A Witch's Fury (25 page)

Logan growled low in his throat, “Losing you
gives us nothing.”

I raised a calm eyebrow at him. “The witches
needed Jerry for contacting the Fae. If they want to trade him,
then things are not going as planned.”

“Why do they want you?” Logan asked, his
caramel eyes hardened.

“Money, sex, drugs, more information on the
Fae. Fuck if I know.”

Mark watched our exchange silently, which was
really in his best interest.

“And you think giving them what they want is
a good thing?” Logan yelled at me.

“I think having Jerry being held hostage is
worse than me being held hostage. I can’t help him, Logan. But this
way, I can get him out without bloodshed. We are doing this.” My
voice hardened, daring him to try and fight this out with me.

Mark whined.

“Stop, Olivia,” Logan said, averting his
gaze.

“Uh, what did I do?” I genuinely wondered,
blinking my gaze away from him to check on Mark.

Mark cleared his throat. “You were acting
like a mated pair and I could feel your dominance through
Logan.”

“Huh, that’s new isn’t it?”

“Yes,” was the enlightening answer from
Logan.

I wanted to take issue with what he wasn’t
telling me, but we were on the clock. I got back on point. “Answer
the message, agree to the trade.”

Logan held his phone so tightly I thought he
was trying to break it. Finally, pissed off, he typed a quick
response before throwing the phone at me.

“Happy?” he hissed.

“No, Logan. I’m not.” I left out that broken
succubi like me don’t get to be happy. Our endings are like our
beginnings: bloody and brutal.

Instead, I handed him his phone, not looking
at it when it vibrated again. His stiff shoulders pulsated with
repressed anger. I stood with a huff, placing my hands on the skin
of his biceps, letting my emotions seep into him, my resignation
and possibly a little apology for pushing him so hard.

“How do they even know we are here? That we
tracked him?” Logan questioned, ignoring my touch.

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “It stinks of a
mole, to be honest, and I’m not sure whose House they’re in.”

“I will be okay,” I uttered, taking a guess
at what was bothering him, letting my confidence and peace with
this situation seep into him.

His shoulder relaxed slightly as he looked
into my eyes. Message sent. “Tonight at midnight, in the alley
behind the coffee shop.”

I have no idea what possessed me when I gave
him a small smile and caressed the side of his face, his stubble
pricking my fingers.

Thankfully, Mark was there to clear this
throat. “Guys, you are killing me here.”

“Sorry Mark,” I giggled, not exactly sure
what I was apologizing for. “Let’s order food. I’m starved. “

…

I had stuffed myself with every dessert item
on the menu, plus a grilled cheese that Logan insisted I needed to
eat. Whatever.

We sat together on the couch, me dressed in
my leather pants, soft white shirt, and matching leather vest. It
was a new addition from Myrtle and could hold almost double the
usual number of throwing knives. Not that I had any weapons on me
at the time. I was actually debating changing back into jeans, but
that seemed like a nervous twitch and I didn’t want to give Logan
any ideas.

Mark sat on my left, he and Logan both in
jeans, not needing more weapons than their claws and fangs. And
they wondered why I was jealous. Their legs leaned against mine,
protective and worried.

“We should go,” Mark stated tentatively.

I patted his leg and stood.

The walk to the coffee shop was
uninteresting, through the fancy lobby, past the glass doors held
open by a polite doorman. We made our way steadily and I wished it
could have taken longer. The “what if’s” were playing on repeat in
my head. What if Jerry was dead? What if the witches had already
contacted the Fae? What if I was leading the Alpha into danger?
What if, … ENOUGH. I had made my decision and I would accept the
consequences.

As we rounded the corner into the alley, my
eyes were drawn to Jerry on his knees, about ten paces in front of
several black hooded figures and Destiny, hood back. Smiling.

“So glad you could make it,” she greeted us
merrily.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” I informed
her. Her delicate laughter had me reaching for blades that weren’t
there.

“Now, now, succubus.” She smiled, throwing
her dark hair over her shoulder. “I knew the Alpha was too smart to
keep your troublesome ways around.”

Logan’s lips peeled back in a snarl. “Let’s
get on with it.”

