Charmed

by Jessica Sorensen

  The shorter of the two steps forward, sticks his hand into his jacket pocket, and retrieves a small, leather-bound book with Scrawls of Secrets engraved in gold ink across the front.

  I straighten at the sight of it. “Where the hell is Ollie?” I snap at the princess.

  “I already told you he’s being taken care of,” she replies vaguely as she takes the book from the guard. “And that’s all I’m going to tell you or else I risk you searching for him. And right now, I can’t let that happen.”

  My lips part, ready to demand for her to tell me, but she lifts her hand, silencing me.

  “Let it drop or else I won’t give you this,” she warns, holding up the book.

  My claws begin to slip out from my knuckles, but I mentally will them back.

  Don’t lose control, Jax. Try to handle this situation in a non-violent way first.

  “You promise Ollie’s safe?” I ask through gritted teeth.

  She nods, setting the book onto her lap. “You have my oath that he is.”

  I relax a bit. A pixie’s oath is one of the very few ways you can get the truth out of them. “Okay.”

  She grins. “Now that we’ve got that settled, it’s time to make our bargain.”

  Alana lets out a frustrated groan. “Goddamn pixies,” she mutters under her breath. “I’d like to take their glitter and stuff it up their asses.”

  I bite back a smile, but keep my attention on the princess. “What do you want?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing major,” the princess insists. “I simply want a kiss. That’s it, and then you can have the Scrawl of Secrets.”

  “A kiss?” I state with skepticism. "That's all you want, and then you're just going to give us an ancient book that contains all of the info to almost every rare creature that’s ever existed.”

  “Well, it’s only a copy of the Scrawl of Secrets,” she clarifies, holding up the book. “The real book contains a lot of secrets belonging to my kind. There’s no way I can give you that one, so I’m offering you this copy that only contains the information I’m okay with you having. However, I assure you this one works the same way. It just has fewer pages. And it has the answer you're looking for about what Alana is.”

  “Why can’t you just tell us then?” I question. “If you know what she is already?”

  She shakes her head. “I’ve been spelled into silence. We all have.”

  Shock lashes through me. “By who?”

  She shakes her head again with her lips fused together. “We’ve also been spelled never to speak his name.”

  My chest constricts. I have a suspicion she’s talking about the leader of the Electi, which means they’ve probably been here.

  Suddenly, making a bargain with the princess of the pixies seems like the least of our problems.

  I start to rise to my feet. “Alana, we need to leave.”

  Her brows knit, but she starts to stand up anyway.

  “Stop,” the princess commands and her guards position themselves in front of the door.

  “You think your sparkling guards can stop me?” I ask the princess in a low tone, a smirk spreading across my face.

  She mirrors my smirk. “Don’t let my guards’ beauty fool you. They can be quite deadly when they need to be.” When I roll my eyes, her smirk broadens. “My dear lovelies, show the werewolf what you can do.”

  I glance at the guards just in time to see their eyes cloud over. Then smoke begins to funnel through the room, moving like snakes toward us.

  I wrap my arm around Alana’s waist protectively and draw her toward me. “What is that?”

  “Death smoke,” the princess answers with a grin. “It’s very toxic to all creatures. Well, except for demons.”

  My grip on Alana tightens, and I pull her toward me until her back is pressed against my chest. Normally, she probably would’ve put up a fight about me trying to protect her, but I think she might be in shock.

  “But only demons can make that smoke,” Alana says as the smoke slithers toward us.

  “That’s because my guards are demons,” the princess says with pride. When we both gape at her, she shrugs. “What? Do you really think I’d let pixies protect me? My kind are way too fickle.”

  She’s right, but what I don’t understand is…

  “How did you get demons to protect you?” I start coughing as the smoke reaches us. I know the drill. If we breathe in too much, the poison will make our lungs wither. “Can you get them to turn off the smoke? We won’t try to run.”

