Such a Witch: A Paranormal Chick Lit Novel: Witch Shapeshifter Romance Read online

  Such a Witch

  Real Men Love Witches

  Celia Kyle

  Marina Maddix

  Contents

  Blurb

  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

  About the Authors

  Blurb

  Their chemistry can really raise the dead...

  No one suspects that straight-laced witch Aurora Rhonelle comes from a family of powerful necromancers–a fact they never let her forget. So what if she prefers Anne Klein over Anne Rice and pastels over shades of black? That shouldn't make her any less respectable. Unfortunately, never having raised a dead human does damage her street cred.

  With her new job as a Junior Investigator at Othercross Judiciary, Aurora is more desperate than ever to prove herself. Especially since her coworkers are all a pack of back-stabbing jackals and the higher-ups don't even know she exists. So it comes as a pleasant surprise–make that total shock–when her boss entrusts her with a case. One she screws up royally when the lead witness doesn't appear for court.

  Just when Aurora thinks her career is over, hope arrives in the form of a captivating wolf shifter who is not only a judge on her case, but also believes she's his fated mate. Crazy talk! She has far too much ambition to even think about men at this stage in her life, but Nate's persistence–not to mention her intense attraction to the laid-back werewolf–is hard to resist. But resist she must, if she wants to salvage her case and her career.

  But things aren't as they seem, and it takes the help of her wanna-be mate for Aurora to unravel the mystery. Now she just needs to unravel her feelings for Nate and reanimate a human to prove her worth.

  No bigs... right?

  One

  Aurora Rhonelle stood in front of her bedroom mirror, patting under her eyes. Were they puffy? They looked puffy to her.

  In the wake of their very public engagement, her roommate Kelly Holloway and Kelly’s gargoyle mate, Ronun Fluevog, hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. And, thanks to their nocturnal celebrations, Aurora was willing to bet nobody else in the house had either. She certainly hadn’t.

  Still, that was no reason she shouldn’t look her best. Stepping back, she admired the fitted, pink jacket and teal pencil skirt she was wearing. Swiveling so she could see the back, Aurora smiled to herself over the little darts she had added to make it hug her rump just a little bit more closely. Never one to go out of her way to call attention to her shape, she still took a bit of pride in her curves.

  Smart, she thought. Looking very smart, indeed.

  With that, she patted the pearls at her throat, tucked away a hair that was ever so slightly askew, and set off to meet the day. As soon as she was in the hallway, she could hear the good-natured laughter filtering up from the kitchen. Even with the very late night, everyone seemed to be up early and chipper.

  The whole of Hollow House felt bright and welcoming—to the point where Aurora wondered if the house itself was enhancing the light streaming through its windows, just to give a little lift to the celebratory energy buzzing from the previous night’s excitement. The engagement, that is. Not the noisy, private celebration that followed. As a sentient house, it certainly had its fair share of quirks.

  “All I can say is anybody who misses out on this party is gonna regret it for the rest of their fucking lives.” Kelly sat curled on Ronun’s lap at the kitchen table, looking every bit like she had been born there.

  “Language,” Aurora said with her usual genial mildness as she walked into the kitchen. At her presence, the table expanded ever so slightly to make room for her. “I hope everyone slept well.”

  “Small chance of that,” their other roommate, Tiffany Ufora, said shaking cereal into her bowl by the sink. She cut a sly glance over her shoulder, and Kelly descended into a fit of blushing giggles, digging her nose into Ronun’s shoulder.

  “Sorry!”

  “I’m not,” Ronun said through a contented grin. “If we’re keeping you up, you could just ask the house to soundproof your walls.”

  “Huh,” Aurora said, getting the milk out for Tiffany. “I hadn’t thought of that.” She made her way to the counter and got out a bowl for herself, filling it with the sugar-free granola clusters she thrived on.

  “You could try moving into the basement,” Nathan D’Orlock said. “I didn’t hear a thing.”

  The resident vampire had emerged from his personal dungeon, shirtless as ever, and the world was a better place for it. The moment he emerged from the dark stairwell, the house slammed the heavy curtains across the windows, blocking all sunlight, and amping up the illumination from the overhead fixtures.

  Kelly snickered. “Yeah, well, I’d say your attention was otherwise occupied.”

  “Fair ’nuff,” he said with a smirk.

  Nathan, Kelly, and Ronun shared a private laugh. Aurora looked at Tiffany, who just raised her eyebrows and settled herself at the table with a shrug. Nathan pitched himself into a chair and sprawled with the lazy ease of the eternally handsome.

  Aurora had long since stopped being abashed by his perpetual partial nudity. At first, it had put her into a state of constant embarrassment, but that period had thankfully passed. Still, she couldn’t help stealing the odd glance at his chiseled torso, not to mention his leather-clad buns. Even if he wasn’t exactly her type, it was hard to argue that he wasn’t aesthetically pleasing.

  “You’re looking sharp, Aurora,” Kelly said with genuine appreciation. “How do you do it every day? You must get up at five or something.”

