by C. M. Owens
"You looked away?" I grumble as he shuts the glass door. "You knew what we were doing?"
"Close the curtains next time. You might also want to invest in an iron," he teases while motioning to my thoroughly fucked dress.
I roll my eyes, and then his eyes narrow.
"Shit. What'd he do to you?" he almost growls while examining me a little closer.
I flip my hair down, bringing it over the mark I still haven't seen, and then I push away his scrutiny.
"Nothing I didn't thoroughly enjoy. Why are you materializing in the bedroom?"
He leans up, his eyes still studying the spot where Kane left his mark, though it's not visible with my hair blocking the view.
"I was wondering how long you were planning to stay. I need to head into town. I've got a source who spotted a couple of lycans roaming free. I want to find out if they're friend or foe."
"Um… Foe, obviously."
"Don't be so judgmental. You were running with lycans just last week."
"I wasn't running with lycans. I was grasping at straws and taking help where I could get it. Just because I tolerated them doesn't mean I doubted their dark core for one damn second."
"Just like me?" he asks, his eyes narrowing. "You still think the worst of me."
Breathing out heavily, I ignore his statement.
"It looks like I’m spending the night, but don't worry. I'll be on alert."
"If you're staying the night, cast a protection spell. It was far too easy for me to get in."
I suddenly feel a little inept.
"I tried," I mumble. "I did something wrong. When one of the girls tried to leave, it threw her backwards. Can you… um… help me?"
He lets out a laugh, making my embarrassment grow. What witch can't cast a simple protection spell?
Me.
"I would, but I have dark magic. My protection spell could injure you, even fuck with your white magic, if I tried casting it on your behalf. I'll just stick around. I can call a friend to go check out the lycans."
"The hairless beasts you mean."
He frowns while shaking his head in disapproval my tart remark.
"It's fine," I continue. "You don't have to hang around. Besides, I'm not sure I like you listening in on our… moments together."
My face blushes, and he chuckles a little more.
"Fortunately, I can't hear your moments."
What? Immortals have hearing unparalleled by anything else on the planet.
"So your weakness is your hearing?"
"Not in the least. This house is apparently very well insulated. I can't hear a word when the doors are shut. It's pretty nice actually. I don't have to hear all the mushy stuff. I'll stick around. I'll cast an awake spell so I don't drift off."
"You don't have to do that-"
"Believe it or not, I would like to see you still breathing in the morning. No one else is going to be keeping you safe. Your human sure as hell can't. If you're going to be foolish enough to sleep without a protection spell, then I'll stay vigilant."
I grip my head, feeling so... confused.
"That's ridiculous. You should just-"
He clamps his hand over my mouth just as Kane's voice comes into sound. It seems as though they're standing on the front deck.
"Just call me if it gets too rough," he says.
"No prob. We'll see you in a bit," Deke chirps, and then he and Zee start jogging away from the house.
Kane starts to walk back in just as Gage releases his hold over my mouth. Like the true klutz I am, I stumble forward, almost flipping over the rail before Gage can pull me back. Unfortunately, I squeal like a fool.
"Alyssa?" Kane asks curiously, the deck creaking under his feet as he starts toward the edge to see me.
"Um, yeah. Hey," I ramble out, and then I start swatting at Gage, trying to make him leave.
He shrugs innocently, and then I shove him with all my strength - and a little magic - to force him over the railing. He vaporizes and reappears in the tree across from me, stifling a grin.
I scowl at him, ready to knock him out of the tree just as Kane comes into view.
"What are you doing?" he asks quizzically while pushing his hands in his pockets and staring up at me.
Trying to ditch a dark user.
"Um… nothing. I just felt like some fresh air. Everything okay with Amy?" I ask, the bitterness clearly in my tone.
He frowns, and then leans against the side of the house.
"It's not like that… at all. I'll be right up to convince you."
I almost want to smile, but I'm sick of Amy and her needy ways. He disappears around the corner, and Gage reappears on the balcony with me the second the front door clicks shut.
"You've got to get out of here."
"I didn't even tell you what I came to say," he retorts innocently.
"What?"
"I wanted to ask you if you knew any of these people."
He hands me a stack of photos, but no one looks familiar.
"No. None." Then something hits me, making my stomach queasy. The earlier conversation with Kane has suddenly rattled around in my brain with an obvious jerk. "Shay."
"Huh?" he says while studying the beastly man in the top picture in my hand. "He looks more like a Hoss or a Goliath to me."
"No, dumbass. Shay Myers. She's a witch from my old coven. She's got a grudge against my mom."
His face turns more serious, and then he evaporates from the balcony. I look through the glass to see the door opening, and the far too sexy man walking toward me with a salacious grin as he opens the door.
"I love a pretty girl under the moonlight," he playfully murmurs, making me blush despite the fact it was meant to be corny funny.
I hate the moonlight.
Then he frowns as he dusts my hair away.
"What's wrong?"
His lips thin as he studies that damn spot.
"I shouldn't have done that. I almost brought blood."
I give him my best vixen's smile, which is very unrehearsed and probably pathetic.
