The Lycan and His Witch (5 page)

Zora let out a shriek and jumped
back, falling over an ottoman, trying to hold on to the book she
was embracing as she fell. When she landed on the ground, her white
nightgown rolled up her legs to reveal lovely calves.

Bryce was momentarily dazzled by
the smooth, firm, creamy skin.

“Are you crazy?” Zora yelled out
after she covered her body once again.

He had his answer and gave her a
dry look mingled with anger. “Apparently not. Why won’t you let me
touch you?”

She rose, standing a few paces
away from him. “I…I don’t like to be touched.”

“You’re lying.”

A loud crash came from his
bedroom and she gasped. “Oh, my God! What was that?”

Bryce’s gaze narrowed toward the
hallway leading to his room. As unbelieving as they seemed, things
started falling into place for him. “My guess is that would be the
last remaining mirror in your home,” he said dryly. He returned his
gaze to her startled face. “Someone or something doesn’t want you
to know your appearance is changing.” He ignored her quick intake
of breath. “And my guess is, you didn’t look at yourself before you
went to bed, otherwise you would have noticed these changes.”

Zora placed the book down on the
table and ran her hands over her face, pausing stiffly at her
bulging nose and then grabbing a long lock of her hair and bringing
to forward so she could look at it. Her expression darkened.
“Morganna,” she whispered.

“Precisely. Now, who the hell is
Morganna? And…” Bryce paused deliberately… “am I to believe I am
your true love?”

Chapter Seven

Zora froze.
He knew
. “How
did you find out?”

“I read the love curse in your
book of spells. There was also the matter of your appearance
changing, how you didn’t want me to touch you, your mirrors
conveniently breaking.” He frowned. “I suppose the wolves
befriending you have something to do with the bond you and your
ancestors have to Lycans?”

“You must leave.”

“And you didn’t answer my
question. Am I to believe we’re soul mates?”

She inhaled slowly, searching
for the right words. “A Lycan has never set foot on my land. You’re
the first and I’m not taking any chances.”

“What if I am
not
your
soul mate?”

“I…I’m not willing to risk your
life on what ifs.”

“So if we touch, I will
die.”

“Yes,” Zora whispered.

His face turned grim. “And
Morganna started all this?”

“Yes.”
Bryce deserved to know
the truth.
“Seven hundred years ago,” she began quietly,
“Morganna fell in love with a Lycan called Darmus. They had an
affair and then he met and fell in love with Morganna’s sister,
Larissa.”

She paused, watching his face
for any reaction. He offered her none and she continued. “Larissa
returned Darmus’s love and once Morganna found out, she flew into a
blind rage and cast the love curse. Apparently, Morganna dabbled in
the dark arts.”

“Morganna is an immortal, is she
not?”

“She is. After she cast the
touch of death
spell on her sister, Darmus tried to push
Larissa out of the way and touched her skin. He died instantly.
Larissa was overcome with grief and didn’t see Morganna raise her
hand for another spell.” She paused, swallowing. “Morganna killed
her sister. A witch becomes immortal when she kills another
witch.”

“Nice family,” Bryce said
dryly.

She frowned, irked by his
cavalier attitude. “You don’t believe me.”

“Actually, I do. I’ve seen many
things in my existence and this pales by comparison.”

She grew alarmed. “You must take
this seriously! If you are my true love, one touch of my skin will
kill you.”

His gaze darkened. “I am not
afraid of death.”

“And I will not live with the
guilt!”

“So you’re protecting me,” he
murmured, his expression hooded. “And you chose to live here alone
for the rest of your life to avoid meeting any Lycans.”

“Yes.”

His expression lit with
realisation. “That’s why all your ancestors married without love,
because they couldn’t marry the one they wanted.”

