Lucky Witch: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 5)

by Danielle Garrett

  “That’s Nick,” he said, confirming what I’d already known.

  My stomach rolled. “What happened to him?”

  The misshapen beast before me started to stir.

  Adam tucked one bare arm over my shoulders and then craned around to scan the woods behind us. “I don’t know, but in case you haven’t noticed, there’s someone shooting at us, so maybe not the best time to discuss.”

  “Nick? Can you hear me? Can you walk?”

  Nothing but a low growl came from the pile of what could only be described as a man-beast.

  I looked to Adam and froze. “You’re bleeding!” I hadn’t seen it before, but there was a wound below his left collarbone. A flesh wound, but it still looked nasty.

  Adam glanced down. “It’ll heal.”

  “What happened out here? Who is shooting? And why?”

  He answered with a shake of his head. “I don’t know.”

  “How are we going to move him?” I considered Nick. “He looks a good hundred pounds heavier than the last time I saw him.”

  “Can you do a shield spell?”

  Sure. Now he wanted my magic.

  “It wouldn’t be stable enough. Shields work better when rooted to the ground. They don’t hold up as well when they’re on the move. It wouldn’t be able to stop a bullet.”

  Adam cursed and scanned the woods again. It was quiet, had been since the fourth shotgun blast, but that couldn’t be enough of an assurance to go racing back through the woods on another mad dash. Especially if we had to brace Nick between us. We’d move slow and couldn’t guarantee silence.

  “Larkspur?” Adam asked, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

  Automatically, I reached up and touched my chest where the pendent lay under the layers of clothing. “I’ve never tried to take anyone with me before,” I confessed.

  “Well, you’re going to have to try.”

  As if I needed further convincing, footsteps sounded in the not-so-distant trees surrounding the clearing.

  “Stars,” I hissed. I dug under the coat and pulled it free from the neckline of the t-shirt I’d worn to bed. Clasping it between my thumb and forefinger, I quirked my lips in concentration. Boots bumped his head into my side and then tore off, back toward the manor. A bubble of panic surged through me, but I fought it down. He would be fine. Whoever was tearing through the woods wouldn’t see the tabby.

  I reached out my free hand to Adam. “Okay. Hold onto Nick. And then to me.”

  Here goes nothing…

  I squeezed my eyes shut, held the Larkspur tightly, and whispered, “The Manor.”

  My stomach swooped, the feeling similar to dropping over the crest of a rollercoaster. I knew it had worked, but couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes. Not until I felt Adam’s fingers wiggle on my arm. “You did it!”

  I opened my eyes and found the three of us sprawled in the living room.

  Adam in all his glory. Nick in his half-man, half-beast pile.

  A chorus of screams sounded.

  Adam cringed.

  Right. Lacey was having her undead gaggle over for a full-moon party.

  Wincing, I turned my head and saw Lacey and two of her vampire gal-pals standing at the foot of the grand staircase, their silky pajamas at odds with the mud masks smeared across their faces. I don’t know why they bother; vampires have perfect skin. Witches.

  Adam chuckled and slicked a hand through his hair before reaching for the nearest throw blanket. “Uh. Hello, ladies.”

  At least he had the good sense to blush.

  “I don’t know what kind of debauchery is going on down here, but you could at least have the decency to do it in one of your bedrooms!” Lacey shouted, her voice rich with righteous indignation.

  Like she’d never had gentlemen callers stay past her bedtime.

  Stars.

  “Oh dear.”

  My eyes squeezed shut when Posy’s voice joined the conversation.

  “Is that blood on your shoulder, Adam?” she asked. “Ack! That afghan is an antique, young man!”

  The adrenaline rush ebbing from my body collided with the sheer insanity of the situation and I burst out laughing.

  Lacey huffed. “Come on, ladies. It’s time for our steam anyway!”

  Adam chuckled. “Don’t melt in there, snow queen. That would be a real pity!”

  Posy swirled around the room to stand before us, her arms folded. “I’m glad you two are having such a good time, but can someone tell me what on God’s green earth is going on around here?”

