Days; it had been mere days. She was a fortune teller at a carnival. Then her vampire ex-boyfriend showed up and turned her whole world upside down.
Now she followed a powerful witch telling her she’s supposed to be a leader of the most prevailing coven in all the country. If that wasn’t enough, she was also some prophetic witch about to change the world. Oh! And she forgot to mention this mysterious wolf she was supposed mate with. The world responded by spinning, making Divina lightheaded. The ground fell out from under her feet. Her knees threatened to give out. Divina couldn’t do it.
She reached out for Josephine. Making contact with her arm, Divina gripped it tightly. Josephine came to Divina’s side and supported her with large worried eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Divina shook her head. “No. This is all too much. Rori, the Ember Witches, joining a coven, the council, and a wolf! A wolf!”
Josephine’s gaze swept over Divina with understanding in her eyes. She rubbed Divina’s arms sending a soothing wave from her touch through Divina.
“Our fate often comes to us when we feel we are least prepared,” Josephine whispered close to Divina’s ear.
“I don’t want any of this!” Divina shouted. “I don’t want to be at the table. I don’t care about the council and vampires. I’m not even a dog person. I don’t know a wolf.” She turned to Josephine pleading. She gripped the smock dress Josephine wore in her fists, desperate to get her message through. “I just want to go back to my wagon and tell fortunes and be left alone,” Divina said with eyes filled with tears. Her body trembled as she reached the breaking point.
Josephine’s brows knitted together. She stood in silence while her hand stroked Divina’s hair.
Tears streamed down Divina’s cheeks. Sobs erupted from deep within her. She fell to her knees holding onto Josephine to keep from crumbling into a pathetic heap.
Crouching down, Josephine wrapped her arms around Divina.
Divina fell into Josephine’s embrace and rested her cheek against Josephine’s chest. Allowing Josephine to envelop her in patience and understanding, Divina cried.
Josephine stroked her cheek and placed her chin on Divina’s head. “Shhh.” Josephine soothed. “It’s a lot, I know.” She pulled back so that she could look into Divina’s eyes. “You can do this. You are a strong witch. We can teach you. We can help you through this. You just have to let us,” she said with Divina’s face cupped in her gentle hands.
Divina sniffled as she scanned Josephine’s features desperately seeking some sort of sign of trustworthiness. She felt like a child cradled in her mother’s arms, having just seen the boogeyman under her bed. She cleared her throat and did one final swipe at each cheek. She swallowed down future sobs and willed her tears away. Taking a deep breath, she tried to center herself. She was a grown woman, a witch—a powerful witch. She needed to get a hold of herself.
Josephine beamed. “Here.”
Still holding Divina with one arm around her shoulders, Josephine reached up to the shelves. She tugged out a large, leather-bound tome. Enchantments pulsed from it and tendrils of power reached for Divina. The leather, though old, had been well oiled and maintained and held no title. It smelled of old papers and dust.
“This is the first book of the Ember Witches. It is meant to introduce you to us. Read it.” Josephine licked her bottom lip. “Seers can foretell times when we are fated for big decisions. They see a point when we are going to face major choices; that is fate. Fate is making important choices that will have a lasting impact beyond our years.” Josephine patted the top of the book. “You always have a choice. Come back at midnight,” she said.
Divina ran her hand over the soft leather of the cover. She nodded to Josephine’s instructions, unable to muster any words.
The book held Divina’s focus. Hope sprang up within her, feeling unfamiliar. This book held the answers. This book would explain it all.
Chapter 28
Witches are humans with a little extra. Aric rolled his eyes as he drove to the diner. Wasn’t every supernatural creature a human with a little extra? The elders were of no help whatsoever.
Witches, much more on the human end of the spectrum compared to wolves or vampires, were almost indistinguishable from humans.
They had no silver allergy. They could walk in the sunlight. They didn’t melt when in contact with water. Hell, they even smelled like humans.
Movies had not prepared Aric well for witch determination.
