“Just do it, but if you get us killed, I’ll haunt you.”
Noelle smiled, her first real smile in forever.
When the debris cleared, she found herself and the others standing in the middle of a field. She heard the others coughing, but she ignored them, unable to do anything but stare up at the moon overhead. She hadn’t seen the outside in ten years. Hadn’t smelled fresh air in as long. She took a few steps before her legs collapsed under her. Behind her, the women were sobbing and crying. The sound of sirens could be heard, but nobody came near her. She sat there on her knees wearing the plain gray T-shirt and pants she’d worn for as long as she could remember. That was all she was ever given to wear. Dull lifeless gray. All around her, the night lit up with bright lights and sirens. She lifted her arms, trying to protect her eyes.
“You there, what’s your name?”
She jerked away from the male who reached for her, falling onto her side. A sharp rock bit into her hip, making her cry out. She curled into a ball, trying to protect herself.
“Back off. Everyone back off. I got this. Hello, child, my name is Baba Yaga. Tsk tsk, you are in desperate need of feeding and cleaning.” She snapped her fingers.
Noelle blinked, thinking the woman expected something to appear. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
Baba Yaga shook her head. “You will. Come on, let’s get you out of here before this becomes a circus show. Zelda,” she yelled.
“I’m right here. You do not have to yell like a banshee.”
The woman who was clearly Zelda appeared. Her blonde hair was a little mussed, but she was dressed in an outfit that’s way too nice to be in the middle of the rubble where Noelle lay. “I think I’m going to be sick,” Noelle warned, turning to the side, her sides heaved but nothing came up.
She heard the two women sigh, and then she was swept into a windstorm that actually was soothing.
“I’m glad you like. Now, open your eyes. We’ve deposited your sister and her friends back home. They’re a little worse for wear, but they’ll recover. You...you’ll recover as well, my dear. I’m sorry we didn’t know about you before. I saw you took care of that despicable cretin. Good for you. Now, you begin your training under the tutelage of Zelda and Sassy. Try to be better than these two.” Baba pointed her finger at the trio and was gone.
Zelda tossed her hands in the air. “I am an amazing witch.”
“Yes. Yes, you are, as am I. I mean, I only blow things up on occasion.” Sassy shrugged.
Noelle sniffed, her eyes watering. “I killed a man.”
“Good girl. That’s how all good witches begin.”
Sassy slapped Zelda on the arm. “Do you really want to start her training that way?”
“Oh, for goodness sake, are we really her trainers?” Zelda spun in a circle around the garden.
“I say she needs about a dozen cheeseburgers first. Dear Goddess, what is your favorite food?” Sassy began walking toward Zelda’s home, hooking her arm through Noelle’s.
It took her two years before she felt balanced. Two years before she no longer jumped at every slamming door. Seven hundred and thirty days before she could speak to her sister without guilt eating her up. And still, she felt as though she owed her sister and the others for what they’d suffered.
Chapter One
RIDGE WALKED INTO MAYHEM Howl, the bar he owned, nodding at Miko who was manning the door. It was Friday night, and while they didn’t have a whole lot of issues with fights, he still made sure one of his crew was posted at the door.
“Yo, Ridge, we got some sexy bitches in here tonight. A group of bachelorettes showed up about an hour ago. I think they were already shitfaced when they walked in. If the bride wasn’t already spoken for, I’d tap that shit.” Miko lifted his chin toward the back of the bar.
He looked toward the direction Miko indicated, unable to miss the dozen or so half-dressed women who all wore a sash around their chest. The one Miko was clearly talking about had a white one while the others wore pink. However, the one who snagged his attention stood back from the group with her arms crossed over her very ample chest. His leopard raked at him to go to her, even as she glared at everyone with a expression that said she wished she was anywhere but there.
Her little black dress was just shy of indecent, sitting about two inches below her panties, making his cat want to get up close and personal. Shit, with how short and tight the little number was, he highly doubted she wore anything underneath.
He narrowed his eyes, letting them roam her from that glorious mane of white hair that didn’t appear natural, down to her purple-painted toes ensconced in six-inch fuck-me heels. The total package was making him pant like a dog in heat, and he was a fucking leopard, not a mindless wolf.
Damn, his dick grew even larger at the total package she presented, along with visions of her long legs and those shoes digging into his back as he fucked her.
“You alright, Alpha?” Miko asked, keeping his voice low.
Ridge worked to get his leopard under control. Knowing he’d been rumbling under his breath pissed him the fuck off. He prided himself on his control. He was the alpha for many reasons. One being he was always in control. When he wasn’t, then it was controlled chaos. Second, he was the baddest fucker in the crew. That wasn’t him bragging. He’d earned his position by grit and bloodshed.
A leopard male made several different sounds when he was angry, agitated, or wanting to convey his displeasure. His leopard was just shy of the rasping cough that would let all of his crew know he was ready to create
