But he did. He couldn’t deny it. Laurence had grown fond of her and even now, he couldn’t help but worry about her. The ex-husband she mentioned sounded like a jackass. What kind of man makes a woman do something against her will? Forcing her to go back with him even after he’d divorced her. How despicable could a man be?
She’d clearly been in fear of the man and had few options as to how to deal with it. Laurence growled inwardly and stood. He had too much to do to worry about Vivian’s personal problems.
The boat insurance would pay out more quickly than he’d expected, and he’d only be in Mystic Harbor until it went through. He went to the refrigerator and took out a long-neck bottle of beer. His little gray cat rubbed his leg and meowed. The creature meant a lot to him, and he was grateful to Vivian for saving her life. Reaching down, he picked up the cat and held her to his chest. The animal purred loudly as Laurence cradled her over his arm.
He took a swig of beer and headed back out on the deck. The crisp evening air bit his nose and the smell of the sea tingled in his senses. How he wished to be back out on the waves, drawing a catch in his net.
Thoughts of Vivian flitted through his mind. He saw her curvy body open and naked before him in the sand, her thick thighs wrapped around his waist. Gritting his teeth, he slammed his beer down on the table beside him and let his cat jump from his lap. Damn it. He could not get that woman out of his mind.
He had to see her if only to put an end to his distraction. Maybe if they were together one last time, he could let her go. But Laurence knew that wasn’t true. He wanted more than one last time. He didn’t want to let her go. Laurence wanted what his bear wanted. To mate her, claim her, make her his.
A thought shot through his mind like a lightning bolt. He gasped as his eyes grew wide. A shifters mating superseded all else, perhaps even a witches curse. Could he save her with his mate’s bite?
It was ridiculous. A bear shifter mate with a witch. His old hatred of witches crawled in his throat, making him choke. Vivian was not the witch who had cursed his mother. Not all witches were alike. Just like not all shifters were alike. He’d come to know her in the days they’d spent together, and she was an honorable person.
If he could save this woman, the woman he was growing to care for, to love, from the grips of an evil witch’s spell, perhaps his mother’s death could be avenged. Laurence dug through his pockets and pulled out the slip of paper Vivian had given him with her address scrawled on it. Staring at the address, he sighed. He knew exactly where that was, up the hill from town. He shoved the paper back in his pocket and stormed out the door.
Chapter 15
Vivian looked up at the waning moon, just past its full ripeness. The fire sparked in the darkness of night as she clutched her robe around her body. Underneath it, her bare skin pricked from the cold. A summoning like this must be done skyclad. Only the stars could clothe her skin.
Lifting the heavy cast iron pot over the hot flames, she muttered the words to cleanse her cauldron. She dropped off her robe and drew her dagger. Stepping close to the fire, she cast her circle, sprinkling salt along the outer border to seal the space from external energies. She called the corners, bringing the powers of north, south, east, and west into her circle.
Vivian could feel the power building as she poured water into her cauldron. One by one, she dropped her ingredients into the boiling water, speaking the words of the ancient summoning spell. Vivian’s voice rang like a bell, echoing out over the forest and ocean below.
As she recited the words, coming to the moment when she would add the black myrtle, she went farther and farther into the altered state of the spell. The sound of crashing made her snap her head around to look at what it was.
As if a vision, she saw Laurence in her backyard, stepping over a pile of broken clay pots. He approached her in long strides, his expression intent.
“What are you doing here? It isn’t safe.”
“Vivian. I want to help you. I think I know a way to break your ex-husband’s spell.”
“Laurence, it’s too late. There isn’t any other way.” She dropped the black myrtle into the bubbling water just as Harold broke through the bushes at the edge of the yard.
“You’ll never get away from me, Vivian. You’re coming back with me now.”
She felt the tug of his binding spell, pulling her out of her circle. With all her will, she recited the last words of the spell that would summon the demon from hell. With a roaring scream, the demon crawled its way up from the ground. Vivian’s breath stuck in her throat. It was monstrous. Pure evil poured off the being’s red rutty skin.
“You dare to summon a demon to destroy me!” Harold screamed. Laurence roared behind her. Vivian felt her eyes water and touched her cheek to see blood on her fingertips.
“Take him!” she screamed. The demon growled and charged forward, grabbing Harold in its massive claws. Vivian felt the tentative hold she had on the beast. She glanced at Laurence. His face had gone animalistic, nearly half shifted into bear form. He looked ready to charge.
She bit her lip, hating what she had to do next. “Take him with you to hell!” she screamed above the howling wind, whirling around them. The demon gripped Harold and clawed its way down into the soil, disappearing completely. Her heart beating like a wild bird, she closed her circle, blood still dripping from her eyes.
She grabbed her robe and ran to Laurence who had taken a seat on her patio chair. “That was something else,” he said, not looking at her.
“I’m sorry you had to see that. What are you doing here?”
“I came to tell you I think I can break the spell. But now, I’m not so sure.” He stood and turned away to walk around the house to his truck.
“Wait!” she yelled, hurrying after him.
