Chapter Four
Valerie had never met a rule she liked. So as she strolled through the streets of what she thought of as shifter land, Valerie was hoping to find some delightful trouble.
Instead, she found people who…hurried away from her. Who wouldn’t look her in the eyes. Who acted as if she were the devil himself.
She wasn’t, of course. The man who had that particular distinction was a fellow named Lucas Thorne. An ex-lover that she hadn’t seen in ages. She wondered what he was up to right then. Maybe she could use some help from the devil…
“Don’t let her fool you. She’s only pretty on the outside.”
Valerie’s shoulders stiffened at that overly loud whisper. Her head turned to the right, and she found a group of shifters staring at her. They appeared young, maybe around twenty or so, but, of course, it was hard to tell the true age of a shifter. A blonde female was in the middle of the circle, her lips curled in a smirk. Derision twisted her features as she gave her all into working that smirk.
“Don’t let her touch you,” a redheaded male added in another too dramatic whisper. “She’ll turn you into a frog.”
She was certainly tempted to do so.
“Course, that would be an improvement for you, Rio!” The redhead slapped the back of another shifter, a tall, gangly fellow with too-long, black hair.
The gangly guy stumbled at the hit—one that had obviously been injected with supernatural strength—and he fell, hitting his knees too hard on the ground.
The others in that little group laughed.
“How old are you all?” Valerie snapped at them, as she put her hands on her hips. They were acting like infants.
The blonde female tossed back her hair. “I’ll be twenty next month.”
Old enough to know better.
“How old are you, witch?” The blonde’s gaze raked Valerie. “Because you look positively ancient.”
Oh, hells, no. The girl had not just said that.
The youth on the ground tried to rise, but the blonde gave a little jerk of her chin, and the redheaded goon kicked the fellow once more, sending him crashing into the dirt. The blonde smirked the whole time.
“I don’t like mean children.” Valerie’s voice rang out, loud and echoing. Her special talent.
The group stopped laughing.
She sauntered toward them. Took her time, enjoyed the moment. And enjoyed the absolute hell she was about to wreck. Griffin had said her powers wouldn’t work in this realm. Why not test and see if he was right?
Her hands stretched at her sides, wiggling a bit, and, yes, she felt the surge of power. She glanced down and saw the sparks dancing from her fingertips. “Do you know what happens to mean children?”
“We’re not kids!” The blonde called. Ah, the leader. Such a waste of potential. “I told you, I’ll be twenty soon!”
Good for her. Definitely old enough to know better. Valerie stopped walking. She lifted her hands, knowing they’d all see the sparks. “Do I look like I give a shit what you are?”
A few of them were backing away. Smart. But it wasn’t time to run yet.
“What happens to mean children…” She let her smile stretch, knowing the term would infuriate the group. “I take away the things they value most.”
Silence.
“Like…” Valerie cocked her head. “Beautiful, long blonde hair…hair that doesn’t have to be…there.” A wave of her finger.
And suddenly…half of that long blonde hair was on the ground.
The blonde started screaming.
Valerie snapped her fingers. The hair instantly returned, mostly because it had only been an illusion spell. She kicked ass at illusions. Always had. The blonde was frantically running her hands through her precious locks. “You should be careful,” Valerie warned her. “It’s easy to be pretty on the outside. But things on the outside are never what you think. And in an instant, everything can change.”
The blonde raced away. All of them were rushing away. Except for the kid on the ground. He was staring at Valerie, gazing at her with something like awe on his face.
People didn’t usually look at her that way. They stared at her in horror, gazed at her in terror, but awe? That was new. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one else was lurking there.
Nope. Just her.
“You are amazing.”
She looked back at the boy. Maybe she preened a little bit. “You’re right.” But then she noticed her fingers weren’t sparking any longer. Uh, oh. Maybe magic didn’t work so well here. At least not for anything other than simple spells.
She started to whirl away, but…something was nagging at her. Sighing, long and loudly, she glanced at the boy. “Why are you still on the ground?”
He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and then he shot to his feet. “I, um, I don’t know.”
“You’re a shifter. That means you’re supposed to be all badass.” She waved her fingers into the air. No sparks. Dammit. “Why’d you let them push you around?”
His cheeks turned crimson. “I can’t shift.”
“Come again?”
“I, um, I can’t shift, ma’am.”
