Witch (Cursed book 4)

by Tara Brown

  His mother had been one, until she met an angel and gave him her heart, then the other sirens had shunned her. Sam had grown up with his mother and the Wiccans. He had always told everyone his father was alive. He never wanted anyone to know whose son he actually was.

  His phone vibrated in his pants. Hanna had finally messaged him.

  She answered his question, ‘At Lydia’s’

  ‘I want to see you’

  ‘Where r u?’

  He sighed and looked around, ‘Butt eff nowhere with Luke’

  ‘Ewww try to behave ;-)’

  ‘Funny’

  ‘I have to leave tonight. Lorri is sending me to Greece to see my fam’

  Panic filled him, ‘NO’

  ‘Yeah’

  ‘I’m coming to you’

  ‘Leaving now with Aims. Text when I know where I am. <3 U’

  He sighed, “Fuck.” Then sent his last message to her, in hopes it would help his cause later, ‘I love you too’

  The last thing he wanted was for Hanna to meet the others. He had hoped to explain the whole situation before she met the rest of them.

  Chapter Seven

  Ophelia

  Panic made her heart race as she ran through the downtown core. The small town along the Maine coastline was tiny enough that downtown consisted of about four blocks. Her feet ached from the flip-flops, but fear and heartache pushed her on. She raced until she reached the only small lane that looked as if it could be considered an alley. She didn’t notice the shadows begin to take form around her feet.

  She leaned her back against the cool brick wall of the local hardware store. She didn’t know what had happened to Jake. Why had she run? Why had the voices told her to run? Where was her sister? She pulled her phone from her pocket but sparks flew from it as her fingers met it. She sighed.

  She slumped onto the ground between two huge dumpsters and clutched her knees in her arms. She pulled her knees into her chest.

  She was so lost in thought, she didn’t notice the white-blue eyes watching her. She didn’t notice the dark shadows forming into fingers, trying to reach out to her.

  Her skin started to shiver from the cool air, brushing against the sweat beading on her skin. She had been hot all day. She felt like a freak, wiping her hands against her forehead.

  Her breath grew rapid; she felt something change in the air around her. Suspense hung in the air, coating her skin like mist. She felt something moving but saw nothing. She heard the mist whisper.

  She gulped but didn’t move. She waited for whatever it was to show itself. The thumping in her chest was starting to drive her nuts. She tried to hold her breath in. Nothing moved around her.

  Suddenly a huge animal lunged at her from the black empty spaces between the walls and the unlit alley. She put her hands out and screamed. Something pulsed from her. The huge wolf with the pale-blue eyes stumbled back. She screamed again.

  ‘RUN OPHELIA’

  She looked around in the direction the voices, but instead of belonging to the mist, they had taken a shape. A huge ball of light separated into six smaller balls. As the light dimmed, suddenly six girls stood in the alley. Each held their hands out. They turned to face Ophelia, their faces each identical to hers.

  Instead of eyes, the bright-blue lights filled their faces. Each made a panicked face and screamed at her in unison, ‘RUN.’

  Their voices filled the air around her. She scrambled to her feet, nearly losing her balance.

  ‘RUN TO THE HOUSE AND STAY INSIDE OPHELIA’

  She rounded the corner of the hardware store and didn’t stop until she was on her street. She raced across her lawn and bolted up her front steps. Her shaking hands were barely able to grip the door handle, but she finally got it open. She shot inside the house and locked the door. She didn’t know if the beams of light could get in. She pressed her back against the door and began to sob.

  A knock at the door startled her. She shook her head, letting the tears flow from her eyes.

  “Ophelia?”

  She stopped and whispered, “Jake?”

  “Ophelia let me in. Are you okay?”

  She shook her head and swallowed hard, “No, I feel really sick. I need to go to bed.”

  The door handle rattled above her head.

  “Ophelia, let me in.”

  She shook her head, as if he could see her.

  “Jesus Christ, I just want to talk.” His voice started to sound angry.

