Chapter 9 - Donna
All I can possibly stomach right now is a cup of herbal tea, even if I haven’t had anything to eat since last night.
Even that was barely a handful of bites, and ‘breakfast at midnight’ turned into a disaster when I kissed Nicholas.
I gulp hard as I lift the kettle and pour boiling water into the prepared cup, the sound of trickling water filling the unsettling silence that surrounds me.
Shivering into myself, I lift the cup and hold it to my face, inhaling the lavender and chamomile infusion that promises calm and tranquility—both of which I desperately crave like an addict right now.
The ceramic burns faintly against my palms, but not from the heat.
It’s from something under my skin, something alive.
Something I don’t want to think of right now.
Last night was crazy. These past few days have been a rollercoaster of craziness that didn’t stop until it escalated into that kiss. Licking my lips absentmindedly, I can still taste Nicholas on them, even though I’d showered and scrubbed every inch of me to get his scent off me.
Nothing works. Not while I’m in his house. He’s everywhere, even if he’s nowhere to be seen yet. I haven’t seen him at all since I woke up, and I should be grateful for the space after my warning last night, but I’m irritated.
His entire existence irritates me.
As I take my first sip of tea, it seems to have adverse effects when goosebumps erupt across my forearms instead of bringing me the foretold calm. Just then, Nicholas comes walking into the kitchen, his shoulders square, his expression hard as he averts his gaze.
“Good morning,” he greets flatly, going to the coffee machine, his voice rough, as if something is clawing at his insides.
With his back turned to me, I’m once again given the opportunity on a golden platter to ogle, but after last night, I keep my eyes turned away. I can’t become weak for him again.
“A few of our friends are coming over,” Nicholas informs me formally, as if this is a meeting. “I didn’t call Dom and Cecelia. I don’t want them stressed out for nothing.”
Frowning, I’m about to ask if it’s about what happened last night, when Nicholas turns with his coffee mug in hand, piping hot caffeine steaming in his face.
“It’s just Delilah and Hunter, and Tyler and Arianna. We need to figure out what the deal is with the hex bag. When we do, we’ll tell the others. Your brother as well.”
I nod slowly, but I still feel uneasy, because after last night, the last thing I need is to be surrounded by the people who would suspect that something is wrong with me.
Arianna and Delilah are the witches of the group, and that’s why they’ve been called to deal with the hex bag.
But the timing couldn’t be worse, and I’m barely holding myself together, but now I have to pretend that I’m fine.
My appetite for my tea is gone, and perhaps it’s the worst thing that could happen when the sound of familiar chatter and laughter wisps through the air from the front porch.
“That must be them,” Nicholas says, his voice gravelly and brittle even after his coffee.
The front door swings open before Nicholas can even move, Hunter’s booming voice filling the house with his usual cheer. “Knock, knock! I hope we’re not interrupting the honeymoon!”
My face flushes instantly, but Nicholas doesn’t react, doesn’t even flinch. He just sips his coffee and mutters, “Hey, guys…you’re not interrupting anything.”
Delilah follows Hunter, followed by Arianna and Tyler. Their laughter fades almost immediately when they step inside, tension replacing lightness as if the oxygen has been sucked out of the room.
Delilah freezes in the doorway, her head tilting slightly. I notice her nose twitching and her pupils dilating, recognizing what’s happening to her. Her witch senses are tingling.
Something is wrong.
“Nicholas…” she murmurs, her voice soft but firm as she takes a cautious step closer. “What did you do?”
I glance between them, my stomach tightening when her tone dips low, wary.
Nicholas stiffens, only his brows knitting with a frown. “What are you talking about?”
Delilah walks toward him slowly, nostrils flaring. “You smell disgusting. You reek of darkness.”
The air stills as Hunter’s grin falters, his eyes widening at his mate as she approaches Nicholas.
“Excuse me?” Nicholas’s voice is sharp and defensive, with a flicker of wariness.
“Don’t move,” Delilah warns softly, ignoring his tone. Her gaze flicks over him, landing on his left shoulder. “You were bitten.”
Nicholas’s hand instinctively moves to that exact spot, and my pulse stumbles.
“It’s healed,” he says tightly. “It’s fine.”
Delilah’s eyes darken. “No. It only looks healed. But it’s not.”
Delilah steps closer, her fingers hovering over his shoulder, close enough that the air ripples faintly between them. I swear I can feel it, too—the strange hum that seems to emanate from him, sharp and cold like static before a lightning strike.
“There’s magic in you,” Delilah breathes with surprise. “Dark magic. It’s old…but…familiar.”
Nicholas’s jaw tightens. “You mean Tobias.”
Delilah nods once, her expression grim as she briefly glances at the others. “That bite wasn’t just a wound. It carried a curse. A link. Whoever sent him used Tobias as a vessel.”
Arianna’s hand flies to her mouth. “The dark lord….”
Delilah’s silence is confirmation enough, and my stomach flips. The words sound unreal, like they belong to someone else’s nightmare. “Wait—you’re saying Tobias cursed him?” I murmur in disbelief, my heart pounding as I turn my face toward Nicholas, and Delilah shakes her head slowly.
“Not directly,” Delilah says quietly. “But whatever darkness is in Tobias, it flowed through him and cursed Nick.” Her voice lowers, distant now, like she’s remembering something painful.