  Between her severe bun and the way her eyes narrowed behind her thick spectacles, I had a flashback to being scolded by the librarian back in my academy days. Granted, back then I’d never come back to my dormitory with a naked man and a half-beast.

  I started, my eyes shooting back to Nick. “Stars! We just brought a werewolf into the manor!”

  Chapter 5

  We were safe. Literally out of the woods. But in the absence of the heart-stopping action, a sea of questions surged through me. Number one being; “What in the Otherworld happened to Nick?”

  “That’s Nick?” Posy spat, her eyes going nearly as round as her glasses. She looked like a startled owl.

  I leaned in closer and breathed a sigh of relief. There didn’t appear to be any wounds and his chest was rising and falling. Tentatively, I reached out to touch the furry hip but Adam knocked my hand out of the way. “Holly, no! We don’t know what he’s capable of. What mindset he’s in.”

  The beast stirred, rolling to one side. I covered my mouth to muffle the gasp. There was no mistaking that it was Nick. The face was his, but patches of fur covered his cheeks. Like out-of-control sideburns. Way out of control. Like, hello, the ’70s called and they think you should tone it down. His lip rolled back as his head lolled back onto the floor and a pair of huge canines poked out.

  My eyes snapped to Adam’s, finding them as round as my own felt. “What do we do?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Nick?” I said softly. “Can you hear me?”

  Nick stirred but didn’t open his eyes.

  “What happened out there?” Posy asked, edging closer.

  “We were getting ready to change,” Adam started, still wrapped up in the heirloom afghan. “We put our packs in my usual hiding place. We each drank a bottle of water. I shifted first. Nick went behind a tree to undress. I’d told him that was the best option if he didn’t want to have a Hulk moment and ruin his clothes. I hung back, waiting for him to change. He started yelling. It was … awful. Worse than I expected. I didn’t go around to check on him though. He was weird about the whole naked thing. Apparently he never played high school sports.” He shook his head, refocusing. “When he went quiet, I got worried. I went around and saw him like … this.”

  “Did he say anything? Could he?” I asked.

  Adam hitched one bare shoulder. “I don’t know. He looked unconscious. Or asleep. I didn’t know what happened. Then that first shotgun blast kinda put a damper on figuring it out.”

  Posy gasped. “Is that what that was? A shotgun?”

  I nodded. “I counted four.”

  “But who would be out shooting in those woods?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t get a look at them. Did you, Adam?”

  Posy swooped closer. “You were in the woods, Holly?”

  “Yes. She was,” Adam replied, his tone acidic.

  “You thought I would stay here while you and Nick were out there getting shot at?”

  Adam scoffed. “That was kind of the point! Granted, I didn’t expect guns to be involved. But yeah, you were supposed to stay here where it was safe.”

  “If anyone needs a lecture, it’s you!” I fired at Adam, gesturing to his wound. “You need to clean that up.”

  Adam shoved up from the couch. “Fine! But you’re going with me. I’m not leaving you here with him.”

  I rolled my eyes. “When are you going to drop this wh
ole over-protective thing? It was sweet—kind of—back in the beginning. Right now it’s just patronizing and obnoxious.”

  Adam’s full lips twisted into a scowl. “You know what I find patronizing and obnoxious? The fact that you don’t respect my opinion and expertise and don’t trust that I have your best interests in mind. I’m only trying to keep you safe, and the fact that you refuse to see that is becoming a big problem!”

  “Oh, please! Spare me. You just like being the big, macho shifter-man! You want to be large and in charge, and stars help us all if anyone else tries to cut in on your power trip!”

  Adam’s expression darkened and in my gut, I knew I’d crossed a line. But my own stance remained stony and immovable. “Unbelievable,” he sneered.

  “Me or you?”

  Posy clucked her tongue. “Now, now, you two. Think of what you’re saying.”

  He stalked toward the grand staircase, seeming to forget about Nick altogether. When he reached the bottom step, he whirled back around, his face red and lined. “You almost died, Holly! Did you somehow manage to wipe that from your memory? Because if so, please tell me how so I can forget it, too. I could use a good night’s sleep for once!”

