Page 126 of Not Your Ex's Hexes
“Cal.” Damian nodded, at a loss for any other words.
“I placed a bet against myself on how long it would take for you to come to my door.” She flashed him a tentative smile. “You’ll be pleased to know I won.”
Because of course she knew he’d be there.
He’d never been able to get much past her, even when they’d been dating. With a strong witch lineage that included Seers and psychics, she had premonition skills better than most Supernaturals’.
“Sorry to disappoint you by not turning around, but this couldn’t wait.” Damn, that ache was back, feeling like a thousand knives jabbing the underside of his sternum.
“That’s not what I…” She sighed. “Is everything okay?”
He almost laughed at her genuine look of concern. “No, everything is definitely not okay, but you’re going to help me make it a hell of alot better. Because despite the fact that I was a shit boyfriend back in the day, you owe me.”
Her eyes narrowed on him, studying him carefully. “Damian…?”
His vision went a little fuzzy. “You need to…”
Callie eased a little closer. “I think you should sit down.”
“No, I need…” He swayed, and a split second before his knees gave out, Edward Scissorhands wrapped his knifelike fingers around his heart and squeezed like it was a fucking stress ball.
Damian toppled onto a startled Callie, her own legs buckling under his weight. “Nisha! I need you! Now!”
A slender, dark-haired woman hovered in Damian’s periphery, her mouth opening in a clear sign of shock. “Is that—?”
“Yes! Help me get him into the house and onto the couch!”
Damian groaned. “You need to take it back, Cal. Remove the hex.Please.”
Callie’s face swam in and out of focus, her green eyes softening as she peered down at him. “Oh, Damian, I wish I could…”
The two women worked together to get him to a nearby couch. There, his body pitched sideways, assaulted by another wave of pain that nearly toppled him to the floor. Damian huddled into a ball in an attempt to stop the agony, but he wasn’t about to back down now.
Not until he got what he’d come for. “Callie, please. I’ll do whatever it takes… I… I need her, Cal.”
“Damian, look at me,” Callie ordered gently, her fingers pinching his chin and guiding his head toward her.
He forced his eyes open, deep-breathing through the pain. “Looking…”
“Ican’tremove the Soul Hex.”
“Cal, I—”
“There’s only one person who can dissolve it, and only one way in which to do it… and judging by the state you’re in right now, I’d say you’re halfway through the process. You have to finish it.”
“H-how?” he asked, sucking down a groan. “T-tell me.”
“It won’t be easy… and it’ll go against what you’ve always erroneously believed is your nature.”
“I don’t care. I’ll d-do anything… anything for a ch-chance with h-her.”
A small, fuzzy smile pulled up his ex’s lips. “Waiting eighteen years to hear you say those words about another woman wasn’t what I had in mind for how this played out, but I guess it’s better late than never. You’re going to want to tone down the groaning and tune up the hearing because this is a very delicate process.”
Damian didn’t care if it consisted of twelve million steps and the offering of a vital organ. He’d do whatever it took to break this damn hex, and once it was gone, he’d go even further to show a certain brassy witch that he was done looking for excuses.
They belonged together, and he wasn’t about to let something as minor as a Soul Hex prevent that from happening.
Rose swirled her strawberry Witch’s Brew and listened to the conversations around her, jumping in only when someone dragged her into it. It had been a long time since they’d all gotten together at Potion’s Up, and the success of the first soon-to-be-annual Marisol Animal Sanctuary and Clinic Adoption Fair was as good an excuse to celebrate as any.
