The stage was bare, but the amount of people in the bar was staggering. Who the hell was playing tonight? I pushed my way through the crowd to the bar and took a seat. Most of the people were too into the stage and not worried about the bar as much.

The bartender glanced at me and I motioned for a water. He smiled and I felt a little weird asking for something so simple, but getting drunk was not on the list tonight.

That’s when I heard the crowd roar and glanced at the stage. Standing there scanning the crowd was one of the hottest men I’d ever seen. I let out a little laugh at my own reaction before I pushed it away. Then he locked eyes with me and I thought she might pass out.

The energy rolled over me and my skin prickled and a shiver came over me. I shook my head recognizing the magick in the air. This band wasn’t just headed by a man, but a man with magick.

Figures I’d meet someone like him on the last day of my single life. He held my gaze with his emerald eyes and I couldn’t look away. Then he started singing.

The melody pushed through me and I smiled slightly. The way it wrapped around me like it was holding me with magick all while that gorgeous man sung to what seemed like only me. The man’s lips turned up in a small smile as he sang, still looking straight at me. Finally, I tore my gaze away and glanced towards the door where my friends were rushing inside.

Mira, my oldest friend waved excitedly and hurried to sit next to me, her light curly hair bouncing as she pushed through the hordes of people singing along with the lead singer.

“Isn’t he great?” Mira said as she sat next to me . Lance another friend took the seat next to her and leaned in to get in on the conversation.

“I’ve loved this band for the last three years. They started here in Los Angeles way back then,” Lance said raising his eyebrows. “That guitar player is yummy.”

I laughed and shook my head stealing another glance at that lead singer. Their music wasn’t bad, but I had a sneaking suspicion the reason they’d gotten so far had more to do with the magick that man was weaving than anything else.

“Have you heard of them?” He said still watching the band play.

“Not until tonight,” I answered. “Shadow, right?”

“That’s their name, but I hear it’s because the lead singer and the guitar player are brothers and that’s their last name.”

“That’s a sandwich I’d want to be in the middle of,” Lance practically growled.

“We get it, you really like them.” Mira said with an eye roll. She turned back to me. “What do you think?”

I bit my lip for a moment. It wasn’t like they knew what I was and that I used to help my family hunt down Demons. Sure they knew I practiced Witchcraft, but who didn’t anymore. “They’re good. Not really my type of music, but they are good.”

“How could they not be your type of music? Do you even hear them, Lila?” Lance was entranced and I just leaned back in my seat. I figured it was fine as long as no one was getting hurt by their musical magick.

“Personal preference, I guess,” I said with a slight smile.

“It’s weird that you’re marrying someone you haven’t even met yet,” Mira changed the subject, but I almost wished they would just stay on the band.

“Family tradition,” I said with a shrug.

“Still. That kind of tradition should have died out a long time ago,” Mira said before ordering a drink.

“You’re not wrong,” I muttered to myself.

“So, do you have any details?”

I shrugged. I didn’t know anything about him. Only that he was a powerful Warlock and if I didn’t marry him, the Warlock Royalty would kill my family.

No pressure.

“Not really,” I said. It was one of the honest things I could tell my friends before tomorrow. then everything would change. I wasn’t even sure I could still have the friends I had now. Best case I would just be a pretty trophy some Warlock kept and he wouldn’t pay much attention to me. Worst case, well I didn’t want to think about that.

“It sucks they won’t let you have people at the wedding. I’d like to see who the hell is taking my best friend away from me,” Mira said with a frown.

“It’s a small wedding and no one is really going to be there. Just my family and maybe some of his,” I smiled. “It’s just how it works. I mean it normally works out fine.” Part of me didn’t know if I even believed what I was saying. The pieces of history that my family drilled into me were simple. Witches that were separate from the ones who had covens they could rely on. Families like mine didn’t play by the same rules and sometimes they had to bend them a little. The only way out would be if I joined some random Coven or became a one woman one. That was incredibly rare because it meant magick was limited, but I almost did it and depending on what I saw tomorrow, I might just put it back on the table of possibilities.

I glanced back at the band playing and thought about how free it must be to just play music and travel. I felt a smile form on my lips and that lead singer glanced back at me. Again a flow of magick pushed through me and she shook my head. Behind the magick was something else, and my mind wondered as I watched him work the crowd. The way he moved and his muscles rippled under his shirt. The way his long dark hair fell on his shoulders when he moved just right. For a moment I wasn’t sure if this was magick or if this was something else. I mean there’s not harm in looking and fantasizing, right? He never stopped singing but raised his eyebrows as if he could tell she wasn’t phased by what his music was doing.

“Man he’s hot,” Mira said beside her and all Lila could do was nod. She wasn’t wrong.

***

I stepped out of the club and the cool hair felt nice against my sweaty skin. Whoever thought a small dive bar in the middle of downtown was a great idea for this kind of thing was crazy.

I took a deep breath and stepped to the side so others could come out. Mira and Lance were still inside talking to the band and I just needed to get out of there and the heat growing with each song. I wasn’t sure if it was something that Lead singer was doing or if it was just me, but I wasn’t interested in finding out. I fanned myself until Mira and Lance stepped in front of me. She watched me with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you okay, Lila?” She had a slight smile on her face and I laughed.

“I’m good. It was just really hot in there,” I answered without saying anything else.

“You good to get home?”

I nodded. It wasn’t like it was all that far and I’d walked these streets at night so many times I’d lost count. Even if a rogue Demon thing attacked me, I was well equipped to slow it down or take it out if I wanted to.

She nodded and glanced at Lance before pulling out her phone to order an Uber. “Don’t do anything stupid and call me or something when you get home.”

I forced a smile.

“I mean unless you’re going to make a run for it and not get hitched tomorrow,” she said with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“You know that’s not going to happen,” I grumble. “It would be really bad for my family.”

“Money troubles, huh?” Lance said with a laugh. I gave him a look and he shrugged.

“I’ll call you when I get in the door. Promise.” I crossed my heart and reached out to my friend. Even if I did get to see my friends after the marriage, I wanted to make sure I got a hug while I was still me. Mira pulled me into her arms and it took everything to not cry at the thought I might never get to see her again.

“I love you, man,” Lance said as he joined the hug and we laughed.

This was nice and I didn’t want it to end, but that’s not life goes. Things change and I didn’t have a choice but to go with it.

I pulled away and waved as they got into their car. I took a deep breath as the last of the people who came to the show cleared out. Getting home was easy from here. It was just down the street and past this creepy library, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t see everything. The lighting was good in this area of LA, but I wouldn’t say it was the safest.

I walked down the first part of the street and past a couple of tents set up on the side of the sidewalk. I frowned at the fact there were people living like this, but that was an issue I couldn’t do anything about right now. The only thing I could do was save my family and then maybe I could go back to some kind of work to protect the people here but it wouldn’t be from social things. That was a monster I couldn’t fight.

I heard it before I saw it.

The snapping of bones and nails on the cement made me suck in a breath before turning back to the little tent. I held my stance and watched, waiting for when it would make an appearance.

I was on the ground before I could register how hard I’d hit it. My vision blurred, but I could feel the weight of it on top of me. The thing laughed as my vision slowly came back. The curl of his lip displayed a long fang and his horrible breath in my face as he laughed like he’d won a prize.

“Not many of your kind just running the streets at night. Where’s your Coven?” He snarled pushing into me harder. I fought to breathe. “You don’t have one do you?” He seemed elated by that thought.

“Get off me,” I manage, but it comes out as more of a whisper.

He laughed and his light hair falls forward as he smells me. “Must be my lucky night.” Before I can think of a smart ass comeback, his fangs pierce through my skin and I gasp. The pain is blinding, but it’s replaced quickly by a calming almost euphoric feeling. then it’s ripped away as fast as it was there.

I feel myself fading, falling down some dark hole. It’s cold and I’m alone and I’m dying.

I’m fucking dying because of a Vampire.

Except I’m not, I feel warmth coming back into my limbs and body. Everything is lighting up with heat and that smell. Cinnamon and Vanilla like my favorite bakery made cookies and I got there just in time.

I fight to open my eyes and see just the outline of a man with me in his arms. I can’t make out his face but he’s got me pulled into him and I feel… safe. I can’t keep them open any longer and they flutter shut. I hold onto that smell until darkness consumes me again.

***

The screeching of my alarm pulls me out of darkness and I grumble as I hit the damn thing. It keeps screeching so I throw it against the wall and it finally stops. My whole body hurts, but I’m home and safe. I reach up and feel my neck, but there isn’t any sign of the fight last night. Well more like me just getting my ass handed to me, but you know.

I glance at my phone and realize why the alarm was screaming at me at this ungodly hour.

It’s my wedding day and I just wanted to climb back into bed.

I sighed and crawled out of my bed, my thoughts still on the man that carried me home and healed me up. I’d never met anyone that had that kind of power. Usually when you got pinned and bit by a Vamp, it was lights out.

