A Witch's Fury (7 page)

It was a satisfying beat-down to deliver, but
it wasn’t enough to knock him out. He launched me away from him,
his hands on my shoulders as he used his momentum to shove me. I
flew out of the ring, tucking and rolling against the hard
concrete, feeling my shoulder take the brunt of the impact
painfully.

A small whimper escaped my lips. I lay
exactly how I had fallen, holding my stomach and braiding down the
pain, a trick I’d long coveted and now was teaching to other
succubi like me. When our emotions are too raw, too powerful, it
helps to imagine the sensations as corded rope. From there the
concept of braiding is easy, the mental exercise keeping us from
inadvertently influencing entire rooms.

Slowly, I sat up, pain throbbing in time with
my heart. Tyler reached me first, panic in his eyes.

“Shit, I am so sorry,” he said, taking off my
headgear with rough movements. I spat my mouthpiece out, grinding
my jaw together.

“Dammit to hell!” Sonny yelled. “My insurance
can’t handle this!” He rushed up, first aid kit in tow.

“Relax, I don’t think it’s broken,” I
hissed.

“Olivia!” I heard my name being screamed out
of more than one mouth.

“What?” I groaned out, peering up through
squinted eyes at Kass, Darren and Logan. How did they know where to
find me?

Logan reached me first. He removed his coat
mid-stride, draping it over a bench press before he squatted behind
me. He rested his hands lightly on my waist, heat from the touch
seeping throughout my exposed torso.

“Alec, check it,” he commanded.

“Don’t hit me,” Alec instructed me, settling
to his knees on the concrete in front of me.

“No promises,” I groaned out. He pressed his
warm hands into the tender flesh of my abused shoulder.

Over his shoulder I saw Tyler, eyes wide,
sweating profusely, worry etched in the lines of his forehead.

My back arched, my body wanting away from the
pain he was inflicting. A scream firmly trapped between my lips, I
couldn’t stop my head lolling back onto Logan’s shoulder.

“Almost done, Olie,” Alec comforted, pulling
on my wrist quickly while applying pressure to my dislocated
shoulder.

I sucked in air, ready to launch at him, but
thankfully Logan’s hands tightened on my hips, pinning me in place.
I exhaled in a pained whoosh.

“You need to ice that.” Alec stood, easing my
weight up as well, careful to steady me.

“Alpha, I am so sorry. We were just screwing
around,” Tyler rapidly explained. He was clearly not sure whom to
be more afraid of, me or Logan.

“It’s fine, Tyler,” I groaned.

Kass elbowed her way to the front, “Why are
you here, Olie?” Her sharp gaze didn’t miss my underweight form.
The hurt from my ignoring her was evident.

I sighed, seeing no use in dragging the
announcement out. “Blake is getting married.”

“Oh.” She looked as shocked and confused as I
felt.

“I thought you guys were an item?” Alec
asked, handing me a towel.

I shook my head, “Nope.”

“Oh,” Alec said, copying Kass as he looked me
over again, or rather, checked me out this time.

“Don’t get any ideas,” I growled. “I am still
unstable.”

Alec smiled and gave an almost bashful shrug.
Logan growled behind me.

I figured I might as well shift my annoyance
to someone who deserved it. “What are you doing here, Logan?”

“You get cleaned up, let’s grab lunch.” He
obviously ignored my question, also noticing my recent weight
loss.

I shrugged, heading towards the locker room.
Kass was right behind me. She was upset, to put it mildly.

I waited until I was in the shower and
couldn’t see her to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“He’s getting married? Already?” she
screeched, giving my thoughts a voice, having finally processed the
information.

“Yep.” I didn’t want to dwell on it.

“Do you think he was seeing her the whole
time?” she asked. Her annoyance had shifted from my avoidance to
him, thankfully.

“I hope not.” I hadn’t dreamed of that
possibility.

“Shit Olie, he is such an asshole!” She
stomped her foot for emphasis.

“It doesn’t matter what he does now, Kass. We
are done and over,” I told her, or was I telling myself? I wasn’t
telling her Mal thought it was forced. That would give her hope,
and that was the last thing I needed. Hope was dangerous.

“I guess.”

“How are you feeling?” I needed a topic
change.

