Feral Heart: A Witch Hospital Romance (The Witches of White Willow Book 2)

by Angela Addams

  All the same, the black scrubs the interns wore these days fit snugly on him. His biceps alone were bigger than her thigh. Mina wasn’t going to lie. The man was hot. But he was also vile with a perpetual scowl that made him the last person she’d ever want to be alone with in a room.

  “He’s been through a lot in his life.” Angel’s voice was strained as she pummelled more of the root. “His story is a sad one and he holds a lot of mistrust for witches, human or not.”

  Fan-fucking-tastic. Wait’ll he finds out about me.

  “So he takes that out on everyone around him?” Mina had met his kind before. A chip the size of a boulder on his shoulder, lashing out against anyone who dared challenge him. A hatred for humans that stemmed from centuries of prejudice, passed on from generation to generation. “I have no time to worry about an intern with baggage.”

  Angel reached out to pat Mina’s hand. “Be patient, Healer. This one is worth the trouble.”

  Mina frowned, her mouth open to ask how Angel knew something like that.

  “I don’t understand.” Bas’s worried tone made Mina turn her head toward him. The dog was lying on his side, his breathing ragged, and Bas was looking down at the dog like he was at a loss for what to do. A feeling, Mina guessed, that he was not used to. “I dosed him hard. Why isn’t it working?”

  “Because pure witch magic doesn’t work as well on familiars. It’s not compatible or something,” Mina said as she moved over to the examination table. “That’s why we’re going to do things the old fashioned way.”

  Angel brought her mixture over with a roll of gauze.

  “We’ll need the clippers, too,” Mina said. “They’re in that drawer over there.”

  Angel nodded and moved to get them.

  “Clippers? As in hair shears? Why not use a spell—”

  “I told you,” Mina said, softening her tone. “Pure witch magic doesn’t work well on these creatures. It’s safer and less painful if we use more practical ways to solve this problem.”

  “Human ways, you mean,” Bas scoffed. “Primitive. Clumsy.”

  “Effective,” Angel said as she returned with the clippers.

  “Well, what about her? She used her powers earlier to subdue him,” Bas said. “Why can’t she do more now?”

  “She will, when the time is right. First, we need to stabilize him, then we can treat him. Angel’s powers will help speed the healing up. Her magic is on the same frequency as the familiars—it will be a slow process to recovery, not one that can be fixed with a little zap here or there.”

  “Angel?” He had such a look on hatred on his face, like the name was bitter in his mouth. “So the Sin Eater has an identity?”

  “Don’t be rude,” Mina chided, her face heating. “Of course she does. She’s a valued member of my team. A team that you are now on as well, whether I like it or not.”

  Bas scoffed and crossed his arms once again, a stance Mina was beginning to see as defensive.

  “And you’re Mina Knox, the Dungeon Master,” he said, his tone cold. “Forced to work down here because of some kind of punishment, I’m assuming.” He shook his head. “And Mother Stone sees fit to have me work with you. What did you do to get yourself exiled down here?”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Mina said as she took the shears to the dog, easily removing the clumps of fur. She tried not to bristle at his assumption. Getting emotional wouldn’t help her concentration. “I work here by choice.”

  Bas looked around. “You chose this?”

  Mina finished what she was doing, her heart breaking further at the sorry sight of the dog’s skin. The wounds were infected, an angry red that pulsed with hot black magic. “I’m good with animals. Maybe more than humans. From what I hear, perhaps we have that in common.”

  “I don’t belong down here,” Bas grumbled.

  Mina ignored that comment. Big surly baby. The best way to handle that kind of behavior was to avoid indulging it.

  Angel was in tune with Mina, anticipating her needs as would be expected from a Sin Eater. She’d been around many a poultice, Mina was sure. They worked quickly and quietly to cover the dog’s wounds with the antiseptic mixer to cleanse and promote healing. After that, they applied the poultice and some gauze to keep it from rubbing all over everything. The dog’s breathing eased as they worked. The rapid pounding of its little heart slowed and once they were finished dressing its wounds, it had fallen asleep with a little help from Angel’s magic.

