Phoenixcry: A Reverse Harem Romance (The Rogue Witch Book 1) Page 27

  We fell quiet.

  Even without Darcy, certain things were still important, like keeping our label happy. They were the money, and they gave us access to the crowds that seemed to eat up our music. The audience wasn’t our pack, but none of us could deny that performing, and them responding with such enthusiasm, was a little bit like being back with our big pack before they’d all been slaughtered.

  I barely remembered those times, because I’d been too young, but the other guys told me sometimes of what it was like, to be surrounded by a huge pack, the music that made up every fiber of our being floating in the air. In wolf form, or in human form, the music was in our blood and if we weren’t making it on a regular basis, we all got a little stressed out.

  “Thanks Willa,” Charlie said with a sigh, rubbing his face. “Well… if we hear from her, we’ll tell you. But our calls go right through to voicemail too.”

  I looked over my shoulder at Finn. His eyes were downcast, and he looked as miserable as I felt. Maybe that’s why Eli was so grumpy. Elias would do anything to protect us, but most of all he looked out for Finn. As the older twin, he felt responsible or something, I guess. Darcy leaving had cut Finn open, exposed the sensitive spots inside of him that he’d forgotten he’d had.

  I’m not sure when the last time Finn had been in love. Probably at good few decades, back when he was just barely out of his puppy years and chasing tail amongst other packs.

  Back when there were enough female werewolves that you could chase tail and it wasn’t attached to a female wolf directly related to you.

  Charlie finished his call with Willa and was quiet for a few moments. We waited, patient, because that’s what we were: long-lived and patient.

  “She hasn’t checked in at the label. Willa had to report Darcy to the professor at her college as a no-show, which means… yeah, she’s in shit with her degree, and we’re still out a manager. Willa put in a call to her roommate, Max, but hasn’t heard back yet.”

  “And our Darcy,” Finn croaked, his voice raw. Well, he had been screaming a lot at Eli, so it made sense. He really needed to watch his voice so he wouldn’t lose it for the show later. “You forgot to say we’re missing our Darcy.”

  Charlie let out a breath.

  “Honestly, I didn’t think it needed to be said.” He hitched one shoulder. “Aaron texted me. He and Chelsea feel like shit because she disappeared on their watch-“

  “Well they fucking should,” Finn snarled each word like they were being ripped right out of his heart. “Aaron should never have let her stay on the Glory Rev bus. He should’ve told her to come back to us-“

  “What the fuck were you going to do, pin her down and fuck some sense back into her?” Charlie twisted in his seat. Finn roared, and in a split-second he was across the van, throwing Charlie onto the floor. Eli slammed on the breaks, the tires squealing, and I lurched forward, my seat-belt keeping me from smashing my face into the back of Eli’s seat.

  The only saving grace, looking back, was that we were on a deserted stretch of highway. Eli’s seatbelt clicked loose and he was into the back of the tour van in another second, crashing into Charlie and Finn like a boulder. I winced as the force of their bodies piling on top of each other rocked the van. Cash leaned over his seat and shoved the sliding door on the van open. The other three guys spilled out onto the hard cement, snarling and snapping at each other. I piled out after them, staring helplessly at what remained of my pack. Cash got a hand into the fray, and dragged Finn out, wrapping his arms around Finn’s ribcage. Eli grabbed Charlie, who’s lip was split, blood splattering on the ground below. The two fighters glared at each other, Finn lunging forward despite Cash’s grip

  “Stop it,” Cash snapped, jerking Finn away. “Stop it you fuck-head, seriously.”

  Eli was muttering low in Charlie’s ear. Charlie glowered at Finn for a moment then looked away. I took in a shaky breath. Cash let Finn go and pointed at me.

  “You’re setting a shit-ass example for our youngest,” he said, slapping Finn in the chest. Despite the power behind the blow, Finn barely shifted, his weight rocking back onto his heels for a moment.

  “He’s an adult,” Finn’s voice was barely above a guttural hiss, but guilt crossed his features. I shoved my hands in my pockets, looking at the ground. They always did this. Treated me like I wasn’t enough despite being of age, despite pulling my weight just like everybody else in the pack. Anger simmered away in my belly but I ignored it. We had enough problems without me lashing out at the guys that had raised me after my parents were cut down right in front of me. Especially Cash, I owed him my life directly.

  “I don’t give a fuck. You behave yourselves,” Cash was barely breathing enough to get the words out, that’s how angry he was. He shoved Finn again, shoulder into Finn’s chest, and then stalked over to me.

  “I’m fine,” I said, when Cash looked like he was going to inspect me all over for damage like I was a silly pup that had wandered into a three-pack-brawl. He gave me a broody stare and I threw my hands up. “I’m fine! Fuck! This isn’t the first time I’ve seen violence.”

  Cash let out a breath he’d been holding, his eyes running over my face.

  “Yeah but I promised myself that you’d never… see it again,” he said, his words halting. Behind him, Charlie went pale in Eli’s grip, and stepped away as Eli let him go. All four of them, my pack, my brothers-in-arms, carried the guilt of nearly losing me to hunters like it was their personal burden. I knew they blamed themselves for the death of the rest of our pack, as if by being survivors they were to blame.

  It was stupid. I glowered at each of them in turn. If they were going to feel guilty then I was going to use that to school them into better behavior. I didn’t care if it was manipulative.

  “Can we just get to the next show,” I said, looking at Charlie hardest. “And apologize to Finn. That was crass. You know how much he misses Darcy.”

  “We all do,” Cash murmured, running his hands through his hair. The dark strands stuck out at all angles.

  “Sorry Finn.” Charlie wasn’t able to meet his eyes as he apologized, but that was good enough for me. I felt the hot melt of Eli’s appraising look over me and I glanced at him. The corner of his mouth was tucked up into a smile.

