Paranormal Word Series Box Set (Books 1-3 and Novella)

by CC Solomon

  I opened my eyes and looked at Phillip, his newly-purple eyes glowed and I assumed mine did the same.

  “Fairy magic hurts like hell. Let’s break this damn curse,” he said in an exasperated voice.

  Once we had fairy magic infused with our own, breaking the curse was easy. Well, not easy, but doable. We chanted a curse-breaking spell. It took some time but I refused to lose faith. I wasn’t going through this pain for nothing. Soon, we began to rise, levitating a few inches off the ground.

  “Bloody hell,” Ed cried out.

  Now we were getting somewhere.

  Moments later, the world around us started to dissipate. The scenery changed and nothing but a white space remained. However, this too went away as streets and familiar buildings filled our visions. We saw the blurry movements of human shapes pass us by. Long streaks of color followed their movements and then those streaks shortened as space and time caught up with us, to display people walking normally around us.

  The scenery was fully formed.

  We were now in the town center of our Silver Spring community.

  We were back.

  Chapter 24

  I looked around the town. Everything appeared the same. There were the shops and restaurants that surrounded us on both sides of the cobblestone street. The entertainment street still had the stage on the right side near the center. Only, I hoped whoever was running the show while Phillip was out wasn’t holding public disfigurements.

  A few townsfolk slowed their walking and passed us with curious eyes until recognition took hold and they stopped. I think I heard a few gasps.

  “They’re back,” whispered one older lady with a look of shock on her face.

  I vaguely recognized some of the people in the crowd. It was the middle of the day, I think, and most people would be working.

  “Amina?” I heard a female voice call behind me.

  I spun around and spotted a tall woman with very long, wavy, brown hair. She was bundled up in a puffy coat and walked over to us, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open in shock. Grace Sarin.

  “Grace!” I exclaimed and gave her a tight hug when she reached us. She looked over to Phillip and paused.

  Phillip gave her a wave and she waved back with a confused expression.

  Grace frowned and looked at me.

  “We’re friends now. He was bespelled. I broke it, kind of,” I explained, knowing she’d need more than that quick recap. I turned to Ed “This is our friend, Ed, from Ireland.”

  She nodded at him. “Hi, Ed from Ireland. I’m Grace from America,” she replied before turning back to me. “We were wondering where Lisa sent you. It’s been nearly three months! And you’re back!”

  I nodded. “So, who’s in charge?”

  “Seth runs things now.”

  I shivered. “Crap.”

  “How’d that happen?” Phillip questioned.

  “He had the power,” she said matter-of-factly.

  Ed leaned in. “I don’t mean to cut into this reunion but a crowd is growing. Is there somewhere we can go?

  “I’m assuming my place is no longer mine,” Phillip said.

  Grace glanced at him. “No, it isn’t. Seth and the pack took over your whole building.”

  “Of course, they did,” he muttered.

  “They said it had the best housing.”

  “Where’s Erik?” I asked.

  She glanced over to me with a smile. “He’s the sheriff. So, I guess he’d be in the police station now.”

  I knew where that was. About half a mile away. I turned to the others.

  Phillip looked down the street. “Go. Ed and I will go pay my friend Seth a visit.”

  There was an edge of steel to his voice and I had a fear that the old Phillip might seep back in. I looked at Ed. “Keep him on the up and up and watch his back.”

  Ed grinned. “Always, darlin’.”

  I nodded. “Grace, can you gather everyone and tell them to meet at Faith’s in two hours?” I looked at my watch. “And by everyone, I mean Mae, Bill, Felix, and Charles. Tell Charles to bring Chelsea. Also get Carter…and Lisa. And Phillip, you and Ed come too.”

  Grace nodded with wide eyes.

  “Wait!” Grace called. “You might want to wipe the blood off of your face.”

  My eyes widened and I pointed to her. “Thank you.”

  I whispered a cleansing spell, hovering my hands over my face. I turned to Grace and she gave me a thumbs-up.

