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1065 Words
“Did he piss her off? You should never piss off a witch. That’s basically a death wish.”
“I know. I know. I did try to warn the poor i***t when he told us who he was in love with, but there was nothing to do. It was too late. He had already made Jazmin some promises.”
“Okay, back up a second. This shifter made promises to a witch? Did he break her heart?”
Ethan flinched before nodding.
“Ah, fuck.”
“He fell for her hard and fast. I’m still not sure how they crossed paths, but I guess that doesn’t matter. Gus met Jazmin, and the next thing I knew, he was asking me for permission to marry her. I warned him off, of course.”
“Because she’s a witch?” Ruby asked. “If you were against her simply because she was a witch …”
“No! I just knew that it was young love. Powerful but easy to fade. Besides, we didn’t know anything about her or her people. I thought it best if he took things slow. He disobeyed. Proposed to her anyway. A few days before the wedding, Gus came to see me. He told me he had met his true fated mate.”
“It wasn’t Jaz, was it?”
He shook his head. “Why would it be? That would have made my life entirely too simple.”
“Right. So how did Jazmin the witch react?”
“How do you think?” he grumbled.
“She went apeshit and cursed him into the next century.”
“Again, that would have been too easy. She didn’t only curse Gus. She cursed the whole pack.”
“What?” Ruby gasped. “No! She didn’t.”
“Oh, but she did. She cursed all of the Adair wolf pack.”
Ruby nodded. “Wow. Note to self, do not mess with witches. Though I could have told you that without that nice little cautionary tale of yours.”
He laughed dryly. “Nice? Little?”
“Sorry,” she snorted. “When you’re involved with Hell on a daily basis, you get a little biased about the nature of all living things, human and paranormal alike. What I consider a bad day might just feel like the end of the world to another creature.”
“Well, now I’m here to find a witch that will help me end the curse.”
Ruby shook her head. “You’re gonna have a hard time finding a witch who will want to work with you on this.”
“What? Why? A full pack was cursed because of one wolf’s misdeeds.”
“He basically left her at the altar for another woman. Of course, she cursed him. Any other witch would have done the same, and you won’t find one who will have sympathy for you. Sure, most of the witches would’ve kept the pack out of it, but that’s the Lovelace coven for you.”
“Great. So other covens won’t help?”
She pondered this. “Maybe a witch without a coven would, but that has its own set of dangers. I would suggest you find a warlock to help you instead.”
“Isn’t their magic a bit different?”
“It is, yeah, but it might be your only shot. I only saw a couple of witches here so far, and both of them are looking for love. Do you think they’ll look kindly on your story?”
“I could always lie,” he said.
“You want to lie to a witch when asking her for help? Are you insane? No. You cannot do that. Look, I have a few connections in the witch circles. A witch owes me a favor.”
Ethan’s reaction was slow, but it was still powerful enough to make Ruby shiver. He slowly turned his head toward her. His jaw dropped inch by inch before he snapped it shut. “How does a witch owe you a favor?”
“Do you really wanna know?” she asked.
He pulled a face. “Do I? Or am I gonna run for the hills when I hear this?”
“Those hills are haunted,” she pointed off into the distance, beyond the water’s edge, where a few large mountains raised out of the water, trying to grow toward the inky sky. “You won’t like it, but I don’t care. It’s the truth, and it’s part of my job.”
“It has something to do with s*x and souls, doesn’t it?” He blanched.
“Yup. I’m a succubus. That’s what I do. This witch had a bone to pick with a warlock, so she asked me to use my succubus powers to send him right to Hell.”
“And you did it?” he asked, shocked.
“Well, yeah. Now a witch owes me a favor. That is some powerful currency. It’s not exactly something you’ll find for sale in the resort gift shop.”
“And you would just be willing to hand it over to me?” he asked, confusion folding his handsome face with concern.
“Not for free, no.”
“There it is,” he joked. “You demons are always looking to make a deal.”
“It’s part of our DNA, or whatever it is that makes use tick. I’m actually not sure what makes us go, but yeah. We are always looking to make a deal. Now, a favor from a wolf shifter doesn’t have as much prestige as a witch, but maybe we can sweeten the pot.”
“How? I like my soul where it is, thanks. And it’s not like my pack is made of money. We’re not dragons or vampires. We do okay, but I’m not a billionaire.”
“I’ve been alive since before sliced bread was all the rage. Do you think I need money?” She waved him off. “What I would want might be a tad more complicated, but let’s pause for a second.”
Ruby slowed her walking pace, and Ethan did the same to match her strides. She slipped her hand in his and interlaced their fingers together. He stilled and blinked down at her, confused.
- Writer