  Trembling, she wiped her face and waited for him to leave.

  His hands shook the door handle again, “Oh my God. What is that? Ophelia, let me in. LET ME IN!”

  He began to pound on the door. She jumped back from the door and watched the handle shake.

  “SOMETHING IS OUT HERE!”

  She grabbed the lock and threw open the door.

  He leapt in, knocking her to the ground. She screamed as he pinned her to the floor. The huge wolf with the pale-blue eyes lunged at the door. Its wide-open muzzle bounced off the open door, as if it hit a glass wall.

  Jake scrambled off of her and dragged her further inside of the house. He lifted her off of the ground and held her in his arms tightly.

  "WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK!"

  She tucked her face into his chest, squinting away from the wolf at the door.

  Jake’s arms wrapped around her, “What the fuck?”

  She shook her head.

  He put her on the couch. The door hung open. Jake stepped toward the door.

  “No, Jake—no stay here. No, don’t go over there.” she whispered, putting her hands out. She never took her eyes off of the open door. A cool breeze blew in, making the door creak. She felt like her heart was in her throat, watching him take another step toward the door. He peeked around the open door frame.

  “I don’t see it.” he whispered.

  She could feel it though. She could hear it whisper in her mind. It wanted her. It wanted to do bad things to her. It called her a witch. It said that was its favorite.

  Suddenly, Jake jumped back. The huge wolf growled, filling the doorway. He grabbed the door and swung it hard. The door slammed, shaking the entire house.

  His chest rose with his breath.

  She had covered her eyes with her hands and was peeking through the spaces between her fingers.

  He turned at her, “What the hell was that?”

  She shook her head, “A wolf.”

  "Yeah, I get that it’s a wolf, O, but what the fuck is it doing in town? Why is it chasing us?"

  "I don’t know."

  He turned the lock on the door, “Why couldn’t it get past the doorway? It bounced on nothing.”

  She shook her head again, “I don’t know, Jake. Why did you freeze in the truck? What was that?”

  He turned to look at her confused, “What?”

  “Lance’s driveway. We were kissing and then you froze.”

  “I don’t know. I never. I just looked out the window and you were gone.”

  She rubbed her hands over her eyes, “What? That doesn’t even make sense. You didn’t hear me leave the truck? You were frozen. I touched you. It was like a seizure.”

  He backed away from the door. He went to the windows and closed all of the blinds.

  "What made you come here? Why didn't you go in to the party?"

  He walked over to her, his dark-blue eyes looked concerned, “I just knew you were here. I had a bad feeling, like I needed to get here right away.”

  He climbed onto the couch and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He dialed and held it up to his ear.

  “Dad, there's a huge wolf outside of Ophelia’s house. Ophelia. You know Dr. Peters. Ophelia Peters. Yeah.”

  He rubbed his forehead, never taking his eyes from the front door, “It was the size of a horse, Dad. It was huge. It jumped at us and tried to get us.”

  They both watched the door.

  “No, we’re safe at Ophelia’s but you need to call the police and
the forest rangers.”

  He pulled the phone away, “I’m staying here with you, okay?” he whispered.

  She nodded; she didn’t know if that made her feel better, but it didn’t feel worse.

  “I’m staying at her house. Yup.” He hung up the phone and started to fiddle with it.

  “I’m going to text everyone at the party and let them know. They should go home, this is nuts.”

  She watched his hands fly across the surface of his iPhone. She couldn’t help but notice how graceful they were for such large hands.

  He looked at her again, “You okay?”

  She shook her head again. Her words didn’t make it out of her throat.

  “That was bizarre. Why couldn’t it get in the house?”

  “I don’t know. It was in the alley, behind Lawts Hardware. It attacked me then, but then, uhm, well—I got away.” She didn’t want to tell him about the six ghosts that had looked exactly like her. She didn’t know what to say about any of it.

