What the hex, p.1
What the Hex?, page 1
Table of Contents Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Join My Group
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
The Heart Cantrip Cover
Allison's Adventures in Underland Cover
Spirited Cover
Pack Ebon Red Cover
Keep Up With The Fun
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What The Hex?
What the Hex? © C.M. Stunich 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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Cover art and design © Amanda Carroll and Sarian Royal
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, businesses, or locales is coincidental and is not intended by the author.
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Passion.
That’s all I felt: violent, overwhelming passion. It was all a bunch of bullshit, sure, but try telling my body that.
Monster—the full-blooded demon dickhead I’d broken up with more than a decade ago—was holding the side of my face, leaning in for a kiss. I jerked my head back at the last moment, stumbling back and falling into a shallow pool of water.
He laughed, that cruel, cold laugh that I’d once loved, then hated, and now …
“I can’t think straight,” I whispered, turning around and trying my best to wash off the aphrodisiac with the brackish water. It smelt like dead sea creatures and salt, and no matter how much of it I splashed on my skin, it didn’t help. My body shuddered with need, and I knew it was just a matter of time before I was throwing my arms around Monster’s neck and begging to be fucked.
“That’s the whole point,” he said, standing behind me with his arms crossed over his bare chest. He didn’t bother to restrain me; Monster knew I wasn’t going anywhere. We’d played this game in the past, me and him. Hint: he always won. “But really, you should be thanking me: I just rescued a delightsome damsel in distress.”
I paused, lifting my face up to stare out at a dark ocean. The waves were calm, but the sky was that awful red color, and I knew I was still very firmly entrenched in Hael. I glanced over my shoulder to find Monster’s copper eyes laced with hunger. As soon as I made eye contact with him, I felt myself fracture into pieces.
Don’t let him do this to you again! I warned myself, pushing up from the black sandy shore and spinning around. My husbands were trapped inside a spell circle here somewhere, and Hex … Hex had been summoned to goddess only knew where. On top of all that, I had my mother’s curse to worry about, the safety of my kids, my coven …
“What do you want from me?” I asked, breathing heavily, my nipples pebbled to hard points. I could feel my body betraying me, throbbing and pulsing, begging me to let Monster lay me down on the beach and … No. No, no, no. “You just left my husbands to fend for themselves. If you really wanted to help me, you’d take me back and break them out of there.”
Monster smiled at me, but it wasn’t a very nice facial expression. That seemed to suit him just fine, because he wasn’t a very nice man. On the contrary, he was one of the worst individuals I’d ever had the misfortune of running into. For two years, he’d been my lover. For two fucking years I couldn’t decide if I were immersed in bliss or thrust straight into the fires of hell.
“Clearly, I’m not going to do that sort of thing … for free.” He moved toward me, and I took a step back, until I was knee-deep in the water and starting to get concerned about what sorts of demons might be swimming out here. Monster’s eyes sparkled with maniacal glee, and I knew what was coming. “I’ll save your family, help your mother, and tell you all about the demon-witch war brewing—for a price.”
“If it’s me and my body, then it’s a no,” I said, taking off through the water in the direction opposite the giant volcano. When we’d entered Hael, I’d seen it in the distance to my left. A simple divination should show me exactly where to go, but really, I was just being optimistic here.
Monster was not going to let me go.
“Be reasonable,” he said, striding along beside me, but above the water and not in it. He just floated his way along the beach, giving me the illusion of freedom. I knew how powerful he was. Like I said, I’d seen a category nine demon before—one time. This was the one time. A category nine was demon royalty: Monster was the demon king’s only son.
As if those category seven demons that dropped pumpkins on our house weren’t bad enough. Each step up on the scale represented an exponential power increase, like with an earthquake. Monster wasn’t just a little bit more powerful than a level seven or eight; he was a lot more powerful.
“Reasonable?” I started, trying not to choke on the word. The dark woods moaned and keened on our right, and on my left, an endless sea stretched out to the horizon, broken only by jagged rocks against the red sky. I hated it here. I hated knowing my husbands were trapped here even more. “Not wanting to be your magic-drugged whore makes me unreasonable?”
My throat clenched tight, and heat and wetness flooded between my thighs. I was still reacting to the aphrodisiac from Monster’s skin. His ebony flesh was decorated with glowing white lines, almost like tattoos. But I knew they were anything but. Instead, they were natural glands that allowed him to spread a sweet-and-spicy aphrodisiac that could reduce any adult person to tears of lust. There wasn’t a man or woman of any species who’d passed puberty (children were immune to the aphrodisiac) who could touch Monster and not fall on their knees, begging for sex.
