Witch Infernal (Infernal Hunt Book 3)

by Holly Evans

  "You're clearly attracted to each other..." Quin added, unhelpfully.

  They all looked at me expectantly.

  Lysander smiled and said, "No, Kadrix, this isn't at all normal. Our masters or mistresses usually take great pleasure in claiming us fully within hours of the bond being established."

  I glared at him. He gave me his most infuriatingly sexy smirk. I swore there was steam coming off the top of my head. Everyone was watching me with a mix of expectation and amusement.

  “Fine,” I huffed.

  I sank my fingers into Lysander's thick hair and pulled his head down to mine. If they were going to insist on pushing. The scent of hot metal and petrichor engulfed me, everything faded away. His warm breath tickled my lips. I wanted it much more than I wanted to admit. My heart pounded in my chest; I stroked my fingers down the nape of his neck and grazed his bottom lip with my teeth. His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me tight against his firm body. We fit perfectly. He brushed his soft lips over mine. I needed more. I kissed him hard. The passion bubbled up from nowhere. His tongue pressed into my mouth, exploring mine as I pulled him tighter to me. I needed him. My entire body tingled. There was nothing but the burning desire for more. He was intoxicating. It was both terrifying and exhilarating.

  We pulled back slowly. That smirk sat on his lips, but his eyes danced.

  "Can you do that again? I think I missed something in my notes,” Kadrix said.

  I glared at him and debated whether I could get away with punching my brother's lover. The pungent smell of singed hair began to tickle my nose. I sniffed, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Kadrix frowned before I noticed the faint orange shade at the end of his hair that was curling upwards. He frantically patted it down.

  "Evelyn, that was uncalled for. You must tell me how you did it."

  I shrugged and smiled sweetly. "I have no idea."

  I really didn't, and it terrified me, but I wasn't going to give the cursed elf the satisfaction of knowing that.

  "There is a spare room upstairs, should you wish to complete the... mating rituals," Elise said teasingly.

  I gave her a dark look; she grinned at me.

  "Oh, Evie, you need it. There's more tension between you two than the Golden Gate bridge. I don't see why you must be so stubborn about it all,” she said.

  I was done. It was bad enough from Kadrix, but I had my limits. I pushed past Quin, who was laughing quietly, and exited the church. They had no right to push and interfere like that. I didn't care how good their intentions were.

  Twenty-Nine

  I'd ignored their calls for the rest of the day. Invisible fire danced along my arms and down my legs as I ran through the rain. The cold drops trickled down my back and sat on my eyelashes. I focused on keeping my breathing even as I pushed harder, driving out the images and the emotions. There was nothing but the pleasant burn of my muscles and the infuriating fire that I couldn't escape. My footsteps echoed off the buildings around me. A steady rhythm of my feet hitting the tarmac. I hadn't even realised that I'd turned down onto my road. The sun had already set; the orange lights chased away the darkness and encouraged the shadows to hide in the crevices. I leaned against the ivy-covered wall and stretched, taking my time to settle my mind and prepare myself to step into my own home. It wouldn't be my home for much longer, I reminded myself; if Felix knew where to find us, so would others. The memory of the witch assassin flashed to mind. We should already have moved; we'd just been wrapped up in other things. Love was a dangerous thing.

  Lysander appeared in the doorway to the building when the gate creaked. He'd done nothing wrong. He eyes drank in every detail of me; his tongue flicked over his lips. I must have looked like a drowned rat. My skin was quickly becoming icy cold, goosebumps formed under my jacket. My hair clung to my face. It was hardly the sexy homecoming I was sure he'd been picturing. The fire finally extinguished when he pulled me into his arms. The tension melted away. I was safe. He stroked my hair tenderly and rested his cheek against mine, his warm breath tickling my ear and dancing down my neck.

  "You need a hot shower and warm food."

  His arm wrapped around my waist and gave me no room for arguments. I found that I didn't want to argue. I was ready to slip into bed and give up on the day.

  "We don't do well with the cold or wet,” he said while he stroked my hair.

  The lift was taking its sweet time. The light remained stubbornly on the sixth floor, carefully contemplating the pros and cons of coming down to the ground flood. It finally relented and the doors opened; by that time, I was shivering, and the cold was settling into my joints. It had felt good at the time, running through the pouring rain, the puddles splashing over my boots. In that moment, all I wanted was to be warm and asleep.

