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

  “Voltaire,” I began, “how horrible to see you. Complimentary as always I see.” I focused my energy on covering my true self. I still had a lot to learn about my own abilities and Voltaire always made me extremely edgy.

  I stepped off of my porch onto the gravel-covered ground. My fear safely tucked away behind my severely curled lip. “What business do you have here? Or are you just out walking the dogs?” I nodded toward the filthy pack of unwashed muscle lining my drive. Christian stepped away from the pack and snarled at me. I smiled sweetly at him. His eyes were a strange yellow color and he had spittle on his chin. I guess insulting a pack of werewolves wasn’t the brightest idea. I was immortal, which was a blessing and a curse. If these wolves decided to attack and I was ripped to shreds, would those pieces of me continue? Yeah, it was something to think about for sure.

  “I have come to settle a few things. For instance, I see you no longer wear the ring, yet I sense power rolling off of you in waves. All the legends spoke of a lengthy transformation. I wonder?” he stepped closer to me. I followed his movements carefully. “How many of our legends are so inaccurate? I bet if we sliced you open, we’d find all sorts of fun answers.” He smiled and rubbed his hands together as several yips and howls resonated from the pack.

  I shuddered and bit back a small twinge of fear. Of course, I would never let it get that far. I didn’t want to hurt these men. At least not yet. I needed to know their motives first. I couldn’t fight them if I knew they were here only because they were following orders. They had to have a pure intent to do harm. Voltaire on the other hand, I couldn’t care less what his intent was. I just wanted him dead in a big way. The only problem with that idea was how to achieve it. Believe me I’ve tried to get into his head, but his mind is a steel vault.

  I spotted Dillon shuffling forward a bit. His eyes were huge and oddly shaped. It didn’t take any special powers to understand that he was ready to shift.

  I turned my attention back to Voltaire. “You said a few things; so far all you have discovered is that I no longer need the ring. Why drag an entire pack out here just to verify that? Sorry, V but I get the impression that you have a few more things up your sleeve.” I folded my arms and yawned dramatically. “If that’s the case, can you get on with it? I’m a bit sleepy.”

  “You mock me?” He seemed to grow larger. His sallow old man façade shrunk and shriveled into a horrible mask of decay. I felt my eyes grow large with shock and revulsion as chunks of skin began to slide off Voltaire’s putrid face.

  Patrick’s pack swelled in numbers. Filthy bodies crowded closer to my home. The sickening smell of sweat and Voltaire’s rotting flesh played havoc with my composure. I knew I was in trouble and thanks to Patrick; a lot of these men were going to die.

  I was about to break yet another rule and strike out at the group in masse when a mud covered Range Rover screeched wildly into my driveway, kicking up a choking cloud of rocks and dirt. The door was thrown open and Lucian jumped out at a run, his hair flying behind him in a tangled mass. He was shirtless and his feet were bare. Faded jeans hugged his firm thighs as he ran. I had only a moment to appreciate the view before all hell broke loose.

  Voltaire spun toward Lucian as I ran from the porch. Lucian’s arms were extended toward Voltaire while he screamed at him in Latin. It was some sort of spell, freezing Voltaire in place like a satanic mime. It was impressive and took me completely by surprise. My mind was spinning as chaos erupted around us.

  Patrick’s pack began to scream and holler as one by one they each fell to the ground in a heap of fluid and cracking bone. The change was awe-inspiring and also a bit disgusting. It sounded like a thousand carrots being snapped in half. Clothing ripped as well as flesh. Jaws elongated, splitting human lips to shreds. It was a train wreck; I couldn’t look away. There was no magical cloud to disguise the shift, no shield to save my mind from the horror and pain.

  The screaming and moaning died down as the wolves appeared. They were beautiful. My feet were rooted to the spot as I gazed in wonder at the magnificent animals. I could hear Lucian yelling at me and then I felt a violent jerk as he forced me from my daze into a run beside him.

  “Why are we running?” I asked somewhat dreamily. “I won’t get hurt; I can take care of myself.” My voice shook as we picked up speed, Lucian all but dragging me along side him.

