The Witch Who Couldn't Give Amuk, page 1
The Witch Who Couldn’t Give Amuck
AGGIE’S BOYS, BOOK 2
RAVEN STORM
Copyright © 2022 by Raven Storm
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by Beetiful Book Covers
ISBN 979-8-9861543-6-7
Created with Vellum
Also by Raven Storm
Rise of the Drakens
The Lost Siren
The Lost Alliance
The Lost Kingdom
The Lost Nation
The Lost Princess
The Lost Child
The Lost King
The Lost Prince
* * *
Curse of the Dragons
Kingdom of Flames & Flowers
Kingdom of Ash & Bones
* * *
Royal Fae
Royal Hunt
Royal Captive
* * *
Rise of the Alpha Series
Chained: Rise of the Alpha Book 1
Claimed: Rise of the Alpha Book 2
Changed: Rise of the Alpha Book 3
Box Set with Bonus Scenes
* * *
Aggie’s Boys
The 40-Year-Old Virgin Witch
The Witch Who Couldn’t Give Amuck
Hex Appeal
* * *
The Demon Chronicles (YA)
Descent
Feud
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
The Story Continues…
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Raven Storm
Chapter
One
AGGIE
I’d been here for three days now, and I felt like I was going to lose my mind. Vicky was at my side constantly, but I didn’t trust her completely–not since she admitted giving herself to Seth. Despite that, she was a fountain of information about the coven and what had been going on the past two decades, and I’d be a fool to waste the opportunity to learn all I could about it.
It wasn’t like I could do much else–I was stuck playing the damsel in distress in this gilded cage, sharing dinner in the evenings with Seth where he was nothing but a perfect gentleman. During the day, Vicky was with me as we strolled the grounds, walked among the gardens, and even tried our hands at fishing. The lake was a short half-mile jaunt away from the castle, and a destination spot in its own right. In a way, it was easy to see why she was content here–who wouldn’t want to have free rein of a castle, and be able to do what they pleased for the rest of their lives?
And yet ... it was an empty existence, devoid of any meaning. I worried constantly about everyone else. Was Quinn ok? Did Karl forgive me for leaving the wards? I hoped Luka understood none of this was his fault. Hopefully Damon wasn’t lonely.
“Don’t you miss your family?” I finally asked her, the silence in the massive garden a bit unnerving. Shouldn’t there be birds singing or insects buzzing? I knew it was likely due to impenetrable wards, but that didn’t mean I liked it. The sterile environment felt forced and unnatural. It made my magick itch when normally it would be thrilled to be outdoors.
Vicky sighed and sat on a stone bench. “What family? My mother is dead by Seth’s hand, and he offered to bring me here when he heard what your mother had done to me.”
I reared back. “He killed your mother?”
She shrugged, unconcerned. “Oh, I don’t think he meant to kill my mother. He feels bad about it and has tried to make amends.”
I snorted, but she only rolled her eyes. “Aggie, he’s not a bad guy. I hated him at first, you know. But he’s reasonable. Our arrangement is mutually beneficial.”
Her eyes grew distant, focusing on a faraway memory. “He came for you and you were gone, twenty years ago. We were in the middle of a meeting, so everyone was together. He was so angry, and he lost control of his magick. Seth tried to deflect it away, but it brought most of the building down on us. There were a few casualties, but he compensated the clan financially for our losses. He offered to care for those who wanted to leave with him. He has taken on the responsibility of providing for us. Seth didn’t have to do any of that.”
I refused to fall for it. “You’re shacking up with the guy who killed your mom, and who’s hunted me for twenty years. And I’m being the unreasonable one?” I glared over at her, noticing the frown lines marring her brow. We’d both seen so much, hadn’t we?
She fluffed her dress around her. “I’m looking out for myself, Aggie. Seth is handsome, nice, and could easily give me a powerful child of my own. And we were only together one time. He hasn’t touched me since you got here.”
Vicky stood and kept walking, leaving me sputtering behind her. She sounded a bit … disappointed that Seth had left her alone. I sat back down on the bench, letting her go. I needed to think because none of this was adding up.
My coven was scattered across the United States as were most covens these days due to convenience and ease. Or at least, it had been. Though honestly, how much could a coven change in twenty years? Many of our witches had even been married with husbands though they kept their coven a secret from their partners. Daughters who showed powers were brought into the coven, and sons were kept out.
My thoughts wandered to Quinn, and my heart clenched in pain. I knew the leaders of my coven talked obsessively about bloodlines, concerned that our more potent abilities would die out if witches married and only had children with human men. It wasn’t until the 1800s that shagging other supernaturals became en vogue.