"It's not like it hurts, and it felt damn good at the time. Stop taking away all the sparkle."
His eyebrow cocks up on one side, and he lets a slight grin free.
"Sparkle?"
"Yes. Sparkle."
He lets a laugh free, and then he pulls me against him.
"How about we go sparkle in bed. I've got a little work to do, but it can wait."
"I do love your bed."
"I do love that you love my bed."
With that, he scoops up me and my very wrinkled dress while walking back inside. I might not be able to stay his for long, but for now, I can enjoy my human.
Chapter Fourteen
"Did you find Shay or the lycans?" I ask Gage, holding my phone to my ear with one hand while my other holds my fresh cup of coffee. I sit down on the end of Kane's bed.
"My friend lost the lycans. I found Shay, but she's not the one who took your mom. In fact, she has started her own search for her."
"It could be a cover-up. It's not like she's dumb enough to just say, 'Yes. I did it.' She could be-"
"I know. I thought the same thing, but she didn't tell me she started her own search. Of course, she didn't actually tell me much at all, considering she sniffed out my dark magic right away.
"I had to do some deep digging. She apparently doesn't want anyone, especially your mother, knowing she's trying to help. Remind me to never get involved with two light witches, by the way."
"Why's that?"
He feigns a shivering breath, mocking a dramatic sense of fear.
"Because you girls are absolutely vicious. Did you know your mother turned her into a fox for three weeks - until the spell ran dry?"
"Yes," I grumble. "She lifted the spell though. Mom's spells run longer than the average witch's. She just didn't want anyone to know she felt guilty, so she waited until the usual time the spell ran dry."
"So are you still at your human's house?"
"Yeah, he's outside right now. His roommates just left, and he's on the phone, talking business. So you really think Shay is innocent? It would have been foolish for her to do this too soon, but now she has waited long enough to douse suspicion."
"I really don’t think it's her. She shoveled out a hunk of cash to hire some trackers in an effort to find your mother. These guys are the best in the business, and I know for a fact they don't work cheap. She also paid them to keep their mouths shut and told them if they found her, to bring her home and never tell her it was she who hired their services."
"So how did you find out?"
"I'm dark magic," he says casually. "We don't play by your rules. I can make almost anyone talk."
"If you're talking about casting a truth spell, those are dangerous and unpredictable. Not to mention, that magic is hard to master, even for the oldest of magic wielders."
"Are you trying to get me to hint at my age?" he teases.
I smile involuntarily, and then I flop down on the bed.
"No, but now that you mention it-"
"Not a chance, light girl."
I laugh softly while shaking my head, and then I stand to walk back to the sliding glass door. A foolish grin spreads over my face when I see Kane standing by the lake, his soft, dark hair whipping in the wind as he chats on his phone.
"How'd you sleep?" Gage asks, making it sound as though he actually gives a damn.
I turn away, sighing deeply.
"Like shit. I stayed awake most of the night because I was worried to damn death about those night stalkers finding us. I'm going to convince him to stay at my place the rest of the day… and tonight."
"The day won't be as bad. Night stalkers are fools if they choose to attack under the sun when a witch is stronger. Keep your ass at home tonight though."
The door shuts, letting me know Kane is back inside.
"I will. Call me if you have anything."
"Of course."
I put the phone down just as Kane joins me in the room, and his arms slide around my waist as his sweet, perfect smile forms.
"You feel like a movie and dinner here tonight?"
Smiling like a fool, I murmur, "Not here. Let's go back to my place."
His smile falls, and then he moves a piece of hair from my face.
"You don't feel comfortable here?"
Shrugging, I say, "Amy is here, but she's not at my place."
His head falls back as a sigh of exasperation falls between his lips.
"Baby, she's nothing to me. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
You can't say it enough.
"It's not about that. I just feel like I have to hide out in your room when she's here, and it's… tensing. I'm tired, exhausted actually. I kept worrying I was going to wake up and find her hovering over me with a butcher knife."
He starts laughing, showing his amusement, and then his lips lightly stroke mine.
"Sorry. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable in my home. My other roommates find you pretty fantastic."
Sure they do. As long as they think I'm a temporary play toy… which… unfortunately, that's what I have to be.
With that sobering thought of reality, I back away, fighting back my tears as I turn to head into the bathroom.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just need to head home and get some stuff done. I also need to shower, change… that sort of thing. I'll catch up with you later."
I start pulling on my shoes, and his arms wrap around me from behind. His lips press against the back of my head, and a tear slips free. I let it slide down my face so he doesn't see me wiping it away.
"I'm coming with you. We'll stay at your place until you're comfortable here, but I really don't like you being in that house alone."
My house is much safer than this one.
"Why? Is it haunted?" I tease, trying not to reveal the emotion truly choking me.
"Something like that." The way he says it is almost chilling, as if he really believes there's a dark entity lurking in the shadows of my home.
"You're scaring me a little."
His eyes tilt up, and he forces a smile. "Don't be scared. I can swear to you no harm would ever come to you. Not as long as I'm around."