I stopped and glanced in the mirror at my neck, pulling my auburn hair away from my neck. There weren’t even any marks on me. It was like it never happened. I wrinkled my forehead and sighed. I’d have to find that man and thank him later. Today the only thing on my mind was saving my family from torture and death at the hands of the Warlock council.

I grabbed the white dress my future husband had sent me and threw it into a bad. I know, that’s not how you treat a pretty wedding dress, but this whole wedding thing wasn’t even my idea.

I hurried through the building and down to the street while fumbling with my phone to get a ride. God, I hate how things are sometimes.

While waiting for my ride, I kept glancing all around me. The last thing I wanted was to get caught off guard again. I mean it’s day time so there’s no Vampires running around unless they got a hold of some weird jewelry I don’t know about. My mind trailed off to some of the shows I’d watched growing up. They had all the legends wrong. I mean sure you could take out a Vampire with a stake if you wanted to, but who was stupid enough to go toe to toe with one? Oh right, I did last night, kinda. More like toe to ground.

The car pulled up and I scooted inside. I sighed knowing this was the day that was going to make everything different. I would be different after this. Hell, I didn’t even know this guy and now I’d be expected to be a wife and help rebuild the Warlock blood lines. Yuck.

The address I was given wasn’t a church. It was more like a warehouse with nothing but white metal walls on the outside. I sighed and got out of the car. This was a sterile as it got and maybe that was the point. To the Warlocks this was a business transaction. To me it was the rest of my life.

My mom was waiting in the parking lot and smiled when she saw me. My little sister wasn’t allowed as it was supposed to be small, but I know it was my mom’s way of keeping her out of sight. Maybe they wouldn’t even bother with her. I mean they usually stuck with only one of the children in a family. It made things easier so bloodlines didn’t cross or something like that.

“You aren’t going to leave your hair like that are you?” Mom scowled at me and I sighed.

“I can’t do my hair like you can. Plus, why even bother? It’s not like it matters.”

“It matters to me,” she forced a smile. “You’re my oldest daughter and you’re getting married. This only happens once in a lifetime.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. She was right, and this would be my only marriage no matter what. You didn’t get to say this isn’t working and walk away. Not with Warlocks.

“What do you have in mind?” I forced a smile and followed my mom into the warehouse.

The inside was as boring as the outside. There were some rooms set up, I was guessing for the main wedding and so we’d have a little privacy while we were getting ready for the wedding itself. I sighed and we made our way towards a room at the end of a hallway that was ours. At least I figured it was when I saw the big Bride sign on the door.

“Sit down and I’ll do your hair,” my mom said, putting a hand on my shoulder. It was amazing how she knew when I was feeling like my whole life was over. Maybe it was because I was marrying someone I didn’t know or maybe it was just because her little girl was leaving the household I grew up in.

“It doesn’t have to be anything crazy,” I said and she just gave me a look. “Okay then.”

“Have you even looked at your dress yet?” She asked while she dug through her bag for her hair styling things.

“Nope,” I stated simply. “There is no reason for me to care what it looks like. This isn’t a wedding I wanted to be in at all.”

“No, but you are now.”

It was a simple statement but it hit me harder than anything I’d even heard the last few days. I didn’t want to be married to some stranger that I didn’t know but it was happening. Maybe I should at least enjoy the pretty dress this guy bought for me.

I grumbled and walked over to the chair I’d thrown the dress over and lifted it. It was a beautiful dress. The bodice was a soft white lace with gems creating an intricate swirl design. The skirt itself was only slightly puffy which made me happy because those women with the ultra puffy skirts made me want to punch them.

“Do you want me to put it on first or do the hair first?” I asked her as I thumbed the fabric. It was a soft as it was beautiful.

She glanced at me and smiled. “Put it on. I want to see it on you.” She kept her eyes on me. “It will help me with your hair.”

I sighed and took my jeans and t shirt off. I just threw on what I had knowing I’d have to change into a dress at some point. When I slipped the dress on, I was shocked it was the right size. My hands slid down the skirt and I took a deep breath. I had to admit, I looked amazing and it was more comfortable than I thought it would be.

My mom smiled at me and cocked her head to the side. “You look beautiful,” she almost whispered.

“Mom, I don’t think I can do this,” I sat in the chair as I spoke. “I don’t want to give up everything I am to a man I don’t know.”

“i know,” she said simply. She ran the brush through my hair, taking all the tangles from the night before out with it. “I’m sorry you have to do this.”

“Me too,” I muttered.

“I promise it’s not going to be as bad as you think.”

“How do you know?” I asked with my hands in my lap against that damned soft skirt.

“I just do,” she said with a smile.

I made a face as she continued messing with my hair. The woman was gifted in knowing things that was her power. We had no idea how I ended up with such a destructive one compared to her.

“What if he decides I’m not what he wants?” I had never felt so less confident. Normally I was okay when it came to men and myself. I wasn’t a stranger to dating. I mean I was almost thirty two. It also seemed weird they waited as long as they did to make this happen. Almost like they were waiting for something else I didn’t know about.

“How could he now like you in all ways?” She said as she weaved her magick in my hair. Taking each of the strands and making something beautiful out of the mess of tangles I didn’t even bother to brush out before I came.

“I hope you’re right. At least enough that we can get along. I don’t care about the rest,” I said trailing off. What would I do about the rest. I mean they were going to expect a baby at some point and let’s face it, I wasn’t getting younger. It wouldn’t be long before they’d be bothering me to carry one of those damned Warlocks. Gross.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. I looked at my mom and she forced a smile. She was just as nervous as I was. The only thing I could do was hold on to the hope that this wouldn’t be as bad as some of the marriages I’d heard about in the past. That wasn’t something I wanted to have happen to me as much as anyone else.

I grabbed the bouquet of Peonies, the only thing I did get to pick in this wedding and followed my mom towards a large double door. She ran her hand over my cheek and smiled.

“I know this is hard, but you’re strong and fearless. You can do this.” She pulled her hand away and walked through the doors. A minute later I was being escorted through by a large man I didn’t know and I saw the most impressive scene of my life. the entire room was full of Peonies.

I glanced at the floor covered in petals and the walls lined with the flowers in pinks and whites. The flowers at the altar were also a mixture of white and pink flowers. I shook my head and couldn’t help but smile. Maybe this guy wouldn’t be so bad? That’s when I glanced up at the man waiting at the altar. He turned his head and my eyes locked onto his.

There was a blast of that same energy, that same magick and I stopped walking suddenly. I wasn’t just marrying a Warlock.

I was marrying a Rockstar.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Two

Lila

I took a deep breathe and walked up the aisle. The smell of those pink and white flowers filled the air and gave me a little hope. The question still remained on how the hell he knew I’d even like these. He didn’t ask me. Maybe my mother met him and didn’t tell me about it. Normally that’s not allowed for some stupid Warlock reason.

I sighed and let the smell of the flowers fill me. At least I could enjoy them before I gave my whole life away. His eyes were still laser focused on me as I tried to avoid those damn emerald eyes. I failed, but I didn’t feel that same overwhelming sense of magick. It must only happen when he sings.

Once I reached the altar, I gave the man overseeing the wedding a tight smile. the last thing I wanted was to seem ungrateful. Yuck.

“My name is River,” he said as I took his arm.

I forced a smile at him, but whispered, “I don’t care,” under my breath. Did he just smirk at me? I turned away and kept my eyes on the priest or whatever this guy was overseeing the wedding. It didn’t matter as long as I could get this over with and get out of here. I felt my chest tighten as I realized I would never get to get out of here, not alone anyway. I was now tied to this man that I didn’t know and had n desire to. This wasn’t how I wanted my day to go, let alone my life.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife, “ the guy said and I glanced at him, at River. They didn’t expect me to kiss this guy, did they? He raised his eyebrows and I put a hand on his chest and cocked my head. Clearly there was no way I was going to kiss him that easily. I mean sure, he has those beautiful pouty lips that are begging to be kissed and those eyes that could make even the most seasoned woman bow before him, but me? Not happening.

Before I can even finish my thought, I felt him pull me to him and smirk for only a second before those luscious lips claimed mine. The surprise melted slightly with the intensity of it. The way his lips commanded mine and the way my damn body surrendered without a fight. Traitor.

Then just as quickly as he’d claimed my lips, he pulled away leaving me standing there falling into those eyes. I quickly pulled myself together and gave him my best impression of a scowl. He chuckled and I lost my thoughts. What is happening to me?

He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door into the hallway area and spun on me. He gave me a look that was either pure lust or anger. I couldn’t decide.

“What the hell was that?” I snapped without thinking.

“What?” He said with a hint of a smile. Yep, lust it is.

“That fucking kiss,” I said without dropping my voice.

He glanced behind me and pulled me further down the hallway. He opened a door I didn’t see before and pulled me in before I could say anything.

“Are you serious?” I asked without thinking.

River leaned on am old Victorian style chair sitting in the corner and watched me. He didn’t even bother to say anything.

“You dragged me out of there for what exactly?” I said crossing my arms.

He tightened his jaw like he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to answer me. I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you might want a break after that.”