  “Can you put him in one of the cages in the back room for me, Angel? He’ll need a quiet place to rest for the time being.”

  Angel nodded, scooping up the little beast and cradling it as she cooed to it to stay asleep.

  “You think that will actually work?” Bas asked.

  “It’ll work. It has worked for centuries.” Mina started cleaning up the table, moving back and forth to return things to their places. “Instead of standing there sulking, you could make yourself useful and start washing out these containers.”

  Mina pointed to the tub she’d used to mix the ointment.

  “I’m a Healer, not a scrub nurse. I don’t get my hands dirty like that.”

  Mina paused in her clean up, bunching her shoulders. There was no way that wasn’t a slap in the face. “You’re all roles down here, Healer Frank. You’d better get used to getting your hands dirty because you’ll be doing a lot of scrubbing in the weeks to come.”

  “Like hell—”

  Mina moved toward him, her finger raised. “Let’s get one thing straight, I didn’t ask for you to be thrust upon me, but Mother Stone sees fit to have you work down here and so you must.” She sucked in a quiet breath, clenching down her emotions to control her fury at this man.

  Bas’s eyes grew wide.

  “And you will abide by my wishes or I will deem you unfit for my service and you’ll be cast out of the program. So I suggest you do as I say. Now clean up this mess.” She waved her hand over the table. “And be quick about it. We have to give rounds of injections to the cats and they don’t like the smell of dogwood.”

  5

  And suddenly Healer Knox became extremely intriguing.

  She’d looked meek at first, her voice quiet, her movements gentle. Watching as she touched the Sin Eater, kissed her hand… Yeah, that was startling. He’d immediately thought she was a push over. But now—now she’d shown she had some fire in her. Women with a backbone always promised to keep things interesting. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a waste of his time after all. Perhaps this punishment was just what he needed and yes, he was totally thinking with his dick. Bridget had ditched him, fine, but that didn’t mean Bas was out of the game. If Mina was willing, Bas was sure they could have a hell of a good time together…all alone, down here in the Dungeon.

  He picked up the container she’d pointed at and moved it over to the sink.

  Punishment or not, his behavior in the ER had been justified. That human witch was abusing her animal and Bas wasn’t going to let her get away with it. Not on his watch. Familiars were innocents who didn’t deserve, but often succumbed, to domestic violence at the hands of their bonded witch. The poor dog in Ms. Walker’s care was suffering and had no say in the matter, having to take the brunt of the human witch’s curse. And she was clearly and entirely ungrateful for the sacrifice the dog had made for her. Not to mention, she’d attacked Bas, attempting to curse him as well. He was entitled to defend himself.

  “You lashed out at a patient.” Mother Stone’s red curls and freckles made her seem sweet and innocent, but Bas had learned a time or two already that her tone and temper was anything but sweet…or innocent.

  “I did,” Bas said. There was no sense in denying it. He’d acted in self-defence. “That woman in the ER, she was mistreating her familiar.”

  “That woman was a patient and a witch. She required treatment, not abuse herself.” Mother Stone’s eyes flared, her finger pointed at him, stabbing the air with each word.

  �
��That little dog is a Savior. She bought it and I’ll be damned if I let that kind of thing slide. She should be turned over to the Scrub. I won’t apologize for stepping in to help a familiar in need.”

  And suddenly Mother Stone’s expression changed completely. She lowered her finger. Her eyes softened and her face relaxed. She moved to the other side of her office, behind her desk.

  “Give me your security pass.” She held her hand out.

  “What?” Bas found her calm tone more alarming than her angry one.

  “I’m going to reprogram your security pass. Give it to me.”