“Who said that’s what I wanted from you?” he asked casually, but he’d never been a reasonable man before, so why start now? I stopped walking, turning to look at him. He was as tall as Argent, but I’d been married to the fae prince for five years and dated him for many more before that. I wasn’t intimidated by height or physical strength or magical prowess. No, the only thing I was afraid of was losing my mind.
“What do you want then, Monster? Name your price.” I stared back at him, at that face that had once consumed both my dreams and my nightmares. He had high, regal cheekbones, but a very sturdy jaw, a broad nose, and a smile that could shatter mirrors with its beauty. He also had a heart as black as coal, no soul to speak of, and morals like loose change—every once in a while, you’d find some, but it never amounted to much.
He just stared back at me, chuckled, and then reached out a hand for one of mine. I jerked back, but he was too quick. Monster’s fingers found my wrist and yanked me forward violently; at the same time, he brushed the back of his other hand across my cheek, poisoning me with his essence.
“Wait …” I started, but my words caught in my throat. Instead, all that came out was a moan. I was ashamed of myself, even as I knew that none of this was my fault.
“You can’t even begin to fathom what I want, Everen Sinnes,” he whispered, brushing his thumb over my lower lip. His copper eyes stared down into mine as I felt my knees go weak; a spark of energy lashed through me, similar to what I’d felt when I’d met Hex’s gaze for the first time. In the past, I’d assumed that meant Monster was my soulmate. Now, I knew the feeling for what it was: his magic, his aphrodisiac, his pheromones. Passion coursed through my veins, hot and poisonous, making my heart thunder so fast I felt like I might pass out.
Everen Sinnes.
That was demon tongue, a nickname from long, long ago.
“Regardless, what I truly want, I cannot have.” Monster leaned down, hovering his mouth above mine. Even though my heart screamed for me to back up, my body whimpered for touch, for kisses, for … more. Whatever Monster could give me, I wanted. I wanted him above me, fucking me into the black sand beach. And I both hated and loved every moment of it. “But I’m willing to set my true desires aside for the time being.” He released me and stepped back, and even though I didn’t want to, I stepped toward him. “I’ll help you—and by proxy, your men—for a price.”
My lips parted, but all I could think about was the taste of his mouth. That ardent fire that used to course through and consume me. When I was with Monster, I didn’t have any worries, stresses, anxieties … but I also
“I want time in your world, little witch.” He circled me, running his tongue over his full lower lip. He flipped some snow-white hair over one shoulder, smirking as he paused in front of my quaking form. His eyes dropped to the hardened points of my nipples, and the way my thighs shifted from the uncomfortable throbbing in my core. “One year, with the privilege of coming and going as I please.”
“It’ll never happen,” I choked out, but it sounded more like I was asking for him to lay me down and make love to me. My voice was a crooked, wobbly thing, and I didn’t trust myself not to throw my body into Monster’s arms. My eyes squeezed shut, and I curled my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palms until I made myself bleed. “I’m not one of my coven’s Three, Monster; I can’t make deals like that.”
“If you were one of the Three,” Monster purred, reaching out to touch a loose strand of my red hair. I tried to jerk back from him, but he wrapped his long, dark fingers around the tendril and pulled me forward. I stumbled, and nearly fell to my knees, gritting my teeth against the rush of hormones. It wasn’t fair, that his aphrodisiac-laden skin could do this to me.
I didn’t want to like being touched by this man.
And yet … I couldn’t help myself.
“I’d have taken advantage far beyond a simple, free trip above. You do know that, right?”
“You’re a monster,” I growled out, and even though that was cliché as fuck, I couldn’t help myself. I had to say something besides please throw me down and fuck me right here and now. That wouldn’t really get across how much I hated him, now would it?
“It is my name, isn’t it?” he asked with a laugh so Lucullan, so smooth, that it nearly undid me. He released my hair, and I moved back a few steps. I did not have the authority to grant him that much time on earth and yet, what was I going to do? Let him rape me? Let my husbands die? Let my mother rot away?
Exhaling sharply, I turned away and gazed out at the dark sea, waves frothing around my feet as I stared at the endless red of the sky. This was not how I expected this mission to end. Did I expect trouble? Sure. But not this kind of trouble. I’d thought I was rid of Monster forever. He rarely—if ever—even crossed my mind anymore. I couldn’t even think of the last time I’d even thought about him.
And also, you did give yourself a forget-for-now potion, I reminded myself. But that was beside the point. A forget-for-now potion only worked until the person, event, or object you were trying to forget was brought up. And here was my person, standing in front of me, smirking.
“I’ll make a deal,” I said, even though I knew this was an offense that could a) get me demoted from High Priestess, b) get me kicked out of the coven, or … c) get me killed.
