A Cursed Embrace (WG 2) (33 page)

Danny removed his glasses and cleaned them against his shirt. “Look at this way. If you planned to take over the earth, would you risk leaving any trace of evidence that could possibly implicate you? Or warn the good guys?”

I honestly never thought to make the world my playground. Yet I knew what Danny meant. “No. I guess not.”

I shuddered. It was a frightening time. The world as I’d known it had become a hellish nightmare almost overnight. Not only did humans continue to disappear, but many powerful witches had gone missing, and
were
numbers persistently dwindled. In response, Elders nationally expanded their Dens to become safe havens for the remaining
weres
and their families, while head witches grouped their covens.

The wolves never discussed the details of Alliance missions, but my sisters and I knew their assignments were explicitly dangerous. After all,
weres
as young as fourteen were being used as assassins. Some didn’t make it back.

C
HAPTER 26

“Get the
hell out of my house!” Taran screamed.

Gemini’s tone carried the hurt Taran’s words had caused him. “Taran, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Just leave. You’re going to do it anyway. You might as well do it now!”

I hurried down from my bedroom, confused and worried about what could have caused her to react so viciously. The wolves had returned after an almost-two-week absence. Taran and Gemini should have been locked in her room, not fighting in the kitchen.

Gemini had his arms around Taran. She shoved against his broad chest, trying uselessly to push him away. “I won’t leave you, Taran,” he said gently. “I love you.”

Taran stopped struggling and sobbed into her hands. “It doesn’t mean shit. You’re going to dump me, just like that asshole dumped her!”

Gemini tucked Taran into his shoulder and stroked back her dark hair. “No. I won’t,” he promised.

Taran continued to cry in his arms. I was going to return to my room when her retort halted my steps. “He broke her heart,” she whimpered.

Gemini looked up at me then. “I know.”

I could have picked up the house and thrown it at them, sick of their relentless pity.

I’d started to growl when Liam bounded down the stairs. “Hey, Ceel,” he said, oblivious of the fact that I was about to gnaw on Gemini’s eyeballs. “We just ordered food from Lakeside Pizza. Come with me to pick it up.”

I didn’t want to go with Liam, but begrudgingly agreed so not to upset Emme or crush Liam’s feelings. My loneliness made it difficult to be around my sisters and their wolves. I found excuses to leave the house when they were around. My actions upset my family and had strained our relationship. They probably thought I was incapable of being happy for them, but they were wrong. The wolves were just a constant reminder of what I’d had and lost.

Liam drove with the windows down, allowing the unusually warm October breeze to hit our faces. We were waiting for our pizzas when the door opened, and I was struck by a scent that threatened to stop my heart.

Aric froze the moment he saw me. Only at the insistence of the gorgeous blond
were
clutching his arm did he slowly move toward us. It was the first time I’d seen Aric since he’d left me and, my God, it hurt to see him with
her
.

She was tall, almost as tall as Aric. Cascading waves of shimmering blond hair swept down to her elbows, while her short red dress showed off her ridiculously sensual curves. As for me, I still wore my sports bra and shorts from my earlier run and hadn’t showered.

The
were
bitch pretended I wasn’t there. “Hi, Liam,” she said.

Liam stiffened and answered with a nod. Aric continued to stare at me, just as he had from the moment he walked in. “Hello, Celia,” he said.

At the sound of my name, the blonde tightened her grip on Aric’s arm and finally acknowledged me. Oh yeah, I had her attention then. The scowl she initially greeted me with was quickly replaced by a condescending little grin. “I’m Barbara.” She paused to lick her lips. “Aric’s fiancée.”

Aric closed his eyes and let out a pained breath. But you know what? It couldn’t have possibly compared to the pain I felt. The crumbled remains of my heart sank to my stomach. “Of course you are,” I said through gritted teeth.

I stalked out the door and into the parking lot, stopping only to dent the mailbox in with my fist.
Fiancée.
Aric had a
fiancée
after only a few weeks. We’d been a couple for more than
five months!

Rage and grief sent a tidal wave of tremors up my body. My encounter with Aric and his fiancée had torn the scab off my emotional wounds. I had tried not to picture him with anyone else. But now I knew, knew what she looked like, knew what she smelled like, knew that she now shared his bed.

