Sassy Ever After: Kissing Sassy (Kindle Worlds Novella) (11 page)

Olivia

Sitting in the crook of Cajun’s arm on the swing next to the river, Olivia felt immense peace. Tranquility like she’d never experienced before. The last few days at her place, alone with Cajun, had been idyllic, but she’d have to return to Hollywood for her marketing tour in a couple of days. She wanted to ask Cajun to join her, but didn’t want him to feel obligated. And he had a business in town, an occupation he’d already put on hold too long for her.

Olivia gave a mental sigh, wishing she knew how to proceed with him. She wanted to mate him and give him the siren song, but did she trust her gut and make that commitment on such a short relationship? Always her mother’s advice haunted her. Cajun hadn’t pushed, but she could sense his antsy wolf.

The breach to her shields startled her, but what confused her was that the defenses remained intact even though she could sense an intruder to her armor. Leaping from the swing, she listened, but only silence returned. Even the cicadas and bugs stopped talking. But the hairs on the back of her neck prickled, indicating danger.

“Jessie’s here.”

She glanced at Cajun. “You scent him?”

He nodded. “There’s at least five others with him. I think they’re human, but I thought you were human too.”

“Just to be safe, we’ll assume sorceri aid him.”

Cajun caught her chin and gave her a hard kiss. “Olivia, don’t forget your appearance.”

As she altered her looks, he stripped off his shirt. This time she chose an altogether different persona in hopes they wouldn’t link her to Olivia Scott.

“You should go inside.”

“Don’t.” Wearing only underwear, he cupped her nape and pulled her near, skimming his lips across her forehead in a series of platonic kisses that melted her heart. “I won’t ask you to cower from your enemies, but don’t expect me to cower either.”

She nodded. He was right.

Cajun ditched his boxer briefs and shifted into his fur.
“I’m going to survey their party, see if there’s a weakness. I’ll be in hearing distance.”

Olivia ran her fingers through his fur, loving the texture against her fingertips. “Be safe, Benji.”

Cajun bolted for the tree line. Wanting to present a fearless posture, Olivia wavered on whether she should approach them first or wait for them to come to her. In the end, she decided waiting would give Cajun time to do whatever he planned. In the meantime, she gathered power from the four elements and waited.

When they approached, there were only three women walking side-by-side in a straight line, with Jessie swaggering along beside the trio like he’d won the lottery. She could sense two others prowling about, but couldn’t pinpoint anything but their general location.

“Where’s your wolf?” The redhead that spoke was old, but she appeared no older than Olivia.

Lifting her arm, Olivia rotated her pointer finger, and Red’s head snapped about, her neck breaking. Alarm bled from the other two as they gaped at their fallen leader, while Jessie smirked.

The broken neck hadn’t killed the woman, she was too old and powerful for that simple of a death, but it got the others’ attention. “Tell the other two to present themselves or they’re next.”

“Got your mojo back, I see.” Jessie stroked his jaw and sent her a baffled frown. “I eliminate your power, so how’d you get it back, Olivia?”

How’d he know his kind was her weakness?

“She found her siren song.” A silver-haired chick said as she walked out of the trees toward them, with a brunette at her side.

“What’s that?” Jessie asked.

“My
real
mate,” she clarified and watched as anger glittered into his eyes. Didn’t matter how the bastard knew he eradicated her magic, he’d used it against her. No one should experience the helplessness he’d made her feel, and for that she wanted him to die.

“We’re not a threat to you.” Silver said, and the three brunettes nodded.

“You infiltrated my shield with him.” She indicated Jessie with a nod of her head. “You’ll pardon me if I don’t believe you.”

“Told you she wouldn’t believe us,” brunette one said to Silver. “We shouldn’t have brought him.”

“He’s the only way we could track her.” Silver shot the other girl a warning glare.

Olivia ignored them in lieu of retrieving information from Jessie. “Did you attempt to force a mating, Jessie, so my magic would be forever neutralized?”

Jessie shrugged. “Not initially, no. I respect strength. It’s regretful our mating will neuter you, but it’s worth the alternative option. For the record, I’m not a fan of this look.”

“I’m not your mate, so I don’t care. What’s the alternative option?” She knew it. Death. But, she wanted him or the sorceri to spell it out.

