Page 72 of The Mating Fire
Her palms became clammy. She set the glass down carefully on the counter. “But I love him! Xavier can’t kill him. Isn’t me loving him enough?”
Serena patted her hand again. “It’s not easy to break a curse. Even when you want it with all your heart. You have to have faith in people, in love, and that’s what Jared lacks.”
Serena’s voice was gentle, not patronizing. Harper wiped away a tear. “I could have faith enough for both of us.”
“It’s up to him, not you. Telling him you love him isn’t going to do anything. Last night did you tell him you loved him?”
Harper nodded.
“And you woke up alone this morning because he remained in his beast form. Your declaration did nothing.”
All this bad news made her head hurt. Suddenly she resented Serena for putting Jared in this predicament. “Why do you stay in his employ anyway in disguise? To gloat in secret over the unhappiness you cause him?”
Something flashed in the woman’s dark eyes. A simmering hint of danger, a hint of the magick the witch possessed to curse a powerful incubus.
“Watch yourself, my dear. I like you, but my patience does have a limit.”
“Well, tell me then, why are you here? You cursed him, why bother to hang around him? It makes no sense.”
Serena snapped her fingers and a plate filled with bacon and eggs floated over to Harper. “Jared thinks he doesn’t need anyone and chooses to hole himself up in this castle like ahermit, but he needs someone more than he realizes. I choose to work for him so he is connected to the people in the village so I could observe his interactions. He is not a heartless cad. He met me/Jallu a few years ago and has paid handsomely, in addition to helping the village with several projects to aid them.”
The thought of Jared helping others cheered her and filled her with hope. Perhaps there was a chance he could be saved.
“He has a heart,” Harper said, beginning to eat. “He is a good man.”
“He could be, as I said, with the right person. Now finish your breakfast. I believe there is a library of books waiting for you. One book in particular with Jared’s family history does make for interesting reading.”
As she reached for the orange juice, she turned to thank Serena.
The witch was gone, as if she’d never been there.
After breakfast Harperreturned to the library, determined to research Jared’s family background. Maybe she could find a way to break the curse herself. Or convince him hecouldbe a force for good and avoid embracing evil.
She was confident Jared’s attitude arose from turning into a Krampus each night.
Probably why she’d woken up alone this morning.
In an alcove on the library’s second floor, she curled up with the heavy book recording Jared’s family history. Suddenly she came across an entry that made her heart beat harder with excitement.
This has to convince him he isn’t a demon after all.
Slamming the book shut, she left the library in search of him. After an hour of climbing steps, combing through rooms, she had no luck locating him.
Finally after she’d eaten lunch, a salad in the kitchen, she found him in his office. Sitting at his enormous mahogany desk studying papers, he looked absorbed.
Harper went to the library and brought the book back. She plopped it on his desk.
“You’re not a bad man, Jared Griffin. No matter what you claim, I won’t believe it.”
He finally glanced up and sighed. “You’re wasting your time with me. I’m a lost cause, Harper. And you should make preparations to leave. It’s time you return home.”
Anxiety knotted her stomach. She braced her hands on his desk and met his impartial gaze.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily. Not until you hear me out, Jared. You ARE a good man.”
He drew in a breath that seemed a sound of defeat. But she couldn’t let this go. Not after what she’d discovered.
“Harper, I’m an incubus demon cursed to become a Krampus after midnight. I cannot change my nature. I’m destined to turn to the dark side. I’ve been fighting it for years and even now, I’m losing that fight.
