This Curse: (The Grace Allen Series Book 2 ) Read online

  My power zinged through my veins and along my skin like a Tesla coil. I knew my eyes glowed brilliantly and I smiled and approached Patrick. The wolves were gone and we were alone. He stood, angry and proud. As the pack master, he was braver than the rest as he stood his ground.

  “I know you’re a proud man, Patrick. Stupid, but proud. Which, in my opinion, are one and the same.” He flinched. “Once I even thought you were a good man.” I took another slow step toward him. “But you tried to hurt me, use me in the most appalling and shameful way. I bet you would have stopped at nothing, Patrick. The mere thought of what you had in mind for me...” I stood before him. “You are not a bad man, Patrick.” I frowned. “You. Are. An. Animal!” I roared and dropped the mute on my glamour.

  Patrick dropped like a stone.

  I pushed more and more of my power into him. I was furious; tears flooded my eyes and ran freely down my face as Lucian’s face crept into my mind. What the hell was happening? I sucked back a sob and pushed more pain into the man writhing at my feet. My life was in turmoil and my Lucian was lost to me. This man was to blame, he wasn’t alone, but it would have been his body that forced its way into mine. This man would have made me a slave and a blood whore.

  I smiled and it felt cold. He gagged and rolled on the floor. Pain was too good for him. I knelt next to him and hovering my hands over him, I slowly pulled his beast in agonizing slowness from his wretched body. Just enough to let him know what I could do.

  He wanted death. His beast was strong and I gave it free will. I stood and watched as he rolled on the floor, tearing his clothing to shreds with disfigured hands. I watched as he slapped and clawed at the ground, his hands popping and snapping with wet, cracking sounds. His skin turned red, warping and bulging unnaturally as his wolf beat at him from the inside. Sweat poured off of his heated skin and foam began to build at the corners of his mouth.

  “I am beyond you, Patrick.” My voice was flat. I put my foot on his shoulder. He bucked and twisted in agony and I pushed him onto his back. “Now be a good doggie,” I met his anguished eyes, “play dead.” And with that, I turned and strolled slowly away my tears drying on my cheeks.

  He screamed my name and I cringed. He deserved to suffer, but something in me made me stop. I looked over my shoulder.

  “Please,” he groaned. The sound was distorted as he tried to form the word through too many teeth.

  Fuck! My chest hurt. This was wrong.

  I turned. Muting my glamour, once more I allowed his beast to withdraw. I walked back to him as he fought to catch his breath. “You said something?” I ground out.

  He rolled onto his side coughing and spitting sticky foam from his mouth. He took several minutes to catch his breath and then he spoke. “We…we have a woman,” he stammered. “She’s … she was one of us, but they changed her. I don’t know how, but they took her wolf.” He moaned and rolled onto his back again. I just stood there until he began to speak again. “She was only part wolf.” He continued, “It was an attack and she changed. She never wanted it, so we let them take her.” He tried to get to his knees and swayed. “I didn’t think he could do it. Hell, I didn’t think he had it in him.” He finally got to his knees and rubbed his hand down his face.

  “What the hell are you taking about? The blonde woman, who is she Patrick? What were you doing with her?” I knelt down; careful to keep my power nestled deep inside me.

  “Lydia. It was Lydia’s idea to use her. She wanted a female to test her spells on. To test your blood on.” He took several deep breaths. “They learned a lot from her. Voltaire and Lydia. They used your blood to test his magic.”

  I froze.

  “Lydia and Voltaire?” I looked him in the face, “Where was Lucian?”

  “He didn’t sign on until later. We needed a warlock. Something about the earth and purity I don’t know, it sounded like bullshit.” He coughed again and I folded my arms in irritation. “They needed a pure warlock and that’s when Lucian stepped in.” Patrick struggled to his feet.

  “They needed a pure warlock?” I leaned in. “They needed someone connected to the earth and everything pure?” I walked a circle around him. Then I spun and stared at his pathetic face. “They needed someone good?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said.” Patrick bent down, his hands on his knees, he snorted, bringing up something horrid and then spat it on the floor.

