Once Bitten (Netherworld Series Book 1) Read online

  Once Bitten

  Netherworld Book 1

  Olivia Hutchinson

  Once Bitten

  Copyright © 2018 Olivia Hutchinson

  Cover design by Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  “When tears are over, and the sorrowful spirit’s done, then grief can be given expression in words.”

  - Ovid

  For Marilyn, Anna, Karla, Sharon, and Jennifer

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  About the Author

  Up in Flames

  Prologue

  A girl’s night was just what Lila Connelly needed. She hadn’t been able to get together with all her friends in one place for months. The seven of them needed time together to unwind and relax, accompanied by Jack Daniel’s and roaring laughter. Lila lounged back in the chair at her dining room table and grinned.

  She downed the amber liquid that was left in her glass before saying, “You want to talk sexy? Two words—Gerard Butler.”

  “Oh my God! That accent turns me into melted butter every time he speaks.” Heidi rolled her eyes back in her head and her body went limp. She fell back to the floor from where she had been sitting on a pillow, painting her toenails.

  Beth laughed, looking down at Heidi from where she sat next to Lila at the table. “An accent? Is that all it takes to get into your pants?”

  “Absolutely. A sexy accent is the only excuse I need to lose my panties and pop my legs open.” She giggled and climbed to her feet. She padded into the kitchen to retrieve an unopened bag of chips from the kitchen counter and returned to her cushion. Pulling at the bag, she struggled to open it but it wouldn’t budge.

  Andrea, Lila’s cousin, shook her head and snatched the bag out of Heidi’s grasp. She opened it herself with ease and thrust it back at Heidi. “Skank.” She flicked a chip at Heidi’s head.

  “Oh come on. Just because you’re Saint Andrea the virgin, doesn’t mean everyone else is.”

  Andrea frowned. “I’m not a virgin.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “Jeez, leave the girl alone,” Natalie barked at Heidi, still managing to make it sound sweet with her Southern accent, as she reached for the open bottle of wine that was sitting in the center of the table. There was only a little left, and Natalie drained it straight from the bottle.

  Heidi finished munching on a chip before she spoke. “She knows I’m only messing with her.”

  “You better hope she knows that or you’ll wake up in the morning with a frozen bra and a Sharpie mustache,” Natalie told her as she got up from the table to take the empty bottle into the kitchen. She rinsed it out in the sink, set it on the counter and retrieved an unopened bottle from the fridge before walking back to her seat at the table.

  When Andrea laughed and dropped her head onto Lila’s shoulder, Lila smiled. Andrea was already plotting her revenge, as harmless as it might be, but the calculating look in her hazel eyes was unmistakable.

  “I’m so happy I’m more mature than the lot of you,” Carey said as she held out her glass for Natalie to fill once she was done wrestling with the corkscrew.

  Beth snorted. “Mature? You? Are you not the same woman who told the entire nursing staff that Doctor Sallis enjoyed getting enemas as part of his sexual play?”

  Carey didn’t bat an eyelash. “He stole my pen.”

  Beth shook her head. “Wait a minute. You never even slept with him?”

  “He stole my pen.”

  Lila’s mouth fell open. She had heard Carey’s rumor at work, but she had never known the reason behind why she spread it, let alone that it was all because of a stolen pen. “You embarrassed that man because he stole a pen? Was it made of solid gold?”

  “No, it was the one I borrowed from the bank.”

  Lila arched a brow. “It was a pen you had stolen yourself?”

  “I didn’t steal it, I borrowed it,” she insisted.

  “You had no intention of giving it back!” Lila yelled, laughing.

  Carey rolled her eyes. “I was going to give it back when it ran out of ink. Besides, that wasn’t the only pen he ever stole from me. Every single day he steals my pen. He had it coming.”

  Beth leaned across the table and grabbed the bottle of Jack. “I work in the lab and I heard that rumor. You don’t think that was just a bit—oh, I don’t know—uncalled for?”

  Carey folded her arms across her chest and glared at them. “I’ve worked with that man for over two years and in all that time he’s never once said hello to me. And every single day he’s there, he steals my pen. He doesn’t steal Lila’s pens or anyone else’s. Just mine. Do you know how many pens that is?”

  “Um, no.”

  “Three hundred and forty-six!”

  All Lila heard was crickets until Andrea broke the silence in the room. “You counted?”

  “What? Is that weird?” Carey took a gulp of her wine.

  “Yes. Yes, that’s weird. That’s practically the definition of weird,” Maggie said.

  “Then I guess I’m weird.”

  Heidi chomped down on a chip and said, her mouth still full, “We’re all weird.”

  “And that is why we’ll forever be single,” Natalie whined, laying her head on the table.

  “It is what it is.” Lila’s head was swimming, but there was still another bottle in the fridge and she intended to help her friends drink it.

  Carey chewed her lip, her eyes focused on Natalie. “We don’t have to stay single, you know. We could meet some men. Some good ones, too.”

  “Right.”

  “I’m being serious.”

  “And just how do you suggest we do that?” Maggie asked and Lila immediately wished Maggie had kept her mouth shut.