I watched him, taking in everything about him. He was awfully relaxed for someone forced into a marriage. “A break?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I didn’t want to do this in the first place.”

“Neither did I, but we both don’t have a choice.” He said it so calmly I was caught off guard.

“I assumed you had a choice,” I snapped at him.

“I was pushed into this as much as you were,” He said as his eyes raked over my body. I felt unusually vulnerable by the way his eyes lingered on me before meeting my gaze again. “But I think we can make the most of this situation.”

Unbelievably cocky man.

“You’re a dick.” The words slipped out before I could stop them and even I was a little taken aback by my attitude. I mean I was standing here with a Rock God who was also now my husband and I was calling him names. Something has to be wrong with me.

He smiled and I felt myself thinking the same he had just a minute ago. About how his body would feel against mine. How he’d start. Would it be soft and gentle with kisses and sweet words? No, he wasn’t that kind of man. I could see it already. He’d pin me to the wall and make me beg.

Maybe I wanted that.

As if he read my mind, he closed the gap between us, his hands on either side of my head, pinning me against the wall. He smiled and I held my composure even though every part of me wanted to run my hands down his chest and see if they felt as good as they looked.

“We have our entire honeymoon to get to know each other, Lila.”

The way he said my name with that low raspy voice did things to me that I didn’t dare tell him. His gaze dropped to my mouth and then back to my eyes. He leaned in closer. So close I could smell his scent. Cinnamon and Vanilla.

The recognition hit me and I couldn’t breathe. He was the one that saved me from the Vampire. He carried me back home all without saying anything or telling me a damn thing about today. He knew.

“I didn’t have a choice when it came to getting married, but I did choose you, Lila.” His breath sent shivers through me and I had to stifle a moan.

“You knew,” I said.

“I did.” He didn’t move as he let his lips lightly brush the skin of my neck. “And now you’re mine.” He kissed the part of my heck the Vampire bit last night and I couldn’t think. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. This man had lied about everything. He knew who I was the moment he saw me in that club, but I almost didn’t care. His lips on my skin were like little sparks of fire. It made me want nothing more than to stay here, with him and those lips on my neck, my mouth, my…

He pulled away and I almost gasped at the emptiness. When I met his gaze he had that god damned smile on his face and I wanted to slap him. Finally, my senses are back, sort of.

“We have to talk to my father before we leave,” he said like nothing had happened. Like he wasn’t pressed against me just a minute ago.

“You’re father’s the one that arranged this, right?” The best thing I could do was get my mind away from the way I just felt and get on with this thing. There would be time to talk to him about what he said later.

Right now it was time to play the good little Warlock wife.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Three

Lila

I sat in the chair and watched as his father stared at me like I was prey that he wanted to either kill or eat. His dark hair was a vast difference from Rivers. while they both were the same color, his was streaked with silver and wasn’t as long. He’d seen some things. Probably made some horrible things happen too.

I struggled not to shudder at the thought. His eyes were fixed on me as he took me in.

“You’re pretty enough,” he said and I forced myself to smile like it was a compliment. River looked as though he was ready to put him through a wall. It was weird to me that this man who even if he’d saved me last night, still had no idea who I was or what I was about. There was no reason for him to care as much as he seemed to. Maybe it was a possession thing.

“Your mother said you had power,” he said, cocking his head at me. “What kind?”

“You would think you would have asked that before you picked me to be his wife,” I said without thinking.

River smirked at me and his father sighed.

“I’ve heard you can control fire, but I don’t know what extent your power runs.” He watched me probably trying to see if I was going to lie about my power.

I simply smiled more and shrugged. “I guess I’ve never pushed myself to see.” He raised an eyebrow but seemed satisfied for now.

River seemed bored by the whole thing and sighed loudly. I had to stifle a laugh. “I think that’s enough for now. We really should get going.”

“Right, the honeymoon.” His father seemed annoyed at that. A part of me wondered what the big deal was. It wasn’t like I was going to pop out an heir on the floor in front of him.

“When we get back we can talk more about everything,” River said and his father nodded.

“And we can test this power. We need strong Warlocks, not weak Witches.”

What the hell does that mean? I made a face and watched him leave. I was very aware of River and his eyes being glued to me like some kind of prize.

“What are you looking at?” I said like a teenager annoyed with their parents.

He just laughed and shook his head. “You’re going to be a challenge, aren’t you?”

I shrugged. Leave it to my sassy ass to back talk probably one of the most powerful Warlock families in the country, but what the hell did I care? We were married now. The only way they could get rid of me was to kill me.

Oh crap. That was not the thought I wanted to go to, but there it was. Maybe I should start playing nice.

“You’re a challenge. Can’t say I don’t like that,” He said, his eyes still watching me. “I won’t push you into anything, but as far as everyone needs to know, we can’t keep our hands off each other.” He looked down and his face fell. “It’s best to keep us both safe.”

“You never told me about last night,” I changed the subject, sort of.

“What part of last night,” he said with a smile.

“The part where a Vampire almost killed me and you took me home.” Am I blunt? Yes and I’m not ashamed of it.

“Oh that?” He said with a playful smile. “I heard you and just managed to step in at the right time.”

“Uh huh,” I said holding his gaze. “You followed me.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure you can’t read minds?”

“I don’t need to read your mind.” I cocked my head at him and waited.

“You’re my wife and it’s my job to keep you safe,” he said simply.

“I wasn’t then,” I retorted.

He didn’t say anything, but glanced at his watch. “We need to go if we’re going to catch our flight.”

“Flight?” I said without thinking.

“Honeymoon, remember?”

Yeah, that.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Four

The plane was everything she could ever want. Of course it was private and had everything laid out just for them. There was great food on trays connected to the plane itself and big leather seats that were too comfortable to be real. I let myself kind of mold into the one furthest from the pilot. River was sitting on the couch across from me with his head back enjoying the comfort as well. At least that was what I figured.

“Do you travel like this a lot?” I said without thinking. I mean of course he does.

He opened his eyes and looked at me with a slight smile. “Every time I leave LA.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I muttered. Duh, Lila.

“You can have anything here. Just ask for it and it’s yours,” he said.

He must have seen my open mouth as I looked at all the food. It smelled better than it looked, but I had no idea what any of it was. I picked up what looked like a small piece of chicken with some kind of sauce. Honestly, I hoped it was kind of a chicken nugget thing. I took a bite and the taste was better than I even imagined.

I watched him as he smiled and moved over to the chair across from me on the other side of the table. He picked up a piece of that chicken thing and took a bite.

“These are my favorite,” he said with a smile. “I make sure they have them every time I travel.”

“It’s good that you have something small like that you can look forward to,” I said without thinking. It was getting easier to talk to him even though I didn’t know a damn real thing about him. “What kind of magick do you have?”

His gaze shot up to me. “Why?”

I shrugged. “You know what I can do. I should know what magick you have.”

He paused and dropped his gaze to the table before meeting my eyes. “It has to do with my voice.”

“I figured that. The way your magick rolled over me when I heard you sing told me that,” I said with a laugh.

“I don’t use it to hurt anyone. It helps with the crowds,” He said.

“So you use it to get people to listen to you?”

“Sometimes. Not as much as we used to.” He said watching for my reaction.

“Hmmm, have you used it on me?” It was kind of a tease, but I also wanted to know. All the weird emotional stuff. The way my body reacted when he even glanced at me, it had to be some kind of magick.

“No. It wouldn’t work if I tried.” He smiled slightly and his hand somehow had managed to move across the table. His fingers were touching mine and I wasn’t sure if I should move them away or let this happen.

“Why is that?” I teased. I already knew magick from Warlocks didn’t work on Witches and vice versa. I wish it was a reason for this feeling I had every time I was near him. I mean I might dream of the day I could light his father up in flames, but it wouldn’t actually happen. This also made Witches and Warlocks hard to fight each other. They could still kill each other, but not with magick.

“Do you want me to try?” He leaned in as he talked.

“Do you want to try?” I countered.

He chuckled and leaned back taking his hand with him.

I watched him and sighed. “I guess this is how things are going to go with us, huh?”

He studied me before he spoke. “It can go any way you want.” He smiled and leaned in again. “But fair warning, I won’t stop. Not until you are begging me for more.”

“You really know how to sweet talk a girl, don’t you?” I said matching his smile. This was a fun game even if I wasn’t sure how far I really wanted this to go.

“Only the ones I like.”

A ding from the plane made me raise my eyebrows.

“Looks like we’re landing. We’ll have to finish this conversation later,” he said with a wink.

Oh shit. I think I’m in trouble.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Five

River

The way she was looking at me right then made everything in me want to climb over the table and make her mine. The way she challenged me in every way and told me what she wanted without fear or worry was intoxicating to me.

I watched her from across the table as the fear crossed her beautiful face. She slipped her belt on and then met my gaze, that fear still in her eyes.

“You’ve never flown before?” I asked.

“I have. I just don’t like to,” she said, closing her eyes.

