Lust

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  I looked around me. There were about a dozen small thatched roof cottages that were built into the hillside nestled between a forest and a river.

  “This is the Allure village?”

  “Were you expecting something different?”

  “Something bigger.” The Allures didn’t seem like simple, hut dwelling people to me, and I definitely expected more than twelve houses. Did a lot of them live together?

  “Your numbers are dwindling.”

  “You make it sound like that’s a bad thing,” I mumbled.

  “Allures play an important role in the order of things,” Adrian explained.

  I turned to him hoping he’d continue.

  “All creatures do, but the Allures are needed to keep the balance.”

  “The balance?” I asked. I wished something the Dryads said would make sense to me for once.

  “You’ll understand soon,” Sky touched my arm.

  “Which is Violet’s house?” I looked over the homes.

  “That one.” Adrian pointed to the brown and green cottage at the top of the hill. “Roland’s is over there.” He pointed to one to the right of us.

  “I want to see Violet’s first.”

  “Hers before your maker’s?” Adrian raised an eyebrow.

  “I think she left something for me there.” I grappled for a reasonable sounding excuse.

  “And you are only telling us now?” Donna put a hand on her hip.

  “I forgot. Just remembered.” I hurried up the hill.

  “Thanks for escorting us, but we’ll be fine from here,” Owen said from somewhere behind me. I assumed he’d follow, but either way we needed to start searching for any answers we could find.

  “You’ll come for the festival?” Donna called.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Owen was right on my heels.

  “We’ll try.” He caught up with me as I reached the door.

  “Go on, try to open the door.” Sky called up the hill.

  “Wait. We need a key.” Owen tried the door. It was locked.

  “Daisy should be able to open it.” Adrian called up. I heard footsteps behind us, and I knew one of the Dryads was following.

  I put my hand on the doorknob. It warmed under my touch and gave way.

  “You’re an Allure,” Donna said from behind us.

  I nodded. I had it in me. That much was true.

  I turned around and watched the three Dryads disappearing down the path.

  Owen leaned in. “I know how to find them.”

  “What?”

  “Shh.” He put a finger to his lips.

  “How?” I peered down the path. The Dryads were nowhere to be seen. “How do you know?”

  “I can be persuasive.”

  “Meaning you flirted with the girl for info?” I didn’t like that he flirted with her, but if it got us the information we needed, then I guessed it was well worth it.

  “I didn’t flirt, I gave her attention. She doesn’t get much of it.”

  “Why not?” I found I actually cared. That was a good sign. Caring was feeling.

  “Her family isn’t all that important. I can relate.”

  “Says the advisor of the king…”

  “I got my position out of my friendship with Levi, not my family.”

  I wanted to know more about Owen’s family, but now wasn’t the time. “If we know, do we need to go inside at all?”

  “It’s probably a safer place for me to explain everything.”

  “Sky doesn’t think Violet has a plan.” I pushed open the door. I figured I should be forthcoming as well.

  “Violet has one.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because her Allure doesn’t work on me. She might have used it on Georgina and Mayanne but…”

  “Wait, you’re right. How didn’t I think of that before? She might have been using her Allure on them.”

  “It wouldn’t work on me or Levi, and neither woman sounded off to you, did they?”

  I shook my head. “No, but either way, let’s hope she did have some sort of plan.”

  12

  Owen

  I turned on the one small lamp as we walked into the simple yet spacious home. From the outside it had appeared small, but the high ceilings and large hallways were nothing like what I expected. It was almost like an illusion. My eyes went immediately to the large window with a view of the entire valley below.

  “We broke into someone’s house.” Daisy carefully closed the door behind us.

  “If that was the case, would it have been so easy for you to open the front door?” The door hadn’t budged when I touched it, but Daisy’s touch worked immediately.

  “It seems strange that any Allure can open it. Wouldn’t that be a security or privacy issue? It can’t be that simple.”

  “None of the Dryads were surprised, so it has to be pretty common.”

  “Or they want us to think that.” Daisy walked into the living room. “We can’t trust anyone anymore.”

  “You can trust me.” I followed behind her. “But I agree with you about trusting anyone else. The Dryads seemed to know more than they were saying. I’m hoping this isn’t some sort of trap.”

  “We can’t know for sure, which is why we need to work fast.”

  “We can’t go anywhere else tonight. We need to get food and sleep.”

  “You better not really be planning on going to that festival.”

  I smiled. “Really? Jealous of Donna?”

  “This has nothing to do with jealousy, it has to do with fraternizing with the potential enemy.”

  “I know you aren’t a fan, but I did get some information from her.”

  “You mentioned that earlier. Ready to share?”

  “Yes.” I put my hands on her hips. “But first I need something from you.”

  “What?” She scrunched up her forehead.

  “This.” I crushed my lips into hers. I’d been waiting hours to kiss her, and I wasn’t going to give up the chance.

