Chapter 7

LLOYD

I masked my scent, enveloped myself in shadows, and crept to Beta Harris’s house. Harris and his mate were watching television, cuddling together on the couch.

I hoped Misty wasn’t suspicious that I thought Sabrina was real. Tanner had introduced me to television, and I was amazed at the technology. I touched the screen several times while he laughed so hard that tears coursed down his cheeks.

Where was Misty?

~“Her mother doesn’t smell like a witch,”~ Vetus said, interrupting my train of thought.

~“True, maybe Misty isn’t her daughter?”~

~“She looks like her.”~

Circumventing the house, I stopped at the sliding door leading to her bedroom. The lights were off, and she wasn’t there.

I tried the door and found it unlocked, but before I could slide it open, the lights went on, and Misty strode in, wrapped in a towel, droplets of water glistening seductively on her skin.

I took a step back so the light wouldn’t illuminate me and watched in silent fascination as she ripped the towel off, exposing her perfect body. Her breasts jumped up and down as she vigorously towel-dried her hair.

I gritted my teeth as my cock sprang to life. What was I doing here? I had ordered her not to speak, and I hadn’t learned anything spying on her previously, but I couldn’t stop watching, entranced by her nude form.

Dropping the towel carelessly on the floor, she opened a drawer and fished out very sexy underclothes. I gawked when I saw that the panties consisted of a string that only covered the parting of her buttocks. What type of underwear was this?

The top she chose covered her breasts but left her midriff bare; the skirt was short and looked like leather.

She grabbed a device that I wasn’t familiar with, knelt on the bed, showing a hint of her voluptuous buttocks, and plugged it in. She got to her feet, turned her head upside down, and pointed the device at her head.

It sounded like the wind was trapped inside, blowing her hair in every direction.

Within a few minutes, she switched it off, and I surmised its purpose. This century has developed many wondrous devices; even cars have improved tenfold.

She finger-combed her hair, shrugged, and picked up her phone, inserting those horrible earbuds. I tried them once, but they weren’t for me.

She scrolled on her phone, and then I heard music, and she started dancing while she put on makeup. My mouth went dry. Christ almighty, the way she moved was shocking and bewitching.

Where the fuck was she going? She added a pair of black high heels that made her legs look long and sleek.

I had noticed that morals were looser, and people did as they pleased, but I hadn’t considered she-wolves in that category. King Axel had several she-wolves surrounding him, his scent lingering on them.

Were she-wolves promiscuous?

~“You mean witches,”~ Vetus interrupted.

~“Yes, fuck.”~

I had to bite back a growl at the thought. I turned and left as silently as I’d come, but the image of her gyrating hips and jiggling breasts stayed in my mind and drove me crazy.

Grabbing the Jeep’s keys, I got behind the wheel and parked so I had an unobstructed view of Ross’s house. Not two minutes later, another car drove up, and Misty snuck around the side of the house and got in the back.

The overhead lights went on, illuminating two she-wolves with blood-red hair and a male in the back with brown hair. I waited for them to drive off and followed.

I’d intended to blackmail her into breaking my curse while I kept her secret, but that had gone out the window now that I couldn’t find a mark and prove she was a witch.

Touching her had been a trial, her olive skin soft and pliant. Cupping her breasts and smelling her arousal had left me half-dazed, but I knew it would be my undoing if I lost focus around her.

Alpha Zack had played right into my hands at the training grounds, and I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. I’d seen her stance just before I turned my back and knew immediately she’d never used a bow.

When he told her to kneel, I was sorely tempted to punch him in the face. I had to remind myself—she was a witch, even if she looked completely innocent.

Kneeling, she looked even more irresistible. Her tiny waist, curvy hips, and the kind of full, inviting chest a man could get lost in.

Long black hair spilled over her shoulders, framing those gray eyes and lips so lush they practically begged to be kissed. I couldn’t help myself. I reached out and gently tilted her chin up, needing to see those eyes again.

