Wolf Tamer (Moon Kissed Book 2) Page 2
Hearing it out loud has my eyes widening and my jaw going slack. I miss him? Seriously? I’ve gone soft.
“He’s got some kind of hold over me. Having sex with him was a mistake. And I’m sure you guys know all about that, don’t you?” I raise my voice to let anyone who happened to overhear me know that I’m aware of it. “I had sex with Reid, and I’d do it again because it was just that good. It’s a mistake I want to repeat!”
And I only call it a mistake because it’s a tie to him. A tie I’m powerless to deny, because once I have sex with a man, especially a man with Reid’s natural animal magnetism, I turn into a bit of a sex-crazed maniac.
Not that missing him is going to get me out of this cell. I have to come to terms with my death and the handful of things I will never get to accomplish.
I shift to stare at my hands for the thousandth time, wiggling my fingers and searching yet again for the power I always accessed with ease, until recently. The kind deep inside me; what I’d been born with.
“I come from a long line of witches,” I whisper to my hands.
So why have I always had an issue with my witch powers?
Not like my little sister, Carmen. She took to coven matters like a duck to a pond. She was a natural from birth.
Memories of my sister threaten to drown me, knocking on the wall I keep in my head. The wall I have to keep in place so I’m not walking around like a depressed, sex-crazed maniac. At the end of the day, Carmen is still missing, and I’m no closer to finding out what happened to her on the night she disappeared all those years ago.
Now I never will.
Fear slithers through me, coiling around my heart and squeezing tight.
I’ll never get to see my baby sister again. I know she’s alive, even if I haven’t found her in all of my searching. Call it a gut feeling.
Just like my gut is telling me that no matter what I try, I’m not getting out of this pickle.
I shake my hand against the pins-and-needles sensation. “If you don’t work now, then you’re worse than useless.” I glare down at my palms and crossed legs. “Useless. And after all the jobs you’ve done, that would be a terrible thing to call yourself. You’re a gifted killer and so much more.”
The little pep talk doesn’t do the trick like I intended, but… instead of going invisible the way I always have, a spark bursts to life above my palm. One right after the other, they flash like shooting stars.
The sight is so unexpected that I jump, cracking my skull into the wall and seeing more stars. The ones dancing around the corners of my vision are nothing compared to the ones that crackle and flutter in the air above my outstretched palm. They’re actually dancing in real life. Tiny, little starlike sparks in shades of orange and red and gold, spiraling into the air and winking out of existence right before they hit the ceiling.
Magic.
It’s magic and it’s mine and it’s out of left field.
My witch magic that I’ve never been able to activate.
Until now, apparently.
Holy shit, what is happening? Warmth replaces the fear around my heart until it feels like I’m floating, my magic beautiful and pure and so damn unexpected that I want to cry out.
I stare at my palm with my jaw hanging open, wondering how I’m doing this and unable to locate the source inside myself. It’s all of me. And this isn’t like my invisibility, not at all, although I can sense the magic tied to my soul in the exact same way.
It’s like being right-handed my entire life and suddenly waking up and writing with my left hand.
A beautiful surprise.
The sparks die almost as soon as they’re born, and it seems that the moment I actually tune into my witch magic, it disintegrates, splintering into a million different pieces as though nothing ever happened.
“No, no.”
My quick, under-the-breath demands do nothing to help me hold on, and suddenly it seems as though the source of the magic is just outside my reach. The more I scramble to get a hold on it, the farther away it gets, until the sparks are gone. They aren’t coming back anytime soon.
Suddenly exhausted, I flop until the back of my skull hits the wall again. Pain shoots through me at the contact, and I wince. “Whoa.”
I have no fucking clue how to use my witch magic. I’ve never used it before in my life—well, outside of a few failed attempts during my coven days. I remember the witches of my parents’ generation crowding around me and forcing me to speak certain incantations aloud, hoping to push me into the well of magic that was supposed to be my birthright.
The moment Carmen began to manifest her own powers, they forgot about me. They didn’t give a shit about Tasha Ward.
Shock turns the pit of my stomach into Antarctica.
I thought all of my witch magic was gone for good.
My parents had been active members of the Buson Coven until their death, but they’d never pushed the issue once it became clear my powers were not going to manifest in any significant way.
For it to show itself now—
Is it a good sign or a bad sign? I have no idea. Even though it’s a small spark, not enough to do anything with, it’s something. It’s more than I’ve been able to do until now, and it might just mark my salvation if I can get it to happen again.
Well damn.
At least something good has happened today. With my impending stake burning, this seems like a pretty dismal silver lining, but it’s there nonetheless, and I grab onto it. I clasp it tightly to my heart and search for that last shred of hope that manifested along with the sparks.
It’s time for me to readjust, reevaluate, and hopefully, get the fuck out of here before someone gleefully lights the first match.
Chapter
Three
Reid
It’s better for me to not wake up at all.
The thought clangs distantly around in my brain before I peel my eyes open, a herculean effort. My entire body seizes the second I do.