  “We have to lead those bastards away from your house! Jesus, Grace! What the hell do they want? A whole pack? Why would they show up at your door? I thought only Voltaire was here. I was prepared for that!”

  I could hear the wolves close behind us. “How could you have prepared?” I was getting a bad feeling. My mind was picking up speed and I knew that whatever Lucian was about to say was going to piss me off.

  “I was scrying.”

  Yep. I was pissed. “Damn it Lucian!” I stopped abruptly, freezing the area around us in a flash of anger. I didn’t mean to do it, but somehow my subconscious took over and made something happen that was most helpful. I hated to upset the balance, but it seemed I was doing it more and more easily now that I had decided to reconcile with myself.

  “Scrying? Bullshit! You mean spying!”

  “No, Grace. I was merely showing a friend of mine how to do it. It was just natural for me to hone in on you. When I saw Voltaire, I went nuts. I know he’s a big time player in the Council and you and I both know your powers work differently with him.”

  My breath caught and I yelled, “You showed me to a friend? What if I was doing something private? What if my glamour was down? Man I could kill you.” I wanted to storm off in a huff, but that would leave Lucian literally to the wolves, so I just glared.

  “I didn’t let her see the image. I wouldn’t do that to you, Grace. Honestly.”

  “Her?” I screeched. Who was this ‘her’ person?

  “Oh, um.” He looked sheepish, “Lydia, she’s my new apprentice.” He stood taller and I was suddenly struck with a whole new horror. Lucian was half dressed and working with a woman? My heart sank and all thoughts of danger and wolves and nasty rotting demons fled, replaced with the image of my beautiful Lucian in bed with some faceless woman who I knew didn’t deserve him.

  Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Lucian continued. “Grace, we need to get these wolves away from here. Can you just zap them someplace else? Lydia has no real magic yet, she can’t defend herself.” He looked truly scared.

  “She’s here?” I shouted. “Why the hell would you bring her here?” I felt my anger rise at his foolishness. “Fine Lucian, you go protect the little lady, I’ll take care of the wolves. And the answer to your question is no. I can’t just zap them someplace, or rather I won’t. Never mind my eight million discussions about balance, but where do you suggest I send a pack of angry, hungry werewolves?” I shouted louder, “I’m not perfect and I make mistakes everyday. I won’t unleash them anywhere else. Someone could get killed.” I was so angry and upset at him that I was having a hard time focusing on the much more important issue at hand. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Lucian, I want you to run the other way. Do you understand me? Don’t stop to check on me, just run.” I turned on my heel and strode away from him. “Hide behind that rise and once you hear them start to chase me, you move.” I hollered over my shoulder, pointing vaguely to a large hill covered with dried sage and jumbled tumbleweeds. “Believe me, they won’t follow you.” When he didn’t respond, I turned.

  His arms were folded and he was frowning at me, “What are you going to do, Grace?” His voice was hushed and laced with annoyance.

  “Really, Lucian?” I shook my head. “You’re the one who brought the woman into a dangerous situation. You were rushing here to fight Voltaire for cripes sake. What did you think was going to happen?” He looked at his hands as if meeting my eyes was too much. I didn’t care. He screwed up and I wasn’t above letting him know.

  “Look, it was amazing how you froze Voltaire like that. But now because you c
hose to bring your helpless apprentice with you, I have to play chase with a bunch of jerk-off wolves. Stupid move, Lucian.” I sighed. “But thank you for helping.” He looked at me then and I tried to smile past my irritation. “Now go, and don’t worry about these assholes, they really can’t hurt me.” I turned my back again, ignoring his grumbles. He wanted to save the little hussy, okay, that was bitchy, the little lady. Then I wouldn’t let him down. No matter who he screwed, he was still my Lucian and I didn’t want to see him hurt.

  With Lucian running fast the other way, I cleared my mind. What I was about to do was beyond dangerous and I sighed. Shoving all the warnings in my head aside, I dropped a portion of my glamour allowing my pheromones to run free. Energy rushed around me as I set the wolves free from their suspended animation.