  Only then did Aurora notice that the rest of her roommates were still clad in their disheveled pajamas.

  “I don’t get up at five,” she said, blowing on a fresh cup of coffee as though Kelly were being ridiculous. Of course, she wasn’t going to admit her alarm was set for five-fifteen. Aurora was usually showered, dressed and out the door before any of the household had even hit snooze for the first time.

  “Well, whatever routine you’ve got, I want some pointers. You look amazing.”

  “I like you just the way you are.” Ronun planted a kiss behind Kelly’s ear, earning him a delighted squeal.

  “I’m serious! The gal has fashion sense out the wazoo, and clearly, the scratch to back it up. Maybe you could put in a word for me at the Judiciary. I could use a well-paying gig.”

  “Most of it is thrifted, actually.” The words were out of her mouth in a flash, and she almost blushed at herself.

  “You’re kidding,” Tiffany said as Aurora slid in beside her. “No way.”

  Now that it was the focus of attention, Aurora had no choice but to soldier on and render her secrets. “It’s true. Careful thrifting and consignment shopping. I’ve got an eye for a bargain. Plus, I tailor things myself so it fits the way I want. It’s not that hard, really.”

  “Damn.” Kelly’s jaw was slack. “Well, whatever you’re doing, keep it up!”

  “I’ve always heard it said, ‘Dress for t
he job you want, not the job you’re getting paid for.’ So, why not?” She blew on her coffee again and took a sip. “You should hear the rest of the junior investigators complaining about having to dress business casual. If it weren’t for the dress code, they’d all be in jeans and tee shirts.”

  “Maybe you should campaign for that.” Nathan had that unreadable, cryptic look on his face again. “You’d really stand out then, huh?”

  “Uh huh.” Aurora turned her attention to her breakfast, doing her best to keep his snark from getting under her skin.

  “I’d say you’re not only dressing for it, babe.” Kelly leaned forward from Ronun’s lap and rapped twice on the table. “You’re working for it too. In early and out late? Is anybody else even there to notice the hours you’re putting in?”

  “I like to think they notice.” Her voice was quiet. With all the excitement in the house, how was it possible that Aurora now found herself the center of the conversation? It wasn’t exactly a position she was comfortable with. Thankfully, Kelly’s flighty heart was ready to move on.

  “See if you can tear yourself away before midnight tonight. Would ya? Because our engagement party is going to be lit! It’ll be just what you need to loosen up a bit. Let your hair down and get your freak on.”

  “Loosen up?” Nathan cracked out a dry, lethargic laugh. “This one? Not likely. She couldn’t let loose if she wanted to.” A laugh rippled over the table, and Aurora’s cheeks burned. Nathan let the chuckle drive him even further. “Shit, she’s wound so tight, springs are about to pop out of her ears.”

  Now everybody laughed in earnest. As much as she hated being the center of attention, being the butt of the joke was even worse. Without meaning to, she found herself clenching her hands into tight little fists. A tiny prickle of energy shot up from the tight ball in her stomach, down her arms and lit out into the room. Nobody else felt it. They were too busy laughing at her expense.

  Before she even realized it was happening, a half-decomposed mouse sprang onto the table, skittering for Nathan at full steam and leaving a wake of little tail bones with every step. It leapt on the leg of Nathan’s leather pants, darted up his bare chest and into his thick, wavy dark hair. He scrambled to his feet with a squawk, and suddenly the whole table was alight with new laughter.

  Before he could brush it away, the skeletal little devil hunkered down and pooped right on top of his head. In its half-skeletal state, it was mostly dust, but still... Everyone went wild; well, everyone except Nathan and Aurora. Most times, he was chill to the point of being nearly comatose, but now the vamp was shaking with real anger.

  For her part, Aurora kept her eyes fixed on the table. This was why she worked so hard to keep her emotions in check. Her necromantic powers were unpredictable, and she had a habit of unintentionally reanimating things when she was emotional. She hadn’t meant to revive the little rodent, but it had damn sure acted out her heart’s desire.

  “Dammit, Aurora,” Nathan groused, doing what he could to flick the little pebbles of poop out of his hair. “You did that on purpose!”

  “I’m sorry,” she said simply and sincerely. “I didn’t mean to.”

  “Oh, ha-ha. Tell me another.”

  “Really,” she said, standing up to face him. “I didn’t. It just...happens sometimes. I’m truly sorry.”

  And she was. Mostly. Thank the goddess no one asked if she didn’t take just a little secret delight in zombie mouse vengeance, because she was a terrible liar.

  Even so, Nathan’s flash of anger went out as quickly as it came. Not that he was happy about it, but at least the fire in his electric blue eyes had gone out. He plopped back into his chair and folded his arms.

  “Yeah, well...”

  Even if everyone else had found it a stone-cold riot, Aurora was rattled by the unexpected guest. Whatever they all might think of her, she wasn’t as put together as all that. Little things like that happened all the time, and she had to work hard to keep up the pretense of being so well-composed. Which was, you know, exhausting.

