Charmed

by Jessica Sorensen

  What I need is to find a way to break the bond between us. I've heard of ways to do so, but it's always been for breaking the bond a creature has with a werewolf, not the other way around. And since I'm not positive how I became bonded to Alana instead of her being bonded to me, I'm not sure how to break the bond. But I'll find a way, even if my wolf isn't completely on board.

  After breathing in and out several times, I get my wolf to simmer down. Then I push away from the wall and head back to Alana. When I round the corner of the bar, though, she isn’t standing where I left her.

  "Where the hell did she go?" I mutter as I turn in a circle, my gaze sweeping across the nearby shops and the sidewalks.

  Several pixies are roaming around with bags in their hands, appearing to mind their own business. But the fact that not a single one of them is gawking at me has me more on edge than when they were openly staring.

  Something’s going on…

  As a shorter pixie with chin-length green hair and silver eyes passes by me, not making eye contact, I snag hold of the sleeve of her shirt.

  “Have you seen my friend?” I ask, my gaze boring into her. “She was standing out here just a few minutes ago.”

  “Why the hell would I have seen her?” she sneers. “I don’t pay attention to humans.”

  I arch a brow. “I never said she was human.”

  She tries to yank her arm away from me, but I tighten my grip.

  “Let go of me, wolf,” she snaps, jerking her arm again.

  But I only hold on tighter. “I’ll let you go when you tell me where she is,” I growl, feeling my bones starting to shift.

  Shit. If I’m not careful, I’ll shift into my wolf. And it’s not even a full moon. Not that this would be the first time that happened. It happened the other day when I was possessed. But I’m not possessed now. Apparently, though, being able to shift without a full moon has remained even after the possession has worn off.

  Just like my wolf’s bond to Alana remains.

  It has me worried. With all these experiments being done by the Electi, did they somehow manage to do one on me?

  I really need to find someone who can tap into my mind and find out what memories are hidden in there.

  Yeah, if only it were that easy. But with everything else on my plate, and with me being unsure who I can trust, I’m not positive how to go about doing that. Alana has suggested that maybe her aunt who’s a witch can help us, but I’m not sure I want to involve Alana’s family in this. If we do, we could be putting them in danger—anyone who knows about the Electi is in danger. Like Dash. I don’t know for sure what happened to him, but I have an unsettling feeling it might have to do with him knowing about the Electi.

  “Your eyes…” The pixie murmurs. “How are you shifting when it’s not a full moon?”

  I take a deep breath, close my eyes, then open them again. “I’m not shifting,” I manage to say evenly. “Now take me to the girl that was out here or else I’m going to squeeze your arm hard enough to break bones.”

  Her nostrils flare. “You werewolves think you’re so much better than the rest of us. Well, newsflash, even being a wolf isn’t going to save your precious girlfriend.”

  I don’t even bother correcting her about Alana not being my girlfriend, for several messed up reasons. Instead, I constrict my grip on her arm until I feel the bones start to splinter apart.

  Her face contorts in pain. “All right, I’ll take you to her!” she cries out.

  I loosen my grip. “Then lead the way.”

  Gritting her teeth, she stomps forward toward the entrance to the bar. But she doesn’t go inside, instead veering around to the side and down an alleyway. She continues down it until we reach a crystallized door nestled at the back.

  “You better not try anything,” I warn as she reaches for the doorknob. “Or else you’ll end up with worse than a broken arm.”

  “Whatever,” she mumbles as her fingers wrap around the door handle. “You’ll regret this.”

  I squeeze her arm in a warning, and she glares at me as she jerks open the door.

  On the other side is a narrow hallway lined with mirrors that lead to a pearl-white door.

  “What is this place?” I ask as we step inside, the mirrors instantly giving me vertigo.

  “The princess’s private room,” the pixie replies, her heels clicking against the glittering ruby floor. "She comes to the bar a lot and as a thank you, the owner gave her a private room."