  “What?” I asked, defensive.

  “Being schooled by you, kid, doesn’t make me feel all that capable of leading the pack,” his voice was wry. I made a face and he laughed.

  “Get back in the van,” I ordered them, and then grabbed the front passenger door. “And I’m sitting in the front this time.”

  PHOENIXFALL

  Available on Amazon now!

  Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You’re gonna love it!

  So that’s a Friends quote. Because that TV show is on repeat in my house pretty much non-stop all the time, so I figured I should thank it somehow in my “end of the book author-talking nonsense”. I also think it kind of makes sense with Darcy crash-landing in a mundane world after a magical upbringing.

  Wow. So. This was the book. This was the book that stole my heart and made me finally “get” what every other truly passionate author has always talked about. I fell in love with this book. This book became my baby. This was supposed to be a standalone, one-and-done book, and then the boys grabbed me by the shoulders and demanded three books.

  Then a quarter of the way through this book, they demanded five books. Five books, they said, one for each of them to woo and properly love their Darcy like she deserved. It’s gonna be a long year.

  So I’m sorry about the cliffhanger! The only reason it’s there is because the next book is coming super, super super soon (and if you’re reading this after it’s published, lucky you, you don’t even have to wait!!!) so I hope you’ll forgive me.

  THE THANK YOUS…

  There’s a lot of people to be thanking at the end of this book. My bestie, Gina, for sitting with me while I waved my hands around in the air and described Darcy’s wo
rld, how witches worked, what werewolves were, and a whole bunch of other stuff you won’t find out until the next few books. To Zephr, for being Beta 0 and squeaking at me, you kept me going when I was terrified. To Nicole, for being so good as to say “ha ha sure okay” when I texted you with a “hey can I put you in my book about witches and werewolves ps you are a bad-ass label manager”, for not giving up on me when I totally flat out bailed on our first ever meeting, for being the best friend I could ever ask for, for cheering me up when I was really down, for commiserating with me over stupid shit-heads in bands, and for skipping the line at clubs like the super bosses we were as music-industry ninjas. To She Who Shall Not Be Named for being a terribad music industry mentor, you’re cancelled, bye Felicia, thanks for showing me the kind of person I didn’t want to be. Thanks to Tina for giving me the “are you a broad or a bitch?” talk. I hope I’m solidly in the “broad” category.

  Thanks to Chrissy, for letting me borrow your name and for being a shoulder to lean on. To Katie for saying “hey you really love this book, I can tell, wow, it’s so good, like the best thing you’ve ever written!!!”. To Kat, my writing friend, my makeup friend, my sweetheart lovely; forgiveness is a lesson you’ve taught me, and humility as well.

  To Erin, my PA, who came on right away and jumped into this project and sent me a tonne of gifs and cheered me up and has been such a wellspring of positivity and organization that I just can’t stop adoring you!! To Cam, for taking on this project and giving me the “down and dirty hard to hear” kind of feedback that I needed. To Dave, Rich, Ron, and Sue, my music friends and mentors who’ve held my hand and been there with me through the ups and downs of the music industry.

  Thanks to the FTW girls, who are all amazing authors in their own right, and I am honored to be your friends and be inspired by you. To the crew at Double Dee.

  TO MY BETAS, oh my blurgh. You answered a random author’s call on Facebook, and gave me so much good feedback and squeeing and advice and love that it made this process that much easier. I was cracking out 10k of words a day because of your encouragement. So thank you, Alisha, Ashleigh, Ashley, Brianna, Jan, Lakerea, Liz, Megan, Mikayla, Nadine, Peggy, Robyn, Susan, Sabrina, Sarah, Shayla, Tabitha, Teresa, and Tiffany. You beauties were amazing.

  To Lauren Landa for bringing Darcy’s voice to life and for coming up with the coolest idea for an audio book. I treasure our friendship every day, and I am so lucky that I have you in my life. You are a gift.

  To Becca Briggs, for being Darcy’s face and being the most generous, sweet, kind, smart and driven woman. You are amazing, and I appreciate you letting me put you on the cover of my book. To Curtis, for your great photography and touch-up skills and knowing exactly what I needed without me really having to ask for it!

  To Ciarin Shields for drawing a beautiful phoenix feather for me, and for working on the cover-art tirelessly, and for doing all sorts of odd-job graphics for me. We’ve crashed red carpets together, played shows on three different continents together, and you’re the best touring friend and musician I’ve ever worked for. You’re a sexy beast, and I love ya.

  All my beauties over at KT’s Beauties hanging out with me and sharing memes and other stuff. You guys make opening up Facebook worth it!

  To my tour-cars, Wink and Hawkeye for keeping me and my musicians safe on the road, and for letting me clock the most miles anyone has ever seen on a Honda Fit ever.

  To Bri, who edited this thing and has held my hand over the last year and a bit. Our chance meeting online has led to a beautiful friendship, and I’m so grateful for you each and every day, especially when you send me ridiculous Snapchats of yourself.

  Thanks to every band and artist I’ve ever had the pleasure (and displeasure) of working with: thanks for the education, the music, and the fun.

  And lastly, thanks to you. Thanks for reading my book. Gosh, I sure do appreciate it. I hope it was a good ride for you, and if it was, let me know. I’m always tooling around on Facebook, happy to chat any time I’m not writing or sleeping or on the road with a band.

  Hugs, love, and all the rest,

  Kit

  (K.T. Strange)

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  About the Author

  KT Strange is a reverse harem romance author from the Great White North. After spending ten years in the music scene babysitting drunk rock-stars, she’s finally ready to settle down (sorta) and write a few good books inspired by her life on the road with bands and her love of everything paranormal.

  Also she is rather fond of cats.

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