Page 23 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King (The Bewitching Hour #7)

The girls had been gone all day, and surprisingly, I was okay. I’d issued a warning and a curfew to the coven after we’d encountered the mist wolf, but there was only so much I could enforce. If no one wanted to listen, all I could do was hope that they wouldn’t find themselves in an early grave.

When it came to my mother though, there was absolutely no telling her what to do, especially during Halloween. This was the first time I’d seen her excited since my father passed away, and I didn’t want to take this from her too.

Plus, I knew they were buying Maple a dress for the Halloween masquerade, and that helped me feel a little better.

My mother was a powerful divination witch; she would feel something coming if anything was out to get them.

Thankfully, all the bad things that had happened were at night and close to the woods.

As long as they stayed in the city, I didn’t have as much to worry about.

We had patrols and even a few extra wards up, but still… I paced.

The truth was, I just missed her. I wanted to know if she found the right dress and how it made her feel. I wanted to know what they ate for lunch and if she was finally enjoying herself here.

I wanted to know as much about her as possible.

How her family was growing up, and her friends.

I yearned to know more about her magic and how it was growing up as the black sheep.

I wondered if her magic wasn’t like the others in her coven, and that was why they shunned her.

I also wondered if that was why she speak of it or show it off.

I hoped she laughed today. Real laughter, not the nervous, polite kind.

I wanted her to feel wanted and chosen.

Because she was.

Not by the arrangement or the silly contract, but in actuality. I wanted her to know that this wasn’t just some agreement. It was truth.

I didn’t care if her magic was different or dormant or dangerously wild. Whatever it was, it was hers and it called to me like nothing else ever had, and that scared the hell out of me.

Louis marched into my office without knocking, which didn’t surprise me anymore.

“Okay, so what have we found out?”

I frowned. “Louis, I’m tired of going in circles with you. Don’t you have something better to do with your life?”

He scowled, which pulled the scar on his face. “No one will go on dates until all this wolf stuff is figured out, so no, I won’t be doing anything better for the foreseeable future.”

I made a face. “Who are you trying to go on dates with? Most of the women in these compound walls want out of them.”

His lips twisted. “Did you know there were some fine ass witches in the Norco area?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, I didn’t because I’m not on witch dating apps.”

He nodded slowly. “I forgot you were already married. Bummer.”

“I know you didn’t just say that,” I muttered.

He held his hands up. “I just mean it sucks that you don’t get all the perks that come with marriage, but you are married.”

I closed my eyes. “Thanks for the reminder.”

He leaned in the doorway as I opened my eyes and fixed a deadpan stare on him. “I mean, don’t you have needs ?”

“If you don’t find somewhere to be, you’re going to find yourself in an early grave, Louis.”

He shook his head at me. “You’re all talk, my man.”

This time, I allowed my shadows to crawl across the floor. He jumped as one of them ran a fingertip over his bare ankle. “Okay, okay. I believe you. I just want to help.”

I sighed. “There’s nothing to do but prepare my father for his funeral.”

He straightened. “Do you need me to call around or something?”

I nodded my head as I rifled through a few papers on my desk before I came up with another list. “Can you give these a call? I need the jazz band lined up with a date and a time.”

He saluted me, to which I rolled my eyes. “Of course!” He took the list and glanced at it. “You want the brass band from that spot on Bourbon or the ones who did Jake’s sister’s ceremony?”

“The Bourbon group. My father always said they played like they were raising the dead.”

Louis grinned. “Perfect vibe for a sendoff.”

He disappeared into the hallway, and I felt my shoulders droop. My thoughts wandered back to Maple, and I wondered if she would come visit me when they made it back. I stood up from my desk and decided that I would wait for her.

So instead of pacing in my office, I found myself pacing in the hallway in front of her room.

I hated that she was so far from my quarters, on the other side of the compound.

Whoever put her here really had it out for me.

I snickered as I thought about moving her to one of the apartments closest to me.

