He just hoped that none of those witches or immortals were set on killing him when he arrived.
Chapter Five
Anice was happy that she’d made it to her room without running into anyone. She wanted to do nothing more than wallow in pain. It was her right, at least for a few hours. She would normally think of lying to her family, but there were other issues with the bastard who had lied to her. He worked for them.
That would cause more problems. Did he get hired on with the company in order to spy on them?
Who knew? She definitely didn’t. He probably did. And that was even worse. He had come into their public lives. Now there would be more questions, more worries. More humiliation. Not just within her family. Everyone at work would know that he had been hired to seduce her. And in the end, she remained a virgin. Bloody hell, she couldn’t even do that right.
She stood in the middle of her room and realized she hadn’t grabbed any chocolate on her way upstairs. She needed it. That and wine. Although, she didn’t want to run into anyone. Not yet.
She walked over to her bed and sunk down on the mattress. Bloody hell, what a mess. The tears that she had been holding back started to fall from her eyes. She would never find happiness. It was as if she were marked. Or cursed. She snorted, and a fresh wave of tears flooded her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. What the bloody hell was she going to do? How would she ever be able to deal with all of this and find the amethyst? Everyone knew it was her quest, but while everyone else had a counterpart to help, she had to go it alone. Top it off that Gavin seemed to have lost his bloody mind and was most likely going to start causing trouble once again.
A knock at the door interrupted her pity party. She frowned, irritated and embarrassed. She didn’t want to deal with anyone else tonight. She shouldn’t have to. Her heart was broken, and she hadn’t even had chocolate yet. Or wine.
Another knock.
“Aunt Anice, it’s Jack.”
She sighed and wiped her eyes as she walked to her door. She found him standing there, wearing his plaid PJs.
“What are you doing here, Jack?”
“I need to talk to you. I wanted to talk to Aunt Phoebe, but she’s so tired these days, and I didn’t want to tell anyone else. I have information about Brody.”
“Yes, I know. He’s the enemy.”
His eyes widened, then he shook his head. “No, that’s not it. Can I come in?”
She wanted to refuse. Didn’t she have the right to wallow? Isn’t that what movies tell her? She had a right to chocolate, wine, and bad decisions.
“Please,” he deplored.
With a sigh, Anice stepped back to allow the boy to come in, then shut the door.
“What is it, Jack?”
“I’m sorry you were crying. It will all be better soon.”
“I doubt that, but okay.” He climbed up on her bed, then sat there and smiled at her. It was hard to believe this boy hadn’t been a member of their family for very long. Now, though, she felt so blessed he was in their lives. Well, most of the time she did. Right now…she wasn’t so sure. “What is it about Brody?”
“He’s your mate.”
Then he smiled. He said nothing else, but he was looking at her as if he had revealed the hidden truths of the universe.
She blinked. “What?”
“I’m not sure what it means, but I just kept hearing that you were his mate and that the other person in him wants him to just ignore everyone else and declare for you.”
This boy always talked in riddles and most of the time it amused her. Not tonight. Not when she had been humiliated in front of the elite of Edinburgh. And, still, no chocolate or wine.
“The humiliation was important. It needed to happen.”
Great. Just what she needed. A pint-sized truth teller. “God, you’re as bad as Rena.”
“What?”
“Nothing. What do you mean his other person?”
He shrugged. “Not sure, but there is another person within him. He talks to it in his head.”
Great. Maybe Gavin had done her a favor. Brody apparently had another personality he talked to. She only attracted bastards and people with mental health issues, apparently.
“It’s not a personality. It’s another part of him.”
She blinked. “What?”
He ignored her question. “I’m telling you this because they are coming.”
“They?” she asked as panic hit her in the chest. “You mean Gavin and Brody?”
“No. Brody and his family.”
She opened her mouth to ask another question, but Jack stopped her. He grabbed her hand and started to tug her toward the door. “Come on. They’re almost here. We need them. We can’t win without them.”
Dumfounded, she followed, stumbling behind him. As soon as they started down the staircase, there was a knock at the front door and someone rang the doorbell at the same time.
“Just who the bloody hell is that?” Angus asked stepping out of his bedroom. He saw his son with Anice. “And what the bloody hell are you two doing?”
“They are here. They will help us,” Jack said as he continued down the stairs. By the time they reached the bottom, everyone had been roused and Belvidore was at the front door.
“Open it, Belvidore. It’s them,” Jack shouted.
“Of course, Master Jack,” he said, going to do Jack’s bidding.
When he opened the door, Brody stood there, drenched with rain, along with another man, who had to be his brother. A woman stood to his right.
“What the bloody hell are you doing here, Brody? Go away.”
Jack threw her an irritated look. It was filled with such disgust, Anice would have laughed if she hadn’t been in so much pain looking at Brody. He looked miserable and she should be glad for it. But there was that part of her that still cared. It was a big idgit part of her that needed to shut the hell up.
Wonderful. Now she was talking about another part of herself.
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Callum asked, as he stepped forward to stand beside her.
“Nothing. Brody and his family are leaving,” she said.
