Third Charm: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 3)

by Jacquelyn Faye

  "Leave it," Yuki squeaked at the same moment I said, "Break it."

  "Well? Which is it?"

  "Yuki?" I made her name a question.

  "Leave it, please."

  "Why?" It was my mother's and my turn to speak simultaneously.

  "My powers have increased dramatically. That…and…"

  "What?"

  "I can taste food again through you. And also…"

  "What?" I had a feeling I knew, but I wanted her to say it. The scream from the living room when Jimmy and I had been having sex had been all but forgotten by me. Until I saw the blush on the vampire's cheeks.

  "I'm asexual. I rarely, if ever, have the desire to have intercourse or anything. When Lady Dorothea plays with her lovers… I can't even begin to describe how much joy it brings me."

  "It would almost seem you two were made for each other," my mother interjected, dryly. "What about you, Daughter? Any gain to your power?"

  "Not that I've noticed. I can't hear her thoughts even if I concentrate. She can hear mine, and at first it was uncontrollable, but that might have been the bond."

  Mother sighed. "She didn't drink your blood."

  "No, she didn't."

  "Why? What would happen?" Yuki sounded curious.

  "Dorothea would have gained some unique abilities."

  "Why didn't you tell me?" Yuki asked me.

  "I didn't want to bind you to me in the first place. Why would I have?"

  "To gain power. No offense, but if the vampires ever find out about this…"

  "I have a feeling Mr. Abernathy already knows. Don't forget, he is the lord of your clan. He is your sire, but now you belong to my daughter. Don't think for a moment that there is any way you could have hidden that from him. Before you leave, Daughter, you need to reach out to him."

  "He did sound a little odd the last time I spoke to him on the phone."

  "Exactly," my mother added.

  "Yuki and I will go there from here. If things go badly…"

  "They will not. He will understand, but if he does not, please use his sanctuary in our humble town as a bargaining chip."

  I could see the fire in her eye and knew without a doubt she was not joking. My mother had her moments, they were few and far between, but when they were there, they were epic. "Thank you, Mother."

  "Visitations from the goddess, vampire familiars. Should anything else unusual befall you…please do let your poor mother know as soon as it happens, please?"

  "Yes, Mother."

  "Also, complete your bond with the child before you leave. I am curious as to what will happen, and you may need the boost in power before you visit Lord Abernathy."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Do not doubt me, Daughter. Ever."

  "Yes, Mother," I said doubtfully.

  She cackled and left Yuki and me sitting alone in her study. Yuki was staring at me almost hopefully.

  "I thought you said the bond could never be broken. Why did she ask if we wanted it to be?"

  "As far as I know, it can't. My grandmother and mother are both ancient, and maybe they know of some archaic way that might leave one or both of us dead."

  "'Til death do us part?"

  "Exactly."

  She shuddered next to me. "I made the right decision then."

  I nodded, sorry she had to make the decision at all. "So. Where do you want to bite me?"

  "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

  "You heard her. There is little room for argument."

  She nodded and motioned to my wrist. I handed it over to her, grateful it wasn't my neck she'd chosen. I watched with morbid curiosity as she brought my flesh up to her lips and let her fangs settle just above the vein running through my wrist. I could almost hear the skin as it snapped under their sharp tips. I winced just as the fireworks exploded in my head.

  Chapter 6

  The limo that Mr. Abernathy sent for us pulled into the large circular drive in front of the pristine stone mansion. It wasn't my first visit, but I'd never been as nervous on any other visit as I was at that moment. My jitters were even setting Yuki on edge. She sat forward on the leather seat, nearly trembling in fear. I took a deep breath, settled my nerves and watched her visibly relax.

  She looked up at me.

  "Sorry," I said, trying to maintain my calm.

  "Don't be. I'm afraid, too. I feel as though I've done something wrong, even if it wasn't intentional."

  I nodded in understanding. "Like you borrowed the car to get him a present and crashed it on the highway."

  "Something like that."

