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

  The Jamaican beauty slipped away to reveal most of my true form. Copper and fire replaced what was once basic brown hair. Silver and green shards of metallic light colored my eyes making me look ethereal and frightening.

  Patrick dropped to his knees

  Sweat broke out in a fine sheen along his face and arms. His breathing became ragged as he gripped the fabric of his shirt. The sound of the silk tearing was sickening.

  I took a step backward and shook my head in confusion. He was trying to rip his clothing off?

  “Shit, what are you doing?” I gasped. I had to stop him before he was too far gone. This was supposed to be just show but he was reacting as if it were a brutal seduction.

  I felt faint. Oh, no! Realization hit me in the face as my body hummed with awareness. I was releasing pheromones. My mind was whirling with the reality of what my body was trying to do. He had power, I had power, and that was something he was definitely attracted to.

  I hadn’t given him everything I had, but even then, Patrick was primal enough to be affected.

  “Patrick, stop. Listen to me,” I tried to soothe him, bring him back. His mind was slipping, reverting to the basic need to mate. I could taste the lust in the air; smell his need. Damn it, this wasn’t going well at all. I shielded myself completely, shrouding myself behind my Jamaican cloak.

  I pulled in my pheromones, perfuming the air with the wild scent of the club. The cloak of human bodies covered in human sweat.

  Patrick struggled to his feet and sputtered liquid onto the floor. “Woman,” he growled as he fumbled, “what have you done to me?”

  With my glamour back in place, he was slowly gaining control. I could feel the tension ease around me. There wasn’t much I could do about his reaction; all I could do was try to be happy that it was so strong, even though it wasn’t quite the type I’d counted on.

  “Patrick, I don’t know what you want from me. I already went through this with Seth.” Well, not exactly, but he didn’t have to know that. “Tell the Council to stop their pursuit of me. I am free of the ring and can not be used or manipulated. You’ve seen some of my true form; you know I’m telling the truth.”

  He shuttered; his face pale and drenched with sweat. Thin strands of spittle ran from his lips. “I will give them your message, but I don’t think it will change their pursuit.” He coughed and spat on the floor. “Power is power, Grace, and you’re drenched in it.” He ran his sleeve across his mouth. “I’m sure the only thing that will change is how they approach this new development. Lord! I still feel the lust."

  I moved further away from him.

  “I want to take you, right here in the middle of this dance floor. What the fuck, Grace?” He shook his head as if the idea could be flung from his mind. “I’ve never felt this before. It’s fading.” He glared at me, “It’s fading a lot, but I think if you don’t leave this place right now I’m going to embarrass us both. I know your true form. My God; I can’t get the vision out of my head.”

  “Patrick, you need to stop. Don’t you get it? I didn’t do this to seduce you. I had to show you that I am no longer human. My Madea, form is who I am. No ring binds me. I cannot be used. I am no longer the pathetic tool your people believe me to be. This must stop.”

  I could see his struggle. Fists clenched tightly at his sides, teeth grinding while pulling in great puffs of air.

  “Calm Patrick, breathe slowly.” I whispered.

  “Leave, Grace. Now. I will relay your message, but I think you’ve made things worse for yourself. I have you in my head. I know your power has been leashed, but I can still feel you. I smell you.” He took a small step toward me. I held my ground, my chin raised. “I want a taste,” he breathed.

  “I’m not afraid of you Patrick. I already told you. You can’t hurt me,” I shook my head, “you just can’t.”

  “You mistake me Grace. I wouldn’t dream of hurting you. I would devour you, but not as a wolf, Grace, as a man.”

  My chin fell. I admit, my transformation into a true Madea was a very short time ago, but the effects of my true form have never been like this. I knew that I was capable of producing large amounts of pheromones. But, I was the only Madea left. How the hell was I supposed to know that my stupid body would try and attract anything strong enough to mate with? Oh, this was just wonderful. Nothing like nature on steroids.

  Patrick was strong, that I knew, and he was beautiful, another plus. Unfortunately, my female parts only zoomed in on those two things. The fact that he seemed evil to the core and hell bent on eating people didn’t stop what had happened.

