Secrets & Curses of Mates (Secrets & Curses #6)

Prologue

Abram—Past

Della tore through my home, her panicked voice echoing against the stone walls. I already knew what was coming, knew I was about to vanish, but gods, I didn’t want to. Not yet.

“You need to hide so they can’t find and use you, Abe. We don’t have much time.”

Della’s voice was frantic as she stared at me. She had barely saved me from Malamay and Diath. I knew she was right, but I had only one thing on my mind. Or rather, one particular witch. I couldn’t leave without seeing her once more.

“Just give me five minutes,” I said. “I’ll be back.”

“What is so import—” Her words cut off as I used my star mist to vanish and reappear deep in the woods of Cerithia, in front of the house belonging to the biggest pain-in-the-ass woman I had ever met.

My gaze swept over the home that looked like it would collapse with a stiff wind, but it was only an illusion.

The Deathweaver Coven chose to hide in this abandoned-looking shack.

A light flickered on inside. I hated that I knew exactly whose room it was. Elowyn’s. Something stirred in my chest as I thought of her, but I would never admit it to her or myself.

Once more. I just needed to see her once more before I had to disappear.

Just as I was about to sneak into her room, a man walked past me toward the front door. He couldn’t see me as I hid behind my magic. None of them could. But his smile made me pause. He held flowers in his hands, and for some reason I couldn’t explain, I knew they were for her.

I watched curiously, wondering if he was the type of man that caught her attention. Elowyn had never given much of her attention to anyone since I’ve known her. His dark hair was styled nicely, and his robes were those of a nobleman.

He knocked, and a moment later Elowyn answered as if she had been waiting eagerly for him. Her smile was brighter than any she had ever given me. My greedy eyes took in everything about the sight of her being happy. She only seemed to scowl at me.

“Zane.” She greeted him with a familiarity I didn’t like. “Come in.”

Some wild emotion surged in my chest, but I refused to name it. Elowyn had been nothing but a thorn in my side. She was not my mate. Zane walked past her, and her gaze immediately shifted right at me.

“Abram?” she called out, stepping forward. “Whatever you’re here to be an asshole about, I assure you, it wasn’t me.”

Shit.

I hadn’t counted on her seeing through my magic. How had she seen me? Quickly, my mind scrambled for an excuse.

“I wanted to make sure you had the Book of the Dead secured.” I lied. I knew she did.

She glanced over her shoulder, probably at the man waiting for her. She moved toward me but stopped far enough away that she thought she was safe. My hands flexed at my sides because I wanted to reach out and grab her for once. But I didn’t. I shoved my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t be tempted.

The wind caught her scent—violet petals and smoke from her herbs.

“Of course I do.” Her gaze swept over my face, giving away nothing. “I vowed to you, as Queen of the Deathweaver Coven, that I would protect the book. It’s bound until Ardella comes to me.”

Her voice was soft, but there was a tinge of attitude because she thought I doubted her.

My eyes roamed over her face, trying to memorize how she looked. Gods, I wanted her to smile at me like she smiled at that unworthy man. She deserved someone who made her smile like that all the time. I hated that it wasn’t me.

“Listen, Abram, I know you don’t trust me…”

“I never said I didn’t trust you,” I cut her off.

Her dark brows pinched together. “All right, fair enough. You never said that. But I know you don’t like me or my coven—”

I cut her off again. “Then stop doing stupid shit.”

My gaze narrowed on her. Her entire body tensed at my snarky tone. She tried to hold in her irritation. So I smirked. That was all it took for her to lose it.

Her hands fisted on her hips. Her dark green dress hugged her curvy body perfectly, but I tore my gaze away.

“Listen here, asshole. You came here to what—annoy the shit out of me?”

Her honey-colored eyes flared with anger.

“I came to have a conversation. You’re the one acting like a brat,” I said, just to piss her off.

Elowyn stormed toward me, just as I hoped she would. My hands slipped out of the restraints of my pockets without thought. I grabbed her wrist when she started waving her finger in my face, pulling her body against mine.

Fuck, I knew touching her would be a mistake. Even in her anger, she melted against me.

Her eyes widened when she looked up. Her pouty lips parted as she let out a soft gasp. I had never touched her before—not even an accidental brush. Because I knew I might not recover if I felt her under my hands, and I was right.

“You were saying, little weaver?”

I called her the ridiculous nickname because it would get a reaction out of her, and I wanted her to keep talking.

“I hate when you call me that.” Her attitude snapped right back, and my smile widened.

“Why?” I already knew.

“Little weaver—like I’m beneath you or something.”

Her words immediately sparked one specific image of her beneath me. I swallowed hard.

“Being below me might be fun, little weaver.” The words slipped out of my mouth, and her eyes widened.

Her sharp inhale and the pink flush across her cheeks told me exactly where her mind went. She didn’t say a word. But her chest rose and fell with each deep breath, her breasts pressing against me.

I needed a distraction.

“You were stalking me the other day,” I said. “Why?”

A red flush took over her skin as she stared at me, blinking slowly.

Oh, little weaver, you look so pretty when you blush like this.

“I was not,” she lied.

I grabbed her jaw, lifting her chin so she had to look at me.

“You think I wouldn’t notice you on that busy street?”

I would notice you anywhere. Those words stayed on the tip of my tongue, unsaid.

“Fine. It was me.”

I chuckled. She sounded as if she were confessing a dark secret.