“Me either. You’ll get used to it,” I said as comforting as I could. I couldn’t blame her for not liking everything going on around her. She never wanted to get married and here I was making her get close. On the other hand, the way she moved and spoke made me think she might be more open than I thought. Either that or she’s a total flirt.

I smiled at the thought. I took a moment to study her features and the curves of her body. She was amazing to look at, but her energy and her power was on another level. She didn’t even know what she had.

The night I’d seen her laying on the ground with that Vampire on top of her taking everything from her. The rage that I felt when I saw that made me react before really thinking it though. I ripped that bastard off her and scooped her up. I used all of the easy magick I’d learned in my life to heal her. It took so much out of me, but it didn’t matter. She lived and now she was mine.

I’d never let anything like that happen to her ever again. Even if in the end she choose not to let me have all of her. She’d never have to worry about anything again.

The moment I’d picked her up that night, I made that choice. She could hate me and it would still be that way.

Now I just needed to show her who I was and how good it could be.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Six

Lila

The first thing I noticed was the smell of lilies and how amazing the water looked. While I’d been to a few places, I’d never been anywhere like this. When you hunt things that like to stay in the dark, you tended to stay in places that weren’t sunny and happy. I mean with the exception of L.A. Crazy made a home there and never left.

I glanced at the water and how close it was to the runway before giving River a look. He smiled back at me and I had to take a deep breath. What is wrong with me? Even the sun knew how to light the man in the best way possible.

The air wasn’t sticky and hot like I figured it would be on an island like this, but it was early in the day and the sun made me want to crawl into a swimsuit and take a stab at that beautiful ocean.

The water was a shade of blue I didn’t even know existed. The way it stretched all the way to the horizon made me smile. That was one thing I would be doing as soon as possible.

“Our suite is this way,” River said pointing past the hotel itself. I glanced at him in confusion and he just shoot his head at me. Okay, maybe I was a bit sheltered with where I visited, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know how to have fun.

Past the hotel were small huts all over the beach and one larger one along a dock and over the ocean itself and we were headed straight for it. River must have felt my hesitation because he turned back to me and grabbed my hand.

“I thought you wanted to get in the ocean already?”

My eyes snapped to his and I stared at him. Did that man just read my mind? That was impossible. “I do, but I’m not sure about staying in it. You know like sleeping over it. What if there is a huge wave?”

“Then I guess our time together is over. We better make the best of it.” He smirked and I wanted to smack him.

“That’s not funny,” I snapped.

He snorted and pulled me along with him towards the hut. I mean it was a beautiful place with the beautiful water and the sounds of the waves. It helped me to forget my current problem for a minute, but every time I looked at him, the thoughts came back. the panic that was seated way down because I didn’t want to acknowledge it.

On the good side, he was treating me well even when I was being snippy and not very nice. Guess he’s going to have to get used to that.

We walked through the door and my jaw dropped. The hut was the definition of luxury. The space was divided into several areas. There was sectioned off area to the left with the bed all wrapped in white wispy fabric. I felt my body tense when I saw that but didn’t let River know. There was no way I was going to give him more power over me. I mean he pretty much had all the power at this point, but I wasn’t giving him another reason to think he was in control.

The entire hut was pretty much windows with fabric covering it to keep out peeping toms but I still wasn’t convinced I’d be free to lose my clothing in here. I’ll just change in the bathroom.

“This is…” I didn’t even know what to say. The place was nice, but it was odd being here. Probably because I was married.

“Yeah, they do a good job,” he said before walking past me and setting our bags off to the side. He had a sadness to him that was confusing to me. He had everything he wanted and needed in his life. No one was telling him what to do or making him change and all he could do was be sad. I’d kill to have that kind of freedom.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He said, watching me.

I shrugged. “You just seem so sad. It’s weird.”

He smiled slightly. “Weird?”

I sighed. “You have everything you want in life. Why would you be sad?”

He raised his eyebrows for a second before answering me. “There are things you don’t know yet.”

“Like what?” I challenged.

He hesitated. “You know who my family is, right?”

I nodded.

“They expect either me or my brother to take over when they decide to retire. I don’t want it, but Garrett…”

“He doesn’t want it?” I finished for him.

“In a manner,” he said. “Enough about all that. We’re supposed to be enjoying our time here. After this it’s not going to be as fun.”

“So this is going to be fun?” I teased letting the last part of what he said go.

“It can be.” he smirked as he spoke.

I wanted to return that teasing smile, to fall into him, but I didn’t know him and it didn’t make any sense. Plus what the hell was going to happen when we got back to the real world?

“I want to go for a swim,” I said, hoping to cut the sexual tension that seemed to be brewing way more than I wanted it to. Or maybe it wasn’t that I didn’t want it to, maybe I was more afraid of what all this meant.

“That sounds like a plan,” he said without forcing anything else that he might have been thinking.

I forced a smile and pointed at the bathroom. “I’ll get changed in there and you can do whatever you need to here.” It came out a little harsher than I meant for it to. He kept his eyes on me as I walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

None of this was his fault really. I mean he can’t control the things the leaders of his own kind does, but he doesn’t do anything to change it either. That didn’t make him innocent.

I changed my clothes as fast as I could and realized how little it actually covered. I would have probably been better in my panties and bra. I sighed and pulled my shirt over my body as I stepped out of the bathroom and into the main part of the hut.

He was standing there in a pair of swimming shorts and nothing else. I swallowed as my eyes swept over his body. The tan of his chest made my heart stop. I didn’t know what it was about that part of a man’s body but it got me every time.

When my eyes met his he cocked a wicked smile and I acted like I hadn’t just raked my eyes all over his body while he was leaning against the wall by the door.

“Are you ready?” He asked without moving.

“You didn’t have to wait for me, you know,” I said as I pushed past him and headed out the door.

“I thought it would be polite to wait and make sure you didn’t need anything,” He said taking a couple of steps and catching up to me. It wasn’t like it took much he was a bit taller than me and large strides.

I shook my head. “You don’t have to be polite to me, you know.” I was being a huge bitch. I knew it but I was irritated with the whole thing. While the world around us was so beautiful, I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t want any of this at all.

“I kind of do,” he said.

“What because we’re ‘married’?That doesn’t mean anything. Not really.” I said as I got to the edge of the dock and took the stairs down to the water. I could have just jumped off the edge, but I wasn’t sure how deep it was and water, while beautiful wasn’t my favorite thing.

“I mean it means something,” he said, stepping past me into the water. I watched to see how deep it was before stepping in behind him. The water was amazing. It wasn’t cold like the ocean off of Los Angeles. It was warm and soft and the waves were mild and easy to navigate. Even for me.

“What? That my family is safe?” I sighed and shook my head. “It shouldn’t be this way and you know it.”

“I do but we both have to do what we have to in order to survive and protect the ones we love,” He reached over and pulled me to him. I didn’t fight it even if I could. There was something gentle in it that made me wonder if I really knew who this guy was.

He was a legend in the music industry and a Warlock with a powerful father, but something about the way he said protect the ones we love that made me think he was protecting someone just as much as I was protecting my family. The question is I didn’t know who or why he’d need to but I let it go. He’d tell me if he wanted me to know.

“What happens now?” I asked. He was still holding me, his hand sitting just above my left hip. He was so close. My hand settled on his chest as the water lapped against the ridges of his pecs and my fingers just over top of them.

“What do you want to happen now?” He asked in almost a whisper.

I shrugged and he chuckled slightly, his eyes never leaving mine.

“You’re a hard person to read, Lila.” He drew out my name on his lips like he was studying how it would sound when he said it.

I couldn’t hold back the smile. It was so easy to fight him, but letting him in just a little like this was so dangerous. What if he decided he didn’t want me after I let him in? Of course we are adults and he’s sexy as hell. Plus the way he was holding me right now. The way his hand caressed my back ever so slightly. The way he looked at me with those eyes and he never pressured me into anything. It was a nice change from everyone else around me. What if I just kissed him right now, like I wanted to. Like I’ve been wanting to since he pulled me into that little room on our wedding day.

I didn’t say anything as I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He smiled a cocky grin like he knew I wanted to kiss him all along, but the look in his eyes said he still wasn’t sure I was going to do it.

Until I did.

The moment my lips touched his, he pulled me closer to him. He let me lead for only a few seconds before he completely devoured me. It was as though he’d been wanting to do that for a long time and finally he’d gotten my permission. I guess he kind of had.

I didn’t pull away when his hand moved down my back to the nape of my back. His other hand slid behind my head and pulled me closer to him as his tongue danced with mine. I couldn’t help but let out a little moan and I felt him smile against my lips.

“You have no idea how much I wanted to kiss you,” he said still holding onto me.

“You did at the wedding, remember?” I said slightly teasing. It wasn’t like this marriage had to be a bad experience if we were stuck with it.

“I guess I did,” He joked before backing away.

“Where are you going?” I said, acutely aware of the fact his body was no longer near me which was weird as hell. I’d never wanted anyone to be close. It was easier when things wanted you dead.

