Total pages in book: 5
Estimated words: 3993 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 20(@200wpm)___ 16(@250wpm)___ 13(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 3993 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 20(@200wpm)___ 16(@250wpm)___ 13(@300wpm)
I was born for her. I know that now. When I was a little boy, I used to dream about her. I never questioned that she’d be mine. I may not have known her then, but I know her now. She’s mine, whether she believes me or in us or not. I’ll do anything to protect her. I’ll do anything to keep her wanton & witchy.
In a world where love is as sweet as it is spooky, each tale is filled with swoon-worthy moments, spine-tingling encounters, and the promise that love can be found in even the most unexpected places. Dive into the Trick or Treat Monsters series, where the lines between trick and treat blur, and romance takes a delightfully monstrous twist.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter
One
CALLIOPE STREGONE
The store is dead today. I guess I could take inventory or stock shoes or the tiaras, but instead, I’m doing nothing but browsing my various social media accounts. I don’t know why I bother checking the others. It’s Witch’s Brew that keeps my interest these days. The seconds-long videos I scroll through are probably eating my brain, but there’s something about finally solving the murder of a bake shop counter girl from the 1800s that is extremely satisfying. Since my shift started four hours ago, no one has come in. With the ability to order everything online these days, not many brides come in for the full experience anymore, and I think that’s sad. Getting married used to be a big deal. To me and my kind, it is, not so much for humans anymore. The divorce rate for first marriages is forty to fifty percent. The rate jumps up even higher for second marriages. For magical people like me, it’s zero percent. Zero. Finding our mate may take many lifetimes, but we do find them. I scroll to a partially interesting video when I hear the door open. I set my phone down and smile. Do I mean it? Not partially, but it is my job. My job is selling the dream.
“Welcome in,” I say in my most professional voice. I work at Marnie’s, the bridal shop on old Main Street in Boston. My family settled in this area in 1661. King Charles II sent my great-grandfather, Silas, here to be governor. He was a strong warlock and avoided the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials by keeping a low profile. Of the people accused there, none were actually blessed with any gifts, though several whose sentences were commuted due to pregnancy were. It was a wild time to be alive, according to him. Yes, he’s still kicking it. He and Gran are trekking in the Andes right now. The Stregones are blessed with long life and forever love when we find our mates. I’ve got an uncle, Beau, who has searched the globe since 1776 and hasn’t found her yet. He keeps the faith that he will. I, however, am pretty brand new. I was born twenty years ago, and I’ve already given up. I’m young, relatively healthy, and rich. I don’t need a man… Okay, this is a lie. An elaborate lie that I tell myself. It’s my mantra if you will. The lies we tell ourselves daily are all we need to survive. Right?
“Thanks.”
“How can I help you today?” I ask. The teen looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here. I can relate. I want to
“My sister is getting married next month. She sent me here to get a bridesmaid dress. She said you’d know what I need to fit in.”
“Okay. The bride's name?” I ask, waking my computer up.
“Gennalise Bradbury.” I don’t need to type her name since I know her entire account, but I do anyway. Only one bridesmaid hasn’t picked up her dress. This girl is no older than thirteen, but
“Of course.” The Bradbury-Bishop wedding is all anyone in our community can talk about. The powerful witch families are aligning, and gossip surrounding it is running rampant. “Gennalise picked out a pale purple strapless dress. What size?” This girl is taking her witchcraft seriously. She’s wearing all black, with heavy black makeup and Doc Martens. She’s going to hate the princess-style dress her sister chose.
“Four.”
“I’m sure we have that in stock.”
“Great. Whatever makes this go faster.”
“Sure thing. If you’ll follow me,” I say, gesturing to the rack near us.
She flips through the rack and chooses a size four, pulling it down.
“Thank the Goddess,” she cries out.
I add it into the system since her sister had already paid for everything.
“Excellent. Can I help you with anything else?” I hang the dress on the hook by the register and steam it before zipping it into Marnie’s signature zebra-printed garment bag to protect it during travel.
“No. Thanks, though.” The bell over the door chimes, making me look up. I am not prepared for the onslaught of emotions that washes over me. My heart begins to beat rapidly for a few beats before stopping altogether. I count the seconds until he begins to beat again.
I suck in a breath and forget how to breathe properly. Something in the air and inside me shifts. I can’t stop staring at him. He hasn’t looked up, but he stops in the doorway. He takes a deep breath and then releases it. What the hell is this? Why am I noticing him so much? He shakes his head like he’s clearing it and then speaks. My mind or something else primal screams at me that this man is my mate.
“Geneva? I’m double parked. You said you’d just be a minute,” he says, fully entering the store. My whole body freezes, and then I feel like I’m on fire.