“Tell me, why do you stalk me so much? How do you even know where I am?”

I felt her jaw clench, probably trying to decide if she should try to lie again. But she gave in with an annoyed sigh.

“I used a spell to track you.”

Her honesty made me feel warm all over. Why did she want to know where I was?

“Why?” I asked again.

“Curiosity.” She smiled like she’d won something. “Do you know how long I had to wait for you to leave your damn house?”

My eyes roamed over her soft smile, and that warmth spread through me again.

“I don’t like people very much.” I gave her a truth she didn’t ask for. “What were you curious about?”

She sighed as if I were exhausting her. Her gaze flickered between my eyes, nervousness taking over the depths of her honey-colored eyes.

“I was trying to find something to use against you. I wanted to blackmail you.”

My fingers curled into her soft skin.

“For fuck’s sake, Elowyn. Blackmail me for what, exactly?”

She looked away.

“I wanted a favor or two, I guess. But I didn’t think you’d help me unless I forced you.”

I didn’t respond. She thought I was an asshole, and I supposed I was, but she didn’t understand that she was causing too many issues for me.

She needed to stay away because she was not my mate, and I should not feel this way for her.

But even this conversation was only making it harder for me to find the strength to stay away.

“Will you tell me the fate of my coven?” she blurted.

I tilted my head slightly, studying her. She fidgeted with worry, but I knew she wouldn’t say why because again, she was the most stubborn woman I’d ever met.

“Are you in trouble?” I asked.

“I’m always in trouble,” she said with a smirk, trying to throw me off.

She was worried about something, and I didn’t ask myself how I knew that. My gaze followed her for a moment before I closed my eyes and focused, trying to see the coven’s fate—but after a moment, nothing came.

“I can’t see anything.” I sighed, opening my eyes again.

“You actually looked for me?” she asked as if I were heartless.

I didn’t like that she thought I was mean just to be mean, but knew it was necessary.

“Who are you in trouble with?” I pressed. “There has to be a reason you wanted to know and a reason I see nothing.”

I’ve never been able to see her fate. I wondered if the heavens knew I’d use it to track down the man she ended up with and end them. Gods, Della and I are too similar.

“My coven is being punished for something my mother did.” Her cheeks flushed. “I wanted to know if I fixed it… but if you can’t see the coven, then probably not. Or maybe I need to choose a different path.”

This was the first time she had ever admitted anything to me. I didn’t know her mother well. In fact, I only started caring about this coven when I ran into Elowyn in town one day. I followed her home, and then her coven started fucking with fate and became a problem I decided to handle personally.

“What did your mother do?”

Her eyes closed tightly. She muttered something to herself before opening them again. She looked embarrassed.

“She pissed off the wrong coven. Do you know Jade from the Bloodkissed Coven?”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Well… she’s the queen. And my mother stole the man Jade loved—because of a stupid disagreement. My mother used a fate spell on him. Made him believe they were fated mates. They weren’t. When Jade found out, she hexed our coven to rot away.”

“She cursed your entire coven.” I exhaled. “Sounds like you and your mother need to learn to stay out of people’s business.”

Elowyn shoved me, and I stumbled back a step. My hands fell from her, and I instantly missed the warmth of her skin.

“I am nothing like my mother,” she seethed. “Don’t you ever lump me with that woman again.”

Okay, definitely hit a nerve.

“What do you mean she hexed your coven to rot?”

She looked like she wanted to tell me to shut the fuck up—but instead, she dragged her tattooed hands down her face.

“Have you noticed how small my coven is?” she asked. “Jade made it so we can’t continue our lineage. I was the last witch born to the Deathweaver Coven. We’ll die out when I do. No one’s figured out how to break the curse.”

I looked to the house and then back to her as her pretty eyes watched me more intently when she thought I couldn’t see her. But I could feel her eyes on me every time she looked my way.

“Elowyn!” a woman called from the front door. “Zane’s waiting for you!”

Elowyn turned toward the house, and I frowned slightly. I didn’t want to leave yet, and especially not while another man waited for her.

“I’ll be right in!” she shouted back, then turned to me again.

“Is he your date or something?” I asked instantly regretting it.

Don’t let her know you care.

She frowned. “Not exactly. I have a duty to the coven.”

Before I could ask what that meant, I heard Della calling for me in my mind.

Fuck.

I raked a hand through my hair and looked at Elowyn. We stared at each other longer than necessary.

“Is there a reason you asked if he was my date?” She whispered, almost as if she didn’t want to ask.

I glanced down at her chest, looking for a mating bond—anything that would tell me she was actually mine.

There was nothing.

I couldn’t hide the disappointment. This had to stop—whatever this was. So, I let the warmth drain from my face and hardened my emotions. She noticed immediately.

I scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not interested in you like that. I was just wondering how you tricked a man into dating you with that charming personality.”

I expected her to explode, but she didn’t, and I hated myself for it.

Her eyes widened with hurt. Then she looked down.

She wasn’t my mate. And it wasn’t fair to my future wife that I was flirting with this frustrating, infuriating woman. When she looked up at me, I knew that the look would haunt me for years.

“Right,” she whispered, before turning and walking back toward the rotting house without another word.

I waited until she disappeared from view. Maybe hiding away for a few years would fix this. Maybe by the time I came back, she’d be a distant memory. She’d be married with children, and I would find my true mate. The jealousy that bloomed in my chest was smothered immediately.

I probably wouldn’t even remember who she was.