  Jake put his hands on her bare arms. His touch made electricity run up and down her arms. She remembered his lips pressing against hers. His tongue was roaming her mouth. She blinked, trying to focus on him and let go of the daydream that seemed to be taking over her mind.

  He frowned, making his dark-blue eyes almost black, “You okay?”

  Her head shook back and forth, before she could even register what he’d asked.

  He pulled her in to his chest. He kissed the top of her head, “Me either.”

  She hadn’t imagined he could be weak or tender. She definitely never saw him as vulnerable. She also never imagined a massive wolf would be chasing her around town or that her house would magically keep it out. She didn’t even want to think about the ghosts in the alley, or the fact Jake had been frozen in the car. The broken windows at school suddenly felt a lot less serious.

  “I am sorry for kissing you, when you were saying no. It was like I couldn’t stop.”

  She closed her eyes, “It’s okay. This has been a weird night.”

  The front door opened suddenly, making them both jump. Abbey raised an eyebrow at her, “You didn’t even make it there, huh? Did you even leave the yard or just wait for Mom and Dad to leave?”

  Jake shouted, “CLOSE THE DOOR ABBEY!”

  She frowned, "Don’t yell at me in my house, Jake. You two are wankers. I can't believe you never came."

  “We did, but a huge wolf chased me, and Jake had, like, a seizure. Close the door.”

  Abbey looked back, poking her head out the door, “I don’t see anything. Maybe it was a love wolf.” she snickered.

  "CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!"

  She slammed the door with a red face, “Asshole. You don’t have to shout.” She turned and stormed out of the room and up the stairs.

  Jake sighed and tried to call to her, “Abbey, I-I-I’m sorry. It was there. I didn’t want it to get you.”

  Her angry footsteps on the stairs drowned out his voice. He looked at Ophelia and shrugged, “Sorry.”

  “No. She never saw it. Better she's pissed at us than eaten by that friggin’ thing.”

  She climbed off the couch and took his hand. Her body felt alive, like energy flowed between their grip and sparks flew from where their hands met. She pulled his massive body from the couch and dragged him from the front room. She walked up the stairs to her bedroom.

  Chapter Eight

  Sam

  The elders’ meeting was boring. He couldn’t even pretend to care about the numbers of deer and bears in the woods. He wanted to get to the point. He felt his leg starting to twitch.

  He looked at Luke, who gave him a subtle head shake. Sam sighed and pulled his phone out. His heart sank when he saw no new texts or missed calls. Hanna was going to be the death of him. He was glad the scouting trip to Alaska was over, but he was terrified of her being in Greece without him, and without an explanation. They would pollute her. He felt a slight ache in his chest, imagining her pulling away. They would tell her he was bad. He was cursed.

  “Sam.”

  He looked up to see the room staring at him. He cleared his throat, “Sorry.”

  Lucas laughed, “They found his scent. It’s a little north of here. Want to flash some of us up there?”

  “Sure, but I can’t do many. Maybe three others.”

  Sam stood, feeling the eyes of the ever-watchful females on him. Janine licked her lips and looked directly at his groin. He felt it twitch. It had been a long time since he’d satisfied himself and he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of a shifter. They were like forbidden fruit. They hated his kind. His kind hated every kind. He tore his gaze away from the sultry mouth of the blonde shifter.

  “Let's go.” he spoke in a quiet voice.

  Lucas strolled over nonchalantly, “You need to see Hanna, dude. You need something, because even I can feel what you’re giving off.”

  He felt his cheeks flush, “Yeah, well that’s not going to happen. She’s gone to Greece. I’m not welcome there.”

  Lucas winced, “Well, your tension is all the better to kill a wolfman with.”

  “I would probably rip him to pieces from fifty yards right now. Who all is coming?”

  Lucas pointed to the two men and Janine, “The elders. Two trips for the other three?”

  He nodded and clenched his jaw at the thought of Janine constantly around him. He would need a picture of Hanna in his mind constantly.

