Moon Cursed (Book 2 in The Star and Her Moon Series)

Blood Magic

RAFF

Raff unscrewed the top of the bottle and poured three fingers of whiskey into his glass. He paused and then added another two because it had been that kind of week. "What the hell?" he muttered, downing the contents of his glass and taking the open bottle to the sofa.

Unbuttoning his shirt, he settled back into the supple leather with a sigh and stared across the room. The big, bay window that overlooked main street filtered the early evening light into the small space, making it seem bright and inviting. The changes in the room added to the effect. Heavy, white curtains replaced the cheap tan ones he'd tossed over the window out of necessity. Meribella had pinned them back with a strip of mint cotton that matched the knit blanket draped over the recliner. A large canvas painted in pastel with gold flecks throughout hung on the brick wall in the dining nook, and the table was set with flowers and candlesticks.

A slow burn started in his stomach as he stared at the table. He much preferred Meribella as a decoration on top of the wooden surface, but with Dorea around, those moments of spontaneity were gone.

Raff ran his finger around the rim of the bottle before taking a hard pull. He was lying to himself if he thought Dorea was the problem. She might have been the catalyst, but the boat was where everything had imploded. Ever since that night, he'd been unable to bridge the distance that was growing between them.

"Raff, you here?"

"Yeah, Thorne. In the living room," he called.

A wet snout nosed under his arm, and he looked down just in time to see Aurora bound onto the couch. She licked his hand once before curling into a tight ball and falling asleep. Running his hands across her thick coat, he wondered what it would be like to live so unburdened. The amber liquid swirled in the glass, beckoning him. His wolf whined, reminding him it was possible. It wasn't hard.

"Hey," the witch puffed, reaching the top step and leaning against the stair railing. She gave Aurora a disgusted look. "That pest pulled me everywhere we went, nearly knocked over an old lady. She refused to settle down, and the moment we get in here, she goes to sleep. Rude."

He barked a laugh, surprised by its genuine quality. "Aurora does her own thing. She's a wild animal."

"Hmm, then maybe she should be in the woods?" The wolf stiffened and raised her head. Her ears swiveled towards Thorne, and she growled. "My bad. Forgive me."

Aurora snorted and resumed her nap. "What's up, Thorne?" Please tell me you're here to explain what's wrong with Meribella.

"B asked me to bring her home. She and Dorea wanted to get a swim in since the weather supposed to turn bad tomorrow, and I've been meaning to talk to you anyways."

"Oh," he put the bottle on the coffee table, drawing raised brows from his friend.

"All out of clean dishes?"

"Something like that."

She settled into the recliner and pulled the blanket around her slender frame. "Lincoln asked me to check with the local Circle about magic that would allow a werewolf to circumvent the Alpha bond. Let me tell you, that question raised a few eyebrows."

"You didn't get in trouble did you?"

She shook her head. "No, thankfully the High Priestess knows me and knows of my relationship with Lincoln. After we convinced her it was for research only and not application, she explained it's old magic. Forbidden now. But it is most likely witch magic."

Raff tensed, half filled with excitement, half filled with dread. Until now, witch magic had just been a theory, but this would confirm it. As well as confirm his worst fear.

"You can't break a bond with the same magic it's created with. Apparently, shifters have a similar hierarchy amongst their people, but since they're Fae, Fae magic can't break the bond."

"But witch magic can."

"Witches are descended from angels, and the first bond breaking spell was done as a favor from one witch to another Fae. But it requires the blood of the Alpha to perform the spell, and there were reports that it makes the Alpha unstable- more likely to give into his animalistic tendencies."

The room tilted, and it had nothing to do with the whiskey. He gripped the ends of his hair with his hands and muttered a curse. "Fuck. How unstable? How long does it take to see the side effects?"

Thorne chewed on the end of her thumb. "The High Priestess couldn't be certain. There are different variables involved. A spell that covers one person for a one time break the rules card- it'd be a blip on your radar. But a spell that's made to keep the shifter free indefinitely...or one that's cast over multiple people. I don't know. It's not good."

A growl rumbled in his chest, so deep and fierce that Aurora woke with a yelp, the silvery hairs on her back standing at attention. "It could be the Fae, though. Right? Werewolves aren't descended from the Fae or the witches. What if it's Morgan?"

"I don't think so. The spell was designed by witches for the shifters, and they didn't share it with anyone. There's not any recorded history of it ever being used on the werewolves. You were once druids, right?" He nodded. "That's using nature to perform magic, and your wolf nature was a blessing from the gods?"

His fist left a dent on the coffee table. "The bond we shared with the wolves was a blessing, but what we are now is a curse from the moon goddess. It's not like with shifters; they're as much animal as they are human. They're one being. I can feel my wolf inside of me, like a separate entity."

"Then maybe it'll be different," Thorne insisted. "I don't think the actual spell would've been difficult to manipulate to make it work on werewolves and not shifters. But maybe it won't affect you the same way."

Raff stood up and paced the room. He could feel his wolf straining to break free, the hair on his arms thickening and his nails lengthening. What had he done to her that she would go this far? Put him through this?

"I think it'll be worse. Shifters are as much beast as they are human. They don't fight it. If a spell like that can force an unbalance in them, can you imagine what it will do to a man who is constantly at war with himself?" He thought of the restraint it had taken to ease away from Meribella. Every part of him had demanded his claim her, mate her like an animal, make her his. Only his fierce love for her had stopped him from pushing inside of her. But would it be enough next time?

Thorne had risen from her chair and crossed the room to reach his side. She put a hand on his arm and turned him to face her. "Hey, it's going to be okay. You've got us. We can find the spellcaster and reverse it. But," she hesitated.

"What?"

"I-I think maybe some precautions should be taken. Please don't be mad, but Meribella told me about what almost happened between you two. And from what I've been told, that's only going to get worse. That was before I knew about this."

He sagged against the wall. Aurora whined at his feet. "What do you suggest? Do you have a spell of protection we could use?"

"No, none that would fight against attraction as strong as what's between you two."

"Then, what?"

"I think Meribella should go away for awhile." She spoke in a rush, her dark eyes wide with fear as she waited for his response.

His wolf howled with fury, but he pushed him down, quieting him by force. At least, he could still do that. Raff met Thorne's gaze and smiled sadly as he nodded. "I think you might be right."