Cursed by Destiny (WG 3) (30 page)

My spine straightened. “Misha killed Virginia for attacking me?”

Bren scoffed. “
And
for poisoning you
and
for planting the witch fire.”

Taran cut him off, appearing more furious than I’d seen her in a long time. “Misha questioned the bitch with his mojo after they revived her. She admitted to paying a Tribe witch a shitload of money to make both. When the fire didn’t take you out, she slipped the poison in your bisque, knowing it would drive you to kill yourself.” A spark of blue flame crackled over her head. “But that wasn’t all. She’s also the one who sent word to the Tribe
and
the shape-shifters, painting you as the perfect weapon . . . and one that needed to be disposed of.”

Shayna played with the edges of her long ponytail. “When the poison didn’t work, she made one last desperate call to that witch who’d helped her. The Tribemaster was supposed to come for you and you alone.” She let her hair go. “She hadn’t counted on the army he brought with him or that they’d also target Misha.”

My jaw tightened. “She let them through Misha’s wards.” My sisters nodded. I shook my head in disbelief. Virginia had hated me—that was obvious—but to risk Misha’s life to come after me skydived right into psycho.

Bren leaned back into the sofa, placing his hands behind his head. “What I don’t get is why the hell you didn’t just feed Virginia to Misha? Seriously, kid, did you have to give yourself to that asshole?”

“I wasn’t really thinking, Bren. I just reacted. I mean, crap, he was going to die.” I rubbed my hands against my knees and tried to think things through. “It seems strange that Virginia would make me think Tye was Aric.”

“Ceel, you’re forgetting the poison was designed to make you crazy obsessive. You couldn’t fixate on Tye like that unless you truly believed him to be Aric.” Shayna leaned forward in her seat. “Remember how you told us Virginia was constantly lurking about? She probably learned of Destiny’s prediction. Think about it. Would anyone question you wanting Tye based on what Destiny said?”

What she said made sense. And yet, Virginia’s actions didn’t seem quite right. My mind struggled to work things through. “But wouldn’t the witch Virginia used need something of Aric’s or Tye’s to make the magic target them specifically?”

“The most powerful ones can do with just a photo, Celia,” Danny answered. He’d been quiet, listening carefully to what everyone had said. “And Tribe witches are exceptionally lethal—that’s why the Tribe recruits them.”

“Okay, I guess that wouldn’t be so hard to do.” I glanced out the window when I heard someone outside. “How are the other vampires doing?”

Bren chuckled. “Those losers are fine. The healthier ones gathered a bunch of clubbers in South Tahoe and brought them back to replenish themselves. The next day they hit the casinos and had some Mexican.”

I quirked a brow. “Mexican?”

“His name is José,” Danny explained.

Emme walked to the window. “José and his friends were looking for work so Maria brought them back here.”

“To
eat
?”

Shayna nodded. “Yeah, Ceel. But they’re also helping to repair the damage to the house. Misha is paying them a heck of a lot more than we make. We should have been carpenters.”

Aric burst through the door and barreled toward me. He scooped me into his arms before I could greet him. “What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting.”

I kissed his pursed lips and smiled. “I’ve been resting for three days. It feels good to be up.”

Aric sat on the couch, keeping me on his lap. He ran his fingers against my neck and carefully examined it. His eyes softened once he realized I wasn’t going to keel over. “Thank God you’re safe.”

I snuggled against him and took in his scent. “I’m fine, wolf.”

Bren rolled his eyes. “Get a room.”

Taran flashed a wicked smile. “Or a garden,” she sang.

My face flushed and so did Aric’s. “You told her?” he murmured in my ear. He tickled me with his nose, so I knew he wasn’t mad.

I played with the buttons on his shirt. “She pretty much figured it out on her own.”

Misha came in then, followed by Liz. “Hello, my darling.”

“Hey.” I was relieved to see him safe and healthy. So why did my body heat up and why the hell was I panting? I was surprised by how my body responded to seeing him, and so was Aric. He released me gently, then lunged at Misha. He didn’t get within three feet of him before hitting an invisible wall.

Misha flashed him a little fang, the arrogance he was infamous for soaring to the surface. “Tut, tut, tut, wolf. You know what Martin said.”