“Yes.” She watched his mouth
tense. “Two years after my father died, my mother met her true
love. He was a Lycan passing through the village. Their attraction
to each other was instant and their first kiss killed him.” She
paused. “Before that, it was my grandmother. She met her true love
when she was young, only fifteen. They were inseparable. All he did
was take her hand to help her cross a creek and he died. And before
that,” she added, her voice rising, “My great aunt took every
precaution to protect her Lycan mate—standing a few paces away from
him, covering herself, loving him from afar. One day, the village
was raided by bandits and he shoved her out of the way of an arrow,
saving her life, but ultimately dying because he touched her arm.”
She stopped abruptly, taking in a deep breath. “As soon as the
curse was cast by Morganna, word travelled to all the cousins and
distant female relatives to beware of touching a Lycan lover. The
ones who didn’t heed the warning lost their lover with one touch
and word spread about the curse.” She paused. “So you see, it’s
hopeless. Every single one of my ancestors and their Lycan loves
met with the same fate. You must leave, Bryce, and never
return.”

“No. Morganna is trying to kill
me and I don’t take lightly to threats.”

“You’re mad! She’s powerful,
Bryce. She’ll stop at nothing to destroy our lo—” She froze,
embarrassed by what she was going to say.

“Our love,” he finished quietly,
a curious muscle worked along his jaw. Zora’s gaze wavered under
his intent look. “You believe I am your
one
. How?” Bryce
asked, his tone dangerously soft.

She wasn’t sure if he believed
her or if he was humouring her. She braced herself before she
spoke. “All my ancestors have met one Lycan in their lives. Only
one. We think Morganna uses her magic to send our soul mates to
us.”

His face turned a dark shade of
red. Was he angry? “And how many of these Lycans have survived the
curse?”

“None,” she whispered. “They all
died. My ancestors all tried to break the curse with spells, but
when they touched their true love, the Lycans died.”

“
Only the purest of love can
break the curse
,” he murmured.

“You read that from my spell
book.”

“Yes.” He drew in a deep breath.
“There’s one thing left to do. Do you know where this Morganna
is?”

“Legend says she’s hiding
beneath the mountains in a hidden cavern. Darmus is buried there
and she never ventured far from his grave.”

“I will travel to Darmus’s grave
and search the area. If Morganna is hiding there, I will find her
and kill her.”

Her eyes widened. “You believe
me.”

He ran his gaze over her and his
mouth thinned. “I do.”

* * * *

Bryce did believe Zora. Since
meeting her, his wolf was fighting its almost violent need to claim
her.

Zora was his
one
and he
could never touch her.

He stifled the curse on his lips
as he stared at her. She looked tired, scared, helpless. Dammit, he
felt useless. Bryce just wanted to take her in his arms and hold
her, protect her, take care of her. He rubbed the back of his neck
with an agitated hand.

“Go back to bed, Zora. You need
to sleep. In the morning, we’ll figure this out,” he said
quietly.

She nodded, her eyes
glistening.

Long after she left, he stared
unseeingly before him, wondering with a staggering realisation when
had he fallen in love with her.

Bryce rose at the crack of dawn
with Zora on his mind. Morganna was trying to kill him and
witchcraft or not, he wasn’t going to take this lying down. He was
a Lycan and he’d fought more menacing foes than jilted witches.

He dressed quickly.

He then went into the living
room and didn’t see her anywhere. He frowned. His gaze caught the
opened spell book on the table. Curiously, he went over to it and
looked at the page. The back of his nape tingled as he flipped a
few pages forward and a few pages back.

Zora had left the book opened
for him in the
W
section and there were no entries on
Werewolves. She’d done that to prove to him she wasn’t lying.
There was no spell in existence to remove his werewolf
curse.

He didn’t know how to feel about
it.
Disturbed or moved
? Disturbed because he’d have to live
this hellish existence for an eternity until silver impaled him, or
moved by her sympathy. She obviously didn’t want him to hold onto
to lost hope.

He grimaced and left the house
in search of her. He didn’t find her in the front or the back. He
walked into the woods, listening for any sounds with his Lycan ears
and inhaled deeply for her sweet scent.
Nothing.
Fear
gripped him as he stomped deeper into the woods.

