Moon Curse (BBW Shifter and Witch Paranormal Short) (Shifting Magick Trilogy Book 1) (3 page)

He caressed her cheek with his knuckles. “I don’t want you to do this for me. I can’t force you into something you don’t want.”

“One thing you must know about me is that I never do anything I don’t want to.” Her perfect, kissable lips lifted in a smile, which faded a moment later. “Grams isn’t supposed to practice magic alone. I’ll have to see why one of my sisters wasn’t there.”

“Maybe Grams turned them into frogs.”

Olivia slapped at him playfully. “Not funny.”

He let his smile turn serious. “I’m not laughing. I can’t go back to the den as a cat.”

“Well then, let’s see if we can break this spell.” There was a hesitation in her tone.

With one brow raised, he studied her for a long moment before speaking. “You’re going to mate me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Hello, Mr, Romantic.” She held his stare and poked a finger into his chest. “I have conditions.”

“What kind of conditions?” His lips twitched.

“First, don’t expect me to move into your den right away. Second, I’m not to be bossed around. And third, I’m free to live my life as I choose.” She raised her brows in challenge.

He let out a growl as he gripped her hand and lifted it to his mouth. “You are free to be you and continue your life as you please. As far as bossing you around, there is only one person an Alpha answers to. That’s his mate.” He kissed her knuckles, sending a rush of heat straight to her core. “You
will
move into the den with me, but I’ll give you until the next full moon to come to me on your own. If you don’t, I’ll hunt you down.”

Chapter Four

Oh, gods. The promise in his words amped her desire. Could she truly find the peaceful life she craved with him? She’d finally have what she wanted. A mate. Someone to share intimate thoughts and dreams with. Someone to break her own curse.

“A witch’s bond is forever, too. Even after death on many occasions. It is not something I would give freely.” She turned away, not wanting him to see the emotions building inside her. Not wanting him to know the truth behind her decision not to fight the mating urge.

His body heat enveloped her as he closed the small gap between them. Her own body hummed in anticipation, knowing what the Alpha wolf could do, and had done. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to clear her thoughts but it was next to impossible.

“You are hiding something from me.”

She sighed and dropped her shoulders. It was no use lying to him. Once he bit her and began the mating bond, both their minds would open up to one another. Their darkest secrets, deepest desires, and most treasured thoughts would be revealed. After all, that was the point of the bond. To become one in body, mind, and soul. To love unconditionally as it was fated from birth.

“I am also cursed.” He stilled with his hands on her shoulders. “All the daughters in my family are in one way or another. My youngest sister, Diana, must mate before her thirty-third birthday or she will become undesirable to everyone outside her family. Audrey, the middle sister, can only mate a male kissed by one of the gods. We’re not even sure what that means.”

A warm tear rolled down her cheek.
Damn it, Liv, you are stronger than this
.

“What about you?”

She was doomed to be unhappy for the rest of her short existence. Taking a deep breath, she turned to stare into his gold eyes. “I can only fall in love with a man who is a descendant of Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt.”

His brows dipped, but one side of his mouth twitched. A sense of hope drifted from him. She wondered if he knew something about her curse. Before she could ask, he said, “I’m the eldest son of the fourth-generation descendant of the moon goddess.”

Shock froze her in place. How could it be? He would have to be…well, old. Thoughts of his encounter with Grams and the spell she had placed on him churned in her mind. Had her grandmother known who he was? Had she known that Sawyer could be the one to break her curse?

Olivia didn’t care. For the first time since learning of the curse on her and her sisters, she felt hopeful for her future. The fact that she felt the mating pull toward Sawyer was a bonus.

A low growl rumbled from him as he stalked closer. Her heart hammered, and for an instant, she thought to run. No. She wouldn’t run from him. A wash of awareness fell over her. He was her mate. Her one true mate.

She wanted this. Wanted him. Curse be damned. “What if we can’t bond?”

“Then we’ll deal with it. Leaving you now that I found you is not an option.” He scooped her up, drawing a squeak from her.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere more comfortable. I’m not fucking you up against the wall again.”

Well, then
. She giggled, not able to stop herself. Opening her mind, she visualized that they were on her bed, then allowed the magic to pull them there through the astral plane.

When they appeared in her bed, Sawyer raised one dark brow at her. She shrugged. “I have many talents.”

“I look forward to exploring them all.” He kissed her nose, then her lips.

When he dipped his hand between her thighs and cupped her, she sucked in a breath at how tender she still was from the sex upstairs.

“We can’t do this. Not now.”

Panic rose within her. “What? Why?”

She’d dreamt of the day she’d find her demi-god and break the curse, and he was going to deny her?

He pressed a finger to her lips. “Calm down, love. We can form a mating bond without sex. In fact, since we just made love, it isn’t a problem at all.”

“Oh.” She relaxed a little.

A brilliant smile formed on his strong, handsome face. “Olivia, my mate, I promise to honor you and do everything in my power to allow our love to grow to unbreakable lengths for as long as we both live.”

“Love?”

One side of his mouth lifted, widening his smile even more. “My wolf and I already know we’re in love. We knew the moment we caught your scent.”

Her heart swelled. “I feel…” Oh hell, who was she fooling. The moment he walked into her living room, naked, she somehow knew, as well. Her mother had always said love is strange and wild. If her heart fluttered just looking at him, then she was in love.

“I think I’m in love, too. I accept you as my mate and will honor your love for the rest of our long, long lives.”

He struck hard and fast. A sharp sting of pain erupted but was quickly replaced with overwhelming pleasure as his fangs sank into her skin. Oh, gods. His Alpha power mingled with her witch’s magick, twining around each other until they merged into one.