  “See you guys in two hours,” I stated before turning and walking away. I wanted to teleport to the station but the strength it took to get back from Ireland was too much. I’d used the last bit of magical energy I had for now to clean myself up. I would just walk. Fast.

  Once I reached the station, I walked in and saw the lone receptionist sitting at the center counter reading a book. In a small town filled with paranormals and led by a crazy person, crime was not a huge issue.

  “Excuse me,” I asked the middle-aged, woman behind the desk. “Betty, right? Is Erik here?”

  She looked up with open-mouth shock. “Amina?” She stood up and put her book down. “Oh my! You’re back!” She seemed genuinely excited to see me. She moved around the counter and raced over to give me a hug.

  I accepted her embrace, although we had never been on hugging terms before.

  “It’s good seeing you again.” I tightened my smile, expectantly.

  She opened her eyes wide. “Oh, right, Erik. He went to investigate a spousal abuse issue. Horrible thing. Between two vampires. She beat the hell out of that man.” She shook her head. “I can get Erik on the walkie-talkie. Tell him to come back. He shouldn’t be far.”

  “That’d be great, Betty.”

  “You can wait in his office. It’s the big room against the back wall behind me. Oh, he’s going to be over the moon. I’m so happy you’re back. He was no good without you. Poor thing. But he’s going to be all better now.”

  I squinted my eyes. “What do you mean, no good?”

  She paused and opened her mouth as if she were caught spilling a secret. “Oh, dear. I run my mouth too much. Let me call him and you guys can talk. Now that you’re back, everything’s going to be just fine. Go on and wait in the back. He shouldn’t be long, honey.”

  I sighed and walked to the back of the open space, passing several vacant desks and some closed-door rooms off to the side. I opened the office door and took a seat at the long, oak desk stationed in front of a large window.

  Suddenly, I became nervous. I hadn’t seen him in months and it wasn’t like we were together all that long before. What if he’d fallen out of love? It would serve me right. I thought, guiltily, of my dream world kiss with Phillip. Was it cheating if it was in a dream and I was led by my subconscious? Should I confess to Erik if the kiss did count?

  My mind raced and I got sickened by the thought that I would be coming back less than innocent and looking like a sweaty mess. I ran to the bathroom a few doors down and looked in the mirror. I took off my peacoat and sighed, unsatisfied. I had on a basic blue sweater and jeans, with the same red Converse sneakers that I’d had on when I was banished. My curly hair was piled on top of my head in a loose ponytail. I had no makeup on. Ed’s village wasn’t so advanced that they’d had their own beauty store. I could have glamoured myself with magic but it always made me look overdone and I was still magically exhausted with the energy it’d taken to get back.

  I proceeded to spend the next fifteen minutes forcing myself not to vomit up nerves, or run away. Why was I so nervous? I wasn’t some love sick teenager. However, I couldn’t ignore the nagging doubt that maybe he wouldn’t be that excited to see me. Maybe he wouldn’t feel the same after all this time.

  When I heard fast footsteps growing closer, my heart decided to jump to my throat. I tightened my stomach muscles in nervous anticipation.

  Suddenly, the door swung open. I didn’t turn. I was too scared. I was being ridiculous.

  “Mina?” I heard h
im ask more than say. It was as if he wasn’t sure he could believe what he was seeing.

  I finally decided to get myself together and stood up to face him. When I laid eyes on him, I was slightly in shock. He didn’t look like he had when I’d left him or what I’d seen in my dream. His beard was back and his hair was longer. He was also paler and thinner, with slightly sunken- cheeks. Dark circles rested under his eyes. Somehow, he looked like he had aged. I wanted to cry.

  “Erik,” I cried and ran to him, wrapping my arms around his back.

  He held me tightly and I squeezed him. We stood that way for a while, relaxing in the feel of each other. I didn’t want to move or let him go.

  Eventually he kissed the top of my head. “I can’t believe you’re here,” he whispered in a choked voice.

  “Yep, I finally made it back,” I smiled into his chest, my tears dampened his shirt.

