Eight Lives (Match Made In Hell Book 1) Read online

  “Well . . . it’s weird. Being human . . . ish,” I explained. I’d felt the desire for him before, but as a cat, it was just a small annoyance that lingered from my years as a human. In this body, it seemed to burn inside of me.

  I hated this body, I decided.

  It made me want things I wasn’t allowed to want. It made me wish for things that could never come to be.

  “It’s been a long time since you were human. I suppose it’ll take some adjusting. I’m going to do everything I can to ensure you can be yourself again. I promise, Edmund,” Anselm told me, his voice deep and luring. My ears twitched towards the sound.

  I gave another smile. “Thanks,” I said. He would do everything to make sure I was a cat again. It was best that way. What good would I be as a man?

  Besides, if I was human, I might die, and I didn’t want to leave him.

  “Should I carry you to bed?” Anselm teased.

  I laughed, holding up my arms, and he swept me off the counter. He pulled me in close to his body, and I could feel the strength in each fingertip, the cold that seeped through his shirt, the solid wall of sinew and bone that rested beneath his clothing.

  “I can get used to this,” I teased back, wrapping my arm around his neck, breathing in his familiar scent as he walked slowly towards the room.

  “Like you aren’t already,” Anselm countered. He was always carrying me around when I was a cat. People probably thought he had an unhealthy attachment to me, but I didn’t care. It would be the same if it were the other way around. Anselm was my guy, and I was his. He was my best friend, and I…I would do anything to make him happy.

  Getting back into bed, I pressed myself into Anselm’s side and moved as close to him as I could. Anselm’s fingers twisted around my tail, and something white hot shot through my body.

  A foreign sound parted my lips, even as I slapped my hand over my mouth.

  My heart pounded.

  “Edmund?” Anselm eyes were wide as he peered down at me.

  “I’m sorry!” I exclaimed, trying to jump out of the bed, but he was faster. He wrapped his arm around my middle as he yanked me closer.

  Blood rushed in my ears. My body burned in a way it hadn’t in a long time.

  “It’s okay. Just calm down. Breathe.” Anselm lips were at my ear as he spoke. I squeezed my eyes shut. My cock throbbed in a way I’d thought it never would again.

  I wanted to flee, but he wouldn’t let me.

  Anselm moved his fingers to my tail again, and I shuddered. He slid his hand along the length, and my cock pulsed as though he was touching me there.

  Why was this happening? It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

  My tail . . . it was so sensitive.

  “I’ll cum,” I whimpered. I could feel it building quickly.

  No one had ever touched me, not this way—not Anselm.

  “It’s okay,” Anselm said. His fingers were still moving along my tail, and my cock jumped. I shook my head, trying to hold back, but it was impossible.

  “Anselm!” I cried out, my seed shooting hard from my body and soiling the shirt I was wearing. My whole body relaxed as I panted. A tingle ran through me, and then suddenly, I was trapped inside the T-shirt I had been wearing until Anselm freed me.

  “Are you okay?” Anselm asked, rubbing my head.

  I was happy I couldn’t blush as a cat, but my words seemed to have left me as well, so I only nodded.

  I was fine, but my heart was still pounding.

  I knew Anselm, being a vampire, could hear it, and I wanted to die just to be free of my embarrassment.

  Anselm

  The sun had set.

  Edmund stood as a man at the doorway, blocking my exit. He didn’t want me to leave, but I had to. We needed to find someone who could help—someone who could help him.

  “Elex is going to be here any moment,” I reminded him. I’d already swallowed my pride and knocked on my neighbor’s door and asked him to come…pet sit. He had been confused as to why Edmund couldn’t stay on his own, and I hadn’t bothered explaining it to him. Of course, when I’d returned from asking my neighbor to lend me a hand, my cat had no longer been a cat. Instead, he was the short stack in front of me who was trying to prevent me from getting out my front door.

  “I’m in my human form. I have clothes. I can go with you,” he said.

