Chapter 6: All Worked Up

Rick's POV 

There was an unreality to the proceedings as we stood by the gate to the compound. When Daphne and I had split, she had nearly split me in two. I had been in the hospital for weeks. Ironically, I'd been a soldier for years and had never been injured that badly. In any case, I'd made a rule since then - no witches inside the compound without clearance from me. Ever. And now I was bringing one in myself. Desperate times, I supposed. 

"I'm honored," Alexis said with a smile. "Is it ok if I ask, why am I the only witch allowed to visit your home in so long?" She had no idea of the reason, and no connection to Daphne, so she couldn't possibly be expected to realize how her innocent question brought back memories that I had worked incredibly hard to forget. 

"Long story," I replied brusquely, softening my response with a slight smile. "The important thing is, you're here, and we're grateful for your help." 

She was standing close to me as I unlocked the gate with the biometric scanner, and her tantalizing scent made my mouth water. Why did she have to smell exactly like my favorite food of all time? It didn't seem fair at all. I wondered if the Moon Goddess was torturing me for some unknown reason. 

"Show us where you saw the creature," Alexis told Sam as we made our way to his backyard. "This thing probably lives somewhere nearby. They don't typically travel far from home. My guess is, it has a nest in the woods you mentioned earlier." 

Sam lived close to the compound entrance. The idea had been that he would be first on the scene if intruders came pounding at our gates. The fact that the intruder came from within was more than a little disturbing to me.

"Ugh, these things have nests?" Sam exclaimed, his features mirroring my feelings of disgust. "What does it look like?" 

"Like that," Alexis replied with a sigh, nodding in the direction of what at first glance appeared to be a pile of sticks. I drew my sword from its sheath as we slowly approached the object and took a deep breath. The pile of sticks was covered in a stringy, gooey white material that reminded me of a spider's web, but somehow worse. There were bits of bone and fur stuck around the edges in the shape of an irregular circle. In its center was what appeared to be a leathery egg sac. It was a mottled, dark green, and coated with the same sort of slippery white material. I had seen a lot in my time as a soldier, but this was a whole new level of disgust. 

"I'm really glad you called us," Alexis said, solemnly regarding the object. "That thing is about to become a mother. We're going to need to kill it, as well as its mate, and destroy that egg before hundreds of spider babies are released into your compound." 

"Can I help?" Sam asked, his face etched with concern. "This looks like a pretty ugly situation. And I'm a good fighter, I know that I can do some damage to that thing."

I didn't doubt that he could. I'd seen Sam in action. He'd saved my life on more than one occasion. He was brave, strong, and honorable. I was lucky to have him on my side.

And much as I would have loved more help, this was a different type of fighting we were doing, and I didn't want him to get hurt. Sam was unstoppable in a straight fight. However, I didn't know how these creatures fought. Not yet, anyway.

"Stay inside with your family, and keep your doors locked," I told him brusquely. "You're my Beta, and I won't risk your safety." Sam nodded and headed toward the house. 

There was an additional reason I wanted Sam to stay behind, but I didn't want to worry him by pointing it out. If things went sideways, I would need Sam to be able to protect his daughter. I didn't think it would come to that, but I wasn't going to have the death of a child on my conscience. Better to be safe than sorry.

***

Alexis's POV 

It was far worse than I had imagined. I assumed that the thing had a home nearby, but it had never occurred to me that it might want to start a family. Now we had two full-grown monsters and their potential children to contend with. I wished we had stopped for coffee. 

"So there's a dad in the picture, great," Rick replied with a sigh, scanning the property with a soldier's intensity. "You can't have spider monsters growing up without a positive role model in their lives. What do we do first? Destroy the sack or take out the parents?" 

I couldn't help but admire Rick's broad soldiers and iridescent green eyes as he held his sword in hand, his long, lean body poised to attack. It turned me on, despite the situation, making me want to wrap my arms around him, and more. I wondered what it would be like to kiss him. To taste his lips, and feel him respond to my caress. I wanted to make him moan.

This man was a distraction. 

It was all terribly inconvenient timing. It didn't matter in any case, as before I could respond in any way, Spider-Mom showed up on the scene, and she didn't look happy. She skittered from the treeline in a way that made my teeth hurt, like nails across a chalkboard. Her eyes were bright red (the mark of the female spider stalker), and her mouth opened to give a blood-curdling shriek, displaying razor-sharp fangs. 

"Let's go with Mom," I shouted, perhaps unnecessarily, withdrawing a vial of freezing potion from my knapsack. Its purpose was self-explanatory. Once ingested, either by mouth or through the skin, it immobilized whatever was trying to attack you. I seriously doubted that Spider-Mom was interested in drinking it, so I planned to pour it over her, allowing Rick to kill it. But plans don't always work out. 

