Hecate's Own: Heart's Desire, Book 2 (7 page)

She stifled a hysterical giggle. From the pictures in The
Registry the Beckett boys were
definitely
all male.

It had taken a few generations but the Becketts supposedly
lived in harmony with their inner animal now. There was a strange notation
about a spell and the women the Becketts married, but she’d glossed over it.
She’d been more interested in reading the main part of Zach’s entry into The
Registry.

The only blue-eyed brother, Zachary Beckett’s entry read
distinctly different from the rest of his family. It was no surprise that
initially, the brothers had thought him nothing more than a witch. But someone
with the experience of Annabelle Evans should have known better than to send
him to court without any warning.

People like Zach needed special handling.

She blew her bangs out of her eyes and debated what to do
next. Should she ring the bell? Should she call first and see if he was even
there?

And if Annabelle was there, should she protect herself from
the other witch first?

And what if Ari’s friend was already here? Would Zach still allow
Jo to help him?

“You look like a woman with a lot on her mind.”

Jo screeched and whirled around. “Who the hell…?” She
blinked up at the dark-haired, amber-eyed man with the cheeky grin. “Oh. You’re
a Beckett.”

That grin turned into a laugh. “Yes, I am. And you’re a…?”

She held out her hand. “Johra Yashodhar.” She shook the huge
paw the man held out. “I’m here looking for Zach.”

That easy-going grin tightened into something a lot more
dangerous. “Are you?” She found herself pulled forward. “Are you one of the
people who made my little brother upset?”

She cleared her throat. “Gareth Beckett, I assume?”

He nodded.

Oh great. I’m being held by the future Wizard King and he
looks like he wants to take a chunk out of my ass
. She blinked, thinking
about the Beckett curse.
Literally.
“Look, I’m here to help.”

“And apologize.”

He had no idea.
“And apologize.”

He let her go, setting her back gently. “Good.” The grin
lightened back up. He began tugging her toward the front door, his stride
easygoing until she tugged back. It was like trying to stop a moving mountain.
“He’s inside. How did you find this place, anyway?”

“He listed it in the Archives as his place of residence.”

Gareth’s head whipped around, a lightning-quick frown on his
face. “What?”

“It’s listed in the… Look, I hate repeating myself. I’m
here, he’s here, and I need to see him. Can we go inside, please?” She gestured
toward the two-story house seated at the inner edge of the woods.

“After you.” The future king bowed to her and waved her on.

She took the challenge and stepped forward. She
knew
he’d sooner chew off his own paw than hurt her unless she gave him cause to.
Every instinct she had told her this man would protect those he considered
weaker than him.

She had to wonder what he made of Zach, then. Had he tried
to protect the younger man? Had that hindered Zach’s growth? And did he know
now what his baby brother truly was?

She shivered as she passed through some sort of protection. It
whispered over her skin, satin soft. Behind her she heard Gareth grunt, whether
in surprise or approval she didn’t know or care. All she wanted to do was get
to Zach. During the flight into Philadelphia it had become a compulsion, the
need to see him, check him. Make sure he was unharmed. That screaming instinct
that had sent her running to his Cleveland townhouse was at full throttle, and
Jo was terrified something had happened to him during the time it had taken her
to get from there to here.

Wherever here was.

She was in a hilly, wooded area somewhere between
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It had taken her an extra twenty minutes just to
find the driveway, but it had been worth it.

This place was beautiful. She could understand why Zach
would come back to it for comfort.

“Welcome to my brother’s home.” Gareth reached around her
and opened the front door. “Chris! Guest!”

She wiggled her finger in her ear. “Wait. Chris?” This
wasn’t Zach’s house?

“Hey.” Another tall, golden-eyed man greeted her at the
front door. This one had something Gareth didn’t. There was a smiling brunette
tucked firmly by his side. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Zachary Beckett.” Jo held out her hand. “My
name’s Johra Yashodhar.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. Her mouth opened. “You—!”

The male holding her slammed his hand over her mouth. “So
you’re Johra, huh?” Jo wasn’t certain what happened next, but he hissed in a
breath. “We’ve been expecting you.” His voice was strained. His hand lifted off
his companion’s mouth and he shook it out with a wince.

“Why are you here?” The woman pulled herself from the
Beckett man’s arms. She stood toe-to-toe with Jo and glared at her.

