Page 1 of Exes, Hexes, and Strategy
Chapter One
Raphael DeMarco brought his car to an abrupt stop in the parking lot of the training facility. Staring in disbelief at a car that he would recognize anywhere – a car that shouldn’t be here – he shook his head and let out a rueful laugh. Unbelievable. He’d committed to this Hunter training program to get away from her and the painful memories that seemed to follow him everywhere. Over twelve hundred miles he’d put between them, only to find her here. The gods must truly hate him.
Pulling into a parking space, he emerged from his vehicle and glared at the old mustang that looked like a patchwork quilt with its mismatched fenders and hood, the gray patches of filler, and the multitude of bumper stickers that included such sayings as ‘My Other Car Is A Broom’, ‘Life’s A Witch’, and ‘Don’t Make Me Release the Flying Monkeys’.
Rafe may have attempted to delude himself for five seconds with the thought that it might be someone else’s car, just astonishingly similar to hers, if not for the New Jersey plates emblazoned with W1CC4N. He’d been with her when she’d gotten those plates. She’d been so happy, proudly showing them off, while he’d stared at them and scratched his head.
“When one sees foreign?” he’d guessed.
She’d rolled her eyes and playfully punched his arm. “No dummy. It says Wiccan.”
Staring hard and still not seeing it, he’d shrugged. “If you say so.”
She’d let out a little noise of disbelief. “How can you not see it? The one is an I and the four is an A.”
“How can a four be an A?”
“Easily. It’s just missing its kickstand.”
Her smile had lit up the room just like it had lit up his heart. A heart she’d later broken. The worst part was, he still didn’t even know why. She’d just dropped him out of the blue one day, refusing to see him, refusing to take his calls, even going so far as to move so he couldn’t find her.
Nina Errani. She’d been his best friend, his true love, his heart and soul. He’d thought she’d felt the same for him, but she’d abandoned him without a word.
Shaking off the painful memory, Rafe contemplated getting back in his car and driving away, heading anywhere as long as it was away from her. It was a tempting thought, but Morgan Rhys, the head of the Hunter training program was expecting him and the last thing he needed was his father being informed that Rafe was shirking his obligations.
Retrieving his duffel from the trunk of his car, he strode toward the front steps of the facility that resembled an expensive boarding school, using the time to mask his grief with the arrogant exterior he’d learned to wear like armor. He was a Born, the only son, and heir of Vincent DeMarco, ruler of the vampires that called New Jersey home and he needed to always look the part. Weakness was not an option. Ever.
Pushing through the heavy, wooden, double doors, he took in the large foyer and the milling crowd that had gathered. He sensed vampires, unsurprising, but he also sensed the primal energy that denoted shifters as well as the shimmer of magic that always surrounded witches.
He spotted Nina almost immediately despite her being on the opposite side of the room with plenty of people separating her from the door. She’d always had that effect on him. Something within her practically sang to his blood.
His feet seemed rooted to the floor as he drank in the sight of her. Tall and willowy with long dark hair and olive skin that spoke of her Mediterranean ancestry. She’d always adored color, the more vivid the better, and her clothing choices forever reflected her need to be a bright spot in an otherwise dull world. Today, she’d draped a turquoise patterned scarf-like thingy over a dark orange sleeveless top worn with fitted blue jeans and little orange ankle boots.
His bird of paradise, Rafe thought fondly before he mentally chastised himself. She wasn’t his anything anymore. But maybe, with them both here, he’d finally find out why.
∞∞∞
“Have you ever seen a more scrumdiddlyumptious selection of men?”
Nina laughed as she watched her best friend, and fellow witch, Melanie tug down the front of her shirt on the heels of that question and then push up her ample breasts to create a more enticing cleavage. Not that she really needed to. Mel was gorgeous with her long, dark-rooted blonde hair, deep tan, sultry gaze, and curves that didn’t quit. Someone would have to be blind not to have noticed her, and based on the rapt looks on some of the men’s faces standing around them, their eyesight was just fine.
“Do you think they allow fraternizing? Because I see at least five guys here I’d like to get to know better.”
Shaking her head and grinning, Nina replied, “I have no idea.”
Mel grinned as well, and slapping her hands on the cheeks of her backside, she turned a circle, taking in the crowd while swiveling her hips. “Who’s going to be lucky number one?” she asked in a sing-song voice. “Oh, look, a newcomer,” she remarked before she let out a little squeak and turned quickly back to Nina. “You know what?” she suddenly asked with an overly bright smile. “Let’s sneak off and explore this place.”
Mel’s dark brown eyes were wide, her normally golden complexion suddenly leached of color, and her grip on Nina’s upper arm was practically bruising as Mel attempted to drag her off.
“What’s the matter with you?” Nina blurted, shaking off her friend’s hand.
The laugh Mel let out had a hysterical edge. “Nothing. Why would you think so? I just want to get a better look at this place. You know, see if they have any trolls stashed in the attic or something.”
Nina’s eyes narrowed, but before she could question the odd behavior further, Morgan Rhys, the renowned Hunter and the head of this new facility, called for their attention.
Mel groaned, but Nina ignored her, her focus entirely on the group of what she assumed were instructors.
Nina had done some homework before she’d come, her coven leader providing her with most of the information. Morgan Rhys was a Born vampire, part of a race of natural vampires that could walk in the sun and who considered themselves the rulers of the supernatural world. Fast, strong, deadly, and immortal, they were also known to be opportunistic, manipulative, and extremely territorial. Thus, why there tended to be only one Born to a territory. Exceptions occurred, of course, for family members and in the case of Louisiana apparently, Hunter training. While Morgan ran the school, Kane Fletcher, who the woman was currently introducing to the group, ran the territory.
