Why had he kissed her hand? It seemed so simple and innocent but then he’d heard that flutter in her heart, realizing the reaction had been because of him. He was the cause of it. In that fleeting moment, he had given in. He had delighted in the fact that he was responsible for the flutter.
He’d allowed his feelings for Melinda to fill him, letting his guard down, accidentally slipping into her mind. Her thoughts revealed to him.
That’s when he’d seen it.
His fangs puncturing her delicate neck.
Melinda might have thought it just a dream. A fantasy. But he could not trust it was not a prophecy, a warning of something to come.
He would not allow it. Even if it meant giving up his life on The Demon Isle. He had made a promise, one he would never break.
He would never again fall in love with a human.
It’s too late his dead heart echoed.
“Then I will love from afar,” he answered.
##
Before going home, there was one stop Charlie wanted to make. He stood in front of Nina’s house. He wanted to miss her, to mourn her, but he felt nothing but devout gratefulness. He looked at his finger, now adorned by the black ring. He looked up at the full moon, no longer fearing its rise.
Footsteps approached. He turned to see who it was. “Michael, hey.”
“Everything okay?” he asked with an amused smile. “Melinda told me where this place was. I assumed you might come here.”
Charlie nodded. “Alpha’s dead,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I can’t imagine how that must feel,” Michael replied.
“It’s like I’m breathing as a free man for the first time in ten years.”
Michael patted him on the shoulder. “I have tried to imagine you transforming before, but to actually see it, I have to say it was pretty insane.” He paused and asked, “What’s it like?”
Charlie thought for a moment before replying.
“It’s like… giving in to every primal instinct. Giving in to every desire you’ve ever had. Every urge.”
They stood in silence for a moment. The only sound, the crashing of waves against the shore.
“You know, in some ways, Michael, I’ve been hiding myself away, just the same as Melinda. I was so afraid I might hurt someone, or find something meaningful and have to give it up... I guess I’d let the wolf win a long time ago.” Charlie looked at the ring again. “What Nina gave me today, I only hope I can prove myself worthy to own.” He paused before continuing. “It’s what set me off at the morgue, seeing the ring missing from her finger.”
Michael waited for him to explain.
“Nina told me that a Guardian’s ring can only be taken off voluntarily. When I saw it missing, I knew she had for some reason, taken it off. I just couldn’t imagine what that reason could be.”
“I guess she thought it was for a good cause,” Michael comforted, his tone sympathetic. “I’ll leave you alone for awhile,” he added. “See you at home.”
Charlie nodded. “I won’t be far behind.” He walked onto the deserted beach, the full moon tossing shadows onto the water’s surface. He swallowed hard, his throat tight as he spoke. “I didn’t realize how much I needed saving. Thank you, Nina. Thank you.”
##
A block away, a body that looked like Michael Howard began to shift and contort as it walked down a deserted moonlit road. When the shifting was completed, Eva Jordan craned her neck, stretching.
A sinful grin spread across her face as she walked away from Charlie Howard.
“So, the ring can only be removed voluntarily. I can definitely work with that…”
##
Witches of The Demon Isle
Volume Three, Trick Me, Trick Me Not
ONE
Melinda Howard blew out an exhausted breath and plunked down into an open chair on the sidewalk, just outside of the Wicked Muddy Café. Her friend, Emily Morgan, plunked down in the empty chair next to her.
“Look at all these bags!” Emily exclaimed. “I don’t remember the last time I did so much shopping.”
“And it’s only nine in the morning,” added Melinda.
“Just a couple hours until your big date with Riley,” squealed Emily.
Melinda didn’t know who was more excited, her or Emily.
“Maybe I should get decaf today,” Melinda said. “I got no sleep last night, but my nerves are shot and adding caffeine to the mix…”
“Too excited to sleep?” asked Emily in a teasing tone.
“Excited. Nervous. Confused.”
“Confused?”
