The Witch and the Wolf, page 26
“For as long as you need them.”
“Until I’m no longer a danger to humanity, you mean.”
Keenan shrugs. “Sure, that too.” He squeezes my shoulder. “I’m always around if you need me, brother. I know what it feels like to lose a mate, but there’s hope. Magdalene isn’t gone. She’ll come back and the last thing you want her to find is a drunken slob of a mate passed out on a barroom floor.”
Fuck, he’s right. My mate doesn’t need to see that shit.
“Fine,” I grumble. “Now get the fuck outta here, before I bust your ass instead of the barroom calling to me.”
Keenan chuckles, then does as I suggest and leaves, taking four of the guards with him and leaving three behind. I kick them out of my tower, telling them if they intend to stay, they can do it in the surrounding swampland.
The moment I’m left alone, I head straight into the swamp, avoiding the scent of the King’s guards. Their fear of pissing me off keeps them at enough of a distance that I slip easily past their perimeter. If I was in charge of these guys, they’d be put on toilet duty for a decade. I’m glad they’re being lax in their duties because if they intervened I wouldn’t be able to do what I’ve planned on doing for months.
I make my way to the town of Pendle, loping through the mostly deserted streets in my wolf form until I come across the scent I’m looking for. The dominant scent left on my mate after her time spent with the humans. The scent of the one who tortured her.
I make my way easily to his house, a small trash heap of a structure with overgrown grass growing through a pile of tires and a rusty Buick that takes up most of the yard, it’s hood open, weeds spilling out.
I shift to human as I approach the front door and, without pausing, use the heel of my foot to kick it open. It crashes into the wall and I’m through before the startled man can pick up the gun on the table next to him.
Striding toward him, I grab him by the neck and dangle him over the floor as I reach for his wallet, shaking out the contents. As he gurgles and turns and interesting shade of blue, I hold his driver’s license up to the light.
“Philip Anderson.” I pin him with a look that tells him very clearly what the last few hours of his life will look like. “You hurt my mate.”
Chapter 38
Day Pass
MAGDALENE
“I’m nervous,” I admit, staring at the open portal of swirling silver smoke. “It’s been six months.”
“It has,” Cynthia agrees, giving me a light shove. “And I’d love to say something comforting, but the Oracle doesn’t give day passes to just anyone, so let’s get moving. I want to spend every minute I can with Lila.”
“Right, of course, I’m sorry.” I step into the mirror, turning to wave as I go. “Say hi for me.”
I don’t hear her reply because seconds later I step through the mirror in my tower bedroom, looking around expectantly. “Rush?”
The room looks mostly untouched except for a thick layer of dust over everything except the bed. The indent on the bedding tell me Rush has been sleeping here.
I leave through the open door, making my way downstairs, a frown pulling at my eyebrows. I’d assumed he would’ve made his way back here to check on Fallon, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he’s still in Wolf-Haven.
I’ll have a quick check around the tower then conjure another portal if I’m wrong. I hope I find him quickly though; I’ve only been given a day pass because I’ve been doing such a great job of my spell work.
Who am I kidding? Lilith influenced the Oracle to give me a day pass because I was a sad, whiny, pathetic heap of a witch when she last visited the Nether Realm to check on me.
“Rush?” I call as I step into the common room. “Are you here?”
“Miss Mags!” A gasp catches my attention and I laugh as Lyra Good Witch rushes toward me, flinging herself at me… and then through me because ghosts can’t hug the living. “I’m so very glad yer here!”
“Thank you,” I say cheerfully, pretending to embrace her insubstantial form. “Where’s Rush?”
“Oh, he’s been a right handful, he has. Even more than this one!” She jerks her thumb toward Fallon who’s snoozing next to the fire, Seventeen curled into his belly and… a chicken nestled against Seventeen. I’ll unpack that later.
“But where is he?” I ask urgently. “I only have a few hours before I have to go back. I want to spend that time with my mate.”
“I’m not exactly sure, but maybe in Pendle,” she says with a shrug. “He goes there often these days.”
I bite my lip, worried. “What can he possibly be doing in a town filled with immortal-hating humans?”
Shrugging again, she settles herself into the chair next to Fallon, Seventeen, and the chicken. “No idea, never thought to ask, but the guards don’t seem bothered by it, so I mind my own.”
“Right… uh, guards?” I ask faintly, making my way to the tower door and peeking out into the yard. “What guards?”
“The ones King Lock sent to keep an eye on that mate o’ yers. He was bustin’ up Wolf-Haven and was sent back here months ago. Since then, he’s been goin’ into Pendle often.”
Shit. Not good.
“Well, I better be off,” I say, edging out the door. “So good to see you again, Lyra. Thank you for spending so much time with the boys. I really appreciate it. I promise, when I come back for good, I’ll make your afterlife feel like heaven.”
A big smile stretches her lips and she says, “I love being here and bein’ helpful, like a Good Witch should. But not gonna say no to a heaven of me own.”
I wave at her and rush outside, snapping my fingers and breaking a branch from a nearby dead tree. It hurtles toward me and I grab it in one fist, hopping on and shooting up over the treetops. I could portal, but this way I might be able to spot Rush from the air and get to him quicker.
