Hexed Hearts Read online

  “Why did you invite them along?” I asked. “I thought they were going up-north for a while?”

  A couple months, actually. I knew that I would miss them in less than a week.

  “Don’t be mean. And you know why they’re still here. They wouldn’t miss it.”

  The “it” was my birthday party. The party Rose was trying to plan today. I avoided thinking about it.

  “I know what you are thinking, Lettie, and you don’t have to be nervous.”

  “I am not nervous. I just don’t like the idea of turning twenty-one.”

  “It will be fine, and then we’ll know for sure if Liam’s your mate.”

  I rolled my eyes at that. I made the mistake of telling Griff when I was twelve that I thought Liam cute. Griff had then told Liam to stop being attractive to me. I pressed my face to my shoulder hiding my grin. I giggled before I could stop from the memory of a scrawny Griff holding Liam by the front of his shirt screaming at him to stop being so attractive to me.

  The idea of being mated to Liam sent a shiver through me. Liam could awaken any girl’s desire, but once someone spent too much time with him, they were usually turned off. Maybe it was just me. I had only ever wanted to be with one person, and I could never have him.

  Unfortunately, our kind doesn’t get to pick their mates.

  When a wolf turns twenty-one, if their mate is also of age, both wolves become instantly aware of each other. According to Rose, I’ll know my mate’s unique scent right away, and my mate will know mine.

  It’s only a matter of time after that.

  However, there was a down side. Each year a pair remained apart, their desire came to consume them all the more. To a mate bonded wolf, the fear they might not find their other half was real.

  It didn’t always used to be this way, though. Way back, witches put a spell on our kind so we could never pick anyone but our destined mate. However, if the love never grows between a fated pair, or if a wolf failed to find its mate, they could always choose another wolf to mate with. But that was before the curse.

  Even in the event we could pick, I knew that Griff could never pick me. And I would never allow him to, either. Griff was an Alpha. He needed a strong mate, one that could be as dangerous and as strong as he was. He needed someone who could rule beside him. I, unfortunately, would never be that person.

  I couldn’t even shift.

  The witches thought they’d blessed us with a gift. We disagreed and thought of it as a curse. But we were smart. We adapted. When a young wolf turns twenty-one, the pack throws a party inviting other packs – a sort of werewolf debut.

  My mind kept circling around one thought: why didn’t Liam and Nick drive with us? I sucked in a sharp breath.

  “Rose! Rose is with them, isn’t she?”

  Griff had the grace to blush. He knew me. He knew I didn’t want this. Any of it. I wasn’t a party person. And...

  “She’s going to make me get a dress. Don’t make me do this. There’s a good chance that I might not even have a mate.”

  I was a half-breed, after all.

  “I am sorry, Lettie, but we can’t take the chance.”

  Griffin climbed out of the car, and I quickly followed suit.

  “Traitor!”

  We moved through the parking lot, Griffin standing close like he always did when we were in public.

  “It’s the only way that we could get you to come. Beside, this is pack tradition and dad said it would be disrespectful for you to show up in jeans. You knew this was coming. But at least we aren’t making you shop with Trisha, and the other she-wolves.”

  That was true. I rolled my eyes at the thought of shopping with Trisha. She thought I was hogging all our males, when she had yet to turn 21. But she was convinced that she was destined to be with Griff or Liam. I thought she was just a little bit crazy.

  Griff pulled open the door and let me walk in first. I inhaled, my werewolf nose scenting each of our friends. I walked in their direction and in moments they came into view.

  Liam and Nick stood on each side of a pleased Rose. Liam almost as tall and broad as Griff, always seemed to be sporting a bit of light brown scruff on his chin. I found it slightly surprising he hadn’t cleaned up for Rose, who was a stickler for those types of things. His light brown eyes matched his hair. His nose was a little off center. That’s what he got for breaking it one too many times.

