He traced their marks on her neck, loving the way her caramel skin looked with their bite. She was a beautiful witch, and he could wake up watching her sleep every morning for the rest of his life.
Two more hours were left until the bar closed, and he had a mind to go down and kick everyone out so he and Kyro could sleep in with Hanna.
She stirred and opened those beautiful brown eyes.
“Is it tomorrow yet?” she asked.
“Yes but it’s nowhere near daybreak, which means we can enjoy our night witch even more.”
“Your night witch, huh?” she asked. Her voice took on a husky tone that made his cock instantly hard.
He was ready to take her again, but he wanted to wait until Kyro got back from checking on things in the club.
That’s when the phone rang and ruined his damn bliss.
“What?” Derek asked.
“You need to get down here,” Kyro said.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“More like who’s wrong. The Rodero Sisters are causing trouble.”
“Then kick them out.”
“I would if it were just them. They’re getting guys to fight over them. I’m going to need some backup down here.”
“Shit!” Derek sighed. “Okay. Be there in a few.”
He looked over at Hanna whose eyes were wide.
“What is it, baby?”
“I heard that.”
“I know. I’m sorry I have to leave you—”
“No, I mean I heard both sides of that conversation. I never could do that before.”
He smiled and pulled her close. “It’s part of the mating bond. All of your senses will heighten soon. Some of the perks of being mated to shifters.”
“Does that mean I get double perks since there are two of you?” she asked with a smirk.
“Oh, we can think of some great benefits when we come back.” He kissed her and inhaled her scent. Ours.
When he got downstairs, all hell broke loose. Abigail and Constance sat in a booth watching the fight like it was a Vegas show for the two of them.
“I saw her first, asshole!” One shifter shouted.
“You couldn’t handle a woman like that if you tried.” Another said. He broke a beer bottle over the other guy’s head.
What made the whole situation strange was that they weren’t the only two fighting over the two women. It was like the entire club had gone mad.
Kyro was on the other side of the room breaking up a different fight. They needed to get control over this quickly. Unlike regular clubs, their place catered to shifters. That meant arguments and fights could easily turn to death matches with just one shift.
“Hey!” Derek shouted at the first two. “Calm the fuck down!”
“Oh, Derek,” Constance said. “Don’t ruin our good time.”
“It’s just harmless fun,” Abigail said. “Let’s at least see who wins.”
“Stop wreaking havoc in our place of business,” he said to them. “This isn’t some game you can play around with.”
Constance stood and sauntered over to Derek. “I’ll stop. We both will. All you and Kyro have to do is agree to one little date.”
“You two have to start taking no for answer. We’re not interested.” Derek went back to pulling the two shifters apart, which distracted him.
If he’d been paying attention, maybe he could have prevented what happened next. Everything moved so fast. As soon as he tossed one guy out of the club, another was there to take his place.
When he turned to look for more insolence, Constance threw herself at him and kissed him. He pried the woman off him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Don’t ever pull that shit with me again.”
Constance giggled and looked behind her.
He followed her gaze. That’s when he saw Hanna staring at him.
“Hanna!” Derek yelled to her. “Wait!”
The brawl in the club increased as people pushed each other back and forth. What the hell was going on?
He finally got through to where he’d seen Hanna standing, but she was gone. He ducked outside to look for her, but she’d disappeared.
The Roderos were up to something, and he needed to figure out what it was. First, they needed to go after Hanna. She was their priority now, and he’d be damned if he’d let two jealous sisters ruin what he and Kyro had with her.
Chapter 10
Hanna had woken up to warmth and goodness. She was deliciously sore from her time with Kyro and Derek. They’d taken her to a whole new level of pleasure she’d never experienced before, and she wasn’t sure if she could ever go back to anything else.
Everything with them felt easier than her life without them.
She knew Derek said they wouldn’t be long, but she was getting antsy without them already. It would be nice to see them in their Clawed Obsessions element.
Hanna imagined watching them lift large crates of glasses behind the bar and tossing aggressive patrons out the club. Neither of those things was hard to picture inside her head, but it would be even better if she watched them in person.
She brought the sheets up to her nose and took in the mingled scent of them. It was addictive. Hers. That was an odd thought that filled her head, but it felt good.
Did she have the right to call them hers after one night? It wasn’t like they promised forever or anything. They kept tossing mate out, and she was pretty certain casual people didn’t use that term.
Could she stay there with them in Vella Cove?
She dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked different, but in a good way, almost wild and carefree.
She found the elevator by retracing her steps. Even the elevator smelled like them. It was weird she was noticing smells more, as if her senses were clearer.
When the doors opened to the first floor, chaos erupted. It was like any bar brawl, except shifters fought with each other.
Her nose picked up something else, something different.
