Warlock Unbound: Heart's Desire, Book 4

by Dana Marie Bell

  If that was what she wanted, he’d do it. “Will you let me be your magic battery?”

  “Yup.” Kerry kissed him on the cheek. “Now let’s get back to teaching me how to be an even bigger badass than I already am.”

  Daniel sighed in relief as Kerry and Gen began working together once more. It was going to be all right. Kerry would bond to him, and their magic would blend together forever.

  He could hardly wait.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Daniel was crazy, but it was the good kind of crazy. He was giving up so much just to make her happy. She couldn’t imagine being brave enough to offer half her power to someone else, even a lover.

  He’d done it without a second thought, insisting it was the best way to give Kerry power without the dangers associated with an elemental bonding. If he was right, and this worked, she’d be closer to him than anyone, even her twin.

  Somehow, that seemed right too.

  The door to their apartment—and she was truly beginning to think of it as hers—closed behind them. “Damn. Long day.”

  “Too long?” Daniel wrapped his arms around her from behind, putting his chin on her shoulder. Whenever they were together he seemed to have this need to touch her, hold her no matter what was going on around them.

  “Why? What are you thinking?”

  Her hunch was proven correct when his hands slid to her waist. “What do you think I’m thinking?”

  “Polka.”

  He burst into laughter. “Fuck no. Not even on a bet. But you’re close.”

  “Hmm.” She stroked her chin. “Naked mamba.”

  “Ooh, one of my favorites.” He kissed the side of her neck and let her go. “But not quite.”

  She watched, confused, as he moved over to his stereo. Music filled the room, a soft, romantic tune she’d never have expected from the gruff Daniel.

  He turned back to her, his arms open, patiently waiting for her to join him.

  Accepting his invitation, Kerry stepped into Daniel’s arms. “What’s going on?”

  “We’ve both had a rough time of it. I thought we could just use a little us time.” Daniel danced her slowly through the room, his arms clasped lightly behind her back. “Besides, you cast your first spell. Congratulations, baby.”

  “So this is a celebration?” She tilted her head, smiling. “I could go for that. We haven’t had a whole lot to celebrate recently.”

  “You made me proud today.” Daniel’s arms tightened. “You’re picking up spellcasting quickly. It took me two weeks to learn to flip a light switch on and off.”

  “Really?” She grinned up at him, flushing with pride.

  “Yup. You’ll find certain types of spells come easier for you than others. I still have trouble with illusion spells.” He chuckled. “Not nearly as bad as Zach though.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and danced with him. “What did Zach do?”

  “Well, it was when we just realized he might be a witch instead of a wizard. The thought that he was also an Own hadn’t crossed any of our minds. We were just glad we might have figured out why his magic always seemed off, or weak. Anyway, Annabelle wanted him to change the color of a flower to purple using an illusion spell. Instead of the flower, he got all of Chris’s living room. And it wasn’t an illusion.”

  Kerry’s eyes went wide. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Nope. Funniest thing I ever saw. It was like Barney puked all over the place.”

  “Ew.” She wrinkled her nose.

  “It took Chris, Annabelle and Lana to fix it, but Chris decided to keep the purple in the fireplace tiles to remind him that power wasn’t everything. Family was.”

  “That’s sweet.” And just like Chris. She could totally picture him doing that, the big sap. No matter how growly any of the Beckett brothers became, when it came to their family they were big old saps. “Now tell me a story about you.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  The song changed, still soft and sweet. Had he set this up ahead of time? “Tell me about a spell you messed up.”

  Daniel grimaced. “There was this movie I saw where witches used illusions to change their faces. They used the spell to look like one another, and I thought that would be something neat. I could change into Chris or Zach, do something I wanted to do but knew would get me in trouble, and they’d be blamed for it.”

  “Not Gareth?”

  “Not on a bet.” He shuddered. “Even when we were kids he was the alpha out of the four of us. He’d have kicked my ass if I tried that.”

