Heart Mates (10 page)

Eventually she squeezed out a tear and straightened away from him, wiping under her eyes. “There’s not much left. Rodolphe said, ‘My dear little witch, you have the most important job of all. I am giving you your first mission. You must break into the terrorists’ bank and capture those funds.’

“A mission. It sounded so special. I was scared and proud. I thought it was because he respected my power, my training—my excellence.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “Of course, it was really because the safe had complex electronics, and my brother Gabriel had spelled my wand against tech misfires. Rodolphe knew that—I’d boasted of it, gullible little twit that I was. So I used my technology-proof magic to get into the bank, open the safe and retrieve account information for two hundred thousand dollars and another sixty thousand in cash. I gave it to Rodolphe and thought I was a hero.” She twisted her fingers so hard they were white, but she didn’t feel the pain, overpowered by the sword’s edge of memory.

Noah took her hands and gently untwisted her fingers. So gentle.

She gazed into his face, willing him to look at her, to really
see
her. To know the worst.

His silver eyes held no condemnation, only deep sympathy.

Hers were brimming as she said, “The money wasn’t for a terrorist attack. It was fundraising for a little girl’s kidney transplant. I’d stolen the money that was supposed to save a child’s life.”

“God.” The silver mirrored.

Her only comfort was he couldn’t hate her worse than she hated herself. She swallowed hard. And again. Only after a third dry swallow could she go on. “When I found out, I was horrified. I flew to Rodolphe’s office for an explanation—still a gullible twit, I was sure he had one, sure that it was all a horrible mistake—but he’d gone. It took me a while to realize that he’d fled. That he’d lied to me and had known what the money was for all along.

“I told the Council’s Enforcers everything. They set a tracer spell on him, pinged him in the next city over. Ready to come back. The jerk honestly thought I’d take the fall for him.

“The moment the tracer hit him, he threw up a blinding spell and ran, hopping onto an ocean ship before the Enforcers could catch him. They continued to try magical means to find him, but he’d been on the enforcement committee. He knew their methods and countered every one.

“The possibility of catching him became slimmer and slimmer. So before it was too late for the child, I leaked the information to the mundane police.”

Noah sat straighter. “You told the cops about magic?”

“No. Only that Rodolphe had raided the girl’s fund and fled. It was enough. The mundanes tracked him to Europe and recovered the money. A combination of fingerprints, passport tracking and database searches saved that child.”

“Thank goodness.” Noah released her and sat straight. “But don’t you see? You can remove the hex. That means I won’t need Linda to defend yo…my pack.” His eyes blazed with fierce protectiveness and practicality, better than condemnation, but perhaps that would come later.

“Noah, no.” She raised her gaze to him. He shimmered in her view. “I told you the whole sorry story so you’d understand exactly why I
can’t
help. I hurt that poor girl when I meant to help and…I couldn’t go through that again. I’m no longer a witch.”

“That’s not possible. Magic is born in.”

“How did you know that?”

“Reason,” he said quickly. “My shifting ability was born in, so I figured yours was too. Isn’t it?”

“It was, but once the horror of what I’d done crashed down on me I took…steps.” She looked away. “My powers and my heritage, which had once made me so proud, now stood for stupidity. Gullibility. Guilt. I was shocked how deeply and unthinkingly I’d embraced Rodolphe’s message, how blindly I’d followed him just because he was ‘one of us’.” She paused. “I sometimes wonder…would I have made the short, fatal step to assume that superior ability meant a superior right?”

“No. Sophia, you care too much. You empathize.”

“You have no proof.”

“Oh, but I do. It’s all in how a person treats small animals. You honored and respected King. You’re nothing like Rodolphe, and you never will be.”

Her heart made a lump in her throat. She swallowed, managed a hoarse, “Thanks.” A simple word for profound gratitude. Even though she’d admitted the worst, he still defended her. He was a natural protector to the end.

She backhanded her damp eyes. “At the time I wanted something more certain. I locked away my magic. A Head-Hands-Heart ritual.” She glossed over what she’d had to do to seal the locks.

“Noah, I smell mundane because I am.”

Chapter Ten

Noah reeled. First because Sophia was a witch, the thing he hated and feared most. But then because somehow her magic—magic that was born into her—was gone, and she wasn’t a witch anymore.

