Stella lit a black candle, balancing it on the altar in front of her with a hundred other candles, whose lights connected together like complex threads.
I paled. Huh, she hadn’t been kidding about her whole threads of fate thing.
“Ivy smashed my phone, and I smashed mom’s evil ring.” I shrugged. “Sorry, I could’ve commanded a rat to drop by with a message. But seriously, I wouldn’t want to send them somewhere that stinks as much as your coven.”
When Amadeus snickered, Stella’s back stiffened.
Finally, she turned around to face me. To my surprise, she looked amused. “Well, so much with the pleasantries. Truly, what sort of manners…?”
“I was making a point about corruption…you know, because I’ve found out your plans and…” I scuffed my boot against the floor. How did I say you won’t get away with it without sounding like I was in a superhero movie? “I won’t let you hurt the wolves.”
“I believe I got that, thank you. Oh, and don’t worry, pretty peach. I was only playing the stern aunt before, of course I have food for you and your wicked but yummy hotties.”
When Stella eyed Ramiel, he blushed, wrapping his wings defensively to cover his chest. When I strode towards him, yanking him by the elbow behind me, Stella laughed.
Why was she so calm? Where was her army or ranks of needles?
“So, you’re the mage god who I’ve heard so much about.” Stella’s magic flared in her eyes like she craved to devour Mischief…or his power. “I can taste you from here. No wonder my niece wanted you all for herself.”
Mischief’s wings outstretched, whilst his silver crackled along them, and boy, did it taste just as scrumptious as Stella had said. I licked my lips, chasing it as surely as I knew my aunt was.
Hey, I was only human.
“I’d like to say what a pleasure it is to finally meet you.” Mischief’s smile was a dangerous feral thing that made me shiver. “But that would be a lie.”
Stella flinched, before she forced herself to still. She laughed but it was falsely shrill. “Even gods can be taught their place, the same as wolves.”
As if on cue, the Ambassador crawled through the bronze skin of the wall. He wore a white garter and panties outfit like it was his wedding night. Amadeus growled, and only Moon’s hand on his chest stopped him from surging forward.
The Ambassador peeked at Amadeus, offering him a quick reassuring smile, like he wasn’t the one on his knees struggling to carry a tray, which held a platter of strawberries and only one Champagne flute.
I frowned. What was up with the mind games?
Stella sighed as she snatched the Champagne and sipped it. “Delicious. I’m sorry, Crimson, but I don’t have any such qualms about lying. You demolished four hundred years of history in the House of Silver. Don’t you think that I witnessed such a major shift in the covens? You’re a rogue, and they’re not fed and watered, but judged and slaughtered.”
Suddenly, bronze shadows snaked out of the ceiling in the coils of the Wolf Charmer Trap that could bind my powers.
I couldn’t help recoiling, as the shadows wrapped around my wrists, dragging me onto tiptoe. I sucked in my breath at the sickening sensation of my crimson whipping back inside me. I’d only just had my magic returned, after Ivy had locked it away, and it hurt more than I’d expected to have it stolen so casually again.
Hey, don’t flip out now...you can take this…
When I raised my chin to meet Stella’s eye, I grinned because I had expected my powers to be stolen by the trap again. Witches had their traditions, laws, and punishments, which made them predictable. A rogue with a seriously scary but gorgeous god on her side, on the other hand, could have a few surprises up her Goth sleeve.
Mischief spun silver disks between his hands, whilst arching his brow. “My mistake, I thought that you were saying something important for a moment, then I realized that it was merely more bad guy rambling.”
With a casual flick of his wrist, his silver shot out, slicing through the bronze shadows that shrieked like the cut off head of Medusa.
Emperor caught me, as I collapsed to the floor. My crimson burst from me, wild in its freedom.
Stella wailed in outrage almost as loudly as her defeated shadows, before hurling her glass at the Ambassador. He cowered back, as the glass shattered on his head, slicing his cheek. Amadeus snarled, diving to the Ambassador and licking the trail of blood tenderly that’d dripped down like tears. The Ambassador nuzzled at his shoulder, and I wondered if he’d received any touch that had been sincerely gentle since he’d been Claimed by mom over a decade ago.