  He moved me back and stared at me. Silently, Erik cupped my face in his hands. Still gazing at me with eyes filled with a mixture of joy and exhaustion, he kissed me.

  His lips felt nice on mine, like a soft blanket. It felt good and somehow, I felt stronger. I didn’t want to move away from him but he leaned back and now his eyes seemed to glow as if energized.

  “I love you,” I said. Finally.

  He leaned in and kissed me harder this time. “We’re going to need to go back to my place,” he whispered in my ear.

  Erik drove us back to the pack high-rise, whisked me past a desk attendant, who waved an open-mouth hello at us, and into the elevator. We ended up one floor down from the penthouse.

  I looked around the open apartment space, walking past the foyer. There were floor-to-ceiling windows to the right, behind the sofa and dinette set, and dark, hardwood floors laid under heavy, high-end furniture. To my left, the open kitchen held stainless-steel appliances and dark, granite counters. I veered down the hallway past the kitchen. I passed an untouched spare bedroom before entering his suite, which was complete with bathroom. It wasn’t as neat as the spare but it was still nice with a walk-in closet and another wall of windows.

  “Look at number three, coming up in the world,” I observed. I turned back to him before flopping down on the edge of his unmade bed. “You look good.”

  “No, I don’t,” he said, sitting beside me.

  “You look fine. Lost a few pounds. You’ve been eating, right? Did food get scarce here?”

  He chuckled. “Hardly. We’re doing well. Farm’s growing. I just haven’t had time to eat that much.”

  I scrunched up my face. “There’s always time to eat. You’re a were. You have to eat a lot.”

  “Weres don’t fare well, being away from their mates. I didn’t take care of myself.”

  “So, my being gone hurt you? Even with the dream and telepathic communication? It wasn’t enough?” I frowned, feeling a wave of guilt.

  He gave a look of irritation. “None of this was your fault, Mina. After the shared dream, it got harder for me. Talking to you when you were in battle helped a little but we couldn’t get to you any other time. I worried about you. If I could have seen you in a dream again, it would have been better but it was a fluke we even met the one time.”

  “I was beginning to think it didn’t really happen. I’m sorry I couldn’t link back again.” I tilted my head, a confusing thought entering my mind. “Why didn’t I feel any worse?”

  “You probably didn’t feel any different because you aren’t were. Or you were with Phillip, your soulmate, so you had another mate to pull strength from.”

  I grimaced, the guilt hitting me even harder. There, I’d been kissing his enemy in my dreams and here, Erik had been getting sick.

  Erik pulled me to him, wrapping an arm around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. He gave a deep inhale, sniffing me in. “I missed your smell,” he whispered.

  “I’ll have a magic scent made, so you can have my smell with you anytime I’m not around.”

  “I can’t figure out why you think I’ll let you go anywhere,” he said with a possessive growl. “I have handcuffs and I don’t mind using them.”

  I looked up to him and caught his mischievous eyes. “We’ll have to explore what that looks like later,” I laughed.

  I heard a faint meow from somewhere in the apartment. “Did I just hear a cat?” I asked, giving Erik a quizzical look. Seconds later, I saw a familiar little gray kitten trot into the bedroom and hop on the bed.

  “Poppy!” I cried, patting my lap. The kitten jumped on me and head-butted my stomach, demanding to be petted. I glanced over to Erik with a wide smile as I scratched her head. “You kept her.”

  He grinned. “I didn’t have a choice. She wouldn’t leave my side after you disappeared. Charles told me her name, and me and Pops have been roommates since.” He leaned over and scratched the kitten’s back. Poppy pushed her butt into the air, lavishing the attention we were giving her.

  “I can’t believe a cat wanted to hang around a werejackal. Aren’t you more of the canine persuasion?”

  “I think it was more because I am your mate.”

  “You think she could sense that?”

  “Shayla said she is your familiar.”

  I pondered that. Not every witch had or needed a familiar. It certainly helped to make one stronger. They worked as amplifiers and I’d take any power I could get, especially from one as cute as this kitten. “Thank you for keeping her.”