Yet of all the shit going down, the most important takeaway was that, unless he found some way to reverse his hex, he couldn’t protect her from Rodolphe.

And his pack, although somehow that had become an afterthought to her safety.

She stood to take out her phone. “I’d better get this over with.”

“I already called Mason.”

“Not Mason. The Witches’ Council. They’ll send Enforcers to deal with Rodolphe.”

After which, she’d leave. He put a hand on her wrist, stopping her. “Wait. Could we just take a quick five minutes to brainstorm? You’re mundane, but you studied magic, right? Maybe you can find an amulet or premixed spell to lift my hex.”

She gave him a penetrating stare. “How do you know about premixed spells?”

He opened his mouth, shut it again. He wanted—no more,
needed
to be honest with her, but explaining would involve secrets he’d kept for decades. He gave up one precious truth. “My mother worked for a wizard when I was a pup. I learned it there.”

Strangely, revealing that to her felt…right.

“Oh.” Her stare eased and she put away the phone, easing the knot between his shoulders. “I can try. But to find the right spell or amulet, I need to know what kind of hex she put on you. Since I can’t
reveal
it…” She waved vaguely, but he’d already known “reveal” was a spell. “You’ll have to tell me what happened. Better yet,
show
me.”

She strode to the middle of the store. “Show me everything. Where you stood, where Aunt Linda stood. What gestures she made. What she said.” As Sophia became absorbed in the problem, her confidence and expertise shone through. Admiration rose in him. She must have been one hell of a witch.

He came to his feet and followed her, soundlessly from habit. Her movement had stirred the air, filling it with her delicate scent. Nearing her, he instinctively reached out, a wolf’s need to possess and a man’s desire to touch. He pulled back at the last instant. “Everything?”

She jumped at his voice. “How did you get there?” Almost immediately she shook her head. “Wolf, yeah. Never mind. Yes, as clearly as you can recall.”

He showed her, including Linda’s little weaving gestures.

“That’s really good.” She stared again, gaze as penetrating as a truth awl. “Almost a perfect bur hex. If you had magic, you could have really cast that.”

His face heated. “Good memory?” Her gaze sharpened even more. He smiled innocently.

Her gaze dived to his mouth. She must have liked what she saw because her irises dilated, her nostrils flared slightly and her lips parted. She licked them, her sweet pink tongue caressing glossy lips. His wolf approved.

And somehow he was kissing her again. He crushed her to him, her small body soft and warm, her mouth tasting as bright and crisp as crushed mint leaves, her scent flowering like jasmine…so female. So…his.

His?

He pulled away and saw his hands entwined in her hair, the glossy dark ribbons around his fingers. His wolf had done that.

She opened her remarkable eyes. Stars stirred in their depths, and his mouth throbbed to take her again… “You’ve got to stop doing that.” Her voice was husky, like honeyed whiskey.

You started it with your lip licking
warred with
I
can’t
stop
and
I want to kiss you forever.
None of those were acceptable responses so he forced himself to untwine and step back. “Did that tell you anything?” His face heated. “About the spell, I mean.”

She cleared her throat. “Yes and no. What you did was a bur hex—but a simple bur only makes you break out in hives or lose your hair or something. It shouldn’t have messed with your intrinsic shifter magic.” She bit her lip, teeth so white against the plump, rosy skin. She caught him staring and blushed. “Something just occurred to me. I was looking for Auntie with my third eye…well, you don’t need the details. But did the spell hit objects? Bounce?”

So he had to explain about the mirror and the picture. As he spoke she pursed her luscious lips in thought and it was all he could do not to take them up on their ripe invitation.

When he finished, she nodded. “That makes more sense. The mirror or picture must have changed the hex. Let’s check out the picture first.” She walked toward the cabinet in the back of the store.

He watched her move, savoring her efficient grace. “You were really good, weren’t you? Princess aside, you worked at your magic.”

She stopped at the pictures, her back still to him but her rolled spine saying she was embarrassed. “Yes.”

“Why? You wouldn’t need it for politics.”

She glanced at him, her cheek flushed a rosy pink. Damn, every time he saw that, he wanted to lick her rosy skin…
everywhere
she was rosy.