A moment later, she felt him inside her mind, body, and soul. Her curse was broken.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Thank you, goddess
.
 

Chapter Five

The room filled with magick, making the hairs on Sawyer’s nape and arms stand on end. Both moon magick and his Alpha power swirled around them. Fuck, it felt too damn good to take her as his mate.

The strings of their mating wound together in a magickal dance, forever linking them as one. The heavy magick slowly disappeared as he removed his fangs and held her, their hearts beating in sync with the other. Their bond was strong. It was one of the signs of a true mating. Not that he’d had any doubts after he’d caught her scent.

“I think I’ll stay here for the month I’m giving you to decide to move into the den.” He kissed her temple.

She let out a soft laugh. “The bond is much more intense than I thought it would be.”

“It’s a strong union.”

She fell silent for a moment then lifted to hover above him. “Get dressed. I want to see if the spell on you is broken.”

When she darted away and off the bed, he caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. His chest tightened. Had her curse not broken? No. He refused to believe that. It had to have.

After rising from the bed, he followed her through the house and out the back door. At first he hesitated, unsure. Manning up, he stepped out under the moonlight and waited.

Relief flooded him when he didn’t turn into an orange house cat. He glanced at Olivia, who stood a few feet away staring at him. A small smile lit up her face. Her blue eyes glowed, then rippled like a wave under the moon.

Suddenly, her eyes filled and she held her hands out to him. Instantly, he went to her. He would give her anything she desired. Stopping inches from her, he took her hands in his. “What’s wrong?”

Her bottom lips trembled slightly. “I feel you in my heart. It’s like we are soul mates, brought together after a long time apart.”

“It’s wonderful,” he agreed before kissing her. She sighed and melted into him. His mate. There was no way he’d be able to share her with the Pack. The mating was too new. “I think we need to stay here at least a few more days, just the two of us, before I take you to the den. I’m not ready to share you with them yet.”

She locked gazes with him, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Sounds good to me.”

“What? No comment about being selfish?”

She shrugged. “I’m feeling a little selfish myself.” She stood on her toes and kissed him soft and quick. “I’m newly in love, and I want to bask in the glow for a little longer.”

Overjoyed at hearing the words from her, he picked her up. “Anything my mate wants, she gets.”

“Anything?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Within reason, yes.”

“I guess that goes both ways.”

Yes, it did. “I love you.”

Her face lit up and the silver returned to her blue eyes. “I love you, too. Always.”

The End

About the Author

Lia Davis is a mother to two young adults and three equally special kitties, a wife to her soul mate, and a lover of romance. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers. But it's her home and she loves it!

An accounting major, Lia has always been a dreamer with a very active imagination. The wheels in her head never stop. She ventured into the world of writing and publishing in 2008 and loves it more than she imagined. Writing is stress reliever that allows her to go off in her corner of the house and enter into another world that she created, leaving real life where it belongs.

Her favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties.

Find out more about Lia Davis Here:

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http://www.authorliadavis.com

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Twitter: @novelbylia

If you liked Moon Cursed, try the magical world of Greek gods and dragons in Lia Davis’s Sons of War series.

Excerpt from War’s Passion (Sons of War #1)

Chapter One

A cold sensation rolled down Gwen’s spine like an icy finger as she stepped out onto the back porch of her parents’ Florida home. She focused her senses out into the cool evening, and inhaled the fragrance of night jasmine lingering on the breeze. The moonless, star-filled sky didn’t chase away the feeling of menace lurking in the shadows, waiting. The awareness had clung to her since she’d woken that morning and she wished she could feel the creatures of the night like her best friend and adopted sister, Elle, could. Although Gwen descended from the gods themselves, sensing monsters wasn’t her gift. As the great-granddaughter of Nyx, goddess of the night, Elle could see into the darkness and all her secrets.

Descended from the goddess of love, Gwen held the power of persuasion, and she could sway people, especially men, to bend to her will. The gift came from her father’s side of the family—Tom Preston was one of Aphrodite’s earthborn sons.

She loved nights like this as well as the calm that blanketed the small town of Perry. It was a few minutes before midnight and everyone slept. Elle had left early that morning to show her latest paintings and sculptures at a gallery in Jacksonville. It was the first time the girls had been apart since becoming friends in the third grade.

The sound of glass breaking behind her made Gwen’s heart hammer and her stomach clenched. Spinning, she saw three large men charge into her home through what used to be the front door. Splintered wood lay half in the kitchen, half in the living room, and the long rectangular windows on either side of the entrance were destroyed. Glass littered the living room floor.

Fear rushed through her like wildfire and she darted to the side to hide behind the curtain of the sliding glass door. Helplessness consumed her as she watched one of the men open drawers to her father’s desk, dumping the contents on the floor. Another searched the living room, then stepped into the kitchen. Her heart sank as the third man turned toward the hallway.

Mom, Dad
.

Without another thought for her own safety, she rushed after the man that went down the hall. Before she could make it, another man crashed into her, slamming her to the ground. Sharp, stabbing pain shot from her hip down her leg. Gwen screamed, hoping to wake her parents, as she clawed at the man’s face, aiming for his eyes.

A loud thump followed by her mother’s cry reached Gwen’s ears. Terror filled her, cold and crippling. Tears ran down her cheeks. A moment later the man that went towards her parents’ room flew backwards through the living room, and further until he crashed into the kitchen island. Then her father stood at the hallway entrance, hands fisted by his side.

“Let her go.”

Gwen stared at her father in disbelief. His body glowed with power.

“You think to use mortal magic on me?” The man holding her laughed, then released Gwen and rose to his feet.