Seduced by Pain (19 page)

I loved my
mother more than ever in that moment, especially when I saw the effect her
speech had on Rose. I'd lost so many years with my family due to stubbornness
and pride. I looked forward to making up for that lost time now that I knew
what I wanted in my life.

Rose pulled Ocean
into our circle. "This is my best friend, Ocean."

My mom hugged
her as well. "You're family too now, my dear. Our home is your home."

Ocean smiled. "Thank
you, Mrs. O'Conner. That means more to me than you might imagine."

"Oh,
please, call me Lauren, both of you."

My dad walked
over. "And call me David. We don't stand on formalities here."

He shook hands
with Ocean and Rose, though I knew he'd be hugging them soon enough. They were
big on hugging, my parents.

"I wish
we could spend more time getting to know each other, but we all know there are
bigger issues at play." My dad's words brought a solemnness back to the
group. "A text came in telling us that Tammy has been taken. They are
demanding the rose bush in exchange for her life."

My wolf raged
in me, eyes turning, but I kept my calm. "Did they give a meet-up
location?"

"Yes.
Tonight at the abandoned hotel downtown." He showed me the text.

"Then let's
give them the rose bush and get Tammy back. We can't let them hurt her." I
wanted to pace the room, let out my anger, but I didn't want to let go of Rose's
hand.

My dad put his
hand on my arm. "Son, as much as I would give anything to protect you
kids, we can't let them have that power. They wouldn't stop at kidnapping. They
want to destroy us, and without the power of the roses, we're
weak—vulnerable. The roses carry ancient secrets to unlock doors to other
planes. One of our jobs is to make sure that doesn't happen. I fear the witches
won't be as vigilant of that task."

"Can the
power from the roses help us get Tammy back?" Rose asked.

"It doesn't
work that way. The roses give us added strength and abilities and can infuse things
like creams and salves with healing properties, but it's not a force that can
be set free by itself. It has to work through something or someone," I
told her. "Do you or Ocean have any magical abilities that could help?"

"I can
only do the one thing, and I don't think that will help us right now,"
Rose said.

Ocean
shrugged. "I have water magic. Is the meeting place near a body of water?"

My dad shook
his head. "No, it's inland."

"Derek
and I could go after her," Rose said. "They're probably keeping her
in the hotel. Between the two of us, we could handle any guard. I know the
coven, and no one there could go up against a Druid Shifter… or me, if I used
my power. You all can stay here and protect the roses."

"Where's
the rest of our pack?" I asked. I was surprised that our cousins and aunts
and uncles hadn't shown up in droves when they heard about Tammy.

"We sent
them to the garden to stand watch. Some are using their other gifts to track
and watch the witch's property," Mom said.

I looked down
at Rose, an unspoken question in my eyes. Was she really ready to use her
powers if it came down to it?

She nodded,
and I pulled her into a side hug. "I like Rose's plan. We can go get Tammy
while you make preparations here. Once she's out of their control, they'll lose
the upper hand."

We had no idea
what to expect, or who to expect when we pulled up in the parking lot of the
old hotel. They'd asked us to show up at night, which would have given this
place a Bates Motel feel. By day, it just looked sad. The dilapidated building
stunk of wine and nicotine and had clearly been used by the homeless on more
than one occasion. For a moment I feared a random act of violence against my
sister, more than the witches' wrath.

They must have
done something to her to keep her locked up. She had Shifter power and strength
and could have escaped in wolf form.

My hand
tightened into a ball, and I vowed death on each of them if anything had
happened to Tammy.

Using my wolf
sense of smell, I tracked her scent with Rose following. Smells overwhelmed me,
bodies and odors and something dead, but only one scent of a body still on the
premises. I traced it to a room on the second level and kicked in the door,
ready to shift into wolf form should anyone attack.

I would do
anything I could to keep Rose from having to use her powers, even on someone
who deserved it. I knew what it cost her, especially now that she knew the
consequences.

Tammy lay on
the bed, gagged, unconscious and tied up.

Rose and I
freed her, and I carried her to the car as she slowly woke. Her eyes darted
around in panic. "Derek. No. It's a trap. They're attacking our home."

I mentally
punched myself as I broke every speed limit racing back to the house. Rose
called my mom, my dad, Father Patrick and every other number in my phone, but
no one answered.