You’d think someone like Quinn would be a prize ... like a prize broodmare.
The pain came again, then it stopped as I examined the thought. Quinn should have been a highly praised asset of his coven even if it was just for breeding. Two magickal beings had the highest chance of producing more powerful offspring, after all. Yet prejudice ran thick in the blood of witches, even in today’s day and age. Covens worldwide would never forget the damage the patriarchy had done to our numbers over the ages, and it was believable that a coven would overlook his value based on sexism and anger alone.
Vicky’s voice flickered from down the path. “Are you coming? I heard the cook saying they’re doing that strawberry salad for lunch! You loved it last time!”
Love would be an exaggeration, but it had been good. I stood up, brushing my skirt off with irritation. Would it kill someone to bring me a pair of yoga pants?
I glanced up, but Vicky was already gone.
I saw Vicky less frequently after that. I couldn’t put my finger on it directly, but it was clear something had changed between us. I didn’t know if it was me, her, or the gulf of twenty years that stretched between us, but I started to accept that perhaps we were simply different people now.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t mourn what we’d once had. Was it possible for your heart to break twice? I was depressed I’d had no word from my boys, and now it was apparent that my friendship with Vicky hadn’t stood the test of time. Who did that leave me with?
Seth.
He sat across from my in my personal parlor, a spread fit for a king laid out before us for dinner. Though the salads were divine, the lobster seemed a bit much. I’d never complain about the endless amounts of sweets, however.
“Did the soup do something specifically to insult you?” he asked mildly.
I raised a hand and a weak shower of sparks shot at him, sputtering out halfway across the table. Seth raised an eyebrow, and I decided to push back. He’d been nothing but kind to me so far (besides the obvious kidnapping), so I didn’t think he’d hurt me for asking questions.
“Can we be honest with each other?” I asked, putting down my spoon and all further pretenses of eating.
Seth straightened in his chair, his dark eyes meeting mine. “I would love nothing more,” he practically purred, his eyes sparking as his magick leaked around us. He leaned forward across the table, and I automatically leaned closer as well as if drawn to him through some inexplicable magnetism. His fingers trailed over the silky tablecloth, seeking my hand which rested only inches away.
BOOM.
We both flinched as the double doors in front of us exploded outwards, revealing my mother. Her red hair was in disarray, her dress torn, and one cheek was bleeding down her face. The anger in her eyes was palpable. I froze, half of me still the twenty year old girl terrified of a forced marriage and the wrath of her mother. Seth’s eyes narrowed at my fear.
He stood, and casually walked around the side of the table, nonchalantly putting himself between the two of us.
“Can I help you?” he purred, and I could tell from the growl emanating from my mother that he’d unleashed his allure on her.
The tang of my coven’s magick filled t
My mother sneered. “Your wards attacked me.”
Seth smirked, his eyes blatantly roving over the tears in her cloak and the bloody gashes on her face and arms. “Odd. They only do that when you mean to harm someone within these walls.”
I gripped the table underneath the tablecloth, struggling to keep my face blank and impassive. My mother glared at me. She was doubly pissed now–once when I didn’t rise when she entered and now for being called out for her bullshit.
Then she laughed lightly, a tinkling sound that only grated on my nerves. “Don’t be ridiculous, Seth. Why would a mother harm her daughter? I only wish to speak with her. Surely, I don’t need to remind you that we are allies. I’ll even forget your little oversight of neglecting to invite me over and keeping me out.”
She tried to move past Seth, but he raised his hand and she was pushed back by an invisible force. A storm gathered on Seth’s face, and I was glad that wrath wasn’t directed at me.
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t believe we’re allies simply because you fulfilled your end in a bargain. My interest is in Agatha and my duty to your coven. Not you.” He paused, and glanced back at me.
My mother sniffed. “As if those two things aren’t mutual and exclusive? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Seth blinked slowly at her, then turned towards me. “Do you wish to have any contact with your mother?”
I couldn’t hide the panic that bloomed over my features. My mouth opened, but he shook his head.
“Don’t speak. The answer is clear.” His eyes were gentle, the colors muted as they swirled in his irises. I swallowed the rising lump in my throat, still a sucker for anyone who showed me even a crumb of kindness. Mother above, I was fucked up. He turned back towards my mother, glaring.
“If Agatha wishes to contact you, I shall escort you myself. Until then, kindly fuck off.”
My mouth dropped open in shock at the same time as my mother’s. She blinked rapidly, then her magick surged. I tried to shout a warning, but it didn’t matter. My mother’s magick rose from her hands as an indigo serpent, striking fast at Seth.
