"Now that's something you don't see every day," Bjorn mumbled with a tired sigh. All Magnus could do was agree. It had been a weird couple of days and with this newest crime wave, Main was turning into something of a freak show. Not only did they have a satanic murderer on the loose, but with this newest crime spree that had hit the town, rest seemed like a faraway dream to the two Marshals.
It had been days since the body in the woods had been found and nothing could be said about it. Hell, the coroner couldn't even tell what killed the poor man, just confirm what they already knew. They'd been able to identify the victim as an out-of-town college student who'd taken some time off and decided to hike in the mountains.
He probably lived to regret that decision…
And now--- this!
"It looks like…," Magnus said shrugging, while he tried to find the right words to describe what he was looking at. "It looks like you handed him the diamonds."
It was almost impossible to believe but the second Tobias Colten had stepped into the shop, the manager of the jewelry store, Mr. Davis – a very respectable man in the community and had been running the family store for years – had simply handed him everything he wanted.
The world – it seemed – was going to shit!
"And you even gave him the receipt," Bjorn muttered sounding almost amused, and while Magnus knew that it was frustration and exhaustion talking, Lawry and Mr. Davis didn't seem to appreciate the joke.
This was the fourth time this month they'd gotten a call like this. Around closing time, a panicked clerk had called the sheriff's department, claiming they'd been robbed. But once they went through the security footage there had never been a crime. In fact, it seemed that Tobias Colten had suddenly been blessed with a silver tongue. Because everybody who came into contact with him was bending over backward to please him. Hell, from the looks of things, they'd give up their own mother if he asked for it…
"I-I didn't do it!" Mr. Davis stuttered, swearing up and down shits creek. "I swear, I didn't do it! I'd never---!"
But just like in all the other cases, there was nothing anyone could do--- or at least not the human authorities…! Which was why Magnus and Bjorn were there. As the closest thing to MBI's agents and tasked with finding and apprehending Tobias Colten, it had fallen to them to catch the witch and bring him back to where he belonged.
In an MBI detention facility!
Leaving Lawry to explain shit to Mr. Davis, Magnus and Bjorn headed back to their car, where Magnus's pet cat was loyalty sitting on the roof of their cruiser, waiting for them to return. She still didn't have a name but responded to 'love', which was why Magnus was sticking to it. The second he was within reach, she sauntered over to him and rubbed up against him. As always, it soothed him and his wolf, and without conscious thought, he began petting her. It never ceased to amaze him how the cat affected him. No matter what type of shit he was dealing with at work, that cat always seemed to have a calming effect on him and his animal…
"I hate magic," Bjorn grumbled, resting his big hands-on top of the roof and eyeing his alpha. Not that Magnus begrudged his friend his foul mood. The day had been one of those summer days where the temperatures had reached a million degrees. And they'd been stuck indoors doing paperwork---
With a broken AC!
Yep! Today hadn't been their friend at all…
"I'm not a fan either, but what's really bugging me is---," Magnus began, wondering how he should phrase his worries. "How does a low-level, barely qualified trickster like Colton get that powerful overnight?"
His gaze turned to his partner, watching as the wheels turned in his head. He already had a suspicion, but he wanted to run his gut feeling by Bjorn, just to check if they both arrived at the same conclusion. And sure enough, as realization hit, Bjorn groaned out loud.
"He has a partner," he grumbled, hanging his upper body weight on the car, making it tilt and whine under the weight of the huge shifter. "Great!"
As if understanding their conversation, the cat tilted her head at Bjorn and gently swatted her paw at his big arm, making him pay some attention to her. Bjorn glared at the cat but relented in the end and scratched her chin. He always did and while he'd rather eat shit than admit it, the cat was starting to grow on him.
And while Magnus the human was glad his partner liked the newest addition to the team, his wolf always huffed and puffed when the cat paid more attention to the bear than the wolf. The stupid mutt was pulling out all the possessive instincts he had whenever the small feline went up to anyone who wasn't him.