Cursing, I
passed a car going too slow and sped up again, burning my tires on the asphalt
as I turned corners and pulled into my long driveway.

The energy of
the attack slammed into me, and I shifted into wolf form and howled into the
woods, tracking the scent of my family toward the rose bush.

Rose and Tammy
couldn't keep up, but I knew they weren't in danger. All of our enemies were
ahead of me.

There was no
way they could possibly have enough power to defeat our entire pack, but the
devastation I saw when I arrived nearly broke me.

Pain burned
through me like acid as something forced me to shift back to my human form.

The jaws of darkness do devour it up:


So quick bright things come to confusion.

—William Shakespeare,
A Midsummer Night's Dream

CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO
impossible decisions, I'd chosen the
one that would give me the smallest semblance of hope. My desire to be human,
to live on this plane, had always been there.

But since
falling in love with Rose, that desire now depended entirely on being with her,
and what I was about to do would destroy that chance, if I had any at all. But
I could not revert back to demon form and live out my life on that hell plane. I
had to help the witches complete their ceremony.

The decoy with
the sister had worked. As we arrived on the vast O'Conner estate, Rose was
missing. So was Derek.

They didn't
expect us to attack by day, or maybe at all. They didn't expect us to have
enough power to defeat them.

I could tell
that loyalty in the coven was breaking apart. The lesbian couple had left in
the middle of the night last week and hadn't been heard from since, and there
were mutterings of discontent. When Rose and Ocean left, it shocked a lot of
them, even without knowing the sordid details.

Jasmine had
sunk deeper into her emo tortured teen routine and refused to speak to anyone
unless it involved sarcasm. She also refused to participate in this attack, for
which I was grateful. I'd developed a fondness for the girl and enjoyed hearing
her practice her singing when she thought no one was around.

I wanted her
to have a better life than this.

I wasn't sure
how long Rainbow would keep her coven together after today, but it wouldn't
matter. We just needed to do the transfer of power on the winter solstice, and
then they could all drop dead for all I cared.

We snuck onto
the property, and acres of woods spread before us, with the palatial mansion
standing proudly in the center. Rainbow had likely thought this life would be
hers. No wonder she was pissed.

Each witch had
spent time holding the sphere under my supervision. I didn't even allow Rainbow
to carry it off, much to her chagrin. It was my ass if Beleth didn't get this
back.

Their power
built on itself as they joined hands in a circle and chanted. The sphere pulsed
with life and glowed in my hand. They'd created a spell to stop a Shifter from
shifting, or to revert them back to human if they had.

Between that
and their increased power, the Druids would not last long in this battle.

"Blake,
hand me the sphere," Rainbow commanded from the shroud of her black cape.

I rolled my
eyes at her melodrama, but handed it to her.

The witches
dropped each other's hands and maintained their magical connection within the
circle's power points. As Rainbow chanted, wolves in the woods began to howl in
pain.

For several
minutes, the howling continued, their agony a physical presence around us. My
body itched with the energy of it, and I fought the urge to break the circle
and end this before the evil bitch gained even more power.

Rainbow howled
like an insane animal as the wolves grew silent. "Now, we take what is
rightfully ours!"

With renewed
enthusiasm, likely from the magic dripping from the air, the coven ran into the
woods, heading straight for the rosebushes.

No wolves remained,
only humans laying on the ground, moaning in pain.

The few that
tried to stand were easily trampled by the magically-intoxicated witches.

Rainbow
claimed a rose and sniffed it deeply. "Ah, the scent of power. Of victory.
Of everything that was mine."

The Druid
leader walked toward her from the main house. He must not have been in wolf
form when this started, but given how he shuffled his legs, he'd likely tried
to shift and failed.

Rainbow's lips
curled up into a menacing smile. "David, so nice of you to join us. It's
been too long."

"What are
you doing, Rainbow? I gave you a home, land, money. You have no rights to more."
He stood tall, proud and wise and I could see why the world adored him.

"I have
every right. This was supposed to be mine, but you tossed me away for that
bitch you call wife."

David smacked
Rainbow, and as his palm landed on her cheek, a force of power erupted from her
and threw him across the garden, where he fell into a pile like a rag doll.