“Fine, enough small talk. Send the demon
whore to Jerry.”

I walked without having to be told, keeping
my gaze trained on Jerry, whose lip was dripping fresh blood.
Reaching down, I helped him stand, balancing him when he
swayed.

His head dipped to my shoulder. “Forgive me,”
he whispered.

“There is nothing to forgive,” I whispered
back. “Can you make it?”

He nodded and I moved to allow him past me.
Mark struggled to stay next to Logan, pain etched deeply into his
face, as Jerry stumbled toward them. I turned toward Destiny, not
seeing the reunion.

But I did hear Logan command, “Get him to
safety.”

I steeled myself to walk to the witches, but
Destiny’s features darkened.

“What are you doing?” she shrieked at
Logan.

I turned, seeing him next me. “Logan, go!” I
hissed at him.

When I looked again, I saw that it wasn’t the
Logan I was used to interacting with. Seeing his lion peering back
at me, I gulped and quickly averted my gaze.

The witches fell back, leaving Eli sauntering
toward us, his flunkies not far behind.

“Logan?” I asked softly.

A growl was his only response.

Eli’s eyes were wild, and if I didn’t know
better I’d say his beast was running the show. The click of a gun
had me turning my head to Logan. The barrel of a large caliber
weapon rested against his temple.

“It’s fucking silver, bitch. Screw with me
and I’ll blow his head off. He won’t be able to regenerate.”

“What do you want?” I asked, unable to look
away from the gun.

“Fix him,” his voice broke with painful
emotions. “Fix my father, Eli.”

Slowly, I turned back as Eli circled in front
of me. “I can’t fix this.”

“You can and you WILL!” His desperation
turned into conviction.

Eli shifted into wolf. The transformation was
breathtakingly fast; not even Logan could duplicate it.

“They spelled him,“ the gun wielder
announced, “to make him shift faster. But it’s destroying him.”

Slowly, I lowered into a crouch.

Logan spoke one word: “Don’t.” His eyes
flashed with heated anger.

I shook my head with a groan and kneeled in
front of the shifter. His silver eyes held no human emotions, only
an idle curiosity. He turned and huffed to the man holding the gun
to Logan’s temple.

This was going to hurt. Resignation hunched
my shoulders as I reached out to fist my hand into his fur. A pull
from a shifter in animal form, while courting the possibility of
succumbing to the shifter’s beast, hurt.

A pull from the results of magical
enhancements, I’ll admit to being a little scared at that
thought.

Sucking in a long breath, I pulled the
wildness into my soul. My back arched of its own will, the animal
nature seeking a release. Fear, confusion, and hatred blasted
through me, finding a voice in my throat. There was too much;
behind my closed lids I could see the magic, watch what I pulled
out filling back up just as quickly.

Fuck.

I kept pulling, squeezing my eyes closed
against the pounding in my head, the pressure building from the
foreign emotions.

Grinding my teeth, I squinted an eye open and
saw my work have an effect as the silver eyes gained human
intelligence again. Stemming the flow of raw emotions, I tried to
wrench my hand free, finding that my fingers would not obey me. The
wolf snapped far too close to my face, the magic roaring into him
once again.

“Olivia, STOP!” Logan screamed.

Turning my neck took more effort than I had
in me. Still squinting, I saw Logan was free. With a heavy woosh of
air, I tried to release my hand again, finding it once more
refusing the commands I gave it.

The silver wolf snapped at my shoulder.

I had to get away. I had to dump some of this
rage or I would be worthless to get us out of this situation.
Terrified necessity had connections firing inside of me that I
didn’t take the time to understand, only encourage.

When the flow reversed into Eli, I was
shocked. A warning buzzed in my ears but I ignored it, expelling
all of the unfiltered, powerful hatred I had absorbed.

Granted, I pushed emotions all the time, but
they were my own and I played upon others’ existing emotional
states. This was different, and it was uncontrollable for me. The
rush drowned out all other noises, blinded my eyes yet again, and
forced another scream from my lips.