Which made Magnus wonder if his wolf needed help…
"I think so, yeah," he said, reaching into the car to pull out a bottle of water. "But--- What's the point?"
It might not be the best idea to discuss MBI cases out in the streets, but right then, Magnus didn't give a fuck. This was the first time today there where they were in a shade and where it didn't feel like their brains were slowly being boiled.
So, fuck protocol…
Magnus's gaze returned to Bjorn and the feline, who both had a questioning eyebrow arched at him. He handed Bjorn the bottle and turned to fully face them.
"Think about it---"
"Alpha?"
Magnus turned back around and saw Sheriff Lawry walking up to them, fast. And if the scowl on his face was any indication, he wasn't a happy camper.
"Sheriff," he replied and gave him a shallow nod of respect. That one was mostly for show since his alpha nature didn't like the look of anger on his Beta's face. Not that he took the attitude as a challenge; he just didn't like it…
"I thought you said this was Tobias Colten you were chasing," Lawry hissed low, sounding just as accusing as his words suggested. He was pissed and probably felt like Magnus was keeping him in the loop of what was really going on here.
"It is," Bjorn grumbled, and instinctively his arm muscles flexed, ready for a fight. Normally it was the alpha who hated being challenged, but Bjorn hated it even more than Magnus did. Not that Magnus felt challenged right now or anything, but Bjorn was extremely protective of his alpha. It would have been heartwarming even---
If Bjorn wasn't such a deadly-looking guy…
"That," Lawry growled angrily, pointing back at the jeweler's shop. "Was way bigger than anything Colten could ever have pulled off."
"We think he might have a new partner," Magnus explained quickly before Bjorn jumped across the car--- and hell, even his cat looked like she would be waving the pompoms and cheering the bear shifter on as he beat the crape out of the sheriff. "We're just trying to figure out what their motives are and what they're planning on doing next. Because all of this…" He gestured at the scene behind them. "It's sort of random."
As one, they all frowned, realizing that what he was saying made sense. In a way when things didn't make sense, sort of…
"Yeah? No shit," Lawry said, calmer now that he'd gotten the worst of his frustrations out – and his wolf once again felt included. "The tank station, the post office, the grocery store, and now a jewelry store?"
"He started small to test out his new abilities and then worked his way up," Bjorn explained it, now that they were starting to get a better picture of what Colten had been trying to do. "The bank will probably be his next target."
"I'll get some men on that," Lawry nodded, picking out his phone--- and frowned when suddenly Magnus pulled it out of his hands.
"Actually," he said with a grin and looked at his partner. "I have a better idea."
*
While the men were scowling and scratching their heads on one side of town, Bellatrix Phips wasn't fairing much better with her new surroundings. The man who'd helped her was, in fact, the notorious Tobias Colten. And while he'd offered her help, he'd done quite the opposite. Once he'd lured her into his home he'd drugged her and was now forcing her to help him.
For seven days she'd been in this time. For seven days, she'd been locked up with iron chains around her wrists and ankles, unable to do anything but instruct the dimwitted moron on how to construct an amulet that controlled the minds of people. For seven days, she'd only drink or eat or get to relieve herself if he said so. And she hadn't showered in as many days either, which – in her opinion – was almost the worst offence of a long list of offences he'd committed.
She smelled like a whore house!
She scowled as the iron chains that were linked around her wrists in an all too familiar sight – although she'd never pictured that she'd be on the receiving end of such a chain, she'd seen it many times during the witch trails in Salem. The irony wasn't lost on her either. That she herself would be rendered powerless by the same means that she earlier had used to become the most powerful witch in the world…
Angry tears welled up in her eyes.
She didn't have time for this.
She had to get back to Salem and save her little sister. She still had no idea what had gone wrong with her spell or where in time she was. She only knew she hated it here. And worse, her powers were all but gone! Sure, the iron kept her from accessing whatever remained, but she could still feel the blackness of her heart.