Then I had to remind myself that I didn’t exactly want a scandal, and that would certainly cause one.

I tugged on one of the locs of hair hanging over my shoulders as I checked my watch for the fifth time. It was almost ten p.m. What on earth could they be doing this late? Were they okay? Were they in trouble? Was she back already, and I was too much of a chicken to knock on her door?

What was wrong with me?

I was the Voodoo King. The youngest leader in two generations. I’d fought demons in the form of cats, broken hexes, and led rituals by moonlight in the bayou. And here I was, trying not to knock on a girl’s door because I didn’t want to seem desperate.

I was pathetic, that’s what I was.

Just as I turned to head back to my room—to save what little dignity I had left—I heard footsteps and soft laughter.

She turned the corner, dress bag still hooked over one arm, with the fading light catching the edge of her cheekbones. She was smiling up at my sister, and something ripped open inside of my chest. Did she look at me like that? Would she ever look at me like that?

She didn’t see me at first.

But I saw her and I never wanted to stop staring. When I stopped staring at her face, I realized she was juggling more shopping bags and boxes. I sprang to attention and rushed forward to grab them from her hands.

She blinked up at me, clearly startled. “Rune?”

“I’ve got it,” I said, taking the heaviest bags from her arms before she could argue.

“You didn’t have to?—”

“I know.”

Her lips parted like she might say something else, but then Adelle cleared her throat behind us.

“I’m going to, uh, take these other bags to my room.

Maple, I’ll grab you in the morning for breakfast. I know you said Rune brought you to the best place in all of New Orleans, but I beg to differ.

Criollo has beignets with a praline dipping sauce, and that’s way better than anything shaken in a bag. ”

“As long as Maple has a good time, I don’t care,” I said as she left us alone.

“Did you have a good day?” I asked, quieter now.

She nodded, fingers fidgeting slightly at her side. “I did. It was… more than I expected.”

My gaze dropped to the dress bag. “Did you find the one?”

A soft smile touched her lips. “I think it found me.”

I swallowed hard. “I’d like to see it.”

Her eyes flicked up to mine, and something in her expression shifted—shyness laced with something heavier. “You’ll have to wait. It’s a surprise.”

She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and turned toward her door.

I didn’t want her to go. Not yet. Not with the smell of jasmine and sugar still clinging to her, not with the warmth of her laughter still echoing in my chest. I helped her put her things into her room and backed into the hallway reluctantly.

She paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Goodnight, Rune.”

“Goodnight, Maple.”

“Wait,” I practically shouted, and she turned back to me with surprise and curiosity. “I know I said I wanted to take it slow, but I just can’t do that anymore. At least not tonight.”

Before I could talk myself out of it, I took the bag out of her hands and tossed it into her room with everything else and pressed her against the wall.

“Is this okay?” I whispered as I pushed my fingers into her hair and lowered my mouth to hers.

She nodded as her eyes began to close, and it was all the permission I needed. I kissed her as if I were a starving man. She tasted like powdered sugar and sunlight.

Her hands found my shoulders and then my jaw, like she needed to memorize every part of me. I ran the tip of my tongue against the seam of her lips, and she parted for me with a moan that went straight down my spine.

I pressed closer, one hand braced beside her head while the other slid to her waist, fingers flexing instinctively like I needed to claim every inch of her.

The kiss became more desperate, more heated with every swipe of our tongues.

She tasted and felt like heaven, and I didn’t want this moment to end.

I lifted her off the floor, one hand curling around her thigh as she wrapped herself around me.

I kicked the door shut behind us, the soft click barely audible over the rush of blood in my ears.

I pushed the shopping bags out of the way with my foot and somehow made it to the bed without dropping her or falling.

I released her to the edge of her bed, and a soft sound left her lips. I stood there for half a second, just staring at her—lips swollen, chest rising and falling fast, her hair fanned out around her face in the most delicious way.

