But it didn’t change how he felt. Nothing would ever change it. She could go on and marry the warlock, bear his children, and still, he’d love her, love her beyond reason, beyond logic.
Chapter 31
Val had never been one to run, but she had. She’d fallen for Jake and lost him all in a matter of weeks. Knowing their time had ended, she couldn’t continue to live so close to him. She had to get on with her life, and she had, for the most part.
After casting the disappearance spell, she appeared in the burned wreckage of her old home. She hadn’t known where to go, so she took a risk. Tracking down her parents, the ones who claimed to want to reconnect with her, they welcomed her with open arms. Of course, they knew something was wrong and asked, but she didn’t explain. She couldn’t find it in herself to admit how she’d destroyed the man she loved.
The first night and day, she slept. All day, all night. Her mother and father checked on her. She sensed them enter and leave her room a number of times, bringing her water and food. None of which she touched.
The next day, she’d woken early, dressed, and tried as best as she could to get on with her life before the inevitable happened. She met with her parents, told them she planned to find her own place but would like to join their coven and hunt for Malums. They’d been thrilled. They hadn’t overwhelmed her with their excitement since they knew something was still wrong, something that had to do with Jake. They respected her privacy and hadn’t asked. They had, however, told her repeatedly if she needed to talk, they’d listen. She hadn’t taken them up on the offer. Not then, and not since.
That evening, she met with her new coven: a mix of witches and warlocks. They were friendly, told stories, laughed, and joked. The next day, she began training with them. And the following night, for the first time, she hunted rogues.
Three days had passed since, a full week since the day Jake walked away from her, and she was in terrible pain. Not the anguish that clung to her after destroying the man she loved. No, the type that came when a Malum stabbed her with an iron blade.
The Malum, a demon, hadn’t tricked her, hadn’t goaded her. She’d just been distracted. For a split second, when she saw those red eyes in the darkness of the alley, Jake came to mind. And for a single moment, she almost sensed him, smelled him, felt him.
It had all been in her head, of course, but it made her hesitate, and it cost her. The next thing she knew, the Malum stood inches from her, blade in hand ready to strike. She moved, but she’d been too slow. He struck her under the collarbone, releasing liquid iron into her veins. Immediately, the poison took effect. The pain so intense, she hadn’t been able to fight back, not with her magic, not with her fists. If it hadn’t been for her parents, she would’ve died in that alley or been taken. A possibility, Malums kidnapped immortal women and tortured them.
The three of them ended their hunt early that night, her mother and father making a fuss over her. She was fine though. After they removed the blade, the pain became a bit more bearable. Her father stayed by her side as her mother gathered a series of herbs and concocted a powerful healing potion. She drank it an hour ago. Since then, they’d come in once to check on her. Both hadn’t looked less worried when they left. She knew why. Her wound still bled. It hadn’t stopped, and she knew the reason for that, too. They expected her to heal quickly, and she wouldn’t.
She was fine though, as good as possible considering the circumstances. She missed Jake beyond reason and Annie, too. The searing ache in her chest wouldn’t let her forget just how much she loved them. But she’d lost them both, and devastation took hold.
“Val?” A loud bang sounded on her bedroom door.
Oh God, no, not Glen. How had he found her?
“I hope you’re dressed because I’m coming in.” He waltzed in, took one look at her, and cursed. “What the fuck, Valerie?”
“Please…” she said, though it took too much of her waning strength.
“Get your ass up, off this bed, and eat.”
All she heard: noise. And
eat?
Pointless, she couldn’t swallow more than a few bites without puking. Pointless in the long run too, she didn’t have much time left. Still, she’d tried to eat because magic had to be nourished. Without food, her magic faded.
She sat up in bed. The blanket covering her wound fell to her lap.
His eyes widened. “Fucking. Fuck, Val. What the fuck happened to you?”
Her gaze snapped down to her shirt realizing her wound had again bled through the gauze, staining the long shirt she wore.
Instead of waiting for her to answer, he asked, “Where the fuck is he?”
“Who?”
“Who?
Who
! Your fucking mate, Val.”
“Her mate?” Her mother now stood at the threshold into the bedroom. Her father close behind.