  “Wise choice.” She snaps her fingers, and just like that, the smoke evaporates. She focuses on me again. “And as for your first question, I got the demons to protect me by making a bargain with them. Just like the fey have allied with the water fey and the vampires with the wolves. Right now, everyone needs as many allies as they can get. And the more powerful allies, the better.”

  “What are you talking about?” I say. “The wolves haven’t sided with the vampires. I’d know if they had.”

  “Would you?” she questions. “Because from what I can sense, your wolf is currently very distracted.”

  I bite down on my tongue to keep from snapping at her.

  “Why are groups allying with each other?” Alana asks as she steps away from me.

  “To protect ourselves,” the princess replies. “With so many creatures getting taken these days, the rumors of war floating around, and the fights breaking out… We all have to prepare ourselves. And the more allies you have, the more power you have. And everyone knows that the most powerful usually come out on top.”

  “Not always, though,” Alana mumbles, and I wonder if she's thinking about her grandpa.

  Not the one who was a foreseer, but her other grandfather, Stephan.

  From what I’ve been told, the story goes that he was a power-hungry keeper that collected Death Walkers, which are very dangerous creatures. He did it so he could try to take over the world. But things didn’t work out that way.

  “But enough about war.” The princess claps her hands. “Let’s talk about the deal we’re going to make.”

  I eye her over. “You said you just want a kiss, right?”

  A grin gradually spreads across her lips. “Yes, that’s it. Just a kiss.”

  I resist an eye roll, but I’m not surprised. Pixies are known for doing stuff like this.

  “Who do you want one from? Me?” I point at Alana. “Or her?”

  “You misunderstand me. I don’t want a kiss. I want to see you two kiss.” Her gaze dances between Alana and me, her eyes sparkling with wicked delight.

  “No freakin’ way.” Alana immediately shakes her head. “Ask for something else.”

  I remain silent, my heart thundering in my chest, knowing more than likely the princess won’t give us another deal.

  Knowing that if I do kiss Alana, I might lose control of my bond to Alana.

  And honestly, I’m wondering if that’s exactly what the princess is hoping for.

  The question is: why?

  Alana

  It seems like that’s all I hear anymore. Talk of war. Sides pairing together. Sides eliminating each other. It makes the future seem doomed. But what I still don’t understand is what part I play in all of this. And the answer could very well be in that book currently sitting on the pixie princess’s lap. And all I have to do to get it is kiss Jax. And I should probably just do it. Suck up my pride. It’s not like the kiss has to mean anything.

  But I hate being told what to do.

  “No freakin’ way,” I tell her, shaking my head.

  Jax presses his lips together, his fingers curling into fists. I wait for him to protest too, but his lips remain shut, an unusual move for him.

  The princess gives a shrug. “I guess we don’t have a deal then, which means this conversation has now become a waste of my time.” She starts to rise to her feet with the Scrawl of Secrets in her hand.

  “Wait,” Jax bites out.

  I give him a really look.


  He leans in and whispers, “We don’t have a choice. She won’t offer us another deal. It’s not a pixie’s MO.”

  He’s right. I know he is. But it doesn’t make the situation any less annoying.

  “Fine,” I grumble. “But after we leave this stupid sparkly hellhole and return to the human world, we’re making a stop at a store so I can buy some mouthwash.”

  The corners of his lips twitch. “Fine, we can do that. Just like we can pretend that you’re repulsed by the idea of kissing me.”

  I roll my eyes. “We both know that’s not true. In fact, I’m pretty sure I might vomit right now.”

  His lips tug into a smirk. “Again, we can pretend.”

  My jaw ticks and my lips part with a snarky comeback. But then I decide to take the upper hand a different, standing on my tiptoes and sealing my lips to his. I mean, it’s just a kiss. It doesn’t have to mean anything. And I can make a big show of gagging afterward.

  But as our lips brush, goosebumps sprout across my arms, a shiver trickling through my body.

