Their love was cursed
Zora, a beautiful witch, prepares to fight an ancient evil spell. Her soul mate, a ruthlessly, handsome Lycan, must not fall in love with her. If he does, the ancient spell will see to it he dies. How can Zora save him? She casts a spell on herself and transforms into a hideous, old hag. So hideous, how can he possibly fall in love with her?
Bryce, a three hundred year old Lycan, is either losing his mind or he’s witnessing dark magic at play. The ugly, old witch who has offered him shelter for a couple of days is starting to look less repulsive. His human is repelled by her, but his wolf is fighting for release to claim her.
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The Lycan and His Witch
Copyright © 2012 Anastasia Maltezos
ISBN: 978-1-77111-247-5
Cover art by Carmen Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by Devine Destinies
An imprint of eXtasy Books
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Smashwords Edition
The Lycan and His Witch
By
Anastasia Maltezos
To Etta
Chapter One
The old man had said the house wasn’t far. Bryce grimaced as he stopped dead in his tracks and looked around the dense forest. If the house wasn’t far, where the hell was it? He cast a narrow gaze around him and gritted his teeth. He’d been in these damn woods for three days and he hadn’t seen any sign of life, let alone a house where a witch resided.
The forest animals were hiding from him. The bears, foxes, even the wolves, which surprised him since he had so much in common with them.
Damnation! He had to find the witch now. The old man had said she was the only one who had the cure.
The cure to remove the werewolf curse.
* * * *
Zora bent down and smiled, looking at the flowers blooming in her garden. She couldn’t wait to bring the roses into her home and fill it with their sweet smell.
A long, frightened hiss stilled her thoughts. Rising, she turned and looked at her porch, replacing her smile with a frown.
“What is it, Luna?” Her frown deepened as her cat rose on its haunches, hissing at something behind her.
Zora turned around and glanced at the trees surrounding her. The forest seemed unnaturally quiet this morning. She couldn’t hear the birds or the forest creatures. Curious, she looked up and saw clear blue skies. There wasn’t bad weather approaching, so that couldn’t be the reason for the silence.
Luna hissed again and Zora spun around to give her cat a reproaching look. “Quiet, Luna. You’re probably sensing a mouse.”
With a sigh on her lips, she walked to her porch and lifted Luna in her arms. Zora ran her hand gently down its back and smiled as her cat immediately began to purr.
“It’s okay,” she cooed. “There’s nothing dangerous out there.”
She lowered herself in the patio chair and slowly rocked back and front. Luna’s purr grew, and Zora began humming a soft tune.
* * * *
Bryce sensed the wolf behind the boulder and growled at his unseen foe. His pure brethren were territorial and lived in packs and he quickly sensed two more wolves surrounding him. Slowly, he lowered his bag on the ground. He knew the three wolves were readying themselves for an attack.
He cursed under his breath. He didn’t need this. Not now. He had to find the witch known as Zora who lived deep in these woods. The old man in the last village had told him no one had ever ventured out of her forest alive.
“She’s dangerous. Evil,” the old man had said. “Legend says she could kill you with a blink of her eye.”
Bryce stiffened violently.
He was riveted to his spot, listening to the captivating sound of a woman…singing? He frowned, momentarily shaken by the beautiful voice. Without warning, an uncharacteristic flood of warmth began to thaw his cold heart. The angelic sound reached him on a level he didn’t know existed in him and he clenched his jaw, trying to tear his mind away from it. He knew the wolves surrounded him, but he couldn’t move. The sweet voice soothed the beast within him, and almost made him forget the real danger closing in.
Almost, but not quite, he thought as he snapped out of his momentary daze.
He growled ferociously. The wolves were almost upon him and he raised his head to the sky and released a long howl before he shifted into his massive wolf form. Bryce attacked the first wolf on his right that was springing in the air towards him.
* * * *
Zora stopped singing and rose sharply, startled by the sounds she heard in the woods. They were faint, but she made them out—growls, whelps, howls. Luna darted out of her arms and sprang into the house.
Fear rose in her breast. The wolves in her woods didn’t fight each other. They were a tight pack that lived in harmony…that is, unless there was another wolf out there threatening their territory, she thought with alarm.
All her senses flared to life and she drew in a long, shaky breath. Was it time? She wasn’t certain, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. She’d prepared for this moment most of her life and if he was out there, she had to follow through with her plan.
Grim-faced, she turned and ran into the house, her heart racing. She grabbed her gloves, slipped them on and ran to the door. She paused on the porch and prayed the animals weren’t hurt.
She even prayed for the other animal, the two-legged one.