  Nick grinned at me—he rarely frowned. I was convinced when I first met him that his face was permanently stuck in a smile. He had the blondest hair that I had ever seen and hazel eyes. He was lean and a bit shorter than most male wolves at six feet tall. He was strong. Even at this distance, I could see his corded muscles under tattooed skin.

  Rose smiled at me, and from her look, I knew she was the one who planned this. She had brown hair, long like mine. Her hair though was always in loose curls. She was beautiful, with green eyes and the warmth of a mother.

  “Well, doll,” Nick said, “looks like you are not kicking and screaming. Did he do his pack-bond mojo on you?” Nick asked with a wink as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Griff gave him room.

  I was more open about my fears from all those years ago. Griff usually keep it inside until he felt like he would burst. When he felt like that, he and I would go somewhere. We’d disappear. I was the only one that he was truly open with, but only because he couldn’t hide it from me. Pack bond goes both ways. So I knew why he hid his emotions from others. He had to because he would be Alpha one day.

  “No. I’m just a little slow today. Didn’t figure out the plan until we were already here. I decided the best way to deal would be to forget that my birthday is coming up at all.”

  I heard Rose tsk, but she didn’t say anything. She was watching Griff and me closely. I knew what she was thinking. She was thinking about the conversation we had a couple nights before. Dread soured my stomach when I thought of it. A female tries not to think about what would happen if her soul mate isn’t from her pack. But Rose wanted to make sure I was aware and prepared. If my mate was from another pack, I would have to leave. And I wasn’t sure if I could.

  I loved everyone in the pack, and they accepted me and loved me as their own. Rose had taken me in as her own daughter, Keith was an amazing dad, and I had Griff and the boys.

  I wasn’t sure that I even wanted a mate. This was so natural for the rest of them because they knew the loneliness of their inner wolf. Mine was so quiet, I couldn’t.

  Of course, I could luck out and my mate could not even be born yet. Unfortunately, the witches curse didn’t kick in until both mates had reached twenty-one. If my mate was older, nothing would have happened on his twenty-first birthday... but on mine, he’d be filled with my scent and know I was ready to be found.

  “Come, child, we need to get you a dress, and I have a feeling you are not going to make this easy on me.”

  Rose reached for me and started to pull me along to dress stores. I looked back at my friends and they were all waving.

  “Don’t mind them. They are going to eat and then meet us in a little while. Isaac said someone needed to be with us,” she winked at me.

  “But Isaac never said we had to be in the same room.

  Chapter 3 — The Dress Age Me

  “Ugh,” I groaned. There was no way that the sales woman wasn’t completely freaked out by the sounds coming from my dressing room. I hated dress shopping, which is something women say that all the time. I honestly hated it. TV shows always made it seem like such an easy in and out sort of thing. Not going into thirteen different stores, trying on to the bare minimum five dresses at each of those stores, and taking forever doing it.

  It was an endless battle of tulle, cotton, knock-off silk and other fabrics. Sweat started to form under my arms. I felt sticky, and I knew that I needed more deodorant. The healthy amount I put on before we left apparently wasn’t cut out for dress shopping either. It didn’t help that the rooms were small, enclosed, and uncomfortab
ly warm.

  “Lettie? You okay?” Griff asked quietly. It was probably quiet enough that humans couldn’t hear it, but sometimes that’s hard for me to gauge.

  “Yeah, but if I don’t come out in five minutes, the dress ate me.”

  The boys, and Rose too, started to laugh at my snarky response. I could only imagine the look on the sales associate’s face. Not being able our inaudible whispers, she probably wondered why they all started laughing at the same time. As their laughter died down, Rose tsked me again.

  “Stop complaining, young lady. Get out here now so I can see how this one fits.”

  I blew my dark brown bangs out of my eyes. I stared at my reflection and scrunched my nose. I didn’t know how I felt about it. Its deep maroon and modest front ended in a deep scooped back, which freaked me out. I twisted on the ball of my foot and stared at my exposed back.

