Shamelessly Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 2) (21 page)

The drive to the studio was one of the most stressful trips
of my entire life. I’d never heard Melina sound that vulnerable, and I wanted
to kill whoever had made her feel that way. I was desperate to get to her and
cursing the long drive. I’d busied myself at the beginning with calling Julia
to go over to my house to stay with Mr. Whiskers. Julia had kept me on the
phone much longer than she needed to for something as simple as agreeing to
condor-sit, and I suspected it was because she was worried about me.

After finally getting off the phone with Julia, I drove
through the transport tube before calling Dylan.

“Hello,” Dylan answered in a distracted tone.

I could hear Sam’s loud purring through the phone, so I
suspected Dylan was home alone with Allie’s new familiar. That kitten was
incredibly needy.

“Hey, Dylan,” I began and then hesitated because I wasn’t
sure what the hell I wanted him to do for me.

“Trev?” he asked, immediately sounding focused and alert.
“What’s wrong?”

I took a deep breath before beginning. “There’s been another
murder. Another actor from
Night High
. Fuck, Dylan. I have no clue how
I’m supposed to keep Melina safe. I’m terrified that something is going to
happen to her, and I hate that I can’t be there for her all the time.”

“You really love her, don’t you?” he asked.

“She’s my witch,” I said simply. “I know it’s hard to
believe, considering how many witches I’ve been involved with, but it’s true.
Melina is it for me.”

Dylan chuckled. “I believe you, my friend. You’ve never said
any witch was the one before now. Yeah, you’ve been fascinated and even claimed
they might be the one.
Might
is the operative word. Even when you were
first chasing after Mel, you never once indicated that she was your witch, just
that she drove you crazy and you had to have her.”

After considering what he’d said, I realized Dylan was
right. While I’d been the type to jump in with both feet, I’d never once been
convinced any other woman was the witch I’d spend the rest of my life with.
Melina was it for me, and that made all of this even harder. “It’s my fault.”

“What’s your fault?” Dylan asked.

“Melina being in danger,” I explained. “It’s also my fault
two people are dead. If I hadn’t been such a selfish ass, one of my crazy
ex-witches wouldn’t be out killing people.”

“I love you like a brother, but you can be a real dumbass at
times, Trevor.” Dylan sounded exasperated. “I understand why you’re beating
yourself up about this, but you have to know this may not have anything to do
with you.”

“Then what else could it be?” I demanded.

“It could be a crazy fan,” Dylan pointed out. “There might
be someone who worked on the show with a vendetta. It might even be one of the
witches who are upset over the way the show portrays witches.”

“Or, it could be one of my exes,” I insisted. “That’s the
most likely scenario. In fact, all the evidence points to that conclusion.”

“You’re right,” Dylan admitted. “It probably is one of them.
Hell, it might even be one of the clingy ones you were an asshole to near the
end. That doesn’t mean it’s your fault they went off the deep end and started
killing people. Getting your heart broken doesn’t give you the right to go on a
killing spree.”

Dylan did his best to keep me on the phone as I made my way
toward Melina. I could only assume he was as worried about my state of mind as
Julia.

I was almost at the security gate to the studio lot when a
thought occurred to me. “Can you help me find someone to guard Melina? The
network added extra security, but I’d feel better if someone was watching her
more closely. I’d offer to take time off from work so I wouldn’t have to leave
her alone, but we both know how she’d react to that suggestion.”

Dylan chuckled. “Do you honestly think she’s going to react
any better to you hiring a bodyguard for her?”

I thought before answering. “Yeah, I think she’ll be fine
with it. Melina can be stubborn, but she’s smart. When it comes to magic, I
don’t know many people more powerful than my witch, but it might be a good idea
to have someone with some brute strength if it’s needed.”

“I have an idea,” Dylan began. “This will help you, and it
will also make Allie happy. Do you trust me to send you someone capable of
taking care of your witch?”

“Of course,” I assured him.

“Good. I’ll talk to the guy I have in mind and see if he’s
willing to take the job.”

“Thanks, Dylan,” I told him. “I owe you one.”

“Any time,” Dylan said before ending the call.