  My heart rate speed up and I turned away. “Lydia and Lucian work together now?” I asked, turning back around to study his expression.

  Patrick straightened, confusion wrinkling his brow, “Of course. Lydia isn’t a witch.”

  All the tiny hairs on my body stood at attention sending a tickle of dread along the surface of my skin. Patrick’s words slammed into me. Of course! I thought, as another piece of the puzzle snapped neatly into place.

  “I’ve got my eye on you, mutt.” I warned him and then I flashed from the room.

  FOURTEEN

  The house was dark but I could sense that it wasn’t empty. I scanned it again with my mind. No threats. I opened the door slowly.

  She was there. Her battered body was lying in a heap on the floor of my entryway. What the hell?

  I knelt down. Reaching out, I nudged her. Her sharp intake of air startled me and I floundered and fell backwards onto my ass. She shot up like a puppet on strings.

  “What the hell is the matter with you?” I yelled without thinking.

  She snorted and threw her hand over her mouth.

  She was laughing?

  “Are you insane?” I asked, stumbling to my feet.

  She cocked her head and started laughing again. “I can’t help it,” she started, “I always laugh when I’m nervous and you have to admit,” she let out another snort, “it was pretty funny, you falling on your butt like that.” I leveled a look at her and she straightened, holding out her hand. “Um, you must be Grace.” She stated and I waved her hand away.

  “What the hell were you doing sleeping on the floor? And where is Seth?” I glanced around the room, expecting to see him appear at any moment.

  “I think he fell, I’m so sorry.” She looked miserable all of a sudden.

  “He fell?” I yelled. “What the hell does that mean?” I took off and ran throughout the house calling his name. When no answer came, I stopped in front of her again.

  “Tell me what happened. How are you even here?” I shook her. She was so frail that I dropped my hands and pulled away quickly. I looked at her again and then felt like a total ass. I knew she had suffered for a long time and appeared to be half starved and battered. I sighed, “Look, Seth is strong as hell. I’m pretty sure he can handle a few wolves.” I tried to project confidence, but I wasn’t all that sure, that Seth was indeed all right but this woman looked horrible. “Before you start with the story, do you want to eat something? Maybe get cleaned up?”

  Her relief was visible. Moisture flooded her eyes and her lip curled up in a miserable looking smile.

  I cringed, “Hold on there, Blondie,” I held up my hands. “It’s okay. No one can hurt you here, you’re safe.” I took her bony hand and led her to the table as slow and gently as I could. Her hand was so delicate I was afraid that it would just disintegrate in my grip.

  She sat and watched as I prepared her a few things to eat. I wasn’t sure what her stomach could handle so I kept it pretty mild; buttered eggs, oatmeal with bananas, rice pudding, toast and the rest of a roasted chicken that I had in the refrigerator from a few nights ago.

  She ate almost every drop, tearing into the food with her bare hands. I was stunned as I watched her gorge. God, those bastards must have really starved her.

  She finished, leaving only a small piece of toast and the bananas. She drank two cups of green tea and almost all of my milk.

  “Thanks Grace. Um, Can I take a shower?” she asked sheepishly.

  I stood, resolved to the fact that taking care of her came first. “Sure, let me show you to one of the guest
rooms.”

  She followed closely behind as I led her through the house. Once I reached the hallway, she paused. I turned, frowning. “Is something wrong?” I asked.

  “No…well. It’s just that no one has treated me like a person in so long that I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.” She pushed her tangled hair from her face and sniffed. He fingers were long and very pale. She was as tall as I was but painfully thin. She looked like the poster child for urban malnutrition.

  “You are a person. I don’t care if that person has something extra or not, are we clear?” I folded my arms and shook my head. “I know you’ve suffered, but hopefully you will learn to trust me.” I moved to go then turned back to face her again. “Do you have anyone? Family, I mean?”

  She looked down and shook her head. “I had a brother, but I lost him long ago. My parents died when I was born.” She looked up; a sparkle of tears lit the corner of her eye. “I have no one. Nothing.” Her shoulders slumped, as the truth seemed to hit her for the first time.