Their only weakness: their humanity. This, for supernatural beings, was a major disadvantage. With a human level of endurance and lifespan, a witch was vulnerable. Casting spells and enchantments took energy. If the witch wasn’t practiced enough for a spell, she either wouldn’t be able to perform it or couldn’t hold it for very long.
So, what was Aric supposed to do, trick Divina into casting a spell? Aric snorted as the thought passed through his mind. He could ask her outright. That wouldn’t make things awkward in the least bit. Plus, hadn’t he already done that when he asked her if she was a seer? She sure as shit dodged that.
He pondered that idea for a moment. Divina did know about supernatural creatures. She had assumed he was a vampire. The wolf within Aric bristled at the memory. Aric most certainly wasn’t a vampire. How could she mistake him for one? She mustn’t know much about wolves. Maybe she only knew about vampires. She did have the scarring that suggested having been bitten before.
The thought triggered a rumble from Aric’s inner wolf.
“Quiet you,” he chastised his inner beast. “We can’t change her past.”
The wolf within him settled, albeit begrudgingly, and flopped down within Aric.
He refocused his thought process. Perhaps she was just a human blood donor. Well, a reformed donor.
Aric wouldn’t allow his mate to give blood to any vampires. Nope. The only mouth touching her from now on would be his. He and his wolf nodded in internal affirmation. They agreed on that point. With their agreements seeming rarer and rarer as of late, it relieved Aric to find some common ground with his inner animal. Perhaps things were looking up.
Aric climbed out of his truck, grabbing the freshly washed and folded blanket. He arrived early at the diner but sauntered in any way. He wanted a good booth and didn’t want to make her wait.
Plus, she was a flight risk. He didn’t want to give her any more excuses to leave without seeing him. The early wolf gets the mate, he mused.
Selecting a booth against the window, toward the back of the diner seemed the best for a hint of privacy and intimacy. Sure, the brightly lit diner was a stark contrast to a romantically lit steak house, but Aric made do for what he thought would be the first of many dates.
Next time he’d do better. Next time he’d woo her with elegant food and ambiance. There would be a next time. He wouldn’t let his mate get away so easily. He’d chase her to the ends of the earth and back again if he had to.
He hadn’t been sitting long before the smell of moss and forest rain wafted over burgers and fried diner foods. The wolf within Aric snapped to attention.
Aric looked up from his memorized menu to see Divina escorted to the table.
The male shifter showing Divina to their table stood too close, offering Aric a quizzical look. Aric’s wolf didn’t take too kindly to other wolves being that close or the insulation that Divina didn’t belong there. Aric’s inner beast snapped territorially. Yes, she was a human in a wolf den, get over it. Outwardly, Aric glared toward the young diner employee.
Making eye contact, the young male shifter bowed his head toward Aric in a submissive gesture to Aric’s glowering. He dashed off, leaving Divina’s menu on the table without further explanation.
Divina furrowed her brow watching the fleeing worker.
Yep. No doubt about it. That female was his. Aric’s possessive instinct was almost overwhelming.
Shaking her head, Divina turned and grinned at Aric.
Aric’s stomach fli
pped, and his pants got tight in the crotch. Another sign she was his mate, his body’s uncontrollable reactions to her scent, to her presence, to everything about her. He couldn’t remember a time when he had responded as viscerally to any female.
Sure, females had inspired erections before, but not like this. The steel in his pants pressed painfully against his thigh.
He wanted, more than anything, to have her in his bed. He wanted all of her, in every way imaginable. He wanted to be near her, to touch her, to hold her, to protect her, to mark her for all to see.
His inner animal panted in eager agreement with these ideas. The impulsive beast could get him in trouble if Aric released him anywhere near Divina. Without a doubt, the wolf would pounce on her to stake a claim before the human Aric could ease her into it.
Divina scooted into the red, squeaky vinyl booth across from him. “Well, you clean up nice,” she said while her ice-colored eyes scanned him. Her gaze landed on the blanket. She chuckled placing a hand over her smile.