“What, you thought it would be that easy to seduce me?” He said with a smile and I shook my head. What had I gotten myself into?

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Seven

I stood there for a moment in the water watching him walk back down the pier towards the beach. What in the hell was he doing? One minute he wanted me and the next he was walking away. I’m so fucking confused right now, but who am I to let a beach like this go to waste.

I floated in the water and looked at the sky as the day drifted on. I had to admit it was nice to relax and not worry about being attacked or having some big thing looming over me. The last time I’d been so lucky was when I was a kid. Covens didn’t officially initiate you until sixteen so I got a little bit of a childhood. But my mom as great as she was made sure I knew how to use my power well before that.

As the sun disappeared beyond the horizon I figured it was time to get back to the hut and back to whatever my new husband had planned for the day. It clearly wasn’t going to be easy being married to him, not unless I let myself into this whole thing, but how could I? I didn’t even know him.

Once I got to the stairs I felt it. The smallest warning of energy shifting to my left. I took a breathe and let myself act as though I didn’t. Whoever this was, they didn’t want me to know they were there and I didn’t want them to know I knew they were there. I moved slowly and carefully towards the hut, in case I needed to move quickly.

Every step I took, the unknown creature took with me. My mind flashed back to the Vampire that attacked me two nights previous. The way I couldn’t get away and my mind wouldn’t let me access my power. I couldn’t get caught unaware like that again. Even if River was there to save me. Speaking of, he never told me how he managed to save me. I mean he’s strong, but to beat a Vampire you have to be pretty strong. Like Superman strong.

I turned and looked behind me even though I did know better, but I’m me and like the danger I guess. I saw a shadowy figure not far from me with what looked like glowing eyes. It just stared at me.

“Why are you following me?” There was no pretending I didn’t notice it now.

It moved a step closer and I could see that it had the form of a man but wrapped in shadows. Even if it looked like a man, it was clearly something else. He studied me for a moment before speaking.

“You’re Lila Brackenworth?” He kept his eyes fixed on me.

“And you’re a weird shadow thing,” I quipped without thinking. I pulled slightly at my power in case I needed it to defend myself if I even could against this thing.

“You need to watch who you trust,” he said with what sounded like a slight laugh.

“Do you mean you?” I shook my head. “I don’t trust you at all.”

“If only it were that easy.” He stepped closer and the air got heavy with magick. “I’m the least of your problems.”

“Then tell me what cryptic message you need to and get out of here. Didn’t you hear? I’m only Honeymoon.” I crossed my arms and pretended like the heavy power in the air wasn’t making me nervous.

“I can’t. You have to find out on your own for both our worlds.” He said.

“Fantastic,” I sighed.

“Just be weary of your new family. They are not what they appear to be and neither are you,” He said before blackness flooded the entire area and lifted with him gone.

I glanced around me, but the energy was long gone. I was standing out there alone. What the hell did that all mean?

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Eight

When I got back to the hut, River was sitting there looking like he’d just heard the worst news of his life and I had to admit I felt a little bad for him.

“What happened?” I said the minute I closed the door.

“It’s my father.” He looked at me and sighed. “He’s coming tomorrow. He won’t wait till we get back.”

“For what?” I said taking a seat beside him. “What does that mean?”

“It means he wants to see that we have officially partnered. I was hoping for more time. The last thing I want to do is force you to like this marriage.” He forced a smile and all the teasing from earlier was gone from his face. He really meant what he was saying.

“We are partnered. We’re married right?” I asked.

“Yes, but I didn’t tell you everything.”

Oh here we go. The shadow thing was right. He was lying to me by not telling me something. Probably the thing that I needed to hear about most.

“When Warlocks officially couple, they gain more power. It’s a life force thing. I can’t explain it, but I should have told you sooner.”

“Ya think?” I snapped. “What am I supposed to do with that?” I felt the heat rising in my body. My own power seemed more unstable since we’d been in the same place. Like it wanted me to finish what the marriage started.

“I was hoping I could…” He shrugged.

“You could have just had everything you needed right out in the water earlier. I was willing. You were the one that pushed me away.” I said. I was so confused.

“It wouldn’t be fair to you. It’s basically stealing part of you power,” He said, watching me closely.

“I don’t understand,” I said.

“Your mother should have told you about what happens. When we got married it was activated by the person who did the wedding.”

“You mean they did a spell.” I shook my head. “Of course they did. Why wouldn’t my mom tell me about any of this?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know everything either. Just what my father trusts me with which is not a lot.” He glanced at me and I looked away. “I’ll be taking over for the leadership of the Warlocks in a few years, but he needed a powerful Witch in the family that didn’t have a coven to pair one of his sons with.”

“And you volunteered,” I snapped. “You picked me because you knew I had no other choices.” He didn’t say anything and I took that as confirmation.

“I did what I had to,” he said. That cold look I’d only seen when he talked to his father came over his face and I felt myself getting angry. “So did you.”

“Yeah, because I had such a great choice. Get married to someone I don’t know or let my family and myself die. That sounds like such a choice,” I mocked.

I jumped up and started taking off my clothes. I didn’t have much on anyway so it didn’t take long. I threw my swimsuit top at him and then my bottoms. “Well, if we don’t have any choices we better get started,” I said, my tone just as cold as his was a moment ago.

He jumped up and grabbed my arms and backed me against the wall. “No, not like this. I won’t just take it like this. It has to mean something.”

I lifted my chin and glared at him.

“You weren’t just some random person, Lila. I have been waiting for this for a long time. I’m not going to do things just because my father wants it. Even if all I want is to throw you on the bed and show you how much I want you.”

“Then do it,” I ground out.

“No.” He said.

I leaned in to kiss him and he pulled away.

“I said no,” He snapped and walked out of the hut leaving me standing there naked and angry.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Nine

I sat on the edge of the bed for a while. This whole thing was stupid. I was willing to give myself to him to satisfy whatever thing he needed to with his father, but he just pushed me away, claiming he didn’t want it this way, but what choice did either of us have?

“I’m not sitting here feeling sorry for myself,” I muttered and stood. If he didn’t want to be with me, then I’d go see what the night life was like. This was a tourist area. There had to be something fun that would pass the time.

I pulled on a nice purple top with short sleeves and my favorite pair of jeans. This was what I needed after such a weird day. First the shadow thing and then the idea that I had to have sex with my husband as soon as possible and he didn’t want to have sex with me. What did it matter? We’re both adults and it’s just sex. Oh, yeah there is that power thing. I guess I should be worried about that, but honestly, I wasn’t. Everything I’d seen of River was kind and considerate. I don’t think he’d just take my power and run. He’d do the right thing, right?

I walked for a bit until I heard the bass of a club and sighed. Finally, something that could take my mind off all this shit and let me just have a little fun. Of course it would be better with my friends, but you do what you have to and I was determined to have a decent night even if he wasn’t going to.

I shifted and made the turn towards the music. The streets were older and smaller but they were pretty full of people either heading to the club too or just enjoying themselves in paradise too.

I walked carefully through the people and stopped at the entrance. A tinge of magick ran through me and I hesitated. There was another Witch or Warlock somewhere close. Chances are they already felt my presence as well. Shit.

I pushed the feeling away and made my way into the club. The minute I walked through the door, the music pounded in my ears. I sighed and walked towards the bar. This time I was drinking.

the bartender looked at me and smiled and I instantly felt like I was back before all this when I’d just started hunting and learned what my future would hold. Back then I kind of hoped the attitude I had would keep me from attracting the attention of the Warlocks, but that was short lived.

“What can I get you?” The good looking light haired bartender said. He looked me up and down before leaning on the bar and waiting for my answer.

“What’s the best drink?” there wasn’t any harm in flirting a little, right?

“Well, I like a good Whisky Sour,” he said watching me.

“Then I’ll have that,” I pulled my credit card from my pocket and handed it to him. He took it and disappeared for a moment before coming back with the card and the drink. I thanked him and he smiled. The moment I lifted the drink I saw the phone number on the napkin under is and smiled. I still have it.

I leaned on the edge of the bar and watched the crowd as I sipped my drink. Then I saw that asshole from across the room. He locked eyes with me and I slammed my drink back. What the fuck was he doing here?

“What are you doing here?” He snapped at me and I just raised my eyebrows.

“Well, when you leave a girl standing naked in our room, she tends to want to go do something else,” I snapped and crossed my arms. River just looked at me. I could see the flash of anger change into hurt but only for a moment before it was back to anger.

“You aren’t safe out here,” he said grabbing my arm.

“Safe?” I said pulling my arm away. “I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t doubt that, but if they see you here, it’s over,” he said glancing around him.

“If who sees me here?” I stepped back from him and glanced around myself, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“I can’t explain it right now.” He reached for me again and I sidestepped him.

“Why are you being so difficult?” He said crossing his arms.

“Oh I don’t know,” I said sarcastically.

“Just go back to the room and wait for me. I’ll explain everything later.”

I stared at him for a moment, but the worry in his eyes made me nod and head for the door. I glanced back long enough to see something I wish I didn’t.

