She leaned her weight into me and hung her head. “I wish we could form our own coven.”

  I cocked my head to the side as I considered it. “Maybe someday we can.”

  She looked at me, her eyes wide. “Really?”

  I shrugged. “Now that I have sanctum in Haven Hollow, I could technically be a High Witch if we ever had enough witches to form our own coven... maybe someday we will.”

  “Maybe someday.”

  “There’s some damage to the front door and the porch,” Roy informed me as I gave Astrid a smile and then realized I still had other things to attend to.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow to work on Hellcat’s bachelor pad and I can fix both then,” Roy continued.

  “Thank you so much,” I replied as I faced all my friends as they stood around me. Each and every one of them had been there for me today, had put their lives on the line for mine. I could never have defeated the demon without them. “Thank you, all of you. You have no idea how…” My throat grew tight and I was afraid I was going to start crying—something I absolutely did not want to do so I just shut up.

  “There’s still one more thing we need to take care of, Wanda,” Lorcan said as he stepped forward and faced me.

  “We need to find out who summoned the thing,” I answered.

  He nodded.

  “You can still rely on us, Wanda,” Marty said.

  It was Lorcan who responded this time. “I’m afraid this little field trip can only include Wanda and me. The vampires would never allow all of you entrance and, furthermore, I would be excommunicated if I ever tried.”

  “It’s okay,” I said to Marty and then faced the others with as much strength as I could muster. “This is Lorcan’s and my fight now, but I appreciate all of you, all the same.”

  Poppy stepped forward and took Astrid’s hand. “It’s time to go pick up Finn. Why don’t you come home with me, Astrid? We can work on some new potions.”

  Astrid nodded and giving me an uneasy hug, she faced me with concern in her eyes. “Be careful,” she whispered.

  “You have my promise I will protect your cousin with my life,” Lorcan responded. “Or unlife, as the case may be.”

  Astrid looked at him and gave him a quick smile. “I’m holding you to it.”

  ***

  Once everyone left, I faced Lorcan and inhaled deeply. “Well, are we ready?”

  Lorcan shook his head, and I faced him with wide eyes. “I want you to stay here, where you’re safe, Wanda.”

  “What?” I demanded. “No way.”

  He reached out and took my hands. “After realizing someone sent that demon after you… someone from my line, I realized how serious this situation is. Someone wants you dead and they came too close for comfort, Wanda.”

  I swallowed hard, but didn’t say anything more.

  “And if I bring you back to see Rupert,” Lorcan continued. “I’m bringing you back to the lion’s den, as it were. I don’t want to do that—I won’t do that.”

  “But, if you go alone,” I started.

  He shook his head. “They won’t harm me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded. “I’m certain.”

  I was quiet for a few seconds as I looked up at him. Even though Dev’s power was gone and I was restored to myself, there was still something within me that wanted to reach out and touch Lorcan, to pull him into an embrace and to… kiss him all over. I cleared my throat and forced myself to focus on… other things.

  “Do you believe Rupert is behind this now?” I asked.

  He shook his head again. “I don’t. Rupert gave us a two month extension, thus he has no reason to have set the demon on you. Someone else is behind it, and I intend to find out whom.”

  “Lorcan,” I started.

  “Please,” he interrupted. “If you’ve never listened to me before, listen to me this once, Wanda. I am resolute and I will not change my mind. Your safety is most important to me.”

  I was silent for a few seconds as I inhaled deeply and then nodded. “Okay. I’ll listen to you… but just this once.”

  I laughed but it was a laugh that belied my concern. I didn’t like the idea of Lorcan going back to Rupert to find out who had sent the demon. As far as I was concerned, it was only a matter of time before the vampires placed him in the same category as me—and both of us found ourselves in a fight for our lives.

  ***

  It was later that evening that Lorcan returned and, unfortunately, he returned emptyhanded. “Everyone is denying any knowledge of what happened.”

  “I’m not sure what you expected—that someone would come right out and admit it?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know what I was expecting, exactly, but I was expecting… something.” He shook his head and took a seat next to me on the floor. We leaned against the wall to support our backs and then just sat there in silence. I pulled my legs up into my body and Lorcan stretched his out.

  “And Rupert?”

  “Rupert was shocked by the information and he seemed quite… alarmed.”

  “Alarmed?”

  Lorcan nodded. “This doesn’t bode well for his control. It means someone is acting without his permission which doesn’t look good as it makes it appear he can’t control those underneath him. He promised he would look into it and he said he’d punish whoever was at fault.”

  “And you believe him?” I scoffed.

  “Rupert is a man of his word.” Then he stood up and started pacing the room, clearly bothered.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He faced me. “Whoever did this, we have to assume this is only their first attempt, Wanda, and that means you aren’t safe here.”

  “Hmm.”

  “I think we need to talk seriously about our options.”

  “Options?” I repeated. “What options?”

  “If we can’t reverse the blood curse before the two-month time limit is up, we’ll have to leave Haven Hollow.”

  I shook my head as my heart rode into my throat. “Leave Haven Hollow?”

