The Leopard's Witchy Mate (The Mayhem Crew, #1) Read online

  The Leopard’s

  Witchy Mate

  Elle Boon

  By Elle Boon [email protected]

  © Copyright 2020 Elle Boon

  All cover art and logos © Copyright 2020 by Elle Boon

  All rights reserved.

  The Leopard’s Witchy Mate

  Copyright © 2020 by Elle Boon

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is coincidental.

  This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.

  The Author of this Book has been granted permission by Robyn Peterman to use the copyrighted characters and/or worlds created by Robyn Peterman in this book. All copyright protection to the original characters and/or worlds of the Magic and Mayhem series is retained by Robyn Peterman.

  Table of Contents

  Foreword

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Thank You

  About Elle Boon

  Other Books by Elle Boon

  Foreword

  BLAST OFF WITH US INTO the Magic and Mayhem Universe!

  I’m Robyn Peterman, the creator of the Magic and Mayhem Series and I’d like to invite you to my Magic and Mayhem Universe.

  What is the Magic and Mayhem Universe, you may ask?

  Well, let me explain...

  It’s basically authorized fan fiction written by some amazing authors that I stalked and blackmailed! KIDDING! I was lucky and blessed to have some brilliant authors say yes! They have written brand new stories using my world and some of my characters. And let me tell you...the results are hilarious!

  So here it is! Blast off with us into the hilarious Magic and Mayhem Universe. Side splitting books by fantabulous authors! Check out each and every one. You will laugh your way to a magical HEA!

  For all the stories, go to https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/. Grab your copy today!

  And if you would like to read the book that started all the madness, Switching Hour is FREE!

  https://robynpeterman.com/switching-hour/

  Dedication

  FIRST AND FOREMOST, I’d like to thank Robyn Peterman for letting me come and play in her world again with The Leopard’s Witchy Mate. This is the second story I’ve written in her world and I truly love these characters. I absolutely adore her and all her worlds. I hope I do her characters justice and y’all like where I have her people pop in and do their thing LOL. Second of course, I have to thank my husband and my children and my new bestie, Romy, who is my adorable little granddaughter. She has brought so much love and joy to all of our lives, and I think a little bit of mischief I seem to throw into my characters in small bits here and there. Love y’all so hard.

  To my amazing team of beta readers, y’all rock sooo effing hard. Thank you for all you do to make my books so amazing. And last, but certainly not least, you readers are the best ever. FLOVE y’all soo hard. And last but definitely not least to Valerie Tibbs who has always been so amazing at knocking out my covers, you did a phenomenal job as always. Mwah <3

  XOXO,

  Elle

  Prologue

  NOELLE SHIVERED UNCONTROLLABLY. Goddess, she didn’t think she’d ever be warm again. Looking at the wall where she marked the days, something she only did once a day, her throat felt tight at the amount of time she’d been there. Her family had probably given up searching for her. Her sister Merry had probably already married and had children by now, while she was withering away.

  Her arm fell to her side, the ability to hold it up too much for her. Her captor, she wouldn’t call him master no matter what he did to her, was making notes in his computer. He couldn’t see her markings on the wall; the little bit of power she used was only seen by her. It was silly, stupid really because she knew he would be cruel if he ever found out. Another shiver racked her frame. At twenty-one, she was all of five feet three, but she didn’t think she even weighed a hundred pounds. She stared at her arms, seeing every vein as if they were a roadmap to her life.

  “I’ve got it.” Remdezevier stood so fast from his chair it fell over.

  She turned her head toward him, blinking slowly. “What is it this time? I told you I can’t transfer my gifts to you. I’ve told you that for years.” When she had been a child, she’d begged him to let her go. As she’d gotten older, she’d tried to do as he’d asked, suffered his experiments, even when she’d known they wouldn’t give him the results he wanted.

  “Yes, well, you don’t know what you are. Your family didn’t either. But I’m a genius, and I’ve isolated your blood and have figured it out. Come here,” he ordered.

  Noelle scooted her legs off the side of the bed, her heart beating faster than she was sure it should. “I don’t feel very well.” She put her hand over her chest, feeling her heart racing beneath her palm.

  “Quit procrastinating and come to me. You won’t like it if I have to come get you.”

  When she didn’t move quickly enough, he jerked the silver chain connected to her ankle, cutting into her flesh. Blood she couldn’t afford to lose flowed down onto her foot as she cried out. “Please stop.”

  He laughed, uncaring of the pain he caused.

  She hobbled to where he wanted her. The glass separating them kept her from doing any harm to him. Not that she could in her weakened state, but she’d have tried just the same. She let her mind drift as she put her arm into the opening and felt the familiar prick of a needle. Her ankle bled freely as he drew vial after vial from her arm. She wished he’d take all of her blood, wished it would end with the last pull, but like all her wishes and dreams, they never came true.

