Magic Pussy_Age of Night Book Five Read online

  “Shall we head back? We have enough wood for the day,” he said, although they'd only gotten about half of what they'd planned on chopping.

  The previous winter, they'd run out of wood and had to buy some, which was ridiculous, given the fact that Aisling owned the whole damn forest around the lake. This year, they'd started to schedule work shifts. They'd gotten experts to come have a look at their wood, as none of them knew much about forestry. Apparently, a good bunch of their trees could be cut on the southeast side. They were supposed to clear the entire area, then plant new trees and attack another side the following year.

  It looked like they'd have enough wood for a few years just out of that parcel of land, so they were going to sell the rest. The alphas had liked the news: prides had a tendency to diversify their income stream.

  Luke didn't mind the work. It was considerably less boring than patrolling in a territory as peaceful as theirs had been recently, for one.

  But today, he wanted—needed—to head back early. See why Rain's scent was all wrong. Not that he could do much about it, frustratingly. If she'd been pack, he would have given her a little well-meaning hug and patted her head, demanding to know who he was supposed to punch.

  But she wasn't.

  He still needed to be at the house, though.

  Ian laughed. “You head back. I'm staying. Tell everyone I sent you early to check the fridge and go shopping for me. I'm cooking tonight.”

  Luke perked up. Ian was a legend behind a stove.

  Then he frowned. “Why would I lie?”

  The enforcer shrugged. “Fine. Tell them you needed to see Rain and couldn't possibly wait four hours. See how that goes.”

  Ah. That made sense. “Forward me the shopping list, would you?”

  Home

  "Hey guys, I'm home!" Rain announced jokingly as she entered the main living room of their main pride house.

  And yet it didn’t feel like much of a joke.

  For the last five years, Rain had traveled the globe, rarely staying put for more than a month.

  In the old days, "home" had been the LA apartment she'd shared with Ace, Faith, and Vivicia, but three years ago, Ace had moved to Lakesides.

  Rain used to visit sporadically, but since the Wyverns had busted into Ace's life, they'd truly made the place a home. Something in Rain was at peace around their little group, although she was but an outsider.

  “Auntie Rain!” Victoria squealed, rushing to tell her all about the hair product that had changed her life.

  Victoria was of African descent, like Rain, so along with pouty lips, mahogany skin, and big eyes, they'd inherited impossible hair. Rain's wasn't much of a problem; what was the point of being a witch if one couldn't tame a few curls? But when Victoria was left to her own devices, she was prone to hiding in the bathroom with a pair of scissors and chopping off her curls, rather than brushing them.

  Now, the girl had an inch of neat curls. Rain had bottled up some of her own product for her during her last visit.

  “Thank you so much for that. I've been begging her to leave her hair alone for years,” said Christine, the only submissive in the pride.

  It had been a long time since Rain had seen her. Christine spent some weekends in Texas, in the territory of the Vergas Pack of werewolves. Her mate was helping out his brother during his transition as alpha there, holding the position of beta without really having the title.

  Rain and Christine had managed to miss each other the last few visits. Rain hugged her warmly, glad to reconnect. Christine was good people, like everyone in the pride.

  “Anytime. Make her tell me when she runs out, I'll ship some over!”

  The entire pride used to live in the house Rain had just walked in; it hadn't been a problem, it was certainly large enough, but shifters liked their privacy.

  Over the last few months, they'd revamped some cabins around the lake, and most of the pride members had moved there. Now, only the children, the Alphas, and one or two of the guys lived in the pride house.

  They still used the living room as their common space. Ariadna, Ian, Jas, Daunte, Clari, and Luke weren't present, probably patrolling the territory, but everyone else greeted her from the sofas, chairs, and windowsills.

  Rain immediately noted that Ace was watching her closely, eyes narrowed.

  She’d exchanged pleasantries such as “how have you all been doing,” and “did you finish decorating your cabin, Clari?” with the other members of the pack for all of six minutes, when the alpha female snapped.