Melinda let out another exasperated breath.
“Emily, if I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone, even Michael?”
Emily’s look turned quite serious. “Of course. You can tell me anything.”
Melinda nodded, not sure how to start the conversation. It took her a moment to work up the courage to say, “It’s William.”
“What about him?”
“Well, I’ve sort of always had this crush on him.”
“I can see that. William’s a catch. I can’t imagine living under the same roof and not having a thing for him...”
“Well, until a couple nights ago that’s all it was. A crush. A little thing... But I had this dream, and this happened before I met Riley, but the dream was...” Melinda paused at a loss for words.
“Steamy,” guessed Emily.
“Very,” let out Melinda. “I keep telling myself to just forget it. And then I met Riley and I really do like him... but last night... this thing happened.”
“With William?”
“Yes. And I’m probably reading too much into it but we had this moment, an intimate moment, and then he just left. Vanished into thin air, like he does. I got up early this morning, since I wasn’t sleeping anyway, because I wanted to clear the air but he still wasn’t home.”
“Does he know you’re dating someone?” asked Emily.
“No. No one does except you. At least I don’t think anyone knows.”
“Well, you can’t date a vampire, so if William is off limits, maybe it doesn’t matter how either of you feels. Your brothers would never allow it and you’ll get old, he won’t. Plus, doesn’t William have a no dating humans rule?”
“He does. And I keep telling myself it doesn’t matter. But what if my dream wasn’t just a dream?”
“You mean a prophetic dream?”
“Yeah. How do I know? Sometimes it’s really clear. I know for sure it is or is not. But this could go either way. I mean, it might have just been something I dreamed. People have steamy dreams all the time. But what if it’s not just a dream? Should I ignore it?”
“Gosh, this is a conundrum. It’s too bad you couldn’t talk to your brothers about this.”
“That’s so not going to happen.”
“Yeah, that would be a bad idea. So let me ask you this... did what happen last night change how you feel about Riley?”
“That’s the thing! It didn’t. I’m still just as excited and nervous about seeing him. I don’t know, maybe it’s just that I don’t want to hurt William. I do love him. Regardless of what kind of love it is.”
“Maybe that’s why he left. Maybe he needed a little space to think. I’m sure he loves you to, in some way. But he’s off limits and Riley is not.”
“It’s weird, but I feel like I can be anybody I want to be when I’m with Riley. Like I’m starting fresh.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you’re being yourself.”
“And I am. It’s more like, the self I want to be. The self I’ve forgotten about. I know I hardly know him, but I feel like I could be whatever self I want to be and he’d accept me, no matter what.”
“Melinda,” started Emily, “it sounds to me like Riley is perfect for you. I don’t think you should question that at all.”
Melinda let out a nervous laugh in reply.
“So are you going to tell y
our brothers that you’re dating someone?”
“Not for a little while.” After a thoughtful delay, Melinda added, “I want Riley to be absolutely head over heels about me before I do. So much so, that any amount of drilling by Charlie or Michael won’t scare him away.”
Emily tossed Melinda a hopeful smile before saying, “Why don’t I grab…” she trailed off as Grace, the owner and operator of the Wicked Muddy Café, sauntered out of the front door, two steaming mugs in her hands.
“Saw you two with all those packages, decided to deliver your coffees myself this mornin’.”
“This is so nice of you,” Emily said, cautiously taking hold of her mug.
“Hope I got your cream right, Melinda,” Grace added with a wink.
“Thanks,” Melinda replied, grabbing her mug and taking a sip. She looked up, amazed. “I don't know how you did it, but the cream is perfect, Grace.”
She nodded as if she already knew this. Once the cafe owner's hands were empty, she threw suspicious gazes at the passersby.
Melinda and Emily followed Grace's suspicious gazes, but all they saw was the usual mix of locals and tourists bustling up and down the cobblestone streets.
“Looking for someone in particular Grace?” asked Emily.