My nipples hardened at the sound of his voice, and damn, he hadn’t even glanced my way. I tried to cover myself with my arms. My aroused scent filled the room, and everyone with a supernatural nose noticed. I just about begged God to kill me when they all gawked.

Bren burst out laughing. “Oh, shit. This is going to be good.”

“
Ceel
, cut it out!” Shayna admonished.

As if I had any control over it.

Aric’s growls struck the air like a raging wind. “
What are you doing to her?
”

Misha quirked a brow, his devilish grin widening despite his obvious surprise. “Nothing, I assure you.”

Danny cleared his throat, leaning close to speak softly. “Since he fed from you so deeply, your subconscious is associating him with, um, you know . . . climaxing.”

“But I was thinking about Aric the whole time,” I answered like a dumbass.

“It should fade soon.” Danny cleared his throat again. “I hope.”

“You
hope
?”

Liz continued to file her nails, unaffected. “It’s also because of your engagement.”

I righted myself, certain I misheard. “Aric and I aren’t engaged.”

Liz dropped her arms and shot me another one of her “boy, are you dumb” scowls. “I’m talking about you and the master. In allowing him to almost drain you, you and he triggered the engagement bond. You’ll be married by the next full moon.”

“
What?
”

I exploded in a stream of feathers. Everyone jumped and gasped. No one said anything until Bren finally spoke. “Your nipples are
huge
,” he said in awe.

“Screeech?”

I looked in the glass reflection of the fireplace and realized I’d
changed
into a bald eagle. I literally was bald. I had no feathers. Just a bird body . . . and large breasts with protruding nipples.

Emme gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh, my . . .
goodness
.”

My humiliation and anger surged. Around us, anything that wasn’t pinned down levitated and exploded with blue-and-white fire. Taran ducked and just missed getting hit with pieces from a ceramic pot. “Shit!” she screamed.

Danny’s head jerked from side to side. “Celia, Taran’s and Emme’s blood is affecting you. You have to calm down. You have to—” A flying breakfast quiche nailed him in the face.

It was chaotic. Aric lunged at Misha, swearing and threatening him as he pummeled the invisible force field. Shayna batted the flaming objects with a fire poker, sending them to explode inside the fireplace. Emme and Taran tried to help me. Emme found a blanket and threw it on me, blocking the objects flying around the room with her
force
. Taran did a lousy job. She ripped into me, demanding I calm the hell down. Bren—well, he just sat on the couch watching the commotion like it was the greatest movie ever made.

When things finally stopped exploding, Shayna, Emme, and Danny busied themselves with picking up my feathers and the broken objects off the floor.

I fired a stream of obscenities at Misha, but they all came out in bird. The egotistical son of a bitch had the nerve to chuckle. “Now, poopsie, don’t upset yourself so. None of this was intentional.”

I
changed
again, this time into the Cavalier King Charles spaniel—with breasts.
Poopsie? Did you just call me poopsie? Do you think this is funny? You bastard! That’s the last time I save your pathetic bloodsucking ass. I can’t believe we’re engaged!

“Growl, bark, yip, yip, growl, woof, bark!”

You’d better wipe that damn smile off your face before I tear your throat out. You’re going to wish the Tribemaster finished you after I’m done with you.

“Bark, bark, growl, yap, growl, yip, woof!”

Liz rolled her eyes. “I’ll go get the friggin’ biscuits.” She left, but not before giving me one last annoyed look, as if everything was my fault.

Aric’s growls bordered two steps from murder. Danny approached him with his hands out. He whipped them back when Aric appeared ready to chew them off. “Aric, calm down. I’m sure there’s a way to fix this. I don’t think it’s official until they . . . ah . . .”

Aric paused from trying to kill Misha. His deep timbre fell several octaves. “Until they
what
!”

“Consummate their union,” Danny mumbled.

An icy menace chilled the air. Aric met Misha’s eyes. “
Over my dead body
.”

Knowing Aric felt threatened by Misha bothered the hell out of me. If I was engaged, it should have been to him. I whined to get his attention and wagged my tail when he lifted me wrapped in the blanket. My fuzzy head nuzzled his neck as I took in his scent and that wonderful heat that surged between us. I hadn’t recognized it for what it was, our connection as mates. Slowly my body
changed
into my human self once more. “Take me to the suite,” I whispered.