This wasn’t a regular club fight. It was laced with something powerful underneath. Magic. She’d felt the pull of magic many times during her spells, but this was darker. She tried to make her way around the fights, looking for Kyro and Derek to warn them. Someone was manipulating their place. She couldn’t see them anywhere. Too many bodies violently crashed against each other in arguments.
She finally spotted Derek, but there was no clear route to him. Then she saw a woman staring at her. She smiled with a cruel grin that immediately made her menacing. She grabbed hold of Derek’s shirt and kissed him.
Hanna seethed and wanted to rip the woman’s head off. Violence wasn’t a part of her, but now it felt right to revel in it.
The woman laughed and looked back at her. She wasn’t alone. Derek caught her staring at them.
She didn’t have time for this nonsense. If they wanted crazy women like that, they could have them. A deep part of her wanted to fight, but what was the point if they didn’t want her?
Too many emotions rolled through her to sort through them. She turned and ran, unable to sort through the conflicting feelings filling her. Everything was more intense than before.
Hanna got in her Jeep and did what she usually did when she needed help: she called Riana.
“Hanna?” Riana said when she picked up.
“I think I really messed up this time, sis,” Hanna said. She could feel tears clouding up her eyes, but she kept driving.
“Where are you?” Riana asked “Are you with Derek and Kyro?”
“How did you know that?”
“Promise you won’t freak out.”
Hell, she was already freaking out. There was really no way she could see it getting worse. “Okay.”
“I think when you healed me I got some residual magic or something.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I’ve been having visions ever since you fixed me. Nothing big, but I get glimpses. I saw you with the Keller Brothers.”
“Uh, what exactly did you see?” She hoped her sister’s newfound abilities involved clothes. Lots of clothes.
“Did they kiss you on a pier or something?”
Hanna sighed. She couldn’t take it if her sister said she saw her doing more than kissing. Embarrassment wouldn’t cut it. “Yeah. They kissed me there earlier today.”
“And you didn’t call me?”
“I’ve been busy. Besides, I’m calling you now. Everything is a complete mess.”
“What are you doing?” Riana asked.
“Driving,” she said.
“Pull over. You shouldn’t be driving while you’re upset.”
“I’m fine.”
“Hanna McCoy, you pull the hell over right now, or I’m going to throttle you.” Riana’s tone sounded too familiar for Hanna’s liking.
“Okay, okay,” Hanna said. She found a spot up ahead to pull over. “You sounded a lot like Mom just now. It was scary.”
“Yeah, well, you wouldn’t listen.”
“I’m listening now.”
“Start from the beginning and tell me everything.”
She did as her sister asked, except she left out the details in the cave and their loft. She so wasn’t about to share those.
“You need to go back and talk to them,” Riana concluded.
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the one who jumped to conclusions and ran away before confronting them.”
“But—”
“No buts. Talk to them before you do something you really regret. Besides, you may want to warn them about the magic in their club. That sounds serious.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“That’s because you overcomplicate everything.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Hanna shook her head. Leave it to her younger sister to give her wise advice. “Fine. I’ll call them.”
“Call them and then go back. If you don’t, I may see it with my new abilities and tell you off for not listening to me.”
“Don’t let my magic residue give you a big head or anything.”
“Never. Call me when you get back there. I want to know you’re safe.”
“You know I’m the big sister here, right?”
Riana laughed. “Could have fooled me.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Love you, sis.”
“Love you, too.”
She waited a few minutes so she didn’t sound like she was crying. She took out the cell phone Mayor Keller had given her and hit the speed dial.
Derek answered on the first ring. “Hanna?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“For crying out loud, Hanna. You had Kyro and I worried. You ran off before I could explain.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” It melted her heart that they worried about her, even with the way she reacted.
“You’re sorry? Baby, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I want nothing to do with that woman who kissed me. Constance and her sister are both deluded. There’s only you, Hanna.”
She smiled into the phone. “I think part of me knew that. I just didn’t know how to handle seeing her kiss you.”
“We’ll figure everything out together. Just be safe. People are still fighting here, so it may be best if you go home. The last thing we want is something to happen to you. Kyro and I would have to kill all our customers.”
“That reminds me. I think someone cast a spell on your place. That may be why everyone started acting crazy.”
“A spell? I guess that explains the irrational behavior, but why would someone—”
Hanna heard tires squealing before she saw the car crash into her. It knocked her Jeep over in the ditch.
“Hanna? Hanna?!”
“Derek, I’ve been hit.” Hanna tasted blood in her mouth and her vision was giving out on her. Her side ached and the seatbelt dug into her.
“Hold on, baby. We’re coming. You hear me, Hanna? We’re coming.”
Derek’s voice was the last thing she heard before darkness enveloped her.
Chapter 11
Hanna’s head hurt something awful. It didn’t take her long to realize she wasn’t in her Jeep anymore. It was dark, but artificial lights filled the corners of the large room.
“Good,” a man’s voice said. “You’re awake.”
Bright lights flooded her vision and made her head ache even more.