  She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. I lightly bit down on her lip. She moaned, and I intensified the kiss, soaking up her taste as I explored her mouth. I slipped my hand just underneath her t-shirt, wanting to feel her soft and warm skin.

  She pushed my hand up higher, and I cupped her breast through her bra. She moaned as she ran her hand up and down my chest. Each touch set me on fire. I’d never get enough.

  She bit down on my lip, and I groaned. I unclasped her bra and cupped her breast without the fabric in the way. She moaned as I ran my fingers over her nipple.

  I used my free hand to unbutton her pants, and I slipped my hand inside. She thrust her body against mine. I released her breast and pulled off her shirt, immediately discarding her bra.

  I held her against me, reveling in the feel of her bare chest against mine. Everything about it was natural. We belonged together in a way that still made little sense. I’d never given much credence to fate, but I’d changed my mind. We were fated to be together. There was a higher power that wanted us together, and it made each day we spent together feel like a year in the intensity it created.

  “I can feel your heartbeat,” she whispered with her lips running down my neck.

  “I can feel yours.”

  “I still can’t believe you’re here. Despite all this craziness, you’re with me.”

  “I am.” And I always would be.

  “We can’t do this though.” She rested her head against my shoulder. “We can’t let this go further.”

  “Because of how you feel, or because of everyone else?”

  “Everyone else. The only feelings of mine I know are real right now are the ones I feel for you.”

  “Good. And although I don’t want to stop, you’re right.” I let out a few deep breaths. My body was ready for her, but my mind knew that she was completely right.

  I bent down and picked up her bra. Instead of handing it to her I put it on her myself. I move
d around behind her to clasp it. Dressing her wasn’t nearly as much fun as undressing her, but it was intimate in a different way.

  She pulled on her shirt while I buttoned her jeans.

  She ran her fingers through her hair that fell over her shoulder. “We’ll finish that later.”

  I smiled. “Yes we will.”

  “What did Donna say?”

  It took me a moment to answer. It was jarring to move from touching Daisy to discussing something serious. “The Glamour Realm is really several islands. We’re on one of the largest ones. The Force is headquartered on one smaller one.”

  “And the Elders?”

  “We have to travel to the farthest island in the chain in order to reach Energo. Once we get there we’ll have to climb a massive mountain to get to Mount Majest.” Not that I planned to climb anything. I’d fly us anywhere we needed to go.

  “Fantastic.” She pressed a hand to her forehead.

  “There’s more.” I needed to share everything I knew. At least Donna had been chatty.

  “Oh?”

  “When they say we won’t get an audience, they mean it. We won’t even be allowed near the palace on our own.” I wasn’t used to being denied access anywhere. I’d grown up as the best friend of royalty, and I’d never had a door closed in my face. Now I had to learn to navigate a world where no one cared who or what I was.

  “But we have to. There’s no way to know how long Violet will be with the Force, or even if she’s going to help.” She paced around the worn wood floors of the main living space. The sparsely furnished place had a quirky yet homey feel.

  “Which is why it’s important we’re here.” I had to keep our confidence up. We needed to be ready for whatever came our way. “Maybe there’s something here that can help.”

  “Maybe she left a clue. She specifically said she wanted us to see her home.”

  “Could be, but when would she have left it?”

  “I don’t know.” She sighed. “It was only a thought. I’m also wondering about Taylor. When and how did she disappear? And what about Violet’s past? What was the story behind the story Myrtle told us?”

  I put my hands on her hips again and pulled her in. “You’re cute when you’re frustrated.”

  “I guess that means I’m cute a lot now.”

  I laughed. “You’re breathtaking when you’re happy.” I knew I was moving us from the situation again, but I couldn’t help it. Daisy was so stressed and sad. It was killing me.

  “I’m happy when I’m with you.”

  “Are you?’” I looked deep into her eyes. I was constantly checking to make sure she was still there.

  “Very.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips against mine.

  “I’ve missed you.”

  “Me too. And I got jealous. I’m ridiculous.”

  “Not ridiculous.”

  “I got jealous, and you were getting us information.”

  “I want you to be jealous.” Being jealous meant she was still feeling. She needed to stay that way. Positive emotions were better, but negative ones could be strong.

  “Oh yeah?”

  I ran my lips down her neck. “It means you feel. You care.”

  She leaned her head to the side to give my lips better access. “No matter what happens, I’m going to remember your touch.”

  “I won’t let you forget it. I won’t let you forget anything.”

  “I love you.”

  I looked into her eyes again. “I love you too.”

  Tears streamed down her face. “I want to love you forever.”

  “And you will. I’ll make sure of it.” I wiped away the tears from her eyes.

  “What are we looking for exactly?” She blinked a few times.

  “Anything to tell us where we need to go.”

  “How do we do this? Are we really going to manually search her house?”

  “Absolutely not!” a scratchy voice called from the dark corner of the room.

  I transformed again, immediately on alert.

  “Are the dramatics really that necessary?” The voice asked.

  “Who are you?” Daisy’s voice shook. We both watched the corner of the room where the voice came from.