  “Alright, enough of that. Tell me what's wrong.”

  Rain might have smiled in other circumstances. She was not surprised, and certainly not offended. Ace knew her too well, and she wasn't one to beat around the bush when she could feel that someone she cared for was troubled. It wasn't in her nature as a born alpha.

  “Oh, you know,” she replied vaguely, scratching her arm nervously.

  “I don't,” Ace stated plainly, before tilting her head. “Do we need to speak privately?”

  Rain sighed. She wasn’t used to this. Asking for help. She knew she could, but it was physically painful to make herself do it.

  To make things worse, she heard the main door open behind her, and she knew who had walked in.

  People had an aura, a distinctive presence as identifiable as their eye color or the shape of their chin. Rain could recognize most witches before she saw them, but shifters generally felt a little nondescript to her. The exception was Ace, who emanated a different aura, wilder and more intense. She could also identify Rye, Ace's mate, because his presence was immense, potent, overwhelming.

  And she also could recognize him. Luke.

  She didn't know why he stood out that way. He wasn't a super-alpha like the Wayland-Crosses. He certainly wasn't a witch. Maybe it was because he was European? Who knew.

  She knew very little about Luke. Unlike the other Wyvern, who had always merrily chatted around her, he'd barely said a word to her in their acquaintance. Sometimes, he glared at her. Other times, he stared. She could feel that he was somehow suspicious of her, mistrusting.

  Which meant he was smart.

  Feeling self-conscious with all eyes on her, Rain mumbled, “You know what? It's just something stupid. I can probably work it out myself...”

  “Rain, you've done my walls for years, you put yourself in the line of fire many, many times for me and for this pride. Whatever it is, say it, and it'll be done.”

  She hadn't doubted it.

  Rain bit her lip and Ace tilted her head.

  “Do I need to kill someone?” she asked without much intonation to her voice. She might as well have been talking about picking up dry cleaning.

  “No, nothing like that. It's just...” Damn, spell it out, Phillips. “A family issue,” she finally voiced.

  That got Ace's attention. Her eyes widened a little. Come to think of it, it was probably the very first time that she'd mentioned family to her over the course of their acquaintance. No wondered she was surprised.

  Ace hadn't asked. She respected her privacy; plus, she certainly had her own share of family drama, so she could understand why some people preferred to keep their history under wraps.

  "Alright," said the alpha female, still frowning. "Coffee or tequila?"

  Rain finally let a breath out. "Tequila. Make it a double."

  "I got it, lass," said a low, delightfully suave voice from behind her.

  Luke walked around her and headed to the open-plan kitchen on the other side of the room. She watched him walk away because what his beige pants did to his thick thighs and his ass was downright sinful.

  Realizing that everyone's attention was on her, she regretfully redirected her gaze towards Ace and explained. "My family is based in Nola. There are quite a few witches in the city--hell, most towns in Louisiana have their dedicated witches, really--and once a year, at the summer solstice, they all get together for one huge event. The head of all the clans in the state presi
des over a ceremony meant to replenish the power of all witches present. My grandma used to cast the spell, and my older sister, Michelle, was the anchor who took in all the energy and then released it. Now that my grandmother is dead, Michelle has to cast it. If I don't go and let her use me as the anchor, she'll use my little sister. That's not an option. Anchoring the energy of thousands of dead witches is dangerous for anyone. Me? It might knock me out for a few days. But it could kill Sara. She's just twenty, and she only started to display some aptitude for magic three years ago."

  “Would your sister truly use her if it’s that dangerous?" Rye asked, frowning.

  "Yes," she replied without any hesitation. “Witches from my family make the best anchors because we have enough power to hold in all the energy that's passed down."

  "Why just your family?" asked Luke.

  She might have glared, if he hadn't also been walking, handing tequila to the adults and juice to the kids, like a fucking drink fairy. He was good enough to give her two glasses.

