He grimaced, bracing his hands on the floor beside her to keep from crushing her. He glanced around himself and saw he wasn’t exposed to her skin.
“Are you hurt?” he asked hoarsely. Her curves beneath his body started heat in his loins.
“No,” she whispered.
Grim-faced, he dropped his gaze to her moist lips. An uncontrollable need to kiss her overwhelmed him and he rose abruptly, reaching down for her gloved hand to help her up.
“It’s useless,” Zora said. “Morganna will stop at nothing to bring us together.” She drew a horrified gaze around her destroyed living room.
Clenching his fists to his sides, he threw his head back and howled long and loud, struggling to keep his rage in check.
“Where are you, Demon Witch?” he roared to the rafters. “Show yourself to me! I challenge you to face me!”
* * * *
Zora screamed. Was he crazy trying to summon Morganna? “No! Stop it!” She ran to him and placed her hand on his clothed chest
He glanced at her hand, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled sharply. He stiffened, staring deep into her eyes. She knew she’d calmed his rage, but something more significant began emanating from his muscular frame. Desire.
Sharply, she withdrew and stepped away from him. Before she could say a word, a feeling of cold dread filled her as she caught sight of a mist beginning to form behind him.
Bryce must have seen the terror on her face because he spun around, his hand on her hip to keep her safely behind him.
“Morganna,” he growled as the mist slowly took the shape of a woman.
Zora gasped as she peaked from behind his shoulder. Morganna was as beautiful as she was powerful. She wore a long black gown with black lace trim and her raven hair, piled high, was falling in ripples down her back. Her skin was the colour of snow, her eyes like ice. Zora shivered.
Bryce growled and shifted into his Lycan form, advancing menacingly.
Morganna laughed. “Do you really think your beast will vanquish me? You are a gnat, Lycan. A gnat!” She raised her hand and Zora inhaled sharply.
“No! Bryce, stand back! She’s going to cast a spell,” Zora screamed, darting in front of him. “Please, don’t harm him. He’s done nothing to you.”
Bryce growled ferociously from behind her, but Zora ignored him.
Morganna lowered her hand. “He must die. His will is strong and he won’t touch you, so I must kill him. No Lycan mate of my ancestors will survive. They all deserve to die, and you will live a life with a broken heart as I did.”
“Morganna, this has to end, please. I know you were devastated when Larissa and Darmus fell in love, but that was seven centuries ago. Bryce doesn’t deserve to die for what Darmus did.”
“If I, the most powerful witch, cannot have her true love, then why should all the other witches with their measly, paltry spells and puny enchantments be happy and have their own true love? I…can move…the earth!” she yelled. She paused, gasping for breath. “I could have given him the world, and he chose her! The sister everyone preferred, even my own parents.”
Zora’s fear rose as she watched Morganna raise her hand again. She shrieked when she saw Bryce’s Lycan form vault over her head and land before her, blocking her from Morganna’s view.
“If you want me, here I am, demon witch, just stay the hell away from Zora,” he growled.
Morganna laughed, her hand still raised. “Well, isn’t this sweet? The protective Lycan is trying to save his damsel in distress.”
“If it’s my life you want, so be it if it means she’ll come to no harm.”
Morganna paused, her eyes narrowing. “You would die for her, Lycan?”
“Yes.”
Zora gasped. She had to do something. She couldn’t let him do this.
“No!” she yelled, raising her hand and casting the spell on him she used the first night to sedate him. He howled and immediately reverted back to his naked human form, sinking to his knees. He turned his head to hers and grimaced. Her heart broke at the look of anguish on his face.
“Don’t be a fool! Release me. Now, dammit!” he ordered.
“No. I won’t let you do this. I…I love you,” she whispered.
His expression lifted briefly and then darkened with a mixture of fear and agony. “I…love…you, too,” he said hoarsely.
She watched him swallow convulsively.
“Please, save yourself. Release me.”
Her eyes burned with tears and she shook her head. Inhaling slowly, she looked at Morganna and faced her bravely.
“If someone is going to die, it’s going to be me. Take me, and spare him.”
Morganna visibly stiffened, her hand slowly dropping. “What did you say?”
“No!” Bryce growled from the floor.
“I said, take me!” she said, her voice growing stronger. “If you’re so mad with vengeance and want to take an innocent life just to make yourself feel better, then take mine. I have nothing to lose because if you kill him, you might as well kill me, too.”
Morganna raised her head to the rafters and screamed with rage.
Zora was stunned. She didn’t know what made Morganna—
What the hell? Zora stumbled back and nearly fell over Bryce. As she watched in horror, Morganna’s body shimmered and flaked away into tiny bursts of flame. She felt Bryce’s hand slip beneath her dress and hold onto her leg to stop her from stumbling, but she didn’t pay attention to him as Morganna screams faded away.
Then she just vanished, leaving behind a film of dust falling to the floor. Stunned, Zora felt her legs give way and she collapsed on her knees next to Bryce.