  The limo rolled to a stop and we waited for the driver to get out and open it for us. I'd pulled the door open when he arrived at my mother's house and he seemed perturbed I'd touched the door handle. I wasn't making that mistake again.

  "Thank you," I said to him as we walked up the stone walkway leading to the front door. Before we could even ring the bell, it opened and a butler, complete in the standard black butler attire, greeted us.

  "Good evening. Please come in. Lord Abernathy will join you shortly." He led us to a small waiting alcove right off the foyer.

  "Thank you." I had a feeling I was going to be repeating myself a lot.

  He nodded and wandered off to butler somewhere else. I shook my head at the pretentiousness of the whole idea of butlers. We probably had twenty times the Abernathy's fortune. My mother would die before hiring a butler or a maid. She could use a maid, I'd seen the dust on her shelves, but a butler…not so much.

  "Lady Dorothea?"

  I looked up at a lovely Asian woman in a full kimono standing at the entrance to the alcove.

  "Yes?"

  "Please, come with me. Philippe will see you now."

  She turned without waiting and I heard Yuki gulp next to me as we stood and hurried to catch up to her.

  "Hello, Mother," Yuki said quietly as we fell into step behind her.

  "Greetings, my child."

  "This is your mother?"

  Yuki nodded somberly, not elaborating further. The kimono-clad woman led us up the stairs and stopped at a heavy wooden door on the second floor, rapping softly with her knuckles.

  "Come," echoed through the door.

  "Husband, your guests are here." She opened the door and we followed her into the dimly lit room.

  I blinked in confusion. If the woman was married to Philippe, then she had to be June Abernathy and that would make Yuki his…

  "Hello, Daughter."

  "Greetings, Father," she whispered reverently and bowed low.

  I chose to remain silent, not liking surprises. While I wasn't exactly angry, happy wasn't very high up on the list of emotions warring inside me. When Mother had said he had sired her, I assumed she had incorrectly thought Mr. Abernathy had made her into a vampire. Yuki winced as she felt my surprise.

  Sorry. I should have told you. I'm his second child and he sent me to you as a punishment. I didn't even think he still considered me a daughter.

  We will discuss this later, I thought at her as hard as I could. I doubted she would be able to hear me, since she never had before, but I hoped with the exchange of blood, she would.

  That is fair. I'm sorry.

  You can hear me?

  Yes.

  Good. I don't like surprises. Ever.

  Yes, my Lady.

  "Are you two done conversing?"

  I gasped in surprise. "You could hear us?"

  "No, but if you're going to converse privately, be sure in the future to control your expressions. You were both gazing at the floor and more than once my daughter winced. Which answers my question of who is the master in your relationship."

  "So, you know why we are here then?"

  "I had suspected as much when I could no longer feel Yuki through our clan ties. At first, I assumed they had formed a clan with your two wayward vampires, but George's bond is still there. Then I assumed she had perished, and you were afraid to tell me, but again, Georg
e alleviated my fears."

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Abernathy. I wanted to tell you in person."

  "Do not lie to me, Lady Blackwell. I know my daughter, she probably feared for her life and you both intended to take this secret to your graves. Before I get angrier, would you care to explain to me how you stole my daughter from me?"

  I cleared my throat nervously and attempted to gather my thoughts. "You know witches may call a familiar?"

  He nodded and narrowed his eyes.

  "Well, it is a complicated ritual involving both spells and magic. It also has an extraordinarily high rate of failure, especially with the more developed…familiars."

  "Go on."

  "Another component is the sharing of blood…"

  "You did all this to entrap my daughter as a familiar?" His eyes flared, and he stood, nearly frothing in anger.

  "No. I was badly injured and your daughter, out of the kindness of her heart, gave me a drink of her blood to save my life. Without even remotely trying, and without the ritualistic magic, spells, or me giving her my blood, she became my familiar. I can't explain how or why it happened, but I swear upon the goddess herself, it was not my intention."