  He kissed my temple. "They didn't mean any harm."

  I simply nodded and watched the numbers go up. I knew they hadn't meant it maliciously, but I was tired of it. They had no right to continually interfere like that. To push. To act as though my decision, my caution, was foolish. Anger welled up within me. I made the choices I did to protect Quin and them. Did they think I enjoyed being lonely? That I hadn't pined after the company of hot men? Of course I had, but I couldn't afford to make the wrong decision. I couldn't risk screwing the wrong man and getting into trouble. I wasn't willing to risk Quin and everything we did for the city for sex. If I fell in love, then that was one more person to protect. It was one more potential risk.

  Lysander held me close, despite my trying to pull away.

  "I'll protect you, Evelyn."

  His voice held a slight growl. I narrowed my eyes had him. Had he been reading my thoughts again? He stroked my hip as he escorted me home. Quin was curled up on the sofa. He jumped up when I walked in; I almost felt bad at the puddle that formed around my boots while I removed them and my jacket.

  "I'm sorry, we all are, Evie. We really didn't mean to gang up on you."

  I waved him off and headed to the bathroom where I peeled off the icy cold jeans and climbed under the scalding hot water. It took a minute or two for me to feel the heat of the water. I hadn't realised just how cold I'd become. I wrinkled my nose. Perhaps the hound had been right, and I was becoming more like him. Of course he was right; I'd felt the fire, the predatory distance while I was fighting the witch. There was no fighting it; I was becoming a beast. I slumped down in the shower and allowed the water to wash over me while the thoughts flitted around my mind. I allowed it to consume me, to overwhelm me and burn itself out. Once the tears had stopped flowing and the water had begun to run cold, I felt better. I'd purged the foolishness and was ready to face the world refreshed and renewed.

  I wrapped a warm towel around myself, very pleased that we had a heated towel rail in the bathroom, and headed to the bedroom for some dry clothes. I was accosted with hot food and a steaming hot chocolate. Lysander and Quin both had eager grins on their faces. I offered them a small smile. They were trying.

  "I am not eating in just a towel."

  Lysander's gaze traveled up and down me, his bottom lip jutted out a little in a pout. The temptation to bite his lip and abandon the towel grew. Warm clothes were the more sensible solution, and I was nothing if not sensible.

  They plied me with delicious food and more hot chocolate. Quin spoke with enthusiasm about how well his alchemy was going; Kadrix was apparently very impressed with his progress. They'd even invented a couple of new things and were working on some old formula. Unfortunately, the celestial was proving difficult, something to do with how its energies hadn't settled into their final matrix due to the point in training it was at. It made absolutely no sense to me, so I nodded and smiled. Once the food was gone and I'd drunk my third hot chocolate, it was becoming difficult to keep my eyes open. I tried to give Quin a suspicious look, wondering if he'd slipped some sleeping powder in there, but I couldn't quite manage it. Lysander scooped me up in his arms and carried me to bed. There was no fighting it. I stripped down
to my underwear and wriggled under the warm blankets; he was soon wrapped around me. His firm body pressed against mine, his strong arms holding me close while that intoxicating scent surrounded me. Maybe a goodnight kiss wouldn't be so bad. His lips brushed over my neck, but I fell asleep before I could do anything about it.

  Thirty

  Kadrix had been quite excited to get me involved in laying the protections around the lycan territories. "Hellfire is different to fire of this plane, it has different properties. It's fascinating, you see."

  "Kadrix,” I said pointedly.

  He huffed and pouted. "Lysander will help you, I'm sure. Push your fire into the sigils, Quin and I have already done the rest.” He shuffled his feet. "I could follow you, to make sure that you don't have any problems..."

  "Kadrix, I am not an experiment. You are not going to stalk me."

  He pouted once more. "Fine, fine. I have other things to do anyway."

  He stalked off back in the direction of his workshop.

  Lysander laughed quietly. "He's infuriating, but he means well."