The Vampire from the other night standing behind River with a huge smile on his face and then the door to the club closed and all hell broke loose.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Ten

Screaming. All I hear is screaming before the door bursts open and loads of people come running at me, panicked and yelling. I push past them into the club and glance around for River. The music blared as I searched for both the Vampire and River. I had no idea if he was even alive or what the hell was going on, but there was no way I was leaving without knowing if either of them were alive.

I listened as carefully as I could for any sign of anyone, but I couldn’t hear anything beyond the pounding of the music. I moved past the bar towards the small stage and pushed the button to turn off the music from the DJ. The quiet was worse than the music.

There was that feeling again. It had to be River but something felt off about it. Maybe his father had managed to come and get tangled in all of this. Maybe that was what the Vampire was here for.

I rounded the corner and saw a set of stairs. I took them against my better judgement. They led to an office area and I heard voices.

“I couldn’t help it,” A voice I didn’t recognize said. I moved closer.

“This isn’t going to work if you can’t control yourself,” River said and I stopped. Is this what he was trying to keep me safe from.

“You’re little Witch was watching. I had to make it good,” The voice said.

“No, you don’t. I’m telling her everything tonight.”

I picked around the corner into the office and River was standing with his back to me. I couldn’t quite make out the man he was talking to, but I knew I didn’t like him already.

“Look, this arrangement is only until the shadows are put back in their place. We can’t have them rising up and taking women,” River said.

“You mean Witches,” the other corrected.

“It shouldn’t matter to you,” River snapped.

“I never said it did. I just don’t like them taking my meals.”

I felt my whole body go cold as the other man turned and I got a good look at him.

He was the Vampire that tried to kill me and River was just having a conversation with him like nothing was wrong.

“You know how you were going to tell your Witch about everything?”

“Yeah,” River said.

“You should start now,” The Vampire said pointing in my direction.

I couldn’t hide now, so I stepped into the room and stared at the Vampire. My rage was so much it was hard to keep the fire in me from taking over. It was a good thing my mother was a good teacher even if she didn’t have the same kind of powers I did.

“What the fuck?”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Eleven

“Lila,” River started. I glanced at him and then the Vampire and shook my head.

“You are talking to the thing that almost killed me,” I spat.

“It’s not what you think,” He said, taking a step towards me.

My hand shot up. “No, I don’t want anything to do with you.” I glanced at the Vampire who was smiling like a complete idiot. “Not unless you plan to kill him.” River glanced at the Vampire and back to me. “Or I will.” I raised my hand and called to my power. My hand instantly filled with fire.

“I wouldn’t do that little Witch,” The Vampire said, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t think I care what you think,” I snapped. The fire built with my anger. What did it matter if I fried this Vampire? He tried to kill me. His fangs had bit into my neck and he’d taken enough blood to kill me. Why would River have anything to do with him.

“Oh, you will. The only reason River made a deal with me was to keep you alive,” He said with a smile.

That was it. I let my power free and created a ring of fire around the Vampire. He stood in the middle of it with his hands out staring at River.

“Are you going to let this happen? You know what will happen next,” he said to River.

“Lila, stop. You don’t understand what will happen if you kill him.” River put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. I didn’t look at him. Not until he put me on my ass and I lost all concentration of my fire.

The flames died as soon as I hit the ground. I tried pushing at River but I couldn’t fight the hold he had on me. “Let me go.”

“Not until I explain,” He said, holding me. “I had to make a deal with him for both of us.”

I pulled my power into my hands and pushed it at him, something I didn’t normally do but I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel. All the rage and all the anger over everything that happened in the last few days. I felt it push into my hands. The heat of it dancing on my skin. River pulled back and let me go. I took the opportunity to get up and walk out of the room. If I stayed, everyone here would go up in flames and there wouldn’t be anything I could do to stop it.

***

I grabbed my things from the hut and threw them in my suitcase. This whole thing was too much. First a marriage I didn’t want and then thought I might, then the shadow thing and now River working with the Vampire that tried to kill me? Na, this was too much even for me.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. I’d figure out how to get out of the marriage when I got back to LA. Maybe I could get my sister into one of those covens that I’d thought about for myself. I’d have to hide my mom, but If I caused enough trouble, maybe they’d stay focused on me and leave them alone.

The minute I’d started walking for the airport I felt a pull in my gut. Everything felt wrong. Maybe I should have at least talked to River about what the hell was going on, but to what end? He’d just have some bullshit excuse. Like what did he mean he did it for me? I stopped and sighed. Everything was so fucked up.

“You saw what he’s doing then?” The voice floated through the air not attached to a body, but I knew exactly what it belonged to.

“I don’t know anything. I just have more questions,” I admitted. I didn’t look for the thing. If it wanted me to see it, I would.

“Questions, Answers, they all lead to the same place,” He said.

“Why are you here?” I threw my hands up in frustration.

“It’s my job to protect you and your family,” he stated, finally forming in front of me. The black shadow he pulled from all directions, filled a space that looked oddly enough like a real man. I was just so tired of all the bullshit, I wasn’t even scared.

“What are you talking about?” I said almost bored.

“You’re mother never told you, did she?” He paced in front of me and if I didn’t know better it was like he was anxious about telling me what he meant. “We made a pack with your family many years ago when they broke off from the covens. We look out for each other. I help you and you help me.”

“Is that all?” I smarted off. “Then why all the smoke and mirrors?”

“You mean why didn’t I tell you about River and who he was speaking with?”

“Duh,” I said. I was so over everything.

“We have our own enemies just like you,” he said watching me. “You are in a difficult position. You’re married to the next Warlock leader. This makes you an enemy and a friend.” He paused. “What do I do with that?”

“Well, then you should have stopped the marriage before it happened,” I smarted off.

“I couldn’t. We need you. We need you to fight for us now.”

I snorted. “You think I can fight Warlocks?”

“Yes, if you agree to work with them. The Vampires are the ones we need to get rid of. the Warlocks just need to stay out of the way.” He paused. “You can do that.”

“I mean I’m good with killing Vampires, but why is that your problem?” I said without thinking.

“They want us gone. That’s all you need to know,” He said. The energy in his voice changed to something with a little more bite. I knew that wasn’t were I wanted to go.

“Fine, but if I do this, then you have to keep the rest of my family safe. My sister and my mom.” I watched him.

“Agreed. They have always been kept safe,” He said as though I should already know that by now.

“What do you want me to do?”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Twelve

I gave Merrick the Vampire a look and glanced back to the doorway Lila just bolted through.

“What the fuck?”

“You really think you should have waited to tell her?” He laughed and shook his head. “That should have been the first thing you did when you got here.”

“I had other things on my mind,” He said.

“I bet.”

I shot him a look and he smiled.

“That one taste I took the other night,” He said taking a deep breath. “I would have finished her right then and there if you hadn’t come along.”

“Careful,” I ground out. The way he looked at her made me want to say fuck it to this whole deal I made, but he wasn’t the only Vampire I had to worry about. They would all want her dead.

He threw his arms up in surrender. “Don’t worry, now that you’re married I know the boundries. As long as you hold up your end of the deal.”

“I know the rules,” I snapped. When I picked her out of that crowd of people to marry, I had no idea what kind of power she held. My father knew the moment he saw her. After that she was far game to any Warlock that wanted her unless I kept her safe. And that was what I intended to do.

“Now, back to what we were talking about before everything happened.” He said, watching me.

“I know. You want our help in getting rid of the shadows,” I said without taking my eyes off the door.

“Yes, but we will need the protection of the Warlocks too. Then no one will dare mess with us,” He said with a smile.

I finally turned to him again. “You can’t go around just killing everyone, though. That’s the one rule we will want.”

“Of course not.” He smiled as he spoke and I knew it was fake as fuck. “We will only take who won’t be noticed, of course.”

“Right,” I said. “Are we done here?”

“Go get your powerful wife and remind her who she belongs too. Otherwise she might find herself on the other end of a Vampire fang.” He laughed slightly. “And we wouldn’t want that?”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Thirteen

Lila

I sat in the little hut and waited for River to come back. Every part of me wanted to leave and never look back. I didn’t know how the shadow dude would protect me when I was literally in the den of vipers. Here I thought being married to a Warlock would be easy. I mean the Rockstar part probably wasn’t going to be that great. The late nights wondering where he was and if he was with someone else. Wait, why did I care?

The door swung open and I locked eyes with River. He stopped suddenly when he saw me like he didn’t expect me to still be here after everything I’d seen.

“Let me explain,” he started.

“It better be something good. That … thing tried to kill me,” I said with just a small bite of anger.

“I know. That was what triggered this whole thing,” he said, taking a seat on the bed beside me. “I saw him that night when he was hurting you. I pulled him off, but he came back.” He shook his head. “He knew how powerful you were from your blood.”

“I’m not powerful,” I muttered.

“Have you met you?” He said with a slight laugh. “I had to cut a deal to keep him from killing you.”

“Why would he care if I was dead or alive?” I didn’t understand anything that was going on and believe me, I thought I’d seen it and heard it all.