  He transferred his angry stare to his daughter for confirmation. She nodded, meekly and bowed low again in contrition.

  Then his visage softened and became almost afraid as he slowly turned and regarded me with a look. I just didn't know what it meant. "You swear all you have told me is true?"

  "Yes."

  "And I am sure there is no way this bond can be broken?" he asked sarcastically.

  "Yes."

  "Then I must ask you one more thing, Lady Blackwell. What are your intentions?"

  "As far as?"

  "My daughter"

  "She is my familiar. She draws strength from me, as I draw strength from her. I'll always be there for her."

  He nodded before I finished, either expecting my answer or happy with my decision. "And what of the other vampires in your care?"

  "They are welcome to stay or go as they please?"

  "You do not intend to bind them to you as well?"

  "Oh, hell no. I didn't even mean to bind Yuki. You have to believe me."

  "I do. Now. But, faced with the opportunity to almost endlessly increase your power… You're not tempted?"

  "No, Mr. Abernathy. I am not."

  "You swear?"

  "Of course."

  "And I may let the vampires in Cedar Falls know to never share blood with you and why?"

  "Please do. I wouldn't want any accidents, even if I were near death or unconscious."

  He shifted his attention over our heads, to his wife, still standing by the door we had entered. "June. Contact your nephew. Let him know of everything we have discussed."

  "Yes, my husband." She opened the door and quickly exited.

  "Do you know why this has happened?" I had nobody else to ask and he seemed to know more than he was letting on.

  "I have a few theories, but I will say this. Never before has a vampire been bound to a witch as a familiar. Husband or wife on occasion, but never bound magically."

  "Has a witch ever been turned into a vampire?"

  "No. The magic which gives us life does not work on a witch. Nor can our two species interbreed. It is rare enough for vampires to give birth. Our two children are almost unheard of. We evolved to reproduce through our bite, not our loins."

  "What are vampires?"

  "None of us know. The oldest of us have even forgotten the tale of our birth."

  "Would you even tell me if you knew?"

  "I do not know. I will tell you I'm leaning toward no, right now. You should not have been able to do what you have done. I feel that the less you know of what we are, the better off we would be. I do, however, know that you do see us as equals and would do anything in your power to protect those of us you consider friends. That fact alone is cutting you much slack in my dealings with you and your family right now."

  "I thank you for that. I also promise not to let this happen again and to treat Yuki as my friend."

  He nodded. "Since she did not feel inclined to obey me, maybe it is good that she has a master she cannot disobey."

  I nodded, not knowing or wanting to know what she did to get banished to Upstate New York.

  "Well, I thank you for your time," he said and stood. We were clearly being dismissed.

  "Thank you for your understanding."

  "Not that I had a choice. I'm sure your mother instructed you to threaten our peaceful existence in Ashville if things had not ended on a friendly note."

  "You know my mother well. Rest assured, I am nothing like her."

  "Yet, young Lady Blackwell. I remember your mother in her youth, you are more alike than you know."

  "Now that thought scares me more than anything."

  His chuckle slithered across my skin. "Then maybe you shall avoid the heady drug of power. I wish you luck."

  "And I thank you. It feels awkward to ask with everything that has transpired, but we are trying to grow our supernatural population. Should you have any other vampires who wish to spread their wings and move, they would be more than welcome. Even ones you send to keep an eye on me."

  "George is good enough for that. June trusts him completely, as do I. But I shall keep your offer in mind for some of the younger ones of our clan."

  "Thank you."

  "No, thank you."

  He walked us to the front door and instructed the driver to return us to my hotel. I had to pack and figure out a way to get Yuki back to Cedar Falls. She had literally run the entire way, the thought boggled my mind, but I couldn't ask her to do it again.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Main Street in Cedar Falls had been completely decked out in Christmas decorations. They had sprung from every store front, and even the empty ones had garland and painted images of snowmen and Santas. "Wow. We were literally gone for two days."

  "Um, yeah. I've never seen it looking so festive," Chief said with the sound of awe coloring his voice.