  I shook my head. “No, you can’t. You’re still a human—” Human enough, in any case. The pretty ears on his head, buried between strands of midnight-black hair, and his long fluffy tail might have said he wasn’t completely human, but the smell of his blood was still an invitation to a lot of creatures. The last thing I wanted to do was spend my night defending him when I needed to find someone powerful enough to fix him.

  “You’re not being fair,” he whined, pressing his hands against my chest. If I wanted, I could have picked him up and set him out of my way. It wouldn’t be hard. He was still so tiny.

  “And what am I supposed to say to Elex?” he questioned. “Surprise! I’m only half cat now!”

  “If that works,” I replied, sliding my fingers into his hair. I found his ear with my thumb and index finger, and his eyes closed as he leaned into the touch, purring without control. I loved how he did that. He seemed to relax into me whenever I reached for him. It would be something I missed when he was a cat again. “I’m sure Elex will understand.”

  “I’m not happy,” he huffed, stomping his foot.

  “So, which one are you—Grumpy?” I teased.

  “I’m feeling murderous,” he retorted, tipping his nose up into the air and glaring.

  “So you’re the evil stepmother?” I asked, fighting a smile. “I’m not sure you have the right parts.” He was a boy even when he was a cat.

  “Anselm,” he whined.

  I reached out, pulling him into my chest. He curled his fingers in my shirt as he frowned. “I will be home before sunset. Just have Elex order some pizza and enjoy some time with your friend, little kitty.” He and Elex would get to talking and he wouldn’t even notice I was gone before long.

  “Fine,” he said, his head falling. I grasped his chin, gently tipping his head back up before I leaned in. My lips brushed against the corner of his mouth, and I closed my eyes, inhaling softly before pulling back. I needed to leave. While I was out, I would find something to eat.

  “I’ll be back,” I told him, stepping away.

  He grasped my arm. “Eat before you go.” He tipped his head to the side.

  I stepped towards him, my fingers dancing across his throat before I bowed my head and breathed him in. Since the first time I had fed from him, I’d wanted another taste. His blood was warm and sweet. Even now, the thought of sinking my teeth into him had my mouth watering.

  My tongue flicked out, and I lapped at his throat. He moaned softly. My fangs extended, and I pulled back. “I can grab a bite to eat on my way back,” I told him as I tried to bring my desires back under control. The last time I had feasted on him, he’d turned back into a cat. I didn’t want to spoil his time with Elex by exhausting him. “Or, I suppose you can feed me when I return, if you insist on being breakfast.”

  “More like dinner,” he replied.

  “Or dessert,” I countered. He laughed, a soft sound that danced in the air. I smiled, leaning in again to press a kiss to his temple. He pressed his fingers against my chest, and we lingered. There was a gentle knock on the door.

  Pulling away, I stepped around him and opened the door, seeing Elex in the hallway. The scent of hound was never going to wash out of my belongings. I was going to have to throw my whole house away, including everything in it—with the exception of the cat, I supposed.

  “I left some money on the counter for food. If you need anything, my number is on the fridge,” I told Elex. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need anything.

  “Oh. You don’t have to feed me,” he said, stepping through the doorway.

  He didn’t seem to notice Edmund standing ner
vously only a couple of feet away, half hidden behind a hall plant.

  “I’m not. It’s for him.” I nodded to Edmund. “But I suppose you should eat too.”

  Elex looked to Edmund, his brows pulling down.

  I stepped out of the apartment, shutting and locking the door behind me.

  As I left my building, I dug out my phone. I unlocked it and looked at the list I had compiled of every occult shop in New Synergy as the people of the city flowed around me, unworried about my problems. Rose Company & Apothecary wasn’t the best place to start, but it was a good place, at the very least. Someone was bound to know someone who could help at one of the shops that catered to the different. Dark witches used essential oils too.

  I stepped to the curb before I lifted my hand in the air. It only took a few seconds for an empty taxi to pull up beside me. After I climbed into the backseat, I listed the address.