Staring her down, he raised one palm and seized the serpent around the neck, throttling it with his bare hands. I stared, having never seen anyone grasp pure magick and remain unscathed. The creature went limp in his hands, and he patted it on the head patronizingly. Then he whispered into its ear and blew the magick back towards my mother.
The serpent dove for her and she shrieked in panic, disappearing in a swirl of black and purple on the spot. Seth’s laughter drew me out of my shock, and I slowly turned my head towards him.
“You’re insane.” I sputtered.
Seth wiped the corner of his eyes with his shirtsleeve, and sat back down. He picked up his fork with gusto, and continued eating. I felt compelled to say something, but he beat me to it. “I hate those who prey upon others,” he muttered.
I blanched, not understanding. “Well, that’s pretty rich coming from an incubus, isn’t it?”
Seth gently put down his fork and napkin, leaning back in his chair to stare at me. His eyes swirled with color, and I wondered why it didn’t affect me as badly as it had before. Perhaps you could simply get used to it over time?
Silence settled over us, until he sighed heavily. “You’re adamant on making me the villain.”
My brow furrowed. “Aren’t you?”
Seth leaned forward on his elbows, his gaze intense. Red and orange swirled to the front of his irises, and stayed. “Tell me what you know of your contract with me.”
An odd question, but it was easy enough. I resolved to play his game for a bit, if only to learn more information. It was the only currency available to me. “I know you were part of the bidding war for me when I was born. You eventually won the contract. We met a few times over the years, and when I learned what you were, I panicked and ran.”
Silence descended over the table while Seth just stared at me, his eyes narrowing slightly. “That’s it? That’s all you know?”
I didn’t have anything to add, so I shrugged.
He snorted through his nose, then rubbed his temples. “As an incubus, I don’t take the idea of a permanent situation lightly. In fact, I’d dismissed it completely as an option for me in the past. My appetites are not suitable for monogamy.”
I had to give Seth credit. At least he was self-aware.
He glanced at me, and then continued. “When my father told me I needed to meet the newest witch born to the French-American clan, I almost disobeyed. I had no interest in a betrothal, let alone to an American baby, even if she was descended from one of the original seven. However, I decided to humor my father and go. He asks relatively little of me, after all.”
Seth shifted in his seat, and took a thoughtful sip of his tea. He set it back down lightly on the delicate china, tracing the edge of the smooth porcelain with his index finger.
“As soon as I entered the room, I understood what my father meant. There was something about your scent that was old and powerful. I couldn’t place it, but my magick practically sang when you reached out to me. An infant! Reaching out magickally to an incubus! I was smitten. I told my father I agreed, and he immediately started a bidding war.”
I rolled my eyes. “Which you won,” I interjected.
Seth flashed his fangs at me. “Of course. I had no idea what you were, but I was determined to get a piece of it. I suspect my father knows for sure, but he refuses to tell me. That means you must be something absolutely devastating.”
His eyes flared, every vibrant color of the rainbow flashing before my eyes. My own magick rose up in my chest, shooting down my limbs and covering me like a warm blanket. It helped me stay focused, and not get lost in his gaze.
Seth reached a finger out, coaxing my magick to meet his. I refused, and instead pulled it back in. He sighed. “It feels so ancient, yet you are only forty. It’s fascinating. So you see, it is only logical I keep you close in order to learn your secrets and get a taste of this strange power myself.”
I reared back from the table, standing and nearly tripping over the chair in my haste to put distance between us. “So you admit it then!” I cried, pointing a finger accusingly at his chest. “All you want is the same thing the others want—my virginity and the power boost that comes with it. Why haven’t you forced me yet and just gotten it over with?”
Seth rolled his eyes at my dramatics and made a sitting gesture with his hands. My body immediately obeyed, bending in half and collapsing back into the chair. I growled, pissed that my own magick didn’t deem him enough of a threat to resist.
“So dramatic.” He sighed. “I could force you, but I’m interested in you, not the broken, useless shell you’d be after being raped by an incubus.” He paused, a strange light in his eye. “Unless you like that sort of thing. In which case, I’d happily oblige.”
The blood leached from my face, and he gave a disappointed tut. “Ah, not your kink. Then you must simply believe me when I say I will not force you because it is not helpful to my goals.”
I tested my arms and legs, finding them under my own power again. “And just what is your goal then?” I asked hesitantly.
Seth shrugged, mimicking my earlier gesture. “You are destined to be powerful. I can feel it. You are an asset, and I want you close to me so I can watch you gain your powers and benefit from it.”
An honest incubus. What was the world coming to? I tried to look pissed, but it was hard since he had yet to actually hurt me. “That sounds . . . quite logical,” I admitted.