  Crap. I think I might kind of like kissing Jax.

  That thought pixie kicks some sense into me, and I start to pull back. But Jax's lips chase mine, a groan reverberating through him. No, not a groan. A growl. Moments later, his teeth graze my bottom lip as he softly bites me. Just like he did when he was trying to bond me to him.

  I jerk back, my eyelids snapping open.

  "Your eyes are glowing,” I whisper in horror, worried he’s going to shift.

  Jax’s chest rises and crashes as he struggles to breathe evenly. “I can’t… I need to…” He starts to step toward me and holy hell fires, I think he’s going to bite me.

  And I can't let that happen even if it does kind of feel good.

  I slam my hand against his chest. “Stop.”

  He freezes, blinking his eyes wildly. The glowing starts to subside as he gets his wolf under control.

  I look him in the eye. “Are you good?”

  He bobs his head up and down. “Yeah.”

  He still appears riled up, though, and I want to ask him what the hell is going on, but not here in front of the pixie princess who apparently has demons working for her.

  Taking a deep breath, Jax spins around toward the princess and sticks out his hand. “You got your entertainment. Now give me the book.”

  She grins. “My suspicions are correct.”

  “Just give me the book,” Jax growls out at the same time I say, “What suspicions?”

  The princess locks gazes with Jax. “So she really doesn't know," she states, and Jax bares his fangs. But she ignores him, looking at me. “He’s bonded to you.”

  A cold sensation spills through my veins. "What? No, he's not."

  "I assure you he is. It's very rare for a wolf to become bonded to another creature. Usually, it's the other way around." Her brows knit. "But you're not really a creature, are you?”

  I glance at Jax, looking for an explanation, but all he does is glare at the princess.

  I fix my attention on the princess. “What do you mean, I’m not a creature? What else can I be?”

  “Now what would be the fun in telling you? You’re just lucky you’re bonded to him, or I might try to keep you." With that, she hands Jax the book, gathers the bottom of her dress in her hand, and turns toward the guards. “I’m bored. Let’s go check out some of the other clubs.” She moves toward the door. “Take care, Alana. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.” She waggles her fingers at me then waltzes out of the room, leaving behind a trail of confusion.

  But I think that's what she intended to do.

  Alana

  Jax and I barely speak during the journey back to his car. Not that I didn’t try to talk to him. The moment we walked out of the princess's private room, I demanded an answer.

  “You’re bonded to me?” I’d hissed, shoving him hard enough to make him stumble.

  He’d tucked the scrawl of secrets under his arm, cast a pressing look at the end of the alleyway where pixies are wandering then gritted through his teeth, “Not here.”

  I shook my head, fuming. “Whatever. I’ll keep quiet for the five minute walk back to the car, but you’re going to answer my question when we get there.”

  And that was the last verbal exchange we had, both of us sinking into unsettling silence as we power-walked back through the town and out the gates.

  The instant we’re safely in the car, though, I pull out my knife and point it at him. “You lied to me,” I growl out.

  He sets the book down on the console, then eyes the knife, not appearing nearly as terrified as I want him to. “I didn’t lie. I just omitted the truth.”

  “No, I flat out asked you if you were still bonded to me.” I move the knife closer to him, but he doesn’t even so much as flinch.

  “No, you never did,” he insists, twisting in the seat and starting up the engine.

  I shake my head furiously. “It doesn’t even matter if I did or didn’t. You should’ve said something to me. With all the lies floating around…” I shake my head again, this time in disappointment. “You should’ve told me.” And maybe I should’ve caught on. With how weird he was acting…

  I should’ve known.

  He meets my gaze, remorse flickering in his eyes. But who the hell knows if it belongs to him or his wolf. “I know I should’ve said something, but I was worried you’d freak out and try to run.”

  “So you what? Decided to keep it from me so you could try to keep me?” I snap, gripping the handle of the knife.