What the hell has Zach been telling these people?
“I’m his teacher. He left court without asking permission.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “He’s twenty-four. Do you want
him to ask permission to go potty too?”

“Lana.” Her companion pinched the bridge of his nose with a
sigh.

Gareth merely laughed. “Down, tiger. I have the feeling this
one is the answer to some prayers.”

She turned to stare at the oldest Beckett brother, but his
expression remained the same.

Jo wasn’t fooled. He had to be pretty powerful if he was
next in line to be the Wizard King. But Jo refused to back down. She’d come
here for one reason only, and damn if the Beckett brothers were going to stop
her. She poked Gareth in the chest and used what Ari called her Brünnhilde
voice, the one that always sent her students scurrying to their seats. “Take me
to your brother.”

A snort of amusement sounded behind her. “I take it this is
the teacher Zach’s hot for?”

Jo turned to find yet another golden-eyed man staring down
at her. This one had a slight sneer on his face, one she wanted to smack off.

“Excuse me?”
What exactly has Zach told his brothers
about me?

“Jo?”

She looked beyond the brothers surrounding her and right
into the blue eyes she’d been dying to see. “Zachary.” She pushed past the other
men and walked right up to her former student. “Are you all right? What the
hell is going on?”

Thank the gods, she’d finally found him.

Zach stared down at Jo, a chill racing down his spine. “What
are you doing here?” He’d felt her presence on Chris’s land long before she’d
come in with Gareth, but he’d hoped he was wrong.

Shit. It wasn’t supposed to suck to be right.

She frowned. “What do you think? You disappeared without a
word to anyone. When I tried to find you your house attacked me, your mentor
tried to bind me, and…” She huffed out a breath and Zach knew
something
was seriously wrong. “I have a very bad feeling you’re going to need me.”

“You need to leave.”
Dear Lord, no. This can’t be
happening.

Her eyes went wide. “Do you know what I’ve gone through to
get to you?”

He took hold of her shoulders and turned her toward the
door. “Bye, Johra. Have a nice life.”
Because one of us should.

“I’m not leaving, Zach.” She fought him, pushing against his
hands, refusing to allow herself to be turned toward the door.

He didn’t have the heart to force her. He could see what his
brothers couldn’t. Pain dulled the deep brown eyes he’d studied for weeks.
Fatigue made her shoulders droop. And concern for him highlighted it all.

Zach closed his eyes and realized he’d made his own personal
hell. “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

Silence. He opened his eyes to find her staring up at him.
“Where? We’re in East Bumblefuck. There isn’t exactly a Comfort Inn nearby.”

“Central Bumblefuck, actually.” Chris walked around to stand
behind Zach. “I’m sorry, but if my brother wants you gone?” Chris shrugged.
“You’re out of here.”

“You don’t understand.” Johra grabbed hold of Zach’s arm,
the contact burning through him. “He
needs
me.”

“Like a hole in the head.” Annabelle entered the room, her
bare feet making no sound on the hardwood floors. “Get out.”

“But—”

“Now!” Annabelle pointed toward the door. Her voice took on
a weird commanding tone Zach had never heard before. “Go.”

Johra, eyes wide, went out the front door without a peep.

His jaw dropped in shock.
I wonder if she can teach me
that trick.

Gareth closed the door behind Johra. “Well. That was fun. I
just love picking on girls.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at
Zach. “Want to explain that one, little bro?”

“No.” Zach turned to leave the room only to find Chris
blocking his way. “Not now, Chris.”

“Zach, you know you can talk to us, right?”

Zach shook his head. Not about this. This one was his fault.
He couldn’t drag his family into it. “I need to be alone for a few minutes.”

Chris backed off, but Zach knew his brother wasn’t done with
him yet.

“Hell, if you don’t want the little hottie I’ll go after
her.” Daniel made a move toward the front door.

Zach didn’t even think. His arm moved, and Daniel went flying.
He crashed into the wall with a dull thud. “Don’t even
think
about it.”

Daniel tried to stare him down, but Zach knew that right
here, right now, he could take his brother. Daniel needed to stay the fuck away
from Jo or Zach wouldn’t be able to control his reactions.

“Calm down, Zach.”

Annabelle’s order went right through him, barely brushing
against his senses. He kept his gaze on his brother, allowing the wolf out long
enough to snarl.

Daniel turned his head away first.