He’d just ma’amed her. Oh, the horror. “Why can’t you shift? I mean, you are a shifter, aren’t you?”
A quick nod. “Griffin is giving me until my nineteenth birthday, but if I don’t change by then, I’ll have to leave.”
“When is your nineteenth birthday?”
“In three months.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And if you don’t shift, where will you go?”
Another bob of his Adam’s apple. “To live with humans.”
She could practically smell the fear rolling off him. And she didn’t even have a shifter’s nose. Though, to be fair, she did have enhanced senses, courtesy of a spell she’d worked on herself. “Griffin would turn you away from your home, just because you don’t sprout fur?”
“Yes.”
That was a big, giant black mark for the big, bad beast. “What’s your name? Rio? Is that what they called you?”
He nodded. “M-my mom had me here, then left for Rio. She never came back.”
What the actual fuck? Sparks started to dance from her fingers again. Better. Maybe she just needed the right energy to rev herself up. Rage had always been her favorite fuel.
Rio backed up a step. “They…they think maybe she mated with a human, and that’s why I’m just…this.”
Her gaze swept over him.
“I’m useless,” he whispered. “Not as strong as the others. I don’t fit in, I—”
“I don’t have room for pity.” Her voice was cold. Biting.
He flinched.
“I don’t have room for sob stories.” Her arctic voice rose. “I don’t have room for the weak in my life.”
His whole body was shaking now.
She pointed her sparking fingers at him. “And if you are going to be my newest henchman, you don’t have room for those things, either.”
“I—what?”
Now she walked around him, studying Rio from head to toe. “I am in need of a new henchman.”
“Wh-what’s a henchman?”
Spirits save her… “Do you not get any TV or books in this wretched place? Come on, Rio…think mad scientists, think bad guys. They always have henchmen to help do their evil bidding.” She returned to stand in front of him. “I think we’ve established that I’m evil.”
He just frowned.
“I am the queen of evil.” Valerie was pretty sure she’d once owned a T-shirt that said that very thing. “And you are my henchman. From now on, you will go where I go. You will fight at my side. You will stand between me and danger.”
“I…will?” His eyes were huge. “Why…why me?”
“Because only someone very special can be my henchman. Someone who has power buried deep inside.” She touched his chest, right over his heart. “You have that. I don’t give a shit what the shifter punks say. I see you. I know what you are.”
“And I’m…?”
Another smile. A pleased one this time because she’d just seen his shoulders straighten a little. “You’re my henchman.”
His lips curved in a faint smile.
“Where do you live, henchman?”
And he was suddenly back to flushing dark red. “Um, I, um, the baker down the road lets me stay in the back—”
“That’s why you smell like pastries. Excellent. Go get your things. While you’re packing up, steal me some pastries, and then head toward the castle.” Griffin’s home base. “You’ll have a room there as long as I’m in shifter land.”
“Shifter what?”
“Valerie!” The bellow was absolutely deafening.
Wonderful. Her mate was calling. “I really like chocolate. Get something chocolatey for me, and you’ll win bonus henchman points.” He just stared at her. She shooed him. “Go.” She didn’t want the kid watching what was about to go down. It wasn’t going to be pretty.
She turned away from Rio. Saw the very angry looking king of the beasts heading her way. His hands were clenched at his sides. His eyes were shooting green fire, and Valerie couldn’t remember if she’d ever seen a jaw clenched so tightly.
“You attacked one of my people?” he roared.
Shifters began to fill the streets. Same old, same old. Folks always loved to see a good fight.
“You dared?” Griffin snarled.
“I dare lots of things.” She put her hands on her hips. Lifted her chin. “Is this about the blonde? Because I can assure you…” Dammit, her lips wanted to twitch, but she still had to say, “I never touched a hair on her head.”
His eyes widened. Then he was bounding forward. He was—
“Don’t you touch her!”
Rio had just jumped in front of Valerie. And the young shifter had his hands up. Weak fists, but fists still the same.
Griffin’s jaw dropped.
“I’ll stand between you and danger,” Rio swore, looking back at Valerie quickly. “It’s what a henchman does.”
Oh, my. She blinked a few times. When she focused again, Griffin was towering over her henchman.
“What in the hell are you doing, Rio?” Griffin wanted to know.
“Protecting Valerie. You can’t hurt her. I won’t let you.”
