A Wicked Good Witches Paranormal Romance Books 1-7 (Wicked Good Witches Seasons) (22 page)

William was at first apprehensive about separating, but after a moment agreed, when the only sound he heard was the lady-hiker, humming. She had stopped somewhere nearby. “Be careful,” he reminded the brothers.

“You too, William,” said Charlie. “There is a wolf out there.”

“I can handle myself. If you have forgotten, I’m toxic to wolves as well.” He let his fangs drop and chomped his teeth at them. The brothers rolled their eyes, but knew he was right. His bite would end the life of a werewolf in minutes. Very long agonizing minutes for the wolf. But wolves knew vampires could kill them and didn’t typically choose to pick a fight.

They each took off and began combing the area in search of any clues.

Michael took out his crystal and placed it in the center of his palm. He’d cast a spell on it to search for signs of magic. To seek out things like magical energy from spells used recently, or nearby. He stepped cautiously, letting it spin in his palm. It found nothing. This comforted his nerves only in the aspect that it didn’t appear any magic had been performed in the area recently, therefore, most likely it was coincidence that the alpha had been in White Pines. But it was maddening that it picked up nothing at all. Nothing that led him to believe this was really the location of the Isle’s power source. Surely the crystal would be picking up some magical signal. But with each step, nothing.

William dashed a great distance, covering a larger circumference around the brothers. But had no luck finding anything, and was pleased that he did not come across any scents he did not recognize as either animal, plant or human. No scent of a wolf. Nothing to indicate the alpha had come anywhere near the tree. At least, not in its wolf form.

About fifteen minutes into his search, Charlie whipped his head around peering into the woods after hearing what sounded like an animal, growling. He sniffed into the air, but did not smell anything unusual. And when he saw or heard nothing else, he shook it off and continued.

After a few more steps, he froze again. The crisp snap of a branch breaking somewhere close by cracked through the air.

“Michael? William?” he called out in a loud whisper. There was no reply. It’s possible Michael could not hear him, but William would have.

His eyes widened. A spot of what looked like gray fur moving between two trees. He sniffed, but didn’t smell a wolf.

Flowers. He smelled flowers. Pine from the trees. Decaying brush and ground debris.

Another movement. 

Charlie eyes narrowed in on the target, his wolf transforming him into a hunter now stalking his prey. He crouched, aiming his silver spheres into the woods, searching for the gray fur. A growl formed in his throat. He swallowed it, keeping silent.

His head flicked to the side. Gray fur. Bending up and down as if leaning over and picking something up off the ground. Charlie crept forward, attention on his target.

With each step, his head grew hazier, memory of what he hunted, fading. Legs faltered, knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

An intoxicating smell filled his nostrils, overwhelming all his wolf senses. The monster lurking inside him couldn’t care less about searching for the alpha. It wanted whatever made that smell.

It took everything he had to get back onto his feet. He shook his head trying to remain coherent. There was something familiar about this scent.

Never mind the God damned smell.
Find the wolf.

But that smell…
his mind argued.

A growl flitted through his lips. He needed to find out what created that smell. He wanted more of it.

The wolf. The wolf. The wolf.
His human mind shouted somewhere deep in his brain.

Gray fur, just in front of him.

He lunged toward it, stopping himself just before landing on it.

Just a gray fuzzy sweater,
his human mind warned.

The hiker.

The hiker turned around. “Eva!” Charlie’s voice came out in a sinister growl.

“Holy shit! Charlie Howard. You scared me half to death!”

Seeing a familiar face did not tame his wild side. His wolf senses tingled. He stepped closer, a menacing stance shouting silent threats at her.

“What are you doing out here?” His demand was unkind. 

Eva stepped back, pointing apprehensively to a basket on the ground. “I’ve been collecting flower specimen for my father. What’s wrong with you, Charlie?” Her feet moved backwards in an attempt to put some space between them. But with each step she took back, he took one forward.

“Why are you here?” he asked again, disbelieving her explanation about picking flowers. Silver slits bore into Eva’s wide hazel eyes, each look he cast a warning for her to tell the truth. She swallowed a stammered response he didn’t hear. 

The intoxicating smell filtered through his nostrils, seeping into his throat and nothing else mattered at that moment… he needed to find the source of the smell. He needed to possess whatever caused it.

He crouched down and sniffed the flowers she’d been picking. He swept the basket away with his hand spilling out the contents within. He stood up, stalking closer to Eva. She backed into a tree, her eyes taking quick swipes to each side, looking for an escape. Charlie could hear her heart, strumming faster and faster. 

“They’re medicinal,” he heard Eva saying. 

Her voice sounded distant to him.

He could only focus on the smell. A fragrance that enticed him, filled him with unbridled need, to a point where he might even kill for it.

Eva kept talking. “My father uses them to make herbal ointments, like the one I’m using to heal my leg.” She pointed at her still bandaged leg.

Charlie cast his gaze down for just a moment.

“I know they’re illegal to pick, but I didn’t think I’d be doing any real damage just picking a few,” Eva continued rambling.

“Stop. Speaking.” Charlie ordered severely. He moved so close to Eva she had no chance of escape. His muscular frame towered over her. 

She refused his order. “What’s wrong with you, Charlie?” Her voice, purposely soothing.  It sent a wave of awareness and clarity into his mind. 

“Don’t move, Eva,” he pleaded.

He leaned his head against the tree just above her shoulder, the wolf and human sides of his brain in a battle for control.

Eva reined in her satisfied smile. So far, her experiment was working perfectly. She seemed to have found the perfect dose to do her damage. To make Charlie Howard lose control. To free the wolf.
When the moon rises tonight, I will own him.