  He nodded and I could tell he’d been contemplating this plan for a while. “Yes, Haven Hollow would no longer be safe because whoever did this… they know where you live. That means you’re essentially a sitting duck.”

  “But I’ve claimed sanctum.”

  “And that might protect you here, in your home, but what about when you’re out on the street? It’s not as though you can stay hiding in the duplex forever.”

  “True,” I answered.

  “If we can’t reverse the curse, we would have to move. It’s the only way.”

  “What about Astrid?”

  He nodded. “We’d take Astrid, Hellcat, Darla, and Elizabeth with us.”

  “You would do that? You would leave your practice and all your friends? And you’d go rogue from your vampire line?”

  He simply nodded.

  “I don’t… I don’t know what to say to that, Lorcan.”

  “I want you to be my future. I hope you understand how serious I am about that, Wanda.”

  I was starting to see it but I didn’t know what to make of it. I wasn’t used to… this. Witches, in general, used men to procreate but that was it. We didn’t have long-term relationships. We didn’t marry and we didn’t live with men. And, yet, the sound of it was somehow… pleasing. Yet, leaving Haven Hollow wasn’t.

  “I hate thinking about uprooting everyone and I… I don’t want to leave Haven Hollow.”

  “There is one other option.”

  “What is it?”

  He stopped pacing the room and faced me with a knowing expression. “You know what it is.”

  “You fully blooding me,” I answered.

  He nodded.

  I didn’t wince at the thought this time. I’d been thinking the same thing for days now. The prospect no longer bothered me as much as it had. “If we don’t break the curse in two months, I will consider it.”

  He nodded again and then just stared at me and I stared back at him. “Let’s find a way, Wanda,” he said in a soft voice. “Let’s find a way to break the curse.”

  I smiled up at him as thoughts of leaving Haven Hollow emptied from my mind. I didn’t want to leave the Hollow. I liked it here. I had friends for the first time ever and I’d claimed sanctum. That meant this place was my home. I’d never really had a home before and the feeling… it wasn’t one I wanted to give up on.

  Lorcan returned to the floor and sitting down next to me, picked up my hand and just held it. Neither of us said anything. His hands felt uncharacteristically warm tonight. I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude that he was here with me.

  As I looked at him, his eyes softened and his lips twitched. He bent forward but then hesitated. I gave him a little smile of encouragement and he leaned the rest of the way as I closed my eyes and his lips brushed mine. I didn’t fight his kiss, didn’t think about what it could lead to. I wasn’t afraid. Instead, I wanted him and not because of any demonic power or blood bond.

  I just wanted him—the real him—all of him.

  I slipped my arms around his neck and let myself fall into the delicious safety and delight of actually holding him the way I’d wanted to—for a while. I’d never let myself admit that I wanted Lorcan, but now I knew it was true. My body knew it was true.

  As incredible as it was, I was falling for Lorcan. Me, a witch! Falling for a vampire! It was crazy, but it was true. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn’t really that crazy. Because as men went, Lorcan was a good one. He put more into protecting me and the people I cared about than my own family did. And he’d put his life on the line. His life and his sanity.

  All along, I’d blamed him for turning me into a Blood Witch, but I’d conveniently forgotten that he’d done so to save my life. And even though I wished I were a normal witch, this life I had now was still better than no life at all. And I had him to thank… I had Lorcan to thank for everything I now had, including my life.

  The more I thought about it, the more it dawned on me that I’d always wanted him.

  Suddenly the thin layer of cotton over his upper body was too thick. It was in the way. I tugged at his shirt and it came loose from his waistband. I clawed it up and my grateful fingers came to rest on his bare chest muscles.

  I opened my eyes and caught his brilliant emerald ones examining me from inches beyond my nose. I wanted him to see me. I wanted him to know me in ways a man hadn’t in quite a while.

  He inched his hands down my waist to my belt. Then he tugged at my shirt and the fabric grazed my stomach. An involuntary shudder went through me as his warm hands slithered around my waist, beneath the shirt. A jet of heat scorched my nerves and still those green eyes held me captive. I couldn’t look away.

  “Lorcan,” I whispered.

  Just like that, he pulled away. And he was panting. His fangs had descended and I felt a ray of fear shoot through me.

  “We can’t,” he said as he jumped up and away from me. Then he ran his hands through his hair and shook his head as he took another few steps away from me.

  “It’s too dangerous, Wanda,” he finished.

  It took me a second to understand and even as my body sang to him, yearned for him, my brain was starting to realize he was right.

  And that was a damned shame.

  The End

  ~~~~~

  Return to Haven Hollow in:

  Taffeta Trickery

  ~~~~~

  Return to the Table of Contents

  TAFFETA TRICKERY

  Haven Hollow #7

  (Wanda’s Witchery)

  by

  J.R. RAIN

  &

  H.P. MALLORY

  Taffeta Trickery

  Published by Rain Press

  Copyright © 2021 by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory

  All rights reserved.

  Ebook Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Taffeta Trickery

  Chapter One

  I stared at a collection of coiled tentacles that appeared to be crawling across my worktable. They extended their hungry suckers, as if to draw me into their ravenous grip. Just then, I had to remind myself they weren’t attached to some misshapen sea monster, but were, in fact, nothing more than the tangled wires and connection lines of Henner Tayir’s latest technological marvel.