  I grumbled under my breath. We started with the bar, as it was something of a focal point for the pack. The sigil had been painted on the exterior wall of the bar; it flared to life when Lysander brought some of his fire to his fingertips. I wondered what it would feel like to have that fire trail down my body, to feel his fingertips... I cleared my mind and focused on the job at hand. Lysander flashed me that grin of his. The knowing one. I scowled at him and looked at the intricate sigil that now flared a pastel pink.

  "Your fire is fueled by emotion. Dig deep, and focus on something you're passionate about, be that a burning anger or something more… sensual." The growl on the last word was just sinful.

  I tried to focus and think of something that I felt strongly about. Images of Lysander naked popped into my head; I pushed them aside. It wasn't the time. Frustration started to pool within me when I couldn't feel the fire. I'd spent so long burying my emotions that it was difficult digging through everything to latch onto something I was truly passionate about. A spark flickered on my fingertips. It quickly burnt out.

  "I can't do it,” I snapped.

  His lips were dangerously close to mine, his hands roamed over my back and lower. "Yes you can."

  His breath trickled over my lips, tempting me to claim him. My breath caught in my throat; it'd never been like that with other men. I needed him.

  "I don't see why you don't just leave the mutts as bait. Kastien has clearly shown an interest in them," Zair said.

  The moment was shattered. My blades were in my hands and my mind was assessing his stance for weaknesses before I'd even realised the kiss wasn't going to happen.

  "We're not psychopaths, that's why,” I snapped.

  "Oh don't be so melodramatic,” Zair sniffed.

  "You're working with that?" a deep voice snarled.

  I muttered a prayer to the moon goddess for strength and patience.

  "No, we are not working with that,” I said as calmly as I could muster.

  Tiel and Ioel strolled around the corner and stood behind Zair. Three big lycan males came from behind Lysander and I. It was supposed to be a simple task. Pour some hellfire into some sigils, head out for coffee and maybe a few drinks. Who knew, maybe I'd even relax for an hour two. Instead, I was in the middle of a stand-off between lycans and celestials. In broad daylight.

  "I was merely explaining that you're worse than pet dogs and you'd be best used as bait, to stop any further deaths,” Zair said.

  The lycans all snarled and began to advance on the celestials.

  “Evelyn, do control your beasts,” Zair said.

  I shrugged and gave a sweet smile. "They're not mine."

  He narrowed his eyes at me and looked at the broad heavily-muscled men that were slowly approaching him, murder written all over their faces. Any concern for what the humans might have thought clearly didn't enter into any of their heads. The lycans launched themselves at the celestials. They used brute force and savage attacks. I glanced at Lysander and wondered if I was supposed to interfere or take bets. A few less lycans in the city would make my life easier, as would taking out the arrogant celestials. I didn't see a downside.

  That was, until the cubs ran down the street towards us. Their faces were full of panic as their pack was locked in a bloody fight with the celestials. Lysander leapt out in front of the two smallest ones and scooped them up in his arms. I crouched down and caught the other two, holding them firm while they squirmed and began crying.

  "Sshh little ones, it'll be ok,” I tried to soothe them.

  The little boy sobbed and slumped against my arm. "That's our Daddy."

  "No harm will come to him,” I said

  I hoped that I hadn't just lied to a small child. The little ones were both relaxed in Lysander's arms; he seemed to have a way with cubs. He'd make a good father one day.

  "Perfect! Well done Evelyn, now if we place them somewhere more strategically sound..."

  The lycan with pitch black hair punched Zair square in the jaw hard enough to make him stumble back a few steps after his head snapped around. The lycan snarled and set about pummeling the celestial. The cubs watched, rapt. I didn't know if I was supposed to cover their eyes or cheer their father on.

  Ioel managed to break free from the lycans; he headed straight to the cubs I was holding onto.

  "I'll solve this problem."

  He eyed with the cubs with malicious intent. I stood and put myself between him and the cubs. His eyes flicked to the celestial-feather blades in my hands, some colour left his face.

  "No one touches a hair on these cubs' heads,” I growled.

  Fire erupted over my hands, the blades sang a sweet melody that encouraged me to slay the celestial that was quickly becoming a bane. Ioel remained rooted to the spot. Zair and Tiel both shouted with rage before they vanished into thin air. The pale brown-haired lycan turned his attention to Ioel, who was in a silent standoff with me. The lycan picked up the celestial as though he were nothing more than a bag of sugar and threw him in front of the oncoming tram.