  “So, you changed your face and…?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Forgot one little teensy detail.”

  “Your scent?”

  He nodded woefully. “My dad figured out what was up pretty quick and I got double the punishment. Once for doing what he’d told me not to, which was play with Gareth’s new motorized scooter, and the other for trying to lay the blame on Zach. He told me it was a betrayal of the bond we had, not just between me and him but me and Zach. When Zach found out, he was so hurt by what I tried to do that we both wound up crying and I vowed never to do it again. Ever since, I’ve sucked at illusion spells.”

  “It was a pretty nasty thing to do.”

  “I was twelve, new to my power, and thought I knew everything.”

  “And found out you knew nothing.” She understood better than he thought. “Kelly and I would switch up sometimes, pretending to be each other. I’d take the heat for something she did. Our parents could tell us apart, but our friends we could fool.”

  “You wouldn’t fool me, not even for a second.” He pulled her closer so that her head rested on his chest. “Your scent is a part of me now. I’d never confuse the two of you.”

  “You’ve met Kelly. Do we smell similar?” She’d always wondered how deep the similarities went. Identical twins weren’t completely identical, at least on a DNA level. Scientists had found that there were minor genetic differences between them.

  “Nope. I can tell you’re siblings, but you both have unique scents.” He frowned as if trying to figure out how to explain it to her in a way she could understand. “Think of it like fingerprints. Each fingerprint is unique from person to person, even twins. Your scent is the same.” He inhaled deeply, his chest rumbling in satisfaction. “You smell much better.”

  “Let’s see if you say the same thing when I come home after a long shift in the ER and I’m covered in blood and puke.” Man, she missed her job. It wasn’t the ER so much as the desire to help people, to give it her all and save a life or know that she’d done her best against all the odds.

  “You want to go back to medicine.”

  It was a statement, not a question, so she treated it as such. “Definitely. Healing people is my passion. The work is grueling, the hours are long, and we’re always being bellowed at for one thing or another.”

  “Then why do you do it?” Daniel rested his chin on top of her head, their movements slowing down as the talked quietly.

  “When someone is wheeled away and you know he’s going to live, it’s the best feeling in the world. I gave them that chance. I eased the pain, made it so they could breathe again. And when someone doesn’t make it, it hurts so badly you want to cry, but you can’t. Someone else needs you, so you move on to the next patient brought in, and pray this time is the time he gets wheeled away rather than covered up.”

  “You’ve kept your head no matter what life throws at you. I know I’ve given you a hard time, but I need you to be aware of how I feel.” Daniel rubbed his chin across the top of her head. “It’s an honor to have you as a mate.”

  It wasn’t quite the words she’d longed for, but still, her heart skipped a beat. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  They danced together in silence. Kerry was simply enjoying
the quiet time with her lover, feeling his warmth against her as they moved. Nothing could touch them now, not the Godwins, not a demonic voice. All she needed was right here, in Daniel’s arms.

  As the third song ended Daniel kissed her. It was slow and sweet, just as the music was. She couldn’t imagine being anywhere else but right here in his arms, holding him tight.

  If only he’d told her he loved her, everything would have been perfect. But she was patient. She’d learned to be on the emergency room floor, waiting to see if a patient would respond to their treatment or not. She could wait for Daniel to say those three little words.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “It looks like, from what we can gather, that Arthur is going after Godwins.” Daniel tightened his hold on Kerry. “And not just any Godwins. He’s going after the ones who rejected him, or are related to those who rejected him.”

  “But…” Kerry tugged free and picked up the list of victims. “They were all blonde and blue eyed.”

  “A red herring,” Daniel growled, “but not exactly that either.”

  “It’s a Godwin trait.” Gen, holding Gareth, smiled bitterly. “We’re either blonde or tend to be attracted to blondes, so that hair color runs in the family. A dark-haired Godwin is considered unnatural, and the parents are looked at as if the mother had an affair.”

