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

CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Carmilla

The next few days passed by in a blur. A wonderfully hot and sexy blur. My heat grew worse, but the agony I’d experienced on Sunday was a distant memory. Deacon made certain I never suffered except when he was teasing me.

By the afternoon on Halloween, I was showered and dressed in my witch costume. I felt almost like myself again, but better than before. Better because now I had Deacon as my mate. It made me giddy to think about it. Who would have thought that the boy next door would become the Alpha who would win my heart.

As much time as we spent having sex in the nest—and yes, I did have him move us to the tree house for two nights—I also spent time talking to him, getting to know the man he’d become. I fell hard and fast. Never had I thought I could love anyone completely as I did him.

I twirled in my dress in front of the mirror and ended up bending over, to flip up my skirt. It was practice for later tonight. I’d worn a garter belt to hold up my black and purple thigh high hose, but I neglected to put on panties. Deacon was going to get the best Halloween treat ever.

Giggling to myself, I straightened my skirt and skipped out of my room and down the stairs. I could hear my parents laughing with Deacon in the kitchen. They had been great about what happened. More than great. They were the best parents in the universe. Understanding, sympathetic, and supportive. They accepted Deacon with open arms and trusted him to take care of me.

“Happy Halloween!” I burst into the kitchen with a grand flourish. No one had seen my completed costume, and I was so excited to show it off. I basked in the oohs and ahs.

My mom was dressed as an owl sitting in her nest. It was so cute with the nest built onto her wheelchair where she could carry a bowl of candy for the trick-or-treaters. My dad wasn’t wearing a costume—party pooper but I loved him—yet at least he had on a shirt with my company’s logo on it. Deacon… holy hell…

Deacon was dressed as a modern vampire. A sleek black suit cut precisely for his muscular body and his black hair slicked back. Pale skin, red contacts in his eyes, and fangs with just a smudge of blood at the corner of his mouth. Monster romance, you are mine tonight!

Then my smile faltered to see a black cat standing on the other side of the kitchen island. Rosemary had painted on the whiskers and pink nose, and even had a collar with a tag in the shape of a heart. I hadn’t seen her or even texted her since she found me in the agony of my heat on Sunday.

I swallowed hard as my throat suddenly grew dry. “Hi. Your costume is adorable.”

“Thanks. It’s covered in real cat hair from work today. Your costume is kickass. You outdid yourself this year.” Rosemary gave me a shy smile.

I hated the tension between us. Did she hate me? She’d called Deacon over to help me, that much I did know, but even though she had helped me, it didn’t mean she liked it. I couldn’t stand to lose my best friend.

Oh God. I bit my tongue to keep the tears from coming on.

Suddenly Rosemary was flying across the room and hugging me tightly. I embraced her just as hard as we both let out sobs with happy tears.

“I was so worried about you, Milla. I thought you were going to die! And if Deacon didn’t save you, I was going to have to kill him. That’s too much death to have to deal with!” Rosemary sniffled and stepped back, straightening my hat for me and gripping my hands. “How are you doing? You look really good.”

“The worst of my heat has passed and I survived. Thank you so much for helping me. You’re the best of besties.” I nipped my lower lip and glanced at Deacon. He gave a small singular nod, and I braced myself as I looked back at Rosemary. “You’re not mad at me, are you? It’s not like I planned on this happening. I would never do anything to mess up our friendship.”

“Honey, I know.” Rosemary laughed and hugged me again. Relief flooded my body, and I had to squeeze her hands to hold me up. “I love you, Omega stuff and all. I wish you would have told me before… But I get it.” She gave her brother a look, but it was more playful than angry. Then she leaned in to whisper to me with a smirk. “Here’s a secret: when we were kids, I wanted you to be my sister so bad, I imagined you marrying my brother so we could be, and then him dying off so it could just be the two of us as crazy old cat ladies.”

I smiled conspiratorially and whispered back, “We can still make that happen. I’ll take care of Sam if you off Deacon. House full of cats, here we come!”

“You know we can hear you two.” Deacon pretended to look offended, but it was clear he was holding his laughter back.

“We’re just joking.” I gave Rosemary an exaggerated wink, and then we burst into a round of giggles. She didn’t hate me. All the churning in my stomach evaporated and fluttered away on bat wings. I had my handsome mate, my amazing best friend, and my fabulous family. Best Halloween ever.

“Will you stay and help us hand out candy, dear?” Mom asked Rosemary as she loaded some candies into a bowl that looked like a broken egg.

“I’ll come back later. I need to get home and shower, and then I’m taking Kat trick-or-treating with some of her friends.” Rosemary gave me one more hug. “Did you want to come? I suppose you can bring the vampire there.”

