Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“The right ingredients? What are those?” Finn asked cautiously.
Goody Albright named them off on her fingers.
“I’ll need a vial of moonflower sap…a pinch of powdered Werebear claw, willingly donated…as well as a few strands of hair from the ones who are cursed. Other than the hair, of course, I can get all of that right here, in Hidden Hollow. But there’s one more ingredient I can’t get—something that only the cursed one can get.”
“What’s that?” Ronan asked, raising his eyebrows skeptically.
“Well, if the stag your friend killed really was one of Madam Locasta’s special, blessed beasts, then a bitter berry bush should have sprung up in the place where its blood was spilled,” Goody A explained. “I’ll need berries from that bush to add to the potion to use as a magical activator. That allows the potion to grab onto your particular curse and wash it out of your system when you drink it,” she added.
“So you want us to go back to the place where we were cursed to find some special berries that might or might not be there? Yeah, right,” Ronan snorted.
“Ronan is right—what if the, uh, demi-goddess woman is there and she just decides to blast us to dust this time?” Finn asked, frowning.
“Look, do you wish to be free of your curse or not?” Goody Albright asked, looking irritated.
“Of course we do!” Ronan growled. “We’re just not eager to go back for a second helping of punishment!”
Goody A sighed and shrugged her shoulders, which made the ostrich feathers on her dressing gown flutter.
“Well, it’s up to you. I can’t brew the potion without the berries.”
“Maybe we ought to go get them, Ronan,” Finn said. “I mean, what have we got to lose? I’m really afraid the next time I Shift, I won’t be able to get back out of my Fur Form,” he added. “What can be worse than getting stuck as a Beast permanently like Thorne did?”
“Death would be worse,” Ronan snapped. It was clear he didn’t trust either Goody A or myself. He glared at us. “How do we know you’re not just tricking us?”
Goody A began to look angry.
“Now why would I try to trick you? I don’t even know you two! It’s the middle of the night and I’m trying to be helpful.”
“Maybe you’re just acting helpful so we’ll trust you and trust the Succubus too,” Ronan accused her. “That way she can get us alone and fucking drain us.”
I drew myself up and started to say something but Goody A beat me to it.
“I’ll have you know that Goldie is only half-Succubus and she’s very careful when she chooses a partner not to drain him,” she snapped. “She’s an upstanding member of his community and she has been for years. I would trust her with my life and I won’t hear you saying nasty, untrue things about her!”
Ronan looked taken aback and Finn looked embarrassed.
“We’re sorry, Goody Albright,” he said. “It’s just that Werebears are solitary creatures. We’re not very trusting of magic users.”
To my surprise, Ronan apologized too. He inclined his head to Goody Albright and said,
“If I have offended, then I am sorry.” He turned to me. “But you did admit to doing a lust spell to draw us in.”
“I was trying to draw one or two willing males who wouldn’t mind helping me feed my craving,” I pointed out. “I didn’t know the magical lust tea I drank would draw the two of you specifically.”
“So you admit you want to feed on us!” Ronan exclaimed triumphantly.
“I admit that I wanted to have sex with you—both of you,” I added, nodding at Finn as well—who went adorably beet red. “Not to drain you—just to recharge my batteries, so to speak. But now I may have changed my mind. If I wanted to sleep with a prickly, rude, ignorant man I could have just gone to the Human World to find one!”
This insult clearly stung—no magical Creature wants to be compared with a human.
“You’d better watch your mouth, Succubus,” Ronan growled at me.
Finn put a hand on his arm.
“Come on, Ronan—she’s right. You’re being an ass. Goldie might have called us here to, uh, help feed her cravings…” He turned red again as he talked, but kept going. “But she listened to our problem and now she’s trying to help us. You can’t distrust everyone or we’ll never get anywhere in breaking the curse.”
“Well…all right.” Ronan looked at me. “I’m sorry. I’ve just heard a lot of bad stories about Succubusses. Or Succubi. Or whatever.”
“As Goodie A pointed out I’m only half-Succubus. I can and do control myself,” I said firmly. “I’ve never drained a partner to the point of death in my life. Having sex with someone like me is like giving blood—you only give a pint to help the person in need—not every drop of blood in your body. And of course, the more people who give blood, the less they each have to give to the friend they’re helping.”