  “Well,” I sighed, knowing she wasn’t a threat or a criminal. “Welcome home then.” I smiled and took her hand, “Now let’s get you to the shower. Your funk is starting to stink up the hall.” I winked at her and opened the door to my largest guestroom.

  It was one of my proudest achievements. The bed, a modest queen size, was piled with fluffy white down comforters and huge square pillows filled to bursting with fluffy feathers. Midway down the bed was just a peek of the crisp white cotton sheets that wrapped invitingly around the plump mattress. A velvety throw was the only splash of color, throwing a slightly blue reflection onto the starkness of the pure white cloud it sat upon. The wood floor boasted a dark blue rug and two plump chairs. They were arranged in front of a huge bay window that looked out at the sprawling desert. A small table sat between the chairs and on top of it, I had placed a selection of books and a scented candle.

  My guest sighed and stepped carefully inside. She turned to me, “I can stay in here?”

  “Yep.” I smiled and gently pushed her further into the room. “The bathroom is across the room there,” I pointed to a narrow door. “Towels and a robe are inside along with all the soap you could need. New razors, toothbrush, and hairbrush are in the vanity. Take your time.” Then I turned to her, “But don’t take too much time. I need to know what happened.”

  She smiled at me and I closed the door. I took several steps away from the door and was suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of dread. My mind screamed that I was missing something.

  I took a huge breath, and tried to calm my mind. Her story had better give me answers.

  ***

  I sat and waited for a solid hour and thought about all the possible things that could have gone wrong with Seth. Well, all right, I didn’t sit. I paced, tried to contact Seth telepathically, and tried to leave my body and search, but nothing worked. Nothing!

  “I’m sorry I took so long” I heard her speak behind me. “The food didn’t sit well with me and I sorta got sick before my shower.”

  “What?” I snapped, and then I stopped myself. “Shit, I’m sorry.” I sighed and flopped on my couch. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My worry over Seth’s whereabouts was making me crabby. “You got sick?” I tried to convey concern. “Are you alright now?”

  “Yeah, but I was able to keep most of what I ate. Maybe next time I’ll eat a smaller amount.” She sat next to me. Her long hair was clean and shining and her cheeks looked a little pinker. She was wearing one of the outfits I had zapped into her room a dark blue Juicy tracksuit and thick socks. It was hard to dress a complete stranger so I stuck with comfort and elastic.

  “You look good, how do you feel?” I asked.

  “Better, but you don’t have to do that, I know you’re anxious to hear what happened. You’ve been more than patient with me.”

  I let out my breath and sat back. “I can’t reach him. He’s gone. It’s like he’s been blinked out of existence.” I pulled my feet up and wrapped my arms around my knees. I felt sick. He had to be alive.

  “It all happened so fast,” she began. “I was chained to the wall in the dark. Everything felt so hopeless and then I felt something.” She looked up. “I feel it now, sitting here with you.” She eyed me and for the first time, I saw a spark of fire in her eyes. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. “Just go on, please.”

  “Well,” she stared off as if seeing it unfold all over again, “one moment I was alone and the next, he was there. At first, he frightened me. He was so sleek and dark. Like some dangerous cat. Then he knelt next to me and I knew he wasn’t there to hurt me. I felt goodness in him. Which is crazy because I sensed vampire as well.” She looked at me, “What is he Grace?”

  “Irrelevant,” I frowned and waved my hand for her to continue.

  “Alright then. Anyway, he managed to free me and collect the blood that was stolen. He must have sensed that they were coming because all of a sudden he dropped the blood and grabbed me. One second I was standing in the dark and the next I was laying on the floor in your house. He must have gone back for the blood. I can only assume that Voltaire has him. He is very powerful you know. I’ve seen his powers.” She looked at her hands. “I’ve felt his power.” She looked over at me. “I’m sure he lives. Voltaire can block the power from others, and so much more.”

  I stood and began pacing. “Voltaire? So he has been around this whole time?” I looked at her. “Patrick led me to believe that Voltaire was on some mission.”