  He was sitting next to me in my SUV after having driven back from Syracuse. Our flight was short and sweet, but I wanted to get home as soon as possible to check on our stowaways.

  "It's like Christmas threw up everywhere. It's beautiful," I rambled and headed toward my house.

  Thankfully, our arrival had put us in town just after lunch. I was starving, but my stomach could wait. At least the timing had kept traffic to a minimum. Getting from the edge of town to pulling in my driveway took less than ten minutes.

  I left the luggage and practically ran into the house. Josie waved and yelled, "Hi," as I ran past her and into the spare room. I had texted her to make it sun-proof again. Closing the bedroom door, I plunged the room into darkness, which wouldn't work either. Reaching over, I flicked on the light switch and stared at my shadow on the wall.

  Moments later, a hand reached out and grabbed the wall, Shea pulling himself from the shadow and dragging a very comatose vampire behind him.

  "Is she okay?"

  "Yes. You knew she would be, Lady. It's not as if we did not test it before travelling."

  "I know, I know, but you can't blame a girl from worrying. Thank you, Shea," I reached down and picked her up off the floor. Our travel solution had worked perfectly. The only thing lacking had been Shea's inability to lift the vampire on his own. I gingerly set her down on the spare bed and motioned him for the door. Just as a precaution, I grabbed the blanket off the foot of the bed and covered her before we left the room.

  Josie was waiting for me with a cup of coffee.

  "Bless your face." I gratefully took it from her.

  "Bless yours. Missed you!" She squealed and hugged me as I tried not to spill the mug of heavenly goodness on the floor.

  The front door opened, and Chief plowed through with my luggage. "Shit." I rushed over and grabbed my bags. "Thanks."

  "No problem. I shut the trunk, but your car is still unlocked." He wasn't exactl
y happy I hadn't told him I had a vampire familiar. It took me a while to convince him that it was Yuki's wish to not let anybody know. I even made up a little white lie about Jimmy "finding out" so he wouldn't get even more pissed off. But he was being civil, for which I was extremely grateful.

  "I'll lock it later."

  "Everything okay?" He looked over at Shea standing nervously in the doorway. You couldn't see his face, but he was fidgeting.

  "Yep. She's in bed. Worked perfectly," I answered.

  "Good. I'm heading out. I want a shower and I need to check in down at the station. Let the guys know I'm back."

  Setting my bag down on the floor and my coffee on the table, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him gently. "Thanks for going with me."

  "Yeah. That was fun, but unnecessary. In the future, I'll trust your judgement a bit more. At least on coven members," he added dryly.

  "Thank you. I'm just glad you realized it." I ignored his little jab.

  "See ya, Josie. Bye, Shea." The fae gave Chief a half wave. Josie wasn't even paying attention, just staring at Shea.

  "Where did he come from?" She looked over at me and pointed at Shea.

  "Long story. He brought Yuki. That's why I had you sun-proof the room for her."

  "Okay. Fill me in later. How'd it go back home?"

  "Better than I expected. Everybody who wanted to move, will be. Chief didn't have one objection."

  "You knew that would be the case," she said with a little snort. "Shea? You want some coffee or anything?"

  "Would you happen to have any wine?"

  Josie nodded and headed toward the kitchen, I followed her. I had some seriously bad news for her, and while I would have preferred to deliver it in a room devoid of sharp objects, sooner, rather than later, would be best. She had pulled a bottle of chardonnay out of the wine fridge and was peeling the foil off the top when I put my hand on her arm. "Chief didn't have any objections, but you might…"

  "Excuse me?" She set the corkscrew down and looked over at me, suspicion plainly etched on her delicate features.

  "We had a couple of surprise additions to the immigrant list…"

  "Who?"

  "My grandmother."

  Relief spread across her face, softening the lines that had formed. "Oh, jeez. You scared the shit out of me. I love your nana. Her moving here would be kind of cool, add a little spice to the mix."