  My mouth dropped open, dry as a pile of cotton balls. “Adam—”

  He jerked his hand up and slashed at the air before charging up the stairs.

  A door slammed seconds later and all the fight drained out of me. I sagged down onto the couch and tears peppered my vision.

  “I’m an idiot,” I choked out.

  “Oh, Holly,” Posy whispered, floating closer. She lowered as though sitting beside me. I had the feeling that if she could have reached over and wrapped me in a motherly embrace, she would have.

  “Of course he’s trying to protect me,” I said softly, wiping at my eyes. “The last time he left me alone, I ended up getting magically kidnapped by a crazy sorceress and nearly blasted to smithereens.”

  “It hasn’t been that long, dear. He’ll mellow out. It will just take some time.”

  I nodded. In some ways, the showdown with Sasha Pringle felt eons ago. I’d been focused on getting my potions business back on track and establishing new relationships within the Seattle Haven, now that I was once again considered a member of proper supernatural society. Between all that and worrying about Nick and his upcoming first change, I hadn’t let myself slow down long enough to consider how Adam was processing the entire mess. Obviously, not well. Not that my pretending nothing had happened was helping either of us.

  Across the room, Nick mumbled something, the sound a low, rumbling growl.

  “Nick?” I pushed off the couch and crept closer, trying to make out the words.

  “Holly?”

  A fresh batch of tears filled my eyes, this time spurred on by sheer happiness and relief.

  “I’m here,” I told him, sinking down to my knees beside him. I took his hand, still fully human, though larger somehow. “Are you okay?”

  He rolled his head and opened his eyes. I smiled. They were the same deep blue I’d come to know so well. The rest of him might have changed, but at least there was still one thing I could count on. “Holly—” he wheezed. “Is it over?”

  I drew in my lower lip and pressed my teeth into it.

  The truth wasn’t something I could contain for long. As soon as he was able to sit up, he’d look down and realize that one, he’d packed on thirty pounds of muscle and two, his lower half was … wolfy.

  “Just stay still. Are you in pain?”

  His eyes opened wider. “No.”

  “That’s good!” I nodded encouragingly, my smile watery with the tears still brimming in my eyes.

  “Is he awake?” Adam’s voice called down, followed by his bare feet slapping the wooden stairs.

  “Nick, do you remember anything about what happened?” I asked.

  Adam joined us. He’d thrown on a pair of athletic pants but was still sans shirt. He’d slapped a large bandage over the wound on his chest, but I could already see blood seeping through. I started to ask if he was all right, but he squatted down beside Nick, his attention fully on him. “What happened out there, man?”

  Nick didn’t answer. Instead, he was reaching up and poking at his lip. “I feel weird…”

  I cringed. “There’s something you should know—”

  He found his elongated canine with the tip of his tongue before I could finish my sentence. A yelp escaped from him and he struggled to back away, fingers on both hands inspecting the changes to his teeth.

  That’s when he noticed his legs were more like flanks, complete with burly paws. His yelp morphed into a guttural scream.

  I reached out for him. “Nick! Nick, it’s okay!”

  He didn’t respond. He lunged up from the floor, pitching forward on unsteady feet—or, paws. He stumbled into a table at the end of the couch, sending a lamp crashing to the ground.

  A violent vibration shook the house.

  Posy was starting to lose it. First the afghan, now the lamp.

  I rushed forward, gathering up the lamp. “Posy, it’s okay. We’ll get a new one!”

  “That’s an antique, Holly Boldt! You cannot simply replace it!”

  I squinted at the pieces of the lamp, noticing the sticker on the bottom. “This is from Target!”

  She stopped—mouth open, finger raised. “Oh?”

  The shaking stopped immediately.

  “That’s better,” I scoffed. But before I could ridicule her overkill outrage further, Adam slammed into Nick with a football-style tackle that landed them both sprawled across the floor. “Adam! What are you doing?”

