Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) (5 page)

Julia laughed, her throaty cackle sending a shiver up my spine. “What do I think you can do for me? More than I can even start to explain, Amelia. To start, though, I want you to marry my son. I want you to consummate your marriage and I want it to happen soon.”

Her words had me reeling backwards. Physically, I stumbled, but Micah caught me before I fell. I wanted to shove him away from me, but he whispered, “The game, Amelia,” into my ear and I gritted my teeth as I allowed him to steady me.

I looked up at Julia, her sense of victory emanating from every pore. I wanted to blast her with everything I had. To yank off the cuff, call on the wind to send the Hunters scattering, and pin her to the wall in the way she had done to me. I wanted to watch her smile disappear as she fought to breathe, just as I had done.

Clearly, the Keeper still had some impact, even from her locked room inside me.

Instead, I allowed a slow smile to develop. I squeezed Micah’s hand and took a step toward the Queen, bringing him along. I pushed my power through me, sending a slow wave of energy from my core outward, allowing it build.

“You can force this betrothal. You can force a marriage. But you cannot force me to consummate anything.” Pressure built at the base of my skull and I saw the reaction from the Hunters in my peripheral vision, confirming my eyes were shining in the Elder violet no one had seen in years. My eyes never left Julia’s as I continued. “I am not enslaved to you like these Hunters, or an AniMage who fears for their life. You need me. We both know it. Which means you do not have all the power here.”

Micah pulled me into his chest just as she exploded. Red fire shot from her palm, missing me by a hair. “That,” she said evenly, “was intentional. I will not miss a second time.”

Adrenaline coursed through me and I took a half step forward, while Micah tried to pull me back to him. “Be careful, your highness. If there are so many things you need me for, you’re going to want me working with you, not against you. And it is my choice to make.”

“So this is how it is going to go, is it, dear? I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re more like your mother than I thought possible.” Julia turned to Micah. “You had best figure out how to control this one, son. If you don’t, I will.”

She turned and walked back into the house, the lines of Hunters falling in behind her.

Chapter 5

“You
have no idea where Cole lives, do you?” Bethany asked as she tried to maintain a straight face, but her tone and arched eyebrow gave her away.

I looked around, the adrenaline from my declaration and our departure demanding action. The problem was, she was right. “I’ve actually only seen him at the gym,” I confessed.
Busted.

She laughed. It was a welcome melody amidst all of the insanity and emotion surrounding me the last few weeks. It was like an exhale. I had been inhaling for so long, pulling it all in, straining my lungs and holding the air for fear I might not have another breath to take. But the normalcy of a girl laughing, with her hands on her hips and her eyes shining, it was all the air exiting in one huff, leaving me empty in all the best ways. I smiled back at her and it felt good. Not in the romantic, secretive way it had been with Amelia, but good to know there was someone who got it. Bethany understood the overwhelming madness and was ready to fight with me. Right now, all I needed was someone on my side.

“Come on. Let’s check the gym first and then we can walk to his house. I know where he lives and it isn’t far.” Bethany shook her head as she led me down the sidewalk. I picked up my pace a bit to catch up and then slowed so my leisurely strides ate up two of her quick steps.

As soon as we came up to the gym, I could tell Cole wasn’t there. The kids who were usually beating the bags inside were standing outside with their hands cupped around their eyes, looking in the windows, trying to figure out what was going on.

I tapped Joey on the shoulder. “Hey. What’s up?”

He looked back at me, recognizing my voice. “Oh. Hey, Aidan. We came to train but everything is locked up. It's been like this for a few days. Mr. Cole never leaves everything locked up. He would at least hand the keys off to Trey.”

Trey was nineteen and probably the most responsible kid in the neighborhood. He’d been coming to the gym since Cole opened it and was a mentor to a lot of the younger kids, who otherwise would have been hoodlums. He stood near the corner of the building, and once he caught my eye, gestured me over with a quick flick of his chin toward the back alley.

I gave Bethany a look and she started chatting up the boys. They were all around thirteen, and the attention of an older, pretty girl had them distracted in seconds. She caught my eye and gave me a look telling me to get on with it already, so I jogged around the corner.

“What’s up, man?” I gave Trey the customary handshake, half-hug and stepped back.

Trey was a little squirmy. He paced back and forth just a few steps at a time before I finally reached a hand out and stopped him. With my palm on his chest, Trey looked up at me, his fear apparent. “Hey,” I said. “Dude, you can tell me. Where’s Cole? What do you know?”

“You’re not going to believe me. No one will ever believe me. Aidan, these
people
have been coming around.” Trey stopped, looking left and then right again. I couldn’t help but notice the way he'd said “people,” like he wasn’t sure whether it was the right word. Immediately, I was on alert.

“Cole hasn’t been around much and I’ve been pretty much taking care of the shop,” he continued. “But these guys…they’ve been coming in almost every day and asking about him. They came five days straight last week. And then Cole finally showed back up. I tried to tell him, but he acted like it was no big deal.”

Trey’s eyes grew round, his pupils dilating and the color draining from his face. I softened my tone and took a step back. “Hey, man. It’s okay. Just tell me what happened.”

He nodded, the motions jerky. “I know. I know. They came back last night, after Cole was gone, and they yelled at me, wanting to know where he lived. I didn’t want to tell them. I tried not to, Aidan, you have to believe me. But they…no way, you won’t believe me.” Trey turned and started quickly walking away, his strides close to running and his hands shaking. I ran after him, matching his stride. As we got to the end of the alley, I stopped him, wrapping my hand around his bicep and turning him to me.

