This Strange Addiction by Julie Steimle (e book free reading .txt) 📕

*

Dear Jessica and Silvia,

I know this letter is long overdue. And I know I left the US rather quickly. But I had to get away. Honestly, I couldn’t bear all the ‘I told you so’s from people. I really do choose them badly. First Harlin, then Hogan. But also… you two shipping Breacon was too much for me. I knew you both would have wanted me to get together with Rick, but you should know I saw him get back together with that woman, Daisy — whom I was sure he said he wasn’t interested in. And though you see him in a better light than I do, I saw them making out in an alleyway like they were going to have sex right there on a trash can. And that, frankly, was the last straw. I mean, yes, I saw them together before I found out about Hogan’s big fat lie. But, to be honest, that made it all worse.

I am sorry I cannot be your shadow, Silvia. But… I think it is best that I distance myself from all your craziness. It was the one thing Rick was right about. I need to go my own way. You two have been great friends. But I need time alone. I will be going home after this trip also. And I will be finishing my PhD off campus. I already have the permission forms and plans for my research so…  Anyway, I will be back briefly to clear out the apartment, as my cousin did not know what things were yours and what was mine outside a few dishes and my bedroom stuff. I also will be coming back for my car.

I wish you both the best. Silvia, good luck in your new relationship. Just be careful. Men are not to be trusted. They lie.

Your friend always,

Audry

*

The she-wolf came into the room and stepped toward the bed where she expected her lover to be waiting—but a new scent was there. She halted. Sitting on the bed in the dark was not the musky wolf whom she was expecting for night of hot pleasure, but a strange woman who smelled of peculiar herbs and oils with dark hair and piercing blue eyes.

“So, you must be Daisy,” the woman said, her voice full of female calculation.

The she-wolf’s hackles raised. A low growl swelled in her throat as she bared her white teeth.

The woman on the bed grinned. “Did you know that it is legal to kill a werewolf while it is in wolf form?”

Daisy immediately went human, shedding her hair. “Don’t you dare.”

The woman’s grin cracked wider. Her eyes raked up the naked intruder’s figure. Chuckling, the woman said, “I can see why he can’t resist. I always knew old Howley Howie had taste.”

“Who are you?” Daisy bit out.

Smirking, the woman rose off the bed. “My name is Silvia. And I’m a witch.”

Daisy bristled. “There’s no such thing.”

Laughing, Silvia shook her head. “Oh no? Well then, let me explain something to you. Our town—Middleton Village—is ruled by witches.”

Stepping back, Daisy bared her elongating teeth.

“Haven’t you wondered why you can’t get pregnant no matter how many times you have had sex with Howie?” Silvia asked, checking the neat manicure of her nails.

Blanching, Daisy stared, the name ‘Howie’ foreign in her ears. “No way.”

“I cursed you,” Silvia said, smirking at her. She then shook her head, tossing her dark, almost gothic, hair. “It is a really simple spell. But when I heard there was a she-wolf who was after Howard Richard Deacon the Third, who had tricked him into getting her pregnant once before, I knew I had to do something. He had done so many favors for me, after all.”

Daisy pulled back. Horror washed over her as, despite her disbelief in witchcraft, she did know that Rick knew a lot of peculiar people—including that awful cat man who had been spying on her for weeks. And though she had lost that cat’s trail, and had avoided that horrid orange-eyed demon Tom who was thankfully not around, somehow it had all gone wrong.

“Where is Rick?” Daisy demanded.

“Safe from you,” Silvia replied, pertly lifting her chin.

“Because you want him?” Daisy snarled.

Laughing, Silvia shook her head. “No. Because he saved my hide from witches more dangerous than me.”

Daisy’s wolf eyes glared. She glanced to the window.

“That, and I’d love it if he married my friend Audry,” Silvia said, smirking darkly. “Though that probably will never happen now thanks to you.”

“Audry?” Daisy bristled. “That zoo worker?”

“Animal rights activist,” Silvia corrected. “She’s in Africa right now wrangling poachers, I think.”

But the very mention of Audry’s name sent Daisy seething. Of course, Silvia had said Audry’s name on purpose. She wanted to gauge exactly how much of a threat Daisy was to Audry. And now she could see it in the she-wolf’s savage reaction that all the descriptions of Daisy had been spot on. She was a jealous beast.

“And if you lay one hair near Audry Bruchenhaus,” Silvia added, “I will personally gut you with a silver knife while you are still alive and give all your body parts to my old coven.”

Hackles raising, Daisy’s sharp blue eyes set hard on Silvia. Her teeth elongated in her mouth. “You think you can take me on?”

Laughing, Silvia made a gesture with a hiss of a few choice words and touched Daisy in the stomach. Daisy immediately felt a stabbing pain in her gut. “Yes. And for them, it would be a peace offering. They’ve been wanting parts of Howie for years.”

Wide-eyed, Daisy rushed to the window, going all wolf to get out of there.

Silvia called after her as the she-wolf leapt onto the damp grass, “And even if you do hunt down Howie Deacon again, or lure him away, you are never going to get pregnant ever again. And if you ever meddle with Audry at all, I will find a way to destroy your entire pack of wolves.”

