“That’s right. They need to stay together until the curse can be broken.”
“And you can break the curse?”
“It’s not an easy spell to break.” The witch hedged, her voice taking on a sly tone.
“Well, we could always just kill the witch.”
“No!” Raven yelled as he moved toward Darcy.
“Killing her won’t end the curse either. In fact, killing her will mean instant death for the wolf too.”
“Why should we believe you?” Mayhem growled, glaring at Darcy, his fists clenched as he took the call off speaker and put the phone to his ear.
Raven couldn’t hear what was being said, but he could see by Mayhem’s expression that the woman was somehow convincing him. Mayhem glanced from Darcy to Raven and gave a slight nod, then tossed the phone on the bed. “She wants to meet at a neutral location. Write down the address, Darcy,” he barked. “You’ll do as she says.”
He moved toward Raven, Jay pulling in as well. The three men were almost huddled but Raven couldn’t stop himself from glancing over Mayhem’s shoulder to spot Darcy. She was across the room, standing beside the desk, phone pressed to her ear, frantically scribbling on a pad of paper.
Mayhem gave a low growl and Raven snapped his gaze back, surprised to find the hard edge of anger gone from his alpha’s stare.
“She has a fix. You’ll go with the girl.”
“Alone?” Jay frowned. “You sure that’s safe, May?”
Mayhem rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. “I’ve been given assurances.”
“For twenty thou? We forking up the money for this? And what? The girl walks?” Jay growled.
Mayhem shook his head. “The witch wants the girl.” His tone was low, too low for anyone but the wolves to hear. “Made a deal. The girl for the spell. Once she fixes this and you’re free, she’ll claim the girl. Some kind of servitude in payment for her spell. Says girls like that need to learn to respect their magic.”
Raven’s gut clenched. “I’m not leaving her there.”
Mayhem growled. “That’s the curse talking. Do what you need to for now, but once that witch breaks the spell you’ll be able to walk away free and clear.”
“I won’t take her there without her knowing what’s going on.”
Mayhem’s eyes flashed and he bared his teeth. “You will!”
“She’s my—”
Mayhem shook his head. “She’s not your mate. You know that. Come on, man, think about it. Did you feel anything for her beyond just a fuck when you first hooked up?”
Raven searched his mind, his memory of the night before foggy. “I…I…” There was a part of him that wanted to say yes. A part of him that thought…
“If she was your mate, you’d have known it immediately. You would have marked her. Trust me. That’s what the folklore says, that’s why it’s so impossible to find. The moment you caught her scent, you would have fallen in love immediately. Can you say that that’s what happened?”
Raven frowned. Could he? He leaned to the side and glanced at Darcy. Her body was calling to him and he wanted to bury himself in her, but did he love her? He wanted her. He burned for her. Lust. Not love. He gave his head a sharp shake. He focused on what his body was telling him. “My wolf…”
“The witch said your wolf will feel the effects of the spell on a more primal level. He seeks a mate. This spell is confusing the natural order of things. That’s the way it works.”
Raven concentrated again. The burn of the spell was still there, the desire to be with her like a pulse that bound them. He couldn’t remember what had happened before the spell. He knew they’d been intimate but everything else was gone. If his wolf recognized its mate at first sight, he’d know, right? The spell couldn’t alter that.
“You’re right.” Raven sighed. “I don’t remember meeting her. If she was my mate, I’d remember that. My wolf is confused.”
“So you do what you need to do. Slake your lust, whatever. But once this is over, you’re walking away from her.”
“What does the witch want with her?”
“Who the fuck cares? You’ll be free of her and it’ll be done. Karma in due course. Trust me, man, you won’t care once this is over. In fact, you’ll have to stop yourself from fucking killing the bitch for doing what she’s done to you.”
Raven sighed as he glanced over at Darcy, who stood watching them, phone on the desk, paper in her hand, and all he saw was a woman he couldn’t bear to be without.
“You just get her there. The witch will do the rest and for the sake of your sanity, keep what you know a secret. If she thinks it’s a trap, she’ll take off again.”
“Is it true?” Darcy voice was hesitant and she flinched slightly when Mayhem turned. “You’ve agreed to pay the twenty-thousand?”
“That’s right,” Mayhem growled.
She looked from him to Raven, her eyes showing her mistrust and disbelief. He wanted so badly to tell her the truth. To let her know it was a trap, but instead he steeled himself against the urge, battled back the cry of his wolf and nodded. “I’m paying, and I plan to get my money’s worth.”
Chapter Ten
Darcy flinched, hard. Raven’s scorching gaze traveled down the length of her body and back up again. His words burned her too…just in a different way. “I’m not a prostitute.”
“Could have fooled me.” His eyes were cold, anger flashing as he stalked toward her, backing her up against the wall with his towering, bulky body.
He radiated lust and her legs trembled. The curse wasn’t meant to be reciprocal. She shouldn’t have been affected and yet, here she was being called a whore and feeling…what? Hurt by it? “I’m not the one who uses women…”
“Willing women. What you did doesn’t even compare.” Raven growled as he caged her, bulging arms on either side of her body, face inches from hers, staring down at her with such raw need her panties were soaked in seconds, her body betraying her brain in every possible way. Here he was, insulting her and all she wanted was to rip his clothes off and lick his beautiful body.
“I was righting a wrong, that’s all it was ever meant to be,” she offered feebly, her voice wavering slightly. She’d said that line so many times over the years, a mantra to justify her actions. It was the armor she worn so she could do what she had to do for all those broken women. Right the wrongs. Pay those scummy men back in kind. And she’d believed it all, right up until a few minutes ago. If what that witch said was true, she’d not only left a trail of broken men lusting for her, she’d probably been responsible for many of their deaths as well. She might be a vengeance dealer, but she wasn’t a death dealer. That possibility weighed heavy on her conscience.
Raven leaned in and nuzzled her neck, inhaling deeply. “My wolf wants to ravish you. Your spell is fucking with my beast. It doesn’t understand what you’ve done.”
Darcy squirmed, wanting to giggle at the intimate gesture, steeling herself against his touch. “You’ll have to take it then. I’m not giving it up willingly.” The other men were still in the room, and she didn’t like their loathing glares or the idea of being watched while Raven took out his frustration on her.
Raven laughed as he nipped her throat. “Liar. I can smell your arousal. I know you want me to fuck you. Was I good last night, huh, sweets? Did I make you scream?”
Darcy pushed against his chest, which was as effective as pushing against a brick wall. “My body might be giving you a green light, but trust me, my mind isn’t.”
He nipped her harder, the points of his teeth gouging deeper. She yelped, moved her hand to cover her neck, but he pushed his body against hers, immobilizing her. The feel of his hard cock effectively reminded her of just how well he’d made her scream the night before. “My wolf wants to mark you, lay claim to you.” His breath against her skin was hot, the wound he’d just made on her throat throbbed. He licked her there, his warm, wet tongue like a balm, shooting jolts of desire straight to her pussy. “You know what will happen if I do?”