Then I remembered the way that the Ambassador had smiled at Aquilo, and Aquilo had rested his hand on his shoulder. Maybe my snooty but brave fiancé had been a secret friend to him, at least.
Jesus, I hoped so.
“A mage dares speak to me about bad?” Stella roared.
“I know, ironic, isn’t it? Especially me, all things considered.” Mischief hurled his magic like a lasso, and Stella squawked as it caught her around the throat, trapping her in a collar and leash. Then he shot out gleaming strands around her wrists…like hundreds of threads…before hauling her onto her tiptoes and suspending her from the ceiling, just like I’d been. He arched his brow. “But then, I do so appreciate irony.”
Moon chuckled, although it was a dark sound that made me shiver with as much desire as Stella did with dread.
It was epic to see Stella leashed and collared, since I’d had to watch her humiliate the Ambassador and my own Charms. Amadeus pulled the Ambassador to stand next to him; the Ambassador stared at his witch captor, who was strung up and helpless, in awe.
I noticed that his head was no longer ducked or his gaze cast down. Unfortunately, so did Stella.
Stella’s eyes narrowed. “I see now that I’ve been too soft…on all of you.”
I snorted. “Unless that’s British speak for I’m a total hardass: nope, you haven’t.”
Stella struggled against Mischief’s magic. “Maybe you should thank the beasts for murdering your parents. You think that I’m a hardass?” Her laugh was brittle. When her gaze swung to the Ambassador, he shrank back, whilst Amadeus slipped his arms around his waist, shooting Stella a fierce glare. “Daniel was whipped almost as often as the cub for trying to protect him.”
All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe.
Dad had known about the Ambassador and had tried to help him, but mom had hurt him because of that…? Dad had been like Aquilo, but I’d never known…?
My knees buckled, and Moon caught me, pulling me against his chest. My eyelashes fluttered against his scratchy top, and if I kept focusing on that, then I didn’t have to think how rarely I’d grieved dad, compared to mom.
Why?
Guilt settled heavy and cold in my guts because I knew the answer: because dad had been so quiet…I’d seen him so much less than mom…he hadn’t made the decisions…
And because mom had been the Wolf Charmer, and dad had been under her control as much as her Charm.
Then I remembered that Stella had loved Daniel too. Did she hate me because of mom?
“You mum was brutal, ruthless, and terrified me even as a child.” Stella scrutinized me. “My scheming and intelligence were never as prized as her raw power. You remind me of her.”
My hands shook, as I bunched them in Moon’s top.
“Silence your tongue,” Mischief commanded. His expression was stony. “I’m under no delusion the damage that a mother can do. Yet I’m equally aware how hard the Charmer strives to be different.”
Stella smiled like we were chatting over Champagne still. “Fabulous because so do I. My mother never recognized that cunning and intelligence could achieve as much as my sister’s viciousness, but I’ve had long enough now to prove the winner there.”
Emperor clenched his jaw. “You intend to break the Treaty tonight with the Wolf Tamer.” It wasn’t a question.
Stella sighed. “My luscious li
ps are sealed but…”
Suddenly, the air was filled with my moaned ah, ah, ah, followed by a shrieked just like that, baby.
My guys turned to look at me, apart from Amadeus who licked his lips with way too much smugness. I blushed so deeply that I must’ve matched my own shadows.
If there was a hell, then it was filled with poor bitches being forced to listen to a Greatest Hits of their own orgasms.
Okami darted out of my pocket barking in prankster delight, even though I knew that he couldn’t be responsible this time. I’d insisted that he remain in my pocket, but he’d never been able to resist a joke.
Moon whispered hot against my ear, “Sounded like it was fun. How did I miss that?” When he pushed me back from his chest, smoothing my hair away from my forehead, I caught the hint of jealousy in his eyes. “I’m officially petitioning to be there next time.”
Then he glowered over my shoulder at Emperor.
Emperor held up his hands. “Not guilty.”
