Chains by Kristine Allen

“Someone  Who  Cares”—Three  Days  Grace

Iwoke with a start. Nico’s arm reflexively tightened around me. With a sigh of relief, I relaxed when I realized it had only been a dream and I was safe in bed with the man I loved. Though I was having a hard time shaking off the dream of the wolf with silver eyes.

Holy shit. I love him. Not that I should be surprised. In the back of my mind, I knew I’d loved him for years. Stubbornness and fear had kept us apart, but no more.

It had shaken me to the core when I had that dream that Nico had been shot. When he didn’t show up at my apartment, I called my brother. Imagine my surprise when he said he was sending Phoenix for me and to pack a bag for a few days. I’d never told a living soul about my dreams, so I didn’t know how to tell my brother I’d known something was wrong.

There was a knock on the door, and Nico stirred behind me.

“Who is it?” he called out in a voice rough from sleep.

“It is Madame Laveaux. Open the door. You must hurry!”

We both jolted out of the bed. Immediately, I missed the heat of his bare chest against my back.

Not bothering with a shirt, he padded barefoot to the door. With each step, I admired how his jeans sat low on his hips. He glanced over his shoulder as I was pulling one of his T-shirts out of the drawer and over my head. It fell nearly to my knees, and he smirked.

He’d barely gotten the door open before Madame Laveaux barged in and barked, “It’s time.”

“Time for what?” I asked in confusion as my gaze flickered from her to Nico and back.

“You must decide,” she said to me as if I had any idea what she was talking about.

“Decide what?” I asked, baffled at the wizened woman glaring at Nico with her arms akimbo.

“You still haven’t told her?” she questioned with a huff.

Imagine my surprise when I saw my big, burly man appear chagrined and drop his gaze. Then again, Madame Laveaux had always had that effect on people. No one wanted to cross her out of fear that she might curse them. Those of us who knew her well simply respected the hell out of her and, along with a tiny dose of fear, did our best not to piss her off.

“Told me what?” I said in exasperation as I threw my arms out.

Madame Laveaux sighed as she shook her head. “Leave it to a man. I should’ve spoken to you myself. I’ve known you since you were little, chasing after the Ogun and Jude in your little pigtails.”

Nico had the balls to give me a playful grin at her mention of me in pigtails. I rolled my eyes, and he snickered.

“This is not a laughing matter!” She propped her fists on her hips and glared at Nico.

“Okay, look,” I finally said. “I have no clue what’s going on, so will someone please quit beating around the bush and tell me what you’re talking about?”

“I have brought the ingredients with the exception of the two most important,” she began. “Nico was supposed to talk to you to see if you were willing to commit to him.”

I choked, and he helpfully patted my back.

“Commit?” I believed we were pretty damn committed to each other, but was she talking about us getting married? And what the hell did that have to do with the price of tea in China?

She sighed. “Jasmine. Do you love him? If so, I have a solution to the interference of his gift in your relationship. However, if you have not been able to heal your heart, it will be not only dangerous, but unadvisable.”

“Madame Laveaux, you can’t put that kind of pressure on her,” Nico argued with a furrowed brow. His sleep-tousled hair flopped in sexy disarray over his forehead and covered one deep brown eye.

“No, Nico, it’s okay. I should’ve told you before, because when I thought something had happened to you, I was beside myself with worry. When we went to bed, I was so thankful you were alive, but I realized I could’ve lost you without telling you how I feel. I do love you, Nico—more than words can say. Not that this was how I planned on telling you.” The last bit I muttered.

Mouth hanging open, he stared at me blinking for a moment before his face lit up and a smile brightened the room. He pulled me to him until my massive baby bump was sandwiched between us.

“You love me?” he asked with that wicked, wicked gleam in his eyes that matched his naughty grin.

“Yes,” I boldly admitted.

“Well, hot damn. Because guess what? I love you too.”

We both stood their grinning at each other like fools until Madame Laveaux cleared her throat.

“If you two are done making googly eyes at each other, we don’t have much time.”

“Again, time for what?” I asked.

“This big oaf was supposed to talk to you about this,” she muttered. “I found a solution in an old text. Nico wants to be able to freely touch his woman and his children—I can help with that. There is a special recipe that I must work with, however. It has certain ingredients that must be gathered a specific way. I brought everything with me except for what you must provide.”

“And what might that be?” I asked, glancing from her to Nico. He didn’t look happy.

“Blood from you both.”

“Excuse me?” I deadpanned.

Nico let loose a heavy sigh. “Now do you see why I was reluctant to bring it up?” I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or Madame Laveaux, but it didn’t really matter.

“What exactly will this magic elixir do?” I asked with a disbelieving gaze and making sarcastic quote motions when I said “magic elixir.” If I didn’t know half of what I knew, I might think the woman was off her rocker. The thing was, I knew a lot. The abilities my brother and many of his friends had were things most people believed were out of books and movies.