Grace surprised them by taking a seat at the table. She leaned in close. “Did ya’ hear?” she asked them in a gruff whisper.
“Hear what?” Melinda questioned.
“Clearly you haven’t or you’d know what I’m talking about.”
Melinda looked at Grace as if to say, What on earth are you talking about?
Grace took one more glance to make sure no one could overhear. She leaned in even closer, speaking in a subdued, but ominous, tone.
“The Deanes are back on The Demon Isle.”
Melinda dropped her mug, spilling the coffee. Her mug bounced off the edge of the table, but Grace caught it before it crashed against the sidewalk.
“Oh sorry, Deary,” Grace said. “I should have warned you this was a put your coffee down first kind of reveal.” She used a towel hanging off her belt to wipe up the spill.
Melinda just stared, unable to speak.
Even Emily understood this was not a good thing.
“How?” Melinda finally uttered. “How dare they come back here? It’s been over seventy years, and why come back now? A lot of innocent people died because of them. Howards died because of them. Are they even permitted to come back here?” her thoughts streamed out in a gust of bewilderment.
“I know. I know,” Grace agreed. “But they still legally own property on the Isle. Someone saw lights up at the old house last night.”
“Maybe someone else rented the place,” suggested Emily.
“That was my first thought too, until two of ‘em came into the café this morning. Not sure how many there are all together.”
“There were Deanes... in your café?” Melinda clarified, gulping hard as she spoke.
“Sure enough. And to be honest, they seemed nice. Normal actually. Nothing to indicate they were still dabbling in the dark magic.”
“Still, Deanes…” Melinda didn’t know how to feel other than wary. “I should go tell Charlie, Michael and William. They need to know about this.”
“One other thing,” Grace added. “I couldn’t help but overhear them.” She winked.
Melinda understood that Grace had overheard them on purpose.
“They mentioned you guys.”
“They spoke the Howard name?” For some reason this infuriated Melinda.
“Yup. They were talking about walking right up to the mansion and introducing themselves.”
“Well that doesn’t seem like a bad thing,” Emily said.
Melinda huffed, distrustfully. “A Deane is a Deane! They cannot be trusted. Dark magic is in their blood!”
Grace grabbed their mugs.
“I’m sure you guys'll do what’s best,” she said, disappearing back inside the cafe.
“C’mon,” said Melinda to Emily. They grabbed their shopping bags and headed toward the Howard Mansion.
“Are you going to cancel your date?” asked Emily as they walked.
“I don’t see what good that would do. If anyone can get my mind off the sudden return of the Deanes…” Melinda smiled knowingly, not finishing.
A few minutes later, they stepped up the stone staircase and walked through the doors of the Howard Mansion. Emily made her way into the kitchen while Melinda made her way upstairs, throwing her shopping bags onto her bedroom floor. She turned to leave and found the doorway blocked.
“William. You’re home. Good.” Her words felt awkward. She wanted to speak with him, but she didn’t really know what to say.
“Yes. I am home,” he replied. “I was hoping we could speak for a moment.”
“Yeah. I was actually hoping that too. I feel really weird about last night...” she paused, turning slightly flush, hoping this was the topic he wanted to discuss.
It was.
“You need to know Melinda, that I care for you. Deeply. But whatever feelings you might have, or might want to have, I cannot return them.”
She gulped. He was blunt and right to the point. She shouldn’t have expected anything less.
“I know that. You’ve made it abundantly clear that you don’t date humans,” she told him. “It’s just... God this whole thing started over a stupid dream.” She couldn’t believe it had just slipped out of her mouth.
“A dream?” he questioned. “A prophetic dream?”
“Um,” she stalled, horrified. “I really doubt it.”
“How would a dream...” he started, stopping, seeing her face turning a deep shade of red. “Oh.”