“Trey,” I warned, “if something happened, I have to know what. I can’t help Cole without the facts. I don’t give two shits whether you think I’ll believe you. There is more going on here than you’ll ever understand, so you just need to be out with it. Now.” Those last words came out more like a growl. I stayed calm and kept my voice level, but I did not let him look away, making it clear this was not a negotiation.

He must have gathered as much because he immediately started talking. And crying. “Oh, man,” he said, collapsing against the wall behind him. “Man, they just wouldn’t stop coming at me. I tried to kick them out, but one of the guys grabbed me and when he put his face close to mine, he...” Trey looked around again and his voice dropped to barely a whisper, “he wasn’t human, man. His eyes looked like a cat’s and they were blue—like, blue on fire. They hadn’t been blue before. And he growled at me. Growled. Like…like an animal, man. I had to tell him. I didn’t have a choice. You know?”

It was a sucker punch to the gut. He could have been describing me over the last week. Right now, it was clear Cole was in more danger than Trey.

I crouched down next to him. “Trey. Hey, man, look at me.” When Trey’s eyes met mine, they were filled with unshed tears. Guilt and fear radiated from him. “It’s not your fault, Trey. You did what you had to do. And Cole can take care of himself. I’m going to go now and check on him. It’s going to be fine, alright?” Trey just kept staring at me, not acknowledging a word.

I held out a hand and nodded to him, encouraging him to take it. He finally did and I pulled him to standing. Still holding his grip, I looked Trey dead in the eyes and said, “Understand this, Trey. I’ll deal with Cole, but there’s a group of kids out there who need you. I know Cole trusted you with the extra set of keys, even though you don’t use them, but you need to now. Let the kids in. Open the gym. You saw what’s out there right now and these kids don’t need any part of that. Okay?”

I watched as the change I needed came over Trey. He stood taller, his eyes sharpening as he cleared his throat and gripped my hand in return. “Yeah, man. I’ve got this. Don’t worry. You just gotta make sure Cole’s alright.”

I nodded once more and we turned back toward the front of the building. It was all I could do to maintain a steady pace when everything inside me was screaming we needed to get to Cole—fast.

It
took a few minutes to disengage Bethany from the kids. She smiled and laughed as they tried to play tough and one up each other. It was the positive attention they needed, but we needed to get out of there. Finally, I cut Joey off mid-sentence, telling him we had to go. I grabbed Bethany by the arm and started to walk away, but I should have known better. She let me get about three steps before she stopped, hauled off, and punched me in the shoulder.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she hissed as I let go of her arm to rub my own. Damn if someone didn’t teach that girl exactly how to deliver a right cross. I turned to look behind me, making sure the boys weren’t watching. They were too busy jumping up and down while Trey unlocked the front doors. He turned and gave me a tentative smile. He would take care of the gym, I had no doubt.

“Calm down, princess,” I started.

Bethany cut right in. “Don’t call me that. Cole calls me that and I hate it,” she said, sounding insolent and more childish than normal.

I quirked a brow but decided to let it go. More than likely, it wasn’t in my best interests to ask questions.

“According to Trey, a group of guys have been coming around looking for Cole,” I explained. “Guys, um, like me. After he resurfaced, but wasn’t actually at the gym, one of them roughed up Trey and gave themselves away. Eyes changing, growling...pretty much everything but the fur.” We were already walking fast in the direction I assumed Cole’s place was, but Bethany picked up the pace even further.

“Dammit. Just…DAMMIT ALL TO FREAKING HELL!” she yelled, clenching her fists as she charged forward. I don’t think she was talking to me necessarily, but she kept talking all the same. “I’ve had it. Had. It. If Elias and his damn monkeys touched Cole, I’m going to skin every single one of their disgusting hides and let my daddy hang them on his cabin wall. Elias told us they would control themselves, that he would control them.” She huffed, our speed and her outburst catching up to her.

We turned a corner and I started to ask more about Elias when Bethany gasped. I followed her line of sight and looked up at an apartment with nothing but windows facing the water. Every light was on and we could see the room inside was destroyed. We both took off running at the same time.

“Which unit?” I yelled over my shoulder.

“203,” she yelled back.

Normally, I would have tried to slow to her pace but this wasn’t about Bethany, this was about Amelia’s brother. I had her by thirty yards as I pushed my way into the building, sprinted up the steps, shoved the unlocked door open mid-stride, and burst into the room, ready to battle.

The adrenaline had unleashed the beast and I was instantly more aware of everything. My skin felt too tight and the lights in the room had me squinting against their brightness. I could smell everything. Sweat. Fur.
Blood
. And something…off. There was a smell I recognized, but couldn’t name, and it sat heavy in my nose. I prowled through the room, a low growl escaping every now and then as I fought off the change but tried to embrace the senses it gave me. The main living area was wrecked.

I was pushing through broken dishes, upended lamps, and overturned furniture when Bethany finally made it into the apartment. “It’s clear. No one’s here,” I called. I didn’t search out the blood, not wanting to worry her since we wouldn’t know whose it was. She didn’t respond and I turned to find her standing in the center of the entryway, staring. Her head moved all the way left and then right. I took a few steps toward her when she suddenly jumped.

“Oh my god! Charlie. CHARLIE! CHARLIE!” Bethany started screaming out the name and it took a moment for me to remember who Charlie was. The dog. The giant Great Dane who had been with Amelia on the beach. The one who had known what I was before I even really knew what I was, and well before Amelia did. Bethany tore through the apartment, wrenching open doors and screaming his name, but he was nowhere to be found.