Page 70 of To Crave Darkly
That was Rae. Straight to the point and I had missed that bluntness. I told her everything, and I meaneverything. I had missed my confidante and it was so nice to be able to talk to her about all the problems I seemed to have collected over the last few days. She laughed, gasped, cringed, and cried with me over my story. She asked so many questions and the hours flew by as we had a proper catch up.
“Oh my God. How many men have you got under your thumb, Lori?”
Heat flushed my skin and I winced. “Don’t. It’s so complicated and I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that I have connections to more than one man. That just isn’t normal.”
“Hey, there’s no such thing as normal. You have to do what is right for you and if these men are ok with that, then boy, have you found some keepers,” she laughed. “I am very jealous.”
“Urgh, but it’s such a mess. I’m bonded to a fallen angel who is literally sex on legs and Jasper is… Well, I have no fucking clue, but we are drawn to each other like magnets. It’s intense and all-consuming and I can’t think straight when I am around either of them.”
“And you have no idea who this fallen angel is? He won’t tell you his name?” Rae asked concerned.
“Nope. It kind of feels like he’s testing me, like he wants me to like him for who he is and not for what the world thinks he is.”
“Well, you just have to focus on the positives. I’m sure all will reveal itself in time. You just have to be ready for when that moment comes.”
Never had truer words been spoken. I just had to hope that when everything came to light I wouldn’t run screaming for the hills. “Anyway, enough about me. How the hell did you end up owing Alec a favour?”
“To be honest, I can’t tell you the whole story because it’s not my story to tell. It’s a long story and it’s mostly Alec’s, not mine, but a few years ago, I got cut off from my Coven and Alec helped me escape. I was part of the Coven of the Unseen and I did something to incur the wrath of one of the elder witches. My punishment was that I was to be banished and cut off from the Coven’s source of power.”
Holy shit. “What did you do?”
“I helped someone who needed it and it went against the elders’ wishes. I wasn’t about to let a friend suffer because some old crone had a vendetta.” She spoke with such vehemence that I suddenly knew I did not want to piss this witch off. She looked scary.
“You helped Alec, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “I did. And I don’t regret it one bit. It brought me to you, and it made me realise that I was a powerful witch in my own right. I don’t need the connection to the Coven to be powerful, so they can go shove it where the sun don’t shine.”
That was my Rae, always looking out for those in need and being confident enough to believe in herself no matter what. Any doubts I might have had of her being different, now I knew she was a witch, vanished with that little speech. She was totally the girl that became my best friend.
We were in a fit of giggles, reminiscing over our wilder adventures, as Alec walked into the room.
“Well, you two look mighty cosy,” he said coming further into the room.
“Just catching up on old times,” I said, still giggling like a schoolgirl.
“And new times,” Rae added, her eyebrows waggling suggestively. God, she was incorrigible.
“Then I am sorry to interrupt, but I need to steal Rae away.”
“Alec, it’s ok. I’m happy to discuss anything in front of Lori. No more secrets.”
I looked between Rae and Alec, and he did not look pleased. He narrowed his eyes at us, and his delectable mouth fell into a grim line. “Fine,” he quipped, “but don’t blame me if we get into trouble.”
Rae’s musical laugh flittered round the room. “I thought you liked getting into trouble, Alec. Or have you really changed that much in the last few years?”
“Oh, I am all for getting into trouble,” he replied in a seductive drawl. “I just prefer to do it when I know the punishment will be worth it.” He glanced at me when he said it, his amber eyes brimming with amusement and something darker. It had my skin flushing and my breath catching in my throat.
“So, you want to call in your favour, do you?” Rae queried as she leant towards Alec.
He looked uncomfortable. He fidgeted in his seat and glanced at me, clearly not liking that I was here to witness this. “Yes. But first, is it safe?”
“I gave you my word it would be. It’s safe and it’s hidden,” Rae vowed solemnly. This was something to do with their shared secret and my growing curiosity burned with the need to know more. I was intrigued and, as much as I wanted to launch into a hundred questions over it, I knew it wasn’t right to pry.
Rae’s words seemed to have a calming effect on Alec. He settled back into his chair and relaxed now that the surreptitious interlude between them was over and done with. “Good. So, the Conclave has a possession problem, specifically caused by demons.”
“Ok, but how do you expect me to help narrow that down?”
“The guy who attacked Fenris managed to null the mage’s powers somehow.”