  “That’s fucked up.” Kerry put the list down. “Blondes might be dominant, but you could have the recessive genes for a brunette.”

  Gen nodded. “But I know my family. It might not make sense to you, but to the Godwins, a brunette child is an embarrassment, something to be hidden away, or even given up for adoption.”

  “You’re joking, right?” Kerry laughed, glancing between Gareth and Gen. Her laughter slowly died. “You’re not kidding.”

  “No, they aren’t.” Daniel saw Gareth snarl before he got himself back under control.

  “That’s stupid! It’s not the kid’s fault if they have brown hair.”

  “But they treat the child exactly like that.” Gen’s sorrowful expression said it all. “And there’s been nothing I could do about it until now.”

  “I’m going to set up someplace for those children to go. The Godwins aren’t the only ones pulling this bullshit. Some of the so-called upper wizard families have done the same, for far less reasons than hair color. Someone like Zach would have been sent away long before it was discovered what he truly is, rather than cherished simply for being Zachary.” Gareth nodded to Kerry. “And I want your help doing it.”

  Kerry held out her hand. “Consider me your Mary Poppins.”

  Gareth’s crown flared to life. “Done.”

  Daniel shook with the force of his brother’s deal with Kerry. Every wizard would now know the King had done something binding, just not what. It was up to Gareth to inform them when he was ready.

  Daniel would just have to deal with the questions.

  Kerry turned to Gen. “Your relatives must love Gareth then.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Gareth rolled his eyes. “We have tea parties all the fuckin’ time.”

  “And we think he’s going after the women because he believes they’re weaker than him.” Daniel was furious. Kerry was in Arthur’s sights because of her fucking hair color? Gen’s theory made sense, but only after hearing the whys of it.

  “That, too, is bullshit.” Kerry glared at him as if she thought Daniel might even microscopically agree with Arthur.

  “I know that.” Daniel shrugged. “Just…listen.”

  Kerry nodded and settled on the edge of the work table, her hands cupping the edges. “Lay it on me.”

  Oh, how Daniel wished he could, but right now all he could do was back Gen up. Everything Gen had told him made sense, in a sick, twisted sort of way. “According to Gen, Arthur has always been a bit prejudiced when it comes to females.”

  “He’s always believed we were lesser beings, dragged about the world by our emotions rather than clear logic.” Gen’s expression was sad. This was her big brother, after all, and the knowledge that he’d hated her all along seemed to be an old hurt that never quite healed. “Using the females to fuel his spell and hurt his relatives at the same time would make perfect sense in his world.”

  Daniel nodded. “Knowing Arthur’s personality, Gen figured out who the next victim most likely is.” He held up his hand and began ticking off names. “First would be Gen herself. As his sister, she was the first to reject him, the first female to defy him.”

  “Plus she’s blonde and blue-eyed, just his type.” Gareth’s smile was full of wicked-sharp teeth.

  “Second would be you. You’re not only the one that got away, you’re the one that sassed him when he had you tied up and terrified.” Of that, Daniel had no doubt. Kerry had been brave enough to call Davis Godwin a coward while tied up and helpless. He would be surprised to find she hadn’t said far more to Davis’s sons.

  “I did. When Hugh threatened to rape me I laughed and asked him what he’d use since he didn’t have a dick. And I told Arthur he was nothing more than Daddy’s little bitch boy.” She grinned viciously. “I got one hell of a beating for it, but I’d do the same now.”

  Daniel grinned right back, so proud he could burst. She was a true wolf’s mate, savage when need be but nurturing as well. “That’s my girl.”

  “The last victim would be Meredith Godwin, Aunt Vivian’s daughter.” Gen grimaced. “She, like my aunt, wants nothing to do with our branch of the family. If she saw Arthur she’d spit in his face.”

  “She’d do the same to you if I allowed either of them in my court,” Gareth growled, his shoulders tense. “I hate that bitch.”

  “She’s a little older than Arthur’s preference, but killing her would hurt my aunt more than anything else in this world.”