  “Stupid siren sex vibes. Stupid full moon.” he muttered. His half-angel-half-siren situation was brutal, unless he kept it under control. He remembered the feeling of Hanna in his arms. The delicious feeling of her lips brushing against his. The soft noises she made.

  “Dude, Jesus.”

  He looked at the faces of the shifters and smiled. They were loosening their collars and trying not to pant.

  “Sorry. Anyway, shall we?” He put a hand out. Everyone touched him. One of the taller men held the picture of a small town. Sam nodded and flashed them there instantly.

  He was back at the lodge and flashing the other members instantly.

  The small town was silent. The great hall with the voices and people surrounding them, and the smell of campfire was suddenly gone. Replacing it was silence. His senses became heightened. He looked around, watching the shifters turn their noses up to the wind.

  He could smell something, but he wasn’t entirely sure it was what they smelled. He could smell Annabelle almost, but different.

  He frowned, seeing Lorri walking toward them. Her fiery-red hair was spiked more than normal giving her a feisty look.

  “What the hell are you two doing here?”

  Sam smiled, trying to ignore the bodies surrounding him tensing.

  Lorri nodded to the elder in front of Sam, “I am sorry for your loss. Ben was like a son to me. We have shared a loss.” Her eyes glowed with an inner fire, “Want to share revenge?” Her plump lip turned up slightly.

  He nodded, “Yes. We want our kill.”

  Lorri nodded, “I will allow you to kill the man responsible. His name is Daniel.” Her eyes lit up even more, glowing with evil, “He’s a vampire.”

  The elder grinned, “Whatever you need that we may offer is at your disposal, until such time as we may kill him.”

  She turned to Lucas, “Why are you here?”

  Lucas’ face flushed, “Aleks’ dad.”

  She raised an eyebrow, “What the fuck?”

  He shrugged, “Look you wouldn’t let us come to Alaska so we decided to find our own entertainment. We’ve tracked him.”

  She shook her head, “Dorian gets this one.”

  Sam laughed, “We can catch him and hold him until Dorian gets here.”

  Lorri laughed, “If he was so easily caught, do you not think he would have been already.”

  Sam sniffed the air, “I can smell him.”

  Lorri nodded, “I don’t give two shits, Sam. Lydia said there is someone here we need. A girl. She’s been missing for e
ighteen years, human years. Her father is Jonathan.” Her tone dropped on the name.

  Lucas looked sickened, “Jonathan?”

  Lorri nodded.

  Lucas shook his head, “He had all his daughters murdered.”

  Lorri shrugged, “Lydia says she is the girl. She sensed her about forty-eight hours ago. It was like a switch turned on. I have no clue, but Lydia wants her now. We don’t have a minute to spare.” She leaned over to Sam and smirked, “You smell nice, Sam. Maybe you can convince her to come with us.”

  Sam rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”

  Lorri grinned and pointed across the small downtown square, “It’s this way.”

  The shifters phased instantly and spread out. Any normal human would have lost them in the dark night, but Sam’s exceptional vision made it easy.

  He walked along behind Lorri, the only two still walking on two feet.

  She looked back, “You pissed at me?”

  “Yup.”

  “You know she needs to meet them. She’s alone in the world. They can teach her to tame it down.”

  He felt his rage building, “She isn’t alone. She has me, Roland and the Roses. They will teach her things, she doesn’t need to know.”

  Lorri looked almost softened for a moment, “You know she will always love you, right? You’re the one. No one can replace that.”

  Sam growled, “I’m not worried about her not loving me.”

  Lorri snorted, which was odd for Lucifer to do. “Sam, she isn’t going to hook up with some Greek just because they tell her to.”

  He sighed, “So you concede they will try to make her experiment? That's their way.”

  “It’s their way. If they teach her to pull to ease the tension and the need, then all the better for us.”

  He didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He wanted to smash things and destroy people that stood in the way of him and Hanna. It had been all he could do to not make an attempt at killing Marcus.