  “You don’t want me Patrick. Once I’m out of your sight, this will all pass.” I turned and began walking. With a thought, the crowd roared back to life as if nothing had interrupted it, swallowing my retreating form. The soul thumping music made my head hurt, not to mention the stress I was feeling with Patrick’s reaction to just a taste of the real me. I waded through the crowd, zigzagging a path to the door. I wanted so much to just zap myself home, but I had already broken enough personal rules for one night. It seemed a little redemptive to have to schlep in super high heels through smelly people while smiling and being nice. Penance, so to speak.

  I could feel him at my back. A heat that was indescribable. I turned on my heel ready to defend myself. His face was too near, his breath on my face. The kiss was deep and shock stiffened my spine. His taste was warm earth. I smelled the grass in summer and the trees in spring. It was all things pure and clean.

  I felt myself falling. My senses opened and I felt my glamour slip. I spun, pushing him backward. Fuck it. I thought and I transported myself out of there with no regrets.

  FOUR

  I appeared behind one of the tall trees that lined the long path leading to my new house. It was very inconspicuous, a modest three bedroom ranch style in a fairly quiet area just outside of Reno. I had a decent amount of land. It was just enough to keep my neighbors safe, but not so much as to leave me completely alienated. The fortune I inherited from Ann when she left this world for her new life was safely ensconced in the bank. She insisted that I spend it, but it made me feel better to have a big fat cushion.

  The cool nighttime air felt amazing on my heated skin. I needed to walk. My nerves were shot. I mean, what the hell was that all about? Cripes, that didn’t go a bit like I’d planned. I just wanted to make my point, take a stand. But no, I have to go and sex up the first werewolf I met. And, he kissed me. Wow what a kiss. My toes were still curled.

  As I neared my house, I let the Jamaican glamour go. Replacing it with my everyday face, the only one the world was allowed to see. It felt good to be my old self, even though it was a lie.

  “There is a taint of dog around you, Sweet. It stinks,” a dark god stepped out from the shadow of a huge willow. His long hair was loose, silky tendrils blowing lightly in the wind, sweeping and coiling around his powerful body. Silver eyes caught the moonlight in a face that could make angels weep. Pure masculine power caged in the perfect form of a Master Vampire.

  “Seth, what do you want?” I sighed. “I’m tired. It’s been a shitty night.” I stopped walking. I didn’t want to lead him to my house. I knew there was a nice fluffy bed in there and I really didn’t want to have to battle my crazy pheromones again. Things could get complicated.

  He watched me as if reading my mind. “You know what I need. Don’t make me take, Grace, it’s so barbaric.” He said. His beauty made my heart squeeze but his words doused any budding tender feelings. I stood, watching his silvery eyes mock me with their reality. My blood, the blood of a Madea, pure and straight from the source gave him strength he could never have imagined.

  I felt the memory tickle the back of my mind and I sighed to myself as I looked at the large man. We were at a magical stalemate; but he could still overpower me with sheer brute strength; which is exactly what he would do if I denied him.

  A small drink was all he ever wanted. I could even give him a wrist if I chose, but he
would not lose my blood. I couldn’t blame him, and I could even understand, but he never just drank and left. He would stay and seduce. He would work his tricks and play with every weakness I had, and Lord help me, when it came to him there were still far too many.

  It was nearly impossible to resist him, but I knew that if we were to come together again I might drop my glamour. I couldn’t chance it. Especially after the way Patrick reacted tonight. My God, I can’t even imagine what my true form would do when presented to a man like Seth, a veritable god in the world of men. It was way too risky.

  Thank goodness, that after weeks of allowing him to drink from my wrist, I finally grew a brain and placed my blood in bags. It was my personal mission to keep this man away from my body. He held an attraction that was definitely hazardous to my health.

  It had taken days to fill enough of the bags with my blood, once I figured out how to do it. Part of me wanted to use my power to just get the job over with quickly, but seeing my silvery blood inside those little baggies made me feel so incredibly alien that I forced myself to trudge through every step of the job.