  “And cause a war between Gen and the rest of the Godwins until death do you part.” Kerry pinched the bridge of her nose. “It could conceivably continue down generations, just as the original Beckett-Godwin feud did.”

  “Exactly.” Gen sighed and turned to Gareth. “We might need to—”

  “No. I’m not allowing either of them back at court.” Gareth’s expression said it all. There was no way he’d bow to Gen on this one.

  Daniel couldn’t blame him. Vivian Godwin had done everything in her power to remove Genevieve as his consort, all because Gen was a warlock. Not only was she a warlock, she was a Godwin warlock, a disgrace to the line. Having Gen reign beside Gareth had shoved Vivian into doing more than merely disowning Gen. Vivian had tried to turn both court and council against Gen, earning not only Gareth’s wrath but the rest of the Becketts as well. Gareth had eventually been forced to dissolve the Council and exile Vivian Godwin, and her closest allies, from court.

  No. Gareth would not allow Vivian back, not for all the magic in the world.

  Gen nodded. “Very well. But we can send someone to guard Meredith until this is resolved.”

  Gareth slowly nodded. “That I can do.”

  “Thank you.” Gen kissed Gareth on the cheek, making him smile.

  “Getting to Gen will be damn near impossible for Arthur.” Daniel knew exactly how close an eye Gareth was keeping on his mate. More than once he’d shadowed Gen when she didn’t know it. It had paid off at least once, when Vivian had decided to confront Gen on her own and try to shame Gen into leaving Gareth. He doubted Gen even knew his presence had been deliberate rather than coincidence. “The same goes for Kerry. One of us will be guarding her at all times.”

  Gareth shot him a determined look. Yes, Gareth would watch out for Kerry, just as Daniel looked out for Gen. “So that leaves Meredith?”

  “I think so.” Gen didn’t seem to notice the by-play between Gareth and Daniel. “Truth be told, I can’t think of anyone else who might be an eligible victim.”

  “Then we place plenty of guards around her, unse
en ones. If he takes her, we have him.”

  “We should make sure he’s not after either Gen or Kerry.” Daniel waved his hand. “We can set up wards and charms to alert us if he’s on the move.”

  “Excellent idea.” Gareth clapped him on the shoulder, preparing to leave Daniel’s workroom. “You take care of that.”

  Daniel tilted his head. “Why is it whenever I come up with an idea I’m the one to make it happen?”

  “I have no idea.” Gareth waved. “See you tomorrow. Don’t do anything I would do.”

  Kerry coughed. “That leaves a lot of stuff still open, you know.”

  Gareth winked at her. “Don’t be too sure of that.” He closed the door behind him. Daniel could hear Gen squeal followed by the thundering sound of footfalls racing from his apartment.

  He turned to Kerry, his mouth open to ask her if she wanted to go to bed, but her upraised hand stopped him. “I know, I know.” She blew her hair out of her face. “Don’t go anywhere without the secret service, stay in your apartment or Gareth’s at all times, no heading down to Starbucks for a quickie, bug Gareth until he lets Gen out to play with me—”

  “I trust you.” His wolf wasn’t so sure, but Daniel silenced it. Locking Kerry up, appealing as that was, wasn’t the answer. “You know what you’re doing.”

  She ran her fingers through her hair. “Thanks for that.”

  “So. What happened? Who called you?” It had been driving him crazy since she’d entered the workroom. She’d looked so distraught before she pasted that fake smile on her face he’d almost called off the meeting. He wanted to find the person responsible for upsetting his mate and gnaw on their bones.

  “My sister.”

  Or not. Damn it. Family drama he understood. “What happened?”

  “She’s pissed at me.” Kerry tried to smile, but again it was fake as glass diamonds, shiny but of no real value. “She’s also pregnant.”

  Daniel whistled. “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. She wants me to come and help with pretty much everything, but I’m worried. The demons have been pretty quiet lately since I told them to fuck off, but what if they could get to Bean? I don’t want that.”