Then in the dark air between us, bronze letters curled:
Just a sexy new witch tone *wink* I miss our chats :( Ste X
Then the words popped like bubbles.
“Hey, you know what I miss?” I stormed to Stella, not knowing whether I wanted her to quail or continue with the same calmness that was driving me crazy. “Waffles with chocolate sauce. My cousins. Beaches with white sand and cocktail bars. And what I seriously wish that I missed…? Being caught in the middle of a supernatural war.”
Ah, Ah, Ah…just like that, baby.
I clenched my fists, as once more, lettering curled into the air:
1 more night & u won’t be! No more naughty wolves or war. SMILE! :) Ste X
“I said war not wolves,” I gritted out.
Instantly, the walls of the chamber were filled with vision after vision of werewolf attacks. My stomach lurched at the dizzying speed, and behind me, Moth whimpered.
Yet I couldn’t look away from the battles and massacres that’d been plucked from throughout history, before the Wolf War and the taming of the shifters. The werewolves looked more like the beasts in the witches’ murals and how I’d painted them on the canvases that I’d sold: wild animals who tore apart whole villages of humans, whilst prowling the night.
Were any of these visions real?
I peered around at the faces of my Charms and the guys that I… Okay, I’d Wolf Bitten and Claimed them, what did it matter if I admitted in the privacy of my own mind that they were the guys that I loved? None of them would meet my eyes like I’d be ashamed of them, which meant that there was at least some truth in these visions.
Plus, I hadn’t imagined my parents’ murders.
Yet the wolves now weren’t responsible for the crimes of their ancestors, just like I hadn’t committed those of the past Wolf Charmers. If I could convince myself of that, then so should they.
Vampires, angels, wolves, and witches: none of us were teddy bears sprinkled in unicorn dust. Although, since Mischief could also shift into a unicorn, even they weren’t sweet (although they were as cute as holy hell). We were all deadly, dangerous, and had as much right to the world as the non-magicals.
No injection created out of fear should be allowed to take away any of our power.
Ah, ah, ah…just like that baby.
When the bronze letters began to form again, I sliced through them with my red.
Stella blinked. “Now, there’s ill-mannered, and there’s simply rude.”
“I don’t think that you’re getting it,” I hissed. “I’m going to kick your ass, until I know that the wolves are safe. You’re not my boss anymore.”
Stella’s smile was sly. “But I will be the beasts’ boss. With the Wolf Tamer, I’ll control their shifts and connection to the wolf part of their natures.”
Moon had once demanded whether I’d had any idea how much power I had over him simply with the collar. When I’d first arrived, I hadn’t had a clue but I did now.
Emperor crossed his arms. “Would you at least extend the courtesy of allowing us to choose our own deaths over extended and total slavery or would that be a kindness too far?”
“For the Prince of the Alphas,” Stella’s gaze flicked to the back of the chamber, “I could be merciful enough to offer death.”
Ramiel’s anxious gaze met mine. “Am I the only one who finds it worrisome how well she’s taking her capture? Almost like she’s wasting time or playing to an audience?”
“My, perhaps I judged you broken too soon, Addict.” Stella’s eyes flashed silver and a cage tumbled out of the ceiling, landing with a crash.
Trapped in the cage, Dual howled, landing on his ass. Then he crawled to the bars and sheepishly waved, although his eyes were just as soft and sexy as I remembered. His large gray wings were crushed inside the tiny space, and his military jacket in rainbow colors was torn.
I wished that I didn’t crave to stroke his smooth ebony cheek to ease his pained wince, as he tried to shift on his knees. He wasn’t one of my Charms, he was a vampire duke, even if he’d been captured by my aunt.
Is that why the vampires had been hanging around my house like a gang without their leader? Had they been searching for their kidnapped duke?
“Vampires have a weakness for heat.” Stella grinned at Dual’s flinch. “Don’t make me go through all these trying threats to get you to release me because I can make that cage burn him to ash in a moment.”
Dual paled but he didn’t say anything. I guessed that you didn’t get to run a vampire court without serious balls. Although, since I knew almost nothing about vampires or their courts, it could take being a serious dick as well.