  “Oh, I’m sure he’s around. His scent is everywhere, believe me if he had ever left I would have known it.” She frowned, “Don’t misunderstand me, I haven’t seen him, or anyone, really. They always dope me up when they take me for testing.” She made little quote marks with her fingers. “They’re afraid I’ll fight back I guess.” She shrugged and I raised my eyebrows in question.

  “I heard they took your wolf,” I said. “So you no longer change? That can’t be useful. What other weapon could you possibly have?” I had serious doubts that this skinny little hen had the ability to threaten a hamster.

  She pulled the blanket off of the back of my couch and inhaled the fluffy fabric. “This smells like home.” She sighed and wrapped it around her narrow shoulders. “I love your home, Grace.” She beamed at me.

  “Thank you, now answer the question.” I watched her closely, waiting for the answer.

  “Oh, I figured you could tell.” She took her attention off the blanket for just a moment. “Before I was bitten, I was a witch.” She smiled and curled onto her side.

  My mouth opened in surprise. Patrick never said she was a witch.

  “I figured that devil, Lydia knew. She was pretty quick to snatch me out of the pack. She’s a cruel one.” She yawned loudly and snuggled deeper into the sofa. “She knew it would be ironic to abuse me.” Another big yawn, “What with what I am and all.”

  I watched her fall asleep and chewed my lip. Her final words slowly worked their way into the ever-growing puzzle in my mind. Shit! I thought as unease spun my stomach into knots. Seth was MIA and I had a mystery woman on my couch.

  FIFTEEN

  Morning sun filtered through the windows baking my face with uncomfortable heat. I opened my eyes and was instantly blinded by the ruthless sun. Where the heck was the light coming from? I sat up. I was still on the couch, apparently having fallen asleep right beside my new roommate. Well, at least I thought she had slept right beside me. I hit the empty spot on the couch where I assumed she had slept. The blanket was rumpled but she was no longer there.

  I stood and stretched, looking around the unusually bright room. Well, I thought, all the curtains had been opened for one thing. A big no, no in my mind, plus the front door was ajar. What the hell? I walked outside. The cool air nipped at my skin.

  “Hello?” I called. “Oh, Blondie?” My footsteps crunched in the gravel as I stepped slowly around to the back of my house.


  I rounded the corner. “Oh shit!” I yelled and ran.

  “Nice day for a barbeque? Eh, Grace?” Blondie looked like a psychotic mad woman as she smiled at me. Her feet were planted firmly in the dirt by my stone fire pit. She held a long, thick rope in her hands; part of it was wrapped around her wrist as she leaned back, bracing herself in order to manage the huge dog dangling from the other end. She stared at the animal like she was some unhinged pit master.

  “What the hell is going on here?” I panted as I skidded to a halt beside her. “Who is that?”

  She smiled. “I caught this bastard sniffing around back here.” She pulled on the rope and adjusted her grip. I looked at her wondering how she was managing the huge creature’s weight. Her set up was pretty smart. She had the rope wrapped around a tree in such a way that she didn’t really bear any of the creatures’ weight.

  “It’s Cooper.” She spat in his direction. “The lowest man on the totem pole.” Her lip curled in disgust and I held up my hands.

  “Okay,” I said in confusion. “Let’s just get him down, okay? I have a few questions.”

  She sliced the rope with a butcher’s knife and the dog fell hard, slamming into the side of the fire pit and then bounced off to the side to roll onto the ground. I flinched; knowing it wasn’t a real dog didn’t make the sight much easier. God they made beautiful animals. Cooper was a silvery-grey wolf with thick white patches on his chest and legs. I shook my head and focused on his inert form.

  He began to change back into a man and my new friend turned, “Well, this is awkward.” She folded her arms, looking irritated.

  “Understatement,” I sighed and grabbed the large, plastic tarp that kept my woodpile protected from the rain. I threw it over the very naked and very human form of Cooper. He was slowly coming to.

  “James?” he moaned, looking around. His eyes focused on my new protector. “James, you fucking bitch!” he rolled over.