  The pixie princess? The princess of the pixies took Alana?

  Shit, this is bad. Very, very bad.

  Jax

  It takes me a moment to completely process what the pixie said. Then questions start swarming my thoughts. Why in the hell would the princess of the pixies want Alana? Unless she’s working with the fey princess, aka Vivianne, at least I’m ninety-nine percent sure that’s who the fey princess is. What I’m not sure about, though, is why the pixie princess would be working with the fey princess? From what I understand, fey and pixies don’t get along very well.

  But perhaps word has gotten around about this war that’s supposed to be lingering in the future and groups are now pairing up. Still, why would they want Alana? That is, unless they know about her powers. But since even I'm not exactly sure of everything Alana can do, how would anyone else know?

  Unless they have a connection to the Electi.

  Worry stirs through me. Is someone from the Electi waiting on the other side of that door? Is the pixie princess part of their group?

  “What does the princess want with my friend?” I try to get some answers as we arrive in front of the door.

  “Friend, huh?” the pixie muses with a smirk. “If she’s just a friend, then why can I smell how much you like her every time you say her name?”

  I grind my teeth, loathing how right she is. It’s a curse of being a werewolf. Our scent manifests when we’re nearby or thinking of someone we’re attracted to. It’s why Alana can smell a woodsy, earthy scent every time I’m near her. Even the first night I met her, that stupid scent made an appearance. Luckily, though, she hasn't caught onto that yet.

  “Just open the damn door.” I shove the pixie toward the door, on the brink of losing my composure.

  She smirks, thrilled that she’s pissing me off.

  I take a deep breath, trying to get myself to calm down. “Open the door,” I say in a more composed tone.

  She rolls her eyes, but rotates the doorknob and pushes the door open.

  On the other side is a dimly lit room with black walls lined with cushioned benches. Dangling from the ceiling are crimson chandeliers and sheer red curtains that drape around a platform. And lying in the middle of the platform is Alana, her eyes shut, her lips slightly parted. For a mind-losing moment, I think she's dead. But then I see her chest rise and fall as she takes a breath.

  “What the hell did you do to her?” I growl, gripping the pixie’s arm.

  “I didn’t do anything.” She jerks her arm away from me. “The princess did.”

  I lean in her face. "Well, you can tell your princess to—”

  “To what?”

  I’m cut off by a female voice.

  I look away from the pixie, my gaze falling to a figure emerging from the shadows of the room. Her dark red hair flows to the floor along with the green dress she's wearing. Her skin nearly matches the dress, and her eyes are as red as her hair.

  And behind her are two male pixies, decked out in hideous sparkling outfits, her guards I’m assuming. But they don’t look that intimidating. Not that I’m going into this with that mentality.

  No, I need to be on alert.

  “You’re not going to finish that threat?” the princess says after a beat of silence stretches by. “Such a shame. I always look forward to meeting creatures who are bold enough to threaten me. It gives me the opportunity to torture them.”

  The crystals on the chandelier clink as silence stretches by again, and I attempt to figure out the
best way to approach this situation. Should I threaten her? Let myself shift and hope my wolf handles this for me? Probably not, since my wolf will more than likely try to bite Alana. Not in a violent way, but to bond himself to her even more.

  I’m still attempting to figure out what to do when the princess busts up laughing.

  “I’m just kidding,” she declares. “But the look on your face is priceless.”

  Um… What?

  Seriously, what the hell is going on?

  “I’m sorry,” the princess says, dabbing tears from her eyes. "I'm sure you're confused, and it's probably very rude of me to laugh."

  “Yeah, it is,” I agree. “So why don’t you tell me what’s going on? And why in the hell you took my friend?”

  “Friend, huh?” she muses with her head angled to the side. “Funny, because I swear I can sense a bond between the two of you.”

  I shake my head, pretending to be calmer than I feel. But the last thing I need is for the pixie princes to find out I’m bonded to Alana. “No, you can’t.”