"I've got her!" Rick exclaimed, advancing on the thing. Unfortunately, she was faster than either of us had hoped. Rick swung at her, his sword gleaming in the sunlight, but she evaded him easily, skittering left and right. I crept toward her from behind, trying to force her to move toward Rick, but she evaded me as well. She unexpectedly ran into the forest, disappearing into the treeline.

"What just happened?" Rick asked, his handsome brow furrowed in confusion. "She left us alone with her babies? That makes no sense at all!" 

It either made no sense or it made perfect sense. She either fled the scene entirely, or she was getting Spider-Dad involved. If I were a spider-stalker mom, I knew what I would do. 

"Destroy the egg sac now, before she comes back," I told him. "Hurry. We don't have much time!"

Rick did as I asked, driving his sword into the sac over and over until it was a pulpy mess. I sprinkled some witching cleanser over the remains, just in case. It was essentially bug-repellent with a kick and would destroy whatever might have somehow survived. 

"And here comes Spider-Dad," Rick remarked with a wry smile. "I wonder what he was doing out there. Do you think he was watching a ball game? Maybe hosting a barbecue? I'll bet he's annoyed that he got dragged away to deal with us." Spider-Dad sure looked annoyed. The two creatures chittered together in a high-pitched squeal and made their way toward us. This wasn't going to be easy. 

"I'll immobilize the mother, while you deal with the father," I told him, wiping a bead of sweat from my brow with the back of my hand. "That way you don't have to take on both of them at once." But Rick wasn't listening. He'd forgotten the number one rule: no shifting allowed. 

"Rick, stop," I yelled, but it was too late. He had already shifted and was heading toward both creatures simultaneously. A single bite could kill him. 

"They could kill you in your wolf form, you idiot!" I yelled, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I ran into the fray. I pulled my dagger out of my knapsack and headed toward the action. I jumped in front of the father, waving my weapon around like the crazy person I felt like I was becoming. 

"Come and get me, a*shole!" I yelled, as the creature growled and stood its ground. "I killed your egg sac! It was me! What are you, a coward? Don't tell me you're afraid of a little witch!" I wasn't sure if it understood me or not, but insulting it made me feel better for some reason. The creature charged at me, and I covered it in my potion, which worked beautifully. It froze right in its tracks, twisting and wiggling its grizzled head trying to break free from my spell. 

"Now hold still!" I said with a grin and stabbed it through its nasty little heart. So far, so good. But when I looked back at Rick, I was horrified to find that he was back in his human form with three huge bite marks. He'd killed the mother; it was on its back, eight legs in the air with a sword through its heart. But if we didn't act fast, he was going to die too. 

"What did I tell you?" I exclaimed, running over to Rick, who judging from the smug grin on his face was completely unaware that there was a problem. "It bit you in your wolf form! If we don't fix this now, you're going to die!”

"What's the problem?" he asked, bewildered by my reaction. "I told you I'd kill it, and it's dead. What are you getting all worked up about now? I feel fine. It bit me, so what? I think you're working with bad information."

Rick was a typical alpha male. He was fine, nothing to worry about. Blah Blah Blah.  

I fervently wished that were the case, but I could see the telltale signs of the poison already taking hold. Black tendrils were already working their way out of the bite marks. If left untreated, they would wind all the way to his heart. 

"We need to make out, now," I told him brusquely, pushing him into the cover of the trees. "If we don't, you're going to die a slow, painful death." There was exactly one way to keep Rick alive at this point, and I deliberately hadn't mentioned it in our previous conversation, as it made me uncomfortable. Sex magic.

I had never practiced it before. Not even with my previous boyfriend. It wasn't black magic, but it wasn't exactly white magic either, and that gray area scared the hell out of me. But as I looked at Rick I realized that, annoying though he may be at times, losing him scared me more. 

"That's an interesting line, Alexis," Rick replied with a chuckle, eyes glimmering in amusement. "If you wanted to take this to the next level, all you had to do was ask." His arrogance wasn't helping his cause, and for a moment I considered withdrawing the offer. But I knew that wasn't an option. 

"This isn't about you and me, it's about life and death. Specifically, your life. If you want to live, take off your clothes," I told him brusquely and removed my dress. "We don't need to have full-on sex. But we do need to make out so that I can work some sex magic and heal you."

"Whatever you say," he said, flashing me a smug grin. "Are you sure there isn't something about these woods that turns you on? Because personally, I prefer-"

I silenced him with a kiss before he could completely ruin his chances of remaining alive. One more word and I decided that I might just let nature take its course. 

And then, something else took hold of us.

I didn't know whether it was my spell or just the nearness of him, but it was like nothing I had ever experienced. His kiss was cruel, and spread liquid fire throughout my body. His hands were in my hair, his mouth on mine, and the world stopped. His touch was sheer electricity, sending shockwaves down my spine. He slowly lowered me to the forest floor, and I could feel the pine needles creating a delightful friction against my bare back. He kissed me again, stoking the flames between us. 

"Do you like this?" he whispered, fingers trailing gently down to find me wet and ready for him. "Do you want more?"