  I ran through the sage and boulders toward another large hill that rose up behind my property. The other side was open country for another five hundred acres. If I could make it there, then Lucian and Lydia would be safe. I could only hope that Lucian’s spell still held Voltaire.

  I tossed a quick glance behind me. Damn, there must be at least fifty wolves behind me! I jumped into a dry creek bed and raced along its path.

  They were fast and I knew that my pheromones were perfuming the air like crazy. They would follow me forever if their stamina let them. I had to tire them out. I slowed to a stop, turning to allow the wolves to close in. When they were about ten feet from me, I zapped myself onto the top of the small hill as far from the racing pack as I could safely go. They continued in the direction of my pheromones and I ran.

  My mind was struggling to work it all out. I wondered what the hell the wolves were doing here in the first place. I couldn’t let them lose sight of me. The whole point was to get them away from my home and the innocent people there. Damn it. Voltaire was powerful enough to make this little house call on his own. Why would he want the wolves?

  Cool air kissed my skin as I picked up speed. Howls and yips sounded distant behind me as my feet flew at an unnatural speed. I had to admit it was exhilarating. With my glamour reduced, even by such a small amount, I felt free.

  The wolves were moving in closer and I slowed allowing them to catch up, closing the distance a moment before I zapped myself back to the top of the hill. They were slowing. I managed to zap myself back and forth another half a dozen times as I tried to puzzle out the reason for their presence.

  I moved to the hill, reveling in the power of my pheromones. The scent had to be pretty strong to attract these beasts.

  Wait, pheromones? I stumbled on the uneven ground and almost fell flat on my face. Balancing myself, I slowed my pace as all the pieces started to fall into place. My pheromones. My body was producing super charged pheromones and now thanks to Patrick, Voltaire was using that knowledge to his advantage. The wolves would be more than happy to run me to ground. It would mean more power for them. I let the reality of that sink in and I stopped in the middle of the clearing.

  Holy shit!

  Patrick said that I’d made it worse for myself. His reaction had been shocking. I knew he wasn’t attracted to me personally. No, the animal in him was attracted to the power in me. Like any creature in nature, he wanted the best mate he could get. And now it seemed my power had just made me lucky bachelorette number one. Shit!

  But, wait a minute, what was in it for Voltaire?

  I paced in the dirt, puzzling out my thoughts as the wolves closed in on me. I zapped onto the top of the hill again and looked over my shoulder toward the advancing pack. The answer was starring me in the face. Voltaire would use the wolves to kidnap me. He probably already had Lucian and Lydia. I felt overcome and began to run again. I could feel the blood in my body cool. “Oh. My. God! Not again!” I cried and then in a daze, I zapped myself to the top of the hill and right into the path of a huge black wolf. The air left my lungs as the massive animal smashed into my chest.

  SIX

  Being a Madea, you would think that getting knocked unconscious would be a thing of the past, but sadly, it was not. I woke to the smell of wet dog and the horrifying feeling of being tied up.

  I was pissed. My shock at the realization that Voltaire was helping Patrick’s pack abduct me had put me in a state of momentary paralysis. And holy hell, I coughed, that wolf packed a punch.

  I rolled over and tried to examine the ropes from the awkward position they had me bound in. They were spelled, which would explain why I wasn’t being guarded. I felt along the ropes with my mind and smiled. It was a small matter to untwist the spell. Damn if this was all they had, then they really had no idea what a Madea could do.

  I stood, rubbing my chest as the useless ropes fell away from my body. The fact that they bothered to tie me up at all was puzzling. Could they truly be that ignorant? Who knew? I wasn’t going to stick around and find out. I still had the huge problem of Voltaire. If Lucian was hurt, I was going to kill him.

  I stumbled along the filthy clearing that my inept abductors chose to dump me in. There was a smoking fire pit and several empty bottles of Jack. I stopped short. I had almost put my foot into a pool of blood.