Glen turned to them. “Does he know about her? How could he
not
do anything?”
Her mother paled. “Her mate?”
“Jacob, the demon. He’s her mate.”
Her father’s eyes widened, then it hit him, the reason she wasn’t healing as she should be. And she saw the realization on her father’s face a split second before pain streaked it. His hand went to his chest. “God, no. She’s not marked. It’s been seven days.
Seven
days. How long has he known?”
Her mother’s jaw dropped, the same anguished expression clear in her. She neared, grabbed her hand, and pleaded, “Val, sweetheart, you can’t stay away from him. You
have
to go to him. He has to mark you.”
She shook her head. “I can’t, Mother.” Tears welled in her eyes. With how much she’d cried, she thought she had none left. “He doesn’t want me.”
“Your mother’s right. You have to go to him. Whatever it is, it can be fixed.”
Tears fell and fell. Her gaze deadlocked on her father, between holding back sobs, she said, “I hurt him, so he
left
m-me.”
“Val, listen to us. Please, sweetheart…” Tears trailed down her mother’s cheeks, then she sobbed.
“You only have so much time before…it’s too late,” her father choked out.
She knew this.
The Fated Curse.
Like werewolves and vampires, the witches and fairies had a troubled past. The last war ended in the early 1900s won by the witches who had become more magically powerful than the Fae. Since witches and warlocks had the least physical strength, it became common practice (and still was) to marry within the breed, the most powerful marrying the powerful to produce even more powerful offspring, in the long run creating a stronger breed. Of course, it only applied to witches who hadn’t found their fated mates, since once they did, the pull was too strong to stay away from each other. As expected, the witches became stronger over time, winning the last war. The Fae then cursed them. A curse so powerful, even after the truce, they hadn’t been able to reverse it.
Glen cursed. “The next full moon is tomorrow, Val. You know he has to claim you before then.”
As a witch over the legal age, her mate had until the second full moon to claim her. He didn’t, she would become mortal, age, and die. Still, it didn’t make a difference. “He doesn’t want me.”
Glen stormed out of the room.
Her father then dragged her mother out.
Finally alone, she lay down, closed her eyes, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
****
Every inch of him drenched in sweat, Jacob had been training for hours. Not alone. He was never alone anymore. That ache inside him followed him everywhere. It wouldn’t go away, clinging to him no matter what he did or who he was with.
Everyone noticed. Everyone knew. It didn’t bother him, but Annie felt it, sensed it, and lived with that ache too, at least whenever he was around.
Feeling the presence of two enter the large gymnasium, his anger surfaced. One of his fellow warriors or Jenna, checked on him constantly, thinking he needed a damned sitter because he lost his fated. The only break: Ashley and Clyde left on their honeymoon, the one they’d cut short after his sister’s death. He didn’t need another two people checking on him, pitying him. He didn’t need anyone’s damned pity. All he needed—Annie.
Materializing in the middle of the room, he barked, “What the fuck did I say! I…” He caught sight of the warlock and trailed off.
Rage bubbled and spilled over, coiling in waves around him. The warlock didn’t seem concerned. He looked angry. Good, maybe all he needed was a fight. Maybe he’d kill the damned warlock who’d stolen his mate. Maybe the warlock would kill him and put him out of his misery.
He shook his head. No, he couldn’t let that bastard kill him. He had Annie.
“Got a death wish, warlock?”
“Not particularly, but it wouldn’t matter. I’m not the one who has a fated.”
He had a lot of nerve bringing her up. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
“You’re a piece of work.”
He grabbed him by the shirt, lifting him off his feet. Glen held out his hand and pushed it against his shirt, hurling him backward. His back hit the mats. A second later on his feet, he ran toward the warlock. Glen held out his hand. Pain radiated through his legs. He fell to his knees in agony, waiting for the pain to dull.
“I have something to tell you, and you’ll listen.”
“Fuck. You.”
His body morphed. In demon form, he lunged at Glen. They tumbled to the floor. He punched him in the face. Glen returned it to his gut. He swung again connected to his jaw, blood spurted across the floor. Glen kicked him, flinging him off, then levitated out of his reach.