I might have cursed.
I might have said nothing at all.
But a shadow darkens over me, and when I finally manage to blink through the grit gluing my lashes to my cheeks—not literally—I see Julius standing there. He looms over the bed with his gaze scoring, and I’ve got to wonder what he sees. It’s nothing good, because he’s pale and trying his best to look like he doesn’t give a shit.
“It’s about fucking time,” he bites out. “I thought you were done. You’ve been out for… It doesn’t matter. I’ve got you bandaged and ready to get up on your own.”
Hissing, I reach up to probe against the pressure on my forehead.
“Don’t. I took special time to bandage you. If you pry, you’re going to ruin it.”
“I’m living in a parallel dimension,” I mutter. “Because I swear you told me I have to get up on my own and then immediately complained that I’d ruin your bandage art.”
How am I not dead?
Julius scoffs, and the sound is so familiar that a part of me relaxes on the spot.
“Come on. It’s no big deal, Reid.”
“Oh no. I’m in a dimension where you’re actually a kind and decent human being,” I continue. The pain has me delirious because insulting the one person who has the ability to kill me is nothing short of suicide, and yet here we are together.
The house feels quiet around me. With the curtains drawn, I’m not sure of the time, but the other wolf energies I sense are restful. Early morning?
Everyone’s asleep except my Nurse Ratched of a brother who’s taking care of me.
Although… I gave him the chance. He had the perfect opportunity to finish me off, and yet he brought me up to bed and bandaged my head instead. I want to be grateful for small miracles.
Instead, I’m tense, my fingers curling and grasping the sheets around me.
I have more than a sneaking suspicion that if it comes to blows ag
ain, I’m not going to find myself on the winning end of things. Julius has another clear opening. He’s already got me on my back, and if the aches in my side and leg are anything to go by… I’m stuck at his mercy.
Whatever my oldest brother decides to do, my fate is still in his hands, and we continue to eye each other like two starving animals with a juicy bone between them.
Only he’s not diving for it the way I would have bet my life on.
He stares at me for a moment longer with a hardness I’m used to seeing in his dark eyes. His hair, black and a few inches too long, falls over his face and ears like he’s been tugging the strands to make them stand at attention.
“Christ, Reid, you’ve got no clue what’s going on in your own house. Some alpha you are.”
“You don’t need to remind me,” I say through a growl.
A weight settles at my side, and when I tilt my head, Julius is seated there, his gaze focused on something outside of my awareness, his hands clasped between his legs, and his elbows balanced on his knees.
“I walked into pure fucking chaos, and you’ve got the gall to sneer at me like I’m waiting in line to tear out your throat.”
I pause for a moment. “Aren’t you?”
It’s an unfair blow considering the current dynamics. He looks more like a man on the edge rather than one with murder on the mind.
“We went through hell together,” he replies. His voice is softer than I’ve heard it in a long time, and I’m at once grateful for my shifter hearing or I might have missed the inflection. “You’ve got the same scars and trauma that I have. Plus, you’ve got creatures you thought you could trust snapping at your heels with a thirst for your blood. But you’re still accusing me of…”
“Can you blame me?”
Julius shakes his head. “I guess I can’t. Because if the positions were reversed, I would assume the same thing.”
“You had the perfect opening, and you didn’t take it.” My confusion must be clear, because his gaze darts in my direction for a half second before he turns it to his feet. “You could have had the alpha mantle for yourself. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”
“You don’t know shit about what I want.”
I thought about the note from our father I found in his nightstand: To save the family, you will do what is needed.
Well, what is needed is for me to step aside—or so I’ve always thought. Now the wheels are turning and the pieces are falling into place, yet I can’t make sense of the picture as a whole.
“Why don’t you tell me?” I ask.
Fuck, my head pounds like an elephant is bouncing up and down on top of me.
I pray I’ll be able to follow the conversation, because with Julius, I’ve always had to struggle to stay one step ahead. His mind works differently from mine, and that’s on a good day. On a day where I’m recovering from battle?
I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep up with him. He’ll be the first one to admit that he’s smarter than me, better looking, and whatever new adjective he wants to insert here.
Right now… he wouldn’t be wrong.
He is absolutely better than me, and I’m going to have to find a way to make this up to him down the road.
“The alpha position should have been mine by right of birth, Reid. And do I think I can do a better job than you? Absolutely. You’ve done nothing but fuck shit up since you took over. Do I think taking it is worth losing you?” He pauses, then sighs. “No. I don’t think so.”
“You had your shot,” I press. “Twice. You stepped down when father died, and you could have easily killed me in the kitchen.”
“And I refused to take it both times,” he responds hotly. “There are more important things—”
“Then tell me!”
I struggle to turn in his direction, creeping my fingers across the top of the sheets to try to grab his attention. Pain immediately ripples down my arm and I stop, struggling to draw in a full breath.
Nope, not happening.
