Page 17 of Snow's Charming
I couldn’t call her a bitch or a monster out loud. Even when I was living with her, I never called her wicked names to her face. Dad taught me to respect her as my stepmother. But didn’t I have the right to call her names now that she was trying to kill me?
My stomach dropped as another thought hit me. I couldn’t fathom it being true, but if Jackie had already proved capable of hiring a gun? I went pale. Probably as pale as a vampire—forget a ghost. Ghosts were a mixture of ashen and white. Vamps—at least on the silver screen—were portrayed as straight-up alabaster white. Before I could think twice, the words fell from my mouth. “You don’t think she cursed my father with cancer—do you?”
“Sesi, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Chary. I’m not ruling anything out with her.” Said Sleeper.
“Would his soul be able to move on if she—” My voice raised as if I was going to finish my sentence, but the lump in my throat prohibited me from speaking any further. It was one thing to kill people, but killing souls was a completely different kind of crazy. And the more I thought about my father and his death, the more I wanted to escort Jackie to a special place in hell myself.
Sylus squeezed my shoulders before pressing his lips to the shell of my ear. The instant contact made my skin prickle with goosebumps down the back of my neck. I instinctively put some distance between Sylus and myself and wrapped my hand around my neck to cover the evidence. There was no way in hell I’d show the brigade my interest in Sylus. I wouldn’t hear the end of their constant teasing. Plus, it wasn’t the time or place to discuss it, even though I wanted the pack to know I might have decided to be their Luna. There was no way I wanted Jackie anywhere near them. I needed to protect them from Jackie. But I had to push those feelings onto the back burner. Stripping Jackie of her magic was more important.
“Even if that is the case, we will fix it, princess.”
Sylus’s words took hold of me. They were the beacon I needed to cling to in a tsunami of thoughts. He wanted nothing more than to help me fix this, and I was taken aback that all eight of them were on my side as I gazed into all their sympathetic eyes. I had only a sliver of this kind of love when my dad was alive. It was always just him and me when Mom died. Well—if I was being honest with myself, this brigade was always there, too, until Jackie. How did things get so screwed up?
I felt Sylus’s solid arms wrap around me as Sleeper’s voice came to the forefront of my mind.
“She’s a witch, Sesi. Again, I wouldn’t put it past her. As a witch myself, I’m also a medium. There’s a possibility I can reach your father through our pack’spsychic bond. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try. If she trapped his soul, we will free him so he may move on. But first things first—we have to come up with a way for me to prove I killed you—without actually doing so, of course.”
“What about going to the slaughterhouse and getting a pig’s heart?” Said Bear as he stroked his light brown goatee. “Doc’s always placing orders for the college class he teaches.”
“That’s an excellent idea! Doc, can you put in an order for tomorrow? If we wait longer, she may try going after Sesi herself.”
“This all sounds great, Dad, but what about today? I wanted to take Sesi to the mall to get some clothes.”
“Yes, do that, Sylus, but be on full alert. If anything happens?—”
“You’ll be the first one I will telepathically connect to, Dad. Got it.”
“One last thing, what should I do with this?” Sleeper asked as he pointed out the poisoned apple on the ledge.
My eyes widened as I saw it, and my hands instantly reached out to grab it. It was so shiny, plump, and gloriously red! I’d never seen an apple so gorgeous and needed a bite. Just one. But before I could grab hold of it, solid arms wrapped around me, holding me in place.
“Get that thing away from her before she tries to eat it.” Said Sylus as he spun me around. Hecupped my cheeks and forced me to meet his gaze. “Princess, look at me. Please, baby.”
The tone in his voice was as hard as his locked jaw, but his thumbs stroking my cheeks were the opposite. Soft, loving. I wanted to listen to him, but the apple kept calling out to me. I tried to shake the idea of grabbing the apple, which was now in Chary’s hand, but the pull was so strong.
Sylus’s gaze, along with his firm hold of my cheeks, pinned me in place. He guided me back to his gaze, ripping me away from the sight of that damned apple.
“Forgive me, baby. I was going to be a gentleman—give you more time to get to know me—but this is the only way to break the spell.”
His lips crashed down on mine before I could take in what he meant. They were soft and tasted like cherries and cola. I inhaled his delicious scent as my palms wrapped around his neck. His tongue licked along the seam of my lips, coaxing me to open for him, and I couldn’t resist. I needed to taste more of that cherry cola goodness.
His palms slid down the length of my body until they rested on my hips. He pulled me closer to his waist, and his wanting me was clear and pressed against my inner thigh. I should have pushed him away so I wouldn’t get the third-degree from the brigade, but when his fingertips dangled dangerously close to my ass, I arched my back into his touch instead. Only then did I hear one member of the brigade clear his throat inprotest of the kiss.
Sylus broke the kiss, and I let out a groan. I didn’t want him to stop, of course, but PDA in front of a bunch of guys I considered uncles was weird at best. My cheeks heated as I noticed the Lone Wolf’s Fury in front of me with wide eyes. Oops.
“Pretty sure that did the trick, Sylus. Now would you two stop? You burned my retinas with that display. Way too much TMI! Go do that somewhere else—for the love of goddess—never kiss in front of me again!” said Joker.
The rest of the brigade chuckled as my cheeks burned again. I was certain they were a shade darker than the apple. I glanced over at it and I didn’t feel the same pull to want to eat it as I did before Sylus’s kiss.
“Sylus, how did you know that would work?” I asked him.
Sylus wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple.
“Simple. You are my fated mate. We are stronger when we are near each other. Some of that has to do with my being the future Alpha. And another part has to do with your being the future Luna. But anytime a fated mate is near you, you are stronger. The kiss broke the spell she put on that apple because I’m your true love. That’s according to the moon goddess and her myth. She brings mates together.”
“Yeah, okay, but let’s not take any chances. I’ll run it through the disposal while you are at the mall. Sylus, take the Escalade. Your bike won’t cut it for a shoppingtrip.” Said Sleeper as he pocketed the apple and handed Sylus a set of keys.
“Thanks, Sleeper!”