“Because when a Vampire kills someone with your kind of power he takes it for himself,” River said.

“That’s just a legend. No one has ever seen that in all the years I’ve hunted these things.”

“There are very few powerful enough for that to happen.” He sighed. “You, Lila are one of the few.”

“You still should have told me what you were doing,” I said, my tone softening. I mean it was some weird romance book shit to make a deal with the devil for the girl you love or whatever, right?

“You’re right. I’m dropping bombs on you left and right and we haven’t even been married for twenty four hours.”

“It’s a lot,” I admitted.

“Too much.” He ran his hand threw his hair. “I’m sorry. If you want to leave, I can make an excuse and we can head back to the city.”

I glanced at him. His beautiful face was sullen like he really meant what he said. It made something in me softer. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was falling in love with my husband.

Fuck.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Fourteen

I opened my eyes and the sun streaming in the windows hit me in the face. I groaned and pulled the blankets up over my face. I was not a morning person.

River’s father was coming today and expected us to be well you know. He expected to see his son sharing my power. What would that mean for me? If I’m this super powerful Witch that everyone wanted dead or to steal power from. I guess it would be both from that Vampire douche bag.

“I’m glad you decided to stay,” River said as he walked back into the hut with two coffees on a tray.

“Oh my god, you found coffee?” I was so happy for the caffeine boost that I momentarily forgot about his father coming and how we were going to handle that.

“There’s a little coffee shop not far from here.” River took a sip of his coffee after I practically knocked him down to get the other cup.

“What are we going to do about your father?” I said without thinking.

“You mean tonight?” He paused.

“Yeah, you know the whole sex and giving some of my power to you thing?”

“Right, well I meant what I said about not doing it unless you want it.” He looked me straight in the face as he talked and I felt a small tingle in my chest. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to use magick on me or himself.

“Got it, but you know it’s not going to get any easier with him.”

“He is a tough man,” River said without missing a beat.

“Does he know about the Vampires?” I asked. I was not going to be in the dark anymore. I mean he didn’t need to know about the shadow dude. That was my secret at least until I was sure I could trust River.

“No, he doesn’t need to know about that.”

“Why?”

“Because he would just tell them to fuck off and start a war,” River said taking a sip of his coffee.

“What do the Vamps want?”

“They have their own enemies. They want Warlocks to keep them at bay,” River said finally looking at me.

“Are you telling me everything?” I thought I might as well test my luck with him. If there are more secrets, I don’t know if I could stay in this with him.

“I told you I wouldn’t keep anymore secrets from you,” He said and I felt the truth in it. He finally was telling me what I needed to know.

“What do you know about the Shadow creatures?” I might be pushing my luck here, but I had to know what he knew.

He snapped his gaze to me. “How do you know about them?”

I shrugged. “People talk,” I lied.

“From what I know, they live in the shadows and are dark creatures. They feed on humans like Vampires do.”

“Do they kill people?”

“Yes, from what I’ve been told, they kill everyone that sees them,” He said.

I felt a cold breeze and swore there was something standing there with us. I had to admit the shadow guy I’d talked to was scary as fuck and he had some kind of magick. I just couldn’t place what it was and where.

“That’s …not good,” I said. I mean what else could I say? “But the Vampires do the same thing. How is protecting them going to help anyone?”

“It’s not, but once I take over, I’ll cut the deal with the Vampires and we’ll get them under control.”

“You say that like it’s so easy,” I said.

“It’s not, but it’s the best I have,” he said. He glanced at me and I held his gaze. “What should we do today? We have this whole island to explore. Maybe we can actively be gone when my father gets here.”

“Are you looking to buy more time?”

“With you, yes.” He sighed. “I meant what I said in our vows. Even if it was something forced on both of us.”

“What part,” I teased. There was no point in at least not enjoying this weird marriage a little.

“The part where I said I’d keep you safe.” He leaned closer and I stayed still.

“Then you shouldn’t be making pacts about me without me,” I said.

He nodded. “You’re not going to let that go are you?”

“Nope,” I said. A part of me felt bad. Even thought he’d told me his secrets, I hadn’t told him about mine. Maybe I should just be honest and tell him about the Shadow guy and what he wanted from me, but a part of me knew he wouldn’t take it well.

“Let’s take a walk,” He said grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the hut. “With any luck my father will get tired of waiting for us and leave.”

“I doubt it,” I said. The last time I’d seen his father he looked at me like I was some thing that could change everything for them. He didn’t care if I was okay or happy. He only wanted my power. At least now I kind of knew why.

We walked for a bit into the little town. The area was beautiful with tall trees and all kinds of greenery. It was a nice contrast from the city and I had to admit it was relaxing to be there.

“This is that coffee shop I was talking about if you need more caffeine.” He smiled as he teased.

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “You know my kryptonite.”

“We should stop and get something at the cafe. They have great bagel sandwiches,” he said pulling me to the cafe next to the coffee shop.

I didn’t know how I’d never noticed this place. It was well before the club from the night before and I usually love little places like this one. I guessed it was because I was just too distracted by what was going on to even notice.

We sat at a table near the window and I watched the people walk past outside. If they only knew what was lurking out there at night. I imagined here it was safer than Los Angeles, but the things that went bump in the night still seemed to find their way here. Even when people like me tried to stop them.

I wasn’t sure how many Witches still hunted Vampires and other things that were out there. Most seemed like they were looking forward and using their magick for other things. But I also didn’t have a lot of friends in the Witch world. Not anymore. Not after my family choose to stand alone instead of in a coven. Hell, I didn’t know if anyone ever asked my mom if she wanted to come back to a coven after my father died. It wasn’t something we talked about a lot.

“Are you okay?” River was watching me.

I forced a smile and nodded. “Just thinking.”

“About family stuff?” He said it more than asked it.

“I just don’t understand how everything got so messed up. I’ve been fighting Vampires and Demons for a long time and I’ve never had anyone tell me I could have my power stolen.”

“Maybe your mom didn’t want you to know. You know to keep you safe,” He said it too calmly and I instantly knew something was up.

“Why would you say that?” I challenged. “You know something don’t you?”

He hesitated. “I promised no more secrets. Your mom knew about the marriage before I did. She wanted you to be protected and not have to hunt anymore. That was the whole point of the marriage.”

“No, she said it was because the Warlocks would come after us,” I stated, watching him.

“That’s true. My father was so happy to find you, considering the limits of my own power,” he said.

“But…” I let the word hang there for a moment.

“But she also wanted to get you out of hunting before a Vampire or worse realized what kind of power you have.”

I didn’t say anything. All I could think of was what the shadow said. How it was supposed to protect my family and keep us all safe, but now I was wondering if there was more to it. “No secrets, right?”

River looked at me and I made a face. “What happened,” he asked.

“The other night I was approached by something. It told me not to trust you. It said I didn’t know you.”

The color drained from his face. “What was it?”

“It was a shadow,” I said. I had to admit it felt better telling him but it also made me want to throw up.

“You should have told me this before. We’ll need to get back to LA as soon as possible.” He pulled out his phone and started texting someone. “I’ll make arrangements for us to get back tonight.”

“Why? It seems safe enough here,” I said taking a bite of my burger.

“These things are legal, Lila,” he said.

There it was again. Something inside me shivered when he said my name. I couldn’t explain it but it felt right and good. Even with everything going on around us. I wanted to trust him. I mean I just told him the biggest secret I had and he wasn’t rejecting me. He was trying even harder to protect me.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Fifteen

We didn’t say much as we flew back to LA. I was glad to be home, but where the hell would I be living? I guessed it was his place, but I didn’t know what part of town that was in.

“You’re things have already been moved to the penthouse. If you want to go back to your place, you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” he said as though he read my thoughts.

“Why?” I asked, but I already knew the answer. He didn’t want the Shadow thing to be alone with me. A part of me regretted even telling him about him. After all if the shadow wanted me dead, he’d already have killed me, right?

“For your safety,” he said as expected.

“We already know I’m pretty powerful,” I muttered.

“Maybe, but you can’t burn a shadow. that’s not going to work for you. We have to use other magick to keep it away,” He said as he glanced at me. His eyes softened. “I know you are powerful and you can usually protect yourself, but you don’t have to. We’re in this together.”

“What about the Vamp?” It came out a bit meaner than I meant, but he did deserve some snark.

“We’ll deal with that when we get back to the penthouse,” he said.

“Are you going to keep working with him?”

“If it keeps you safe, yes,” he said. And I believed him. This was all my fault. The fact he was aligning himself with a Vampire and that I even needed protection, but something felt off about the whole thing. Something felt like I didn’t have the full picture.

“Are you sure that’s everything?” I tested.

He watched me and his emerald eyes burned into me. “It’s everything I know.”

I nodded and glanced out the window as we landed. Everything was weird and I didn’t know what to believe. I wanted to believe what River was saying and that he would do anything to protect me. Especially now feeling what I was feeling. I wanted him to protect me, to love me and want to keep me safe, but also to know he was willing to let me protect myself.