He disregarded her question and promised, “I’ll kill the one you believe to be your real mate.”

Anger slithered through her, and Olivia attempted to snap his neck, but not so surprisingly her magic winked out against him.

“Good luck with that,” she said, hoping she kept her voice neutral when her bravado was just that, fake because she worried for Cajun’s safety.

“I’m alpha for a reason, Olivia.”

Magic tingled along her fingertips, too bad she couldn’t use it on Jessie. Oddly, his presence hadn’t neutralized her magic or limited it, which confused her because in the past she’d lost all her magic in his presence. Hadn’t even been able to move a knife to stab him during either attack.

“I’m guessing you’re alpha because you’re the biggest asshole.”
Cajun
.
He is the cause
. Her gut instinct whispered the legend about siren songs was true. Mating with her siren song would save her. Just being in his presence had increased her mojo. If they mated, she believed her mother and thought she’d become more powerful.

She scanned the tree line in search of Cajun but couldn’t discern his location.

“We won’t let him hurt you,” brunette one said.

“We were only using him to find you.” Did brunette three think that’d make her feel better?

Brunette two eyed the redhead on the ground, her anxiety palpable. “What are we going to do about Skarlet?”

Silver spoke up. “Skarlet’s fine. The Key simply put her to sleep for a bit.”

Elevating her eyebrows at Silver’s reply, Olivia decided she’d dub the brunettes One, Two and Three to make things easier. When Three spoke, Olivia focused on her. “We’ve been watching you, waiting to pick the right time to approach you. Your father’s mage blood makes you stronger than other Keys.”

“Skarlet’s a Key too.” Silver indicated the redhead as she drew nearer to Olivia, but halted a few feet away.

If it was true Skarlet was a Key that could account for the feel of age. Her “age” would be the strength of her magic instead of genuine years.

Not letting on she knew anything, Olivia asked, “What are Keys?”

From the corner of her eye, she caught One, Two, and Three glancing at one another.

Silver sighed. “Skarlet’s mother tried to get to you after your parents were killed, but she lost you in the foster system. We’re hoping you’ll work with us and help us find other Keys.”

Since when did Clerics want to help Keys get together? Last memo she’d received, Clerics and the Gathering were the enemy of all Keys.

“Again, I’ve no idea what a Key is, so I can’t help. Now take your ass off my property.”

“She doesn’t believe us.” Three rubbed her temples.

“Skarlet told us to expect her distrust. I swear, we’re
not
here to hurt you.” Silver was a great actress. Olivia almost believed her genuineness. “We’re your friends, Olivia.”

So they did know her true identity. “Funny, you say that when you brought my enemy along.”

“How do we convince her?” Two’s agitation was evident not just in her voice, but the creases along her brow.

“We’re mates, lover, not enemies. It’s time you learn that lesson with my teeth in your neck.” Jessie came for her, but Cajun attacked him from behind with a growl. The Hollywood alpha shifted into a gray wolf, and they fought like two dogs, growls and snarls flying along with fur.

Taken by surprise by Cajun’s attack, before Olivia could offer help, something popped her on the neck, stinging. Her fingers touched a small dart, and she yanked it free of her skin.

The bitches tranq’d me
.

Head beginning to spin, she swayed on her feet. Executing a futile attempt at siphoning the poison from her system, she soon realized that wouldn’t work.

Magic funneled into her free hand, spinning into a ball of power. Like she would a grenade, she tossed the orb at the Clerics, but Olivia went down before she could perceive if the mojo was effective.

Cajun

Cajun attacked the other wolf from behind, driving Jessie to the ground. The Hollywood alpha shifted before they hit the earth and avoided Cajun’s deadly bite. This man had attacked his mate twice, and Cajun had no intention of playing fair.

“She’s my mate, and I marked her.”
He circled the grey wolf, waiting for the right moment to lunge for him.

“I marked her first.”
The oily sound of the other man’s voice oozed to him mentally.

“Your mark disappeared. Proof she didn’t recognize you as her mate.”
Anger scented the air, and Jessie snapped at him. Cajun dodged the bite and huffed a laugh in return, as he taunted the alpha with nips at his legs.
“I’m going to kill you for what you did to her.”