“How do you think you can break the binding spell?” she asked, grabbing his arm. He turned, anger and longing in his eyes. “A shifter’s mating bite is extremely powerful. It is a claiming. If a shifter were to mate you, it would break any previous claims on you.”
“And you would do that for me?”
“I don’t know. After what I just saw, I don’t think I can.”
He pulled away and stomped toward his truck. “Laurence, wait!”
“Vivian. Witchcraft makes me sick. It killed my mother. I thought you were different, but now that I’ve seen that spell, I know you aren’t.”
“What happened to your mother?” she said, not letting him go. If he were right, she could free Harold from hell, the spell broken, she wouldn’t have to live with the karma or the guilt on her conscience.
“My mother was the alpha female of our clan in Alaska. We had a territorial dispute with another clan over our fishing grounds. The land had belonged to our clan for generations, but they were greedy and wanted to expand their territory. My mother resisted. She hired a lawyer to prevent them from claiming the land. But the clan wouldn’t settle when the law was on our side. Instead, they hired a witch to curse my mother for revenge. She took ill, after never being sick a day in her life. A week later, she died.”
“How do you know it was a witch’s curse?”
“I found a fetish under my mother’s house. And there was talk in town. The clan leaders bragged about giving my mother what she deserved.”
“Laurence, that’s terrible. I’m sorry. My family would never do that kind of thing. It sounds like a voodoo curse.”
“You just summoned a demon to take your ex-husband to hell, Vivian. I don’t see the difference.”
“It was self-defense!” she said, clutching her robe around her throat.
“I’m sure the bear clan could have claimed self-defense as well. I don’t think there is any excuse.”
“Fine, Laurence. If you don’t think I had cause to defend myself from a man who would have forced me to go with him to do far worse things than I’ve done today, things like what happened to your mother, then I’m done with you. He isn’t even dead. He’ll come back as soon as I
’m gone from this world. Not that that matters to someone on your high moral ground. We have nothing left to talk about.”
Chapter 16
“What do you mean, ‘he would force you to do things like what happened to my mother?’”
“Just that. Harold is a blood witch from a coven of equally insane witches. They have no problem with extortion, slavery, torture, murder. Anything to serve their disgusting appetites.”
“What do they need you for?”
“My healing gift. It would amplify their work. He wants me for that. He made me do it before, and that’s why I left. But he won’t let me go. Even after divorcing him, he still wants my power.”
“Can you stop them all?”
“I can’t stoop to their level. I’m just defending myself. That’s all. If there were another way, anyway, I would have taken it. Summoning a demon to banish Harold has given me bad karma. I’ve cursed myself with my own hands.”
“Can you bring him back?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Demons aren’t exactly the most agreeable sort.”
“Do you even want to be mated with me?” he said, changing the subject.
Vivian was taken aback and blinked several times, trying to think of an answer to his question. “What does it mean to be mated? Would I be your wife?”
“Yes, but more. My bear demands I mate you. It’s been growling at me since the moment we met.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to be anyone’s wife.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to have one.”
“Come in. Let me get you a cup of tea or something. It’s getting cold out here.”
Vivian walked to the front door of her house and went inside. Laurence followed right behind her, bringing his massive form into her little kitchen.
He slid into the stool at her kitchen counter. Vivian felt his eyes burn on the skin of her neck and collarbone as she moved the kettle under the water tap.
After she filled the kettle, she put it on the stove and took a bundle of herbal tea from her cabinet. She crushed the herbs between her fingers and dropped them into the pot before adding water. The smell of lavender and lemon peel wafted on the rising steam.
After a moment she poured two cups and set one in front of Laurence. “What makes you think this ‘mating’ will work against a witch’s spell?” she asked.
“I can’t guarantee anything. But like I said, the mate’s bite is powerful. It overrides almost anything. It cannot be broken. It carries through time and space. If anything can supersede your ex’s binding spell, it is the bite of a mate.”
“Laurence, I’m really grateful for the suggestion…” she took a sip of her tea, letting the subtle tastes of herbs trickle down her throat. She sighed and looked into his earnest eyes. She’d never seen Laurence look so eager to please her. Except maybe back on the island, when he’d been between her legs. “I just got out of a really bad relationship. I’m not ready to jump back into something else. It sounds like I’d be as bound to you as I am to Harold. I can’t do that right now. I’ll just have to accept the karma that comes with casting this kind of spell.”
“Hey, I get it. Believe me. I can’t even believe I’m offering. And I wouldn’t, if not for my bear roaring at me nonstop, day in and day out.” Laurence stood, crossing his arms. He took up the space like a giant in the room. Vivian clutched her robe more tightly around her neck and frowned. She wouldn’t mind continuing what they’d started on the beach, but being bound to a new man all over again just seemed like a red flag. “Give it some thought. My bear isn’t going to let this go until I leave for Alaska. And even then, who knows.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yep. As soon as my insurance pays out. I’m headed home. Fishing’s better. And I’m used to the cold.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“You’ve got a week to decide. After that, I’ll be gone. I’m not coming back.”
Vivian followed him to the door and ran her hand down his arm as he grasped the doorknob. Her fingers gripped through the fabric of his green flannel shirt and he turned to her.
