Chapter 4 - Peter

I don’t know what came over me, flirting with this woman. The situation is absolutely bug-nuts fucking crazy, but for a few seconds, I forgot about everything except her smile and bright, warm eyes. They are such a deep and unbelievable shade of perfect blue. On a cloudless summer day, looking right up into the sky away from the sun, they’re a kind of blue that isn’t found anywhere else. To me, that color has always looked like freedom.

And it’s right there, in her eyes.

To be fair, I can’t stop checking out the rest of her, either. I already noticed the gorgeous swell of her breasts under her sheer nightgown, as well as the round shape of her hips. But when the sun crept over the ridge and lit her up from behind, I was almost blinded.

By her, not the light.

Trying to control my cock while feasting my eyes on her beauty is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I want to stop looking so I can control my body’s reactions, but I just can’t. When she runs to get the robes, I’m grateful.

I don’t really mind being naked, but having my cock suddenly stand to attention is another thing entirely.

Even once she puts on the thick robe, I’m enchanted by her face. Her pale skin has a warm, rosy glow, and when she smiles, she’s transformed. Her little cascade of giggles affects me deeply, and I smile, too—a grin so wide, it hurts my cheeks.

How long has it been since I actually smiled, for real? Not from sarcasm or a threat… but pure joy?

I tie the robe on and wait for her to suggest something, but she looks lost in thought again. It’s a bit difficult to believe that I’m the reason for her distraction. I know I have an effect on women, but never to this extent.

And it’s not even me. None of the women who are attracted to me even know me. They just feel like I’m dangerous or exciting, or something. They don’t actually care about me.

So why do I feel like Lucy’s perfect eyes are seeing right through me? She’s admiring my body for sure, but it almost feels like she’s stripped away every single layer until she’s looking straight into my heart.

And I don’t like it.

“Which way to New Hope?” I ask tersely, trying to jolt her out of her stupor. She tilts her head a little, her face hardening.

“That way,” she points over a nearby ridge. “I’m assuming you’ll want to shift and go as a wolf? I could drive you, though.”

“No,” I answer too quickly. “I’ll get there on my own. Just head in that direction?”

“You’ll cross several peaks,” she says. “Once you go over the last one, you’ll see the town huddled in the valley. They hunt in the area, so you should be able to pick up a scent to track. They were all out running last night on the full moon, so you’ll find a trail.”

“Good,” I mutter. “Thanks.”

I want to shift, but I don’t want to take off the robe in front of her. I enjoy her eyes on me too much, and if we start flirting again, I might not leave.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Okay, then,” I say, heading for the back gate. “I’ll leave the robe in the first line of trees. You can go get it whenever.”

I keep my eyes focused ahead once I turn my back to her. There are a couple of quiet streets before the woods get thick. I’m hoping the neighborhood is quiet enough that no one questions a man wandering around in a robe so early in the morning.

I’m just chasing after a lost dog. No need to panic.

“Wait!” Lucy calls. I turn back around, surprised by how my heart leaps in my chest.

“Yeah?”

“Uh, nothing. It’s okay. I’ll let you get on your way.”

I frown at her, shaking my head. “Bye, lady. It’s been weird.”

“It sure has,” she mutters.

This time, I stride away quickly, not giving myself time to think. I start jogging down the street, almost desperate to get to the forest so I can shift and run.

I want to see my brother, but more than anything, I just have to get out of here and put this crazy encounter behind me.

I want to forget about her… but somehow, I’m still hoping I’ll see her again.

I’m not far from the trees when the air starts to feel like glue. Details of the world around me blur into lines of color, and my feet won’t move. I push hard against the sensation, feeling my chest grow tight as the air gets heavier.

What the fuck is going on?

I lunge forward, shoving against the invisible barrier. There is a sharp, loud snap and a nasty smell, like lightning struck a tower, frying all the instruments. A sense of motion hits me, like I’m on a rollercoaster, being swiftly moved through an impossible loop.

When my senses return, I’m kneeling on the ground in soft, damp grass. Panting to get my breath back, I look around.

What the fuck?

I’m back in Lucy’s backyard, and she’s standing on the steps with her arms folded across her chest, glaring at me.

“What are you doing?” she demands.

“I don’t know,” I say, completely honest.

“Didn’t you just leave?”

“I tried to.” I look around, standing up to get my bearings.

“You wanted to go. So, go,” she snaps. “I’m sick of talking to you.”

“Excuse me, lady,” I growl. “You act like I’ve got a choice here. I have no fucking clue what’s going on, or why I’m here. I’m trying to leave you alone, so we can happily go about our lives like none of this ever happened.”

“Good!” she shouts. “If that’s what you want, then do it!”

“Fine!” I growl, turning to walk away.

