by Rayne Rachels

  Ben broke the kiss and leaned his head against hers. “I don’t want to stop, but if I don’t, everyone in town will see a lot more than they should. I don’t want the first time I make love to you to be against a truck in public. You deserve so much more than that.”

  Ivy swallowed and nodded. She didn’t trust her voice any more than she did the rest of her body. Her legs quivered. If Ben hadn’t been holding her against him, she would have crumpled to the ground.

  Without warning, Ben scooped her into his arms and carried her around to the passenger side of the truck and gently put her inside. Once he was sure her seatbelt was buckled, he closed the door and went around the truck and got in. He leaned over and caressed her cheek. “It’s going to be a long afternoon.”

  “Yeah, it is,” said Ivy as she leaned into his touch.

  “After work, you are coming over to my place for dinner, and then we are going to have a talk about what is going on between us and about you moving in with me.”

  “Okay.”

  Ben nodded and started the truck.

  On the drive back, Ivy realized tonight, she was going to have to tell Ben the truth about what she was…a witch. She just hoped he would still want her when he found out the truth.

  Chapter 10

  By the time Ivy and Ben returned from their disastrous lunch, Ivy was a nervous wreck. The whole drive back, she worried about what Ben would say or do when he learned she was a witch. At one point, she almost blurted it out, but at the last minute she chickened out and bit her bottom lip instead.

  Several times Ben glanced at her, but he never said anything and she was sure he knew something was up. There was no way he could not smell her nervousness. When he reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze, it made her feel a little better.

  At Durant Customs, before he helped her out of the truck, he leaned in and kissed her. For a few minutes, all of her worries were gone. The only thing that mattered was her mate and her desire for him.

  All too soon he ended the kiss.

  Holy moly! His kisses are lethal. Ivy’s lips felt swollen and her body weak with desire. If his kisses have this effect on me, what’s going to happen if we mate and he claims me?

  Ben lifted her head so she had to look at him. “I don’t know what you’re worrying so much about, but whatever it is, it can’t be as bad as you seem to think it is. We will talk about everything this evening after work.”

  Ivy nodded. She was a little too flustered from the kiss to even attempt to speak.

  Ben helped her out of the truck and held her hand as they walked across the parking lot. Once inside the building, he kissed her on her cheek and disappeared into the shop.

  Ivy’s hand went up to where Ben had kissed her. As much as she wanted more than just a quick kiss on the cheek, in a way she was glad that was all that he did. After the kiss in the truck, another kiss so soon would have been her undoing. Another one of his kisses would have sent her desires off the chart, and combined with her nerves about telling him she was a witch, there was no telling what would have happened with her magic. She doubted it would be just a plate being shoved across the table this time.

  You need to suck it up and quit worrying like Ben told you.

  Ivy squared her shoulders. “I can’t change what is meant to be. I can only hope for the best.” She started walking across the room to her desk when suddenly her right foot slid out from under her. Ivy landed on her rear with a heavy thud.

  For several seconds, she sat there, stunned that she had actually fallen. Slowly, she moved her legs and then her arms, making sure they worked. Nothing was broken. “I will feel that in the morning,” she muttered as she stood up.

  Ivy looked around but didn’t see anything that could have caused her foot to slide out from under her. She frowned. “Well, Crimeny Crickets! The klutzy me is back with a vengeance,” she said as she limped to her desk and gently sat down in the chair. “It is so not what I need today, or any day for that matter.” She rubbed her forehead as she thought about her day.

  The piles of invoices and other receipts was strike one.

  The fall was strike two.

  Ivy closed her eyes and sighed. If Ben rejected her because she was a witch, then that would be strike three, and she would be out.

  She glanced at the clock and groaned. It was going to be a long afternoon.

  *****

  “Are you sure you don’t want to pick something up for dinner before we go home?” Ben glanced at Ivy. The sour scent of her nervousness filled the cab of his truck. He gritted his teeth. The sour scent drove both him and his bear crazy.