“I told you I would get it back to you before you left.” Aric’s smugness persisted.
She lifted the menu off the table a few inches. Aric appreciated that she didn’t hide her face with it. He enjoyed the view in the sunshine. The afternoon rays accented her tawny complexion. Her eyes glittered in the brightness in a way they hadn’t when they’d met in the dark. Her entire demeanor radiated a sense of energy he hadn’t seen in her the night before.
“I told you I wasn’t a vampire,” Aric said in a low whisper.
Divina peered at him. “Hmm?”
Aric gestured to the window as the sun’s rays warmed his skin. He’d purposely sat in a window with a lot of sunlight coming through it. Though, the position of the sun sent beams right into his eyes making him squint to see her fully.
It didn’t matter, though. He wanted to make a point.
“I’m not burning,” he half teased, half clarified.
She furrowed her brow for a moment before realization set in. “Oh!” She laughed.
She admired him for a bit longer, and Aric puffed out his chest.
With a snicker, she shook her head and brought her attention back to the menu. With a pink hue flushing her cheeks, she blushed. Oh, Aric liked that look on her a hell of a lot. His wolf howled in agreement.
Without looking at him, she responded, “I’m not sure if I’m leaving.”
Well, that didn’t take long. One lunch date in the sun and she agreed to stay. That couldn’t be right. As confident as he was in himself, even he had to admit something else was at play. Aric lifted his brows in surprise. His wolf sat up to attention.
“Did a handsome nonvampire convince you to stay?” Aric suggested hopefully, but jokingly.
She raised her ice blue eyes to him. “Someone thinks highly of himself.”
Aric postured and flexed his muscles. “Being humble is overrated.”
She laughed. Her body shook as a subtle tension visibly left her. When she completed her laugh with a sigh, she took a second to look upon him.
Aric swore he saw a fondness in her gaze. He waggled his brows in an exaggeratedly suggestive move.
Divina raised her menu higher and hid her face.
Aric frowned. He fought the urge to pull the menu down. His mate should feel free to show her emotions, especially to him. He wanted to witness them all.
“It seems fortune tellers could make a good profit here,” she said casually.
Fortune teller; the evasive answer to his seer question. Her dodge of his subtle attempt to find out if she was a witch. He regarded her with pursed lips.
“It is New Orleans. I imagine you could do well here,” he said unable to shake the feeling the two were dancing around a giant pink elephant in the room that neither acknowledged.
“What do you do?” she asked lowering the menu.
Aric’s heart, wolf, and dick swooned at the sight of her eyes again. He tried to push the image of her looking up at him from her knees out of his head. That idea would do nothing to ease the painful stiffness testing the limits of his jeans.
“Construction. Modular homes mostly,” he replied.
She placed the menu on the table and folded her hands over it.
“So you’re out in the sun a lot.” Her gaze went to his hands and then his neck.
He canted his head in curiosity. “Yes. Looking for tan lines?” he asked with a raised brow.
Divina’s cheeks turned a shade of red. Aric’s wolf howled within him. Aric licked his lower lip and bit down on it as his persistent raging erection strained against the denim around it.
She cleared her throat. “No.”
Her eyes shifted left and right as she surveyed the room. She leaned over the table.
“I just, well, I am still a little…,” she whispered, trailing off and not completing her thought.
“I’m still not a vampire,” he returned her whispered and leaned over the table closer to her.
Their faces were inches apart. Her scent wrapped around Aric causing his skin to tingle. His cock threatened to burst through his jeans. She intoxicated him.
If possible, Divina’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. The blush extended down her neck and Aric couldn’t help but wonder how far down. Unashamedly, his gaze traveled down her chin, her neck, and to the neckline of her shirt. They followed the trail of adorable embarrassment on his mate until blocked by her clothing.
She sat back and shrunk down a bit.
Aric grinned in amusement.
“It’s been an odd few days,” she confessed.
Aric narrowed his eyes to study her. Something bothered his mate. His need to make her life easier, to be her partner in all things rushed out of his mouth.