“It’s feeding on his energy. His wolf is fighting it, but if the bond holds…
” Delilah’s voice trails off, and the silence that follows leaves a gaping hole in my chest and in my tummy.
Nicholas is cursed with dark magic?
All the resentment I’ve been feeling crumbles and leaves only one thing behind.
Worry.
I still care about Nicholas, no matter how much I hate him.
Hunter moves closer, his tone grim as he places his hands on Delilah’s shoulders. “If it spreads, it’ll consume him. Just like it tried to do with Delilah.”
A chill runs through me when I realize what this means, recalling that story—the night Delilah nearly killed Hunter, when the darkness used her as a host until Hunter drew it out.
Nicholas’s voice rumbles low, steady but dangerous. “So what do we do?”
Delilah stares at him for a long moment, then her eyes turn to me, narrowing slightly, and I feel it before she says it, the weight of her realization pressing on my chest.
“There’s only one way to draw it out,” she says. “His true mate has to do it.”
My breath catches when every head turns toward me.
“You mean me?” My voice comes out small, unsteady. But I’m not surprised. Delilah is a witch.
Delilah nods once. “You’re connected to his life force more deeply than anyone else. If you channel that link, you can pull the darkness out through your bond. It hasn’t been done before, but I think it can work.”
“Channel the link? Didn’t Hunter have to cut you so you could bleed—” I start, but Nicholas cuts me off, voice raw.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“She has to,” Delilah insists. “It’s already spreading, and fast, Nick. We’re talking hours, not days. You were bitten by someone who carries the darkness.”
“Find another way,” Nicholas snaps.
My spine straightens at that, defiance flaring hot in my chest. I wanted to help him because I care, but he’s refusing to take that help. “What? You’re afraid of me cutting you?”
“No, that’s not—” Nicholas begins, but Delilah cuts him off.
“You wouldn’t have to cut him or injure him in any way, Donna,” Delilah explains with a sigh, but Nicholas holds a hand up to stop her.
He turns sharply toward me, eyes blazing in a menacing shade of green. “You don’t even know what you’re dealing with, Donna. This isn’t your fight.”
Delilah’s voice slices through the rising tension. “It is now.”
I turn to her, confusion and frustration colliding in my chest when she exchanges a glance with Arianna. “Wait…what do you mean, I wouldn’t have to cut him? I’m not understanding.”
“We don’t have time to walk on eggshells around either of you,” Delilah says with a sigh, her gaze sharpening when she glances at Nicholas, but she turns back to me. “You’re just like me, and Arianna. You’re a witch, Donna.”
The statement makes the room tilt for a second, my hands instinctively curling around my cup of tea, and I feel it again—that faint pulsing warmth in my palms. The same one I felt when I touched Nicholas last night.
Arianna steps closer to me, saying, “Donna…you’ve been feeling it, haven’t you? Your hands feel strange…the tingling, the heat. The nightmares, too.”
Delilah moves toward me, eyes softening. “Gwen had a vision last night. She saw another witch in our group—a healer who hadn’t awakened yet. The healer was helping us brew a potion that could end the dark lord.” She pauses, looking straight into my eyes. “She saw you.”
I blink, shaking my head as I back away a step, but tingling sensations begin to pulse in my palms. I’m still in denial, though. “No. No, you’re wrong. I’m not like you. I’m not…” my voice tapers off when words fail me.
“Magic?” Delilah finishes for me. “You think we asked for this? None of us did, Donna. But the Moon Goddess doesn’t ask for permission. She chooses.”
Nicholas moves in front of me, blocking me from Delilah like a shield. “You’re not experimenting on her. End of discussion.”
I cross my arms, curling my tingling hands into fists. “That’s funny…you didn’t mind forcing me into a marriage without asking.”
He flinches as he turns toward me like I struck him. “That was different.”
“Was it?” I challenge, my voice trembling with something between anger and adrenaline.
Perhaps it’s the latter that blurs the shock I should be feeling, the former making it easier to defy Nicholas.
That’s the only reason I’m not reacting to the revelation that I’m a witch.
I’ll do anything to make Nicholas’s life difficult, and I can do that by going against his wishes, no matter what that looks like.
“You made your choice for me then. Now I’m making mine. ”
Delilah’s gaze flicks between us, then she nods once. “Tonight. When the moon rises, the connection will be at its strongest. You’ll need to hold his hand, focus on your bond, and pull. The darkness will fight back, but don’t let go. If you do—”
“What happens if she does?” Nicholas practically growls.
Delilah hesitates. “Then it takes both of you.”
The room falls into stunned silence, and Nicholas turns on me, fury and fear warring in his expression. “You’re not doing it.”
I meet his glare head-on. “You don’t get to decide that.”
He steps closer, eyes wild now, chest heaving. “I’m not losing you if this doesn’t work.”
The words slip out before I can stop them. “You already did.”
For a moment, everything inside him stills. His lips part, but no sound comes out. Then he looks away, jaw locking hard as he storms toward the back door, slamming it open and vanishing outside into the sunlight.
The silence he leaves behind is deafening.
Delilah sighs softly, turning back to me. “He’ll come around. They always do when it’s life or death.”
But I’m barely listening. My hands are trembling, warmth pulsing stronger now beneath my skin, like my body already knows what’s coming. I close my eyes, taking a slow, shaky breath.
If this is what it takes to help him—to finally make him feel the same helplessness he once made me feel—then so be it.
“Fine,” I whisper. “We’ll do it tonight. I’m ready.”