* * * *

Zora closed the shed behind her
and walked to the front of the house, dragging the step ladder
behind her. She knew she could always cast a spell on Luna to make
her fearful of the roof top so she’d never venture up there again,
but she refrained. She only wanted to use her spells for dire
emergencies.

An image of a naked Bryce
flashed through her mind when she’d mended his clothes, and her
heart skipped.

“
That
was a dire
emergency,” she murmured dryly under her breath.

She heard Luna’s mewls and
looked up at the roof top. “Serves you right for going back up
there again,” she said firmly, watching her cat’s cute little black
and white face peek over the ledge. Luna mewled again and Zora’s
mood softened.

“Okay, give me a second,” she
murmured placing the ladder up against the house. The ladder wasn’t
firm on the ground and she shoved it deeper into the earth. That
should hold, she thought, glancing up at Luna.

Damn, the roof was high. She’d
already been up there three other times, and each time hadn’t
gotten any easier. She’d just have to take it nice and slow. As
long as Luna didn’t claw her in a panic like she’d done all those
other times.

Zora inhaled slowly and stepped
onto the first rung on the ladder, holding on for dear life.

* * * *

Bryce was almost at the house
when his Lycan sense of smell caught her alluring scent and he
picked up his pace. A flash of anger rose in his chest at her for
disappearing.

He froze as soon as he saw her.
She was on a ladder, near the top of the house, her cat mewling
bloody murder from the roof. The ladder swayed and his stomach
clenched with fear. Damnation! Couldn’t she use her magic to save
her damn cat?

He envisioned her body smashing
on the ground, and his heart thudded. At the thought of her body,
he frowned deeply. From this distance, he could see a remarkable
change. Her waist was tiny, her backside outlined by her summer
frock, firm and enticing, her hair longer as it fell in a golden
wave to her buttocks.

* * * *

The ladder shook as she reached
for her cat. Luna’s paw snaked out and Zora shrieked, jerking back.
The ladder jostled from side to side.

Without another thought, he
shifted into his Lycan form and sprang through the air, his
nine-foot frame almost a blur. He caught her before she hit the
ground. Zora stiffened in his arms, her eyes squeezed shut.

She opened her eyes slowly and
choked back a sob. “You’re alive.”

Bryce blinked, unable to fathom
the complete and staggering change in her appearance. He stared at
her dainty nose, her creamy soft complexion, and her pearly white
teeth. Her new face blinded him with its beauty. She stared up at
him with relief, not the least bit frightened or repelled by his
ferocious appearance.

“You’ve covered every inch of
your skin. The only thing missing is a mask,” he commented in his
eerie Lycan voice.

She frowned. “Quick. Put me
down.”

Carefully, he placed her down
and shifted back to his human form. Zora gasped as he transformed
and he smiled with arrogance.

“Does my being naked disturb
you?”

Her gaze wavered. “I’m…I’m
getting used to it.”

He smiled, his gaze travelling
over her face. “If my nudity is bothering you, imagine what I feel
watching you in your true, lovely splendour.”

She gasped and looked down at
herself. “No,” she whispered.

“Yes,” Bryce murmured. “And I
find it very difficult stopping myself from kissing you right
now.”

Chapter Eight

She watched her spell mend his
clothes and then handed them to him. Her gaze flicked over his
muscular chest and she turned around. Luna meowed as she darted
beneath the table.

“I didn’t thank you for saving
my cat,” Zora said as she kept her back to him, pretending to
arrange the centerpiece of flowers on the table.

“You can turn around now. I’m
dressed,” he said.

She detected a thread of humour
in his voice and slowly turned around. He was regarding her with a
glint of amusement on his face. “Thank you for Luna,” she
repeated.

“You’re welcome.”

His gaze travelled very slowly
over her and she felt not unlike a bug under a glass. She thought
about what he’d said outside and tensed. Had he meant it when he’d
said he wanted to kiss her?

She tore her gaze from his and
turned away. “I have some things to do. Breakfast will be ready in
an hour.”

“Wait!”

She froze at his commanding
tone. Slowly, she turned around and faced him. Bryce was glaring
with frustration at her.

“Don’t you think we need to
talk?”