Page 1 of Stolen Oath
CHAPTER1
The cheery chime of the bell above the door registered at the back of my subconscious like an annoyingly persistent buzzing of a mosquito. It echoed perpetually behind my eyeballs to the point of madness. Being agitated made me twitchy and unreasonable at the best of times, so you could imagine my state of mind that morning.
A jerk was an understatement of what I was.
My brain was mush from the lack of sleep in the last couple of weeks, and naturally, any type of noise didn’t help much in my attempts to stay sane or civil. I wanted to snarl and snap at anyone who walked into the store just to make sure every single person was as miserable as I was.
Adulting at its finest, I had no doubt.
The truth of the matter is, I wanted to be numb and to be grateful for the numbness; Because then I wouldn’t have to acknowledge the crushing weight of my guilt while suffocating under it. I neither knew, nor cared, I just wanted the weight of the elephant sitting on my chest gone.
Thinking myself invincible, I stole a magic book full of ancestral spells—that was not supposed to exist, mind you—from none other than Dimitri Bell, alpha of the Southern California pack and newest member of the MPO.
My ego, as I always feared, would be my downfall.
The fact that it was Dimitri’s father who hired me sent all of us into an impossible situation between a rock and a hard place. Instead of coming up with a solid plan, the old alpha pushed us into a corner where we acted rashly and defensively, and because of that, my best friend dabbled in blood magic and potions that were best left alone for goodness sake. As a result, she lost part of herself in the process.
I wanted to shriek and rage until I destroyed myself and there was nothing left of me.
I failed Char, I failed Dimitri, and I failed myself too. And for what?
Nothing. That’s what.
Others were paying for my mistakes.
Char was paying for them more than anyone else, which was the core of my problem if I is being honest.
A ray of sunshine was caught in a slow, sensual dance with one of the crystals, casting bursts of colors across the floor like a liquid fire snaking over the vinyl before it bounced up and glittered over the displayed candles and statues. The coward that I am, I watched it with a desperation of a man dying from thirst seeing a fat, juicy droplet of water. It was going great too until someone cleared their throat close enough that I could smell the tuna this person has eaten in the last hour or so for breakfast.
“Welcome to the Crystal Palace,” I mumbled dully and dragged my eyes from the floor to the person in front of the counter. “How can I help you?”
“Namaste.” The young woman smiled demurely at me before bowing her head in a practiced swan move she must’ve done at least a thousand times in front of a mirror. How I knew? It was either practiced or she was a time traveler from the Middle Ages where she curtsied and bowed to royalties and suitors on a daily basis. She was all elegance and grace that was faker than the three-inch caterpillar lashes the lady checking out the incense to our right had glued to her poor eyelids.
I glanced briefly at the paperweight sitting inconspicuously next to the register and felt guilty about it immediately. Guilty that I caught myself eyeing it, and for wanting to throw it at swan lake in front of me. Instead of doing what I wanted to do, I forced a smile and jerked my head in a nod.
“Namaste to you too. What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping to find one of the love candles you normally have displayed in that corner.” Her arm lifted gracefully as she pointed toward the left corner of the store where the specialty candles were lined up like soldiers. An empty space gapped in the spot where a red love candle usually sat.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice we sold the last one. I can make one for you but you’ll have to come back and pick it up later this afternoon or tomorrow. Whatever works for you, as long as you leave a deposit.” My hand was already reaching for the register so I can charge her and get her away from me as fast as I could, but it wasn’t written in the stars it seemed.
.
“But I need it now.” With a sharp, reprimanding voice, she folded her arms over her chest and my hand froze a hairsbreadth away from the register. “Not later this afternoon and not tomorrow, that’s for sure. Now, sister.” The last part was said almost mockingly. I knew I should’ve stayed home and avoided any interaction.
Something primal and scary perked up inside of me at her tone, and like the predator that I was, my head cocked to the side on its own and my vision sharpened on her features. For the first time, I noticed the tiny beads of sweat around her hairline and on her upper lip, which was trembling slightly despite her holier-than-thou attitude.
My instincts were screaming at me that something was off about the lady.
“And why is that, sister?” Not even my sneer made her pay attention that she was treading on dangerous grounds. “What’s so important that can’t wait a few hours? We don’t sell generic, mass-market candles. Each is made here in the shop.”
“You don’t understand and I don’t expect you to, but I can’t stand a second longer with her having those painted claws all over him. He needs to come back to where he belongs. With me. Now, not this afternoon or tomorrow.” With each word she was becoming more agitated and she tapped her forefinger on the counter to make her point.
“You’re looking for a candle to return a lost lover?” My eyes narrowed suspiciously on her.
It wasn’t my place to question customers. For my morals’ sake, I wanted to occasionally, maybe, but not if I wanted to run a successful business. After all, I prided myself that I did something good with the candles, even when everything else in my life was pushing the limits of ethical grounds. Yet memories of Dimitri and the desperation in his eyes when he talked about his obligations along with placating his father in hopes to keep him away from destroying his life raked my insides with razor blades. The fact that I would’ve felt better if the handsome alpha was unattached had nothing to do with it. I almost convinced myself of that too.
Almost.
