Unexpected Magic

by Imani L Hawkins

  He watched as she scurried toward the door, shut it, and picked up his coat. She placed it neatly on a hanger before rushing toward their bedroom. She was like a rat – scurrying about the place in search for any scrap or crumb he left behind, hoping to please him in any way she could. The poor thing lived to please him, no matter the levels of degradation he’d subjected her to, and it disgusted him to no end.

  Where was the challenge, the hunt, the fight? It was as if the spirit of the woman was ripped from her body and replaced with a machine that did nothing but take orders all day. She catered to him, bending to his every will. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for him, and that was the problem.

  Darian had always admired a spirited woman, one who’d match his wit and challenge him. A true mate, one he could easily spend the next few hundred years with. One that wouldn’t bore him after the first twenty years of a long period of being mated. Instead, he was stuck with a whimpering mate who cowered every time he so much as raised his voice to her.

  He sighed, stepping into the living room and kicking off his shoes. Were she like the fiery blonde he’d watched at the bar, he could easily spend the next three hundred years between her thighs. But she was far from that.

  He watched as she flitted into the room, picking up his discarded boots and carrying them back to the room. Moments later, she returned, carrying a platter that held a goblet of fresh blood, cheese, and crackers. She sat it on the table beside him before coming around to stand before him. Kneeling down, she removed his socks and began rubbing his feet.

  “You don’t have to do that,” he sneered, a far cry from being polite. He was disgusted with the woman he’d spent so long with, a woman he would have never agreed to mate were it not for his parents brokering the deal.

  His mind thought back on a time when the clans were at war. They’d fought each other tooth and nail, desperate to eradicate the other if for no other reason but to be on top. That was the thing about vampires. With all the time in the world, they had no need for power. Time was far more powerful than any other commodity out there and they had plenty of it. Enough they warred out of nothing but pure boredom.

  His father, however, was tired of the fighting, tired of losing people he cared about for nothing more than petty bullshit. He approached the opposing leader, hoping to make a change, to allow the vampires to live harmoniously, in solidarity. With the human population increasing at a rapid pace, they needed to work together to ensure the survival of their species and keep the humans from knowing they existed.

  His father had always feared the humans would rise up against them and wipe all the monsters from the face of the planet. He’d felt they needed to come together, vampire, lycans, and any other creature who relied on brute strength to survive. The Mysts? They could take care of themselves with all the magic they wielded, but the monsters only had themselves to rely on.

  Lemuel agreed if only for one purpose, to see his daughter mated into royalty. Darian refused after spending no more than three hours in the girl’s company. She had a meek, timid nature. A girl trained to be domestic when Darian wanted anything but. He wanted a challenge. He wanted a chase. He’d even told her that but that changed nothing. She was duty bound to serve him and that’s what she’d do.

  At his father’s insistence, he committed the union. With all the time in the world, what was three hundred years? Unlike the fairytales, Vampires were only committed to mates for a term no longer than three hundred years. Once the cycle was complete, each was free to either continue their union or break their bond to each other. Darian would break his bond, he’d known that then and certainly now as she continued to rub his feet, humming that same song he’d found annoying since he’d met her.

  “Could you please stop,” he asked, pressing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “You know I hate that song.”

  He wanted her to protest, to tell him to shove it, to do…something. Instead, she complied without objection and he wanted to scream at her. He wanted to torment her, to force her to disagree. Damn her.

  “Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked, her blue eyes glancing up at him.

  He shook his head and thanked the heavens he only had a year left in bond. It was time he found someone better, someone worthy of his time and he had his eyes set on the young fae from the bar.

  He pictured her standing before him, her lips tugged down in a pout as he demanded she please him. She’d fight him on it, demand be shown the same level of respect he demanded, and he’d appreciate her all the more. A woman who knew what she wanted and knew how to get what she wanted. He’d seen that in her the moment he laid eyes on her. Her feisty spirit called to him in a way that made his chest ache and his member harden within his jeans.

  Even then, seated before his mate as she rubbed his feet, he found himself growing hard with need as he thought of the fae. She’d be his, no matter what it took, and he had all the time in the world to show her just how far he was willing to go to get her.

  He glanced down at his lap, noticing how his hardening member pressed up against the fabric of his jeans. Shaking his head, he looked down at the woman at his feet.

  “Actually, there is something you can do for me.”

  ~*~

  Sex with her had always been awkward, mechanical. He never knew if he pleased her no matter how hard he tried to elicit a response from her. And she did everything he asked. An hour in and he was no closer to cumming than he’d been when they started, that was until he started imagining it was the blonde who shared his bed.

  He came harder than he had in years and rolled off his mate. She snuggled up next to him and he tossed an arm around her. As much as he hated being mated to her, he did have some affection for her. If was hard not to when he’d spent the last three centuries building a home with the woman.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  He didn’t respond. Instead, he waited to see if she’d take the initiative to speak for herself. He’d nearly given up when a few minutes later she hadn’t uttered a word. Until he heard her sharp intake of breath.