  “Just a few more tweaks…” He bent over an ancient, secondhand TV and fiddled with the countless wires sprouting from the molded plastic body. The thing clunked and wheezed as though it were in pain.

  “Will it detect vampires?” I asked as I crossed my arms and looked outside the window at the darkening day—the sun was already on its descent and the weather was threatening rain which was nothing new in Haven Hollow. Sometimes it seemed like this little town was located in the center of a cloud.

  Henner cocked his head to one side with his screwdriver still poised in mid-air. “What makes you think the intruder was a vampire?”

  I shrugged the question away, mainly because I didn’t want to get into the nitty-gritty of the answer—that one of the most notorious vampire families on the West Coast was out to get me. Rupert, their top dog, had given Lorcan, Haven Hollow’s favorite vampire dentist, and me two months to dissolve the blood bond between us. And Rupert wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with—he was powerful and then some.

  Now that ominous deadline loomed a mere ten days away—it felt like time was slipping through my fingers. Try as I might, I still hadn’t figured out how to perform Betanya Tayir’s magical spell—not that it would do me much good if I did perform it, anyway. Betanya’s formula hadn’t worked for her, either. But, I was convinced such was due to the fact that she’d disappeared (or died) before she’d ever had the chance to perfect her recipe.

  With only ten more days to break the bond, I felt the pressure more with every passing second of every passing minute of every passing hour. I expected vampires to leap out of nowhere and attack me any moment. But, Henner didn’t need to know all that. “I don’t necessarily think the intruder was a vampire. I’m just asking.”

  As to the trespasser who had broken into my store two times in the last week? Yes, I thought the culprit could be a vampire, although I hoped such wasn’t the case.

  “This device will pick up humans, non-humans, otherwise known as cryptids, as well as animals and the dead, so I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t pick up an undead.” Henner gave me another strange look and went back to adjusting the machine. “Besides, Lorcan is the only vampire in Haven Hollow. If there was another one, we’d know about it.”

  I didn’t answer. Maybe we’d know about it and maybe we wouldn’t. Vampires were sneaky sorts, so it wasn’t like they’d come knocking on every door, announcing their intention to break into my store.

  Ever since Lorcan unwittingly turned me into a Blood Witch when he saved my life after I was involved in a car crash, the reasons kept mounting to hurry and dissolve the blood bond between us. There were just so many things wrong with my being a Blood Witch, aside from the fact that the vampires were out to change me fully and I had no plans on becoming fangy anytime soon.

  Potentially equally bad was the fact that in transferring his blood to me (also known as giving me his ‘Kiss’) without fully turning me into a vampire, Lorcan was on his way to becoming bat-shit crazy. Well, he was becoming more out of his mind than usual, anyway. He was obsessed with me. And I mean… OBSESSED. Like stalkery, guy who never had a date before and owns one of those fake human sex dolls obsessed. Even though he was doing his best to control his impulses, he was still a danger to me and probably to himself.

  “A vampire who wanted to harm you wouldn’t do what you say this intruder has been doing,” Henner reminded me in that intellectual way of his that usually did nothing but get on my nerves. Today, however, I needed him—something I reminded my nerves every five minutes.

  “And how is that?”

  He shrugged. “What exactly did the intruder do besides leave you a few cryptic messages? He didn’t steal anything or rifle the petty cash or break anything, right?”

  “Right,” I answered on a sigh as I walked over to the light switch on the wall and flicked it upward. Instantly, all the crystal chandeliers glowed with a yellow light, illuminating the whole room. “Whoever it was scratched something into the floor, but I couldn’t make out what it said or if it was meant to say anything at all. What’s bothering me more is the fact that this person was able to get in in the first place.”

  “Run that by me again?” Henner didn’t look up from the abomination before him and he was one of those people who focused so intently on whatever it was he was doing, that most times he couldn’t pay attention to anything else.

  “Well, there was no sign of forced entry and the wards on all the doors and windows shouldn’t have allowed anyone in. So, unless the person literally phased through the walls, I have no clue how he or she managed it.”

  “Or them.”

  I nodded. “Or them. Even if they’d phased through the walls, my hexes, charms, and potions should have repelled them.”

  “Hmm, that sounds like quite the perplexing quandary.”

  Breathing in deeply for a count of three, I exhaled just as deeply, hoping some of the anxiety within me would escape. But no such luck. “You’re telling me.”

  I turned to face the rest of the store, as if hoping a clue would leap out at me and start dancing the dance of ‘hey, you missed this!’. But no clues did anything of the sort and the store just stared back at me blankly.

  “I’ve checked and rechecked all the wards a dozen times—I’ve replaced the locks on the windows and the front door. I’ve added extra wards and protection potions from Poppy, but no matter what I do, the intruder keeps getting past my defenses.” I shook my head. “I just don’t understand how.”

  Henner looked up at me and nodded. From his expression, it seemed like he was only half paying attention because he was busily trying in vain to arrange the many wires into some semblance of order.