Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau)

Dedication

This is to you and you know who you are.

Acknowledgements

To my son, who brings me joy every single day. To my mother, who introduced me to the love of books. To my husband, who encourages me and always has faith in me. A huge thank you to my editor, Eleanor Boyd. And to the readers who make writing fun.

Table of Contents

Copyright page

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

About Rose Pressey

Other books by Rose Pressey

The idea of vampires had rarely crossed my mind until now. I’d been too consumed in improving my witchcraft skills to give it much thought. That had all changed the night two gorgeous brothers showed up at my front door. They both claimed they had come to protect me, but for different reasons. That was how I’d ended up in a sleek black car headed for New Orleans in the middle of the night.

Fog had settled over Enchantment Pointe
, making visibility difficult. I held on tight as the car sped along, hugging the curves of the road. Nicolas Marcos sat in the back seat of the car and Liam Rankin navigated the wheel. Unfortunately, I had no idea where we were headed. All I knew was that Nicolas had been accused of stealing another witch’s powers. As the new leader of the Underworld, apparently this was my problem now. That put me in a bit of a pickle because Nicolas’ sexy eyes and gorgeous body had distracted me for some time now. What did they want me to do about it anyway? Was there some kind of punishment for stealing powers? I had no idea.

My name is Halloween LaVeau and up until now the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me was that I’d been named Worst Witch of the Year for the past few years running. Yeah, I was that bad. Luckily, my
skills were improving thanks to the Book of Mystics, but more about that later. Honestly, sometimes I wondered if my mother’s decision to name me Halloween had been more than just a cruel invitation for me to be teased while growing up. Had my name somehow sent the paranormal powers-that-be directly into my path? Heck, maybe I was putting too much thought into it, but nevertheless, my world had been turned upside down just a few short days ago.

Nicolas and Liam had shown up on the doorstep of LaVeau Manor under mysterious circumstances. It hadn’t been a coincidence that I’d just discovered a strange old book written in an unknown language right before their arrival. Much to my chagrin, I still hadn’t figured out most of what was written in the book. T
he words and spells appeared of their own free will. Anyway, this old book had unleashed a power within me that I’d never come close to possessing before. Apparently, whoever owned the book was the leader of the Underworld. Lucky me. Heck, I still didn’t know what the Underworld was— how was I supposed to lead it? But as we headed away from town, barreling into the night, I knew I was about to find out. My heart beat faster at the thought.

“Do you want to tell me more about these charges?” I asked, looking at Liam, then over my shoulder at Nicolas.

Tension emanated from the backseat. Nicolas’ strong jaw was set in a straight line. He glanced down, avoiding my stare, and I took that as a message that he didn’t want to discuss the matter. But if I was the leader now, I had to set some rules, right? I had to push the lust-filled thoughts of Nicolas to the back of my mind and ask for answers. I might be new at this gig, but I wanted to take the duties seriously.

I couldn’t deny my feelings for both of the men. But for some strange reason I felt as if Liam would be just fine without me. Nicolas, on the other hand, seemed as if he needed me. I wasn’t sure what
had given me that impression. Wishful thinking maybe.

I studied Liam’s handsome face, half lit by the sliver of moonlight coming through the car window. Liam and Nicolas were both amazing specimens of masculinity. Not to mention they exuded irr
esistible levels of charm. They had the same high cheekbones, dazzling smiles with full lips, eyes the color of a bright summer sky, and thick dark hair that you just wanted to sink your fingers into.

It was no surprise that they looked alike though because I’d recently discovered the two men were half-brothers. There was one thing that set them apa
rt from each other. Yes, they were both witches, but Nicolas was a vampire too. I still didn’t know the full circumstances of how that had come about. But his mother and aunt had been turned at the same time back in the 1800s. Now that I thought of it, why hadn’t Liam aged? That thought hadn’t occurred to me until now. Yes, witches lived long lives, but we aged. Liam looked to be around the same age as Nicolas.

It was funny now I realized just how little I truly knew about them. I’d have to ask more questions. Nicolas’ mother had been the leader of the Underworld… but that was a story for later too. Right now I had to find out why Nicolas was being charged with such a ridiculous crime.

“Who is the witch who’s accusing him?” I shifted on the leather seat. It was impossible to get comfortable with the waves of apprehension flowing through me.

Liam steered around a curve. “Her name is Sabrina Stratford. She’s from the New Orleans Coven. Her brother is the leader of that Coven.”

Nicolas remained tight-lipped in the back seat. Was this too stressful for him to talk about or was there truth to the allegation?

“Do you want to give me your side of the story before we get to wherever it is we’re going?” I asked as sweetly as possible.

Nicolas ran his hand through his thick black hair. “I’m not sure where to begin…”

“How about you start from the beginning?” I said, forcing myself to remain calm.

After exhaling, he said, “She was being attacked and asked me to turn her into a vampire.”

Whoa. That was a little more serious than I’d expected. I exchanged a look with Liam. He must have read my mind because he frowned in response.

“When did this happen?” I asked, keeping my tone deceptively composed.

“It was just a day before I came to LaVeau Manor.” A look of discomfort crossed his face.

This was almost too much to wrap my mind around. I’d had enough to deal with learning about my new leader status and now this. I knew my Great-Aunt Maddy had just been trying to help me by leaving me her beautiful home, but it had been nothing but a disaster since I’d moved in. LaVeau Manor was an imposing structure with a large veranda and three stores. The manor stood near the river with a creepy old family cemetery nearby. Not knowing what else to do with the place, I’d decided to run the place as a bed-and-breakfast. Shortly thereafter Nicolas and Liam had shown up.

“Aren’t you supposed to stay with her or something after turning her?” I asked.

I had no idea how the whole vampire thing worked. Clearly now that I was the leader of the Underworld I needed to learn a few things.

“You’ve been watching too many movies,” Liam said with amusement in his voice.

“Well, excuse me for not having the paranormal handbook memorized.” I didn’t know what to do with myself so I nervously tapped my fingers against my seat.

After all, until recently I had been the butt of all the witches’ jokes. My lack of powers had been famous for miles around. Enchantment Pointe Coven members had even written a pamphlet about my abysmal witchcraft skills.

“She didn’t give me a chance to help her. After I turned her, she took off. I hadn’t heard a word about it until Liam called just now.” Nicolas’ voice was smooth, but resolute.

“You said she asked you to turn her? What does that mean?” Maybe I should have read those
Twilight
books because I had no idea how any of this worked.

He let out a deep breath. “I went out for a jog by my house and that’s when I heard a lot of noise, then a scream.”

“What did you do?” I pushed.

“I ran toward where I heard the noise. That’s when I saw the woman fighting for her life wi
th this beast attacking her...” Nicolas’ voice trailed off.

My eyes widened. “What kind of beast?”

A grave look fell over Nicolas’ face, as if he didn’t even want to picture the thing in his mind.