  “Gross. What the hell?” I mumbled to myself as I maneuvered over rocks and debris. Bits and pieces of mutilated rabbits were strewn here and there. God, what a bunch of animals. I shook my head. Oh, right, they were animals. But the question was, where did the wolves go and why did they leave me all alone? I didn’t feel the need to question things further. I had a friend to save. I couldn’t afford to confront my bungling kidnappers and risk wasting time that could be precious to Lucian’s safety.

  With a thought, I was back in full glamour and landing in my driveway.

  Lucian’s vehicle was still parked in front. I held my breath and looked around. All evidence of our encounter with Voltaire and the wolves was reduced to some scattered rocks and a few trampled plants. I walked up the drive to my house. The sound of a female laughing slapped me in the face as I opened the door. I straightened my spine, he was safe, I told myself, as her giggles grew louder.

  They were snuggled together on my grandmas’ couch, covered up with my favorite blanket. The sight shocked me to my core and it was all I could do not to run from the room while bawling my eyes out. Instead, I plastered a smile on my face and entered the room.

  The cocky smile Lucian sent my way was completely out of character for him. I cleared my throat causing Lydia to look my way.

  My face fell and I knew I was in deep trouble. She was stunning. Her short pixie cut hair was a glossy, mahogany, brown. It stuck up here and there as if she had just woken up. Her pale skin was free of blemishes and her full pink lips could only be described as ‘pouty’. Well, this sucked.

  “How’d it go?” Lucian asked as he stretched his massive body and stood up from the couch. I just stared at him. Was he kidding?

  “How’d it go?” I struggled to rein in my annoyance and as usual, I failed. “What the hell do you mean, ‘How’d it go’?” I walked further into the room, ignoring the scared puppy dog expression on Lydia’s stupid, angelic face. “I just led a pack of over fifty werewolves away from here so that you could stay safe. It wasn’t a trip to the Quickie Mart for a slushy!” I glared at him. He was acting odd. This chick was definitely not good for him.

  “Cool down, Grace. You and I both know you could handle those stupid dogs. What’s the problem?” he sat back down and wrapped his strong arm protectively around Lydia. She snuggled into his side and cast her wounded eyes toward me as if I were some sort of frightening monster. I looked down at my jeans and soft leather boots. Yeah, my glamour was in place. I guess she was just sensitive to yelling. Wonderful, all I needed in my life was a coddled little princess that Lucian, with all of his white knight chivalry, felt he needed to protect. What hurt the most was that it looked like he was protecting her from me.

  I forced my thoughts away form that territory and held my hand out to her. “Sorry for being rude, Lydia.” I smiled as she looked at me. “I was ju
st worried. Hi, I’m Grace.” Her delicate hand grasped mine in a weak, floppy grip that made want to smack her. Instead, I shook her hand gently resisting the overwhelming urge to squish her fingers. I felt like an Amazon. She was so petite my hand practically swallowed hers. I couldn’t help the small twinge of jealousy. Lucian could really be the man with her. The kind of man he could never be with me. I didn’t need protecting. Oh, man. Suddenly I wanted to puke.

  “Well, it looks like you two made it away from Voltaire just fine.” I tried to smile and felt my lips barely twitch. “Your spell really worked, huh? How’d you come up with it so quickly? I thought you said a demon was too powerful for any of your spells.” I sat across from them in my creaky rocking chair. I was having a hard time seeing them together. I mean, Lucian and I had never been a couple, but the thought was there. I guess I just never thought that he would actually find someone. I guess I always just assumed that I was the one he wanted and it was a safe bet that he would always be there. What an ass I was. As if I was the ultimate prize that he had to hold out for.

  “The spell was actually Lydia’s.” Lucian’s voice cut through my inner turmoil. “Even though her magic isn’t what it could be, she has a real knack for writing spells.” he beamed at her. “We’ve been working on it for a couple of days now and needed an opportunity to try it out. When I was scrying and saw Voltaire, I knew it was the perfect time to use it.”

  All right, now I was offended. “You mean you weren't really coming to the rescue at all? You said you went nuts. Do you mean to tell me you were just taking your spell out for a test drive?” Irritation and hurt threatened to spill from my eyes at any moment. I bit the inside of my cheek to stem the flow of tears.