  And that’s when he knew he was in serious shit. He knew he was headed to the Scrub. For a split second, he thought about arguing but then decided it would get him nowhere. With a sigh, he unclipped his ID from his scrubs and walked it over to her. “Listen, I—”

  “I’ve heard enough out of you.” Mother Stone snatched the card and swiped her finger along the edge. It took seconds for her to change the course of his training. “You’re banned from the ER for a month, to start. You will be restricted to working in the Dungeon and will devote your service to Healer Knox. If I don’t like what I’m hearing from her then I’ll lengthen your stay down there. Consider this probation on your probation.”

  Wonderful. The Dungeon? What the fuck is in the Dungeon?

  His security pass had taken him to Healer Knox’s domain in that moment, the conversation with Mother Stone over. And he’d arrived just in time to see his Sin Eater about to lower her hood. Something he had no interest in witnessing. He didn’t like that she’d removed the curse from his eyes. He didn’t like being indebted to her. He didn’t like that her voice was pleasant and her touch soothing.

  He grumbled to himself as he searched the cupboards for cleaning supplies. Mina and Angel had left the main examination room so he couldn’t ask them where he’d find what he needed. There was nothing under the sink. With a frustrated sigh, he leaned his back against the counter and ran his fingers through his hair.

  It didn’t really look like a dungeon, more like a huge rustic work shed with large stones cobbled together and dark wooden beams overhead and framing everything else. There were barn-like doors with cast iron fixtures to his right, one side open to let a cool breeze inside. There was a ramp leading out to the expansive yard with the Dark Forest just a little distance away. The examination room itself was clean and orderly and had a lingering scent of witch hazel and tea tree oil. There were shelves of books, old books, leather bound and ebbing residual magic along one wall. He had a fleeting thought that maybe there was a grimoire there as well but Mina wouldn’t have much of a need for one of those unless it was a family heirloom that she was caring for. Pure witches were imbued with magic and didn’t require the step-by-step instructions found in a grimoire. That didn’t mean that pure witches didn’t have them. Every witch family did, more for posterity than anything else though, usually collecting dust or behind glass in a home’s library or den.

  He scanned the shelves behind him. There were hundreds of bottles and canisters filled with any number of natural ingredients labelled and sorted in alphabetical order. Bas felt a stab of nostalgia. With the hanging herbs, drying from the rafters and the old wooden harvest tables, he suddenly felt like he was back at home in his mother’s workspace, helping her prepare for the day. And that brought him a familiar tug of pain that didn’t ever seem to go away, no matter how many years passed.

  He pushed himself from the counter, his eyes landing on a utility closet. Inside, he found the supplies he was looking for. He pulled out a broom and laid it against the wall then grabbed some cloths, a bucket, and vinegar for cleaning. With a shake of his head, he got to work.

  There were muffled sounds of animals, some mews, some squawks, all coming from the back area where Angel and Healer Knox had disappeared with the dog.

  He assumed the Dungeon was one level above the catacombs where the Circle of One resided. If he concentrated, he could feel the power ebbing through the floors from their united effort to supply the Healers with a super charge of power. With all the shit that had gone down a few weeks back, he found himself wondering how Hazel’s mother, the former Mother of White Willow, was faring in the Circle. She’d been positioning Hazel to take her place down there, while at the same time secretly siphoning her power. If you asked him, she deserved to be sent to the Scrub for what she’d done. Stealing another witch’s power? Yeah, that shit was not cool with him. But having her in the Circle was better for all Healer-kind, giving them all a boost of power that otherwise would have been lost.

  He finished cleaning the table then picked up the broom and started sweeping up the debris around the work area. He fell into an old familiar rhythm, reminding him again of his childhood and working with his mother in her apothecary shop. The Dungeon wasn’t quite as repellent as he thought it would be, not that he’d ever admit that to Mother Stone.

  His new supervisor had a flare that he found very attractive. She was very cute with her button nose and freckles, her auburn hair was stylish if a little on the short side. Maybe not his usual type but she was tall, lean, lithe and definitely not hard on the eyes.