“I could just as easily burn you to ash,” Mischief said, coldly.
Mischief’s magic tightened around Stella, until she whimpered. In retaliation, she heated the bars of the cage, and Dual howled, curling his wings around himself.
“Stop it,” Moth yelled, dropping to his knees in front of Dual, “she’s hurting him because of you.”
Ramiel frowned. “Why’s it matter? He’s only a Fallen.”
“And I’m only a mage, and you’re only an Addict,” Mischief replied, harshly.
Mischief immediately cooled his own silver, and Stella pouted, before cooling the cage.
Dual sighed, falling forwards to rest his cheek against the bars. Moth tentatively reached to stroke him like I’d been desperate to do and as if his fangs weren’t just there…
Moon tensed like he itched to snatch his little brother away from the vampire, even though he was the one who could mind control Dual.
Okami settled on Moth’s shoulder, licking his cheek in approval.
Ramiel flushed. “I apologize. I meant that he’s only a shameless flirt who last time threatened to taste you.”
Dual grimaced, holding his chest. “Ow, the pink-haired assassin.”
Emperor raised his eyebrow. “Duke Dual, I assume?”
Dual’s face lit up. “A fan?” No one had the right to sound so sultry. “I’m touched.”
Emperor’s haughty expression trembled either with anger or an attempt to control his laugher; I thought that it was a little of both. “First you want to taste Mischief, and now you want to be touched by me. Vampires truly are minxes.”
The rainbow beads that were threaded through Dual’s braids clicked. “Don’t act like you don’t love it, Golden Boy.”
Huh, stunned was an interesting expression on Emperor. I intended to make him look like that more often myself.
“What a peculiar lot you are.” Stella wiggled her hands. “Free me.”
Mischief hesitated, looking to me. I nodded.
When Mischief dragged back his magic from around her wrists and neck, Stella fell in a pile on the floor, rubbing at her neck. My Charms watched her with hard eyes, and it wasn’t difficult to imagine how they felt, when their collars were still chafing around their own necks.
“I know that the Fallen’s arse is divine,” when Stella assessed m
e, I had the sinking feeling that I was in a secret test that I hadn’t expected or studied for, “but even I didn’t think that you’d risk so many beasts’ lives for one fanged monster. Especially one who creeps around covens at night.”
“Dude, again?” I rested my hands on my hips.
Dual fixed me an intense gaze that appeared to be willing me to understand. “What can I say? Maybe I have a thing for witches and mages.”
My breath hitched at Dual’s stress on the mages.
Was that code for Aquilo, or was it merely my wishful thinking? Had Dual been attempting to help Aquilo, when he’d been captured? But then, why would Aquilo have revealed to a Fallen that he was a mage?
Stella strolled to me, gripping my chin. “I needed to be certain, and it’s clear now. Just look at you, brimming over with power and yukky non-magical morals. But it doesn’t matter. I’m not your mum; I can accept different. Keep your zoo of mages, beasts, Addicts, and Fallen. So, you won’t flay one of your own animals to pass the Wolf Charmer test…? Ivy was a fool to push you to that and end up having to throw you to the wolves. But I can be adaptable. If you skin a false one, then I’ll let you live…and we’ll talk about the whole defeating the Wolf Kingdom thing after, right?”
I blinked, glancing around at my guys like they understood any better than me, but they looked just as confused.
Emperor shook his head.
False one…?
Ivy had tried to force me to flay Moon in Cosmos Tower, just as mom had flayed her first Charm, before she’d claimed the Ambassador to become accepted by the covens as official Wolf Charmer. I’d refused, leading to, you know, the whole throwing to the wolves business in the Wilds.
Did Stella mean it, however, about discussing the war like she’d even put a halt to that? Considering her whole stance on lying, I wasn’t going with trusting her, but what if this once it was the truth?
My gaze crept to the pelts that hung on the walls. “It’s kind of hard to believe that all I have to do is steal one of those furs, and you’ll call off your whole crusade.”
Only Pretty Betas: A Shifter Paranormal Romance Series (Rebel Werewolves Book 2) Page 14