  The city flew by in a blaze of darkness and flashing neon lights. I peered down the empty streets—the ones that led to an older, far more dangerous part of the city—and hoped that my search didn’t take me long and didn't push me down ancient, familiar paths. My life was not what it once had been. I did not want to indulge in the things I had before.

  But I couldn’t deny it might be necessary if I wanted Edmund to be okay.

  And I did want him to be okay, more than I wanted anything else in the world.

  “Rose Company & Apothecary,” the taxi driver spoke, turning in his seat. His face was haggard, weathered by time. The mole on his cheek was dark with tiny strands of hair growing out of it. He had probably never been a looker, not even in his younger days, I imagined. But appearances could be deceiving. Ugly was a mask that hid people well.

  “Thank you,” I told him, pulling my fare out of my pocket and paying him.

  “You want me to wait?” he asked, counting out what I had tipped.

  I thought about it. “I just need a moment,” I told him.

  He nodded, and I shut the door, turning and crossing the sidewalk.

  The building smelled like lavender and sage. Someone was burning far too many incenses at once. My eyes watered, and I blinked but refused to inhale. The dead didn’t need oxygen.

  “Can I help you?” a young woman with fire red hair and lipstick to match asked, bouncing around the counter towards me. “Oh! Don’t tell me! I know just what you need.”

  She grabbed my hand and released me just as quickly. Her eyes widened.

  Was I her first brush with the supernatural? She was human enough.

  “I’m looking for someone—someone with a particular set of skills. Perhaps you could point me in the right direction?” I asked, keeping my voice smooth, attempting not to scare her if she had, indeed, never had a close encounter with my kind.

  “O-Okay,” she stuttered, smoothing her hands down her skirt.

  “A witch, maybe. One bearing a mark, perhaps,” I continued, holding her gaze.

  She swallowed hard and shook her head, pressing her hands down the front of her flowing green skirt, smoothing it out. “I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I don’t—”

  “Tessa!” a sharp voice snapped. My gaze lifted and settled on a much older woman.

  The air around her vibrated, shimmered almost. She was a witch, not of the dark or the light. If I had to guess, she was a simple hedge witch, mixing her potions, piddling her wares, attempting to make a living in a world that didn’t always make living easy.

  “Mother,” the young woman said as she scrambled away.

  “Go in the back,” said the older woman. Tessa slipped past her mother and behind a curtain. The woman waited a moment, probably for her daughter to put some distance between us. She clearly knew what I was. But even hedge witches had the keen sense of their sisters with more talent.

  “You’ll have to forgive Tessa,” the older woman said once Tessa was safely away. She walked forward with confidence.

  This was not her first brush with my kind. As a witch, even one of her weak talents, she was . . . different. We were both the whispered-about things that made a home of New Synergy. She was just far more accepted than I was.

  “She was just trying to be helpful,” I replied.

  Unfortunately, Tessa was human, and they were rather useless.

  “What can I help you with, sir?” the woman asked.

  I repeated, “I’m looking for a witch, one bearing a mark, perhaps.”

  “There’s no one like that here,” she replied, her lips pressing into a tight, thin line. Apparently, she didn’t approve of my query. “Nor would they be welcome here.”

  It was answer enough. She could not help me. Even if she could, she would not.

  “Thank you for your time,” I replied, offering a soft bow and leaving.

  Next, I would try A Spark of Magic.

  But first I would need another taxi.

  Mine was gone.

  Edmund

  Elex stared at me after Anselm left. Clearly, he was wondering why Anselm needed him if he had someone else to cat sit for him. Or maybe he watched me because he could see the ears and tail attached to my human body.

  “Hi.” I gave a small wave.

  “Hello,” Elex said, sounding unsure and confused.

  “It’s me, Edmund,” I explained. “Surprise.”

  “Yeah. Whoa. Surprise.” Elex shook his head.

  I rushed to explain why I was suddenly human. “Remember, I told you I could talk because I was human and a witch cursed me. Well I’m pretty sure she’s dead and the curse is wearing off. Anselm is out looking for a new dark witch now.”