  “No.” He reaches for me, but then he withdraws back. “That’s not what it was about. I was—and still am—worried about you being on your own… With everything going on… You need to be able to trust someone.”

  I let out a hollow laugh. “And that someone is supposed to be you?”

  He nods, yanking his fingers through his hair. “I know I fucked up, but I swear I didn’t keep this from you so I could have a hold of you. I just…” He sighs, his hand falling to his lap. “I just want you safe.”

  I think he might mean what he says, but still…

  "You've been acting different… Nicer and it's weird. And you almost shifted when I kissed you, so how can I know I’ll be safe with you?” I position the knife in front of me again. “Maybe the best thing for me to do is to jump out of this car and run.”

  “I think deep down you know that’s not true.” He carries my gaze. “But if you want more proof, I’ll give it to you.” He sticks out his hand with his palm facing upward. “I think it’s time to turn that pinkie promise into a blood promise.”

  I eye him over warily. “Are you being serious? Because if you do that, you’re basically agreeing to tell me everything.”

  His gaze never wavers from mine. “I know what I’m getting into.”

  I don’t lower the knife just yet. “Yeah, but is the bonded, overly nice Jax making the promise? Or is it the cocky Jax I first met?”

  “Both,” he replies then sighs. “Look, this whole bonded-to-you-thing… I’m going to try to find a way to reverse it. Because there’s ways to reverse a creature from being bonded to a werewolf. I just need to find a way to do it when it’s the opposite.” He gives a short pause. “I just think that right now it’s not our top priority.”

  I study him, attempting to tell if he’s telling the truth or not. But he’s always been a little difficult to read.

  However, he is offering me a solution to that.

  “Fine.” I lower my knife, but only to cut open his palm.

  He doesn’t even so much as flinch as blood pools from his hand, but I detect the slightest bit of relief wash across his features.

  Once his palm is good and bleeding, I slice open mine. Then I set the knife down and press my palm against his, choosing the words to the promise very carefully, since loopholes exist.

  “Promitto tibi non semper veritatem celare. Bene, ut diu ut praestabiles veritates exhiberet. Alii deniqu
e parvi manifesta sunt.” My promise is pretty simple. That I’ll always tell the truth to him and not keep secrets. But then I add on the stipulation of only important truths and secrets, and that having small secrets are okay. You know, just in case Jax tries to use the promise to get me to admit that I think he’s hot.

  He cracks a smile at my little addition and then repeats the promise to me.

  Once we’re done, I clean the blood off my hands and return the knife to my ankle holster.

  “So are you keeping anything else from me?” I ask as he backs up the car and drives down the dirt road.

  “No.” He glances at me with his brow elevated. “How about you?”

  I shake my head as I pick up the Scrawl of Secrets from off the console. It feels weird holding something so ancient that, from what the legend says, contains information about every magical creature that exists. Then again, it’s only a copy.

  “No important secrets on my part.” I start to open the book. “Totally off the subject, but do you think Ollie is okay? I mean, why would he leave this with the pixie princess when it’s pretty obvious she’s not trustworthy. At least, that’s what it seemed like to me.”

  He hesitates. “Honestly, since I have to be truthful, I should probably say that I don’t think Ollie left that book with the princess.”

  “So how did she end up with it?”

  “Well, I think she got it from him, but I doubt he gave it to her.”

  “So you what? Think the princess has him prisoner or something? Because if so, we need to go back and rescue him.”

  A weird look passes across his face. “You care about him enough to do that?”

  “He’s your friend, so yeah.” I give a shrug, wondering why he’s acting so weird about this.

  “I know, but with what he is…” He chews on his lip, his gaze boring into me. “Most wouldn’t want to try to save him.”

  “Ollie is a good guy,” I say. “I don’t care what he is.”

  He smiles at that. “You’re a good person, Alana. You really are.”

  I point a finger at him. “No acting like a nice guy.” I warn, my gaze lowering to the book. “It’s too weird.”