Zachary left the silent room and made his way to Chris’s
workroom. He shut and locked the door behind him. He collapsed into Chris’s
overstuffed chair and groaned. “What the hell am I going to do?” He stared at
the two red candles. One of them bore a lock of his hair.

They were touching.

He thought of Jo and her declaration that she knew he needed
her. She had no idea how right she was.

Alasdair jumped onto his lap and began to knead his thigh.

Zach petted the cat, his head dropping down wearily. “I’m
so
screwed.”

How could he explain to her that he might have accidentally
cast a love spell on her?

Chapter Six

Something was stalking her. Something close. Something evil.
She could feel its hot breath on her neck, strong with the stench of decay.
Underneath it was the smell of hot, fresh blood.

Jo wanted to gag.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Jo opened bleary eyes to find Gareth Beckett staring at her,
his voice muffled by the glass of her rental car. The hunted feeling faded,
along with the rotten stench.

Thank the Lady, just a dream.

“Get out of there.” He tugged on the door but she’d had the
sense to lock it before nodding off.

“Go ’way.” She settled her head back down on her windbreaker
and prayed Gareth would get the hint. Her head was pounding. She was tired of
dealing with the Beckett family madness and she had no desire to have another
run-in with Annabelle Evans. Ever.

So of course he didn’t. “C’mon, Johra. Zach would kill me if
he knew you’d spent the night out here.”

Zach had thrown her out of the house. She was pretty sure he
didn’t give a crap. “I’m good.”

Gareth poked something against the car door and muttered
something under his breath. She couldn’t quite catch what he was saying.

The door unlatched. Before she could slam her hand down on
the lock button the door was open and she was tumbling down.

“Whoa!” She was lifted up before she hit the ground.
“Careful. You’re a little clumsy, aren’t you?”

She gritted her teeth and tried to get across to him how
much she did not appreciate his invasion of her privacy. “I hate you.”

“Zach will hate me more if I let you stay out here, and
frankly? His opinion means a hell of a lot more to me than yours does.” He
pulled her to her feet and closed her car door behind her. “C’mon. You’re
coming back into the house.” He held up his hand to stall her answer. “No
arguments. Zach damn near put Daniel through a wall over you. Trust me, I’m not
going to piss him off by leaving you to sleep in your car.”

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but she was having trouble
processing what Gareth was saying. “Zach hurt his brother?” She was guessing
the brother with the attitude was Daniel. She couldn’t see the other one giving
Zach much grief.

“Nope. I said almost. Big difference.” He tugged on her arm
and practically dragged her to the front door. “In you go.”

“But what about Annabelle and Zach?” She hadn’t known it was
even possible for a witch to do what Annabelle had done, and Zach had made it
clear he didn’t want her around.

“Leave them to me.”

The sheer determination in his voice surprised her, but she
let it go. She was too damn tired and hurt to argue. Her head hurt so badly she
thought she might vomit. “Fine.”

His lips twitched but otherwise he made no comment.

“What’s she doing back in here?” The brother who’d been
draped all over the brunette scowled at her. “Zach doesn’t need her here right
now.”

“She was sleeping in her car.”

The scowl turned into a wince. “Shit.”

Jo was too tired to really give a fuck. “I’m sorry. Which
brother are you?”

“Christopher Beckett. This is my house.” He nodded, his
expression distracted. “I’m going to give you a room for the night. Whatever
shit you and Zach have to work out needs to be taken care of tomorrow, because
if he says you go again, you go. Got it?”

She nodded and damn near fell on her ass.

“Whoa.” She felt Gareth’s grip tighten. “Chris, I think
something’s wrong.”

“It’s nothing. I just have a concussion.”

The brothers froze. “You’re injured?”

The next thing she knew she was tucked up into bed with a
cup of hot tea and a hovering family of lunatics, minus one.

“Zach is going to kill us.” Gareth actually looked worried.
He ran his hand through his thick wavy hair and paced the length of the room.

“He’s locked himself in my workroom. I think we could set a
bomb off and he wouldn’t notice.”

“Are you feeling okay?” The brunette who’d glared at her
earlier was frowning in concern.

“What did you say your name was?” Jo sipped the tea. It was
really good.

“Lana Evans.”

Jo nearly choked. “Evans?”

“That was my reaction too.” Chris walked up behind Lana and
slipped his arm around her waist. “Lana is my fiancée.”