Did she look guilty, just a little bit?

I shake off the thought. I don’t know her, so I can’t even guess at how she’s feeling or what her expressions mean.

I just have to get out of here.

As I move away, a sharp ache splits my chest. I try to ignore it, but it only cuts deeper.

It feels like loss.

I shove the feeling away as hard as I can and start to jog. The air gets thick again, and all my senses are muffled as the world around me fades.

No, no, no!

I push harder into the air, fighting like a man possessed. I hear the loud snap, smell the acrid stench of lightning striking metal, and I’m back in Lucy’s backyard.

She’s still standing on the back step, but she doesn’t look mad anymore.

She looks scared.

“If you want to leave so badly, how come you keep coming back?” she asks, her voice hard.

I shake my head, looking around as I walk over to her. “I don’t know,” I mutter, paying careful attention to all my senses. When I’m turned towards Lucy, I’m hypersensitive. My already-keen wolf instincts are tuned up even higher than normal. When I try to walk away from her, my senses go dull, and I can’t read the world around me. If I move far enough away, it gets worse, to the point I can barely move or breathe.

“Something weird is going on,” I whisper.

“We already established that,” she huffs. “Why are you walking up and down my garden path like that?”

“I can’t move too far away from you,” I say. “You try it.”

Her eyes widen, and she looks at me with surprise. “Something happened when I went to get the robes.”

“Well, try it again,” I say. “I want to know if it’s happening to both of us.”

She nods slowly, then turns around to go inside. I hear her footsteps move through the house, then out the front door. Inwardly, I count the steps.

She’s maybe… fifty feet away?

Suddenly, there’s a thud and a shriek before Lucy appears on the steps. Her hair is a little frizzy, and her face is white from shock.

“It’s a forced teleport,” she says.

“A what?”

“We’re tethered together.” She moans, dropping her head into her hands and raking her fingers through her hair. “The spell went wrong.”

Details add up very quickly in my mind, and suddenly, everything makes sense.

“What?” I ask, my voice low and dangerous. I take a few steps towards her. “What are you talking about? What spell?”

She looks up at me, and her eyes glint with tears. She looks frustrated more than sad, though.

“I did a spell last night,” she says. “I was thinking about a lover… and… and…”

“And what?” I try not to yell. I’m inches away from her now, and even though my fury is rising, my attraction for her is, too.

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. This is on me. I totally fucked up. I brought you here, and now we’re tethered.”

“Undo it!” I yell. “Right now!”

“I don’t know if I can!” she cries.

“Well, you better try—”

I grab her arm, intending to get her to look at me so my words will have a greater impact. When my hand closes on her shoulder, a wave of arousal floods through me. It’s so powerful, I actually stagger on my feet.

My wolf howls inside me, an expression of pure joy. Something deep in my soul resonates, a place of stillness and comfort where once there was only fear and loneliness.

She’s my mate!

No…

I let go of her and stumble away, trying to deny the feeling. Even though I’m not touching her, I can’t get her scent out of my nose.

Like fresh peaches, ripe on the branch. The smell is so delicate but mouthwateringly sweet. Soft, silky outer edges… firm, ripe, and juicy inside—

“Fuck!” I yell, grabbing my temples. My heart is pounding like the panicked hooves of a bolting horse. “I have to get out of here,” I gasp, turning and running away from her. I don’t get far before I hear the snap and end up right back in front of her again.

I call on my wolf, asking him to rise and break this spell. The moment of transition when we shift has a powerful magic all its own. It can break some spells and conquer small enchantments.

But my wolf refuses to rise. And I get the uncomfortable feeling that if he did, all my canine side would do is curl up at Lucy’s feet with his nose in her lap.

“I’m sorry,” Lucy says, shaking her head. Tears are running down her cheeks. She looks so miserable, I almost put my arms around her. But the memory of what happened the last time I touched her keeps my hands by my sides.

“You are going to fix this,” I growl, trying to contain my rage. “Right fucking now. I’m not staying here with you—I’ll find a way to leave, even if it fucking kills me. Do you understand?”

She nods, wiping away her tears. “Obviously, this spell went really, really wrong.” She gives me a stern glare. “It’s not like I want you hanging out here, either. I have a life, you know.”

“Good, so we’re in agreement!” I snap. “Get moving, right now. I’m under no obligation to be nice to you, and my patience with this situation has run out.”

“Mine, too,” she mutters, turning to go inside.

As I follow her, I’m engulfed in her scent again. I try to hold my breath, but I can’t get it out of my nose. Chaotic feelings crash around inside my mind, triggering memories I’ve worked hard to forget.

Love, loss, contentment, belonging… I’ve spent years staying away from any kind of connection with others. Being with Lucy scares me deeply.