Aric carried me to the room, setting me down after he shut the door. I let the blanket drop to my feet. “Now take me to bed.”

•   •   •

Aric and I lay facing each other a long while later soaked with sweat. I continued to writhe from the effects of our lovemaking. “That was unbelievable.”

He smiled and played with my hair. “Yes, it was. I like that thing you do with your legs.”

“I could tell.” I huddled close to him and squirmed at the sound of his racing heart. “Aric, you were even louder than usual. Was that because you really enjoyed it or was that all for Misha’s sake?”

Aric answered with a sly smile.

“
Aric!
”

He climbed on top of me. “It was both, baby.” His grin faded. “I’m not sure whether I should leave you here.”

I pushed his dark hair away from his sweet baby browns. “Aric, I’m not marrying Misha.”

Aric shook his head. “It’s not only that. It’s about this whole shit with Virginia. I’m not buying she was the mastermind behind all of it. She sounds too unstable.”

A strange chill wiggled its way along my back despite how warm I felt with Aric against me. “Yeah. Neither am I. If she believed I was stealing Misha from her, I could see how she’d perceive that as the key to her destruction, especially because she lived and died for him. But the second part of that—the one that says I’ll also destroy all those it leads—doesn’t fit. Virginia didn’t lead anything. She was a one-woman psycho ward. The vampires had little to do with her.”

Aric growled. “So we’re back to square one. You not being safe.”

My fingers stretched down the strong muscles of his back. “Not necessarily. She’s no longer around to let the bad guys in or make me out to be the ultimate weapon.”

“Doesn’t matter, Celia. She fed the dark ones enough shit about you. Shit that became truth when you destroyed yet another Tribemaster.” He quieted while he thought things through. “This may still be the safest place for you. Regardless of that damn engagement the vampires think you’re a part of.”

“You know that’s not true, don’t you?”

Aric’s thumb passed over my bottom lip. “I do. But only because if you’re going to be engaged . . . it’s going to be to me. I want to marry you, Celia.”

Tears streamed down my face as I smiled. “I want to marry you, too, Aric.”

We kissed. A lot. The moment we stopped, he reached for the phone to call the house and asked to speak with Misha. “Hey there, Meesh. Your wife and I have worked up quite an appetite. How about you fix us some grub?”

CHAPTER 24

Aric was moon-called to meet with the Elders shortly after Misha hung up on him. It was actually a good thing since I didn’t want the whole situation to turn into another one of their pissing contests. We emerged from the bedroom holding hands to find several garment bags draped over the sage couch and shoe boxes stacked on the floor. Aric frowned.

I knelt to examine the shoes. They were all made of elegant satin varying in shades from stark white to deep ivory. Pearls embellished some while rhinestones sparkled the tips of others. All came in my size, but they weren’t mine. I shook my head. “I have no idea what this is about, wolf.”

He shrugged. “Crazy leeches.”

I stood and squeezed his hand. “Don’t be mean. Annoying as they may be, those crazy leeches helped save my life.”

He gathered me in his arms, growling something indiscernible. I stopped him by brushing my lips against his. I leaned against him the entire way to his Escalade. “I wish you didn’t have to leave.”

“I know, baby. But you have my word—one day we’ll never know a night without each other.”

I kissed him one last time and watched him drive through the gates. I hoped he was right, but the demands of his Elders made me worried he’d have to go
lone
to keep his promise. I wrapped my arms around myself and returned to the guesthouse, hoping to track down Emme. I found her sitting in the garden next to one of the carp ponds. Fresh snow covered the area around her. My beast, sweater, and jeans kept me warm, but the thin suede jacket Emme wore didn’t seem like enough to protect her petite frame. “Emme, what are you doing sitting out here by yourself?”

She smiled. “I wanted to give you and Aric privacy. I realize your moments together are brief.”

“Thank you, but I don’t like that you’ve been out here alone.”

“I haven’t been by myself long. I walked back to the house with Misha and the others. Ha-Hank kept me company.”

I blinked at her a few times. “
Hank
was with you?”

“Yes. I left him so he could eat. He’s ravished considering he’s had to grow back his limbs.” Her cheeks turned pink. “Celia, why are you looking at me that way?”