Knot the Witch Next Door (Knotty Streak Omegaverse #3.5)

CHAPTER ONE – Carmilla

“Stir once clockwise, with freshly gathered dew. Stir once counter-clockwise, to strengthen the brew. Back again clockwise thrice to prove your devotion. And thrice counter-clockwise, adding loving intent to the potion.”

I stepped back, letting the liquid in the pot boil, and focused my mind on happy thoughts. Spooks, sweets, and all things pumpkin. No, wait. This was for Rosemary. Love, romance, and a happily ever after. My best friend deserved it.

The kitchen was far too modern to be a witch’s, but I’d added in my own style with clear bottled spices and other ingredients for my teas, and an antique kettle. A handmade straw broom hung on the wall and paper bats spread over the wall with the door to the living room. I glanced over at the jack-o-lantern cookie jar which contained pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies. Those would go so well with this brew.

Rosemary clutched her hands under her chin and peered into the pot. Her voice brought me back to wishing her romantic joy and a fabulous sex life. “Is it working? I can’t tell.”

The big diamond on her ring finger told me everything I needed to know. I didn’t know if there was real magic in the world, but I’d like to think there was. From everything I’d read, it was about intention, and Rosemary very much had her intention focused on her fiancé Sam as he was on her. No potion was needed, but as her best friend and maid of honor, it was my job to ease her worries.

“Smell that?” I bent forward and held back my hair as I inhaled deeply. “The rose hips and hibiscus blossoms have mingled, and the cinnamon has added in the perfect amount of spice.” I winked at her. “I’m covering all aspects of love for you.”

She giggled and nudged me. “You know that he isn’t lacking in that area.”

“I’ve heard all about it.” I performed a dramatic eye roll and laughed as I removed the pot from the burner. I’d heard way too many details about her intimate moments with Sam, and while I wanted to plug my ears, at the same time, I drank up every juicy bit. It was the only way I was going to experience such fun any time soon. Maybe one day I’d meet an Alpha I was compatible with and find my spookily ever after, but in a town the size of Brattleboro, Vermont, the odds weren’t in my favor.

I carefully poured the brew into a mug and motioned for Rosemary to take it. “Go take a seat and remember to drink it all.” The remaining liquid wasn’t enough to fill another cup, but I emptied it into mine and set the pot down on an orange trivet. I nabbed some cookies from the jar and put them on the plate before joining my friend at the old kitchen table. “Keep thinking good thoughts as you drink it.”

“How come you’re drinking it too? You have your eye on someone?” She raised her perfectly plucked brows at me before blowing on her tea and taking a sip. “Mm. Yummy.”

“Please, who have I seen recently besides my family and yours? I’ve been way too busy.” Between my online classes, helping to take care of my mom, my maid of honor duties, my online business, and preparing for Halloween, I was surprised I got any sleep. I bit into a cookie and groaned with pleasure. “Eat one of those too. They’ll put you in an orgasmic state of mind.”

“Your mom is the best baker.” Rosemary didn’t need to be told twice. She echoed my groan as she ate her own cookie and chased it down with another sip. “Well, we’re adding another person for you to see. Deacon has finished his apprenticeship and will be home later today. Not only will he be here for my wedding, but he’s going to stay through Christmas, if you can believe it.”

My mouth suddenly became dry. Deacon. Rosemary’s older brother and my first crush. I took a big drink of my tea and nearly burned my tongue.

I coughed trying to hide my shock and my… what? Excitement? That was just pathetic. I hadn’t talked to him since I was twelve and sent away to St. Monica’s School for Girls, or as my fellow classmates and I called it, the COOP (Congenial Omega Oppression Prison). Everyone at the COOP was nice, but the crap they taught us about being Omegas was medieval.

“Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either.” Rosemary had no idea that once upon a time I’d been certain I would marry her brother. We’d played a lot together as kids, and Deacon and I were always competitive with one another. She used to joke that we were more like siblings than her and him.

“How’s he been doing?” I hoped that sounded casual as I wanted it to. The last time I’d seen Deacon was when he was sixteen and I was fourteen. It had been Christmas, and I’d waved at him from the living room of my house to where he was standing in the living room of his own. His gorgeous smile had made me melt on the spot.

While our families were friendly with one another, they weren’t close. Our parents ran in different circles. Plus, once an Omega turns twelve, she isn’t allowed near any Alphas who aren’t family until she’s eighteen and with a chaperon. And Deacon was an Alpha.

“Good. He’s now a licensed blacksmith, whatever that means these days. Mom wants him to stay in town, but I think after one week with her nagging him to find a wife, he’ll be heading back south.” Rosemary shrugged as she had more tea and then playfully kicked me under the table. “Stop making me think of my brother. It’s Sam’s cute dimples that I need to think about.”