“All I ever wanted was a family, and our father placed more stock in power than he did on his wife and sons. The family he made was less important to him than his reputation. If it comes down to that or you, shit… it’s not a contest for me.”
I blink at him. “You never said anything.”
“Would you have?” Julius counters.
He flexes his fingers so that his knuckles go white before pushing away from the bed.
He’s never been the type content with excessive displays of emotion. And I have to agree with him there. It’s awkward for me too—way too strange to have an actual conversation with him rather than the constant bickering.
This is something I might have expected of our youngest brother, Liam, but not from Julius.
“Let’s suffice it to say that I’m not about to let some assholes like Crane and Emily take away what little family I have left,” he snarls.
“Crane is dead.”
Julius whips around to face me. “I know. I’m the one who dragged his heavy-ass body out into the yard and sent Liam out with the shovel.”
I crank out a smile. “You must have dragged me upstairs as well.”
“Maybe.”
Levity feels strained. Crane is dead, and that’s nothing I can reconcile lightly.
I stare at Julius for a bit longer. “How would you feel about taking his place?”
“In the ground or as your third?” Julius pales, seeming unhappy with either proposition. “I think I’ll let you decide how you want to proceed with things.”
“After you said I’m a piss-poor alpha?”
Julius shrugs. “Maybe I’m curious to see how things will turn out. Maybe I prefer to be a bystander so that I can see the bigger picture where you’re focused on the small details. You miss way too much.”
“It pays to be sneaky, then.” And I’ve always considered Julius to fit that description.
“It pays to be observant,” he corrects me. “Just as I’ve seen the way you look at your latest sacrifice. Are you going to tell me the truth, or will you keep up with this ridiculous charade of yours?”
The thought of Tasha lands a stone heavily in my stomach that sinks down to the bottom of my feet. “She’s gone,” I say. It’s simple.
And Julius isn’t accepting any of it.
He stares at me before releasing a gruff groan. “Fine. Don’t tell me what’s really going on.”
“I thought you see everything.”
“I do,” he counters with a sniff. “I’m simply giving you the opportunity to be honest with me. Something you seem to fail at apparently.”
I want to toss back that I could say the same thing about him, but I smartly keep my lips shut. This rare bonding opportunity is more than I ever asked for and more than I expected considering the current environment.
I always thought Julius would stop at nothing to undermine me and take the mantle for himself.
Yet, here we are.
I’m not about to jeopardize whatever newfound camaraderie we’ve managed to carve out for ourselves.
I drop back on the pillows amidst a wave of exhaustion while my body heals itself. “Thank you,” I tell Julius haltingly. “For taking care of things. For disposing of the body.”
“What other choice do I have?”
“You can do what you normally do and sequester yourself in your mess of a room,” I toss back.
He chuckles, but this time the bitterness isn’t thick enough to choke me. “I’ll make a note to have one of the others come in and do some cleaning.”
I want to make a joke about his drinking and open my mouth to do exactly that, when awareness ripples down my spine alongside a sense of dread that chills me to the bone.
Julius notices, of course, and stops his frenetic pacing. “What’s the matter?” he asks. “I’m not helping your ass into the bathroom, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Automatically, I want to blow it off as nothing, but the sensation persists. Some
thing is going on. Something…
Tasha?
The moment I think her name, I know I’ve got to go—wherever she is. She needs me. Adrenaline courses through me in an instant, mingling and warring with the sense of immediate danger.
My mate needs me.
Tasha is in danger, and I’m here in bed like a weak little pup.
“I’ve got to go,” I tell Julius, struggling with the covers. Urgency has me feeling light on my feet and rushing to get out the door whether I’m dressed or not.
“No way.” He moves to intercept me. “You’re not going anywhere. You’ve got to stay in this bed and let me and Bullet handle things.”
There is absolutely no way I’m going to do any of that.
My body moves on its own accord, my knees clicking together as I stand. He’s got me in a clean pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. It’s good enough. I push Julius away, panic riding me hard. His words fade into the distance, disappearing under the frantic pulse of my heart. But not all of the fear belongs to me.
Some of it is Tasha’s.
Pushing everything aside and ripping the bandage off my head, I’m out the door before Julius can grab me, heading god knows where into god knows what because I have no choice.
Tasha’s in trouble.
Chapter
Four
Tasha
The door to the cell opens, and I quickly bring my hand to my chest like I actually have something to hide. Adrenaline rises inside me in a rush of sensation that has my skin going hot and my limbs cold.
“What do you want?” I begin.
Mae narrows her eyes at me, her moon-colored hair in a long braid down past her breasts. She looks like a woman, but I know better. She’s actually a snake wearing a woman’s suit, with her own viperous goals and ambitions that she hid from me under a guise of helplessness. A viper indeed, and one who played on my trauma like I’m nothing but a fucking piano.
She’d asked for me, acted all maternal and shit.
As the head of the Buson Coven, she’s the one responsible for my captivity and for the she-burns-at-dawn bullshit the rest of her Kool-Aid drinkers lapped up.