My gaze is fixated on the town just on the other side of the swaps and I make my way straight there, circling overhead before landing in a residential road. I thought nothing could induce me to step foot in Pendle again, but I’m so worried about my mate I’d hazard a troll’s lair if it meant setting eyes on Rush again.
I smooth down my jean skirt, tug my T-shirt over my belly and pat my blond curls before setting off in search of Rush. After several minutes of fruitless searching, I do the thing I should’ve done in the first place. I reach out to him through our mating bond, pushing myself into his unsuspecting brain and looking at his surroundings.
He’s holding a … lamp? And he’s talking to a group of shifters, but I don’t know where they are. Damn it, I might be good at infiltrating his mind, but I’ve yet to figure out how wolfy GPS works.
Then he stiffens, sniffs the air and says out loud, “Magdalene?”
I’m here! I say excitedly through our connection. I’m in Pendle.
Smashing glass tells me he’s dropped the lamp then the world turns into a blur as he sets off at a dead run, shifting to his wolf as he races toward my position. I start running, too, even though I don’t need to. He’s more than fast enough for both of us and soon I see him racing up the street toward me, his grey and orange wolf eating up the ground so fast he’s on top of me before I can blink.
Shrieking, I brace myself as a massive hulking 300-pound wolf tackles me. He rolls with me, summersaulting and twisting so I’m on top when we hit the pavement, his furry body enveloping me.
I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck, tears streaming down my face and soaking into him. “I missed you so much!”
Fur becomes flesh as he shifts to human, his arms enveloping me in a warm embrace, his lips in my hair as he crushes me.
“I fucking missed you too, baby.”
We lay that way for several minutes, clutching each other, me crying while he rocks us both. After a moment, I calm down enough to say, “I was given a day pass. I have to go back, but I had to come see you.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get,” he says gruffly. “This is more than I dared hope for. Didn’t think I’d see you for another decade at least. Your mom showed up a few months ago to tell me about the tribunal.”
A sound catches my attention and I look over my shoulder, my eyes widening as I see the bumper of a car stopped in the road inches from where we lay. I glance around the car and see a few more lined up behind it.
Sitting up I say, “I had no idea humans could be so patient. The ones I met were always in a hurry to get where they were going.”
“These humans have been learning the values of patience, respect and tolerance toward the shifter community.”
What on earth has been going on around here? I’ll deal with it later. First, “Let’s get out of here. I want a bit more privacy so I can give you a proper greeting.”
“Fuck, yeah,” he says enthusiastically. “I’ll shift and you can climb on my back. We’ll be at the tower in no time.”
“No need,” I tell him with a grin. “Rage Witches can create portals without a mirror or a hearth.”
I snap my fingers and seconds later a portal opens over our bed in the tower and dumps us out. I laugh at Rush’s expression of panic as he hits the bed and bounces.
Before he can recover, I climb on top of him and cover his lips with mine.
A deep groan rumbles up his throat and his broad hands cover my back, forcing me to sprawl on top of him.
Soon he’s tearing at my clothes. I try to extricate my hands so I can curse his clothes off. I’m learning the art of handless, sightless spell casting but it’s a long, slow process and I’m not very good at it yet.
Finally, I tear my mouth from his in frustration. “Clothes off, now!”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” he growls, tearing my T-shirt up the back.
Taking a breath, I say, “I think we need to separate for a few seconds to get this done quicker.”
He stares at me, clearly wondering if we can just fuck through the barrier of clothes between us.
Laughing, I use his chest to shove myself off the bed, jumping to my feet and stripping in record time, my panties sailing across the room. “Now you, wolf mate.”
“Fuck, just climb on, baby. You only need my cock.” He unzips his jeans and drags his penis out, looking at me hopefully.
It’s a beautiful sight. Thick and veined, pointing at the ceiling, a delicious drop of pre-cum pearling on top.
“Nope, lose the clothes. You wanna look at the girls in their full glory, I want to see the whole package, too.”
“Fine,” he grumbles, but I can tell he’s pleased at how much his body turns me on. He rolls off the other side of the bed and divests himself of his clothes, sneaking peeks at me to see my reaction.
As soon as he’s naked, I jump on the bed and bounce, launching myself at him and forcing him to catch me. I hit his chest, wrapping my legs around him as he grips me tightly, his lips meeting mine in a passionate kiss.
We cling to each other, kissing, touching, holding, wordlessly describing our months apart as images rush through our brains, a kaleidoscope of our time apart.
I show him the Nether Realm where Rage Witches go to learn to control their powers. A barren, rugged terrain meant to withstand even the angriest of spells. I show him how much I’ve learned, images of myself conjuring, destroying, re-creating matter. I take him on a tour of the cute white cottage with blue trim that Cynthia and I conjured to make our time there more bearable. I show him my favorite mountaintop where I look across the mist filled valley and fantasize about my wolf mate.
A vision of me looking at my naked body in a mirror is more than he can take and soon he’s thrusting the entire length of his cock inside me.
Arching back, his arm securing me, I rock on top of him, taking as much pleasure as I can.