  "We were the first witches of Nola. Our family traces back to Salem; during the hunt in the middle ages, there were two sisters of equal power. When their mother died, they decided that one of them should flee the city in order to preserve their line. The witches of Salem are elemental users. One stayed in Salem and built the largest coven in the world. The other one went to Nola. As a token, she took her mother's casket. When she settled in Nola, she found that her elemental magic wasn't what it used to be, but when she invoked the earth over her mother's grave, her mother's power flew through her instead. She was the first ancestral witch, Schuyler White. We're her direct descendants. Over the years, for one reason or another, other witches have been used as anchors; they even tried to have three, or seven anchors. It doesn't work nearly as well as using a White witch. I know Michelle. She won't care about the risk. This is her first ritual. She wants it to be a success."

  There was a slim chance that she was wrong, that Michelle's threat had been a bluff, but she wasn't taking the risk.

  “So, you're going,” Ace summarize. “How can I help?”

  Her mate shook his head and corrected, “How can we help?”

  Ace smiled at him in approval.

  "I can handle the ritual itself. The problem..." This was embarrassing, but she forced herself to spell it out. "I will have a lot of power in my grasp, guys. Like, a lot of it. And there's something in me that may not want to let it go. Performing magic as part of the Nola covens, manipulating the power I was born with, is addictive. I got out when I could before it changed me, turning me into something I'm not. I just want to make sure someone can drag me the hell out of there if I feel tempted to stay. Nola is my past. I don't want it to be my future.”

  Under the surface

  Pain was obvious in Rain’s every word. Luke wondered what had happened in her life to make her sound so damn sad when she talked about her home. He wasn't that melancholic when he was remembering his and how everyone he knew had been butchered by a megalomaniacal madman.

  Luke also wondered why he couldn't seem to loosen his fists or why he felt like punching something. And yet all of a sudden, one of his hands uncurled and reached out to her. Before he knew it, he was threading his fingers through her thick, luscious dark hair and pulling her close, giving her a half-hug.

  He let her go just as quickly. What the hell? They were not on hugging terms. They said hi and exchanged a grand maximum of seven sentences per day, for heaven's sake!

  Insanity.

  She looked up, her big, dark, mesmerizing eyes full of surprise.

  “Alright. We can do that. When's the ceremony? If you haven't reported back saying you're out a few days later, we come to drag you out,” Ace proposed.

  Luke found himself frowning, not quite satisfied with that solution. He would have preferred if his alpha female had just told her not to go, that her sister was probably bluffing, or that they'd get the kid, Sara, out of Nola if necessary.

  He opened his mouth to suggest just that when Clari intervened. “Or we could send someone with her?” she asked the alphas. “Sounds like that Michelle is a piece of work. It would be nice if someone had her back down there, especially if Rain needs to pass out after the ceremony.”

  “Good point,” Ace agreed, smiling at the beta female. “Thank you.”

  She glanced toward her mate, and Rye looked around the room.

  Luke fixed his stare on his alpha, as meaningful as he could be without saying a word. Inside him, his cheetah was practically clawing to the surface. It should be him. It had to be him.

  The corner of Rye's lip lifted when he watched Luke.

  “Maybe we should ask Ian?” he mused out loud. “He's scheduled to work as a lumberjack for the next two weeks or so. We can spare him if we call in for a temp worker.” He let a second pass, before saying, “Unless you don't mind delaying your vacation next week, Luke? You could go.”

  He could feel those damn enticing eyes turn to him, although he didn't glance toward Rain before nodding. “Sure thing. No problem. Always wanted to visit Louisiana, anyway.”

  If he was perfectly honest, he had, in fact, never thought about Louisiana in his entire life, but thankfully, no one thought to question it.

  Rain's scent was alright now. No, more than alright. Delicious. Tantalizing. Tempting. He wanted to sniff her hair and then maybe bite her earlobe...