  I shook my head and smiled to myself as I gazed at his beautiful face. Man was he going to be pissed!

  “Relax Seth, I have no intention of refusing you, I‘m just tired, like I said.” I began walking again, this time toward a small detached garage I recently had built near the back of my property. “Just give me a minute.” I twisted my long hair into a knot at my neck as his tension and hunger beat at my back. I unlocked the door and left it open, then I reached over and flicked on the lights to reveal two large stainless steel refrigerators, a microwave on a single counter and a small table and chair which sat alone in a corner.

  I opened one of the refrigerator doors. Inside were rows and rows of small bags filled with my silvery blood. The second refrigerator was filled identical to the first. I grabbed a bag and tossed it into the microwave, then turned to toss him the keys. “Here, this should keep you sated for a few weeks at least. There are three keys. Two are on that ring and the third will stay with me. I’ll fill the fridge when I think you are running too low. Consider this your personal take-out restaurant, you’re welcome and goodnight.” I turned to go as his cool hand closed around my arm. I tensed for a fight, “God, Seth, what more do you want from me? What else do you need?”

  “You surprise me sweet, Grace, but I do tire of your foolishness. You know I must sate my thirst from your body. I need your warmth, your breath. The feelings I get when I touch you.” He took the bag from the microwave then turned and ran his finger along my jaw. “This is an insult.” He tossed it onto the table, “I am sad that you went through all of this trouble,” he leaned in, smelling my hair, “but it will never do.”

  I pushed him away. “I’m sorry Seth, but it will have to do. You don’t need any of those things. The blood is enough. Your wish to seduce and claim me will never come true. I can’t have you always demanding, coaxing. I don’t want you. Don’t you see? Even if I wanted to be with you, it could never happen.”

  “I see, more than you know.” He pulled me close to his body. “You still want me to be the enemy. You cannot abide the feelings you have for me, so you wish to be rid of my presence. Grace, you are a fool. We are the same, you and I. There is more than lust between us. Forget your power, your value to others. None of that matters now.”

  “Who do you think you’re fooling?” I whirled away, jerking out of his grip. “You have no idea what I’ve become! You think you’ve seen my face? You think what you see now is what you’re getting when you ask to have me? You are not my equal. I am stranger than even you could imagine.” I could feel moisture tickling my eyes, threatening to spill over. “You will never have me again. The woman who let you use her body so long ago is dead.” My voice rose and I pressed my hands onto my chest. “Only this creature remains. So please, do as I ask. Leave me alone.” I felt the sob spring free and I turned abruptly, flashing out of the shed and instantly landing onto the cool tile floor of my bathroom. I started the shower as my tears spilled.

  Feeling worse with every passing second, I stripped and stood under the hot spray.

  Seth was wrong. He had my blood and appeared to be immune to almost all of my powers. I couldn’t touch him or force him into anything, but he had no idea how much I was holding back. The secrets I kept closely guarded. Like my true, form so drastically different from even a few weeks ago. I kept changing, evolving. The only person who knew what I suffered was my dearest friend, Lucian.

  When I first changed over, he had witnessed my true form. It wasn’t such a big deal then. The change was new to both of us and I was happy to finally be in control. It was only after we had come home that the implications of what my true form could do hit me. I felt so drastically different that I instantly began hiding behind glamour. Lucian was exposed to my earliest form and I’d be damned If I was ever going to show him what I had ultimately become. I could only imagine how he would react to the final version. He knew I was scared and he never once pressed me.

  I slid to the floor while the dual jets pounded their heated therapy all over my body. I let the last of my glamour slip away. The tension and stress of holding it was washed down the drain along with the water. I was exhausted. The water began to cool and I stepped out onto the fluffy bath mat. It always felt good to wrap my glowing skin into my favorite oversized terrycloth robe. Without any glamour, my hair had a life of its own. It never stayed wet, the shining, metallic locks always flowing and tumbling as if writhing with too much life. I felt like a Vegas version of Medusa. I could never begin to explain how bizarre I always felt looking the way I do in a common bathrobe. Like spying Wonder Woman reading a magazine on the toilet. To imagine such a fantastic being doing the everyday mundane was way too surreal. To live it was worse. I left the bathroom, not once glancing into the mirror.