I show him images of myself in my cozy little bed, my fingers playing through my slick folds as I think of my mate and the pleasure he gives me when he fucks me. As my orgasm builds, I show him images of me shattering, his name on my lips.
“Fuck, gonna come, baby,” he groans, his face pressed between my breasts, my hands tangled in his hair as he fucks me standing up, the muscles of his arms rippling with the effort.
“Yes, come with me!” I gasp, leaping over the edge of my orgasm, hoping he’ll join me.
He does, shouting his release as his cock barbs and hooks into my flesh. As we fall onto the bed together, I snap my fingers, mending the bruises from our fierce mating.
Rush links fingers with me and shows me images of what he’s been doing over the past few months. I notice he carefully avoids the first several weeks but I sense his suffering during this time.
I see him working in the town of Pendle, keeping himself busy through physical labour as he helps the town rebuild the structures I destroyed in my fit of rage. I feel as much pride in my mate as I do shame for my actions.
Why is he helping the humans when I can still feel his blame toward them for what happened to me? Then I understand when he shows me the shifter packs moving into Pendle, filling it with enough magical folk that anyone who was part of the town’s former anti-immortal agenda will take pause.
“You’re making it safe for us to live here, aren’t you?” I whisper, sifting my hand through his hair as he lays sprawled on top of me, his face pillowed against my chest.
“Yeah,” he admits. “We’ve driven most of the evil from town, but there are a few who wish to stay. The incoming shifters are willing to work on the townspeople’s perception of us.”
“Where did they come from?”
“Since Lock came into power in Wolf-Haven, there’s been a period of good fortune, which has brought many new births to the area. Wolf-Haven will soon reach capacity, so we’re spreading our shifter packs out.”
“You’re going to take over the world, aren’t you?” My words are light-hearted though. I think he came up with a very good plan to take Pendle in a new direction.
“You know it, baby.”
We fall asleep in each other’s arms, but soon my internal clock wakes me, reminding me that my day pass is almost up. Gently, I remove Rush’s arm from my waist and climb off the bed. I tug my clothes on and when I’m ready, I turn back to take one last look at my mate. It might be years before I see him again.
He’s not asleep. He sits up, his gaze clear and knowing. “You were going to leave without saying goodbye.”
I smile slightly. “You were going to try to stop me from leaving. I could see it in your head.”
“Not try.” He rises from the bed, stalking toward me.
I edge around the bed toward the mirror, intent on creating a portal, but he reaches out and snaps his hands over my wrists, stopping me.
“Don’t leave.”
“I have to.” I push the words past a throat constricting with tears. Why does he have to make this more difficult than it already is? “You know I do.”
“You don’t,” he insists. “Look at you, you’ve got everything under control. No more unhinged Rage Witch.”
I let out a watery giggle at his description. “We don’t know that I can control myself. That’s why it’s important I continue working with my mentor. You know this and I know you’re not going to stop me, as much as you might want to.” I go up on my toes and press a kiss to his lips. “Because you will always give me what I want and right now what I want is to return to the Nether Realm so I can finish my training. Every second that separates us is agony and the only way to get past it is to get through it.”
“Fuck,” he growls, then grips my head so hard I think my skull might crack and lays a kiss on me. Before I can properly participate, he flings me away from him. “Go now, Magdalene, before I do something we’ll both regret.”
I run to the mirror and conjure the portal, then turn back for one last look, but he’s turned away from me. With a lump in my throat, I step through, but as I leave, he turns around and rushes toward me. The sound of shattering glass follows me through the portal.
Chapter 39
Homecoming
THREE YEARS AND SEVEN MONTHS LATER
MAGDALENE
The first thing I do when I enter the tower is inhale, drawing the scent of my mate into my lungs. Frowning, I sniff again, dropping my bags on the floor.
Weird, there’s almost no trace of him. This time, as I step into our shared bedroom, there’s a thick layer of dust on everything, including the bed. Am I too late? Has he moved? It doesn’t seem possible, not when he promised he’d be here, waiting for me.
Something’s wrong.
Rushing out of the room, I take the stairs to the first floor two at a time, my feet flying as panic threatens to strangle me. Automatically, I reach for him through our mental bond, but there’s interference. He’s out there somewhere, but I can’t get a fix on him.
I hurry into the common room, expecting to find Fallon and Lyra Good Witch. What I find has me freezing to the spot, my mouth falling open in consternation.
“Katey?”
My best friend glances over her shoulder, then lets out a shout, drops the stack of napkins she was holding and hurls herself at me, arms open.
“Oomph!” I collect her in my embrace and hold her while she laughs and cries and grips my face to look at me.
“Your mom told us you’d be back soon, so we thought we’d be here to greet you.” Looking over her shoulder I see Callum sitting in one of the chairs next to the fire, Fallon sitting across from him in his human form. The two are staring at each other without malice, but they don’t seem to be conversing. Katey and Callum’s children, Mercury Warlock and Belladonna Good Witch are sitting at the table playing cards. “I’ve been dropping in over the years to check on your mate and his family, making sure they have everything they need.”
