Mikayla was almost finished dressing when her sisters burst through the door.
Ciar growled at them instinctively. Mikayla he might forgive, but her meddlesome sisters were a thorn in his side.
“Hey guys,” Mikayla said . “Did you just get back?”
Tamsyn nodded, glancing at Ciar. “Yeah, you sent us on a bit of a wild ride last night.”
“Are you all right?” Mikayla demanded, her concern clear in her voice.
Wyn waved her hand in dismissal. “What do you think? People don’t call us witches for nothing.”
“What did you find?”
Wyn and Tamsyn exchanged a long look. “Well,” Tamsyn hedged.
“Your solution,” Wyn said, obviously not sharing her sister’s reticence.
Ciar trotted to the edge of the bed, watching the conversation. What was going on? Where had the troublesome sisters gone and why? He glanced at his lover, not liking the idea of even more secrets.
“We think we found what you were looking for,” Tamsyn told Mikayla. “And she’s waiting downstairs in the kitchen.”
Mikayla froze, still as a statue. The reaction troubled Ciar. What had happened to put that bleak look in her eyes? She turned to him and the expression on her face was like a dagger in his chest. He growled at the sisters. Surely if they left he’d be able to change back. The electricity surging through him was almost enough burst from his skin. He needed his own body right now. Something was very wrong.
“Who is it?” Mikayla breathed, not looking away from him.
Tamsyn glanced at Ciar before murmuring, “His ex-fiancée, Alina.”
The world whirled around him. Alina? Had the sisters just said Alina was here? The breath froze in his tiny chest.
“Fiancée?” Mikayla whispered in horror.
Ciar launched himself from the bed. His tiny claws scraped against the wood as he bolted from the room.
He was vaguely aware of Mikayla and her sisters racing after him but he didn’t slow. Only one thought rang through his mind.
Alina was here.
* * * * *
Mikayla raced after Ciar. When he burst into the kitchen, she threw out her arms to catch her sisters before they could stumble into the room and dampen the magic. From the hallway they watched the black smoke envelop the little dog before Ciar stepped from the wisps.
“He’s attracted to her,” she reported dully.
“That’s a good thing, right?” Tamsyn asked.
Mikayla couldn’t reply as she watched the woman waiting by the sink turn and face the man behind her.
She was radiantly beautiful. Her hair was as dark as Ciar’s and hung well past her waist. Silver eyes widened when she saw the man waiting for her.
Mikayla thought she looked more like a fairy princess than a demon. She was small and petite. The kind of delicate creature men loved to protect. The formal blue dress she wore hugged her perfect body, accentuating her soft curves.
Alina was beautiful, composed and worst of all, his kind. One thing Mikayla could never be.
Mikayla leaned against the wall as she watched her lover move toward the angelic woman as if in a trance.
“Alina.” He breathed her name like a prayer.
A smile curved Alina’s red lips as she raised a trembling hand to Ciar.
Mikayla looked away as he pulled the foreign woman into his arms, crushing her to him in a tight embrace.
“What are you doing here?” Ciar asked, burying his face in her jet-black hair.
“The witches found me,” she replied in a soft, lyrical voice. “They said you needed me. How could I stay away when you were in trouble?”
Ciar stiffened in her arms and stepped back, his gaze swinging to Mikayla’s as she stood at the end of the hall.
“Go,” Tamsyn whispered in her ear, pushing her forward.
Mikayla took a step forward, gliding toward the kitchen. What happened if she stepped into the room and Ciar reverted to his dog form? How would she survive the knowledge he no longer wanted her now that this new woman was here?
Taking a deep breath, she stepped across the threshold.
Ciar didn’t change. He kept staring at her with eyes filled with questions. Mikayla released a shuddering breath of relief.
“Why did you bring Alina here?” he demanded.
“We thought she might be able to help us with the spell. Alina, welcome to our home.”
The woman regarded her with sharp eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “I am more than willing to help.”
“Let me show you to the guest bedroom. I’m sure you two have a lot of catching up to do.”
Alina looked up at the demon by her side and smiled. “Yes, I believe we have.”
“Wait,” Ciar said. “First I want to know why—”
“Alina, right this way,” Wyn said, striding into the kitchen.