“She’s my fucking mate, kid. Of course, I won’t hurt her. But she doesn’t get to terrorize the shifters in this place, either. She doesn’t get—”
“It’s all right, Rio.” Valerie kept her voice calm. Her heart was racing way too fast. The boy had stood up for her at the first sign of trouble. Definite henchman bonus points. “I need to talk with Griffin. Go over some rules.”
Griffin growled.
She gave him a gracious smile. “I have rules, too, and I think he needs to know about them.”
Griffin’s thick brows climbed.
“I think you were supposed to be retrieving pastries,” she reminded Rio pointedly. “Chocolate just doesn’t conjure itself.” Unfortunately.
Nodding and appearing extremely relieved that he would not, in fact, have to tangle with Griffin in a battle to the death, Rio hurried away. Griffin stared after the fellow with a bemused expression on his face. “Henchman?”
Everyone was still watching. She hated having so many eyes on her. Despite the stories, she wasn’t an exhibitionist. “Let’s go somewhere else,” she said, feeling weariness tug at her. It had been a big twenty-four hours. “Somewhere private.”
And, surprising her, Griffin took her hand. He laced his fingers with hers. And they just walked away. Strolled past the gawking people with their avid stares. He led her away from the town and it was so strange…it was almost, almost like they were a real couple. Or something. And it was—
“As soon as we are alone,” Griffin rasped, “your sweet ass is going to be mine.”
Well, that was certainly promising.
***
The stream flowed against the bed of rocks, and the faint sound of the water normally soothed Griffin. This was his damn spot. The place where he came to in order to regroup. To center himself. To calm down. Only he didn’t feel calm. Not even a little bit. Probably because of her.
“This is quite lovely,” Valerie murmured. “Very scenic.”
She’d kicked off her shoes. The shoes he’d had his staff pick out for her. He’d ordered them to give her pretty much anything she wanted. He’d been good to the woman. He’d turned his back just for a moment so that he could tend to shifter business and bam—she’d been up to no good.
Valerie waded into the water. She laughed. Cackled. “It’s so cold. Icy.” She looked down. “And I think I see tiny fish.” She was still smiling.
Fuck, but the woman was gorgeous. “Valerie.”
“Um?” She closed her eyes. Tipped back her head. Spread her arms at her side. Just seemed to be enjoying the moment of nature.
“Valerie, did you make Lucinda’s hair fall out?”
“Who’s Lucinda?”
He stalked closer to her. She could slip on the rocks nearby, and he didn’t want her to fall. “Lucinda is a cat shifter. Nineteen, niece to my friend Warren LaTriox and—”
“My memory is coming back.” She lowered her arms. Opened her eyes. Gave a nod, but said, “No, I did not make her hair fall out.”
“She said—”
“I just made it look as if her hair had fallen out. A wee payback spell. She was being rather unkind at the time, and if she was going to worry so much about what people looked like on the outside, I thought it was only fair that I play around with her outside appearance.”
“That wasn’t quite fair. You’re a witch. She’s a shifter. She’s—”
“I have rules.” She straightened her shoulders. Angled her chin up at him. “You think you’re the only one who gets to throw out a list?”
He cocked his head. “I didn’t get to provide you with my full list.”
“Joy. I can’t wait to hear the others.”
His lips wanted to curl again. He wasn’t the type to laugh often, and smiling wasn’t usually his thing. On good days, most of his friends would call him grim. A dangerous bastard—that was his description. But when he was with his witch…
Something seemed to change.
“Before you launch into what I am sure is a very, very long list of incredibly boring rules,” Valerie continued, moving closer, “let me tell you mine. K? I only have three total.” She tried to climb out of the stream.
Her foot slipped on the rocks. Before she could fall, he was there. Grabbing her, scooping her into his arms, and holding her tight.
She smiled at him. “I do love shifter reflexes.”
He loved her smile.
Wait, no, shit, he didn’t. He would not be blinded by dimples. Griffin let her go—on solid ground. Then he backed up, crossed his arms over his chest, and worked up a good glower.
She sighed. “Rule one…I don’t like bullies.”
His brow furrowed.
“Goldilocks? She isn’t some sweet, innocent thing. She was the ring leader. They were mocking my henchman.”
What the hell was she talking about?
“Rio,” she said, rolling out the R. “They shoved him down. They were making fun of him. So the kid can’t shift. So what?”
In the shifter world, not being able to shift was a big fucking deal.