“Release me, dammit!”
Still dazed, she whispered the spell to release him. Her hand dropped onto his bare chest, the warmth and strength beneath her palm sending alarming signals to her brain, but she kept staring at the spot where Morganna had disappeared.
She shrieked when he moved like lightening, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her by the shoulders. He dragged her into his arms, his mouth crashing over hers.
She completely forgot about Morganna as he ran his mouth hungrily over hers. A part of her brain asked her how was this happening? How was he still alive? Another part didn’t care because she was melting.
She moaned beneath his mouth, her hands running over his strong shoulders to clasp him at the back of his head. She held on tightly and opened her mouth under the passionate onslaught of his kiss.
He groaned as their tongues meshed and mingled with passionate need, his hands drawing her closer, crushing her breasts against him to his chest.
Zora was soaring too high and too fast for conscious thought. All she could do was feel, and right now, she wanted him.
Suddenly, Bryce dragged his mouth away from hers. He cursed roughly under his breath and pulled away completely.
Confused, she stared up at him as he gave her his hand and helped her rise. This time she had a very good look at his naked form and blushed at the extent of his desire for her.
Grim-faced, he grabbed the throw rug and wrapped it around his middle.
She stared up at him, bewildered, and wondered what the hell had just happened.
Chapter Nine
Zora hadn’t figured it out, Bryce thought grimly as he stared at her lovely face. “Only the purest of love can break the curse,” he said. “That’s the cure from your spell book. Your willingness to give your life for me set us free. A pure and willing self-sacrifice broke the spell. I realised that the curse was lifted the moment I grabbed your leg to stop you from stumbling.”
She lifted her brows in surprise. “You…you touched my leg not knowing the curse was lifted?”
His face was grim. “Yes.”
“You could have died,” she cried out.
“I didn’t.”
She drew in a shaky breath and stared at the spot where Morganna had disappeared. “Where did she go?”
He shook his head. “I don’t k
now. Maybe you killed her, or just vanquished her, sending her somewhere where she can never harm you or your family again.”
“I don’t have family.”
“You may, if you marry.”
“If…I…marry? I…don’t understand.”
Bryce would rather die than hurt her, but he couldn’t face watching her die of old age while he remained young and eternal.
“Zora, I am an immortal,” he began. “And you will grow old and die. I cannot bear to lose you and live an eternity without you.”
“We could embrace the time we have,” she said quietly, but he could tell she was holding back her tears. “I don’t want you to leave.”
His gut clenched. “I have to find the cure for my curse. I do not want to live as an immortal anymore. Eternal life comes with a price I’ve paid too many times already.”
“Bryce, you can’t mean this—”
“I don’t want to watch you die!” he roared, his eyes burning with the uncharacteristic threat of tears. Dammit! He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried.
“If I was an immortal would you stay with me?”
“Yes. Or if I was mortal, we can grow old together.”
She pursed her lips. “Fine. Then make love to me. Now.”
He blinked, unable to hide his surprise. There was only one reason why she’d said that and a cold thread of apprehension ran up his back. “So you know of the Lycan Legend.”
“Yes.” She recalled what her mother had told her. If a Lycan makes love to their one true love, the Lycan involuntarily shifts and the human immediately turns into a werewolf. She kept her gaze fastened on his. “A Lycan is immortal.”
“You would willingly take on my werewolf curse to be with me? You don’t know what you’re saying. I can’t let you do this.”
She wasn’t going to back down. “From what I know, Lycans control their turning, so it wouldn’t be that bad. Besides, if Luna gets stuck on the roof, I can shift and get her down by myself.”
He knew she was trying to make light of the situation, but it wasn’t working.
She gasped softly. “Oh, my God! You’re afraid it won’t work. You’re afraid if we make love and I don’t turn, I’m not your one.” She pursed her lips. “I can’t believe after all we’ve been through, you still have doubt. Well, if you don’t believe in us, I don’t want you.”
He made a move to take her hand, but she stepped out of his reach.
“Zora, you don’t understand. As much as I love you and want to be with you, I don’t—”
“There’s nothing left to say.”
“I’m a coward, dammit!” Bryce yelled. At her surprised look, he continued with more control. “I’m too much of a coward to take my own life after you die. I don’t want to live forever without you.”
Her expression softened. “Then believe in me when I tell you I am your one and none of this will matter after we make love.”
He watched her bring her hands to the buttons of her dress and undo them. His throat went dry. Slowly she unbuttoned her dress and slid her arms out of the sleeves, her gaze steady on his face. Her breasts spilled from their confinement and his loins tightened violently. He swallowed hard.
As if she had all the time in the world, she let the dress drop to the floor and stepped away from it. Her hands went to the waist band of her undergarments and she slid them down over her sultry, creamy hips, past her womanhood down to the floor.
Naked, she stepped away from them and stared at him with a mixture of nervous anticipation. Bryce forgot about what they were talking about and had only one thought in his mind. To take her and make her his.