Her powers were almost depleted.
Tobias Colten had told her that she was the most powerful witch he'd ever come across and that had been why he'd taken advantage of her weakened state. She scoffed at that. If this was the most powerful this time had to offer, she was screwed. How could anyone look at her and think she was powerful?
She was barely scraping rock bottom of what her powers used to be…
She needed a new source of power. She needed chaos, misery and pain. She needed someone to suffer and while she'd gladly watch Colten burn, it wouldn't be enough. She needed something big! Something brutal and bloody. She needed soul deep agony if she was ever going to repeat the spell, do it correctly this time---
And save her sister…
"How's my newest favorite pet?" suddenly sounded behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to see her captor place a bag full of the green bills on the bed that he insisted was money. Not that Bellatrix had ever seen money like that, but she took his word for it, since he used to pay for the "pizza" that he liked so much…
She shivered at the thought of the greasy, soggy excuse of food. Like most women, she liked her bread and cheese, but her favorite food item was and always would be jam and crackers with sweet tea.
What?
She was a Boston girl…
"Oh, it's you," she replied, not putting up any pretense of pleasantries, but squared her shoulders in stubborn defiance and glared right at him. "I sort of hoped that you'd fallen on your face and died."
"That's no way to talk to your master, now is it?" he chuckled and came over to her and--- and petted her?! He was actually petting her! Like she was some sort of animal chained to his heating pipes and not a prisoner.
Oh, the indignity!
"I don't have a master," she snarled, despite denying she was any type of animal, she was making a rather impressive bull-dog impression. "And I'd rather be buried in a pit of slugs, than---!"
She cried out, when he roughly gripped her hair and yanked her back, forcing her to face him.
"Don't," he warned, his voice dripping with menace, and the way his gaze turned all wild and feral, sent a shiver of fear down her spine. "Talk to me like that."
He suddenly let her go and pushed her back, resulting in her head brutally hitting the metal contraption. Blackness claimed her and when she came around this time, she was lying on his bed, with him standing over her, chanting a healing spell.
Well, thank fuck!
Hating him or not, her head felt like someone had tried to split her skull open. She tried to move, but her body still felt sluggish and numb. Her vision danced with black spots and the small amount of food that he'd forced her to eat, threatened to return from her gut.
What happened---?
"You stupid bitch," he growled, when he finally realized that she was awake, and--- and for reasons that were beyond her, he climbed into bed with her and straddled her waist. She heard it more than felt the nightgown she'd escaped in be torn off her, exposing her breasts to the cold air. And even she – who lived a very sheltered life – knew what was about to happen…
No…!
She tried to mumble some enchantments, but the words were sluggish and intangible. She then tried to physically fight him off, but there was no energy in her. He gripped both her hands in one of his and held them both above her head. She could clearly see the madness in his eyes as he leaned over her and forced his mouth over hers.
"You belong to me now," he grunted, pressing his jean clad erection between her thighs. "And I'm not done with you yet. I have plans for you and me. And once we---!"
Just then the door burst open and what she could only describe as a mountain of a man came bursting though the door. He was the biggest man she'd ever seen, with jet black hair and dark blue eyes the color of the night sky. His muscular build was twice as big as ordinary men, making him look almost too big to be real. The harsh lines of his face and the stoic expression that seemed to be permanently set on his features only added to his sex-appeal.
It was men like him that put the meaning into lines like "sex on legs", "drop-dead gorgeous" and "too sexy for his own good". Hell, look up "sexy" in a lexicon and there would be a picture of this guy--- although didn't all women think that when they saw the hottest man they'd ever met?
Not that Bellatrix was left with a lot of time to wonder that. The bear of a man tackled Colten to the ground, arresting him. More people entered, but their words and commands were lost on her. Darkness once again closed in on her. Taking her away from this place…
Was she saved?
Only time would tell…