  The tram driver pressed his high-pitched bell in irritation, but the celestial vanished before the tram could collide with him.

  "Thank you," the dark-haired leader said.

  "No one hurts innocents,” I said.

  His mouth tugged up into a smile. "You're not so bad, for a hunter, Evelyn Hawke."

  The cubs ran up to him and wrapped their arms around his legs. Lysander's two squirmed and leapt out of his arms into the open arms of the other lycans.

  "Thank you. Hound," the leaner of the two said.

  Lysander grinned. "It was a pleasure."

  "We should finish these protections,” I said.

  The lycans each said thank you once more before they headed into the bar. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the cubs.

  "You'll make a good mother, Evelyn."

  I shook my head. "I couldn't raise kids, not with the life I lead."

  "One day, Evelyn. One day."

  I brushed him off and focused back on trying to pull up my fire. I'd managed it when that cursed celestial had been standing there like an idiot; I just needed to figure out how to do it intentionally. It was a puzzle to be solved, and I wasn't about to be beaten.

  Thirty-One

  The rest of the day passed with increasing frustration. I'd accepted that I had access to hellfire. I wasn't happy about it, but I couldn’t remove it without losing Lysander, and I wasn't going to allow that to happen. I couldn't pull it up on command, though. I watched the ease with which Lysander formed a single flickering flame or an entire inferno. When I'd focused on the cubs and protecting them, I managed to muster a pathetic little flame that added a touch of colour to the sigils, for a brief moment. Lysander did his best to cheer me up, but I'd never been good with puzzles that I couldn't solve or things I couldn't control.

  Kadrix was very happy with the protections; he'd checked on a
few of them and practically danced with glee. He was rather excitable about anything relating to hellfire or my hound. He uttered the words 'mating ritual' but didn't get any further when he saw the look on my face. He'd covered his hair protectively and changed the topic abruptly; at least the damn elf had learnt to back off. I hadn't seen or spoken to Elise since I'd walked out. I missed her, but her pushing still stung; she, of all people, should have known better. She was my oldest friend. She was supposed to understand.

  The thoughts swirled around my mind while I looked into my Dorian Grey. We were the first and at that point only patrons of the cocktail bar. Prague was a peculiar city, when it came to drinking. They were very much in love with beer and had no problems drinking it at all times of the day. Cocktails and other bars, as opposed to pubs and cafés, didn't tend to open until eight and didn't fill up until ten. The barman kept himself busy playing on social media. The emptiness of the bar only darkened my mood. Lysander's hand slid up over my thigh.

  I muttered, "not you, too."

  His hand shot back. I instantly felt guilty.

  "I'm sorry, Lysander,” I said as I stroked the nape of his neck.

  "I understand, Evelyn,” he said quietly.

  I ran my fingers along his jawline, the prickle of stubble adding a rugged edge to him. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to give in to the emotions; he was a hellhound, he could look after himself. I chewed on my bottom lip allowing the idea to run around my mind. Would it be such a bad thing to strip him naked and explore every inch of his toned, muscular body? To feel his hot breath on my neck while he explored my body in return? That smirk slipped across his lips, his beautiful blue eyes sparked and shone with promises. I concluded it really wouldn't be such a bad thing. If I was going to be an abomination, a creature, then I should at least enjoy the perks that came with it.

  Lysander's eyes never left mine as he knocked back his whisky sour. I grinned at him and downed my strawberry and gin cocktail. The barman didn't seem to notice us leave. Electricity danced between us as we headed back home. I stroked his fingers that sat on my hip and stole looks at his face, drinking in the way the shadows caressed his features, highlighting his cheekbones and savouring his lips. I twisted around him and pushed him down onto a bench in a small park. The hedge behind us gave plenty of protection from prying eyes. His hands sat on my hips as I leaned over him, slowly kissing along his jaw, teasing him. I grazed my teeth over his bottom lip, feeling the quiver from him, the way he fought against his own restraint. I'd bent one knee to straddle him and enjoy further pleasures when I heard a deep snarl and the clicking of claws on concrete.