Let her think about Sam, but my mind had fully gone back to fantasies I had about Deacon and his wide, full lips, dreamy dark eyes, and soft black hair that would get curly if he let it grow too long. Did he still smile as easily and laugh as loud?

I downed the rest of my tea. Nope. He was my best friend’s brother. I wouldn’t risk my friendship with Rosemary for anything. Her emails and hilarious videos were sometimes the only things that kept me sane while in the COOP. Sometimes I envied she was a Beta and had freedoms that I didn’t, but when we were together, I forgot about all that Omega crap and basked in the best friendship I’d ever known.

“Are you talking about the dimples in his cheeks or the ones on his butt?” I winked at her and we broke into a fit of giggles.

“Do I smell some delicious tea brewing?” My mom steered her wheelchair into the kitchen and beamed her bright smile at us.

“There’s none left of this batch, but I can make some more for you.” I offered her a cookie as she wheeled over to the table.

“Hi, Mrs. Rookwood.” Rosemary hopped up to hug Mom. She was like a second daughter in our family, especially since she helped out around the house when I was away at school. “Milla made a love potion for me. Just to make sure that my marriage is happy.”

“You’re already so happy. I love seeing this beautiful shining face.” Mom patted Rosemary’s cheek with a shaky hand. Her multiple sclerosis had gotten worse in the past year, but the new regiment of shots seemed to be helping stabilize her. I lived at home to help take care of her since my dad’s work took him all over the globe. Mom would never tell me to stay and give up on my dream of owning a Halloween themed shop, but there was no way I would be anywhere else. Besides, I could prepare myself by taking business classes online and sell my products on the net to establish myself. Nothing would stop me, just like her disease would never stop my mom from doing her own form of witchcraft: baking.

I put on the kettle to heat and took out another mug. “Rose is thinking happy thoughts about Sam. That’s why she’s shining.”

Rosemary stuck her tongue out at me as she returned to her seat. “The wedding is a month away. Were you this nervous for your wedding, Mrs. Rookwood?”

My mom folded her hands and smiled that special smile she saved for Dad. “I wasn’t nervous at all. Not that Wes gave me a chance to be.” She laughed lightly. “He came in and swept me off my feet. We were in front of a preacher in less than a month. Nothing can stop that man when he sees something he wants.”

I loved hearing stories about my parents. They were in love now as they were years ago. A few of my schoolmates believed that Omegas and Alphas only thought they were in love, but it was really just hormones driving them. I didn’t know whether to believe it or not, but my parents’ relationship was wonderful and real. That was the kind of love I wanted.

“You mean nothing can stop Dad from eating all the cookies you bake.”

Mom and Rosemary laughed.

“Speaking of your father, he’ll be home this Friday. I should make up a new batch of those cookies you two are currently demolishing.”

“They’re absolutely scrumptious!” Rosemary nabbed the last one off the plate. All of us knew to grab a cookie while you could with the threat of my dad coming home. His appetite for my mom’s baked goods knew no bounds.

The soft musical bongs of the doorbell rang through the house. I fetched another three cookies from the jar and set them on the plate as I walked past. “Probably a delivery for me. I ordered a crate of pumpkins that should be arriving today.”

“You’re selling pumpkins now?” Rosemary called after me.

“Nope, they’re just for me.” I laughed, a skip in my step as I hurried to the door for my pumpkins. It was easier to order them from a local farmer and have them deliver rather than haul them from the farm myself. I already had Halloween decorations up in the house and a massive display on the front porch, but I had to wait until closer to the thirty-first to carve the pumpkins so they wouldn’t rot and stink.

I grabbed my witch’s hat from the coat rack and set it on my head. Not only was it part of my brand, it would hopefully get a smile from Mr. Price. The old man loved Halloween almost as much as I did. I went to his apple orchard and pumpkin patch every October until I was twelve. He created the best corn mazes. It was one of my happy places.

With a grin that would make any jack-o-lantern proud, I swung open the front door and threw my arms out to the sides in a grand welcoming gesture. “Happy Pumpkin Day!”

Except it wasn’t Mr. Price standing on the porch.

It was Deacon.

Deacon in all his blow-my-witch’s-hat-off gorgeous Alpha glory.

Holy Samhain .

His black leather jacket hugged his huge shoulders and triceps. There was no way the coat would ever be able to zip all the way up with his wide chest. Faded jeans clung to his long legs with a rip in one knee. His black hair was shaved on the sides but longer on top, messy and stylish. All the boyish chub was gone from his cheeks. There wasn’t an ounce of fat there. No dimples on this handsome bearded Alpha.

And those midnight eyes, glimmering with what could only be amusement.

Every teenage fantasy of Deacon slammed to the back of my head to be replaced by this smoldering hunk. My body vibrated with the impact and made my thighs clench. The boy next door had turned into my dream man in leather.

Tie me to a stake and burn me alive, because the fire would be less torture than the heat I was feeling now.