I made it past security at the gate faster than I’d
expected, considering the recent murder. Then again, they were used to seeing
me. To say the studio was a mess would be a huge understatement. The shade
police were there, but all I got was a nod from Detective Anson as I passed
him, which was a relief since I needed to get to my witch.

When I finally spotted her, I was amazed at what I saw.
While I knew she was upset about the actor’s death, she was comforting the
other cast and crew. I stood there, watching her, unsure if I should walk over
and risk breaking her focus on remaining calm. When her eyes landed on me, she
excused herself and hurried over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist, and
burying her face in my chest.

“Take me home, Trevor,” she breathed out.

Home. She’d asked me to take her home, and despite all the
stress of the day, that one word made me breathe a sigh of relief because it
meant my home was becoming our home.

It had been a rough night, so I’d quietly slipped out of bed
and gone down the hall to shower, hoping I wouldn’t wake Melina. Since she had
a meeting at eleven, I figured I’d wake her in an hour to make sure she ate
before she left. I hadn’t heard back about the bodyguard, or even mentioned it
to Melina yet, and I couldn’t reschedule my own meeting this morning, which
meant Melina would be alone. She’d already made me promise not to ask Demetrius
or Ralph to go with her, but I was seriously tempted.

Julia had spent the night since it had been so late when
we’d gotten back. I’d just finished dressing when I heard Julia yelling at
someone near the front of the house. Cursing under my breath, I hurried toward
the foyer to see what was going on.

I found my sister standing toe to toe with a mountain of a
man. Julia wasn’t short, standing at five-foot-ten, but this guy had about
eight inches on her. His blond hair was pulled back and secured with a leather
tie, and he had a neatly trimmed beard.

“Listen up, girlie,” the giant began, and I saw my sister’s
fists clench in reaction to his tone. “I’m not in the mood to play twenty
questions.”

“What the hell is going on?” I demanded, drawing everyone’s
attention. The giant turned to face me, and I met his almost yellow eyes. When
I noticed the way his sleeve hung empty on the left side, my gaze dropped,
recognizing who this was. I decided I’d have to kick Dylan’s ass later for not
warning me he was sending a half-crazed werewolf to help protect my witch.
Gryphon was one of Allie’s pet projects, and to the best of my knowledge, he
hadn’t left the trailer he lived in for years.

“I’m not going to lose my shit if you look me in the eyes,”
Gryphon stated, and I heard the amusement in the werewolf’s voice. When I
looked up, Gryph’s eyes were no longer yellow; they were a pale shade of green,
meaning he’d gotten his temper under control.

“Something tells me Allie’s puny little warlock didn’t tell
you I was coming,” Gryph remarked.

“Must have slipped his mind,” I responded dryly.

Julia wasn’t looking any less pissed than she had when I’d
walked in, which made me wonder what Gryph had said to set her off. Julia
tended to be the most even-tempered of my sisters.

“Julia, this is Gryphon,” I began the introductions. “Gryph,
this is my sister, Julia.”

“Can you explain to me why Goliath was pounding on your
door? Or perhaps, you could help him remove his head from his ass so he can
explain it to me. Apparently, the question was too difficult to answer when he
arrived.”

Gryph’s eyes flashed with anger when he spun on Julia.
“Someone needs to teach you some manners, little girl,” he growled.

“What would you know about manners?” she demanded, getting
in Gryph’s face again, or the middle of his chest more accurately. He’d have to
bend over for her to get in his face.

“Enough!” I shouted, which had them both glaring at
me
.
I figured it was better if they were pissed at me rather than arguing with each
other. I needed to fix Melina breakfast before a conference call, so I didn’t
have time for this. “Gryph is going to help guard Melina.”

“Did you plan to ask me what I think about that?” Melina
asked, stepping into the foyer.

“I’d planned to discuss it with you after you woke up,” I
assured her, and turned, expecting to see an angry scowl. Instead, Melina gave
me a sweet smile.

“That was a very thoughtful idea,” she began.

“Are you about to tell me you don’t need a bodyguard?” I
asked.

She shook her head. “Actually, I was going to look into it
today. I’m still annoyed that you did it behind my back, but I’d likely do the
same thing in your position.”

Damn, I loved this witch!

“I talked to Dylan last night and asked if he could help me
find someone, and he sent Gryph,” I explained.