In some ways, he wanted to thank the man for running her into his arms, but having her scared and terrified didn’t sit well with his animal. They crashed together, clawing and biting wherever they could. The coppery scent of blood hit his palate as he bit down on the back of Jessie’s neck. The grey wolf tried to bite Cajun’s leg, but Cajun locked his jaws and shook his head.

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his mate dropping to the ground. She didn’t move. In the suddenness of her fall, he almost lost hold of his enemy.

One of the sorceress said, “Stupid move, numbskull. That won’t help her believe us.”

“Skarlet is going to be pissed off.”

Another snapped back, “What else was I supposed to do? She was about to blast us all to smithereens. I saved us. You’re fucking welcome.”

Cajun focused on his foe and somehow managed to get his teeth around Jessie’s neck. He bit hard, shaking his head and jerking his enemy about until all life ebbed from the other wolf. As the sorceresses bickered about what to do next, he ran to Olivia and growled at the bitches to stay back. He noticed the redhead waking as he sniffed at the metallic scent wafting from Olivia’s neck. She’d been drugged, but her breathing seemed steady enough.

Shifting into his skin, he sat beside Olivia and hauled her into his arms. The silver-haired witch aimed a gun at him and said, “I don’t want to knock you out too. We mean her no harm.”

Suddenly the gun went flying, and the redhead sat up, tossing her hair out of her face. “You fools, this doesn’t help. I need her trust, not her animosity.”

“What do you want with her?” Recognizing the redhead as the sorceri leader, Cajun eyed her while his wolf snarled in his head, agitated by his mate’s incapacitation.

“It’s a long story.” Red glanced at Jessie. “Is he dead?”

Cajun nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good. You saved me the trouble. He’s a right-good bastard.”

“His pack will come looking for him.” If they tracked Jessie back to the Wolfe pack, they’d likely have trouble from the other group. He needed to call Aric or Uncle Tristan soon and give them a heads up of the shit-storm he’d brought to the pack.

“No they won’t. I’ll clean this up so nothing comes back on you and your pack.” Red pushed to her feet and brushed debris from the backside of her pants. Cajun eyed her with caution as she approached and extended her hand. “I’m Skarlet Weston.”

Glancing at her hand, he returned his gaze to her face, making sure she understood he ignored her offer of a polite introduction. “What do you want?”

Skarlet shrugged and lowered her arm to her side. “I’m a Key.”

He stared at her without blinking, wondering how he should play this. He’d heard Olivia pretend she held no understanding of the word. “Should that mean something to me?”

“You know it does. And I’m guessing she told you.” Skarlet nodded at Olivia. “I’ve been two steps behind her for years. I’m in awe of her strength, the way she can camouflage her existence and even hide any signature of herself from other Keys, Clerics, and the Gathering too. It’s not a talent all of us can perform. We need her help to end the Gathering and save the sorceri.”

“Save your pitch for Olivia when she wakes.” Cajun pushed to his feet and shifted Olivia into a secure hold in his arms, while keeping an eye on the sorceri. Olivia’s forehead rested against his neck, her scent nirvana in his wolf’s nostrils, and the steady puffing of her breath against his skin served as a salve to his worry.

He strode toward the back porch and heard one of the sorceresses say, “He’s got a fine ass.”

Skarlet’s terse reply came quickly. “Show some respect to your Key’s siren song.”

Another voice piped up. “Respectfully, I’d
do
him.”

The redheaded Key met his eyes as she opened the sliding door for him. “Excuse their vulgarity.”

Surprised by her apology, Cajun met her gaze for a heartbeat before stepping inside the warded home. Pausing in the doorway, he warned, “You’re not welcome inside unless she”—to indicate whom he meant he rubbed his cheek against the top of Olivia’s head—“extends the offer.”

Half expecting Skarlet to ignore him, he was surprised when he glanced over his shoulder and spied them all hanging out on the back porch even with the door wide open and the home accessible to them. Maybe the other Key could feel the magic inside, the one that’d trap her if she stepped within. Or maybe, she respected Olivia’s personal space, and her claims were genuine.

After settling Olivia on the bed, he drew on a pair of sweatpants and climbed into bed with her, spooning her and glaring at the door. The first person that breached the bedroom door would die a horrific death.

Thankfully none entered on his watch.