  “My mistake,” she says amusedly. She remains quiet for an unnerving moment before gesturing at one of the benches. “Please have a seat, Jax. There’s some things I’d like to discuss with you.”

  “How do you know my name?” I ask, assessing her closely.

  She rubs her lips together. “Because your friend Oliver told me.”

  “You’ve talked to Ollie?” I realize my mistake as soon as I say it.

  It’s never a good idea to let a pixie know they have more information than you. They’ll use it against you if they get the opportunity.

  A smile spreads across her lips. “Who do you think told him the location of Hushing Forest?”

  So this is the pixie who told Ollie where to go? Jessa, I think her name is. But he never mentioned in the message he sent me that she was the princess of the pixies.

  Shit, Ollie, what have you gotten yourself into?

  I’m almost positive Ollie had to trade something in order to get the location to Hushing Forest. And making a trade with the princess of pixies…

  Yeah, I’m really worried about him.

  “You don’t need to be worried,” she reassures me. "Your friend is all right. In fact, he's in excellent hands right now."

  I smash my lips together as irritation simmers under my flesh. “Where is he?”

  “Unfortunately, I can't tell you that," she says. I’m about to lose my cool when she adds, “However, I can tell you about what you came here looking for.”

  Confusion spins through me. What does she know?

  "I'm referring to your… friend." She says friend as if it’s amusing. “And what she is.”

  I swallow the lump that wedges into my throat. How does she know about Alana? Did Ollie tell her about Alana’s abilities? Why would he do that? He should know how dangerous doing that is.

  “Don’t worry, your friend didn’t tell me anything,” she clarifies as if she can read my mind.

  I'd be worried she can except pixies don't have that kind of power. No, their abilities lie more in the direction of manipulation.

  I need to keep my lips shut so I don’t accidentally get lured into a trap.

  The princess lets out a quiet sigh. "Please have a seat, and I'll try to answer some of your questions."

  I shake my head, my gaze flicking to Alana. “I’m not sitting down until I can check on her.”

  The princess gives a nod. “Very well. Let’s wake your friend up, shall we?”

  She sweeps the curtains out of the way before stepping onto the platform Alana is lying on. Then the princess reaches into her pocket and sprinkles a bit of sparkling dust across Alana’s body. Within seconds, Alana’s eyes open, and she sucks in a huge breath of air.

  My wolf slightly calms down.

  She’s okay.

  “Take a deep breath, my dear,” the princess tells Alana as she frantically looks around the room.

  Only when her gaze finds me does she settle down a little bit. I feel a bit of pride over being able to calm her down. But again, I’m not sure if it’s my wolf reacting that way or me.

  Once Alana gets her breathing under control, she hops off the platform and reaches for the knife tucked in her ankle holster.

  “Don’t,” I warn, carrying her gaze, pleading for her to listen to me for once.

  If she withdraws that knife, all hell will break loose. And I want to get some answers before that happens.

  Thankfully, for once, she listens to me. Although, she looks pissed off, her jaw ticking as she stands back up without taking out her knife.

  “Smart choice,” the princess tells her, eliciting a glare from Alana. The princess chuckles. “You two are amusing.” Then she whisks over to the bench and takes a seat, waiting for us to join her.

  I trade a look with Alana then make my way over to the princess and sit down. Alana begrudgingly follows, sitting beside me, her cotton candy scent engulfing my nostrils and sending my wolf into a frenzy. She’s smelled like that ever since I met her and it’s always made my wolf go a bit crazy. But the bond has upped the craziness.

  Calm the hell down, I tell him. Before someone notices.

  Apparently, though, I don't get him composed quickly enough, and the princess gives me a knowing look.

  I glare at her and Alana notices, her gaze bouncing between the two of us.