She pointed at him. Looked very unpleased. “And you’re going to just kick him out into the cold, cruel world on his next birthday? I thought better of you.”
She had? “Why?”
“Because you’re king! You’re supposed to take care of your people.”
“I do take care of them. I’m not the one working illusion spells and making them have near breakdowns!”
Her lips curled, but her gaze hardened. “You lied to me.”
Now he was the one to stiffen.
“You said magic wouldn’t work here. It does. Or at least, it worked a little.”
He stalked back toward her. No smiles. Only coldness filling him. “You will not work more magic in this place. That is an unbreakable rule. You do it, and—”
“What?” She fluttered her lashes. “You’ll send me away like you’re planning to do to poor Rio? I’m starting to sense a pattern. Something you don’t like—or someone—and bam, that person gets kicked out of shifter paradise.” She sniffed. “Though I don’t really consider it paradise.”
He stepped closer. “Valerie…”
Her hand flew up and pressed to his chest. Seemed to burn right through his skin.
“I have a month here. You already told me that. So I doubt you’ll try to kick me out before the month ends, and our temporary mating goes bye-bye.”
She was right. “I don’t have to kick you out. I can just lock you up.”
He heard the faint catch of her breath. “What?”
“I have a dungeon in my castle. Instead of walking around, enjoying the sunshine, I will put you in that pit.”
She paled.
Griffin…didn’t like himself.
“That’s not very nice,” Valerie said. Disappointment filled her dark eyes. “I thought you might be one of the nice guys.”
“You’re supposed to be the most wicked witch to walk the earth! I don’t think being nice will work with you.” So he was trying to be a hard ass. But her delectable lower lip was trembling. And her shoulders had slumped. And he just—he felt like shit.
This could be a trick. It’s probably a trick. She gets off on tricking people. So he kept his voice flat and ordered sternly, “No magic. You do another spell on my people, and you’ll be locked up for the next month. And I’m going to tell my guardsmen that very fact. If they see you so much as sparking your fingers, they’ll toss you in the dungeon.”
“That’s not a nice way to treat your mate.”
“You used me, Valerie. You knew what I was, who I was, and you worked that to your advantage when we met. You could have healed me without the mating bond—”
“Then I would have died,” she spat at him, real anger flaring. For a moment, her hair blew around her face. Only…there was no wind.
He opened his mouth to tell her no magic—
Then he realized she might not even be aware of what she was doing.
The air around him had heated. Her rage.
Deep inside, he felt his dragon stir.
“I wanted to live,” Valerie continued hotly, “so excuse the hell out of me for thinking on my feet. I saved your ass, and, as payment, you want to toss me away? Lock me up? I thought you might be different. But you’re just another asshole.” Her hair stopped blowing.
Her hand fell away from his chest.
He…missed her touch.
His dragon seethed.
“Don’t you dare glare at me.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m not the type to be intimidated. You think you’re the worst foe I’ve ever come across? Not even close. Though I do think you’re the most ungrateful man I’ve ever met.”
“Valerie—”
“Rule one. My rule one. I don’t tolerate bullies. I spent the first eighteen years of my life being pushed around and punched nearly every damn day, and that shit never will be tolerated by me.”
He opened his mouth and nearly roared, “Who hurt you?”
“Don’t act like you care.” She shook back her glorious mane of hair. “Rule two…I control my own life. No one tells me what to do. I am an unstoppable force.”
“Who hurt you?” He was still stuck on that. And his claws had come out. An instinctive response because he wanted to rip the skin off whoever the bastard had been.
“Rule three…try to listen, would you? Because I don’t want to repeat this again.”
He put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her against him. “Who hurt you?”
“Rule three…If you hurt me, then I hurt you back. Only I will hurt you a dozen times worse. So think about that, remember that, before you ever toss me into a dungeon.” She smiled. Only it wasn’t her sensual, dimple winking smile. It was a shark’s smile. “And to answer the question you keep asking…the people who hurt me are dead. I took care of them myself. Like I said, you hurt me, and I hurt you back times twelve.”
He should step away from her. Back the hell up.
Only everything in him wanted to get closer. She was dangerous, she was infuriating, and she might be crazy but…He wanted her. “If you hadn’t killed them, I would have.”
She blinked. “What?”
He had no fucking clue. Griffin was starting to think he might be going crazy, too. Before he could stop himself, before he could think, his mouth crashed down on hers.