Luca's Magic Embrace (5 page)

“Perhaps,” Kade pondered. Was Asgear working with someone else besides Simone? “I don’t know, Luca. Why would they want Samantha? She doesn’t know what she is. Ilsbeth holds a lot of power, but I can’t imagine who would be foolish enough to try and capture her at her home. Besides the magical wards she’s set, she could literally transport herself away from the captor.”

“Kade, there’s something about Samantha. I don’t know…” Luca was troubled. Something wasn’t right. Why hadn’t they killed him? “Talk to Sydney. Get her take on what happened. I plan to rest today while the sun is up, but tonight I’m going to the coven to see Ilsbeth and the girl.”

“Luca, my friend. You refer to Samantha as a girl, yet you cannot deny she is a woman. Perhaps there is another reason why you feel compelled to see her?” Kade asked.

“A human? No way, Kade. You know I’m not into mortal women. Give me a break. I was just drained and starved for over a fucking week. I’m pissed as hell and there’s got to be a goddamn good reason why this happened. Who the hell even knew I was transporting the witches? Who else knew about Asgear and Simone’s plans to take over the city? What if there’s more to Samantha than we really know? Ilsbeth should know by now what the hell kind of magic the girl has. Is it even real? Over a week has passed and I need to know what the hell is going on over there. Something isn’t right with what happened.” Luca was steaming mad.

Luca sighed,
Samantha
. Remembering the first time he’d met her, he wondered why she dominated his thoughts
.
Something about the human woman stirred his emotions, yet he could not fathom why he would care. The pixie-sized, fair-skinned beauty had barely been holding onto reality the last time he’d seen her. After she’d been bespelled by the evil mage, Asgear, who’d turned her into a submissive and beaten her to a pulp as a prisoner, she learned that the magic had infused itself into her very being. She was now a witch. Yet, she was technically still very much a mere mortal who knew nothing about witchcraft.

The last time he saw her she’d been in ‘protection’ at Kade’s estate.
Protection.
Hell, who was he kidding? After they’d rescued her from her shackled existence, they imprisoned her once again, albeit in a gilded cage. Tainted by the evil, infused by magic, she could not return home. Instead, Ilsbeth, a close confidant of Kade’s and a well-respected witch, insisted Samantha go with her to the coven to be cleansed and learn her new path in life.

The very first time he’d met Samantha, she was working at Sangre Dulce. He and Kade were working a case that night. As she had stood naked before them, serving drinks to his group of vampires, Luca was instantly attracted to the submissive, red-haired beauty. Samantha, who’d been introduced to him under the false name of Rhea, had offered herself for ‘play’. Luca had turned her down. He’d been there to work the case, find clues to a killer, not fuck. And then there was the undeniable fact that she was human. Not his first choice for playing. Humans were good for feeding, but way too emotional and breakable. No, when it came to sex, he preferred a supernatural with no attachments. As for love, it simply was not an option.

The next time he’d seen Samantha, she’d been bruised and battered, a shell of the woman he’d met at the club. He wondered how such a fragile woman had survived life locked in that desolate, filthy prison cell. When he’d broken the locked metal cuffs off her naked body, Luca had cursed the monster that had injured her. Later at Kade’s house, his heart had constricted as he’d watched her come to terms with what had happened to her. With no memory of the club or her actions, she had learned of her fate as a witch.

She was shocked on discovering that she’d never return to her work, her friends, her life. Vulnerable and shaken, she’d agreed to go with Ilsbeth to the coven…as if she’d been given a choice. Her soul was tainted; Kade would have never let her return without cleansing her soul.

Luca stared at himself in the bathroom mirror; the hard planes of his muscles looked as if he’d just returned from the gym. There was no indication that he had been on the brink of death. Luca touched his hardened abs, slick from sweat. He reveled in being vampire, in being indestructible.
Almost.
True, he was pure alpha male, perhaps even tougher than Kade, yet not as old. And despite being vampire, his time on Earth had almost ended. He didn’t have time to dwell on how he’d almost died. Rather, he contemplated why he was attacked.
Why the fuck am I still here? Who wanted Samantha?