The frown that Brody had been sporting turned darker. “No. I’m not leaving.”
“He must stay,” Jack said.
“No. He must leave. He’s also fired.”
Callum glanced at her, his gaze penetrating. “What did he do to you, love?”
“Yeah,” Fletcher said as he stepped up beside her. “Tell us what he did and how many pieces we get to rip off the bastard.”
“I think that we all need to calm down,” Angus said. “We need to know what happened.”
Good God, the man was always trying to soothe everyone. She didn’t want to admit what had happened, what Brody was. Not yet. Instead, she wanted to hide away. Of course, that didn’t happen because she was Anice McLennan. Nothing ever came easy. She felt Fletcher brush his arm against hers. The show of solidarity almost broke her. She would have broken if Brody hadn’t been there. She refused to let him know she was breaking.
“What’s going on down there?” Phoebe called out.
“There seems to be an issue with Brody Stewart. Now we have to kill him,” Fletcher called up. Someone laughed. Anice was sure it was Logan.
“You will back down,” Brody’s brother said. He didn’t yell, as was the McLennan way. Instead, he gave the order quietly. The menace in his tone could not be ignored though. He looked so much like his brother, but much more dangerous. One thin scar marred his face, but didn’t truly detract from his attractiveness. Still, Brody was much more attractive, in her opinion.
Dammit, there she went again.
“I think you need to reassess whose house you broke into,” Callum said.
“Bloody hell,” the woman said finally. She stepped forward and slipped off the hood of her cape and Anice almost gasped. Long black hair tumbled down the woman’s back, and there was an air of magick around her. She reminded her of...she
looked down at Jack who nodded. She was a lot like Maggie.
“We didn’t break in. This very nice gentleman let us in. Thank you, by the way,” she said smiling at Belvidore. The butler actually blushed.
“Is someone going to help me down the stairs?”
“Go back to bed and rest,” Callum ordered.
“If you think you can order me around Callum McLennan, you are mistaken. I’m going to start walking down these stairs by myself, and since I can’t see my toes, it is a little dangerous.”
“Everyone, my office,” Callum growled as he stalked off to walk up the stairs to retrieve his wife. They all filed into the room, Anice avoiding Brody, but he didn’t take the hint. He walked in and stood right beside her. She side-stepped. He followed her. He didn’t touch her, but he seemed to want to be near her. And dammit, for some reason, she was soothed by his presence. What the bloody hell was wrong with her?
Callum and Phoebe walked into the room. He led her to his desk, letting her sit in the chair as he stood beside her.
He leveled his gaze at Anice. “Explain to me what is going on.”
She opened her mouth, but Phoebe took pity on her.
“I think we need to know who the newcomers are, love,” she said.
Callum nodded. “Brody is the one with the beard.”
“And this is my brother Cayden and my cousin Esme,” Brody said.
“She’s like Mommy,” Jack announced.
Maggie looked at her son. “What?”
“She’s a witch like you, but not exactly like you. She’s like Brody.”
“Of course she’s like me. I’m her cousin,” Brody said gently. She didn’t want her heart to soften, but it did. Not a lot of people could keep their cool when everyone in the room was glaring at them, and especially when trying to understand a unique boy like Jack.
Jack rolled his eyes and Anice found her first smile since the restaurant. “I know that. I mean there are two of her.”
“They are also McWaltons,” Anice blurted out.
Her brother and her cousins growled, but Callum was the one who spoke.
“You’re part of that bastard’s family? You’re right, Anice. He’s fired.”
“Callum,” Phoebe said. “You need to calm down.”
“Bloody hell, woman, doona tell me what to do.”
“I’ve told you not to yell at me. Maggie will turn you into a goat.”
“I will?” Maggie asked. “Why a goat?”
“Because he’s stubborn.”
“Why not a donkey?” Meghan asked with a laugh.
“Stop it. We are not going to go down this road. They are McWaltons. They are not to be trusted,” Fletcher said, approaching Brody. “I get first punch at the bastard.”
It was exactly what she wanted. She wanted her honor defended and for Brody to be hurt. Still, she had to fight the urge to step in front of Brody to protect him. She should hate him, but instead, she was ready to protect him.
“Fletcher, stop,” Rena said. “Let’s hear what they have to say for themselves.”
“Thank you,” Brody said.
“Then you can kill him,” Rena said.
Brody glanced at Anice and she shrugged. “Rena is a little bloodthirsty.”
“You can’t kill them,” Jack said, his expression turning pensive.
“I’m sorry poppet. I didn’t mean that I would, it’s just I doona like he hurt and lied to Anice,” Rena said.
“But you can’t hurt him because we need him. And his brother and Esme.”
“What are you saying?” Angus asked. Maggie went down on her knees in front of her son.
“Tell me, love.”
“We need them to defeat Gavin. He’s playing with dark forces. They are coming for us, and if Brody and his family are not here, the rest of us will die.”
“Love—”
“I know Daddy and his cousins and brother can’t die. I know they will live. But we can die, and Phoebe’s baby. All of us will die.” He looked over at Anice, his eyes filling with tears. “If you don’t work with him on the amethyst, all of us will perish and you will never be able to break the curse.”