But it didn’t stop. My own emotions rushed
out, as pain, betrayal, and anger tumbled down my arm and into the
silver wolf. It was too much, the power of the witches fueling him
plus my own turbulent emotions. I felt his life force snap under
the brutal assault.

Gasping for air, I released the wolf, pushing
away from him, shock numbing me. I had killed him with a touch?
Where the fuck had that talent been hiding?

A distant part of my brain was worried. This
was succubus magic. This was my true magic.

Darkness blocked out the rest of my thoughts,
exhaustion claiming me.

…

I rolled over, my head pounding, knees
grinding against the harsh cement.

“Fucking hell,” I hissed, pulling at my
chained wrists. “Not again.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Logan answered.

“Seriously, they got us both?’

“Yes.”

“Crap, now who is going to save us?”

Logan looked down at me with a raised
eyebrow. “You typically free yourself.”

I sighed. “I was going to play the damsel in
distress this time, see if the sex was better.”

Logan laughed, pulling at his own chains.

“Mine are magic,” he informed me, holding the
chains to the minimal light for me to see.

“Mine aren’t.” I gave a tug but nothing
happened.

“Wanna try?” I asked, holding my chains to
him.

He shook his head. “I have a shorter
tether.”

I groaned.

A deep chuckle reached my ears and Logan
turned, not surprised to see a shifter with a striking resemblance
to the silver haired one I had killed standing in the shadows.

A little warning would have been nice.

“And you know what?” I added defiantly, “When
I get out of here I’m fucking killing the maker of these chains.
I’ve seen this shit enough.”

The shifter worked his way into the room,
perching on a discarded wooden box.

“I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, Alpha.
You have left me no choice but to follow through with my father’s
plans.”

Logan growled, stretching the chains with a
hopeful creak.

The lanky wolf smiled smugly. “Don’t
bother.”

“You are unhinged just like Eli was,” Logan
warned. “Release us, and I won’t kill you brutally.”

He shrugged, peering into the darkness behind
us. I turned, searching but not finding anything, before turning
back warily.

“You have ruined the packs,” he began in a
trance. “You must be stopped. Under the full moon’s glow the
witches shall reach the Fae and set this right.”

My blood ran cold. He was insane and well
connected, fucking perfect.

“Oh, and the metal is spelled. I don’t
recommend pulling on it anymore.” With that he took his leave.

Logan pulled on the chains again, brutally.
The muscles in his arms threatened to snap the seams of his
shirt.

“Don’t shift,” I warned him.

He grunted before trying to shift. The effect
was immediate, his breath sucked in between clenched teeth, his
face paling. “Olivia,” he whispered, his normally enchanting eyes
glowing sick bronze laced with fear.

“What’s happening?” I asked, kneeling before
him, placing a hand against his own.

Power flung me back, only the chains keeping
me from flying farther. “Ouch,” I groaned, holding my head.
Bouncing against concrete was certain to leave a lasting mark.

Logan ripped at the chains, logic and mental
clarity gone. Groaning, I pushed the pain down deep, crawling back
to his side.

Being prepared for the blast this time didn’t
make it any better. Keeping my body as low to the ground as
possible, I touched his hand again. Power blasted into me, shocking
my senses and leaving me a writhing ball of pain, but still I held
on. Once I had the pain braided down to allow brain functions, I
felt what the witches had done.

Anger, rage, and lust blasted through the
chains into Logan, pushing his lion half precariously close to
turning beast.

“No,” I commanded him, grasping his forearms
and trying to stop him from pulling insanely against the chains. It
was useless; Logan was a powerful shifter. The man could have
stayed calm and contained, but the lion would never stop
fighting.

Interesting to note the similarities to
Nari’s operations. Dammit, had I missed something? Or rather,
someone?

My muddled brain made fast deductions that I
wasn’t willing to look at closely. I moved my hands to wrap around
Logan’s rough knuckles.

“Hold on,” I whispered. Closing my eyes, I
began pulling.

“Shhh,” I tried calming him, unable to hear
my own voice above the roaring in my ears.

The emotions were easy to lock away, to trap
and seal into metal balls in my head. The problem, aside from my
burning hands, was that the draw wasn’t stopping. Pushing my
awareness outside of myself, I focused on the cuffs.