She groaned, “Like shit.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I missed you, Olie.” Her voice was earnest
and I paused in the shower.

“I know, Kass, I just—I just had to get away
for a while.”

“I know,” she answered sadly.

I came out of the shower dressed in a tank
top and a clean pair of jeans. I hated that I was the reason for
the tears in her eyes.

“Shut up. It’s the hormones,” she
claimed.

“Okay.” I pulled her in for a hug, ignoring
the real reason.

…

Logan had an ice pack waiting when we exited
the locker room.

“I’ll see you both at the restaurant,” Kass
stated, taking Darren’s hand and heading outside.

Logan strapped the pack to my shoulder over
my tank top with a practiced ease. His hands lingered longer than
they should have, his warm touch stirring a lonely misery I wanted
nothing to do with. He guided my arm to rest against my waist and
his gaze fell on my injured wrist. Shaking his head, he said, “You
love trouble.”

I shrugged. “I ducked when I should have
shot.”

He finished wrapping the gauze around my
forearm, smoothing the edges of the bandage. Looking down at me
with a mixture of irritation and interest, he pulled my bag over
his shoulder.

“Let me drive,” he asked, or maybe commanded.
Either way I liked being driven around so I handed over the
keys.

“You know where we are going?” I questioned,
waving to Kass as we exited into the midday sun.

“Yep,” he answered.

I yawned, “Lead on, I’m starved.”

…

Someone had clearly relayed my passion for
pizza. As we spread out around a circular table in a pizzeria that
smelled divine, I inhaled deeply, moaning.

“When was the last time you ate, Olie?” Kass
was trying for nonchalance, but her worried tone wasn’t lost on
me.

I shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t remember.”

“You look thinner,” Logan commented, putting
the menu down.

“I’ve been busy. But enough about me, why are
you three hunting me down?”

Logan shifted in his chair and Kass stared
daggers at him. “Actually, Kass, why don’t you tell me,” I amended.
“It’ll be so much faster.”

“Lorraine is spending Logan into debt.” Her
disgust was plain.

“How did she get access to his money?” I
asked, picking up a piece of bread the server delivered. We
interrupted our conversation to order.

Logan cleared his throat, “She is handling my
personal finances, so I can focus on the shifters properly.”

“Handling you into bankruptcy.” I laughed at
my own joke.

He didn’t share my mirth, so I went on. “How
many personal bills could you possibly have, anyways?” Grams
handled all of my finances.

“A lot,” he informed me cryptically.

Rolling my eyes, I turned to Kass with a
shrug. “I’m okay with him being poor.”

Kass huffed, “He is borrowing from us. Darren
just started his new personal security business and Logan’s
incompetence is making my life fucking miserable.”

Darren rubbed the bridge of his nose and
Logan said nothing. The fact that they were brothers was
undeniable. In addition to the strong set of their jaws and the
natural tan I was so jealous of, they also carried themselves with
an unmistakable confidence—although in Logan’s case, I like to call
it his asshole-ness.

“Why can’t Kass do your books? You handle
Darren’s at home, right?” I suggested.

Kass narrowed her eyes at me. “I do.”

“And you are managing to avoid bankruptcy,” I
confirmed.

“We are doing just fine,” her eyes narrowed
further.

“I like it,” Logan said stuffing his face
with bread.

“Why do I have to babysit his poor
decisions?” she groaned, annoyed.

“I’ve been asking myself that a lot, and the
only answer I come up with is because you married Darren.” I
shrugged. I had at least made my peace with the fact the shifters’
future and my own were now firmly intertwined.

“Ugh, so true. You were never so involved in
the shifter sphere.” She rubbed the back of her neck, shifting in
the chair uncomfortably with her growing belly.

I licked my lips greedily as our food was
delivered.

“Have you seen Jerry?” I asked, biting down
into the greasy cheese pizza.

Kass nodded, casting a sidelong look at
Darren. “He and Mark are having problems.”

“That sucks,” I said. “I need to talk to him
about the witches. Those crazy assholes are practicing all over my
territory.”

“What are they doing?” Logan asked.

“Nothing too out of the ordinary, from what I
know. It’s just been some time since I’ve stumbled across their
circle with blood sacrifices. Granted, it was a goat and a chicken,
but my gut tells me there’s something behind it I’m not going to
like.”