“It’s you. Same as the cave,” Charlie growled. The hunter returned, overpowering his human side. The addictive smell winning the attention of his wolf. He stared into her eyes, blinking hard.

“What the fuck?” Her eyes weren’t a soft hazel any longer, more of a golden yellow. He shook his head again. Blinking hard. Nothing looked right. Everything was blurry. Wrong. His wolf sight had never failed him before. It was like his sense of smell was the only thing working.   

Eva put her hand daringly onto his face, stroking his coarse whiskers; it brought a low rumble of a growl out of him. She didn’t worry about her eyes changing color. Charlie’s mind was so befuddled he’d never remember or think it real, later.

Charlie grabbed her hand meaning to push it away, but instead tore the sleeve of her sweater and laved his tongue up her arm, needing to see if the taste of her was as intoxicating as the smell.

She gasped, her body stiffening.

He grinned wickedly. Good. Eva hadn’t expected that.

What she hadn’t expected was her wolf’s reaction to the act. It shot a surge of electric pulses wherever his tongue licked her skin, leaving behind a trail that burned.

It had happened in the cave as well, her wolf wanted to come out and play. She was tempted to let it.

No. Not yet.

If he finds out too soon…
it will ruin everything.

Charlie had never experienced anything like it before. A complete loss of control. His actions taken in and taken over by just one desire.

The tiniest bit of his human mind raced frantically, trying to regain the upper hand.

If it was night and the moon risen, he knew without a doubt he would surrender to the wolf. It waited, just under his skin as if counting down to the moon rising. He would not be able to stop the transformation.

Stop it? Why would I want to stop it?
He’d never felt such need to allow the transformation to take place. To uncage the wolf. 

Charlie’s breath came out in deep pants, a feral snarl flitting through his parted lips. He tore the rest of the fuzzy sweater off Eva, leaving just a thin tank top to cover her. He forced her arms above her head, pinning them against the trunk of the tree.

He leaned in, threatening to connect his teeth with her skin. He licked the lengthening canines pushing out his lips. Eva exhaled, a shudder of fright sending Charlie into a frenzy.

“You should be afraid of me…” His exposed teeth pinched across her neck. A sinister snarl plastered doom against her skin. 

Shit. Shit. Shit.
Eva held her breath.
Too far…
  

Charlie wanted to bite into her flesh. Needed to tear skin off her body and rip her to shreds. Maybe he should let her go…
yes, let her think she can get away from me
.
Give her a few minutes head start.
This thought excited him. Aroused him.

He loosened his grip and then changed his mind, tightening his grasp on her arms.

Eva swallowed hard, feeling her captor’s growth hardening against her stomach. Its lusty throb ground into her abdomen. She pushed right back wanting to feel it. Wanting his thick lust to press lower.

Why did I just do that?
He’s about to rip my damn throat out.
She was having all the wrong reactions to this experiment meant to test Charlie’s defenses. Not hers.

She’d barely been able to get her yellow wolf eyes to change back to her human hazel. This test needed to end, now. It was an epic fail. She’d lost her control over him. And still, her body reacted to him in every wrong way.

Not my body. My wolf.

She hadn’t planned for this possibility.

When it happened in the cave, she thought it was her wolf feeling a little frisky. She’d almost told her father but decided against it. That might prove a fatal mistake now.

Even with these thoughts swimming through her brain, her wolf had a mind of its own. Her breaths came out rushed and needy.

Charlie recognized this reaction. It wasn’t fear.

So she likes it…
he wanted to see the fear back in her eyes. A snarl swept through his teeth. His mouth widened in warning, his tongue caressing his teeth, his mouth watering just thinking of eating her.

Eva closed her eyes, bracing for the bite.
Fuck. This isn’t going to end well.
Stupid bitch,
she berated her other half as it continued to encourage him. His tongue licked her skin from neck to cheek and she let out an ecstatic moan. Teeth clamped onto her shoulder.

Eva had no idea which side was winning at this point. She felt equal amounts of fear and desire.  

Charlie’s arms lifted, pulling hers higher. She winced, bare arms scraping against bark, her toes just touching the ground. 

His legs centered between hers, pushing her limbs apart, her feet leaving the ground. She was trapped unless she freed her wolf. She didn’t have enough strength to fight him off her in human form. Her human half screamed silently to beg him to stop, but the wolf wanted to feel his bite. She’d never had her two halves want the opposite thing. Maybe that wasn’t right. The wolf wanted him, but if she was honest, God damn it, so did her human side. But not like this. Ending up dead was not part of the plan.

His teeth tightened against her skin. He needed to taste her flesh. To have it on his tongue, in his teeth. Nothing else mattered. Just one, delicious, bite…

“Charlie. Devin. Howard!” a hardened voice called out.

It was William.

Charlie ignored him.

“You must stop!”

Charlie whipped his head to look at William and let out a savage growl.

William rushed Charlie, slamming him to the ground. He reached down and grasped Charlie’s throat, threatening to choke him.

“Do. Not. Make. Me. Hurt. You.” William spat out venomously.

Charlie kicked and pulled at William’s arm, unable to free himself. His only thoughts revolved around killing Eva Jordan. Sinking his teeth, ravaging her milky skin with globs of red. 

He gnashed and chomped his teeth, aiming his bite at the vampire. If he didn’t calm down, and accidentally bit William, the vampire would be dead in minutes. This didn’t deter William from pinning Charlie to the ground, his icy grip holding firm around his neck.

Michael appeared, out of breath.
Holy shit.
His eyes were wide with confused dread as he witnessed William nearly strangling Charlie, his brother in a rage unlike Michael had never seen before. His eyes swept to Eva, her gaze frozen on Charlie.