I could die for this.
But my family meant more to me than I meant to myself.
I’d do it.
“Excellent,” Monster said, running his tongue over his lower lip. His ebony skin caught the red light, shimmering like obsidian. He almost sparkled in it. But despite how pretty he was on the outside, he was nothing but corrupt, broken, and tainted on the in. “Let’s make a deal.” I reached out and grabbed his hand before he could start the spell that would bind us together in the same way that Hex and I were bound.
“Not just yet,” I said, panting hard, doing my best to fight my own traitorous body off. If Monster wanted to, he could amp up the hormones to the point where I’d be tearing my clothes off and throwing myself at him. He could have me in any which way he wanted, for as long as he wanted, and I’d love every second of it. He could literally obliterate every sane thought I had, leave me a throbbing, hormonal mess.
He’d done it once. Just once. And I swore I would never let that happen again.
I couldn’t be me when I was around him; I was a shell of a person.
I’d loved this man once, but love was not enough to overcome his myriad issues. Not even close.
“What do you want?” he asked, letting his smile twist to the side. He was enjoying himself, probably thought of this like a game while in the meantime, people were suffering, my mother was dying, and I had no idea who this Violet chick was and what sort of game she was playing.
I lifted up a hand and started flicking up fingers for each item on my list.
“One, you save my husbands from that spell. Two, you promise to do no harm to me or mine. Three, you tell me everything you know about this demon-witch war. Four, you find Hex and bring him to me at least long enough to cast our soul-circle spell.”
Monster raised both brows and tilted his head to one side, sending his white hair swinging in the warm breeze.
“That’s a lot to ask from someone who has virtually zero leverage. What’s to stop me from rolling you under and just taking everything I want?” Monster lifted his hand, and I saw the white lines crisscrossing his skin turn a brilliant, sparkling white. He was amping up his hormones. It was so intense, I could smell them, like campfire mixed with the sultriness of bergamot and the sweetness of hyacinth.
Goddess, that smell.
I blinked through the rush of pleasure and need.
“Your sense of chivalry and remembered affection for me?” I queried, because why else would he be doing this? Why else would he be here, helping me? “Or are you just here to turn me into a slobbering pleasure slave who crawls around on her hands and knees and begs for your cock?”
Closing my eyes, I sucked in a deep breath. When I opened them again, I found Monster narrow-eyed and glaring at me.
“Deal,” he said, reaching out and clasping his hand to mine.
Magic swirled in the air between us, lifting our hair and clothes, and creating a new magic mark around my wrist. Fan-freaking-tastic.
“I can’t wait for my time above,” he growled, and the way his copper eyes locked on mine, I had a feeling that he’d be making the most of every minute. “I’m going to savor each second.”
“I’m sure you will,” I ground out, gesturing in the direction of the forest. The charms on my hat jangled in the wind, and I reached back to grab my broom. Monster glanced absently to his left, and then scowled.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” he snarled as something big and awful and smelly crawled out of the darkness. When it stood up and flared its nostrils, I caught sight of those dark eyes and almost lost my shit.
Holy freaking Hecate’s tits.
Remember what I said about category eight and nine demons?
Yeah, I was looking at one—one besides Monster, that is.
Category eight demons were always bad news, and I knew exactly what this one was.
A freaking vrag … aka a krampus.
You might be asking yourself: who is this guy with the giant horns, cloven feet, and mane of hair tangled with bones and charms? Oh, just a guy who eats witches. Literally, that species of demon—the vrag—are born witch-eaters. They come from the same world my people originally hailed from. Once upon a time, all the covens banded together to eradicate the vrag. And yet, every now and again, one would pop up here or there.
This one, however, was not just a random encounter: he was summoned.
A summoned demon always has gold, silver, or black shackles on their wrists and ankles.
“Most likely this is a gift from Coven Wyrmwood or Cabal Ungeist,” Monster explained, running his tongue over his lower lip again. That look on his face, I’d seen it before, and it scared the crap out of me. That was his I’m hungry for sex or violence face.
At least it wasn’t directed at me.
Also, pretty sure he wasn’t hungry for sex from krampus.
Or, if he was then his tastes had certainly changed from our last encounter …
I pulled my broom from its sheath, considered the cursed pistols under my jacket, and then decided that I’d better keep those hidden. They only had six shots, and if needed, I could blast Monster to queendom come with them.
Thing is, in my heart of hearts, I knew I didn’t want him dead, just … gone. Away from me. Forever.
“Can we kick this thing’s ass together?” I asked, and Monster paused to look over his shoulder at me. He didn’t look scared, but then, he never did. He was a master manipulator, and an expert at hiding his true emotions.