I leaned over her slowly, bracing myself with one hand as the other slid along her calf, coaxing her legs apart. She pulled me down to her and ran her hands up the inside of my shirt. Her nails teased my skin gently.

Our mouths met again, but this time it was full of desperation. It was a war of wills. Her hips rose to meet mine, and I groaned into the kiss, grinding down just enough to feel how ready she was for me.

My breathing was rapid as her hands ran all over my body. I didn’t know how much longer I could take this slow torture.

A banging on the door had us ripping apart. “Rune?” Louis shouted on the other side. At least it wasn’t Babette. I’d had about enough of her.

I blew out a breath as I untangled myself from Maple. I tried to straighten my shirt and readjust myself before I pulled the door open.

Louis stood on the other side of the door, his hair wild around his head as if he’d just woken up. I was ready to light into him until I saw the panic in his eyes.

“What is it?”

Louis grimaced. “I know I told you that you had needs and all of that jazz…”

“Get on with it, Louis.” I snapped. He would ramble all night if I let him before he got to the actual point.

He shook his head as if he didn’t know how to explain it. “There was an attack in the Quarter.”

My heart stopped, and I was moving. I didn’t care about anything else. My people were at risk. “Walk and talk.”

I took a few steps backwards as I remembered there was unfinished business in the middle of Maple’s bed.

I let out a breath. That was a close one.

I couldn’t believe I’d been so reckless.

I hadn’t wanted a scandal, but here I was, making a scandal.

Maple stared at me with wide eyes as she sat on the corner of her bed.

“Do not open this door unless Adelle or my mother are on the other side, okay?”

She nodded once, and I closed the door behind me and caught up with Louis at the end of the hall. “Okay, I’m ready. What happened?”

“Wolves, I’m guessing. Some of the witnesses said there was a dense fog before people began screaming.”

“Death toll?” I didn’t want to know, but I needed to.

He shook his head. “Whoever they took, they didn’t leave behind bodies.”

My nostrils flared as I considered this. “We need a head count on the coven, and everyone needs to check on their loved ones. We need to know who’s missing.”

“You’ve got it. What else do you need from me?”

I shook my head. Until we found out who was missing, I didn’t know. “Looks like we will be going to the woods a lot sooner than we planned.”

Louis grabbed my shoulders. “That’s foolish, and you know it. The full moon is just a few weeks away, we need to wait it out until we are at our most powerful.”

“Our people don’t have weeks if they’re still alive!” I snapped.

“This was a calculated move; they took the witches for a reason, Rune. We have time on our side. They aren’t going to take if they don’t need something. It’s been senseless killing for months now. This is different. Think! ”

“What if it’s a trap?” I finally asked after a beat.

“Then you would be walking into it half-cocked.”

“Fine,” I ground my teeth together.

The courtyard was full of chaos as everyone spoke at once. I closed my eyes for a minute to get my head on straight.

Louis moved beside me, already taking notes, and texting away on his phone. “Adelle just reported in—she’s fine. She and your mother are doing a sweep of the river path.”

“Good,” I muttered. “Keep me updated. I want to speak to anyone who saw it firsthand.”

“I’ll find them.” He paused. “And Rune?”

“What?”

“You should probably consider sending Maple home,” his voice was sad as he said it.

“Why?”

He looked down at his phone as another update came through. “Because if those wolves come calling, they’re going to find her first. I don’t know how I know, but it's a strong feeling. You need to get her out of here if she isn’t going to be able to help.”

My lips thinned out. “She came here to help!”

Louis patted my shoulder. “Has she managed to help yet? She’s a liability, a distraction.”

“I’m not making her leave,” I knew the moment I did that I would lose her.

She would assume it was because I didn’t want her here, and that wasn’t it at all.

We needed to continue on as if everything was normal.

We needed to prepare for the masquerade.

We needed to continue to gather supplies for the full moon, and then we would discuss the rest.