Page 51 of Haunted Hearts

“Willow, wait!”

I’m too late, she climbs out with a grace I’ll never be able to muster. She hastily throws on her clothes and steps towards the exit. Her piercing gaze in the muted light brings my movements to a halt.

“Come on, Willow. Stay.”Pleasestay, I want you here with me…

“We became a team, Brock. You can join us, or you can watch from the sidelines. The choice is yours.” With that, she disappears out of sight.

Damn it, I just screwed up a perfectly good moment alone with her to bitch about the people around her. What the hell is the matter with me? I hit the water with my hand, and it sprays everywhere.

“Fuck!”

Chapter16

WILLOW

My jaw hurts from how hard my teeth are clenched together.

How can Brock walk into my life and point fingers at the people around me? Ok, I get it, from the outside looking in, the start of our relationship may be a little questionable. Hell, even being involved in the chaos, I can admit that. But it’s not for Brock to decide who I should trust and who I should keep at a distance.

This man is supposed to be my other half. Fate chose him as my mate but if he can’t play nice with the others, this isn’t going to work out. Of course, this can’t be easy. Why would I think it would be? I don’t have enough experience navigating a relationship with one man, let alone a gaggle of men, to know how to handle this situation.

I don’t even have anyone to ask for advice. Going to the others is out of the question. If I tell them that Brock doesn’t trust them and wantsmeto doubt their affections, it won’t go over well. I know that as surely as I know my own name.

So, what do I do?

Around me, the sand kicks up and ghostly shrieks whip over my shoulders. The sand crackles and grows hot under my feet. Crap. I glare at the sand as I try to quell the power seeping out of me. Rather than calming down, the ground in front of me erupts into a geyser of sand. The force throws me backward and knocks the wind out of me. As I sit up, a wave of sand falls from the sky and slams into me, taking me back to the ground.

Sputtering and coughing, I sit up again.

“Damn it!” I swipe at the sand beside me before scrambling to my feet.

This is just lovely. So,fuckinglovely.

With rushed, short strokes, I wipe away the sand from my butt, swearing under my breath as I do. In the Realm of the Living this wouldn’t have happened. All it would take would be a little ‘nudge’ and my power would do exactly what I wanted. Here, I have access tosomuch. It’s like turning on a tap expecting a dribble, only to get a waterfall.

Stupid freaking power! It’s such a hassle! Who wantsthis?Apparently, a few people since I was killed because of it.

My hands ball back up into fists as another surge of indignation and fury bring my blood to a boil. I suppose being killed because of my powers isn’t all that surprising. How many times have I been chased out of a town or city because I made others uncomfortable? There were plenty of times while I ran that I would wonder if this was it. A shifter jumping onto my car, trying to reach into my window to pull me out, a witch’s spell catching me by the ankles… Yeah, I had some close calls.

But to be hunted downformy power?That’show I ended? To top it off, I can’t even control it. Ridiculous. Absolutely, ridiculous.

I barely make it five feet before I’m covered in sand and back on my ass as the world around me explodes. It takes a few minutes for the sand to stop raining down on me. As I’m pelted with the fine grains, I sit there and contemplate how I’m going to handle everything. When the sand stops falling, I’m nowhere close to any answers.

I’m only angrier.

This is allFulton’sfault. Ultimately, him and his stupid brother vying for who’s the strongest warlock led to this mess. The guys stumbled upontheircursed book and from there it was all downhill. And where is he? Hanging out in the Realm of the Living like nothing happened. As if he hadn’t broken the laws of nature. He’d been gunning for me as long as Fredrick had and caused just as much trouble and heartache as his brother, if not more. Hell, hetorturedme, and yet… the bad guy gets off Scot free.

If I could, I would kill him just like I did with Fredrick. I know, as a decent human being, the desire to murder yet another person should be alarming. Most people can go a lifetime without killing others. Yet, I intentionally have killed many people, and now I want to add another body to that pile.

I pause a few feet away from the sand dune that will take me back to the house.

Can I kill Fulton from the Realm of the Dead? I know I can’t go there to kill him… but technically, I’m not leaving if I try to reach through the Veil and murder him that way. While this feels like a slippery slope, I promise myself as I gather up all my power, that I'll only kill people who come after me or mine. Fulton’s done both.

Before I even try, the air around me grows thick with power. Power that doesn’t belong to me. Suddenly, something cold hits me hard in the middle of my back.

What the—?

“Willow Harvest.”

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