I wish I was completely human - not destined to walk an immortal life among the real darkness lurking within the heavy shadows he only thinks he fears. It would be so easy to feel safe in his arms. Though I do feel safety within his warmth, I know he could never save me from the real monsters that walk the streets in search of my blood, my power, my... life.
"It's just... I knew the people who lived there before you, and the woman who lived there before them. That house has a bad rep. I'd prefer it if you stayed with me more and there less," he continues.
His aura is buzzing with fear and anxiety right now. I usually can't feel or see a human's rattling aura because my power is so dormant, but I can see his right now. It's dark - scary dark. It's as though he's tormented by something he fears.
"Want to talk about it?" I pry while sitting down on his bed.
"They were just-" He pauses, uncertainty flashing through his normally gloriously untainted eyes, and then he sits next to me. "A while back - a long, long while back - a woman lived there who did less than savory things in that home. After she left, the ones who moved in suffered in ways I never want to see you suffer. It's a... it's just not a safe place."
I've been there for a while now, and I've never felt any darkness in the walls. Frankie is an expert on such things, and he never noticed anything either. I know my mother would have sensed it immediately and shooed me out before we unpacked the first box.
Maybe Kane is a victim of urban legends and dark gossip.
"Well, I can assure you no jaded spirits are there. They would have been run out by the numerous fits I've thrown while living there."
My attempt at humor is met with solemn silence. It's apparent he's holding back, and this really does have him scared.
"What sort of unsavory acts?" I prod, looking for insight to his adamant stance on my home.
"Dark stuff. Weird stuff. I'd sound like a complete idiot if I tried to explain it. You'd run out of here thinking I'm crazy."
He forces a smile again, but his eyes betray him. They tell me he's not at all comfortable, and the truth of his fear remains embedded in the undertones.
"Like witchcraft?" I ask, trying not to smile.
So, so many young humans toy with things they can never even attempt to understand. Some skilled users tap into a tiny fraction of our power, but never enough to turn the heads of the council.
If he's scared of witches, then this poor guy picked the wrong girl to stalk.
He lets out a touch of laughter finally, and then he shakes his head.
"No, not witchcraft. Look, let's drop this. Stay with me and let me make you feel better. I want you to distance yourself from that place until I know for sure she's not coming back."
"She?"
He turns to me, his lips tightening as though he just slipped up.
"The woman who originally owned it. I need to know that she's not going to return."
He's definitely creeping me out right now. His nervous, fearful energy is spilling out of him and eating at me. It's been a while since I felt my inner witch responding so strongly to something. I usually keep a lid on all my powers, but I'm emotionally drained right now.
"Don't worry. I'm tougher than I look." I can handle a human witch toying with powers she can never fully understand.
"Stay with me?" His eyes are heartbreaking, soft, and so very sincere.
After a long pause, I murmur, "I'll stay."
Chapter Fifteen
"It's been a month, Frankie. I've been back here for a month, and you're no closer to finding my mother now than you were when I left you. I think it's time I called Drackus. If I ask for his help, he won't refuse me. He's probably sitting on the edge of his seat in anticipation for such.
Sadistic bastard."
"Don't even think about it. If Drackus gets involved, he'll slaughter more than we can save. He'll bring us no closer to Calypso either. Before he's done, we'll have lost every trail we thought we had."
Sighing heavily, I lean back against Kane's headboard. I can hear him loudly arguing with Zee about who just won their stupid game. The constant clicking of remote controls is giving me a migraine.
After basically living with him for a month, I've decided men are boys until they die. I wish I wasn't so completely enthralled by him. I don't see how they can hear to argue over the roaring TV they have cranked up to full blast. Not even immortals have that good of hearing.
"Just tell me what to do, Frankie. My hope is running thin."
His exasperated sigh follows my words as he thinks almost loud enough for me to hear his thoughts.
"I don't know, Alyssa. I really don't know. We're heading to the Old Shot right now. It's a night stalker bar on the north end of town. Thad is going to shake down some of their men, see if they give us anything."
I sit up immediately, a prickling sense of fear spreading as I walk out onto the balcony and shut the glass door behind me.
"You can't go to a night stalker bar. One whiff of your blood and they'll be all over you."
"That's not how it works, Alyssa. They'll never know I'm a warlock. They can't smell it in our blood. They don't even know what they're drinking unless they've tasted us before. Don't give them more credit than they deserve. I'll keep my identity a complete secret. Don't worry. How are things with loverboy? Did your spell ever cast correctly?"
Should I tell Frankie I'm a poor excuse for a witch and can't cast a simple protection spell without locking everyone in or out? Should I tell him about all the times I've tried and failed this past month after he fought me on the decision to stay with Kane? I don't think so.
"No problems. Just worry about finding Mom."
"I miss you, kiddo. Keep your chin up. I'll call you if we find out anything."
"I miss you, too, Frankie."
I hang up as the weight of my mother's disappearance bears down on me without remorse. Just as I'm about to go back in, Gage is suddenly right in front of me, scaring the hell out of me.
"Sheesh! Stop doing that shit," I gripe while ineffectively slapping his immortal body.