“How you doin’, Miss Melina?” Gryph asked with a grin that
made him look somewhat less formidable.

“I’ve been better,” she admitted. “I’m surprised to see you
here.”

“To tell the truth, I’m surprised myself,” he admitted.
“When Allie said she needed me to do some bodyguard work, I told her to contact
someone with the pack since they do that sort of thing. Who the hell wants a
damaged werewolf to look after their safety?”

Julia snorted. “Someone break out the violin for Gryphon’s
tragic tale.”

My gaze snapped to my sister, unable to believe she was
being that rude. Even more shocking was that she didn’t look the least bit
apologetic.

Gryph laughed, which was not what I’d expected. While this
was the first time I’d met the notorious werewolf, I knew quite a bit about
him. He’d been his pack’s top enforcer until about five years ago when there’d
been a brutal pack war. From what I’d heard, that wasn’t as uncommon as most
would think. In this case, Gryph had lost his arm in the battle. Had they
managed to save the arm, it could have been reattached. Werewolves needed
little in the way of medical intervention to reattach a limb. Unfortunately for
Gryph, the enemies of their pack had destroyed his severed arm. Werewolves
weren’t very accepting of those they perceived as weak, and Gryph had been
forced to leave the pack. Allie had met him when he’d been considering killing
himself, and she’d adopted him. Allie had a tendency to do that sort of thing.
The reason I was surprised with Gryph’s reaction to my sister’s nasty comment
was that his missing arm had been enough to make him contemplate suicide. It
had ended his life as he knew it, and it was considered a weakness among the
werewolves. Yet, here Gryph was, laughing at her accusation that he was
wallowing in self-pity.

I was about to say something to my sister, when Gryph spoke.
“You got a man to warm your ass until you learn some manners? Or, would you
like me to take care of that for you? I only need one hand, and it would be my
pleasure to handle that task.”

Julia’s mouth dropped open.

When Gryph inhaled deeply, a shudder ran through his body.
“Yeah, I like the sound of it just as much as you do, girlie. Say one more
sassy thing, and we can both have what we want.”

As Julia’s older brother, I was torn on how I should react.
On the one hand, I didn’t like seeing Gryph coming on to my sister. On the
other hand, I was pretty sure he wasn’t really coming on to her, but merely
trying to prove her bitchy attitude didn’t bother him. At least, I assumed that
was the case. Still, I had no interest in finding out if he’d follow through
with his threat.

“I’d recommend keeping your mouth shut, Julia,” I warned.

Julia let out an annoyed huff. “Fine! You deal with the
mangy wolf. Do you still need me back tonight to watch Mr. Whiskers?”

“Possibly,” Melina replied. “I guess we’ll need to discuss
Gryph’s schedule first.”

“Why don’t you come by for dinner?” I suggested.

“Okay, I’ll be back at five,” Julia replied. “I’ll bring
Oliver in case you need me to stay again. He had a blast playing with Mr.
Whiskers last night, so I’m sure he’d be okay with another play date.”

“Where are the familiars?” I asked, surprised they weren’t
in here sniffing Gryph. Julia’s familiar, Oliver, was a beagle who tended to
lose it whenever a werewolf was around.

“They were chasing after a pair of bunny slippers,” Julia
explained.

“Bunny slippers?” Gryph asked with a snort of laughter.

“Yes,” Julia told him with a sweet smile. “Try to fight your
natural instinct to chase after them.”

“I’m working hard to fight my natural instincts,” he assured
her, and this time my sister laughed.

“Sorry for being a bitch,” she told him. “I’m not much of a
morning person. If you want to avoid my sassy mouth, as you put it, you should
probably stay away from me in the mornings.”

“Damn,” Gryph muttered as my little sister made her way out
of the room.

I did not like the way he was eyeing Julia, and there was no
denying I acted like an idiot at times, which was the only explanation for what
I said next. “My sister likes women.”

Gryph raised an eyebrow, waiting for clarification.

“She dates women,” I told him.

“You’re an idiot,” Melina stated.

I couldn’t argue that point. “Can we pretend I didn’t just
act like an ass?”

“You mean, can we not tell Julia what you said?” Melina
asked with a grin.

“Yeah, that,” I told them.