Page 9 of Stolen Magic
Chapter Seven
The morning came too fast for my liking, and I muttered curses under my breath while I waddled around the store. I had every intention of staying curled on top of the covers in the shitty motel room we rented for the night, but Char bodily dragged me to work. According to her, dwelling in misery and trying to sleep off my problems would do me no good. I tended to disagree with things like that, but I didn’t have it in me to even argue with my friend.
“We need to make a list of things we need to order for the store,” Char announced from behind the register where she was furiously typing on the laptop perched on top of the counter. Obviously, it was just me who wasn’t allowed to sleep my problems away like nothing was wrong. It was perfectly fine for Char to act like this was just another day in Crystal Palace and we didn’t have a bunch of vampires trying to chomp on us the night before.
“Okay.” Side-eying her, I lined the candles on the shelve for the third time, nudging them left and right so all of them were visible. “I’m pretty sure we have everything you need to make the healing potion, though. So, how about you go do that instead of placing orders for now?”
Char’s upper arm was wrapped in a makeshift bandage we’d ripped from the covers on the bed, which had looked cleaner than the rest of the motel room. The beige color was already stained with blood and forming dark blotches where her skin was raked from the vampire’s claws. If my friend was not worried about me, she would’ve healed herself already, but instead of doing that, she wouldn’t leave my side.
“It’s nothing.” Dismissing me without looking up from the screen, she wiggled on the chair until I couldn’t see her injured arm from where I was standing. “It’s practically healed on its own. We have a business to run.”
One thing I loved about Char was her determination and focus when it came to our success as business owners. The apocalypse could come and she would be on that damn laptop making sure all deliveries were on time and all the bills were paid. Unlike me. I had no idea which bank we used, little less anything else. A lot of times I wondered why she didn’t kick me to the curb and do it herself. She’d have a lot less trouble, that was for sure.
“Char, please.” I was not above begging as long as she took care of herself. “I already feel like crap that you got hurt because of my stupidity. Heal your arm for me if you’re not going to do it for yourself.”
“Fine.” With an annoyed huff, she slapped the laptop closed and jumped off the chair. “It’s still early, so there shouldn’t be a rush until later in the day. I’ll be as fast as I can.” Halfway to the door leading to the back of the store where her workroom was, she paused, glancing at me over her shoulder. “Call me if you need help, and after lunch, we will stop by the police station to give them our statements.” She didn’t go until I nodded my agreement.
We stopped at the apartment on our way to the store and found yellow police tape stretched from one end to the other and everything inside our home covered in some type of foam. Someone must’ve called the cops after we left, and I shuddered just thinking of strangers touching everything we owned. Char had no qualms about it, chatting up a storm about what type of substance the police had used to create the foam for preserving DNA and any prints while she wadded through it to reach her room.
Shivers slithered up my spine as I followed behind her, and the moment I filled a duffle with a change of clothing in my room, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. In less than twelve hours, my safe place, my home, had been turned from a safe haven to a space I didn’t want anything to do with. I’d be happy if I never saw it again. The bell chiming pulled me from my thoughts, and I realized I was still standing in front of the shelf lined with candles, staring blankly at it.
“Good morning. Welcome to the …” The smile I plastered as I turned to face the first customer of the day froze on my lips when my eyes locked on an intent silver blue gaze.
My heart did a hard lurch, punching the roof of my mouth before dropping to my toes.
“Indeed a good morning, Miss McCullough.” A thick accent made my last name sound a lot more Kalla then it should’ve.
Dimitri freaking Bell was in my store. Like, inside the store, with his entire body. He actually used his legs and dragged his too-handsome-for-his-own-good self intomy store.And to make matters worse, he was staring at me with a slight tilt to the corner of his stupid lips like he knew something I didn’t.
I was hyperventilating.
“Get out.” The words ripped from somewhere deep in my soul and spilled from my mouth.
“I beg your pardon?” One eyebrow arched up as if he couldn’t believe my audacity. Oh, he better believe it, because I had more where that came from.
“Begging is forbidden inside business. Along with soliciting.” My body was shaking but from rage, not fear. Clenching my fists, I leaned forward, pushing each word through bared teeth. “Get the hell out of my store.” Magic was churning inside me, begging to be unleashed, but I held it back with everything in me.Don’t be stupid, Alaska. That’s what he wants, just another confirmation that you are a witch. Don’t give him more proof.
The jerk chuckled. He chuckled!
Whipping my head wildly around, I searched for something heavy to throw at him. Deep down, I knew it was a bad idea, but seeing that infuriating grin on his face made me irrational. Since the closest thing were the candles, I snatched a beautiful healing one made out of indigo organic wax textured with turquoise shards and chucked it at his head. The six-inch-tall candle flipped through the air between us, but after widening his arrogant gaze, he ducked before it could smack him in the forehead. It hit a glass display behind him instead, sending crystals and incense holders flying everywhere as they crashed on the floor. Another candle was already in my hand, this one for prosperity and made with forest green wax that was textured with larger pieces of citrine.
Dimitri stepped aside from its trajectory when I threw it hard enough to make a professional baseball pitcher envious, and the candle shattered a shelf full of small statues. Porcelain, glass, wood, and crystals littered the floor and the very strong scent of peppermint saturated the air. A pang stabbed my chest when I realized my attempts for pitcher of the year had shattered a few bottles of pure essential oils. It took months, sometimes years to get one small bottle filled.
A red haze colored my vision, while the ass who dared to come inside my store, after threatening to expose me and sending vampires to kill me, tugged on the sleeves of his shirt to straighten invisible wrinkles on his immaculate suit.
“We need to talk.” Whatever else he was going to say was drowned by another glass display exploding when one more candle missed his head. “I see this is the wrong time for a conversation.” Dimitri glared at me disapprovingly like everything was my fault.
“Allie.” Char came running from the back of the store and skidded to a stop when she saw me facing off with the Alpha, my right arm cocked back with yet another candle clutched tightly in my hand. A blood red one for reigniting the passion between lovers. Shards of rose quartz as large as my thumb jutted out of it, and they were sharp enough to poke his eye out if I hit my target. “Allie, no,” my friend shouted, her arm outstretched like she could magically pull away my weapon made out of organic wax. Fortunately for me, I was the witch, not Char.
Dimitri had his head turned toward my friend, and I took advantage of it. The candle sailed through the air, and every inch it passed forming a smile on my face. At the last second, the Alpha jerked his head around, and it missed him by a breath. One jutting shard sliced a line across his high cheekbone, and blood beaded on the cut immediately. Char sucked in a sharp breath that was too loud in the deathly silent store, while Dimitri’s eyes flashed with a dangerous light.
I stopped breathing.
All the anger drained out of me in an instant and replaced itself with dread. The shifter was over six feet tall and wide enough to block the door of the store with his shoulders. I had no delusions that he could crush me with his bare hands if he wanted. I knew he could.
One glass shelf that was knocked aside chose that moment to lose its battle against gravity, and I jumped a foot of the ground when it crashed to the floor. So did Char, for that matter, but at least she landed in a crouch, ready to tackle the Alpha if he attacked. Unlike me. I was focused on not peeing my panties at that point. Stunned, I watched owlishly when Dimitri raised his hand and wiped the blood trickling down his cheekbone with his thumb, all the while not taking his intense gaze from me. My body was gently rocking back and forth from the strength of my heartbeat, which was bruising my ribs.
“Meet me in an hour at the corner of the Pier, Miss McCullough.” His baritone vibrated in my chest, along with my frantic heart. “Hopefully you will come to your senses by then. As I said, we need to talk.”