  Nick struggle underneath Adam and quickly got the upper hand. Normally, Adam had the advantage. He was a little taller, broader, and as he’d spent his entire life as a shifter; he carried a higher-than-normal awareness of both his own physical limits and his surroundings in any situation. But now, with Nick caught between half-man and half-were, he effortlessly rolled out of Adam’s hold, spun, and landed on top of him with a stomach-churning crunch.

  Adam grunted and kicked out at Nick.

  Nick growled, the sound raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

  “Stop it! Both of you. We’re on the same team!” I cried out. I raised my hands, readying a spell, but the two men tangled together in a way that made it impossible to aim. I couldn’t send up a shield to keep them apart—my go-to move when things between Lacey and Adam got dicey. If I blasted them with a stunning spell it would no doubt hit Adam just as hard as Nick and he was already injured. I didn’t want to risk causing more pain.

  There was one other spell I’d been working on…

  I squinted at the two wrestling men. It appeared neither of them heard my pleas to stop the insanity.

  I drew in a deep breath, raised both hands, and whispered a new spell.

  Then I squeezed my eyes closed.

  “Argh!”

  “Holly!”

  A smile flicked up the corners of my lips and I reopened my eyes. “It worked!”

  The two men were no longer wrestling. Each of them were shaking their heads like … well, like dogs, to rid themselves of the blast of water I’d sprayed between them.

  “My Persian rug!” Posy squealed. “That’s it—”

  “Posy, give it up,” I interrupted. “That one I know is from a warehouse shop in Seattle. I was with Evangeline when she bought it after Flurry wrecked the one that was here when I moved in. Which, for the record, was also a knockoff.”

  “Harrumph!” Posy sighed before zipping up to the ceiling and disappearing through the rafters.

  Adam growled as he looked up at me. “Nice, Holly. I just got this bandaged up.”

  I shrugged. “You two weren’t listening. I couldn’t turn the hose on you so I did the next best thing. It’s a new spell I’ve been working on. Sure makes watering the plants easier when I don’t have to cart around a huge watering can.” I brushed my hands together and flashed an unapologetic smile. �
��Now, if you’re done beating the stuffing out of each other, can we talk? Like civilized … uh …”

  “Monsters,” Nick finished, his tone glum.

  The glee faded from my face. “Nick,” I said softly. “You’re not a monster.”

  He looked down at himself, silently arguing my words.

  Adam stood and reached down to help Nick up. “Truce?”

  Nick ignored his hand. “Not until you tell me why you tackled me like that.”

  “I thought you were going to run out of the house. I couldn’t risk you taking off.”

  “I was going to the bathroom!” Nick bellowed.

  I rolled my eyes. “Just a tip, Adam—next time, maybe try a more diplomatic approach.”

  Adam grunted and hauled Nick up, waiting until he was steady on his strange hind quarters.

  “I need to see my face,” Nick said.

  Adam and I exchanged a look before he nodded and said, “This way.”

  We trooped down the hallway to the bathroom across the hall from my bedroom on the first floor. Nick went ahead and I reached in for the light switch. “You sure you’re ready for this?”

  Impatient, Nick reached over and pushed my hand, flipping it on. I drew in a breath and held it as Nick approached the sink. His blue eyes went round as they raked over his own reflection. He braced his hands on either side of the pedestal sink and leaned in closer. “What happened to me?”

  Adam looked at me and I shrugged. “We don’t really know, Nick.”

  “Is there some kind of rite of passage? Like the first change isn’t a full change? You know? Maybe the wolf needs a little time to … I don’t know. Break in.”

  “It’s an ancient curse, not a pair of Doc Martins,” Adam quipped. “You’re a wolf. You should be in the forest right now, scaring the cotton tails off a couple of rabbits.”

  Nick cursed as he pushed away from the mirror. He turned his back on it and ran his hands through his hair, which looked thicker and longer than I’d ever seen it. He shook his head and stared blankly at the floral wallpaper. “I’ve been waiting on this curse or change for the past three and a half weeks, and now … well now I look like I got a little overzealous with a bottle of Rogaine.”