Deacon rolled his demonic eyes. Could he get any hotter?

I loved handing out treats, but spending time with my bestie and my mate as well as getting to see all the houses decorated and kids’ costumes was too hard to pass up. “Yeah, that will be fun. Text me when you and Kat are ready.”

“Cool. Shouldn’t take long.” Rosemary picked up a container of cookies from the counter. “Thanks again for the treats, Mrs. Rookwood. At the rate I’m consuming your goodies, I’m not going to fit into my wedding dress next month.”

She waved as we laughed and exited out the back door. At the same time, the doorbell rang.

I bounced on my toes. “The first of the trick-or-treaters!”

Grabbing Deacon’s hand, I pulled him as I raced to the door. I twined my fingers with his and grinned. Even such a simple act such as holding his hand produced such joy in me. The fact he was smiling so widely at the same thing knocked my happiness up another notch.

I swung open the door with a ‘Happy Halloween’ on the tip of my tongue, but my whole body went stiff to see Claudia Graves standing there. She wore a straight-from-the-runway blue blouse and black skirt, and she had her hands on her hips as if we’d kept her waiting two seconds too long.

Deacon’s grip tightened on my hand. He hadn’t seen his mother since Sunday. When his family home had been empty on Monday, he’d fetched his stuff and moved it all over to my house. We knew a confrontation would be coming, but I was taken by surprise at how sudden it seemed.

“Deacon,” Claudia’s voice was tighter than her hair bun.

“Mother.”

I caressed the back of his hand with my thumb and inched close enough that my shoulder touched his arm. He would know that I was there for him in whatever way he needed. I certainly didn’t want him to argue with his mom, and I couldn’t stop the stab of guilt that it was my fault, but he’d chosen me. And I wasn’t about to let him go easily.

“Carmilla.” She nodded her head to me.

“Good afternoon.” I kept my tone neutral. “Would you like to come in?”

“Yes, thank you.”

We stepped back together as Claudia came into the foyer and shut the door behind her.

There was almost a half a minute of awkward silence. I mentally scrambled for something to say, but what? So what do you think of the pumpkin crop this year? Did you see that the Jones’ house was for sale up the street? How do you feel about alienating your family?

Finally Deacon cleared his throat. “What is it you want, Mom? If you’ve come here to try to convince me to build the ‘right’ connections and think of our family image…”

“No, that’s not why I’m here.” Then I saw it when Claudia looked at Deacon. The darker circles under her eyes, the deeper lines in her face, and the glimmer of grief in her expression. “And it’s good you’re both here. I need to say this to you together.”

Oh no. She was going to disown Deacon. Not that he had the greatest relationship with his mother, but she was still his mom, his only parent. No matter his hard exterior, I knew he loved her.

“Say it then.” Deacon’s patience was wearing thin. He was the type to rip off the bandage, and I was ready to tend to his wounds. Anything for him.

Claudia clasped her hands together and let out a long, quiet breath. “I’ve come to make an apology.”

What? I blinked a few times. Was this Claudia’s doppelganger?

She held up a hand to silence Deacon when he started to say something. “I need to get this out before you say anything. I know it seems like I’ve been a distant parent, that maybe I’m a bit controlling.” A bit? “But when your father passed away, I not only lost my mate, I lost my rock. He always knew what to do in every situation, and the life we had was better than I had ever imagined. So when he passed, I had to step in and become the rock for you and Rosemary. I had to make sure you had everything to be happy, to succeed in life, to honor your father’s legacy. I wasn’t ready for that responsibility, and I didn’t know how to properly handle it. I did the best I could.”

My throat tightened at the emotion in her words. I couldn’t imagine losing Deacon now that I had him. That loss must have destroyed her, and yet she kept it together for her children.

I glanced at Deacon, trying to guess what he was feeling, but his expression was hard to read. Maybe it was the makeup and red eyes hiding his emotional turmoil.

“Even when Edward came along, I still devoted my time to making life perfect for my children. I couldn’t lose that control or else I’d be failing your father and everything he’d built for our family.” She swallowed and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. Were those tears? Oh God. My heart pounded. I wanted to hug her, but I had no idea if she’d allow it or not. Instead, I reached into one of my many hidden pockets to pull out a tissue and hand it to her.

“Thank you, Carmilla. You have always been so considerate of others.” Claudia patted her cheeks and continued. “Deacon, what you said to me the other day, about using your father as a tool to hold on to that control, you were right. What Damien truly wanted for his children was a life happier than ours. He always supported your passions and your sister’s even when they were silly or just a weekend fad. What made you happy made him happy. And that’s where I failed. I sought to make a good life for you and your sisters on what was proper, not what you chose that made you happy.”