If there was one thing Zora had feared all her life, it was Lycan, and with good reason.
With a swift movement of her hand over her face, she whispered the enchanted words. Slowly, she began to feel her face and body tingle. She touched her face, wincing for a moment as her nose grew to a bulbous shape. Her skin turned scaly and rough. She grabbed a lock of her hair and brought it over her shoulder, satisfied it was no longer a silky gold, but a thin, dull grey. She looked down and saw the added pounds to her body. Her breasts were now droopy and limp, her previously flat tummy, a rounded girth. She was now transformed into a hideous looking hag.
If he was out there, her gloves and unsightly appearance were going to protect him.
Chapter Two
Bryce snarled as the biggest wolf sank its fangs into his back. He growled, whipping his head back and snapped his jowls at the animal. The two other wolves pounced on him, ripping through his fur as they bit him. He had had enough. He didn’t want to kill them. They weren’t human. They were innocent animals acting solely on instinct. Their need to protect their lair, which Bryce suspected was close by. With a deep growl, he shifted into his massive, nine-foot Lycan form and grabbed two of the wolves, one in each of his taloned hands, flinging them far away from him. The wolves yelped as they flew through the air, landing with heavy thuds on nearby boulders. They rose, whimpered, and sped
away.
Bryce faced the remaining wolf, the biggest one, and growled at it. It growled back, but didn’t advance. Smart beast, Bryce thought.
“Go!” he snarled
The wolf backed away slowly, snarling, and then turned and fled.
Slowly, Bryce transformed back into his human form, naked. Grimacing, he glanced at his shredded clothes strewn around him and cursed. He was down to one shirt and trousers. Travelling through villages in close proximity to each other was always ideal for him so he could purchase clothes every time his turns destroyed what he wore, but he was in the middle of the damn woods and he doubted a merchant lived close by who could sell him trousers. Dammit, he couldn’t afford another shift unless it was a matter of life and death.
The sound of a startled gasp snapped his gaze to a clearing. His eyes narrowed on the hag who stood there, her gloved hand raised to her mouth, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared at him.
“Oh no!” she whispered, gaping at his cuts and gashes.
He knew they were fading and disappearing right before her eyes. Her horrified gaze darted to his shredded clothes.
Hell and damnation! She looked like she was going to faint. He grabbed his bag from the ground and pulled his remaining trousers and shirt out. “Do not fear me,” he said as he shoved them on. “I was attacked by wolves.”
She backed away. “No! Stand back!”
“I will not harm you. I need assistance. I seek a woman who—”
“You seek me,” she said, raising a gloved hand.
He narrowed his eyes as realisation dawned on him. “You are Zora, the witch who lives in these woods.”
“Yes. Forgive me. I do this only to protect you.” She mumbled a string of words he could not understand.
Stunned, Bryce felt himself grow cold and then numb. Unable to hold himself up, he collapsed to the ground as darkness surrounded him. She was doing this to him!
“I mean you…no…harm…” he said hoarsely, trying to hold onto his last shred of consciousness. He stared at her unsightly features, tight and drawn with regret, and rested his gaze on her eyes.
They were the colour of the ocean, fringed with sooty lashes, framed by delicately arched brows. Kindness poured from them and he was fascinated with their out of place context on the hag’s repulsive features.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, before he blacked out.
Bryce opened his eyes and took a moment to adjust to his surroundings. He was sitting on a couch, his body wrapped in a silver chain. His ears pricked when he heard the sound of singing again, but this time, he wasn’t enchanted by it.
This time he was bloody furious!
Whoever was singing outside on the front porch was holding him prisoner. Evidently the hideous looking witch, Zora, had a daughter because he couldn’t conceive a voice so lovely belonging to the old hag.
Bryce tried shrugging out of the chains, but the more he struggled, the weaker he became. He heard a movement at the door and saw the hag walk in from the outside.
“Untie me,” he growled as he snapped his gaze to her face.
“I cannot.” Zora walked into the living room and stood ten paces from him, wringing her gnarly hands as she stared at him with worry on her face.
“You know what I am,” Bryce said.
“Yes. You are a Lycan.”
“I only seek a cure for this damn curse.”
Her expression faltered and she looked momentarily surprised. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”
He grimaced. “I have gold, if that’s what you want.”
“You don’t understand. I cannot remove the werewolf curse. No one can. The rumours you’ve heard about me are false.”
Bryce couldn’t believe his six month journey had brought him to nothing. Anger rose in his chest and he struggled to get out of the chains, growling as a numbness restrained his strength. Dammit! He’d have to ruin his remaining clothes.