  “I’m not really hungry right now,” said Ivy. She stared out the passenger window but really didn’t see any of the passing scenery. Her brain flipped through every possible scenario she had come up with that afternoon, but none of them seemed to be very accurate.

  “Are you sure? You didn’t eat much at lunch.” Concern filled Ben. As soon as they got home, he was going to make her eat something, even if it was just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He glanced at her, and realized he was definitely going to have to take better care of her than what he was currently doing.

  We will take care of our mate and make her happy. His bear bobbed its massive head up and down.

  “I’m not really hungry,” said Ivy as she shook her head. “Honestly, the thought of trying to eat anything makes me queasy to my stomach. If I get hungry, I’ll get a sandwich or something.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.” Ben glanced at her again, before he turned his attention back to the road. A few seconds later he pulled into the driveway leading up to the house they technically shared. He parked around back, next to Ivy’s car.

  Ivy chewed on her bottom lip. It was almost show time, so to speak.

  Ben turned off the engine and turned to Ivy. “You don’t have anything to be worried about.”

  Just wait until you find out about me being a witch. Then I will have plenty to worry about.

  Ivy gave him a quick smile. “I know. I guess I’m just a bit of a worrier.” She shrugged her shoulders as she reached for the buckle to unlock her seatbelt.

  “You think?” Ben jumped out of the truck and walked around to her side, knowing she wouldn’t wait for him, opened the door, and helped her out of the truck. He held her hand tight in his, almost afraid she would run away if he let go.

  Ivy’s heart raced.

  Ben brought her hand up to his chest and held it over his heart. “Do you feel that?”

  Afraid her voice wouldn’t work, she slowly nodded her head.

  “That is what you do to me when you are near. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “It’s just…”

  Ben put a finger on her lips. “We are going inside, and we are going to talk. Things have dragged out too long between us, and that was my fault. But it changes tonight.”

  “You’re right. We should have talked long before this, but it’s not all your fault. I have something I have to tell you, but I’ve put it off because I was afraid of what you would say or do,” said Ivy.

  “So, we will go inside and talk.”

  Ivy nodded in agreement.

  Ben closed the truck door and they walked around the truck. The hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood up. He sniffed the air as he pushed Ivy behind him.

  “Ben, we’re being watched,” she whispered. Her skin crawled.

  A low growl rumbled from his chest. “I smell it.”

  “And yet neither of you can see me.”

  Ivy shuddered. The deep voice had the same effect on her as fingernails scrapped across a chalkboard.

  “Ivy, I want you to run. Take my cellphone out of my back pocket and run for the house. As soon as you are inside, call my dad and uncles.”

  “I’m not leaving you out here to face that thing alone.” Images of her nightmares flashed in her eyes.

  “I need to know you are safe.”

  “And I�
�m not leaving you to face that thing alone. I’m stronger than you think I am. I will be safer with you.” She bit her bottom lip. Please dear goddess, give me the strength to protect my mate.

  Before Ben could say anything else, the air in front of him shimmered. A set of glowing red eyes appeared, followed by the rest of a face. A set of horns grew out of the creature’s forehead. They curled back on either side of the creature’s head until the tips stuck out on either side of the grotesque face, framing its mouth. The creature’s lips were pulled back in a wide grimacing sneer, revealing a massive set of jagged, pointed teeth. A long, black forked tongue slowly flickered in and out of the creature’s mouth. A large, crooked nose, covered with warts, dominated the center of the face. Greasy brown hair stuck up in all directions as if the creature had been shocked with a rather large dose of electricity.

  The rest of the body slowly shimmered into focus. Massive arms hung down from the shoulders. The hands ended with long, wicked looking claws. From the look of the tattered clothing, at some point the creature had been human, but now extremely little, if any, of its humanity was left.

  “Fresh, tender souls. It will be so much fun ripping them out of you, and my master will be so please with the gift.” The creature threw its head back and laughed. The stench of rotting flesh filled the air.