“How can I help?” he asked impulsively.
Divina blinked at him. Help? He’d offered to help her, and for some reason that felt odd to her. Surely someone had offered to help her before at some point in her life. Of course they did, when she was a kid. She got help all the time as a kid.
Not as an adult. She couldn’t remember the last time someone offered to help her with much of anything important without an agenda. Sure, to help her carry something or open a door. Yes, people offered to help her all the time in that respect. Cordial politeness couldn’t be considered help.
Of course, Rori and the Ember Witches offered help, but only to help themselves. Help with strings attached wasn’t truly help. Conditional help didn’t count.
With her internal debate regarding help sufficiently explored, she made a decision. Aric offered help because he had no idea the help she needed. She chalked it up to the social politeness offer of help.
“I don’t think you can,” Divina declined. “I’m not sure anyone else could handle this sort of stuff.”
“Try me,” he urged.
Persistent little bastard, he was. She admired that. Good-looking and persistent; score two for Aric Braun.
A waitress came by to take their orders. Divina noted the woman’s attention lingered on Aric after she took his order. The woman licked her lip as she took in the muscled physique of Divina’s date.
Possession surged through Divina. She clenched her fists at her sides and glared at the woman. Divina tightened her jaw to the point she thought her teeth might crack. The gall of the woman, the rudeness, it grated at Divina. She sat right there. Aric was on a date. Yet, the unprofessional waitress mooned over him like Divina didn’t exist.
“I’ll have a cheeseburger,” Divina began her order, in an attempt to interrupt the woman ogling Aric.
The waitress cleared her throat. She turned toward Divina to take the rest of her order with the fakest smile Divina had ever seen. A small sense of victory filled Divina. She needed that. She had a feeling the road ahead of her would be riddled with defeats. So even this tiny victory, over a waitress’s eyes on her man—well, that she would take.
Sitting back in the seat, Divina’s own thought stunned her. She’d just met the guy. Jealousy w
asn’t common for Divina. Especially, when it came to a guy she barely knew. Hell, she’d never felt it with Rori.
She pushed the thoughts and emotions aside. She didn’t need to worry about any of that. However, the waitress’s entrance had awarded her an opportunity to switch topics from her needing help and the witches.
Polite, “get to know you” conversation seemed to be working for them so far. Might as well stick with that course of conversation and forget all about the irrational possessiveness.
“Do you live around here?” Divina asked.
Aric’s face fell. He must have picked up on Divina’s not-too-subtle topic change.
She smiled back and sipped her water innocently.
“Yes, been here my whole life.” He fingered the straw to his water.
Divina squirmed under the intensity of his gaze upon her. She felt like a specimen behind observation glass. She shifted in her seat. Torn between wanting to posture for Aric, to make a good impression, and shrinking away from the inquisitive gaze, she chewed at the inside of her cheek.
He lifted his brows. “And where are you from?”
Chapter 29
Time passed as the two not only enjoyed their meals, but Divina found his company delightful. The relaxed, easy-going way Aric joked and carried himself allowed Divina a reprieve from the pressures of the prophecy, the witches, and Rori. It felt like ages since she had been able to be this normal, this human.
Flipping her hair, batting her eyelashes, Divina flirted effortlessly with Aric. Charm and humor came from him and it drew her in. Each moment that passed, Divina felt transported back to the days before Rori; the days when she believed herself to be just a human. Her life had been so simple once.
Dragging out their lunch longer than necessary led Divina to believe Aric didn’t want their little date to end, either. Leaving the diner, she suggested they walk around New Orleans. Aric took it upon himself to point out historical sights, acting as her personal tour guide.
The smile never left Divina’s face as he excitedly told her both history and lore of the sites they passed. It wasn’t long before his hand slid against hers and their fingers entwined as they strolled. The simple act of their joined hands elicited a skip in her heart beat. A pulse of infatuation pumped through Divina as she tumbled into being smitten.
The Witch of the Prophecy Page 18