He growled as he flung the rug from his hips and reached for her.
She gasped softly as he lifted her in his arms and carried her to her bedroom.
* * * *
Zora was both frightened and excited as he lay down beside her and gathered her in his arms. His kiss was long and hot and by the time he lifted his head, her heart was racing like a thoroughbred.
Slowly, he trailed hot kisses along her shoulder and her arm. She moaned with pleasure, her eyes closed, and when his mouth slid to her breast, she inhaled sharply at the spasm of pleasure that ran through her body. He suckled and lathed and nibbled until she couldn’t take the sweet pain. Growling softly, he moved to the other breast and attacked it with the same passion. Zora thought she was going to die.
Her body was in flames. She ached with pleasure, she throbbed with pain, and a spasm of delight shook her as he ran his hand over her belly towards her mound as he continued to ravish her breasts.
The moment his hand found the most intimate, private part of her body, she jolted violently off the bed. He sensually caressed her silken folds and she squeezed her eyes and lifted her lower body off the bed. He lifted his head from her throbbing breast and gave her a smouldering gaze before he drove his finger into her. She gasped and bucked under his hand and he stifled her cries with his mouth. As he kissed her passionately, he inserted a second finger into her moist opening, and Zora moaned with pleasure. He inserted and withdrew his fingers continuously while he kissed her passionately and Zora felt a mounting wave of ecstasy rise from her limbs.
Then, she climaxed as spasm upon spasm made her cry out in bliss. She didn’t even have time to enjoy the aftermath of what he’d done to her because in that moment, he stopped kissing her, knelt between her legs, spreading them wider with his knee. His dark gaze fastened on hers and she gasped softly when she felt the tip of his rigid shaft on her opening. His face was taut as he drove into her.
She stiffened for a brief moment after a flash of pain. His penis filled her more than his fingers and it took her a moment to adjust to his size.
She sucked in a sharp breath when he started to move. He drove deep inside her and withdrew nearly all the way before he plummeted deep inside her again. Her body responded and began to match his movements.
Zora was soaring again, and she couldn’t stop it if she wanted to. She clutched his shoulders for dear life, digging her nails into his skin and she released a long cry before her body shattered into a million pieces.
And with one final thrust, Bryce threw his head back and roared his release.
He fell to her side and held her tight against him as they struggled to catch their breaths.
Something at the back of Zora’s mind nudged her, but she ignored it, basking in the warm aftermath of their lovemaking. She drew her arm over his chest and kissed his face. Mm, he smelled good.
A low, deep growl rose from her throat. Zora released a shaky laugh, startled that the sound came from her throat. “You smell good enough to eat,” she said, smiling at him, but he wasn’t smiling back.
His eyes were filled with fierce pride and love. Wait a minute! Was that her voice? “Bryce, why do I sound—”
She sounded hollow, eerie, and then it hit her. She was turning. “Is it going to hurt?” She squeezed her eyes, burying her face in his neck.
She heard his odd sounding chuckle and knew he was shifting involuntarily. “No, and it will only last a minute or so.”
Her bones and skin stretched, growing, changing, and she kept her eyes shut, feeling her feet slip over the edge of the bed. My God, how tall was she now? As she transformed, she felt Bryce’s body next to hers. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared at his Lycan face—brows meeting at the bridge of his nose, ferocious jowls, low forehead.
“Do I look like you?” she asked, stiffening at the strange sound of her voice. She sounded eerie with a strange echo in her hollow voice.
“Yes, but pretty.”
She would have laughed, but stopped as her body transformed back to her human form. She sighed with relief when it was over.
“Just to let you know, I’m never shifting.” A thought struck her. “I’m probably the first witch who’s a Lycan.”
His expression was sombre. “I’m sorry I doubted you were my one. I was too afraid to contemplate what would happen if you weren’
t. If it’s any consolation, my wolf has always known you were my one.”
“I forgive you. Besides, you now have an eternity to make it up to me.”
His expression softened. “An eternity with you will be too short, Zora.” He leaned over her and kissed her gently on the lips. “I love you.”
Her spirit soared at the possessive look he gave. “How much do you love me?” she asked innocently, running her hand over his muscular chest.
He growled softly, covering her body with his, and proceeded to show her just how much he loved her until hours later when the full moon rose high in the evening sky.
If you enjoyed The Lycan and His Witch, you may like these other Werewolf/Vampire Romance books from this author:
Lycan Mate
Lycan Prince (Lycan Legend, # 1)
Lycan King (Lycan Legend, #2)
Coming soon, Her Vampire Lover
Coming soon, Lycan Warrior (Lycan Legend, #3)
Coming soon, Lycan Heart (Lycan Legend, #4)
Coming soon, Her Vampire Lover, #2
About the Author
Anastasia Maltezos enjoys reading and writing all romance genres, whether it’s a sweet contemporary or a dark paranormal. Her heroes vary from high powered, corporate moguls falling in love with the girl next door, to sexy vampires searching for their lost love.
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