Allie’s eyes slowly blinked open. Her mouth felt as if it had been stuffed full of cotton balls, and her head pounded. She quickly closed her eyes again, hoping the pain would go away, but continued to nag at her. Opening her eyes again, she sucked in a deep breath, feeling like she had been drugged.
That’s when it all came back to her in a flash. She’d been having dinner with her parents, telling them about her mating with Marc.
“Oh, no!” she whispered and sat straight up on the bed, finding herself in her childhood bedroom. No wonder she felt like she had been drugged. It was magic from her father’s witch that was keeping her mind foggy. She tried to shake it off, but it clung to her like bad perfume, and it smelled just as bad.
“I hate fucking witches!” she growled through the pain.
“Awe, honey. You shouldn’t say things like that. You’ll end up with a nasty hex if you keep the shit up,” the witch in question said.
Allie hadn’t seen her sitting on the chair in the corner.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked the woman.
“Because your daddy pays well. Why else?” she said with a smile.
Allie wanted to knock that smile right off her beautiful face. Even sitting, she could tell the blonde had legs that went on for days. They probably had their own damn zip code. Her hair was short and looked as if it had been cut by a weed whacker. Even that didn’t take away a single bit of her unnatural beauty. Her full lips had been painted bright red and clashed with her dark purple eyes. Yet, she was still the most beautiful woman Allie had ever laid her eyes on.
“Easy, honey. Or I’m going to start thinking you like me more than that mutt of a mate you claim to be in love with,” the witch snarked. An evil smile spread across her face. It was then that Allie noticed the witch’s teeth had been filed into points and tipped with silver.
“Uh, hardly. I’m trying to figure out what it is about you. What seems so off. Other than the fact that you’re a witch,” Allie said, trying to put her finger on what was drawing her to the woman.
“I’m just that hot. Try not to overthink it, honey. I wouldn’t want you to hurt that pretty little head of yours.”
Allie rolled her eyes. “You really are a piece of work, aren’t you?” She eyed her up and down once again and saw the witch’s magic flicker. Allie kept her mouth shut, not wanting the witch to know that she had caught that. The witch wasn’t who she looked like at all. Her looks came from a spell.
She should have known there was nothing natural about the way she looked. The witch wasn’t some young, hot, powerful woman. The spell that she had cast over her much older and heavier body was starting to fade, drawing much more power than she had considered.
“How long do you plan on keeping me here?” Allie asked, wanting to force the witch to keep up her illusion spell. The longer she kept her occupied, the more magic it would require.
“Until your parents do what needs to be done.” The witch shrugged.
“And what exactly is that?” Allie asked, wanting to know what her parents had in store for her.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the witch teased.
“Actually, I would. Because whatever it is, it needs to be stopped. I’ve found my mate, and that is the end of the story.” Allie couldn’t believe how her parents had reacted. Actually, she could. She’d just hoped things would have turned out differently. Hoped her parents would have acted differently and accepted her mating.
“Too bad. So sad. You’ll find out soon enough. I have to admit, though, I’m surprised by the vindictiveness of a mother and father toward their daughter. I’m a witch, and even I think it’s cold as fuck. Guess you should have listened to them, and you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Mess? That’s what you want to call being held hostage?” Allie asked.
“Pretty much. Feel free to pick another term if you’d like. I don’t really give a fuck either way. As I said, the only reason I’m here is for the money.”
“It must suck to be you,” Allie said. She needed to find a way to wear the witch down. If she could get her to use up her already failing magic, she could put an end to this and get the fuck out of there before her parents even realized she was gone.
“It’s like I can see the hamster running and the wheel turning in your head, trying to come up with some sort of plan to make your great escape. It won’t work. So don’t even bother trying, honey.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Allie would deny, deny, deny. She would not give her captor anything that would be useful against her.
“Uh-huh. Sure.”
“Why don’t you fetch my parents so we can get this shit over with. I’ve got plans today. Besides, I’m bored.” Allie knew she needed to piss the witch off, even if it hurt just a bit to do it.
“Allie, can you hear me?” Marc’s voice filled her mind. Her tiger pushed forward, wanting her mate, but Allie pushed her back, knowing that shifting into a giant tiger at that moment would not be helpful. Not only that, but she’d also likely end up on the wrong side of a witch’s wand.
“Marc! Marc! Oh! Thank God! My parents have lost their minds.”She had never been so damn happy in her life to hear his voice in her head.
“Are you okay, baby? Please tell me they didn’t hurt you. I was so worried when you just disappeared, and I couldn’t reach you.”