As a human, he didn’t possess the strength to snap the chains in two, but as a Lycan he did.
Calling on the beast within him, he summoned it to the surface. Nothing. His beast refused to rise. He glared at her.
Zora watched as Bryce struggled with the chains and said, “You cannot shift into either your Lycan or your wolf form. I’ve cast a spell on the silver chains. They’re subduing your beasts.”
“What do you want from me?” he roared. He moved sharply and jostled the table next to him, knocking a vase over as he shot her a furious look.
Sadness and regret tinged her expression. “I want nothing.” She walked to the table and reached for the vase.
Bryce narrowed his eyes and lunged forward, his hand snaking out from beneath the chain. The chains stopped him from moving further, but not before his fingers brushed her skirt.
She shrieked and jumped back.
* * * *
Zora felt the blood drain from her face as she glanced sharply at her skirt and then back at him. A little more to the left and he would have touched her hand. What a fool she was for taking her gloves off! Frightened, she ran her gaze over his face and breathed with relief. He looked very much alive with his arrogant, dark looks etched in granite, his black eyes flashing ire.
“I only want the cure. I’ll pay anything,” he said roughly.
“And I told you I don’t have the cure.”
His eyes narrowed. “You are a powerful witch. I heard you can—”
“You heard rumours. My powers are limited. Spells can be changed…altered, but curses cannot be removed without their specific cure. I do not know the cure, nor does anyone else. I’m sorry.”
His expression remained hard, but she could tell he was disturbed and Zora felt sorry for him. She knew how a curse destroyed hopes, how darkness and loneliness followed.
“Untie me. You have no need to fear me,” he persuaded.
Of course, she didn’t fear him. She feared for him, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. She frowned, biting her lower lip as she stared at the chains. He didn’t deserve to be shackled and subdued. He only wanted his freedom and his humanity back. Still…could she trust his word? Could he keep his distance? History told her otherwise, even though she’d taken great measures to revolt him with her appearance.
“I cannot.”
He swallowed hard, his mouth tightening. “Please. You have my word, I will not harm you.”
Without thinking, Zora whispered, “You might touch me.”
Disbelief lit his features before he quickly masked his expression with a hooded look.
She knew what he’d thought, and she almost laughed out loud if she didn’t think their situation was as dire as it was. He thought she was afraid he would ravish her.
“You have my word that I will not touch you,” he insisted.
The brief flicker she’d witnessed on his face had said it all. He found her totally and completely undesirable. She was satisfied.
“And you promise to stand a few paces away from me?”
His expression turned into a mixture of annoyance and shock. No doubt, he thought she was as insane as she was ugly, but she didn’t care.
“I promise,” he replied, his mouth curling sardonically.
Zora believed him. Slowly, she raised her hand, stared at it, and frowned. Looking around, she spotted her gloves on the table beside her and slipped them on. She raised her hand again and began to voice her incantation to release him, ignoring the narrowed look of curiosity still on his face when he’d watched her slip on her gloves.
Let him think she was a crazy old kook. The truth was a hell of a lot worse.
Chapter Three
Zora whispered the incantation and released him.
As he removed the chains, he gave her a questioning look. “How did you manage to bring me inside?”
“What do you mean?”
“Outside. When I blacked out. How did you bring me inside?” He straightened, running a rough hand through his black hair, which almost reached his wide shoulder
s. He raised a dark brow as she stared at him.
She cleared her throat, her gaze wavering under his pointed look.
“I used my wagon,” she replied.
“How long was I under?” Bryce could tell through the windows that the sun had lowered considerably.
“A few hours.” Her expression changed to alarm and then concern. “Oh, I’m sorry. You must have been travelling for days in these woods. Has it been a while since you ate?”
The question took Bryce by surprise and he stared at her. She appeared genuinely concerned and her compassion reached out and warmed him for a brief, yet odd moment. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone showed him concern. He snapped himself out of his momentary lapse of sanity. He couldn’t forget she was a witch, and he wasn’t sure she was telling the truth about her inability to remove his werewolf curse.
He had to find the truth. If he befriended her, would she be more willing to help him? Then a thought formed in his mind.
“Actually, I am hungry. I am also in need of shelter for a couple of days.” He waited, watching her as she contemplated his request. “I’ve been travelling for a long time to find you and I could use a rest, a warm bath, food.” He knew he was playing on her sympathy and he had the grace to feel ashamed, but he didn’t have a choice. She was hiding something. He’d felt it the moment he met her.
“You…you can stay here for a couple of days,” she finally said. “I have another bedroom you can use and I have plenty of food.”
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