I seldom used the power buried deep inside, but with her, I used every last bit to force her to obey my commands while she pushed and resisted.

She tried to lure me with her body, and I should have continued to question her, but after touching her, I was close to succumbing to her evil charms.

I had to keep reminding myself that witches were duplicitous and untrustworthy. She was spirited, and I liked that a little too much.

Thirty miles north, the redhead pulled into a parking lot opposite a club called Sleazy’s.

~“I don’t like this, Vetus.”~

~“Neither do I. Better protect her.”~

I watched as they ran across the road, laughing and joking. The club swallowed them, and I found a back door and entered. The place stank of sweat, and the music was so loud my ears hurt. How could they stand it?

I spotted them buying drinks at the bar.

“Bottoms up,” Misty shouted, and they downed the drinks and moved to a dance floor, teaming with people.

It was hard to find a spot where I wasn’t constantly bumped, but I was tall enough to see over the crowd. A few drunken girls stumbled over and asked me to dance—I turned them down quickly, keeping my eyes on Misty.

Different-colored lights flickered through the haze, and every few seconds, I caught glimpses of Misty—frozen.

One moment she was spinning, the next locked in a perfect frame, like a snapshot burned into my vision before she vanished into motion again.

And then she was gone.

I scanned the crowd but couldn’t see her.

Perry and Dawn were dancing together, but where was Misty?

Then I heard her, and for a split second, panic bloomed in my chest before I tamped it down. I fought my way through the crowd, pushing people aside when I found her.

The little fuckers had surrounded her. I couldn’t stop the growl that erupted from my chest.

Grabbing the human boy closest to me, I flung him against the wall and moved a step closer to Misty, who was fighting off a guy much bigger than her.

He grabbed her by the hair, and my sanity went out the window. I ploughed through the youngsters and ripped Misty away from the fucker in fury.

“Go home now,” I growled at her.

She shook her head slightly and pointed the way I had come.

I did a double-take. A throng of humans had squeezed into the hallway, some of them wielding knives, others guns, which wasn’t a problem for me—but it was for Misty.

Behind me was the side door I’d snuck through earlier. With a sharp kick, it flew open, slamming off its hinges and crashing into the parking lot.

I had to keep my little witch safe.

The hallway exploded into chaos behind us, and the fight spilled into the lot like a burst dam—dozens of them, some armed.

I didn’t want to kill any of them.

Shots rang out.

Screams followed, and more people piled out of the club and ran in every direction.

One blade missed Misty by inches, thunking into the doorframe. I stepped in front of her, body low, fists clenched.

They came at me hard.

One lunged with a broken bottle—I caught his wrist, twisted, and drove my elbow into his face. Another swung a pipe. I ducked, swept his legs, and stomped his chest as he hit the ground.

Two more tried to come from the sides—I spun, grabbed one by the collar, and slammed him into the other.

They kept coming, but humans were child’s play for me.

More gunfire popped in the distance, wild and uncontrolled. I snatched up a fallen knife and hurled it clean into the thigh of a guy trying to flank us. He dropped, howling.

The pavement was slick with spilled drinks, blood, and shattered glass. By the time the last one hit the ground, the parking lot looked like a battlefield. Most of them were unconscious. The rest were groaning, crawling, or too scared to move.

Dawn, Perry, and the redhead—whose name I still didn’t know—stood frozen in the doorway, eyes wide.

I turned to Misty, grabbed her arm, and gave her a gentle shove.

“Go. Now.”

She nodded but looked shell-shocked. Dawn grabbed her hand and they ran across the road.

~“Hmm, definitely the mate bond at work…”~

~“She is key to breaking the curse. I can’t have something happening to her,”~ I said defensively, but Vetus just chuckled.

~“She wasn’t lying, you know,”~ Vetus said.

~“I know, but the knowledge must be hidden somewhere in her brain.”~

At least I hoped it was.