Jo heard the hesitation just before he said the word
“fiancée”. Considering the way the two of them were together she knew it had
nothing to do with the traditional wariness wizards and witches tended to treat
each other with. The two simply didn’t mix well together. The anal way wizards
tended to do their magic drove the more instinct-driven witches nuts, and vice
versa. “Why do I get the feeling you guys are hiding something from me?”

They tried mightily to hide it, but they couldn’t fool her.
She was a teacher. She knew the signs of guilty little boys very well.

“Uh-huh.” She yawned, the events of the last forty-eight
hours dragging her down. “Is it something that’s going to cause me bodily
harm?”

“Not that we’re aware of.”

“Then tell me after I sleep, okay?” She placed the mug
carefully on the side table and closed her eyes.

“Do you think it’s coincidence? Because I don’t.”

“Daniel. Shut up.”

She opened her eyes. “Okay. Spill. I can tell you’re dying
to.”

The brothers clamped their lips shut.

Lana, on the other hand, spilled. “It’s the Beckett family
spell.”

“Lana!”

“Hush, Chris.” She turned back to Jo. “When a Beckett male
is ready to find their mate, they cast this spell.”

Mate?

“What does that have to do with me?”

Lana shrugged. “The candles touched and there you were.”

Jo snorted a laugh. “You think I’m his
mate
?” What
was this, a cheesy werewolf romance novel?

All of the Beckett males nodded.

“Oh yeah.”

“Not a doubt.”

“If you’re not I’ll eat my dirty shorts.”

Ew.
“And that’s what has you all hovering over me?”

“That and you have a fucking concussion. What were you
thinking, getting on a plane like that?” Gareth was glaring at her again.

That was all right. She was starting to get used to it.
“None of your damn business?”

“You’re a Beckett now. Of course it’s my business.”

These people were fucking insane. “I’m not Zach’s ‘mate’.
I’m his teacher.”

“You keep telling yourself that.” Lana patted her hand. “If
it makes you feel any better I fought it at first too. But there’s no denying
that not only are you the one he’s been sighing about, but you’re the one that
showed up.” She grinned up at her fiancé. “Besides, the Beckett boys have a way
of growing on you.”

“Like fungus? Ow!” Jo rubbed the spot on her forehead Lana
flicked.

“Oh please. The way you latched onto him when you got here?
He’s
so
yours.” Lana stood from the bed. “Now get some rest. I’ll find
out why Zach tried to kick you out, and if the reason doesn’t make sense to me
I’ll kick his ass for you.”

Jo tried not to smile. “You do that.”

“Johra! Does Zach know you’re hurt?” Gareth’s voice cut
across the room, full of accusation.

Jo settled back against the pillows and let her eyes fall
shut. “If you’re going to yell at me at least call me Jo. You’ll sound less
like my mom that way.”

Someone snorted, amused. Gareth was anything but. “Thought
not. After I kick his ass I’m going to kick yours.”

“I’m still not sure bringing her here was a good idea.”

Oh joy. Annabelle finally speaks.
She looked toward
the corner of the room where Annabelle stood. Jo just knew she was waiting for
a chance to throw her out again.

“I am.” Lana matched her grandmother glare for glare. Gareth
and Chris moved to flank her.

Jo rolled over onto her side, hoping everyone would get the
hint and just go. She did not want to witness a showdown between anyone and
Annabelle.

“Let’s let the woman get some rest.” She heard Lana shooing
everyone out of the room. “And Jo? Take it easy on him. Zach’s…”

Her eyes popped open briefly. “Different. I know.”

She let sleep pull her under, confident that Lana and the
brothers would keep Annabelle and Zach from throwing her to the curb again.

“What?” Zach’s fingers clenched. Agony forced a hiss between
his teeth before he unclenched his gloved hand. It had been feeling so much
better after the spell he’d almost forgotten about it. Now pain radiated once
more from the center of his palm, almost stealing his breath.

“You heard me. She was trying to sleep in her damn car,
Zach.” Gareth was trying his looming trick, the one that usually worked like a
charm. “She’s injured too.”

Zach bit back the urge to rush to her side. “She’ll be
fine.” He couldn’t allow himself to get too close to her, not now. Not ever.

Damn, this was going to suck big time.

“Zach. She’s the one, isn’t she?”

He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. Why had he
let Gareth into the room? His brother had taken one look at him staring at the
candles and begun to lay into him. He’d been in here for twenty minutes now. He
wanted to know everything about Zach’s interactions with Jo, his stay at court
and why Zach was locked in Chris’s workroom rather than tending to his injured
mate.