She cleared her throat and took out a daguerreotype. “After I retired from the Council I was going to go into research. This picture?”

“No. The photograph of you.” He glided to her side. “My lieutenant Mason’s into research too.”

“Your beta?” She put back the daguerreotype. Lifted out her own photo and frowned at it.

Noah snorted. “Beta implies second. Mason could lead the pack as well as me, maybe better. He doesn’t want to. But he’s definitely not second class.”

“I didn’t mean any slur by it.” She coughed. “I know wild wolf packs are more like a family. That the fighting and hierarchy are a wolves-in-captivity thing.”

He considered her. She really was remarkable, both a good brain and a good heart. “Wild is wild and civilization is civilization. Even a city as small as Matinsfield qualifies as a wolves-in-captivity thing.”

“I’m sorry.” She paused, and he could see her curiosity warring with her innate sensitivity and tact. “You don’t have to answer this, but you mentioned more like Killer. Is it worse than that? Do you have a lot of fighting to quash, as alpha?”

“More than most. I’m new and the pack is still testing me, mostly at the instigation of the old alpha’s lieutenants but once tempers blow it doesn’t matter who started it…” Damn, he was babbling. What about her made him yap like an excited pup?

She gave his hand a brief squeeze—the kind that made his hand happy and his cock jealous. She said, “Being brand-new is challenging enough. The hex must make it doubly hard.”

Oh yes, that was what. Her obvious interest in him. The true interest a friend would show.

Or a mate.

He clamped down on that. Him and a witch? Never, not ever.

But he
wanted
her. He met her starry eyes, fringed with those long lashes, filled with sympathy. He wanted to dive into her gaze and drown… He shifted to watch her talk, her glossy pink lips shaping words that made him swell with the desire to kiss her again. Kisses wouldn’t hurt, would they? Maybe a little meaningless hot sex…?

His whole body flushed, fever rising, pulse racing. Meaningless? Sex would never be meaningless with Sophia.

She stepped back, her eyes wide and her hand touching her pearls. She’d set down the frame. “There’s nothing special about the picture. Let’s check the mirror.” She hurried past him, headed for the draped oval. Her face was ruddy.

He clenched his teeth. Idiot. Every stupid lustful thought must have shown clearly on his face.

Bigger idiot. Sophia was checking out, alone, the mirror that had warped a simple hex into something dangerous.

He rushed after her.

Only to be stopped by a loud
hiss
. Noah’s hackles sprang high.

A big orange lump sat in front of the mirror, emerald eyes narrowed at them both.

The cat hadn’t been there a moment before. Noah would have smelled him. Bloody claws, he would have felt all that attitude miles away.

Sophia bent to pat the cat, then straightened and raised a hand to remove the sheet from the mirror.

The cat jumped to its feet and hissed again.

She paused, hand still out. “What’s wrong, Mr. Kibbles?”

“You talk to cats?” Noah worked hard to keep the growl out of his voice and was mostly successful.

“Talk to them, and pay attention to them, if they’re as smart as Mr. Kibbles.” She lowered her hand and focused on the cat, who again sat primly beneath the mirror and started washing his foreleg. “I shouldn’t touch the mirror? I need to look at it though. It’s important.”

Noah glided to her side. “I wouldn’t trust the word of a cat.” When Mr. Kibbles paused washing to narrow his eyes, Noah added, “Not just you. I wouldn’t trust any cat.”

“He’s not a cat,” Sophia said.

Noah grimaced. “Looks like a cat. Smells like a cat. Snippy like a cat.” As King, he’d had words with Mr. Fat Kibbles.

“Mr. Kibbles is Auntie’s familiar.”

“How’s that different from cat?”

“Familiars are carriers of arcane knowledge. When they warn, you listen.”

Noah crossed his arms. “Yeah, well, if he’s so smart, why is he still a cat?”

“He doesn’t have to be. They’re born as their animal, but later they can become human, or any intermediary form between.”

He stared open-mouthed at her. “You’re not saying he’s a
shifter
?” He was vaguely offended. He had nothing in common with a snippy
cat
.

“Not exactly. Familiars can only change shape after name-bonding.”

“Name-bonding?” Ice chilled Noah’s blood. “What’s that?”