Because even if she is annoying and incompetent… she’s super-hot, and interesting.

I’m not terrified because I’m stuck here. I’m terrified because I think I want to be.

Lucy leads me through the hall and into the kitchen. The house is fairly big and nicely painted with high ceilings and a very shiny hardwood floor.

Practically a palace compared to what I’m used to.

When we get to the kitchen counter, Lucy goes straight to the coffee pot, keeping her eyes down. She pours out two cups of coffee, dumps a jar of sugar and a carton of milk on the counter, and steps back, her hands firmly wrapped around the cup as she stares at the floor.

I take the other cup, not bothering with milk or sugar. The first scalding sip soothes me more than awakens me. Finding myself in a strange woman’s backyard was the only jolt I needed today.

“What are we going to do?” I ask.

Lucy’s eyes flick up to mine. “I’ll try a few basic things and see if I can break the connection.”

“What about my brother? I need to see him.”

“I can call him right now if you want. But don’t you want me to untether us first?”

“Yes, I do,” I say, putting my cup back on the counter. “I imagine you want to keep this little mistake to yourself?”

She nods. “If possible. I feel so bad about this. It was a stupid thing to do.”

“You must be pretty powerful, then, huh?”

Lucy laughs. “Me? No. Well, let’s see if I can dissolve the spell. Then we’ll decide how great of a witch I am.”

“Have at it, then.”

Lucy puts down her coffee and disappears down the hallway. I hear some thuds as she goes through cupboards before she comes back with a small box full of candles, pieces of different-colored silk, bones, feathers, and rocks.

“Okay,” I say, “this is getting weird.”

“Don’t panic,” she bites back, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like I need your blood.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

I watch her set up a small ring of objects with a white candle in the center. She uses a slender stick as a wand, twirling it above the objects and muttering. With a slash and a flourish, she puts out the candle with a flick of the wand.

“Okay,” she says. “Go for a walk and see what happens.”

I head for the back door and jog down the path. Almost immediately, I feel the resistance in the air and turn right back around.

“It didn’t work?” she asks as I return to the counter.

I shake my head. “If anything, the distance was shorter this time.”

Lucy sighs, changing around some of her items and choosing a yellow candle. The process seems similar, but the incantation is different.

“Okay,” she says, putting down her wand as the candle flame goes out. “I’ll try.”

She leaves the room, only to return seconds later. “You’re right,” she says, her voice high. “It seems to be getting worse!”

“If you can’t do it, do you know someone who can?” I was just pissed about this before, but now I’m actually getting scared.

She nods. “I think so.”

“You think so? You aren’t sure?”

“Yes. I mean, no.” She shakes her head. “I mean, I’ll have to do some thinking.”

A cold fear is creeping through me, and I’m really beginning to consider what it would be like to be tethered to her forever. She’s powerful, obviously, and she could be playing me right now.

What did she ask for in her spell? Why me?

“Do you want something to eat?” she asks.

My stomach growls loudly in answer. “Yeah, that would be great.”

“No problem.”

She turns to the fridge, pulling out a slab of bacon and a few eggs. I watch her put it all into the frying pan, and I feel a moment of dissonance that hits me so hard, I have to sit down.

This moment feels familiar. As if I’ve done this before.

Lucy turns to look at me, a strange look in her eyes. “Did you…” she begins to ask.

“Did I what?”

“I felt something.”

“I didn’t,” I snap, glaring at her.

“Oh,” she says, looking defeated. “Okay.” She turns back to the frying pan.

I don’t care. This situation is weird enough already. I’m not entertaining some fucked-up déjà vu.

“I have to call Fiona so she can open the bakery for me,” Lucy says, turning the heat down as she picks up her phone. “And we’ll let Rider know what’s going on.”

“Sure,” I say, glaring at the counter. I can’t stop myself from descending into one of the worst moods of my life.

I finally found my brother, but I lost my freedom. I’m stuck with this crazy woman.

Lucy sighs, not looking at me as she listens to the ringing on the other end of the phone. With my shifters hearing, I listen as a cheerful female voice answers.

“Hi, Lucy! What’s up?”

“Oh,” Lucy says, “not much. Did you enjoy your run last night?”

“I definitely did. Are you opening the bakery now?”

“No, I’m not. That’s why I’m calling, actually. Can you open for me today?”

“Sure! What’s going on, hun? It’s not like you to miss a day.”

“I’m… having a small problem.”

“Like what?”

“Like… Rider’s brother’s back, and he’s here.”

“What?!” the voice shrieks.

“He’s here. In my kitchen.”

“PETER IS HERE?”

“WHAT?” a male voice roars, drowning out the two women.

Lucy looks up at me with tears in her eyes. She looks so miserable, I almost feel bad for her.

Almost, but not really.