“Have you talked to Garrick?” Kass asked,
changing the subject away from sacrifices while we ate.

I shifted, uncomfortably.

“You haven’t forgotten about the upcoming
meetings?” she pressed.

I groaned, “No, I have not forgotten about
The Conferences or who will be there.” The Conferences was the
largest gathering of Supernaturals in the world. This year it was
being held stateside and saving me a fortune on plane tickets.

I had to go. It was part of the job and one
of the duties assigned to me.

“It’s just a breeding ground for drama and
fights,” I groaned, snagging the last slice of pizza off the
pan.

Logan grunted and I chose to take that as
agreement. “It’s a necessary evil.”

“Are you going?” I asked Kass.

Darren answered, placing a hand protectively
on her stomach, “No.”

Kass gave him an annoyed glare. “I can answer
for myself.”

Darren shrugged, returning to his meal. “I
can’t help it. You and the baby are throwing all my protective
instincts into overdrive.”

“Aww,” I teased, laughing when Kass leveled
her glare at me. “Don’t worry, Darren, I wouldn’t have let her go,
either.”

“Seriously, do I have no free will, you
fucking assholes?” She slammed her drink down.

“Yes,” I answered, figuring I was better
suited to take the heat than Darren, “but you are ours to protect
and taking you to The Conferences is dangerous. Just be happy
Darren doesn’t cut up your food.”

Darren smiled at Kass. “He tried,” she
answered blandly.

“It’s all from a place of love,” I assured
her.

She huffed, ignoring me good-naturedly to
pick up eating again.

“Who is Garrick?” Logan asked, munching on
his meat lovers pizza.

“He’s a vampire who runs the western
territory, my counterpart on the Supernatural Council. I would have
thought you’d met him, being leader of the entire U.S.”

Logan thought about that. Casting a look at
Darren, he cleared his throat. “The alphas of the western US deal
with things themselves, they don’t subcontract with the Council
like we do here.”

I nodded. “Interesting. I wonder if he knows
the revenue stream he is missing.”

“You two actually get along?” Logan
asked.

Kass choked on her water. I smiled, “It’s a
complicated relationship.”

Kass snorted, “Last time you two were in the
same room, it had to be evacuated.”

“We made up.” In his bedroom, several times
over. “To answer the question, Garrick leaves me alone and I leave
him alone. The only time we see each other is at The Conferences.
We handle our situations differently. He’s much better at politics
than I am.”

Logan chuckled, “That isn’t a great
feat.”

“True,” I admitted, leaning back in my chair.
“What are we getting for dessert?”

Thinking of Garrick had my mind shifting back
to Blake and all the things I wished I could forget.

“I’m thinking at least one of each,” Kass
purred, looking over the dessert menu propped on the table.

“I like the way you think.”

Chapter 6

Kass
had been right. Mark and Jerry were having serious issues.

Logan went with Kass and Darren after lunch
and I headed over to the historical district close to downtown. I
hadn’t thought to call ahead. I probably should have.

I had stopped mid-knock, waiting outside on
their porch, listening to the slamming and the yelling. I could
feel the anger, fear, and pain radiating from the house. I was
debating coming back later when the door flew open and Mark fled
the scene. If he saw me, it didn’t slow his progress.

I waited off to the side of the open door,
expecting Jerry to run after him. I think Mark did as well, as he
stared at the open door from his car, with misty eyes and labored
breaths. Slamming a hand against the steering wheel, he threw the
vehicle into reverse and fled the quaint house they shared
together.

Blowing out a breath, I secured my own
emotions behind thick barriers before crossing the threshold
uninvited.

“Go away,” Jerry groaned, standing at the
cart bar and pouring himself a drink. His bloodshot eyes took a
moment to focus on the fact it was me and not Mark.

“Wanna talk about it?” I asked, closing the
door softly behind me. His eyes followed the door painfully until
it clicked shut.

“No,” Jerry whispered, his dark skin a
contrast to the cream sofa he fell onto.

He no longer resembled the carefree youth I
had met not too long ago. Before me now was a weary soul who, like
me, had done and seen too much. The scars left behind didn’t leave
much room for the love of a good partner, like Mark.