Demons Don't Always Tell The Truth (Kate Storm Series Book 3) by Meredith Allen Conner
Authors: Meredith Allen Conner
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matter right now.
She frowned at me, opened her mouth. "She needs to be alone, Morgan." Drake wrapped an arm around her waist. He used the other to pull her hand off my shoulders.
A burst of cold air and Drake and I stood together in the hall.
"Everyone else is gone." I nodded some more, vaguely aware Drake was talking to me gently as if I was a child. "She didn't mean to hurt you."
Morgan hadn't hurt me. Ash had.
There was another burst of cold air.
The buzzing vibration hit my upper chest. My shoulders and neck. It swallowed me whole.
"Doll?" Al patted my cheek with his paw.
I didn't remember falling down.
"Doll? You're shakin' pretty bad." A small warm tongue licked my lips. "Don't worry. It's just us. I won't let anything bad happen to ya."
He meant now. Al must mean he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me now.
Because it couldn't get much worse.
I'd fallen for a demon. He'd used me.
I knew my coven was cursed to fail in love. I'd grown up with stories of the horrible things that happened when we ignored the curse. I'd even tested it myself a time or two.
I hadn't understood.
Not even a tiny bit.
If I had, I would have run far and long.
I never would have given that demon the time of day. Never would have planned to go to battle for him. For us.
I hadn't an inking of what love actually was.
Had not a single clue of what it truly meant.
To give everything. To offer up the foundation, the utter essence of yourself to another person. To chance it all.
If I had, if I'd known, I never would have risked it.
I never would have held out that hope.
Look where it left me. Crumbled in my hall. Shaking, lost and without purchase. Cradling the one constant in my life, because if I let go, then the rest of me would follow.
Vibrate apart into tiny pieces and float away into nothing.
"I got ya, Doll."
I slumped onto the cold wood floor. Al curled into my neck and I grabbed him on reflex. Held him tight to my skin. I couldn't get up. Couldn't move.
Every inch of me shook.
So I just laid there and held onto him. As if my life depended on it.
14. Lost.
I wrapped the blanket tighter around my shoulders. It didn't help. I couldn't seem to get warm.
Al lay curled up on my lap underneath the blanket.
We were out on my deck.
I wasn't sure of the time. Didn't care. I couldn't sleep and I couldn't seem to breath inside. So we were outside. Sitting.
The pretty trays of appetizers still sat where I'd placed them hours ago. The food stone cold and a total waste.
I hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. Didn't want to see the lonely remains of what had been.
Clouds had moved in about an hour ago, obscuring the stars and what little light kept me company.
I tried to care. Tried to tell myself this was nothing new. How many times had I been alone? Even with the few friends I had, I was still an outcast. Not part of their group. Any group.
And I'd been fine with that. There wasn't anything I could do about it anyways. I'd made my peace. Carved out my place in two different worlds.
Created a business that made a difference in people's lives.
And now I'd made a mockery of my own.
A matchmaking witch who couldn't see the truth about her own love life? Did I even know what I was doing?
How could I be so completely fooled?
I'd known Ash was hiding things from me. I knew he had some sort of sin. I honestly hadn't thought any of that had to do with me.
No one ever went out of their way to be close to me.
Although Morgan had. She'd had her own agenda too.
What kind of witch was I, if I couldn't trust my own intuition?
I'd failed all the way around.
There was a ball in my chest. A tight fist of pain, welling and growing. I knew if I let it out, I'd feel a little better. I might be able to breathe.
But for the life of me, I couldn't get it to move. Couldn't shed a single tear. Like my inner well had dried up completely and there was nothing left but barren dirt.
"Kate."
Maybe a part of me had been waiting
She frowned at me, opened her mouth. "She needs to be alone, Morgan." Drake wrapped an arm around her waist. He used the other to pull her hand off my shoulders.
A burst of cold air and Drake and I stood together in the hall.
"Everyone else is gone." I nodded some more, vaguely aware Drake was talking to me gently as if I was a child. "She didn't mean to hurt you."
Morgan hadn't hurt me. Ash had.
There was another burst of cold air.
The buzzing vibration hit my upper chest. My shoulders and neck. It swallowed me whole.
"Doll?" Al patted my cheek with his paw.
I didn't remember falling down.
"Doll? You're shakin' pretty bad." A small warm tongue licked my lips. "Don't worry. It's just us. I won't let anything bad happen to ya."
He meant now. Al must mean he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me now.
Because it couldn't get much worse.
I'd fallen for a demon. He'd used me.
I knew my coven was cursed to fail in love. I'd grown up with stories of the horrible things that happened when we ignored the curse. I'd even tested it myself a time or two.
I hadn't understood.
Not even a tiny bit.
If I had, I would have run far and long.
I never would have given that demon the time of day. Never would have planned to go to battle for him. For us.
I hadn't an inking of what love actually was.
Had not a single clue of what it truly meant.
To give everything. To offer up the foundation, the utter essence of yourself to another person. To chance it all.
If I had, if I'd known, I never would have risked it.
I never would have held out that hope.
Look where it left me. Crumbled in my hall. Shaking, lost and without purchase. Cradling the one constant in my life, because if I let go, then the rest of me would follow.
Vibrate apart into tiny pieces and float away into nothing.
"I got ya, Doll."
I slumped onto the cold wood floor. Al curled into my neck and I grabbed him on reflex. Held him tight to my skin. I couldn't get up. Couldn't move.
Every inch of me shook.
So I just laid there and held onto him. As if my life depended on it.
14. Lost.
I wrapped the blanket tighter around my shoulders. It didn't help. I couldn't seem to get warm.
Al lay curled up on my lap underneath the blanket.
We were out on my deck.
I wasn't sure of the time. Didn't care. I couldn't sleep and I couldn't seem to breath inside. So we were outside. Sitting.
The pretty trays of appetizers still sat where I'd placed them hours ago. The food stone cold and a total waste.
I hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. Didn't want to see the lonely remains of what had been.
Clouds had moved in about an hour ago, obscuring the stars and what little light kept me company.
I tried to care. Tried to tell myself this was nothing new. How many times had I been alone? Even with the few friends I had, I was still an outcast. Not part of their group. Any group.
And I'd been fine with that. There wasn't anything I could do about it anyways. I'd made my peace. Carved out my place in two different worlds.
Created a business that made a difference in people's lives.
And now I'd made a mockery of my own.
A matchmaking witch who couldn't see the truth about her own love life? Did I even know what I was doing?
How could I be so completely fooled?
I'd known Ash was hiding things from me. I knew he had some sort of sin. I honestly hadn't thought any of that had to do with me.
No one ever went out of their way to be close to me.
Although Morgan had. She'd had her own agenda too.
What kind of witch was I, if I couldn't trust my own intuition?
I'd failed all the way around.
There was a ball in my chest. A tight fist of pain, welling and growing. I knew if I let it out, I'd feel a little better. I might be able to breathe.
But for the life of me, I couldn't get it to move. Couldn't shed a single tear. Like my inner well had dried up completely and there was nothing left but barren dirt.
"Kate."
Maybe a part of me had been waiting
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