  “There, all done. That wasn’t so bad, now was it? I don’t know why you always fight me.” He sighed heavily like she’d disappointed him.

  Noelle wanted to reach her arm through and choke his skinny neck. She’d caught glimpses of his life outside the steel walls he’d enclosed her in. When he left her, he went home to a wife and child. They had no clue he was a sick and twisted man who held her captive.

  She collapsed before making it to the bed, the cold hard floor meeting her like an old friend. Dr. Remdezevier’s laughter echoed around her. She tried to cushion her face, so she didn’t crack her cheekbone like the last time, but she wasn’t sure if she succeeded as stars exploded around her.

  When she woke up next, darkness surrounded her. The taste of copper filled her mouth and her senses. She was used to pain racking her frame, but this felt different. This felt like her life was slipping out of her.

  A moan from somewhere near her, a feminine one had her trying to lift her head. Goddess, that hurt almost too much for her to do.

  She blinked, then it dawned on her she couldn’t see through her hair. Lifting her arm, she brushed the white strands back, trying to come to terms with what she was seeing. Huddled in the corner were several girls. No, not girls, women. Noelle struggled to get her body into a sitting position; the bleed
ing had finally stopped from the wound in her ankle.

  “Who...who are you?” she croaked, voice cracking from thirst and blood loss.

  The women all jumped as if scared. Noelle’s gaze went toward the window, thankful her captor was nowhere to be seen. “How long have you been here?” she asked.

  One of the women stared back at her like she’d seen a ghost. Her mouth opened and shut, before a single tear fell from her right eye. “Are you—Noelle?”

  The question made her throat close up. She wondered if Remdezevier was setting her up, bringing in these women to trick her. “That’s my name, yes. Who are you?”

  She may be weak, but she hoped she could still protect herself from whatever these females might be planning.

  “I’m Merry, your sister.”

  The words dropped like a boulder in the quiet space.

  Noelle couldn’t allow herself to believe the woman. If Remdezevier had taken her sister, then they were all doomed. “You need to get out of here. How did he get you?” Strength filled her at the thought of what he would do to her sister and the others. They were humans. She’d known that even when she’d been just twelve and Merry fifteen. If he did to any of them, the things he’d done to her, they’d die, horribly.

  Merry laughed, the sound grating. “Do you think we haven’t tried?” She held their wrists up, showing they were all anchored together.

  Noelle mustered her strength, crawling over to the group. “Do you know how long you’ve been here?” She hated when she lost consciousness, but when he took too much blood it happened until she was able to replenish herself.

  Her sister Merry jerked away from her as she drew near. “You have dried blood all over you. What does he do to you?”

  She tried not to let her revulsion hurt, but it did. For ten years she’d thought of nothing but being reunited with her family, especially her sister who had been her best friend. “He’s trying to find a way to be some sort of immortal. He thinks I’m some...other.” She didn’t want to speak of her abilities in front of the women she didn’t know.

  “They know you have powers, Noelle. I don’t keep secrets from my friends. Can you get us out of here?” Merry reached for her hands.

  Noelle felt the first cool touch of another that wasn’t pain in ten years. Tears pricked her eyes as her body filled with power. Noelle placed her hand over her sister’s, holding her in place.

  “What’re you doing?” Merry cried, trying to pull away.

  “She’s a witch,” several of the women muttered.

  Noelle crashed backward, her body feeling invigorated from the influx of much-needed energy. Her sister and the others’ murmurs floated in and out of her mind. She scooted away, needed to assess what was going on. She had never experienced anything like what she was in that moment, her entire being seemed as though it could float out of the space she was in. She feared Remdezevier would come back and see she had a new power. That was enough to bring her hurtling down to the bed. “Don’t talk to him. Don’t tell him anything. He’ll kill you if he thinks you’re useless. I’ll protect you. I just need to rest.”

  She wasn’t sure if they agreed or not before her vision went black. Luckily, her bed was under her this time.

  She woke to screams, blood-curdling screams that would haunt her for the rest of her life. This time she didn’t sit up, not wanting to alert anyone to her being awake. She peeked through the veil of her lashes to where she’d seen the women before, nearly crying out at the vision before her. Merry was gone, while the others huddled together, their faces ashen as if they’d seen a ghost. Bruises marred what she could see of their bodies. How had he hurt them so? He wasn’t a big man, not in a muscular way. His power lay within his ability to threaten loved ones. The first few years, that was how he’d controlled Noelle, showing her pictures of her family and how easily he could get to them.

  Noelle listened for her sister’s unique thread, something she’d been able to do since she was a toddler. Once she’d narrowed down the other women’s signatures, finding Merry was easy. Her sister’s heart rate was accelerated. Although she couldn’t see her, Noelle knew she didn’t have a lot of time to save them all. She’d been unconscious too long. Clearly Remdezevier had gotten desperate when she’d been knocked out, thinking he needed to replace her. Goddess, she hadn’t felt this energized in so long.