His thoughts raced as he stepped into the shower. He needed to see Samantha just one more time. This time, no crying…just talking. She would be calm. She’d had a week to adjust. Perhaps not much time for a human but it would be better than the last time when she couldn’t stop ‘leaking’. Humans, such weak creatures. Luca had no time or patience for their outbursts. The only human he’d tolerated was Sydney, and clearly that was due to Kade’s influence. She had proven her warrior abilities, fought alongside him, earned his respect.

One human woman in his life was enough. He decided that he would go to the coven, investigate what had happened and sate his curiosity. He’d question the little lovely human and find out who exactly was behind the kidnapping attempt.

As he rinsed the soap from his body, his cock jerked at the thought of seeing her again.
Shit.
He admonished himself for the thought. Yet as he stroked his hardness, he could not circumvent the vision of her.
Samantha.

Samantha pushed open the cabin door, thankful to be back in Pennsylvania. She tried thinking of something else, anything else but what had happened to her in New Orleans. She felt dirty. Violated. A loss of identity.

She should have listened to those who’d told her not to go to New Orleans. Her family had warned her that the city was dangerous. Ignoring their concerns, she’d gone anyway. At the time, going to the computer conference had seemed like a great way to go on a ‘working vacation’. After a day of lectures and workshops, her co-workers had talked her into going to a local bdsm club in New Orleans. She had heard that supernaturals supposedly went there. Samantha had expected maybe to meet a vampire or a werewolf. She’d thought they’d dance, maybe get to watch some interesting scenes and have some fun. That was all it was supposed to be. A night of fun.

Now her life was destroyed. No friends who she could talk to about what happened. No job. No life. No Samantha. The man she’d met at the club, James, had turned out to be a mage. His real name was Asgear. She vaguely remembered the beating he’d given her after she dared to escape his lair. A beating that she could barely remember was something she could get over. She’d trained in karate when she was younger and had earned and given her fair share of fighting bruises.

No, this was far worse. Memories locked away, stolen. She couldn’t remember anything of what had happened or what she’d done. Being taken to a vampire’s mansion, Kade Issacson had shown her the disgusting evidence of her violation. Naked. Submissive. She’d been under the control of Asgear and had done his bidding. Her body was used. Her mind was taken over as well, but the memories refused to surface. Despite being told she’d been bespelled and seeing the photographic proof, she could not accept that what she’d done was real.

Was she raped? Did she willingly have sex with others? Did she hurt anyone? She had no recollection. They told her that she may have hurt a female vampire. But that wasn’t her. It was a nightmare; one she could only escape by running.

Witch.
She despised the word. While Ilsbeth had been nothing but kind to her, she refused to believe she was a witch. She didn’t want to be a witch. This was not happening. She would take the medical leave she’d requested from work and take a long rest in the mountains, and then try to get her life back. Maybe remember what had happened. Maybe not. Regardless, she was determined to heal.

No one was guaranteed an easy life, she knew that. You worked hard, and reaped what you sowed. Working in a sea of men in her technology company hadn’t been a walk in the park when she’d first started. A female programmer worked twice as hard and long to prove herself worthy. And she’d done just that, earning her rank as one of the very best engineers. The phrase, ‘giving up’, wasn’t in her vocabulary. She preferred to fight the good fight in the face of adversity. Samantha steeled herself; she resolved that nothing would break her spirit.

The cabin she rented in the mountains was a welcome reprieve from the intense training sessions she’d experienced over the past week. The weather was lovely, as was the foliage. Towards the end of August, evenings were beginning to cool off, beckoning fall to approach. After being in the humid, hot air of New Orleans, Samantha welcomed the change in temperature.

Samantha opened the sliding glass door to check for firewood. The rental agency had assured her that the cabin was fully stocked, which meant she could have a fire on a cold night. Drinking in the tranquil setting, she sat on the Adirondack chair and breathed in the fresh, mountain air. She stared out at the large lake situated on the property. Aside from the small clearing leading to the lake, the house was surrounded by woods. Samantha was pleased the property was isolated, as had been promised.