  “Okay, someone tell me what the hell is going on,” Alana demands, crossing her arms and staring me and the princess down. “Because the last thing I can remember is some bitchy pixie knocked me out with some sleeping dust. And then I wake up here.” She glances around the room with her brows furrowed, “Wherever here is. And I don’t know who any of you are, yet Jax seems to.”

  “You’re in my private room,” the princess explains. “And I’m the princess of the pixies and these are my guards.” She points at the male pixies then her gaze slides to me, her lips quirking. “And your friend doesn’t know us.”

  “Okaaay,” Alana drags out the word, glancing at me, hoping for more of an explanation.

  “I’m not sure what’s going on either,” I inform her. “Other than she says she knows Ollie. I’m not sure why she knocked you out, though.” I glance at the princess with my brows raised.

  "Oh, that was for my personal entertainment,” she explains with a flick of her wrist. “I sometimes get bored, so when we have visitors, I use that as an opportunity for entertainment.”

  I’m not sure if she’s lying, but I decide to focus on the bigger problem.

  I cross my arms. “What do you know about what Ollie was looking for?”

  A trace of a smile appears on her lips. “I know that he was looking for the Scrawl of Secrets so he could help a friend identify a rare creature.” Her gaze skates to Alana and I stiffen. “He seemed desperate enough that I decided to help him, but not without getting a little bit of entertainment out of it.”

  “You seem really big on that,” I say, my tone laced with suspicion.

  “Like I said, I can get quite bored,” she replies, her red eyes glittering. “Which is why I made a deal with Oliver.” She rests back in the bench, crossing her legs and adjusting her dress.

  Then she grows quiet, smiling to herself, and I feel like I’m being baited.

  “What deal?” I decide to take the bait.

  “That’s between Oliver and me,” she replies. “What I want to discuss with you is the deal you're going to make with me to get the Scrawl of Secrets.

  “Do you have it?” Alana asks with that snarky bite in her tone that I both love and hate. “Or are you just trying to play us?”

  The princess taps her finger against her lips. “Now why would you think I’d do something that?”

  “Um, let me think,” Alana replies with sarcasm dripping her tone. “Maybe because you had me knocked out and taken here so you could lure Jax here. At least that's what I'm assuming. The question, though, is why? Because I’m not buying into this whole bullshit entertai
nment reason.”

  I sneak Alana a warning look. “You’re pushing it too far,” I mouth.

  She shakes her head and mouths, “No, I’m not.”

  That stubborn woman. She can drive me insane sometimes, something my wolf seems to like since he begins to stir inside me, purring awake, and begging me to bite her.

  The princess grins at me. “And this is why I’ve brought you here.”

  Alana looks at me confusedly.

  I shrug, just as perplexed. "I don't know what she means any more than you do."

  “He actually doesn’t,” the princess tells her. "Not really, anyway." She glances at her guards then back at me. "I want to make a deal. I'll give you the Scrawl of Secrets, and in exchange for my silence, you’ll give me a bit of entertainment.”

  I don’t like where this is going. “Your silence about what?”

  A smirk pulls at her lips. “About what she is.” She flits a glance at Alana, and suddenly, I can see it.

  She knows.

  Alana stiffens, and I clench my hands into fists, fighting the urge to silence the princess right here and now.

  “How do you know what she is?” I ask in a low tone, measuring the princess’s reaction.

  I expect her to say she looked it up in the scrawl, but that’s not the response she gives.

  “There’s a rumor going around about a rare creature with deadly gifts. She has eyes like violets, the beauty of a siren, and is completely clueless about what she is. And from what Ollie told me, I figured out that he was looking for an answer for this rare creature. And when Alana showed up here with her violet eyes and beauty that can make werewolves go mad,” she throws me a smirk and I glower at her, “I put two and two together.”

  I exchange a look with Alana, who’s gone very pale.

  “Who’s looking for me?” she asks quietly. “And why?”

  The princess shrugs, but I get the feeling she’s lying.

  “I’m not sure. All I can offer is an answer to what you are.” She crooks a finger at her guards.