Page 40
Story: Accidentally Vacationed with an Incubus (Briar Coven #2)
For a day that had started as an utter disaster, it was ending in the best possible way.
I was innocent.
Tomorrow, I’d reintroduce Devlin as my mate to my friends, pray he didn’t try to strangle Rowan again, and then we’d finally sit down and figure out who had framed me for my parents’ murders.
There was still grief to process—Ms. Cadmus’s passing had left a hollow ache that wouldn’t be easily filled—but at least Devlin and I had made sure her final moments were spent in the comfort of her home, wrapped in warmth and love. That was something.
And I had found my mate.
It hadn’t happened in any kind of conventional way—nothing in my life ever did—but he was here, and he loved me.
And right now, with Devlin kneeling before me, his palms warm against my knees, the scent of apple pie filling the air, and the promise of a mating bite on the horizon, nothing could possibly ruin—
“Aw,” a familiar voice chirped from the darkness. “You two look absolutely adorable together!”
Devlin was on his feet in an instant, darkness surging from him like a living shadow. Firelight glinted off the curved ridges of his horns, his tail flicking in agitation as he sized up the intruder. A low, warning hiss curled from his lips, every muscle in his body coiled with deadly intent.
“Calm down,” I urged, pressing a hand against his chest before this turned into an all-out bloodbath. “It’s just Lobato.”
“I told you to call me Izzy,” Lobato replied cheerfully, stepping from the shadows, utterly unfazed by the demon poised to impale her.
It was strange seeing her out of her usual crisp suit and tie. Dressed in sweatpants and a tank top, her gold-spun hair twisted into a haphazard bun, she looked more like a college student pulling an all-nighter than the prison warden who had watched over me for years.
“Oh yes,” Devlin drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “The unidentified supernatural creature whose magic suppressed my mate’s powers and kept her from summoning me for nearly a decade. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”
“The very one,” Lobato said, flashing Devlin an equally sarcastic wink.
“Izzy, I completely forgot you were coming tonight,” I said, squinting into the darkness. “I didn’t even hear your car pull up.”
“I flew,” she replied smoothly, lips quirking into a grin that said don’t bother asking follow-up questions.
“Anyway, I just wanted to check in and see how you’ve been adjusting to civilian life.
” She cast a glance toward Devlin, eyes glinting with amusement.
“Judging by the company, I’d say you’re settling in just fine. ”
“Yeah, it’s a long story, but I managed to find my mate,” I said.
Before Lobato could respond, a blur of white shot from the house. BooDini zoomed straight toward her, fabric flapping wildly in excitement, eager to meet the newcomer.
Lobato blinked. “Oh. A... ghost?”
Devlin shot me a smug look. See? Other people think it’s a real ghost too.
“Izzy, this is BooDini. It’s not actually a ghost—it’s the manifestation of the magic that animates my house.”
Lobato crouched slightly, watching as BooDini wobbled excitedly in front of her. “That is both incredibly bizarre and ridiculously adorable.”
BooDini preened at the praise.
A sharp ringing cut through the night air, emanating from the house.
“That’ll be the apple pie,” Devlin muttered. He turned toward Lobato, and, through gritted teeth, asked, “Can I interest you in a slice?”
Yeah. My mate might have wholeheartedly forgiven me for not summoning him for the last nine years, but he certainly didn’t extend that courtesy to the creature responsible for stripping me of my magic and preventing it.
Lobato’s smile widened. “Normally, I wouldn’t be able to resist, but I’m currently on a completely carnivorous diet. Thanks, though.”
Devlin turned expectantly to BooDini, but it was too busy fawning over Lobato to remember it was supposed to be the host. Exhaling sharply, he muttered, “Guess I’ll get the pie,” before trudging into the house.
Lobato plopped down beside me on the couch, stretching out like she owned the place. I offered her a blanket—because, seriously, how was she not freezing in just a tank top?—but she waved it off with a mischievous grin.
“I run hot,” she said, waggling her eyebrows. “So. A mate, huh? I take it he’s treating you well. And how’s the rest of the community been?”
“He is,” I said, casting a glance toward the house where Devlin had disappeared. “And my friends have been amazing actually. They’ve looked over the case, and we think we’ve found proof that someone else was behind my parents’ murders. That I was being framed.”
Lobato’s expression shifted in an instant, amusement sharpening into something far more focused. “You don’t say.”
I gave Lobato a quick rundown of everything we’d uncovered so far.