Alone at last. No vampires. No werewolves. And no freakin’ witches. While Ilsbeth was friendly, she’d not received such a warm welcome from all the others. They’d glared at her, resenting her newfound gift. Most witches were born with magic, not accidentally infused with it. To the other witches, she was an unnatural freak who was tainted not blessed.

Ilsbeth had sat with Samantha and gently cleansed the evil then explained how Samantha could draw power from within. Out of respect for Ilsbeth, she did try. Unsuccessfully. Night after night, she sat in the calming room, meditating and chanting, yet nothing stirred.

Fed up with the insulting comments from the other witches, and her lack of apparent powers, Samantha resolved to get her old life back. She was very grateful to Kade, Luca, Sydney and Ilsbeth for rescuing her. She didn’t want to seem unappreciative, but she’d had enough of the mystical side of life. She yearned for normalcy. It was like a hardened nightmare from which she could not awake. Finally, yes, finally, she was feeling like her old self, relaxing into the forested wilderness.

Samantha reached across the table and lit a small citronella candle. She laughed to herself; the only bloodsuckers out here were the damn mosquitos.
No way are you getting me tonight.
The crickets and cicadas sang her a soothing lullaby. Convinced she was finally finding peace in her rustic sanctuary, Samantha let out a breath, closed her eyes and fell asleep, breathing in the crisp air.

“She what?” Luca could hardly believe it as he stood before the always ethereal Ilsbeth. “She left? Where the hell did she go?”

Ilsbeth’s golden hair shone in the candlelight that illuminated the coven’s foyer. While well over a hundred years old, she looked like she was in her twenties. But there was no mistaking the power that flowed within the beautiful witch. She was like a graceful swan; gorgeous and generally calm, but would kill in an instant if provoked.

“Luca,” she spoke in an unemotional even-toned voice. “Please come in and have some tea.”

Ilsbeth motioned him into the parlor. The room was comfortably airy, almost spa-like, decorated in hues of tan and blue. A large, four-foot tall pillar candle stood in front of the fireplace; its flame appeared to dance to the new age music softly playing in the background.

Luca strode into the room and turned to face Ilsbeth. He was enraged that the coven had misplaced Samantha. “Over a week ago I brought her here to remain in your charge. Did you fail to see or understand the seriousness of my attack? She’s in danger.”

“Luca, please sit.” She gestured for him have a seat. Power rolled off of her, filling the room with a gentle, soothing hum.

Luca reluctantly sat on a large, linen covered chair. Ilsbeth elegantly walked across the room and sat on the matching sofa across from him.

“Luca, I understand your concern, but you must consider two factors. While the attack could have been intended for Samantha, it could equally have been meant for you or me. As you are aware, I’m not without my fair share of enemies, nor are you.” Ilsbeth closed her eyes, took a deep cleansing breath and then opened them again. “Second and perhaps most importantly, I cannot keep Samantha against her will. After purifying her, I was required by the Goddess to let her go her own way. She asked to leave, knowing the dangers, and I had no choice but to let her go.”

Luca could have cared less about what the Goddess wanted. “They could have killed me, Ilsbeth. Yet they did not. No, they wanted her. She’s special. There’s something…something I cannot put my finger on.” Luca raked his fingers through his raven hair. He wore it loose tonight and it fell into his eyes.

“I don’t disagree, Luca. She is, indeed, special. Goddess knows we don’t see a human turned witch very often. It is extremely rare. But she should have had more powers. The magic should’ve shown itself by now. Magic is drawn to its witch, knowing where to go, wanting to be utilized. But she couldn’t concentrate; there was simply nothing. She was frustrated with her progress. Now it may have been caused by stress. You know, even though her physical injuries have subsided, she’s quite vulnerable emotionally. What that awful man did to her…” Ilsbeth gritted her teeth in anger, her eyes lit with fire. She quickly composed herself; her face transformed back into its normally placid expression.