Page 9 of Wicked Love
“Hi, Melasina. I was hoping I’d see you tonight.”
Chapter Four
Jasper
Melasina looked startled when I touched her arm. Her cheeks turned pink. Well, at least I thought they did. It could have been the lighting.
“Oh, um… hi. Hello. Nice to see you again.” She looked down for a moment, seeming flustered.
I hoped it was because of me, but that was probably hoping for too much. It also could have been because she cast a spell on me this morning, essentially kicking me out of her house, too. The fact that it had worked so well meant one of two things: either she was very, very strong, or I was completely taken with her, and stupid. I could have written a report that ripped her for the spell, but I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I pretended I hadn’t noticed.
Back to her strength or my foolishness: It could be both. I wasn’t sure which one I wanted it to be. Regardless, the question remained as to why she’d booted me out? “I was hoping to talk with you some more,” I said with a smile designed to put her at ease.
Melasina looked up as she clutched the bag on her shoulder closer to her. “Why?”
“Well, when I came to see you, I didn’t get a chance to talk about everything I wanted to.” Apparently, my charm wasn’t working here. Even with me pretending I hadn’t noticed her spell. I should be mad, but I was intrigued.
Her eyes narrowed. “What, tossing around more accusations? If you want to talk more, let’s do it at the library, on the record.” She pushed past me, obviously done with the conversation.
I caught up with her, trailing right behind her as she took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. “No,” I say quietly in her ear. “It’s about your mother.”
Melasina stops, whirling around to face me. “What about my mother? Haven’t we covered it all? Isn’t it enough that she’s gone?”
“Well, I’ve had some disturbing reports,” I began.
Melasina cut me off. “You people! You’re all the same! My family is trashed, and there’s no coming back from that. My dad and I are suitably cowed, and we don’t want any trouble. Can we just leave it at that?” Her voice ended on a note that told me this was still something that brought her grief.
I felt like a jerk, which didn’t normally happen. Protecting the coven, making sure that we were safe, weren’t discovered—that was my job. My responsibility. But I felt bad for forcing this conversation on Melasina Cormier. Was I going soft?
No. She’d kicked me out of her house. There was a reason for that. And I was going to figure out what it was.
“What is that?” Melasina wondered. “Whoa. Holy hell, what is she doing here?” She was looking over my shoulder.
I turned, and I’m pretty sure my mouth fell open.
Melasina moved next to me, her shoulder brushing up against me. Normally, I’d be thrilled, and my cock was, but the scene unfolding outside the open doors in the garden held my attention.
A beautiful, dark-haired woman had appeared in the middle of the garden where Delphine, the coven leader, planned to be later to deliver the blessing. The witches in the garden had noticed her and the murmuring of the crowd grew.
“Wasn’t she banished?” Melasina asked me out of the side of her mouth. “Did she really do it? Or was she just off the popular girls’ list?”
Her skepticism, given what had happened to her mom, was understandable. I looked around to see where any of the leaders were, and none were nearby. Shit. “She really did it. She used some very dark magic.”
Thea, our most recently banished witch, stood in the center of the garden. Her dark hair moved around her, possibly as a result of the magic she was getting ready to cast. She threw up her hands and began to speak.
“How the hell did she get in here?” I asked, not really expecting an answer. “The wards should have kept her out.” Magnolia House was well warded, which meant someone like Thea—no longer coven, and banished—should have never been able to get in here.
Thea looked around, a tiny smile tilting up one side of her lips.
“‘Neath silver moon or dark of night
In shadow deep or brightest light
From this hex none shall be spared
For wrath knows not peace nor care
Betrayers! Gather close and hear