  I would have to wear a weird front only bra. I sighed.

  The dress puddled at my feet and I had to lift it a couple inches just to walk. I could already hear Rose telling me how that could be solved with high heels. And not just any high heels. High-high heels.

  If there was anything worse than dresses, it was high heels. They were torture devices designed to prevent women from running away.

  I came out my head bowed as I smoothed out the silky fabric. I looked up all three of them did a double take, their eyes widening as they stared. Liam tried to recover, but he was grasping, and he ended up just shaking his head in disbelief. Rose walked around me, and nodded approvingly. She kept making small noises, and talking to herself.

  They all looked at me blankly and I could feel my face burn. Not a single one said anything. I looked at the ground.

  “Jeez, guys, you don’t have to be so mean about it. I’ll try on another…”

  “No!” Rose called out before I could turn away.

  I brushed my thick hair out of my face, careful to keep my arms down in fear of the dreaded pit stain.

  “You look stunning, dear.”

  Rose’s glance went from the top of my head down to my toes. I squirmed.

  I blushed fiercely. I started to turn to go back in when I heard the boys take in a sharp breath. I looked over my shoulder at them.

  “You can’t wear that,” Griffin said.

  “What do you mean, dear? It’s perfect.”

  Rose stood in front of me again. Her hands in front of her mouth trying to contain her excitement.

  “Mom, do you even see her? Look at that dress. There’s no back to it!”

  “Oh pish-posh, you have seen her more naked than this. Last week if I recall you went to the lake. That bikini covered less than that dress. And it’s perfect.”

  “Damn,” Liam said.

  “Wow,” Nick said, his comment coming right after Liam’s.

  My face scrunched up as I looked at both of them. I waited for the taunts of my pack mates. My gaze turned to Griffin. The look on his face was a mixture of physical appreciation mixed with protectiveness. I scrunched my nose.

  “That’s the dress. Sweetheart, go take it off.” Rose encouraged me gently as I turned back to the dressing room, and looked in the mirror. There had to be something I was missing. My back, while I never had a problem with it before now, seemed riddled with moles – or beauty marks as Rose calls them… and the dress itself was way too long.

  ****

  “Colette, Griffin.”

  We looked at each other wondering what we had done wrong now. Keith was calling us downstairs. Keith paced the front room. My brows furrowed as I followed his movements. His fist were clenched and his back was tight.

  “Keith,” Griffin said.

  “Rose dropped off your dress today,” Keith said. His wolf’s eyes were peeking through his human façade. Oh boy.

  I lowered my eyes and turned my head slightly. Griff didn’t move. Technically, he didn’t have to, but it was a sign of respect. If human girls think protective human fathers were bad with shotguns, they know nothing. Werewolf males were not known for their tame tempers. On top of that, I had a whole pack of wolves that were basically uncles and brothers.

  “I cannot believe you let her get such a revealing dress!”

  Griffin’s stance tightened and his eyes flashed.

  “I didn’t! Rose helped pick it out. Plus you never know, I might not even meet the guy that night. I might not even have a mate. And you will be there. You can stand right behind me the whole time.”

  As always, I tried to misdirect attention to anything but the real problem. I hoped that I could distract him enough.

  Keith looked to the dress then back at me. His shoulders dropped and he let out a deep sigh.

  “Colette.”

  I twisted my lips upward.

  “No big deal boys.”

  The heat of Griff’s hand swam across my back. I looked over at him and saw his eyes squinted. I knew he was trying use our bond to understand the conflicting emotions running through me.

  Keith looked to me, then to Griff, something racing behind his eyes so quickly I couldn’t recognize it before it was gone. Keith let out an exasperated sound and turned his head away from us. He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forehead. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, and then he just walked away.

  “It’s okay Lettie, don’t cry.”

  I hadn’t realized that I had been.