  “Stay behind me,” said Ben without glancing at Ivy. He kept his attention on the creature.

  “He thinks he can protect you.” The creature’s widened. “But how will he protect you when he can’t even protect himself.” It took a step toward them.

  Ivy put her hands on Ben’s back and started whispering a protection spell.

  Without warning, the creature swung its clawed hand at Ben. Its claws scrapped over a protective bubble, leaving Ben untouched. The creature roared in anger. It looked at Ben and Ivy and slowly shook a clawed finger at them. “That was not nice. I can’t have you using magic to stop me.” The creature rushed toward them and shoved Ben back as hard as it could.

  Ben slammed into Ivy, knocking all the air out of her lungs. She crashed hard into the side of her car. Her head whipped back against the hard metal, causing her to see stars. Ivy lost her concentration and the spell broke.

  The demon laughed. “This is too easy. I thought you would at least put up a little bit of a fight.” It raked its claws across Ben’s chest, cutting through his shirt and through his flesh, leaving claw marks on his bones.

  Ben’s pain-filled roar echoed through the air. He rolled to his feet, keeping his body between the creature and Ivy. A rumble started somewhere deep in his chest.

  Protect our mate, growled his bear. It pushed against Ben’s skin.

  The creature gave Ben a toothy sneer. “Once I finish with you, then I will enjoy watching the light go out of her eyes as I strangle her. Her death will give me everything that should have belonged to me.”

  Ben’s bear roared. It erupted out of Ben and charged the creature.

  Ivy’s eyes widened. She watched in horror as the scene from her nightmares unfolded in front of her. The demon was going to kill Ben just like it did in nightmares if she didn’t do something.

  She pulled herself to her feet. She took a couple of shaky steps.

  The demon took another swipe at the large grizzly bear, knocking it to the ground. As the bear struggled to get back on its feet, the demon moved in to hit it again.

  Ivy screamed. She raised her arms. Focusing on the demon, she tapped into the energy surrounding her, and made a sweeping motion with her hands. The demon flew across the yard, and crashed into a large pecan tree. The tree cracked under the force of the impact.

  The demon slowly stood up. It shook itself and then glared at Ivy. “You are not powerful enough to stop me.” It walked toward her.

  Ivy spotted a limb that had fallen off the tree. Without hesitation, she again tapped into the energy surrounding her again and focused on the limb. It shot through the air and embedded itself into the demon’s chest.

  The demon snarled. It grabbed the branch and tried pulling it out of its chest, but the limb wouldn’t move. The demon tried again to remove the limb. It looked at Ivy. “I will be back for you and your bear, and when I do, you won’t be able to stop me.” In a blink, the demon was gone, leaving behind the unmistakable odor of rotting flesh and something else.

  Ivy’s legs shook but she dug deep for the strength to keep standing. Her mate was injured and needed her attention. She turned around to check the bear’s injuries. Instead of finding a bear lying on its side behind her, she found a very naked Ben staring at her. Claw marks and blood covered his chest and right side.

  “Is there something you wanted to tell me?” asked Ben through gritted teeth.

  Ivy’s whole body shook with fatigue. She smiled weakly at Ben. “I guess there’s no hiding it now. I’m a witch.”

  “I told you to run.” Ben worked through the pain and stood up.

  “I couldn’t leave you to fight the demon alone.” She stared at his gorgeous body. As weak and tired as she was, Ivy wanted to explore every inch of his body.

  “I expect you to do what I tell you. Your safety is my priority.” He slowly walked toward her.

  “I couldn’t let you die,” said Ivy as her legs finally gave out.

  Ben caught her before she slid to the ground. Ignoring his wounds, he picked her up and carried her into his apartment, and gently laid her on the couch. “What am I going to do with you?”

  Ivy’s bottom lip trembled. “If you want me to, I will leave, but first, let me clean and bandage your injuries.”

  “Why would I want you to leave?” Ben knelt down next to her.