I turned when I heard Liam. He fumbled with his car keys while juggling eight pizzas in his left arm. “I’m sorry, Celia. I’m so, so sorry. I had no idea they’d be here.”

Liam apologized the entire way home. I was too busy fuming to talk. As soon as we arrived at the house, I stormed up the stairs.

“What happened, Lee?” I heard Emme ask. “Why is Celia so upset?”

“We ran into Aric and Barbara,” Liam muttered.

“Who the hell is Barbara?” Taran asked.

“Aric’s fiancée!”
I screamed at the top of my lungs.

•   •   •

“Dude! He has a fiancée?”

“That son of a bitch.”

“Oh, gosh, Liam. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Yeah, Koda. You must have known. We could have told Celia gently. It didn’t have to be like this, dude!”

“Stupid, insensitive bastard.”

“What were you boys thinking?”

“Angel, Aric asked us not to say anything,” Liam said.

“So you just listened to him?” Shayna argued. “This is Celia we’re talking about, not some stranger. Didn’t you think she had a right to know?”

Apparently not.

I fell back onto the bed, draped an arm over my eyes, and firmly reminded myself that I was done crying. Downstairs, Taran had momentarily stopped swearing. I could almost picture her glaring at the lot of them when she spoke again. “Well, it’s pretty damn obvious where your loyalties lie, right, boys?”

“Taran, please calm down,” Gemini said. “Aric didn’t want to hurt Celia more. He’s been waiting for the right time to tell her.”

“There is no right time!” Taran was officially screaming. “Shit, after what he did to her, he’s a goddamn coward for not telling her to her face!”

“Do you think this has been any easier on Aric?” Koda growled. “If you only knew how he felt.”

“I don’t give a damn how he feels,” Taran shot back. “
He
walked away from
her
, not the other way around.”

“She’s right, puppy,” Shayna said, a little more calmly. “Not to mention he’s got that fiancée of his to make him feel better. Who does Celia have?”

“She has us,” Emme said gently.

Emme was wrong. My connection to my sisters was waning, in part because I no longer felt needed. They had their wolves to keep them safe and to be strong for them. But I did have someone else, someone with a presence too commanding to ignore.

I rolled toward the nightstand and reached for my cell phone. Misha had begun calling a few days after Aric left. When I first spoke to him, it was during my angry phase. I yelled at him for tasting my blood. Instead of becoming defensive, Misha merely stated that my gruff voice sounded sexy. His retort had stunned me like usual. And while I knew I should keep my distance, my loneliness had made it impossible.

Out of all my sisters, Shayna was the most disappointed by my reconnection with Misha. Koda had her convinced that vampires, especially Misha, shouldn’t be trusted. Misha’s true intentions remained to be seen. Yet I looked forward to our talks and our interludes at the local ice cream shop. It was the only time my mind wasn’t flooded with thoughts of Aric. It also helped my fragile self-esteem to know someone wanted me, even if Misha didn’t precisely need me.

I hit the speed dial, ignoring the escalating argument downstairs. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

Misha paused before answering, “I take it you have learned of the mongrel’s engagement?”

Why am I the last to know?
I ran my fingers irritably through my hair. “Does it matter?”

“No. Expect me at seven.” Misha disconnected.

I went downstairs and snagged an entire pizza for myself. No one attempted to speak to me. They watched, and waited, for my much-anticipated meltdown. I took a huge bite and swallowed.

“If you’d like, I can probably smash some dishes or boil a bunny in a pot.”

That was their clue to look elsewhere.

I finished my snack and went upstairs. After I showered, I called my sisters to my room.

They entered slowly when they saw me wrapped in a towel with my arms crossed. “I’m going out with Misha tonight. Will you help me get ready?”

Taran’s face lit up. “You’re damn right I will.” Her heels pounded down the stairs on her way to raid her closet.

Shayna let out a disappointed sigh. “Is this really what you want?”

“No, but I can’t have what I want, can I?”

Shayna averted her gaze. Perhaps the hurt and anger in my eyes were too much for her. Emme placed her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll support you,” she said quietly. “Here, I’ll help you straighten your hair.”