“I’ll call you,” he said, his eyes bright as they flicked over her chest.
She pulled him down to her as she leaned up on her tiptoes. He was so much taller than she was. Vivian reached up to put her arms around his neck as Laurence dipped his head toward her. His lips brushed against hers, and she could smell the herbal tea on his breath and the scent of cedar firewood.
He wrapped his arms around her and brought her against him, deepening the kiss until it left her breathless. She could feel his arousal growing hard against her stomach. He pulled away.
“Laurence,” she breathed.
“I should go.” He opened the door. “A week. Then I’m gone.”
He walked out into the night, got in his truck, and drove away, leaving Vivian in the doorway of her house under the glow of the waning moon.
Vivian closed the door and shut herself in her house. The bad things would come now. She knew it. Summoning a demon had bad enough karma attached to it, let alone banishing a man to hell for a century. It couldn’t be helped. Could it?
Laurence’s offer was tantalizing. She doubted that it could work against a blood magic binding spell. What she did believe was that it would bind her to Laurence as much as she was bound to Harold. That she could not handle.
She went into her kitchen and poured another cup of tea. The water had gone cold and the tea bitter. She poured the cup in the sink and looked out the window.
Laurence had some good qualities, but she doubted he loved her. He hated witches, for one thing. They barely knew each other. How could a marriage or “mating” between them ever work?
Opening the freezer door, she looked inside and pulled out a gallon of strawberry ice cream. Just as she put the carton on the counter, the electricity went out. Great. The bad karma had begun.
Chapter 17
Laurence looked at the check from the insurance company and set it down on the bank teller’s counter. It was more than enough to replace his boat. He’d been lucky. Now he could leave.
There was a nice little seiner fishing boat for sale in Mystic Harbor that he could buy and take up to Alaska. He’d already made arrangements with the owner.
The teller smiled and deposited his check with a flourish and Laurence could tell she was flirting with him. The skinny brunette was cute, but didn’t get his bear riled up even a fraction of as much as Vivian had the very first time he’d laid eyes on her curvy little body.
He walked down the sidewalk and got in his truck, on the way to the harbor where the boat owner was waiting to sell him the seiner. It was an upgrade from his last vessel. He’d been lucky that the insurance company had paid him so handsomely and so soon.
As he approached the harbor, he saw a sign on Vivian’s shop door. “For Lease.” He stepped on the breaks and parked next to the shop. Getting out of his truck, he could see Vivian moving around inside through the big window.
She looked up and smiled, giving him a little wave. Laurence went inside, his heart lurching. His bear roared and wailed for its mate. Even the human side of him felt bad for her. He’d wanted to help. He’d offered the most intimate thing a shifter could offer— his mating bite. But she had declined.
“Hey, Vivian. What’s going on?”
“Oh Laurence. Everything has been going terribly. I lost the lease on the shop and my landlord at my house gave me notice that they are selling the place. Meanwhile, I’ve been living without electricity for a week, and creditors are calling. I might have to move in with my sister and her children! Oh my god. I can’t live with my sister’s kids. I can’t!”
“Wait, slow down. Why is all this happening? Don’t you pay your bills?”
“Of course I do. It’s the curse of bad karma. For a nature witch any negative use of magic is six times six back at the caster. I’m so totally screwed right now.”
She hurried around the shop, packing things up in bo
xes. As she turned back to the shelf, half a dozen bottles when hurling toward the floor. They crashed, sending the overwhelming scent of flowers and musk into the air.
“Shit!” She bent to clean up but Laurence gripped her hand.
“Vivian, my offer still stands. I’m about to go buy a boat. Let me mate you. You can bring Harold back and solve this problem.”
“But you’re going to Alaska!” she said frantically. “I can’t be a bear’s mate in Alaska. I’d rather live with my sister.”
He pulled her toward him, lifting her chin to look in his eyes. Gripping her tightly to his chest, he tried to calm her down with the force of his body. “We don’t have to go to Alaska. We can stay here.”
Without warning, Vivian burst into tears. She buried her face in his chest as hot tears soaked through his shirt. He ran his hands up her back and down over her hair as he made soothing sounds. A woman’s tears made him feel like he might either choke or explode like the Incredible Hulk.
“Please don’t cry, Vivian.”
“Laurence. How can I be your mate? You don’t love me. It would be terrible. As bad as with Harold. I can’t do that again.”
His heart sank. Her words hurt him, cutting like a knife to the gut. Did he love her? He hadn’t been able to keep her out of his mind since they’d met. He wanted nothing more than to protect her and the idea of mating with her, keeping her safe, made him feel more like a man than anything else ever had.
“I do love you, Vivian,” he whispered into the top of her head. She sucked in a sharp breath and looked up at him, wide eyed.
“You do?”
“I’ve been a fool to fight it so long. My bear is wiser than I give it credit for. We’ve never disagreed about anything. And when it told me you were the one, I didn’t want to believe him. But he was right. You are it for me. You are the one.”
“You don’t have to say that because you feel sorry for me.”