  I made a cup of tea and curled up onto the couch that was once my Grandma’s. I loved it. The familiar feeling of family always filled me with warmth. Music, soft and gentle helped further ease my senses. The beautiful melody of Chopin’s Polonaise in B- flat lulled me, until I felt my eyes begin to close.

  FIVE

  The house shook. I jerked awake, sending my teacup spinning onto the floor with a crash. My senses on high alert, I ran. With a thought I was dressed and in full glamour. The door shook, windows rattled and the air seemed charged with an eerie, otherworldly energy. This was no mere windstorm! I fought the urge to panic. It was as if something was trying to rip the house apart. I stood by the nearest window and peered out.

  The night was still, not a leaf stirred on any of the trees. The porch swing sat calmly, not a creak, as if the world outside were frozen. I sharpened my senses, opening my mind to scan the darkness between the trees.

  I sensed him a second before he stepped out of the darkness. This man was spooky. Dark thoughts tumbled in his head, violence, lust, and a hunger for power.

  I turned and leaned my back against the curtains, sighing as the promise of rest fled. I turned, glancing out the window again to get a better look at my potential attacker. He was tall and muscular, like a typical thug should be. He had black hair slicked into one of those faux-hawks. At first it looked like he was wearing a long sleeved shirt with some crazy designs on it, yet now I could see that he was in fact shirtless and covered in tattoos. His jeans were shredded and looked to be about a hundred years old and his muddy feet were bare.

  “Damn it! What the hell now?” I muttered as I steeled my resolve. I wasn’t scared, because, lets face it; I was pretty hard to kill. I just really wanted some peace.

  The trees cast long shadows in the light of the full moon as I stepped from the warmth of my house.

  He stepped from the shadows and slowly approached. The feral look in his eyes told me that he had a little something extra going on. I felt my mind touch his and I shook my head at my rapidly dissolving rules. Entering minds was such an invasion but I found I could do it with little harm to m
y conscious. From the cocktail waitress earlier this evening to this grungy looking murdering psycho, I figured mind reading was just a means to an end. The day I start reading minds automatically without a second thought was the day I needed to shut myself away from humanity all together.

  I closed my eyes touched his thoughts. He was a scout and I had just showed him all he needed to know. I was home and according to his assessment, I was alone and helpless. Yeah, he wished. Violence bubbled to the surface of his mind and a sickening smile spread across his filthy face. He took a step closer to my house as a huge wave of muscular, unwashed bodies broke through the trees and bushy sage. I sighed, resolved to the fact that I was about to have a very bad night. Then, recognition dawned.

  Well, shit.

  Patrick’s pack had come to call.

  My limbs tensed as adrenaline flowed through my veins. I scanned their faces, only recognizing a few here and there from the club. They were all filthy as if they’d rolled and tumbled through the desert instead of walked upright like men.

  They stood their ground and I shivered as a thought occurred to me. How did a bunch of wolves cause my house to shake the way it had? The thought barely had time to form a moment before Voltaire appeared out of thin air in front of me. Oh Lovely.

  “Madea, I see you wear a false face.” Voltaire’s ugly shriveled eyes rolled inside his hideous face, taking in my glamour. “Tell me, are you so unsightly? I truly hope this is not the case, for that would surely upset my plan.”

  I frowned at him, my teeth grinding in my mouth as I tried to process his words. Voltaire has a voice that could make a mortal’s ears bleed. He is a full-fledged demon straight from Hell. Yep, and he is every bit as scary as you would think. When I first met him, I almost passed out from the sound of his voice alone. His ability to strip you down and examine every cell is a frightening reality and an even worse feeling. He could sense my glamour and that meant that he was able to use his powers on me. I was really not okay with that.