Signed in Incubus: A Paranormal Monster Romance (Possessive Monsters Book 6)

Chapter 26

Penny

I woke up alone.

The home was eerily quiet, with no sign of Prax anywhere. I looked outside and immediately saw that his vehicle was not parked in its usual spot downstairs. A sick, sinking feeling settled in my belly.

I went back to the bedroom to grab my phone, and there, under my device, was an envelope with my name on it. The sinking feeling grew until it felt like I’d swallowed a truckful of lead. With trembling hands, I opened the envelope, hoping it wasn’t what I thought it was.

It was.

I couldn’t decide what was more hurtful. Prax ending our time together with a Dear Jane, or him starting the letter by thanking me “for a good time.” Who the hell does that? It made it feel as if what we had shared was nothing more than unimportant fun. Maybe that was all it had been for him: a good time. And now that he’d gotten his jollies, he was off looking for something else.

Why was I so surprised? I’d known what he was from the beginning. I’d also known that he wouldn’t settle down. Prax was an incubus. I couldn’t expect him to deny his very nature.

Tears blurred my vision as I continued reading. He called what we were doing “playing house” and said that while it was “enjoyable,” he wanted his freedom again, please and thank you. Domestic bliss wasn’t “as much fun as he thought it would be.”

He went on to say that he’d gotten confirmation from a reputable wizard that nullifying the spell would leave most of his memories intact. The only ones he’d lose would be those associated with me, and he didn’t mind losing those anymore.

He told me I could keep the necklace or sell it if I wanted—he didn’t care—then ended by saying I knew his number and to call him if I wanted a good time after I nullified the spell. He might not remember me, but he was sure we’d have fun. But it was very clear that wild, sexy times were all he could offer me.

Hot tears hit the page, and I crumpled the paper up and hurled it across the room, suddenly very angry at myself for getting so attached so soon. I was so stupid; very, very stupid!

What had I expected to happen? That I’d be able to keep Prax, an incubus, forever, and he’d end up being my perfect man? I already knew the spell had fucked up, so why had I thought it would be right about him?

At least he left a note instead of just disappearing on me, like Travis.

He wanted his freedom, did he? Fine! He’d get his freedom. It was better this way, anyway. Two weeks of happiness had served its purpose: I’d gotten over Travis really freaking fast. That had been the whole point, hadn’t it?

Hadn’t he said he liked to comfort heartbroken women? Well, he’d done his job admirably. It was my fault for thinking it was anything more.

It was for the best that he did this now before I fell in love with him. Because I wasn’t in love with him. It was way too soon for that. It had been a fling, nothing more. Like, what type of stupid idiot falls in love with someone after only two weeks. Two amazing weeks where we barely left each other’s side.

Who the fuck was I kidding. I was exactly that type of stupid idiot.

Before the negative self-talk could spiral and snowball into something bigger, I forced myself to take a breath and step away for a better look. I refused to believe that the last two weeks had been a mistake. Because they hadn’t been! Look at all the positive changes I’d made!

I had my own place and was making my own decisions now. I had friends who cared about me, and I lived in Darlington, a place where I could practice magic freely. I’d also sent a very clear message to my family that I was my own person. I felt free for the first in a very long time.

And I had done it all with Prax by my side. So there: I decided that no matter what happened, no matter how he thought of it, I would always see the last two weeks as a good thing.

Perhaps the universe had known I needed a little extra help and support and had sent me an incubus instead of an angel. He’d done his job, and he’d done it well. I didn’t need him anymore, so he was gone, his job as my temporary cheerleader over and done with.

Framing it like that made it easier. And I realized that perhaps I’d matured a bit in the last two weeks as well.

I went over and picked up the crumpled letter, straightened it back out, and put it into the envelope. Then I tucked the envelope into the very back of my top dresser drawer. Next, I sent a message to our little group chat, explaining to Gigi and Lily what had happened and asking them when they were free to help me nullify the love-finder spell.

Lily, who was working from home again today, called me back immediately. She was initially pissed off that Prax had left me, but I told her not to be. I explained that I didn’t want anything negative to taint the last two weeks. I wanted to preserve the happy memories of coming to Darlington, getting over an ex, and having an exciting fling with a new man who, along with my friends, had helped me break away from my family and set out on my own. That was the narrative I wanted to keep.

“Okay. I understand,” Lily said after I’d finished my explanation. “That does sound like a very mature way to look at it.”

“I’m still going to miss him, of course,” I admitted. “But I guess I should have seen it coming. He is an incubus, after all. I don’t know what I thought would happen.”

“It’s not your fault. He sure fooled us. He emulated caring about you very well. I guess that’s what they do, isn’t it? Emulate human behavior?”

“I guess. Listen, once we get this done and dusted, and he forgets about me, if we ever bump into him, we have to be civil about it. Remember, he won’t remember me. So no giving him the stink eye. And absolutely no hexes.”

“Got it on the hexes,” Lily agreed. “I can’t promise about the stink eye. What if he comes on to you again? You said he invited you to call him for a good time. Are you going to do it?”

Easy answer. “No. I’m not sure I can keep it strictly friends with benefits, not after what happened between us. And I’m not a masochist. No, I think it’s best if I don’t see him at all.”

I knew that might be difficult since we both lived in Darlington, and he knew the owner of the building as well as our upstairs neighbors. We might well end up bumping into each other. But if he didn’t remember me, I wouldn’t try to approach him.

There was a beep on the line. I checked the screen quickly.

“It’s Gigi.”

“Let’s do a three-way!” Lily sing-songed.

I chuckled, then took a deep breath and got ready to explain things all over again.

The three of us nullified the love-finder spell that very evening. Just as not_a_wizard had said, it was a magic-intensive but simple procedure. Just in case it didn’t work, we alerted both Daryl and my gargoyle neighbor Griff upstairs.