Chapter Six
Brody’s wolf prowled around inside of him, raising his agitation with each passing minute. He had to fight the need to pace around the office, but he couldn’t. First, he didn’t want to show his hand. He was nervous, but he was more anxious. Now that he was there next to Anice, he wanted to declare for her.
Do it.
He bit back a growl. Every primal instinct he had was fighting to be heard. All of them told him he should be taking Anice to a room and making her his mate. He rolled his shoulders as his cock twitched. Brilliant. He didn’t need to get hot and heavy for Anice in a room full of her male relatives who wanted to kill him.
The other reason he couldn’t prowl around was that there were so many bloody McLennans in the room that there wasn't enough space. Hell, he wanted to shift and go for a good hard run, but he knew it would freak people out.
“So, Jack, tell us what you mean?” Callum asked. He was the one Brody worried about the least, but that wasn't saying much. All of Anice's family looked like they wanted to kill him, especially her brother. Fletcher was ready to tear him apart. He knew, because he would feel the same way about his sister
Jack approached Callum's desk. “He needs to help Anice. And we need Cayden and Esme. They will help us fight off the bad man.”
“Indeed?” Callum asked.
“We don't even know where the jewel is, right?” Angus asked.
“Well, I did get a lead,” Maggie said.
“You did?” Anice asked.
“When?” Angus asked.
“What bloody jewel?” Esme asked. It was just like Esme to cut to the chase. She didn’t like wasting time.
In mass, the entire clan turned toward her.
“Excuse me?” Angus asked.
“What jewel? Do you know what they are talking about, Brody?” she asked.
He looked at all of them and shook his head. “I'm confused by most of this discussion.”
Callum blinked. “What do you mean?”
Cayden stepped forward. “We are completely confused by all of this. We can tell you what we know and why Brody was doing Gavin's bidding, but we need to know what the hell everyone is talking about.”
Anice shifted beside him, he turned to face her. “You really don't know?”
He shook his head.
“Tell us,” Callum demanded.
Brody nodded to Cayden and let him do the speaking. It was the way the family was. Their pack life was very structured. Alpha’s normally did the talking, and Brody was happy for it. He would never be happy as Alpha.
“Gavin is a distant cousin, who knows we want to gain our family land back. He has some money of his own--”
“Which he is sinking into something that is bankrupting him now,” Esme said.
Cayden tossed her an aggrieved look.
She shrugged. “Hey, we all know he's gone batty. Which he has. He was normal. Well, as normal as the bunch of idiots can get.”
“Esme,” Cayden said.
She sniffed in Cayden’s direction and crossed her arms across her chest but allowed his brother to continue.
“He promised us the lands if Brody here would get to know Anice. We didn’t know the reason.”
“So you seduced my sister in hopes of getting closer,” Fletcher growled.
“No, I did not. No matter how much...” he realized he was about to admit that Anice had pursued him. Dammit. He didn't need to say something like that in front of her family. She apparently knew exactly what he had been about to say, as her face pinkened.
“I did not seduce your sister.”
“You were going to say something else.”
He shook his head. “Never mind. Not important.”
“I need to know what Gavin wanted,” Callum said.
“He wanted to humiliate Anice. We have no
idea why, and it was one reason I advised against the idea. But Brody was already...dating Anice by then.”
His brother knew that she was his soulmate. There was no way for his Alpha not to know, especially since the pull for him was so intense.
“But you did anyway,” Anice stated, her voice filled with sadness, and he wanted to kick himself, then go beat the shit out of Gavin. His mate didn’t need to feel shame. She should be standing up to him.
“I couldn't resist.”
She sighed but said nothing else. Still, he felt her shift further away from him emotionally. It felt like a dagger to his heart, but he couldn’t deal with that at the moment. They needed to work through this other mess, then they could fix them. They had to, or he might just give up the will to live.
Bloody hell, he sounded like a teen in the first throes of an infatuation.
“So, tell me what this jewel is?” Cayden asked.
A long moment of silence filled the office.
“Good God,” Esme muttered. “Haven’t you figured it out? The immortality. Jack there said it was to break the curse.”
“You know we’re immortal?” Callum asked.
“Well, we are distant relatives to the McWaltons, so yeah. I mean, we never had anything to do with them.”
“Why not?” Phoebe asked.
“A few reasons. One is that they sold our family out,” Cayden said. That was putting it mildly. Embarrassed they were related to shifters and witches, they had helped hunt down wolves, even knowing they were actually shifters and their family. It was through that they lost their family lands. “Also, there seems to be a long history of madness with their lairds. We just want to get our land back.”
“And he promised you your lands back?” Callum asked. He heard the understanding in Callum’s voice.
“That and not to bother our family again,” Brody said.
“There’s more of you?”
He nodded. “We have another brother who lives in London at the moment. Our sister lives and works in Texas though and doesn’t want to come home. Our parents, several cousins, and various other relatives live in Ireland. They all want to come home.”
Anice: The Cursed Clan Page 5