The wolf ran off, not quite tail between her legs, but nearly that.

*

Rick sat in the dorm lobby with Jessica, Randon, and Matthew, stooped with his elbows on his knees, his hands over his face. Those residents watching their group peered at Rick as it looked like two cops were interrogating him over something. Andrew was pacing with his newborn baby in his arms, soothing her.

“I’m sorry,” Rick said, eyes closed.

“No,” Jessica shook her head. “You tried to bring it up earlier with Daniel about the scented gifts and letters—but then the whole witch hunt happened, and I had my baby…. We failed you.”

He shook his head, lifting his gaze. “But I should have said something when she sent me her address. I should have mentioned meeting her at that party.”

“It’s an addiction,” Matthew said, shrugging. “It’s not an easy thing to kick.”

Still, Rick closed his eyes, breaking into sobs.

Jessica sat next to him, putting a hand on his back. “It’s going to be ok. We’re here now.”

“And, uh, Silvia made sure you couldn’t get that wolf pregnant,” Randon added, scratching the side of his nose.

“What?” Rick lifted his head, his eyes ringed red.

Wincing, Randon took a small step back. “Um… Silvia was a little quicker than we were. She noticed you were acting funny around the time of Ivy’s birth. Nervous. Like someone with withdrawals. She understands such things very well. We’re not as familiar with it as she is, and apparently she added up from a conversation between Jessica and Audry about Daisy, and what I told her when she asked me about the she-wolf… well, basically, she put a curse on you then.”

Rick stared. “What?” He wiped his eyes.

“You were shooting blanks,” Randon explained.

Rick rose up. He seemed happy, offended, and at the same time not so sure Randon was right, “But I was having sex with Daisy before Ivy’s birth.”

“How many times?” Andrew asked, coming over, his daughter propped up with his large, gentle hands, her eyes wide and taking in the room out from her wobbly little head.

Looking to him, coloring with embarrassment, Rick said, “Twice. Once at the party and the first time at her apartment.”

“But she kept coming back for more,” Matthew retorted.

Rick rolled his eyes, wiping more eye muck away. “She’s trying to lure me back to the pack.”

Randon snorted. “Not from what I saw.”

Deeply confused, Rick’s cheeks colored, wondering how much Randon had watched. He also briefly wondered why Randon had not tried to interfere. Though recalling the last time Randon had interfered Daisy had nearly mauled him, and he remembered that it was Tom who had truly broken them up. Tom with his invisible army of imps. And Tom was currently unavailable.

With reassuring amusement in his smirk, Randon explained, “She seemed to just want you to bang the living daylights out of her. She was trying to get pregnant. She didn’t seem to be extoling the virtues of the pack to you. I mean, come on, how much persuasion did she use to convince you life with the pack would be better?”

Rick closed his eyes, peeking once to Jessica again in embarrassment as this wasn’t exactly a conversation he wanted her to overhear. “None.” Then he looked down the hall to the dorm room, hearing the door shut as Silvia finally came out, strolling in their direction. “She must think I am total scum.”

“Are you talking about Daisy?” Jessica asked, having not seen Silvia.

Cringing, Rick walked to the wall and leaned his head against it. He looked like he wanted to bash his head open with it—not out of frustration with others, but with himself.

“No, Silvia doesn’t,” Randon said, smirking at him. He had also seen her. “Quite the opposite. She says from what she’s observed that Daisy is an expert, and you would not be a real heterosexual male if you had perfectly resisted. Daisy is everything a man would want, according to her. And Daisy’s a wolf. It is only natural that you are attracted to her—especially with this whole moon-bonding thing which, unfortunately she says could be real. In fact, Silvia’s impressed how well you have resisted her—though you still screwed up big time.”

Silvia halted next to Randon, winking at Rick. “She-wolf dispatched. And I seriously get why you can’t resist her. But we need to get you a new room. She had definitely marked it—and you.”

“I’m indebted,” Rick said, lifting his head from the wall. His eyes fixed on her with genuine gratitude.

“You made the call,” Silvia replied, grinning appreciatively at him. “It’s nice to know you trust me.”

He ducked his eyes. “I don’t entirely yet—but you protected Audry, so I owe you.”

They all went silent.

“She’s safe now,” Silvia said, her expression softening as she tried to make him meet her eyes. She even lowered her head into his line of sight so they could. “And we’ll make sure it stays that way.”

Matthew nodded. “We most definitely will.”

Randon then took hold of Silvia’s hand while Andrew handed their baby back to Jessica. Andrew went to Rick, putting his arm around him. “It’s going to be ok.”

“What about them?” Rick whispered, peeking back to Randon and Silvia who looked a little too cozy for his comfort. “Silvia is still a dangerous witch.”

 Overhearing him, Randon shrugged with the reply: “And I’m a familiar. It’s a perfect match, if you think about it.”

Kissing him on the cheek, Silvia grinned. “Too right.”

The others shrugged, as clearly this was going to be a thing now.

“Come on, Rick,” Andrew said. “You can stay at our place for the night.”