“I need to call my mom. I need to know if she knew about me and to tell her to take Jess and hide,” I said.

“I’ll have her meet us as the penthouse,” he said.

“No, I want to talk to her at my place.”

He glanced at me and gave me a sharp look, but nodded. I was getting answers one way or another.

“But I’m coming with you,” he said without hesitation.

***

My apartment looked like it always has but without my things in it. I guessed the Warlocks did this often because it looked just like it did when I moved in four years ago. Everything was clean and nice. Even the spot on the wall the paint was coming off of was repainted. River was in the kitchen watching me and that in itself made me a little nervous.

“Lila,” my mothers voice said from behind me.

I turned and smiled at her. She returned the smile and gave me a hug. Jess was still standing in the doorway, leaning on the edge of the door. Even though she was a few years younger than me, she was almost as tall and her hair had the same light brown as our fathers.

“Mom, what do you know about the Shadows,” I asked. I hoped she knew what I was talking about so I didn’t have to tell her the whole thing.

“Shadows?” She paused. “There is an old tale from your grandfather, but I never took it as anything.”

“What was it?”

“He said that a long time ago we made a deal with them to protect us. I’m not sure about why or what it means, but that was what he said,” She glanced at me a narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Why?”

“I talked to one. He said they protect us. He didn’t say why,” I said and then sighed. “You have to get Jess and get as far away as you can. I don’t know who to trust, but there is a Vampire that is pretty pissed at me.”

“They found out about your power,” She said.

I shook my head. “You knew.” I laughed. “I was hoping I was wrong but you fucking knew.”

“Lila, I didn’t think it would matter once you were married. If you’re connected to River then you’ll be safe.”

“Why, because he’ll have access to my powers?” I crossed my arms. “This is my life and I should have control over it.”

“Yes, you should, but that’s not how it works. I only wanted to keep you safe,” she said.

“That seems to be something everyone wants to do unless they want to kill me. Keep me safe like I can’t do anything on my own,” I snapped. I closed my eyes and calmed myself as my power begged to be released. It was almost as if since I’d married River the damn thing was more powerful than ever.

“You have to take Jess and hide. We have safe houses around the city. I can get a Warlock to take you to one,” River said, stepping into the room.

“I can take care of Jess and I,” she said as she turned and looked in the doorway. Jess was still standing there, but a hand was draped over her and that god damn Vampire was standing there holding her to him.

I called my power to me as soon as I realized what was going on and River pulled me into the Kitchen. “What the fuck,” I yelled.

“You’ll kill your sister,” he said, stepping in front of me.

I glanced back at Jess. She had fear in her eyes, but her fists were balled in defiance.

“Let her go, asshole,” I yelled.

“You all are so easy to play.” He laughed and River took a step towards him. “You really thought that measly fire power was what I was after.” He sniffed my sister and I wanted to watch his insides melt. “No, this one is the prize. So young and filled with so much power.”

“If you touch her, I’ll make sure you’re a pile of ash,” I snapped.

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s too late for that. I know you won’t do a damn thing,” he said.

I glanced at my mom and she looked back at me in horror as the Vampire dug his teeth into Jess. I pushed at River and he grabbed me and looked at me with such pain in his eyes. It almost broke me when I burned his arms to get him to let go. I ran at the Vampire as he fed on her and slammed into him as hard as I could. His grip faltered and Jess fell out of his arms.

I punched him as hard as I could in the face and he fell backward. As soon as Jess was clear from him, I called all the power I had. It flowed through me in a way I’d never felt before. Like every nerve was on fire, every part of me burning but in a way that didn’t hurt. I felt burning in my back and light coming from everywhere. I let it build for only a moment before letting it free on the Vampire.

He didn’t even get a chance to scream.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Sixteen

River

I pulled myself up and jumped to my feet as Lila ran past me. She was going to get herself killed and there was nothing I could do about it. I ran behind her, hoping I’d catch her before she did something stupid, but it was too late.

She slammed into the Vampire and Jess started to fall. I grabbed her and pulled her away from the scene just before Lila did something I’ve never seen before. She became fire, but inside of it she sprouted wings of ash and fire before she fired all of it at the Vampire.

Lila wasn’t just a witch. She was much more than that. Something so powerful it made sense my father wanted her in our control. But it didn’t change anything for me. As the fire faded from her skin, I knew I’d do anything to protect her. Not because my father wanted that, but because she was everything. I wanted her. I loved her more than I ever thought I would and nothing would take her from me.

I’d die first.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Seventeen

Lila

“Lila,” River said, holding Jess. “She needs help.”

I looked at my sister who was so pale. Her lips were a light shade of blue and I knew she had to get to a hospital. I pulled her to me and put my hand over the bleeding in her neck. “Please don’t die.” I said. “We have to get her to a hospital.”

The lights flickered in the apartment before it went dark. The shadows filling the space around use and I shook my head. “No, she needs help not you.”

“Trust me,” the shadow voice said.

“No,” I snapped. “Not when it comes to my sister.”

“I made a promise,” he said before the shadows blacked out all the light.

I couldn’t see anything. Not my sister or River. It felt like I was sitting in a void. If I hadn’t been holding Jess, I wouldn’t have believed she was even here. There was no sound, nothing. It was so eerie and comforting at the same time.

Then as fast as it happened, the shadow pulled away and my sisters dark eyes looked up at me.

“Lila,” she said. “What happened?”

“Jess, you’re okay?” I said as I inspected her neck. It was like nothing had ever happened. She was completely normal except for the small black mark on the back of her hand. I looked like someone took a marker and just made a mark without thinking. But it didn’t matter. My sister was okay. She was alive and talking like nothing happened. I didn’t dare question it.

“The story was real,” My mom said pulling Jess to her feet.

“You should be okay now as far as the Vampires anyway,” River said. “I doubt any are going to mess with anyone Lila cares about now.”

“What about you two?” she said and I glanced at River, waiting for his answer.

“Lila is my wife. Nothing has changed there,” he said, sliding his gaze to me. “Unless you want it to.”

“No, I can’t let anyone know about Jess. We don’t know what her power will be, but if she is more powerful than I am, then she needs to be protected at all costs,” I said. “I’ll do what I have to in order to keep her safe.”

“And I’ll do what I have to in order to keep you safe,” River said.

I couldn’t hep but smile. He wanted me. Not because I was powerful, not because we had to be together, but because he wanted me. He loved me. I knew right then, I’d give him anything he wanted.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Eighteen

I walked into the penthouse and was so overtaken by the view I didn’t know what to say. Of course he’d have a place in downtown and of course it would be one of the highest buildings in the area. The view was more than I could have ever asked for. Sure, I’d lived here a long time, but I spent most of my time in the old buildings of K Town.

“I wasn’t sure what to do with some of your things, but I left them here for you to put where you wanted,” he pointed to a stack of boxes by the couch.

I’d completely missed that they were there.

“None of my stuff is going to go with your vibe,” I said without thinking.

He turned back at me and shook his head. “This isn’t my vibe. I barely am here. This is yours now.”

“No, it’s ours.” I turned to him as he plopped onto the couch.

“We still have to worry about my father,” He said.

I smiled and walked to him. I stood in front of him locking eyes. “No, we won’t.”

He just watched me as I lowered myself to him and sat on his lap. I didn’t wait for him to kiss me and closed the gap between our lips. He wrapped his hands around me and pulled me to him. He deepened the kiss, his tongue dancing with mine as he held me tighter.

“You are so fucking beautiful,” he said. “I’m so happy you’re mine.”

“Always,” I said.

“Did you feel the transfer?” He looked concerned as he spoke.

“All I felt was pleasure,” I said.

“Good,” He answered. “Sometimes people say there is pain when it happens.”

I stared at him. “It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”

He looked at me confused.

“I would have given you anything even if he was painful,” I said. It dawned on me I never said I loved him. “River.”

“Lila,” he answered.

“I love you.”

“Good because I loved you the moment I saw you.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Chapter Nineteen

The Shadow stood in the little house watching the clock tick by. He was so tired of waiting for her. Margo walked into the room and seemed startled by the presence of the Shadow. He shook his head.

“You would think a Witch of your knowledge would sense me,” He said.

“I didn’t expect to see you again. Not after what you did for Jess,” she said.

“You know what it means.”

She licked her lips and sighed. “I suppose I don’t have a choice.”

“You do not,” he said. “I gave her my life force. That means she belongs to me now.”

“Give me some time to try to explain it to her. She’s young,” Margo almost begged.

The shadow felt some sympathy for the woman. She was going to loose both her daughters to deals made before she was born. “She is of age. I will only give you a little time, but if you don’t tell her, I will.”

“When you take her,” she snapped.

“You know the rules,” he said.

“They were stories. I didn’t know they were something that could really happen.” She sighed. “How long?”

“A week,” the shadow said. “Don’t worry, Jess will be well taken care of.”

He didn’t stay long enough for her to say anything before he faded into the shadows. The shadow world was his home and soon it would be Jess’s as well.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.