  Worse, she felt like she couldn’t tell anyone about how hard it was to keep up the façade. After all, she had an image to maintain. Especially if she wanted to get anywhere in this life, which was only made that much harder because she was a necromancer. Other magicals had strong feelings about necromancers, not always good.

  “Anyhoo,” Tiffany said, twinkling her little elfin, kohl-rimmed eyes. “When are your brothers coming for another visit?”

  At the mere mention of her brothers, Aurora’s stomach dropped.

  “You just wanna see the oldest one again… What’s his name?” Kelly asked Tiffany, knowing full well what his name was.

  “Rhys,” Tiffany sighed happily, drawing out his name like a dream.

  That brought another round of light chuckles, especially from Kelly. “You got it bad for that one.”

  “Maybe.” Tiffany blushed, making her pale face contrast even more with the purple streaks threading through her dyed black hair. It seemed downright incongruous for such a dark goth to behave like a love-struck schoolgirl.

  “No ‘maybe’ about it,” Kelly said. “This little girl wants Rhys’s pieces!” Again, the whole table came apart. In fact, the table itself shook in appreciation of the joke, coming dangerously close to sloshing milk out of Aurora’s bowl and onto her tidy little skirt.

  “Damn.” Even Nathan was laughing. “Wish I’d thought of that one.”

  Kelly looked proud of her word play. “Don’t worry about it, Tiff. I texted all of the Rhonelle bros invites to the party tonight. You’re welcome.”

  Aurora’s eyes darted up at the news. “You invited the boys?”

  “Are you kidding? I invited all the boys. Not just your brothers. So, you’re welcome too.”

  “Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod,” Tiffany breathed, all but clapping her hands like a kid in a candy store. Little hearts began to circle her head and a basket of mewling kittens materialized on the table. If Aurora’s necromancy manifested itself through random animals coming back to life, then cutesy little tricks were Tiffany’s forte—for better or for worse.

  “Say, Aurora, where’s that little mouse now?” Ronun feigned looking around. “One of these little kitties might be hungry.”

  Everyone was in rare form this early in the morning. For her part, Aurora shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t that there was any acrimony between her and her brothers—far from it. She loved her family fiercely. It was just that they actively embraced all of the darkness and gloom of necromancers she had so studiously worked to distance herself from. She didn’t even own a single scrap of black clothing.

  Having them attend their house parties was usually fun, but it only served to remind everyone where she came from. What she was supposed to be. Aurora wanted so much more than that.

  “Actually,” she said, rising from the table. “I ought to get going. Don’t want to be late.”

  “Are you serious?” Kelly called after her, but Aurora was already in the hallway heading for the door. In a moment, Kelly was leaning out the kitchen door. Amazing that she had managed to pry herself off Ronun’s lap. “Your job doesn’t start for another two hours!”

  “Still,” Aurora tossed back over her shoulder as she pulled the door open.

  “Whatever,” Kelly called. “Maybe you can use going in early as an excuse to leave early for the par-tay!”

  “Maybe.”

  Tugging the door shut behind her, Aurora strode down the steps and paused for a second. The air at that time of day was always so crisp and the sun warmed her cheeks. Honestly, that was as good a reason as any to head out early.

  After that incredibly brief snatch of pleasure she had allowed herself, Aurora turned her toes and began to walk briskly toward Othercross Judiciary. One of the other maxims she lived by reverberated between her ribs, driving her along the pavement.

  “If you’re not early, you’re late.”

  Two

  The party was alread
y in full swing by the time Aurora got home. But, then, it would be. Aurora had stayed at the Judiciary until nearly ten, and even leaving then had felt transgressive. Not that anyone but the janitorial staff even knew she was there.

  She could hear the ruckus before she even turned the corner. All she could do was hope that the neighbors were either very patient or fans of The Night Sparrows because Ryan Glittermist’s rock tenor was in the midst of serenading the entire street. It was hard to imagine anyone putting up too much of a fuss—they were a great band—but still. Maybe she could convince them to wrap up the music before midnight.

  The lawn was covered with laughing gargoyles smoking cigarettes like they were going out of style and chugging from red plastic cups. Say what you will, but when they weren’t made of stone, gargoyles really knew how to party. Three unicorns still hanging around from Ronun’s spectacular proposal to Kelly were grazing on the lawn. The whole atmosphere was equal parts joyous and raucous.

  “Aurora? Aurora Rhonelle?” A timid-looking figure on the sidewalk waved at her.

  “Yes?”

  “Thank goodness,” the man said. “Someone who actually lives here.”

  When she got closer, she recognized Louie Holloway fidgeting with a parcel in his hands.

  “You haven’t been in yet?” She cocked an eyebrow at the man the Holloway coven had appointed as the executor of Kelly’s parents’ will, and he offered a nervous smile back.

  “Hollow House and I aren’t exactly on the, uh, friendliest terms.”

  Aurora did what she could to stifle her smile, remembering everything the poor guy had been subjected to. Changing the subject seemed like the best course of action, so she pointed to the box in his sweaty palms.