“Mom.” Deacon reached and took one of her hands in his while still holding mine in his other hand. His face softened as I felt the tension in the room shrinking, becoming something warm and fuzzy.

“I’m sorry for interfering in your life. I’m so sorry for everything over the years.” Claudia stepped closer and Deacon finally let my hand go so he could embrace her. She rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ve already lost one person I loved, I don’t want to lose you too, son.”

“It’s okay, Mom. I forgive you.” Deacon held her. I don’t know how long the hug lasted, but I barely breathed the entire time. This precious moment seemed too fragile, and I was so happy it happened, I didn’t want to break it.

When Claudia finally stepped back, she straightened her posture and then fixed the collar of Deacon’s suit. He started to say something, but she held up a finger and turned to me. “I want to officially welcome you to the Graves family, Carmilla. Deacon could not have been luckier in finding a mate as kind and loving as you. I know you’ll make sure he’s happy.”

This time she was getting hugged.

Claudia let out a small sound of surprise as I wrapped my arms around her. It seemed weird but wonderful. This was the first time in my life I’d ever hugged Claudia even though she’d been my neighbor and best friend’s mom all my life. “Thank you so much. I promise to take good care of him.”

I smiled at Deacon over his mom’s shoulder with my heart swelling. His answering smile shone like a million jack-o-lanterns.

Claudia patted my shoulder and stepped back. She pursed her lips with a thought and then smiled. “I remember that you two were as inseparable as children as Rose and Carmilla. I wonder if anyone saw back then what happened now that you’re adults.”

“Oh, we did. We always knew.” My dad grinned from the entrance to the kitchen.

“Dad!” I gaped at him and laughed. My cheeks heated, and Deacon hugged me from behind with a chuckle. Had my folks always known that Deacon and I were meant for one another? I would have to have a chat with them later.

My mom motioned to Claudia. “Come inside and have a seat, Claudia. I’ll fix you a calming tea. We’re going to need it tonight will all the little goblins and ghouls in the neighborhood.”

“That sounds lovely. Thank you, Mavis.”

“I’m going to light the jack-o-lanterns on the porch.” I called as my folks and Claudia retreated to the kitchen. And by light them, I meant turning on the little LED candles I used. October evenings were usually windy, and I wanted my pumpkins to shine all night.

“Let me help.” Deacon followed me out onto the porch and inhaled the crisp air. He watched me as I crouched down to turn on the first light. “I almost can’t believe that just happened. Did you cast some sort of spell on my mom or sneak a potion into her wine?”

I snickered and shook my head. “That was just Halloween magic.” I moved on to the second pumpkin as a chill breezed around my legs. “You might not have noticed it before, but it happens every year.”

“So if I wish upon a pumpkin, I’ll get my wish?” Deacon teased and bent to turn on a candle.

“Well, pumpkin wishes are mischievous ones. If you stand under a tree and a leaf falls on your head, that will grant you a pure wish. Shooting star wishes are the most powerful ones.”

“You sure know a lot about magic. I think you might be a witch.” He flashed me a comic dirty look—which was made even more hilarious with his red contacts and fangs—and laughed.

“The hat didn’t give it away?” I winked at him and continued along my line of jack-o-lanterns.

“I’m going to wish on this pumpkin.” Deacon held up the candle, closed his eyes, and then turn it on. He twisted toward me with a wicked grin.

I raised my brows and stood just as a gust of wind whipped along the porch. Dried corn stalks rustled and ghosts danced, and my skirt blew up too high for public decency’s sake. I shivered as the coldness tickled my inner thighs and bare groin.

One blink and Deacon was there wrapping his arms around me. He looked every bit the hungry vampire rake he was dressed as. “My, my, you’re a naughty witch.” Leaning in, he nipped at my neck. I gasped and an aching desire rose between my legs. “Just what I wished for.”

“Those pumpkin wishes.” I smirked as I ran my hands over his chest and gave him a coy look. “Too bad we’re going to have to wait until later tonight for you to get all of the treat you wished for.”

Deacon scooped me into his arms and made a beeline toward the backyard. “I’m not waiting another minute to ravage the woman I love.”

I gaped at him. He stopped in the middle of the yard. If his face paled, I couldn’t tell.

No. This wasn’t a pumpkin wish. This was born of a shooting star. My heart sang as I raised my head to kiss him softly on the lips. “I love you too.”

“Fucking hell, I love you so much.” Deacon kissed me back with a greater urgency and took off running to the tree house. We scrambled up the ladder into the plush but squishy nest, and he was on me in an instant.

This weird witch had found her spookily ever after, and it was far more naughty than spooks, sweets, and all things pumpkin. I found I liked it much better this way.

THE END