Hexing the Alpha (Hex My Heart, #1) by Talina Perkins Page B

you shed any tears. That’s a promise, sweetheart.”
    And she believed them.
    ****
    T heir shared call three nights ago looped in her head. Every word burned in her memory.
    Ambrosia stumbled slightly, her vision a blurry mess. Damn Luke and Evan and their promise. She paused, wiped at her eyes, and flicked open her cell to hit the speed dial for her sister. After several rings Honor picked up.
    Snaps and cracks followed by a few colorful curses blared in her ear. “Honor, you there?”
    “Uh, Ambrosia... gotta go.”
    The line went dead. “Okaaaay.” Hellz bellz. Whatever her sister was up to now just turned Ambrosia’s plan into a solo mission. No excuses and no one to talk her out of the crazy plan.
    It was too late to turn back anyway. She broke through the barrier of the woods opposite her sister’s property as the moon swam behind a wave of fluffy clouds. It was just her and the moon-drenched scenery now.
    Ambrosia’s brain replayed her fated night of Moon Lust and hot sex. Luke and Evan had no right over her, but she only had herself to blame for letting the power of their bond grow to this strength. Three months gave her plenty of time to figure out a way to break their claim, but like a spell held her bound, every time she tried something to break the hold, her heart would quiver with a rush of anxiety, making  every breath next to impossible. The second her thoughts changed, the symptoms disappeared.
    Tonight was no exception. When her sisters had sat her down and handed her the small vial of magick, she’d balked. But after the death glares and a few sisterly threats, they’d convinced her they’d finally found a way to break the alphas’ bond.
    At this point, she had little choice, so down the hatch the first elixir went, quivering heart or not.
    As she swallowed the bitter potion, Honor gave her the low-down.
    Step one: strip away her magick, temporarily, of course which would break the defensive barriers protecting the bond. Her magick would be spotty up until it became a no-go. After that had time to take effect, then came...
    Step two: Get her ass to their protective circle, shoot back the second vial full of ingredients Ember promised her would then cut the bond between Luke Evan and herself. Only then could she perform a cleansing and healing ritual. BAM. She’d be free of the shifters and alone. Again.
    Only Honor and Ember left out one important detail. How sick it would make her. Ambrosia paused and clasped a hand to her stomach.
    Not even the eldest witch of the High Council, Ms. Voltere’s, winter solstice fruitcake had this bad effect on her and that thing felled grown-ass men. Muscles constricted along her middle on a wave of nausea. Uh-oh.
    Ice filled her veins and it wasn’t only the cold weather causing it. She quickened her steps, moving through the trees, over exposed roots and stumbled on a few she didn’t see in the muted moonlight. Trudging through the woods in the middle of winter didn’t exactly scream bright idea, but her sisters had a point. Winter’s first full moon would boost her moonpowers graced upon her by the goddesses.
    Knots tightened her belly, but this time there was more at work than her liquid concoction. Her back stiffened milliseconds before the hair on her neck stood on end. She scanned the woods, her heart hammering against her chest.
    Luke and Evan, were they close? She could feel it, the bond preparing for a fight. They had to be.
    She scoffed. After tonight she’d belong to herself and no one else.
    She fisted her resolve and shoved it back where it belonged. Firmly in place within the tight confines of her actions. One step forward, followed by another.
    She’d gone the mundane route—ignore the bond at all cost. Chalk it up to what it was... a one-night stand that gave her a taste of what lay on the other side of the law. Come morn, it should have been all forgotten and out of her system.
    She should have known one night with them would never be