  “Wait. What? Why?” Elex asked. His initial shock seemed to turn into something else.

  “To re-curse me,” I said, watching his eyes widen.

  “And I thought my relationship was twisted,” Elex said, and I laughed softly.

  “It’s better this way. At least as a cursed cat, I know I can’t grow old and die,” I explained, looking over at Elex. He was just human. I liked Elex because he reminded me of me. Like maybe if I had been born in this time period, Elex and I would have been great human friends.

  “I don’t know if I’d want to live forever as a cat,” Elex said, finally coming deeper into the house. He seemed to relax, and I guessed I’d always liked how Elex just seemed to roll with it. Once he got over the first shock, he always just accepted the strangeness.

  “So can I pet your—?” Elex flapped his hands on his head where my cat ears were on mine.

  “Just not the tail,” I warned him, and he smiled as he reached for me and petted my ears.

  “What happens if I touch your tail?” Elex asked, kneading my ear between his finger.

  “I get hard and cum,” I answered.

  “Whoa. Really?” Elex asked, leaning back and searching my face. Maybe he thought I was just messing with him. I didn’t know why it felt so good when Anselm had touched my tail or why my body had responded the way it had, but it had.

  “That’s what happened when Anselm did it,” I explained, my cheeks burning. It was just earlier today when Anselm had touched my tail. Neither of us had thought my reaction would be so . . .

  “You guys are so weird.” Elex’s comment drew me from my thoughts. I inspected him, wondering if Anselm and I were actually weird.

  “We are not,” I defended us after a moment of thought. “And what about you?”

  He had told me before that he had a boyfriend. From what he said, it was serious.

  “What about me?” Elex asked, his tone far more innocent than he was.

  “Sometimes I see a guy just sitting outside of your apartment. What’s that about?” I didn’t know if it was his boyfriend or someone else he knew in some other way or something else. I just knew that Anselm was always pissed whenever the guy was in the hallway.

  “Oh. Him. He’s my stalker.” Elex brushed it off, and my eyes widened.

  “That’s not safe,” I exclaimed, grasping his wrist. Maybe if I told Anselm, he could h
elp him? Stalkers were dangerous. In a building like this, how was he even getting up to our floor?

  “It’s fine. I’ve known him forever. He’s just my boyfriend’s little brother,” Elex explained.

  I watched him for a moment. “That sounds . . . tough. I guess he has a crush.”

  Why else would he be stalking him?

  “He can’t stand me,” Elex laughed. “He’s always hated me. He just—” Elex shrugged.

  “You’re so weird,” I commented in the same fashion he had. I didn’t understand what it was between him and the boy, but it sounded like a strange situation.

  “You wanna get out of here for a little?” Elex asked. I chewed on my lip, wondering if it was okay. I’d never left the house without Anselm. If I was going to be a human for a while, I supposed there would be times when I’d need to leave without Anselm.

  “All right,” I agreed. “But I can turn into a cat again at any moment. I’m not really sure how it works.” I thought it was better to warn him. If Anselm found a dark witch while he was out, the dark witch could re-curse me without me being present. Then when Anselm came back, I would just be a cat.

  Elex gave one sharp clap as he bounced on his toes. “Then I get to look like the crazy cat man!” he exclaimed, and I laughed softly. His personality was always so upbeat and bubbly. I guessed that was another reason why I liked Elex. Sometimes Anselm could have really bad days where he was trapped in his depression, and Elex was always refreshing. I just wished Anselm could get along with him, but not too well I supposed.

  Anselm was still mine.

  I bit my bottom lip. I didn’t have the right to lay claim to him. Only I’d always had a silent claim on Anselm. If I stayed human, I wondered if . . .

  I shook my head. I had told myself a million times not to get carried away. If I wondered about what could never be, I would just make myself sad.

  “Are you okay?” Elex asked.

  I gave a small smile. “Yeah. Just thinking,” I told him, grabbing the money that Anselm had left behind for me. “I hope we’re getting food.”

  “I love food. What do you want to eat?” Elex asked.