He growled. “Damned cheat.”
“You have any idea how much you’ve made her suffer?”
He laughed humorlessly. “This coming from the bastard she chose over me.”
“Demon, you’ve lost your goddamned mind. She loves you, not me.”
He scoffed.
“We dated, yes. We kissed, yes. But it never went farther than that. I’m sorry you saw what you did, but―”
“How do you know what I saw?”
“She was upset that day, and you left.”
She confided in the warlock instead of him, and the warlock still claimed she didn’t love him?
Jaw clenched, hands in fists. “Get down here and fight like a man!”
“Sorry, you’ve fucked up my face good enough, and I’ve got a date.”
A date? “I’ll kill you for hurting her. I swear I will.”
“The only one who’s hurting her is you.”
“Bullshit.”
“I told you he wouldn’t listen.”
He’d forgotten about Nathan.
“Are you willing to let her die?”
“She won’t. She made her choice.”
“She will.”
“She doesn’t want me.”
“You let her, she’ll die.”
He hissed. “Do you want me to make your death more painful than what I have in mind?”
Glen crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m getting tired of this conversation. It’s near endless. At this point, I may miss my date.”
He jumped, flung himself into the air, grabbing Glen by his ankle, and slammed him hard against the padded mats lining the floor. Glen struck him with magic, as powerful as the jolts Valerie zapped him with. He fell to his knees, groaning.
“I’m sorry you witnessed what you did, but it doesn’t change the fact she’s yours, not mine. She loves you, and I know you love her. So why don’t you stop attacking me and go fetch your mate?”
Pain continued to radiate inside him. “She…chose…you.”
“She never chose me. Even when we dated, she never cared for me like she should’ve, and I never cared for her that way either. We were friends more than anything else. I won’t lie to you, demon. I wanted her to be mine. I selfishly kept her beside me for longer than I should’ve, waiting, hoping, and praying despite the odds she could possibly be mine, but she isn’t. I wanted to love her and felt I could, but I held back because I knew she wasn’t mine, and I feared falling for her.”
“I hate…you…”
“I envy you. You were given the gift I prayed was mine.”
“She doesn’t want me.”
“She doesn’t? I could swear she’s grieving like she does. Do you know where she is?”
No, he didn’t. He couldn’t help himself and checked, but she was gone.
“She hasn’t been eating, not like she should. She’s lost weight, and she’s been
hunting
.”
Hunting? His mate without his protection? His heart stilled. “She
doesn’t
want me. If she did, she’d come to me. She knows how I feel about her.” He’d tried to sound adamant, but he lost his resolve. Worry for her overriding everything else, the need gnawing a hole in his stomach.
“It’s Valerie. Despite her bravado, she’s naive. She didn’t realize you were hers until her vision—”
“What was it?”
Glen hesitated. “When I kissed her from your point of view. It means whatever you felt at that moment, she felt, too.”
Fuck. It hurt to think she’d suffered that ache—an ache that still pained him.
“You realize food provides nourishment, which gives a source for our magic, the magic that’s ingrained from birth or inherited needs to be fed. If it’s not, then we have no magic.”
No. Glen lied. Val wouldn’t do that.
“Hunting as weak as she is. Already, it’s cost her.”
No. No. No. She wouldn’t do that.
“And it’s not just that. You ever heard of the
Fated Curse
?”
He hadn’t, and so he didn’t reply.
“Those damned Fairies got us good after the last war. We haven’t been able to reverse that curse.”
“What curse?”
Glen looked at Nathan, then met Jacob’s gaze. “The mate of a witch has until the second full moon to claim her. He doesn’t, the witch becomes mortal, ages, and dies.”
He’d known her longer than a month and the next full moon—tomorrow.
No, no, no. Not his mate. Not Val.
His heart stopped beating, bile rose to the back of his throat. He managed three words. “Where is she?”
****
Jacob materialized outside the address and stared up at the two-story Victorian house. Her scent engulfed him immediately. The pang in his chest lessened, yet fear clouded his every thought. He scented something else. Blood. His mate’s.
Throat clogging, he didn’t hesitate running up the porch steps and banging on the front door.