When no one came to bother me for three whole days—except for Emily, Griff’s mate, who came downstairs with ice cream and wine when she found out about Prax leaving—we called the operation a success.

In an attempt to keep my mind off Prax, I dove into my work.

Emily introduced me to a local dressmaker named Shelby, who was a total whiz at social media marketing. She gave me some tips, and we helped each other create a few posts. I saw a slight uptick in the sales of my tutorials immediately.

I filmed not just one or two new tutorials but a whole new series, and it all needed to be edited. I didn’t want to do it at home since everything there reminded me of Prax, so I took my laptop over to The Witch’s Brew.

The boost in new business Gigi had been experiencing, thanks to the news coverage of the fight, was just tailing off. She’d been right about not worrying about bad publicity.

Every time the bell on the door jingled, signaling a new customer, I couldn’t help but look up, hoping it was a certain incubus. It never was. He never called, either.

It was here, at Griselda’s bustling little magical haven, that Travis found me on a blustery Wednesday afternoon.

Griselda caught my eye immediately and started coming around the counter, her intent to kick the asshole out plain on her face. I shook my head, curious to see what this idiot wanted.

“You are a very difficult woman to find,” Travis said, fixing his windblown hair in the reflection of a nearby mirror. He moved my bag over without bothering to ask if he could and sat down next to me.

“Maybe you just suck at looking.”

“Oh no. I looked hard. I even hired a wizard to find you when your parents told me you’d moved out and weren’t answering their calls.”

Interesting. The concealment spell must have stopped his wizard from finding me.

I shrugged dismissively. “They had people coming in looking to rent the place, so I assumed that I wasn’t welcome anymore. Why are you here, Travis?” I kept my voice soft and monotone.

“I wanted to apologize in person. I’m sorry for ditching you.”

“Thank you. Apology accepted. Now you can leave.” Accepting his apology didn’t mean we were together again. There was no way that would happen. He must know that…right?

“Oh, come on, Penelope. You can’t let one tiny mistake overshadow two years together.”

Two years, yet it felt like nothing at all. In hindsight, I couldn’t believe how superficial our interactions had been. We were good together on paper, so we did what we were expected to do: we dated, he proposed, and I said yes. The next step was to get married and pop out two-point-five kids.

But Travis never inspired me to grow as a person, even though it had been clear that he hated my parents’ meddling too. It was like we were each other’s accessory to the picture-perfect life. Nothing more. I wondered how long we would’ve lasted before we were miserable like my parents.

“Leaving someone at the altar is not one tiny mistake.”

“But you don’t know the truth yet.”

“Then please enlighten me. I’m all ears.”

“It wasn’t my fault. Deanna started all this.”

I did my best to keep my face neutral. Why did it always come back to her?

“Travis, I saw the photo,” I said. “I’m pretty sure my cousin didn’t drag you from the wedding venue to Vegas and throw a bunch of hookers on your lap.”

“No, I mean, she told me you were infertile, and you were keeping it from me, and said that the big family inheritance would go to her alone since she’s the only one who’ll be having kids.”

What a load of bull. From what I knew, Granddad was still healthy and spry, and his fortune was being split up evenly amongst his children and grandchildren. This way, no one person would get immensely rich from his death—and it prevented anyone from trying to access the fortune sooner by way of an “accident”.

“You left me over some fake inheritance? She totally made that up.”

“Well, she also said she’d always had the biggest crush on me and promised I’d get half if I married her instead.”

I nearly spat my coffee out all over my laptop. When she first found out Travis and I were dating, Deanna made it very clear she thought she could do so much better.

“Holy shit, you really are dumb. Let me guess, Travis, the second you fucked over our relationship, she told you to beat it, right?”

He didn”t need to reply. His face said it all. “So, you see. It’s not my fault. Not really.”

“Are you fucking serious? She didn”t hold you at gunpoint. It totally is your fault. Plus, you just admitted that you left me for the promise of money—fictional money, I might add. You’ve said your piece, Travis. Now leave.”

Gigi was now standing behind him, her hands on her hips. “Yeah, dumbass. Out.”

For a moment, Travis looked like he was about to kick up a fuss, but he thought better of it when Gigi waved a hand. His eyes went wide, and he looked down in a panic. Invisible hands were lifting him up by his underwear.

“OK,” he squeaked. “I’m leaving. I’m leaving.”

He scrambled out the door, throwing a final “Crazy witch!” over his shoulder as the door closed behind him.

I blew out a long, exasperated breath. “I can’t believe he told me that like it would justify his actions. He really is completely clueless.”

“So…Deanna again, huh?” Gigi sat in the chair Travis had just vacated. “What’s that bitch got against you, anyway?”

“No freaking clue. She’s been needlessly competitive with me most of our lives. One-upmanship is a family tradition on both sides. She just takes it really seriously, I guess.”

“Well, at least now you know why he took off. And good for you for not taking him back. I was worried you’d be weak because you’re missing he-who-shall-not-be-named.”

“Are you kidding? There’s no way I’d get back together with someone who embarrassed me like that unless he did it to save my life or something—like, if he’d consulted a powerful seer, and she’d told him that I’d be in grave danger if we got married, and that’s why he got cold feet. Then maybe I’d give him another chance.”

Gigi looked pensive for a moment; then, a crafty look crossed her face.

“What is it?” I did not trust that look. She was up to something.

“What do you mean? Nothing.”

“Bullshit. I recognize that look, Gigi. You just thought of something.”

“Please. I’m thinking of something all the time.”

Before I could press her further, the bell over the door jangled again, and a group of office workers came in. Gigi went back behind the counter to get them their afternoon caffeine fix.