“Can’t help what I dream,” she replied in a small voice. “It just got me thinking about you, differently. I’m sorry that it even happened. It was stupid and I’ve put it out of my mind.”
William was at a loss for words. He realized that the glimpse of what he’d seen in her mind had not been just her thoughts, but an actual dream. This didn’t make it any easier. Or acceptable. Actually, as he thought about it, it made it worse. What if it was a prophetic dream? He could not imagine a situation where he would ever give in to what he’d witnessed in her mind. No matter how he might crave it to be real.
“William,” he heard her call out.
“Sorry,” he replied. “My mind was wandering.”
“Are we okay?” she asked. “I don’t want there to be any weirdness between us. You’re like one of my best friends on the planet... I don’t think I could stand it if we couldn’t be like we’ve always been.”
“We are just fine, Melinda. I only needed to be clear about where I stand. You’re a beautiful young woman and I’m certain that in time, you’ll find the right man for you.”
She toyed with telling him about Riley but for some reason held off. Perhaps one awkward, serious talk was enough for one day. Serious... the reason she’d come home reentered her mind.
“William, I need to talk to you, Charlie and Michael. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to shorten our conversation, but I just found out something pretty serious. That’s why I came home actually.”
He motioned for her to go ahead. “I’ll be right down.”
She tossed him a smile and headed down to the kitchen.
William felt a mixture of relief and agony. Perhaps he should have left the Isle. He had come close. He’d made up his mind it was best. But the truth was, he could not bring himself to do it. The Howards needed him. He needed to be needed. He’d simply have to keep his feelings in check. He could never allow another moment like last night to happen. Ever.
He raced down the stairs to see Charlie and Michael coming in from the back yard. They were covered in splotches of dirt from head to toe.
“We were planting and weeding in the garden and greenhouse,” Michael explained.
Emily hopped across the room and planted a kiss on his lips.
“Wants me even when I�
�m covered in dirt,” he whispered presumptuously.
“You’re even more handsome covered in dirt,” she replied. “Planting a garden is hot.”
“Seriously! You're playing right to his ego!” Melinda gagged. “More important things to discuss, anyway,” she reminded Emily.
“Right, of course,” Emily replied, backing away.
“What’s up?” Michael asked as he washed up at the sink. He shook his head and sighed before Melinda could answer. “You’re drenched in worry, Sis.”
“There’s a good reason for that,” Melinda replied, after shooting Michael a naughty look for using his empathic ability on her.
“What is it?” asked Charlie, sounding overly eager. “Whatever it is, I can take care of it.”
“It is not exactly a taking-care-of-it type of situation, Charlie, more like a something we need to be aware of and watch out for situation.”
“I can still handle it,” Charlie said again, clapping his hands together. “Just tell me what you need done.”
“What is up with you this morning?” Melinda asked, amused by her brother's behavior. He looked nearly ready to jump out of his seat.
“He’s been like this all morning,” muttered Michael.
“Sorry,” said Charlie, forcing himself to sit. “Didn’t sleep last night, but I have tons of energy this morning. Ready to try on my new life I guess.” He added, “Speaking of my new life,” he lifted his hand, nodding toward the black ring on his finger. “As I said, I didn't sleep last night, so I had plenty of time to think about something.”
“Um, okay,” replied Melinda, now sidetracked.
Charlie gazed at her and Michael. “I have decided that I don't want the two of you on the front lines anymore. I have the ring now. I'm protected. You guys are not.”
“I don't know as that's your decision,” Michael replied. “And sometimes, there is no choice.”
“And how is this new?” Melinda added. “You've sort of always taken lead Charlie.” She glanced at William for back up.
“While I may agree with what Melinda and Michael are saying, I have to agree more with Charlie,” William spoke evenly. Before any argument could begin, William added, “If it is a situation Charlie can manage, I suggest we allow this. He has protection, you two do not. There is no need to take unnecessary risks.”
Witches of The Demon Isle Box Set, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 Page 19
