Twice Bitten (Love, Lust & Magic #1)

Pruitt

’s wolf call thundered through the bar. Drenched in sweat, he pulled himself up from the floor in time to see an equally pained Uriah retract his razor-sharp teeth.

“Bloody hell, Grandma Magic. What was that?” Uriah asked as he stumbled to his feet and grabbed for the wall.

For the staff and patrons of Witch’s Brew Pub, time hadn’t passed at all. The short, stout bartender had the same scowl on her face as before. “Maybe that will stop you two assholes from taking out your pent up aggression on my bar and focus it where it belongs. Never attempt to compel me again, vampire.” She turned to walk away, but stopped to look back. “Oh, and please remember to tip your bartender,” she added in her best customer service voice.

As quickly as she had appeared, the woman disappeared behind the bar without another word.

“What kind of glamor was that?” shouted as he scrutinized his hands. “That’s not how I became a werewolf, is it?” His voice was uneasy, almost as though he didn’t believe the words coming out of his own mouth.

“And here I thought it was my binge drinking that wiped my memory completely,” said Uriah under his breath.

“This can’t be,” said through gritted teeth. “For the last—I don’t know—three-hundred-plus years, I traveled the globe in search of answers.”

“In search of home,” added Uriah. “In search of origin. I did, too.”

“Well, remind me to never patronize this bar anymore,” fumed as he tossed a handful of dollar bills on the table. “The last thing we need is a witch pissed at us. I’m out of here.”

quickly made his way to the door, but felt Uriah’s hand on his shoulder before he had taken four steps. ?Before you go, I think there’s something you should know, .?

refused to turn back to face Uriah. ?What??

?Look, mate. This might mean nothing, but what we just saw—our first transformations—it’s all slowly coming back to me now. It’s like I’m starting to recover from blacking out for centuries.?

?And??

?That spot—the one where apparently we met this Odysseus or whatever her name is—well, see, I ? —?

?Odessa , ? interrupted. It was almost natural for him to be perturbed by Uriah’s careless recollection of names, but something about repeating that name was disturbing.

?Fine, Odessa. Whoever she is, whatever she is, I know the spot she took us to. I know exactly where it is.?

reluctantly turned to face Uriah.

For once, Uriah’s signature smug look was nowhere to be found.

“Then show me.”