  She was a bit of a paradox as well. She carried herself with a curve to her shoulders, like she was curling in, her arms folded, blocking others from getting too close. Yet when he’d pushed her too far she’d completely unfurled. Her blue eyes had sparked with anger, her cheeks had gone pink, making her freckles pop even more. Even her nipples had beaded; he could see them poking up from her T-shirt in a perky delicious way.

  What? He was a guy. He noticed shit like that.

  He smirked as he continued sweeping. Riling her up was going to be so much fun.

  She walked back into the room, her slender fingers brushing back her bangs to hook behind her ear. She nodded at the job he was doing. “Satisfactory.” She moved to the other side of the room and started taking out ingredients.

  “What do you want me to work on now, Healer Knox?” Bas checked his sarcasm and tried for a smile. He didn’t believe there was much she could teach him about natural remedies or human spells but he was willing to play along if only to see where things would go. He also wanted to see if those freckles of hers were all over her creamy skin.

  She glanced at him over her shoulder, surprise flashing on her face briefly. She quirked her lip. “I’ve been told that you have some training in the natural arts.”

  “I do.” He didn’t see any point in denying his upbringing. His mother had studied all there was to know about old world magic and human witch spells and potions, even though she’d been a pure witch herself. That had been a norm for him when he was growing up and while he could appreciate that there was value in ancient human spells and potions, he didn’t see why the modern humans themselves needed to dabble in things they could never master completely. Especially given their penchant for violence and revenge.

  “So why don’t you come over here and help me mix up a tincture for the cats. They have a slight infection from eating some deadly nightshade that was growing near their den.”

  “As you wish, Healer—”

  “I’m not a Healer so you can quit it with that formal stuff,” she said, her fingers busy and moving from one bottle to the next. A pinch of this, a handful of that. “Mina is fine. No need for formalities.”

  “You’re not a Healer?” He moved in next to her, pulling down a bottle of sage.

  She snorted. “Nope.”

  Figures. Why would they hire a Healer to work with familiars? Then he laughed at himself. Why would they send someone like him down to work with familiars instead of working with witches? He needed to save himself the headache and quit trying to figure out why Mother Stone did the things she did.

  He shrugged to himself. Not everyone was cut out to be a Healer. Maybe Mina wasn’t very proficient in her spell casting. Or maybe she was lazy. She didn’t seem stupid. She’d already shown her wit and quick thinking. There was a job for everyone
in the witch world. Getting a gig at White Willow meant that she had something worthy to offer. Maybe she was good but not good enough. Working with the animals wasn’t as demanding as working with witches, he was sure.

  “Where’d you learn to do that?” Mina asked, pointing at the bowl he was mixing.

  “My mother studied as an apothecary.”

  “Oh?” Mina turned toward him, her eyes wide. “She’s human?”

  “Fuck no!” Bas spat. “Er, I mean, no, not human. But her father was trained as an apothecary and passed it along to her. A true apothecary, old world kind of spells that meld natural magics with pure magic.”

  “So she’s gifted with unification.” Mina nodded, turning her gaze back to her own mixture. “I gather you’re not a Pagan lover.”

  “Humans cannot be trusted.” From what he’d seen, Mina had no problem with human witches.

  “Is that a cultivated racist belief or one you were born with?” She started loading up syringes with the mixture. Drawing it up, capping the needle, setting it aside. Methodical. Practiced. Efficient. He liked the way her fingers moved. They were sleek. Fluid and precise in their movements. Her nails were cut short. Clean of polish. She had a few scars here and there. Small ones, likely from aggressive encounters with the animals she’d worked on.

  Magical scars like the one on his face. He reached up and rubbed his finger along his reminder. A testament to mistakes he’d made a long time ago. Every scar had a story, he knew. Hers were likely all tied up in her job.

  He dropped his hand. “I have my reasons.” He didn’t owe her an explanation.

  “If your mother studied as an apothecary then she must be okay with working with humans.” Mina gathered up the needles in one hand—ten in total—and moved over to the examination table. “There’s no separating the two these days. You know your way around the herbs as well, so you can’t be too opposed to human craft.”