  “Has it been all bad?”

  He wanted to say it had been, to tell her it had been the worst hell being mated to her, but he couldn’t. He’d be lying and one thing he never did was lie.

  He pulled her closer, allowing her to lay her head on his chest. “It wasn’t all bad,” he reassured her. “But I’d be lying if I told you we’d keep the bond once our time has expired.”

  “I know,” she breathed. “I was just hoping you’d give me some time to figure out what I’d like to do after this.”

  He quirked his brow. “We’ve had three hundred years, how much more time would you need?”

  “Another century?”

  She gave a nervous laugh, but Darian could hear the pain behind it. It pained him to no end they weren’t able to find happiness with each other. In the beginning, he’d thought he could change her, make her into a woman he’d be proud to stand behind. He’d even considered trying to accept her for who she was or changing to make them a better foot. In the end, none of it worked. They were just too different, bonded together for nothing more than a common goal and to fulfill their obligations.

  Well, that time had passed long before the end of their blood contract and the thought of prolonging the inevitable was abhorrent to him. There was no hope for the bond beyond its expiration date and he refused to push it any longer than that.

  “I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us. I’ll never be happy and, though you hate to admit it, neither will you.”

  The conversation ended that night with Darian feeling like the asshole he knew himself to be. But it was for the best. Nothing good would come from lying to the woman.

  When he was certain she was asleep, he pushed himself from the bed and opened the door that led to the balcony. The night was cold. He could feel the chill of the air against his naked body as he stood near the railing overlooking a massive yard. With a n
ew queen at his side, he could command an army of monsters to stand against the oppression the humans forced them to endure. As it stood, tensions between humans and Mysts were coming to a head, but little did they know they had another force to contend with. A force, that once everything was put in place, would see Monster’s Underground rise to greatness above all else.

  Chapter Five

  “You idiot. We could have been caught back there. What’s the matter with you?”

  The female voice cut into the blackness in Sam’s mind. She willed her eyes to open, but nothing happened. She was still surrounded by darkness no matter where she looked. Panic swelled within her and the moment it did, she could feel another tug in her chest before she was thrown back into the dark abyss.

  “Would you stop it? You’ll kill her.”

  It was the last thing she heard before she blacked out again.

  She awakened again, this time to the feel of the sun’s warmth seeping into her skin. She pried her eyes open and yawned, stretching her limbs to work out the kinks. Shaking the fog from her head, she glanced around the place. Wherever they’d taken her was a far cry from the apartment she’d lived in. The air was stale as if scented with mold and dust. The décor…well, she’d seen rats live better. Stained curtains covered the windows of the room, only allowing slivers of sunlight to slip between the openings. The floor was covered with a layer of dust and little nuggets she could only imagine were rat droppings that were scattered along the edges.

  The door opened and Colleen waltzed into the room, grabbing a seat beside the bed. She folded her hands in her lap before allowing her eyes to meet Sam’s.

  “Good morning,” she said, her cheery disposition enough to make Sam cringe.

  Unlike most people she knew, Sam wasn’t a morning person. If she could sleep all day without a care in the world, she’d happily do so if only to avoid interacting with people on the daily basis.

  She sat up in the bed, causing the mattress to squeak beneath her. “Where am I?”

  “Our hideout,” Colleen answered simply, as if that was all the explanation Sam needed.

  Sam glanced around Colleen to look up at Jonathan, who stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. The moment their eyes met, she could feel that push and pull she’d felt the night before, only this time it wasn’t as strong.

  “You passed out…”

  Sam flashed Colleen and incredulous look before thrusting a finger toward the warlock. “No, his demon attacked me. You should wrangle that bad boy in before he hurts someone.”

  Jonathan didn’t respond. Instead, his eyes darted toward Colleen. He gave her a tight meaningful nod before walking away.

  Sam pushed herself to the edge of the bed, her eyes searching the floor for her shoes. The floor was disgusting and there was no way she’d step foot on it without her feet covered, no matter the circumstances. And the circumstances were definitely unique. She was stuck in a strange place, with people she’s barely met the night before, and a demon touched warlock who’d tried to siphon her life force from her.

  Warlocks. As if they were dangerous enough with their abilities to steal magic and siphoned life from their victims, a demon touched warlock was far more dangerous. Their abilities were amplified by the demons they bonded with, making them damn near invincible in any fight. But their demons acted of their own free will if not constantly kept in check, and all demons thrived on death and destruction.

  She found her shoes beside the bed and slipped her feet into them, cursing the moment she stood to her feet. Her feet were sore from the long hours she’d spent on them the night before and shoving them back into the same pair of high heels only exacerbated the issue.

  Sam stepped around Colleen, headed for the door. She’d been attacked once already and had no desire to let it happen again.

  “Where are you going?” Colleen asked, spinning in her seat to face Sam.

  “Home,” Sam said.

  An ice wall formed in the doorway, blocking her exit the moment she reached it. Startled, she turned to face the mage, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides.

  “You can’t keep me here.”