  Allowing her body to become incorporeal was dangerous, but the women seemed too wrapped up in fear to notice she was anything but sleeping. She floated through the glass, a sense of freedom filling her as she did so. Merry lay on a table with her arms strapped down at her sides while the doctor read his notes on the computer. Her sister shook her head back and forth, her eyes wild. Noelle wanted to reassure her all would be fine.

  She moved in behind him, hate, anger, and fear mixing within her being. His notes were very concise as he listed all the things Merry was and wasn’t.

  “You and the others are worthless. There are no anomalies in any of your blood,” he growled.

  “I told you we were human,” Merry whimpered.

  He tossed his glasses onto the desk. “You were doing a ritual in the sand. I saw all of you dancing around it. I’ve been watching you for years. All of you. You had your hands raised to the moon and you...you glowed.”

  Noelle hated to see her sister injured because she’d not protected her, guilt ate at her as Merry’s once white skin appeared raw and red from her head to her toes.

  “We were pretending. We’re Wiccan, but not true witches. Not like Noelle. I can help you find other witches, though. My parents know of some,” Merry offered.

  There was no way in hell she’d allow Merry to out any other witches. Noelle would kill her and Remdezevier first.

  “If that were true, you’d have become friends with them. You and your stupid little whore friends would’ve become friends with real witches instead of pretending to be something you weren’t. You’ve wasted my time and resources.” He shoved up from the desk, nearly touching Noelle’s incorporeal form.

  “What’re you going to do with us?” Merry licked her lips, worry beginning to override her greed.

  “None of you are of use to me if you’re not magical.” He lifted a syringe.

  In that moment, Noelle made the decision to become what she loathed. A killer. As he lifted the syringe filled with what he planned to kill her sister with, she channeled her energy into him, forcing his hand backward.

  “What the—” he yelled, hand jerking as the syringe went to his own neck, pressing in.

  Merry’s eyes widened, her mouth opened and closed. Noelle didn’t let up on the pressure, her incorporeal body holding his hostage as she made him press the deadly fluid into his own neck. She didn’t stop until every last bit of whatever he had inside the syringe was emptied into him. He began to shake uncontrollable, falling backward. Noelle allowed herself to go back to her body. Energy filling her as she did so.

  “We must go,” she told the women. She stood; her legs wobbled beneath her for a moment.

  “Here, let me help you.”

  “Allison, are you crazy? What if he hurts us for helping her?”

  Noelle glared at the one who’d admonished the woman named Allison. “He’s dead. Now, come on. We need to get to Merry and get out of here.” She didn’t know where here was. Heck, she didn’t know how long her strength was going to hold up.

  The women all struggled to stand, their poor bodies showing the terrible things done to them.

  “How do we get out of here?” Allison asked, moving forward, the others following.

  She took a deep breath, drawing on the energy of those around her. Before she’d been taken, Noelle’s parents had told her not to do such things because it was cruel, but now, she needed their energy in order to get them out. The door that had no handle on this side exploded outward. Her sister’s shocked cry was something Noelle would think about later. Right now, she had to get them out and quickly. She moved to the computer Remdezevi
er had been working on. Her mind took in his work, scanning the information he’d gathered. The images made her stomach heave as she saw her life documented in files.

  “What are you doing? Release me this instant,” Merry demanded.

  Noelle ignored her as one of the other women worked to free her sister’s arms. Noelle concentrated on getting the information off the computer. She’d not sat idle for ten years; her mind had picked up everything he did. She didn’t know how; it was something she’d always been able to do. Luckily, he had no clue.

  “Are you seriously trying to figure out how to use a computer?” Merry grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to face her.

  “Don’t do that, Merry. I’m not stable right now.”

  “Your eyes are glowing. You’re not normal.” Merry backed away, fear replacing the worry on her sister’s beautiful features. “You killed him, didn’t you?”

  After she finished filtering through the computer, she sent an electrical current through it, deleting all evidence of her and the doctor’s work. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was in there with them.” Her strength was waning.

  “Merry, she got us out of there only moments ago. Do you remember how to get out of here?” Allison whipped her head around as the lights began to flash.

  “What’s that?” one of the other women gasped.

  Noelle inhaled. “It’s his fail-safe. We need to go.” She lifted her hand, looking over her shoulder at her sister and the others, sparing a glance for the deceased doctor who’d held her prisoner for the last ten years. She had thought her entire life would be spent with only him for company. Shaking her head, she allowed her powers to pulse, and a glowing purple ball formed.

  “What’s that?” Merry asked.

  “Turn your heads. I don’t know how far underground we are, and I don’t have the strength to protect us all.”

  “Then do something else,” Merry cried.

  “Like what, Mer?” Noelle held the purple fireball aloft, waiting.