She led me to the bed and plugged in the flatiron. With gentle sweeps of a brush she dried my hair to silky perfection. Taran returned with an extremely sexy and revealing outfit for me. She slipped me into a silky black dress that plunged low in the front and back, making it impossible to wear a bra.

I fidgeted and fumbled with the cleavage, debating whether I had the ovaries to wear something so daring. Taran raised her brows upon taking in my hesitation. “Does it really matter if you go braless?” she asked.

I glanced at the floor for a moment, thinking about who was taking me out. “No. I guess not.”

Emme finished straightening my hair and Taran applied my makeup. What little I allowed her to add brought out my green eyes and full lips. Shayna didn’t participate, but she did smile and pinch my backside when she saw me. “You look hot.”

I glanced in the mirror while putting on the diamond earrings Misha had given me.
Okay, maybe not hot, but definitely vampy.

I walked downstairs just before seven. The wolves did a double take. Liam outright gawked. “Going out tonight, Celia?”

I played with the fastener on my earring. “Mm-hmm.”

Koda frowned. “And exactly who are you going out with?”

“With anyone she damn well pleases,” Taran countered.

Gemini hurried over to me. Seeing as how males didn’t exactly beat down my door to date me, he knew precisely whom I intended to meet. “Celia, please don’t do this.” His uneasy expression implored me to reconsider. “It would devastate Aric to know you were with Misha.”

My lips parted. I couldn’t believe Gemini had brought up Aric. And I especially couldn’t believe he tried to guilt me into sparing his feelings. “Aric doesn’t have to know about this. I’m not meeting Misha to hurt him.” It was the truth. I wasn’t a petty or vengeful person. I was just a person with a broken heart, and one who needed to forget the memories that ailed me.

“He’ll know,” Gemini answered.

I frowned. “I don’t want him to.”

“He has a right to know!” Koda snapped. “Shit, Celia. Aric
hates
him!”

I threw a palm out. “Why? Because Misha is a vampire? Or is it because he’s a male who desires my company?” The wolves collectively tightened their jaws, giving me hard stares, but refusing to answer. Something was up. And damn it, I needed to know what. I met their judgmental glares with equal frustration, my tigress giving my tone an extra boost.
“Just tell me.”

Koda leaned back on his heels and crossed his arms. It was clear he didn’t want to say anything, but he finally did. “Misha hurt someone Aric cared about deeply. He’s never forgiven him for what he did to her.”

My back stiffened. So Aric had cared for someone else. No wonder he’d abandoned me so easily. The jealousy that seared to my bones made me defensive. “That has nothing to do with me. I’m not that girl.”

Koda’s furrowed eyebrows relaxed. “No, you’re not,” he admitted. “She’s dead.”

My sisters gasped behind. I remained still as stone.

“M-Misha killed her?” Emme sputtered.

Koda watched me carefully before answering, “Aric blames him for her death.”

“That’s not the same thing as murdering someone, Koda.” I spoke with conviction, and Koda didn’t deny it. In truth, I didn’t know. Misha was a vampire, one with enough clout to easily kill or order someone’s death. Except more than once I’d seen the man behind the fangs, the arrogance, and the sin. No, Misha hadn’t killed Aric’s love. This, I was absolutely sure of.

Liam dropped his head, low enough for me to count all the spikes in his rock star hairstyle. “Celia, please don’t do this to Aric.”

My bruised heart throbbed cruelly. How had I come out the bad guy?

Taran stomped to my side, jabbing her finger in the air at the wolves. “Forget Aric and his goddamn feelings.
He
left
her!
” She released her rage. The flowers in the vases ignited in blue and white flames, boiling the water so hot the vases shattered.

Shayna’s head whipped to Taran. “Dude, calm down!”

Taran’s blue irises paled to white, her face barren of any reason. “Don’t tell me to calm down!”

I raced into the kitchen, grabbed the fire extinguisher, and sprinted back into the family room. Koda growled in wolf. I’m not sure what he said, but the charred smell of his anger coated my tongue like ash. The others were finishing batting out the flames on the couch and failed to recognize his rising fury.

Thunder exploded outside, shaking the entire house. Taran’s ire had reached a climactic crescendo, with no descent in sight. Koda stormed toward Taran and clasped her shoulders. “
Stop
. You need to stop
now
.”