  Colleen leaned herself back in her seat. “Actually, I can and I will so long as I see you as a threat.” She gestured towards the bed. “You may as well have a seat. We have a lot to discuss.”

  Sam thought about doing as she was asked but decided against it. With anxiety coursing through her, she wouldn’t be able to sit still without driving herself half crazy, something she’d discovered happened quite often. Instead, she paced the area in front of the door, her only exit from…hell, she still didn’t know where the fuck she was but the feeling of being cornered was beginning to have a profound effect on her. She felt her heart hammering in her chest, beating against her ribs in a violent cadence that made her want to fight, run, or scream at the top of her lungs until her throat bled. No one liked having their freedom taken from them, but fae hated it even more. Her parents had told her about their dark history, a past that saw them held captive and enslaved for their ability to produce dust. Luckily, most humans had forgotten about that ability, believing it nothing more than myth, but she knew the truth. She knew what her ancestors had gone through by the way anxiety seized her every time she was cornered.

  Now, as she paced the room, she felt it. She looked towards the windows, hoping should she find Colleen distracted, she’d be able to use it as an escape. But the damn mage was one step ahead of her. Crystal ice sealed the windows shut, preventing her escape. She was officially trapped.

  She dragged in a deep breath to calm herself, to ease the panic that began to swell within her. If she had to answer a series of questions to regain her freedom, she’d do so, even if that meant giving up her reasons for seeking out Jonathan. At most, they’d discover she’d only meant to figure out what happened to her brother, to free his soul from the Earth and allow him peace in the afterlife. At the least, she’d be forced to fight her way out, and looking at the mage, she was certain she could take her. She’d taken down people far larger before.

  “What do you want?” The words flew from her lips far more aggressively than she’d like.

  Colleen sat there for a moment, assessing her as she paced, before asking, “Why are you so interested in Jonathan?”

  Sam opened her mouth to protest, but decided it was no use. Colleen had noticed on more than one occasion Sam staring at the man and it would do her no good to deny it. Instead, she opted for the truth.

  “I was told he has information about my brother’s killer.”

  Colleen’s mouth formed an O, confusion twisting her expression. “And who told you this?”

  “Does it matter? I could give you an entire list of every single person I’d questioned or fucked answers from and it would bring you no closer to figuring anything out than it has brought me. I was given his name and description, told he worked for an organization that had something to do with my brother’s death, and I sought him out to question him. That’s all.”

  Colleen seemed to consider her words for a moment. She could see the wheels turning in the mages head before a small smile crept over her face.

  “If that’s the case, you can ask him whatever you need. But I doubt he’d have any information to give you. Jonathan hasn’t working for any organizations capable of murder in all the time I’ve known him.”

  “That you know of,” Sam quipped.

  “At all. Jonathan and I are a team. We know just about everything there is to know about each other, and doubt he’d hide something like that from me.” She leaned back and crossed her legs. “But, as I stated, you can ask him whatever you need.”

  “And his demon won’t attack me again?”

  “That’s not how it works. Jonathan has a firm grasp on his demon unless the demon senses someone means Jonathan harm. You’ll be surprised to find they work very well together. You might even call them friends.”

  That was hard to believe. Never
had she come across a warlock with a firm grasp on his demon. Most hated each other, doing everything they can to break their bonds to each other, even if that meant killing the other off.

  Colleen must have sensed the disbelief in Sam, for she offered, “They weren’t forced together at birth. Jonathan and Lemuel chose each other. It’s a long story.” Colleen stood from her seat and walked towards the door. “But, since you have no ill intentions towards Jonathan, I’m sure Lemuel will allow you your questions. Just tread lightly.”

  With a snap of her finger, the wall of ice disappeared from the doorway and Colleen grabbed her hand, tugging her from the room.

  Chapter Six

  “Jonathan?” Colleen called, pressing into his room.

  Sam followed close behind, making sure she stood directly behind Colleen. She wasn’t afraid, or at least that’s what she told herself, but the threat of being attacked by the demon was very much real if the demon determined she’d harm Jonathan.

  The room was dark, far darker than any other part of the place she’d seen so far. Darkened windows prevented most of the sun’s light from entering the room, giving it an ominous feel that didn’t exactly comfort her.

  The moment her eyes touched Jonathan’s, she felt a gentle tug. His eyes glowed that crimson red she’d seen before but something about it was far less sinister than it had been. It was more like a warning, telling her to tread lightly or else and Sam didn’t want to think about what that or else meant.

  Jonathan gave her a sheepish smile, his expression wary. “Sorry about Lemuel. He’s a bit over-protective.”

  He walked up to her and offered his hand. “I’m Jonathan and that red light you see behind my eyes is Lemuel. I promise you, he’s pretty harmless unless provoked.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Sam said, glancing down at his hand as if it were a snake ready to strike.

  He pulled back his hand, running it through his thick blonde curls. Another sheepish grin touched his lips. “I get it. There aren’t a lot of demon touched warlocks who actually get along with their demons, but we’re different.”