  Ivy felt the tears form in her eyes. “Because I’m a witch, even though you’re my…” she bit her bottom lip.

  Ben rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand. “Why would I want you to leave when you are my mate?”

  A flicker of hope surged in Ivy’s chest. “You want me as your mate, even though I’m a witch?”

  Ben smiled at her. “I don’t know why Mother Bear or your goddess decided to make us mates, but I wouldn’t change it. Human, shifter, or witch…it doesn’t matter to me. You are my mate. You…and you only… matter to me.”

  “I was afraid to tell you. I was afraid you wouldn’t want me for a mate.” Ivy couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. “I know I’m a klutz, but the really sad part is, I’m not even a very good witch. I’ve never been able to make magic work right for me.”

  “From what I just saw, you don’t have a problem using magic.” Ben wiped away her tears.

  “That was the first time my magic has not backfired on me. I think it was because I was trying to protect you, but honestly, I’m not sure. Hank told me my magic was bound. He saw it when he healed me.” Ivy sat up. “Do you have an emergency medical kit?”

  Ben nodded. “It’s under the sink in the kitchen.”

  Ivy started to get up.

  “Where are you going? You need to lay back down and rest.”

  Ivy shook her head. She cradled Ben’s face in her hands. “I need to take care of your wounds. I know you’re a shifter, but you can still get an infection. That thing smelled of rot and decay.”

  Ben nodded.

  Ivy leaned her forehead against his. “Thank you,” she said.

  “Why are you thanking me?”

  Ivy looked into his bright green eyes. “You’re letting me take care of you, and you accepted me, even though I’m a witch.” She got up and went to the kitchen to retrieve the medical kit.

  A wave of dizziness swept over her when she stood up. Holding the kit in one hand, she grabbed the edge of the sink with her other hand. She closed her eyes and swallowed several times. The dizziness passed and with a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes. Grabbing the towel off the counter next to the sink, she turned and went back to her mate who was in the living room.

  Her mate.

  He wasn’t upset about her being a witch.

&nbs
p; He accepted her for who she was.

  A whole new peace and since of being settled over Ivy. She was finally where she was supposed to be and with the man who was her destiny.

  Ivy returned to the living room and sat on the floor next to Ben. She opened the med kit and pulled out all of the alcohol wipes. “This is going to sting really bad, but I have to clean the wounds,” she said. Ivy tore open several of the packets and put them on the couch within easy reach.

  Ben nodded. He knew the alcohol wipes were going to burn worse than having a red hot iron shoved into the wounds, but he also knew the wounds would heal faster if they were cleaned and disinfected.

  Ivy unfolded one of the wipes. She hesitated for several minutes.

  “You don’t have to do this.” Ben watched Ivy chew on her bottom lip as she stared at the claw marks marring his chest.

  “I just don’t want to hurt you anymore than you already are, and I know what I’m going to do is really going to burn.”

  Ben caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “I will be okay. It’s better to deal with the pain now instead of something worse later.”

  Ivy leaned into his touch and sighed. “I know.” She nodded and pushed aside the guilt she was already feeling, even though she hadn’t done anything yet. Ivy picked up one of the alcohol wipe she had unfolded, and gently started cleaning away the blood and filth.

  Several minutes later, Ivy dropped the last alcohol wipe on top of the pile of used wipes. She carefully surveyed the damage the demon had inflicted on her mate.

  Her mate.

  Ivy mentally shook her head and refocused her attention on Ben’s injuries. The wounds left by the demon’s claws were deep. In a few spots, she was sure she had seen his rib bones peeking through the torn flesh. The wounds weren’t bleeding as they had been earlier, but they weren’t healing as fast as they should. She looked at Ben. Concern and worry were etched across her face.

  “They will heal,” said Ben.

  Ivy nodded but she wasn’t so sure. She turned her attention back to the wounds. They were worse than anything she had ever seen. It hurt her to look at them, and it made it worse knowing Ben had received them while protecting her from the demon.