A man with bronze skin stood before her. Everything about him looked meticulous and sterile as if he’d never known dirt or messiness in his lifetime. He wore a white dress shirt with black slacks.
He looked familiar for some reason, but she couldn’t get her brain to cooperate.
“You remember me, Hanna,” he said. “Think.”
His words worked like magic as images flooded her head. Images of him roaming the halls of the mansion owned by the Miami Coven hit her. He occasionally showed up to the club downtown, where the witches made their money. They did tricks for people to show off their skill. Many mixed it with sex.
Hanna refused to participate, so they stuck her in a waitress position for two years. That was until they realized the power she held deep inside her, power that often scared her.
It was her fault. She drifted under the radar for too long, holding back her magic, until a frisky customer tried to grab her ass. She’d thrown him clear across the room without even touching him. He remained in a coma for a month after that, and the words of her mother haunted her.
She was dangerous.
That’s when Athena took her under her wing. Athena was the Coven leader for Miami and Head Bitch in Charge. She promised to keep Hanna safe as long as she followed her instructions.
Hanna learned what happened in their backrooms then, places where the underground of the city crept in and out of. Manipulations of government officials and healing of the city’s worse criminals filled those rooms.
The worst one of all wasn’t even meant for Hanna to see. She’d accidentally opened the door as Athena pulled the life out of a Senator.
Hanna couldn’t stop it, so she did the only thing she knew how to do: she ran. She bumped into the man that stood before her now as she ran for her life. He’d been hanging around more and more. When she hit him, he grinned down at her, sending chills through her, and not the good kind.
“I see you remember me well,” the man said. “Good. I think it’s time you knew my name.”
He beckoned to the shadows, and people appeared from behind pillars and crates. Two Hanna recognized from the Miami Coven. The other two were the women she saw in Derek and Kyro’s club earlier, one who had her tongue jammed down her man’s throat.
Hanna realized then she was restrained, but not with physical restraints. Something magical held her down.
She jerked, wanting to get at the one who kissed Derek. Hanna could sense she and the woman next to her were shifters. Why would they be working with the people from her old Coven? It made no sense.
“Hanna? Hanna, what’s going on?” Hearing her sister’s voice made her blood run cold. No. Not her. They could anything they wanted to her but not to Riana. Not her sister.
She looked over to see Riana restrained in the same way. “Mari Bug, look at me.” Riana looked at Hanna then, but fear filled her eyes. “It’s going to be okay. You’re getting out of here.”
“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep,” the man said.
“Please, let her go,” Hanna begged. “She didn’t see anything in Miami. If you need to hurt someone, hurt me.”
“Who says I want to hurt you, Hanna? On the contrary, I want you alive.”
Hanna stared at the man, trying to figure out who he was.
“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize your own father?” he said.
“My father?” Dizziness overtook her, and the room felt like it was spinning in overtime.
“No formalities needed. You can just call me Alb
ert. Albert McCoy. Unless your mother hid my name from you as well as my existence.”
She tried to focus, but it was hard. Different smells of people around her invaded her new senses and overwhelmed her. The smells of wolves and magic mingled, making her giddy.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why are you doing this? Did Athena sent you to get me?”
“Athena thinks she’s a leader,” Albert said. “She’s not. I’m the one who ran the Miami Coven. Not her. We’re not her for you because of what you think you saw, Hanna. We’re here because I want you to take Athena’s place. You’re ten times more powerful than she could ever be. Imagine what we could do together, father and daughter, side by side.”
Hanna couldn’t stop herself. She shook, laughing hysterically. It was too fucked up to not be crazy. Her mother was insane, but her father was downright psychopathic. She leaned over as the laughter rolled through her.
“What’s so funny?” Albert asked. His face matched the seriousness in his tone, and he looked like he’d never experienced anything hysterical in his entire life. “I ask you to rule by my side, and you laugh at me? I don’t think that’s something to laugh at.”
“Mom is a raving bitch,” Hanna said, “always has been.”
Albert quirked a brow. “Is that supposed to be amusing?”
“It is when you make her look like a tame lion.”
“I’m glad you’re entertained.” Albert pointed to the witch trackers and then to Riana. “Kill her.”
Hanna stopped laughing and stared at the man who called himself her father. “What? No! You can’t kill her. She’s done nothing to you.”
“I know she means something to you,” Albert said, “but she’s the only thing keeping you from joining me. Her and those disgusting wolves of yours, but they can be dealt with later.”
“So you’d kill her to get to me? Your own daughter?” That made no damn sense, no matter how he seemed to have rationalized it.
He scoffed. “Riana isn’t my daughter.”
“Of course she is,” Hanna said. “We are both McCoys.”
“That may be true, but your little sister still isn’t mine.”
Sassy Ever After: Magical Sass for Three (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Vella Cove Shifters Book 1) Page 6