  Keith’s frustration left me feeling hollow. I knew that avoidance was a trait I picked up from him, but this felt different. I could have sworn there was more he wanted to say. Of course he recognized the fear I had expressed through humor, but he didn’t know how to respond. Keith had lived his life without his mate, who had passed away, so he understood the pain that could be mine one day. As Griffin held me, and I felt our bond taking over. His need to comfort me overwhelmed anything else.

  “Lettie, you know how this is for the men of the pack. We get a chance to find our mate and the pack gains a daughter. For you, though, we might have to let you go. Keith will have to let you go. You are the only child he’ll ever have. He’s probably scared. I know I’m terrified,” he whispered this all while swaying me back and forth.

  I knew it hurt him to confess this. And it also brought forth a fear we all had. What would happen if my mate wasn’t in our pack? I look up at my best friend, my brother, my pack-bond buddy. The man who taught me how to pick locks, to laugh again, that made my childhood wonderful.

  How could I survive without him?

  ****

  “I hate today,” I grumbled to Keith as we walked into town. Keith kept me securely under his arm as we walked.

  “You usually don’t hate Saturdays, why’s today so special?”

  I could hear the smile in his voice, but I didn’t look at him. I knew I was being more grumbly than usual, but I hadn’t slept well the whole week leading up to my birthday. For years my dreams were trapped in that cage. For years I was tormented by my memories. Now they had changed drastically. I dreamed of a beautiful, sleek black he-wolf. Then a woman. A woman who looked a whole hell of a lot like me. She exuded power. In the dream, I instinctively knew she was a witch.

  I felt Keith’s arm tighten, and his hand under my chin forced me to look him in eyes reflecting exactly what I felt. Fear, pain and sorrow. My fears were morphing while his remained the same. I wrapped my arms around him and hid in his chest, much like I did the first time we met.

  “What’s it like? Recognizing them?”

  I knew that Keith didn’t like to talk about his mate. But I hoped that it would help me move past that fear. And I wondered if that he-wolf from my dream was related to my stormy emotions surrounding my birthday.

  “It hits you like a tidal wave. A scent unfamiliar that fills you completely, and then leaves you just as fast.”

  His eyes took on a distance, and I could see the warmth of the memory he gazed upon. Then he came back, shaking his head.

  “Then your instincts lead you to them. Don’t worry too much ab
out it. Whatever happens, we won’t stop loving you.”

  I knew that. Griffin, and Liam still waited for that moment, even though they were both twenty-three. I couldn’t get rid of a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  It felt like after tonight my life would never be the same.

  ****

  I looked in the mirror, willing the woman there to resemble me in some way. I lifted my arm to touch the bold ringlets and the reflection did the same thing. I shook my head trying to dislodge the shock. Nothing snapped me out of it. The illusion was persistent. The dress fit my curves snuggly, even if the slit had been heavily modified.

  I kept looking at a much more beautiful version of me. The dress had changed, drastically. I now understood Keith’s explosive reaction.

  I grabbed the silky material in my hand. When Rose had revealed it to me, I could have caught flies. The length had extremely shortened. A dress that once puddled at my feet now barely brushed the top of my feet. Rose had bought me deadly looking high-high heels to go with the dress. They were sleek, black, and looked like they wanted to attack me. I didn’t dare put them on until I was down the stairs and had someone to hold onto.

  The dress started from the bottom left hand side, and opened a few inches above my knee. I scrunched my nose, both cautious and a bit frustrated as I experimentally bared my left leg. I flushed looking down at the shaved, lotioned, and pampered leg. Rose had come around four o’clock to do my make-up and hair. When she got here I didn’t even realize what she planned to do to me. The thought of her showing up at four for a party that started at eight was a little insane, but I did as she asked.

  If Rose asked, I would do it. She was the mother I never had and I loved her dearly. The times growing up I needed a woman and Keith so was obviously out of his depth, she was there for me. I laughed at the memory of Keith’s face when I asked him about feminine problems.

  “Colette,” Isaac’s voice boomed.