She listened in silence, her expression flickering between disbelief and deep concentration.
When I finally finished, she leaned back and let out a low whistle.
“You know, Jen, you never struck me as the murdering type. And, believe me, I’ve been in the prison business for centuries—I know the sort. ”
Centuries? What hell kind of creature was she?
“Thanks,” I said dryly. “Good to know.”
“So, what’s your next move?” she asked, stretching her arms like we were discussing weekend plans and not a years-old murder conspiracy.
“Well, that depends on what we find tomorrow,” I admitted. “I could go back to the mortal police, I guess.”
“You’d have my support if you did,” Lobato said, rolling her shoulders.
“Though, fair warning—I’m on sabbatical, so I won’t be reachable for anything between a month and a year.
” A wistful smile crossed her face before her features settled once more.
“But considering it’s likely that a supernatural is behind this, have you thought about going to the sheriff’s department in Headless Hollow? ”
“Yeah, but without solid proof, I doubt we’d get far. It’s a tight-knit community here. My friends and neighbors believe me, but I’m still an outsider.”
Lobato tapped her chin, her eyes narrowing as she glanced toward the cabin. Her gaze landed on the porch, her expression sharpening. “What about CCTV?” she asked, pointing toward the ancient, dust-covered camera mounted above the door. “Didn’t the footage show anything from that night?”
I sighed. “It hasn’t worked in years—not since BooDini got caught on camera helping some burglars steal our TV.”
“That’s... unfortunate. Video footage would go a long way in proving you weren’t responsible.”
BooDini, who had been gleefully orbiting Lobato, suddenly froze mid-hover. Its little sheet body stiffened as though a lightbulb had just flicked on inside its fabric brain.
Then, it dramatically snapped its fingers, and the ancient TV from my bedroom materialized out of thin air, along with the living room coffee table. Trailing wires slithered and whipped excitedly as the TV settled onto the tabletop, and with a final flourish, a black box landed squarely in my lap.
“BooDini!” I scolded, hands flying to my hips. “ The CCTV has been working this entire time ?”
BooDini drooped, its little sheeted form wilting under my glare.
I took a slow, deep breath. Don’t get angry. It didn’t know any better.
“BooDini,” I said, softening my voice. “I didn’t mean to shout. But... can you show us the footage from that night?”
The ghost’s cutout eyes narrowed, and with noticeably less enthusiasm than before, it gave a slow, reluctant wave of its sheet hands.
Wires shot out from the TV, snapping into place and connecting with the box in my lap.
The screen crackled to life, and images whizzed past in a dizzying fast-forward blur.
“Hades’ bollocks!” Devlin shouted from the doorway. I turned just in time to see him stumbling forward, struggling to balance two plates of steaming apple pie. “Where the hell did all these wires come from?”
BooDini waved sheepishly, its corners twitching like a nervous fidget.
“Is that... the CCTV?” Devlin asked, moving toward us as he handed me a plate. “Careful, it’s hot.” Then, with a frown, he added, “I thought you said the CCTV didn’t work?”
I barely noticed the warmth of the plate in my hands, my stomach twisting with nerves. “Turns out BooDini’s been hiding it this whole time.”
Devlin settled beside me, his arm brushing against mine. Even through the fabric of my hoodie, the heat of him seared through me. I forced myself to focus as the screen flickered and the fast-forwarding slowed.
The image steadied, revealing the front porch bathed in eerie, night-vision green. The wooden pillars loomed in the frame, and beyond them, my parents’ car sat motionless in the driveway. The scene was unnervingly still, the silence thick with expectation.
My gaze sharpened, searching for anything out of place. And then— there . A flicker of movement in the tree line. A pair of eyes reflected the night-vision glow from the shadows of the trees.
My throat tightened. Rowan’s spot. The same place he had lurked when he was stalking me .
Had he been lying? Had he tricked Brooke and somehow made his way back?
Then, the foliage parted, and a hooded figure stepped onto the path. Relief flooded me as I took in their frame—they were far too small to be Rowan.
But... if not him, then who ?
The hooded figure moved quickly, gliding toward the porch.
They glanced furtively from side to side before producing a heart-shaped box of candy from their cloak and dropping it onto the welcome mat.
With a quick, precise flick of their wrist, they rapped on the door before turning on their heel and scurrying back into the darkness.
Devlin was right. There was something in the candy... but what?
Table of Contents
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- Page 40 (Reading here)
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