  “It wasn’t a problem. She helped me as well. I was lost for a while.” He leaned in and kissed my shoulder. “Keeping her around helped me keep having faith that you’d come back to me. I admit, sometimes I didn’t think you would. All sorts of things ran in my mind. You were banished away with a man who I knew had feelings for you and who was your soulmate. I gave up.”

  I’d felt the same way with Erik being here alone with a pack full of women wanting him but tried my best not to obsess about it with all that was happening. I’d pictured different women knocking on his door every night with casseroles and steaks, because he was a carnivore, trying to soothe his broken heart as time went on. It didn’t help that he looked like he’d lost a loved one. I imagined that very time a woman saw those sad, hazel eyes, she would run to the kitchen and come over with a plate of food and a short skirt. “Well, it looks like I came back just in time,” I looked up at him with a wide grin.

  He smiled down at me. “Far too late for my taste,” he stated before leaning forward and kissing me again.

  His hands slid down to my waist and under my shirt. The heat of his skin sent a welcome tremor through my body. Poppy, appearing to sense the situation or perhaps not wanting to get crushed, jumped off my lap and took off out of the room.

  “Smart kitty,” he said into my mouth.

  I laughed and felt the curve of his mouth over mine as he laughed as well. Before I could finish, he’d moved me to my back and leaned in to kiss me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing him to me, and our kiss deepened. His tongue danced with mine and I moaned softly, moving a hand through his hair. I nipped his lower lip and took in the taste of his mouth. A growl escaped deep from his chest and he moved his lips to the base of my neck and onto my collarbone.

  A spark of warmth spread over me. My hands went under his black T-shirt and ran the length of his back. My fingers lightly brushed his smooth skin and played along his muscles, which bunched as he balanced on his arms above me.

  He unsnapped my bra before moving his fingers under the fabric and onto my skin. At his touch, something tightened below my stomach and I gasped as the heat deepened. He lifted my T-shirt over my head and his own shirt followed soon after.

  I touched his face and he pulled away. I frowned. His eyes were no longer the human hazel but the jackal orange.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is it close to the full moon?”

  “No. It’s just that…this could hurt you and I don’t want that,” he said in a heavy voice.

  At first, I didn’t understand. Th
en Seth’s words from months ago played in my mind. Weres were stronger than other humans, even humans with magic. Mated weres were even stronger. Erik exhibited great control our previous times together but I had no idea what being intimate would be like with him as my mate. He was probably thinking that he would break me. The thought both amused and horrified me. I didn’t want a shattered pelvis behind this, but I also didn’t think I was that weak, since I was still paranormal.

  I looked at his worried eyes. Such controlled restraint behind them. “You aren’t going to hurt me, Erik. You wouldn’t do that to me.” And if he did, I’d have to find some magical workaround. Maybe I could make my bones out of steel, like some comic book hero. I wondered if I really could do that.

  I wasn’t used to Erik looking uncertain. Even when he was battling to the death for the spot of third, he’d seemed confident. However, now his jackal eyes were pained and I began to wonder if I should tell him never mind. Yet I didn’t want to. I wanted him.

  “It’s okay,” I whispered.

  He leaned back and looked at me silently one last time before taking off the rest of our clothes.

  He looked me over, balancing on his hands above me, and suddenly I felt self-conscious despite the fact that he’d seen me before. I wasn’t nearly as toned as he was, with his muscular arms, chest, and hard stomach. I crossed my arms over my stomach. He shook his head and gave me a lazy smile before uncrossing my arms and moving into me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, moving with his rhythm. We continued like this, his movements shifting between slow and deliberate to fast and hard. But he was always in control. I felt no pain, only absolute pleasure as he moved.

  I locked eyes with Erik and he smiled again, touching my cheek with the palm of his hand. I returned his smile and we continued moving together until I screamed out in an explosive release. He quickened his pace and soon followed, letting out what I could only describe as a howl.

  I stifled a giggle. He looked down at me with a quizzical look before leaning over and kissing my collarbone. He rocked into me again and again and I arched my back in an uncontrolled release. Twice in a row. That was new for me.