And Zach’s wolf wasn’t helping. It agreed completely with
Gareth. How had Zach missed the way his wolf responded to Jo? It had taken the
spell to open his eyes, but there was nothing he could do about it. He knew Jo
had no intention of allowing him close to her. The few times he’d caught her
looking at him there’d been nothing but derision in those deep brown eyes.

“Zach.”

“What?” He was getting fed up with being badgered by his big
brother.

“I don’t care what bug crawled up your ass and died. Your
mate
hurts.
” Gareth grabbed him by the hand and yanked him out of his
chair. “Go see to her.”

“She’s not my mate.”

Gareth’s eyebrows rose. “You think you can lie to me?”

Zach damn near growled. “Fuck off.”

“Maybe if you told me what your damage was I would! Why
aren’t you upstairs taking care of her?”

“Because!” Because she wasn’t there of her own free will.
Fuck, maybe he
should
be stilled.

The anger in Gareth’s face drained away to be replaced by
that steely determination Zach had long since learned to be wary of. “I want
answers, little brother. Either you give them to me, or I’ll find out on my
own.”

Zach’s jaw clenched, but he knew it was no use. Gareth had
him by the short hairs. Gareth wouldn’t stop until he had all of the pieces of
the puzzle. It was just the way the man was built. “I couldn’t get Jo out of my
head when I cast the spell.”

“And?” Gareth’s eyes went wide, his face paling. “You think
you cast a love spell on her.”

Zach nodded. “That about sums it up.”

Gareth turned to the door, and Zach’s heart plummeted. This
was it, the biggest fuck-up of them all, and now even Gareth was washing his
hands of him.

Gareth locked the door. He turned back to Zach and settled
in the chair across from his. “Tell me everything that was running through your
head while you were casting. And I mean
everything.
If it is a love
spell we might be able to fix it. If it’s not, you’ll have to come to terms
with the fact that Jo is your mate. Got it?”

Zach sat there, stunned. “Gareth?”

Gareth’s hands cupped the back of Zach’s head, the gesture
protective. “We’ll figure this out, I promise.”

“We need to tell Annabelle.”

Gareth immediately shook his head. “I don’t know what it is
about your Jo, but Annabelle hates her. I really don’t give a flying fuck one
way or the other, so I’m more likely to be objective.”

“You’re a wizard. You might not catch everything I put into
the spell.”

“Huh. Good point.” Gareth let go of Zach and leaned back.
“Do you trust Lana?”

“Hell yes.” For the first time since Jo had shown up on
Chris’s front step Zach felt a flicker of hope. “But just you two.” He didn’t
need Daniel’s brand of “help” just then, and Chris would just fret and drive
him nuts.

“Done. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

Gareth returned with Lana so quickly Zach wondered if she’d
been listening outside the door. “Hey, Zach, what’s up?”

Zach waited until Gareth once again locked the workroom
door. “I think I cast a love spell on Jo.”

Lana blinked, but otherwise took it in stride. “That would
be bad.”

“Yeah. I think so.”

She leaned against the workroom table, careful not to touch
the remains of the spell. “Walk me through it.”

He tilted his head.

“What were you thinking, and more importantly,
feeling
while
casting the spell?”

He blew out his breath. “I had a hard time getting Jo out of
my head at first. She’s…” He shook his head, not certain he could adequately
explain what he felt for the woman.

“Everything?”

His gaze darted to Gareth. He was surprised to see the
longing, the envy in his older brother’s eyes. “Yeah.” He clenched his fists,
wincing in pain before shaking out the right one. “When I finally managed it I
started concentrating on what I could have, knowing Jo wasn’t it.”

“So what did you wish for?”

“Someone strong enough for my wolf. Someone who could help
me help others.” He ignored the look Gareth and Lana shared and concentrated on
the spell itself. “Someone who would understand that I’m not the best witch in
the world, but who will accept me anyway.” Which, come to think of it, left Jo
out of the running. Maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t screwed up after all. “Someone
who believes in me. I didn’t care if she was human, witch, wizard or even
warlock so long as she stood beside me. I hate clingy women, so she’d have to
have her own interests and not feel threatened by mine. Curvy, brown hair,
brown eyes.” He mentally ticked off his list. “I think that about covers it.”