  “I’m Glendale.” A small furry creature walked into the light.

  “You’re a cat. A cat who can talk?” I stared at the orange and white stripped animal.

  “You’re a man with wings. A man with wings that can talk?” he mocked.

  “Have you been here the whole time?” Daisy asked.

  “Concerned I witnessed your scene of intimacy?” He walked toward us. “Don’t concern yourself with that, I’ve seen plenty, although much less over the past decades.”

  “Are you Violet’s cat?” I couldn’t really believe we were engaging in conversation with a feline.

  “I prefer to view our relationship as that of equals.”

  “But how does she view it?” Daisy put a hand on her hip.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never asked her. Maybe you should next time you see her.”

  “And when that will happen is the million dollar question.”

  “Where is she?” Glendale walked around us in the circle. “What are you doing here?”

  “Isn’t the bigger question who we are?” I still couldn’t believe I was talking to a cat. At first I assumed he was a shifter, but most shifters couldn’t talk in their animal form. Pterons are the exception since we stay partially human when we shift. I wondered if Glendale was something else entirely.

  “I know who you are. Do you think I’d have been so hospitable if I didn’t?”

  “I don’t know much about cats being hospitable.” Daisy fidgeted uncomfortably as Glendale rubbed against her legs.

  “Violet told me all about you.” He moved over to my legs. I wanted to push him away, but he seemed talkative. “Both of you.”

  “Did she tell you what she was going to do to help me?” Daisy bent down to his level.

  He bumped his head against hers. She startled and moved back. “No.”

  “And here I thought you could help.”

  “I can help.” He purred.

  “But you don’t know anything.” I held out a hand to Daisy and helped her up.

  “I know plenty.” The word plenty came out like a purr.

  Daisy narrowed her eyes. “Then why is Violet in trouble with the Force?”

  “Because of you.”

  “Because of me?” Daisy put her hand to her chest.

  “Daisy has done nothing wrong.”

  “Except refuse the gift.” Glendale rubbed against Daisy’s legs again. “But I said she was in trouble because of Daisy, not that Daisy caused it.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning she’s in trouble for aiding you when her superior told her not to.”

  “Louie.” His name slipped off my tongue with distaste.

  “Exactly.”

  “What are they going to do to her? And Hugh?”

  “They have Hugh too?” Glendale twitched his tail.

  “Yes.”

  “Wonderful.” He purred loud and deep.

  “Wonderful?”

  “That man needs to be put in his place.”

  “Please answer me. What are they going to do with her?”

  “They’ll let her go with a warning. No one really wants to mess with Violet. It’s too dangerous. She’s stronger than half the Force.”

  “Then why did she let them take her in?”

  “Because it’s the rules.”

  “Do you know how to find the Force? The island it’s on?”

  “Yes, we will leave tomorrow first thing.”

  “You’re coming?”

  “I need to see that Violet is released immediately.”

  “But not tonight?”

  “No. Not on the first night of the blood moon festival.”

  “Scared of the Dryads?” I raised an eyebrow. Unless these Dryads were completely different than the on
es back home, the cat had nothing to worry about. They loved nature and animals no matter what form.

  “It’s not the Dryads I’m afraid of.” His eyes narrowed down into small slits.

  “Then who is it?”

  “I want you to sleep tonight. You’ll be safer if you stay indoors.” He circled Daisy’s legs.

  “The Dryads invited us to the festival.”

  “Sure they did. I’m not surprised at all.”

  “So they were knowingly luring us to danger?”

  “The festival itself is safe, but traveling to and from isn’t.”

  “But I thought Allures were super powerful. Who would hurt me?” Daisy sounded more confident than usual.

  “You are still partly human. I can tell.”

  “What if you’re the one trapping us?” I asked. “You want us to stay here.”

  “You were already planning on staying. I heard the two of you.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.” I wasn’t getting tricked again, especially not by a cat.

  “I’m not going out there tonight.” Glendale turned his back and raised his tail.

  “Not even to get to Violet sooner?” Daisy made her voice low and sweet.

  “Violet will be fine another night. Me, on the other hand, do you think I’m good at defending myself?”

  “Cats are really clever, and don’t you have claws and sharp teeth?”

  “I appreciate you making me sound like a lion, but I’m small in size.”

  I heard footsteps. “Where you expecting someone else?” I asked the cat.

  The fur on the back of Glendale stuck up. “No, this is trouble. Hide Daisy. They came for her.”

  “Where?” Daisy asked quietly. “Where can we hide?”

  The front door swung open, and I instinctively jumped in front of Daisy. Glendale arched his back.

  A man dressed in a black suit with a matching black tie strode into the room. “Well, well, well. This was easy.”

  “What are you doing here?” I glared at the intruder. He was even taller and larger than me. Since he’d opened the door on his own without the sound of a key, I assumed he was an Allure.

  “I’m collecting my bounty. It was much easier than expected.”

  “What bounty?” I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I knew it couldn’t be good.