  Luke managed to restrain himself with some effort. He knew most women of the non-shifting variety didn't appreciate getting sniffed. Or bitten. Not by guys they weren't into, anyway. Luke wasn't blind, he knew he looked good, and most girls thought so. They liked his body, his accent, his eyes, or some shit. Rain had never expressed any real interest, though.

  He was going to have to try to avoid making her uncomfortable the next few days. Stay cool and professional. Besides, he was rather wary of her. Her mysterious power, her vague answers. She'd said a lot more about herself today than she ever had, but he doubted that it was the end of the story. The last thing he needed was to get involved with another greater being. He'd learned his lesson. Mortals weren't meant to play with ultra-powerful beings like scions and shit. If Rain was anything like that, he should stay clear.

  Should.

  “When do we leave?”

  She sighed. "Soon. I want to stay here as long as we can," the longing was clear in her voice. "But the solstice is in five days, and I want to check out what's happening while I'm there."

  That didn't give him a lot of time to gauge the area and get a feel of who he was working against, but he acquiesced without voicing his concern, all the while wondering if he'd ever manage to say "no" to the lass.

  What was it with Rain Phillips?

  “Alright. We go in two days.

  Rain was insane. Two days later, he had proof of it.

  He’d started to suspect it when they’d arrived in town. Everything appealed to him, the jazz, the thick smell of spice, the scents from the river, the fancy balconies overflowing with plants and the colorful houses.

  “Why the fuck did you leave this place? It’s paradise.”

  It was perhaps a little too hot for his taste, but there was AC just about everywhere, so he could deal with it.

  The witch rolled her eyes. “Let’s reassess that statement in a week, shall we?”

  They headed to a small hotel run by one of Rain’s acquaintances. Why didn’t she just stay with her family? Back when he had a family, he'd stayed at his cousins', siblings', uncles', and distant, twice-removed, relatives' at the first occasion, even if he had to share a sofa with a cat.

  Luke was curious as fuck, but he kept his mouth closed. He was pretty sure that the problem wasn't a lack of room at her sister's place.

  "Michelle ain't gonna like you staying here, you know," the owner told Rain, confirming Luke's suspicion. "She'd want you under her thumb, especially now."

  "Which is exactly why I'm staying with you, Ma Curtis. I know you can take her on," Rain said with a wink
.

  The cranky old owner tsked, but checked them in nonetheless, before calling out, "Sophie! Amelia!"

  Two teenagers came out of the back, wearing aprons.

  "One of you, take Rain and her beau up, would you? Separate rooms, they say. They don't fool no one, but if they wanna play coy, I ain't gonna cry about it. It's their money to waste."

  So, the old lady was mistaking them for a couple? Interesting. Luke wondered why. Their mannerisms certainly didn't suggest it.

  "Rain? Rain White? Here!" one of the kids asked, while the other one gawked. "Fuck me sideways!"

  "It's Phillips, now," she said. "And watch your tongue in front of your grandma, Sophie."

  "Ma Curtis says fuck every hour," Sophie replied, rolling her eyes. "She doesn't mind, do you, Ma?"

  "I ain't got no business watching what comes out of your mouth, girlies. What with you being eighteen and all."

  The kids played a quick rock, paper, scissors, to decide who was leading them up. Amelia won.

  The rooms upstairs were clean and personable; the warm wood, bright walls, and fresh flowers on the windowsill made it all feel like someone's spare bedroom rather than a hotel.

  Amelia took them to Rain's first. Luke had a peek of beige linens and blue walls. His, situated right opposite Rain's, was painted red, with purple bedding. Somehow, it didn't clash.

  He dropped his luggage and headed to his en suite to wash away a few hours of travel. Coming out refreshed and in clean clothes, he found Rain talking to Amelia in the corridor.

  "Eighteen," Rain mused. "You guys have grown like weeds. I remember babysitting you."

  "And so do I! You were the best. Let us eat all the candy and stay up late."

  Luke could imagine that. She did spoil the Wyvern kids rotten, too.

  "Is it true that you'll be the anchor for the ritual?" Amelia asked in a hushed tone.