“It will subdue his ability to read you. He will no longer see your thoughts and memories. If it is done before the baby arrives, then it will pass from you to the unborn child and any further children you might have. It will be unpleasant, and there is some risk to you and the baby, which is why it’s imperative you’re certain this is what you want. If your heart is not one hundred percent onboard, the results could be disastrous. You can’t force someone to love you, because the magic knows the truth.” The ominous declaration made my stomach drop and my heart stutter.

“Hurt my baby?” I turned to face Voodoo’s grandmother with bugged eyes. The thought of anything happening to it had ice running through my veins, and I rested a protective hand over the now large bump.

“There is a slight chance, but if you truly love him, there will be no worries,” Madame Laveaux said as she gently laid a hand to my shoulder and her silver bracelets jingled. “You must look deep in your heart and decide if the love you feel for him is a forever love and not a passing fancy.”

For a moment I was nervous, but then a calm passed over me, and I knew my answer. “I love him more than my next breath. He and my baby are the two most important people in my life.”

He stepped up behind me and pressed a kiss to the crown of my disheveled hair as his arm wrapped around me to rest over mine on my pregnant belly.

“I have no hesitations,” he said in my ear, and my heart filled to bursting.

“Good. Then you must follow me to Voodoo’s temple. Hurry get dressed.”

“What’s the rush?” I asked.

She paused with her hand on the knob. “It must be done before the baby arrives.”

“But we have time,” I argued with a laugh.

“The baby will be coming tomorrow.” She stared at us with an expression that brooked no argument.

Nico and I glanced at each other in shock. I wasn’t due for another two weeks. Madame Laveaux snapped her fingers, and we were clambering to get clothes on. Within minutes we were rushing out to the common area.

Voodoo was waiting, and he motioned for us to follow him.

The January wind was biting and numbing as I tugged my beanie down over my ears and clasped Nico’s gloved hand in mine. Silently, we followed Voodoo down the snowy path that led to the farm across the field. The shed he used as a temple loomed ahead at the back of the property.

With each step, my heart pounded harder. There was no doubt of my feelings, but the abilities Voodoo and his grandmother had were unnerving at times.

The snow swirled around our legs as the wind picked up. By the time we reached the small building, it was whipping my hair in my face. Voodoo ushered us inside, and we were immediately enveloped in warmth and the cloying scent of incense. Candles were scattered around the room and were the only light source.

We stomped the snow off our boots on the mat.

“Come. Sit.” Madame Laveaux said as she waved a hand to indicate we should sit on the other side of the short table. It barely sat two feet off the ground. There was a rug under it that I knelt on, then cast a glance at Nico. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

The moment we both settled in across from her, she began to chant in a language I didn’t recognize. My gaze took in the odd items laid out on the red fabric over the table. There were also two small glass bottles with the stoppers set to the side with an intricately decorated silver dagger.

When her chanting abruptly ended, the candle flames flickered, and a shiver skated over my skin.

She held out a delicate hand to me, and I placed mine in hers. Her skin was cool and soft as she turned my palm up.

Without a word, she picked up the silver dagger and brought it to my hand. Instinctively I pulled away, but she held me in a surprisingly strong grip. “Be still!”

I froze. “I’m sorry! This is a little freaky!”

Again, she brought the knife to my hand with a shake of her head and a sigh. She used the razor-sharp tip to pierce the end of my index finger, and I gasped. Blood immediately pooled, and she held my finger over one bottle. When seven drops had fallen in the bottle, she capped it, then used my bleeding finger to trail over Nico’s bottom lip before she pushed my finger in his mouth. We both startled before the wet heat of his mouth wrapped around my injured finger stirred a primal need in my core.

Then she removed it and placed a small silk square over it and motioned for me to hold pressure on it.

“Control your senses, young Nico,” she murmured, then repeated the process with him after removing his glove. But with him, she placed eleven drops in the bottle before corking it. When she raised his finger to paint his blood over my lower lip, my heart raced.

The second his blood hit my lip, a tingling sensation washed over me. The coppery tang hit my tongue when she pushed his fingertip into my mouth. Then my tongue began to tingle. My lips closed around him, and I realized he was touching me. His respirations were labored, and his eyes were closed tight.

He released a relieved breath when she removed his finger and placed a matching square of silk over his, which he held in place.

She chanted in a low murmur as she made motions and lowered her head as if in prayer. Then she abruptly lifted her head, and her silver-blue eyes hit us both.

“Now you go. I need peace for this work. One tiny miscalculation and it could have disastrous results.” We froze and gave her mouth-gaping stares.

She rolled her eyes. “Kidding—I just need time to work. I will find you when the time is right. Do not go far.”

Dual huffs of relief left us as we glanced at each other and shook our heads.

As if I’d go far when she told me I was having my baby tomorrow.

Jesus, what had we gotten ourselves into?

Voodoo stayed behind with his crazy-ass grandmother, and I returned to the clubhouse with Nico. I’d always loved the woman, but damn she had a flare for drama.

While Nico had an impromptu meeting with Venom and Raptor, I made a sandwich, then went to his room. Exhausted, I rested in his bed, only waking when his heat pressed against my back and the weight of his arm wrapped around me.

Cocooned in the safety of his arms, I slept.