“When the witch gives the familiar its true name. It shows that the witch understands the honor of being in partnership with such a wise being.”

“I see.” Something about that disturbed him deeply, but he had no idea what. “What if name-bonding doesn’t happen?”

“The familiar is locked in animal form until named. If the witch comes into her full power without naming the familiar…” She paused, looking thoughtful.

Cold fingers of dread kneaded his stomach. “What?”

“It’s only happened a handful of times. The familiar’s brain tries to expand to adult size. But locked in its smaller animal cranium…well.” She cleared her throat. “Within a few days the familiar goes insane, then dies.”

The dread dug into his chest and exploded into horror. If that happened to his beloved—

Noah straightened suddenly, hurling away his half-formed idea before it could become whole. He was a
wolf
. Wolves didn’t have familiars.

“What’s wrong?” Sophia’s star-shot eyes filled with concern.

“Nothing.” Immediate distraction was in order. “Do you have a familiar? Let me guess, it’s a cat. Where is he?”

Her mouth curled crookedly. “
She
stomped off in a huff when I gave up magic. I think she’s sulking somewhere in the Bahamas.”

“If you’re bonded, how can she leave?”

“Bonding doesn’t mean slave. Kat is independently wealthy—she made some shrewd investments early on. They’re
wise
, Noah. When a familiar takes the time to communicate, it pays to listen.” Sophia eyed the mirror then the fat orange fur ball. “But in this case, Mr. Kibbles, we need to know how the mirror affected Auntie’s hex. It’s for the sake of Noah’s pack.” She reached for the sheet.

A dark shiver of foreboding rolled over Noah, the kind of earthquake premonition he’d felt only once before—the day magic had destroyed his life.

Instinct grabbed him. He seized Sophia’s wrist to stop her from uncovering the mirror.

He stepped in to do it. Mistake.

Their bodies met. Her eyes flew up, darkening. She pressed her lips together, drawing his gaze. She had the prettiest pink lips.

While he was distracted, the sheet slithered from the mirror.

Light struck it, a bright flare. Power hit him at the same time with an almost physical impact. Sophia flinched.

“Damn it.” He grabbed her in both arms and spun, as if he could shield her from attack. The mirror glowed faintly in his periphery. “First, your aunt hexing me, now this.” This was what he got for being attracted to a witch. He released her to snag the sheet and toss it back over the mirror. “Damn witches.”

She drew herself straight. “Did you want me to help you or not? Because you’re sure not acting like it.”

He stilled immediately. Closed his eyes. Breathed deep. “I’m sorry. That wizard my mother worked for…something happened because of the magic. Something bad.” He opened his eyes. “I want your help, Sophia. I need it.
But
.” His gaze cut to the mirror and he scowled. “I don’t want you near that thing.”

“That’s not logical.”

He turned his scowl on her. “I don’t care about being logical. I care about you being safe. I don’t want you near the mirror, and I especially don’t want you anywhere near that Rodolphe with him so hungry for revenge.”

“Hungry…?” She clasped her pearls and frowned. Then her eyes flew to his, her pupils constricted to pinpricks.

Sophia stared at Noah, her chest hollowing out. He was right. Rodolphe didn’t just want revenge, he was hungry for it.
Hungry,
like the Hungry Ghost.

Stars and moon. If Rodolphe was the Hungry Ghost, not only she and Noah were in danger from him. If the Ghost found the pieces of the Key, the world as they knew it would end.

No time to be a hero. She had to call the Council. She pulled out her phone. The Enforcers would come…and would find out that Aunt Linda had hexed Noah.

Sophia slowed, thumbing through her contacts.

If Auntie had hexed a mundane, the Council would slap her with a thousand-dollar fine and sixty days in lock up. For hexing a were, that would go up to five thousand and six months.

Didn’t matter. Stopping Rodolphe trumped a fine and jail time. Beside, Auntie’s hexing was unintentional, so a good arcane lawyer could argue it down to the fine.

Sophia found the Council general number and hit call.

Then Noah said, “You know, I keep wondering if Linda would have stayed if that lady hadn’t walked in.”

Sophia frowned at him, the phone ringing in her hand. “Lady? What lady?”

“The one who walked in at dawn. She thought the unlocked door mean the store was open.”