  “We can do a spell.”

  Groaning, Lila dropped her forehead to the table with a bang. “Not the witchy stuff again. Please, Carey.”

  Lila had known Carey for years, since the two had been in nursing school together, and from day one Carey had claimed she was a witch. It was something that Lila frequently rolled her eyes at, but Carey insisted it was real. Sometimes she would give in to her and listen as she droned on and on about different herbs and their magical and medicinal properties. Sometimes she would manage to find a way to change the subject.

  “Why not? It’s not going to hurt anything,” she insisted.

  Beth laughed. “Famous last words.”

  “I’m game.” The sound of Andrea’s sweet voice surprised Lila. She had never believed her cousin was into Carey’s hocus pocus routine, but she had a look of genuine interest on her face.

  Carey was on the edge of her seat, her index finger thrust into Andrea’s chest. “Ha! Thank you, Andrea. Who else?”

  Just because Andrea was her cousin and she loved her, Lila would oblige her. Even if it meant being bored to tears. “I’m in, I guess.”

  “Fine,” Beth agreed, taking another drink.

  “Yes!” Carey was clapping her hands together as Heidi and Maggie finally agreed with very little prodding. There was only on
e person left. Carey turned her head to look at Natalie.

  Natalie looked surprised at the sudden attention. “Oh, I thought it was a given. Of course I’m in. At least this is easier than speed dating. And it doesn’t require waxing.”

  Carey bounced in her seat, her dark brown hair flying all over the place as she tried, rather unsuccessfully, to contain her excitement. She rattled off a list of things they would need a moment later and sent each of the women to go find them. Excusing herself to the guest bathroom, Carey claimed she needed privacy to clear her mind in preparation.

  Lila directed Beth on where she could find the salt and the small paring knife that had been requested as she walked over to the fireplace in the living room to where Maggie was stoking the fire.

  “There’s nothing like the smell of burning wood,” Maggie said before inhaling deeply and throwing another log onto the roaring flames.

  Lila picked up the iron poker and stabbed at the logs. The heat from the flames soaked into her skin, warming her to the core. There was nothing more relaxing than a fire on a cold night and although the weather was slowly morphing into spring, it would still drop down below freezing once the sun set.

  “I bet you’ll be happy when the weather warms up a bit more and you’re out in the woods again,” Lila commented.

  “Oh, didn’t I tell you? Heidi and I are going up to my dad’s cabin in New Freedom later this week to go hiking.”

  Lila frowned. “Heidi? Really?” Picturing Heidi outside, hiking through the woods away from civilization, was nearly impossible. The woman could barely get off Facebook for ten minutes to feed her cat, let alone be without the internet completely. Heidi wouldn’t know what to do with herself.

  “She said she wanted to go when I mentioned something about it a couple months ago. She hasn’t changed her mind, so we’re going.” Maggie shrugged and climbed to her feet.

  Lila rose up as soon as she did. “Wow. How long are you guys going to be gone?”

  “I don’t know really. A few days, maybe a week. It all depends on how she does up there.” Maggie cast a glance toward Heidi who was placing tea lights on the counter tops and lighting each in turn. “How long do you think she’ll last without electricity?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine. I do hope she likes it.” The sound of Heidi’s giggles caught Lila’s attention and she glanced over to see Natalie and Heidi talking quietly together.

  “I hope she likes it too. I don’t want to have to turn around an hour after we get up there.” Maggie stretched her arms above her head. “You have your vacation this week too, don’t you? You should come with us.”

  “I don’t get off until next Saturday and you’re leaving before then, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah. That sucks. You’d like it up there.”

  “Next time maybe. I’ll be happy to schlep around here for a couple weeks. Catch up on some reading, maybe do a crossword puzzle or something.” Lila took a step back, the heat from the flames beginning to be too hot on her legs.

  “If I know you, and I do, you’ll be bored to tears after a day or two.”

  “You’re probably right, but I haven’t had any real time off in years. It’ll be nice to not have anything to do for a while.” Lila shrugged as she and Maggie made their way back to the table to help Andrea move the chairs against the wall so the seven of them would have plenty of room to stand.

  A few minutes later, when everything was set up, the six women stood around the table, waiting for the seventh to find her way out of the bathroom.

  The room was dark, only illuminated by the glow of the candles and the blaze in the fireplace. The lights, as well as the music, had been turned off in preparation. Silence radiated through the room as the women stared at each other, trying to figure out what they were supposed to do next and, without their leader, it was impossible.

  “Did she fall in?” Andrea asked, looking to Lila who stood at her side.

  Lila shrugged. She had no idea what Carey was doing in there, but she was tired of waiting. She yelled, “Any time now Carey! Before we fall asleep out here.”

  There was no immediate response from Carey, but after a minute the bathroom door opened and she stepped out into darkness. The shadows from the candlelight on her face made Carey’s high cheekbones appear even more prominent than they already were, her face grim. She stood at the head of the table and looked at each of them in turn.

  “Finally,” Beth grumbled, her hands on her hips.

  “Friends, it is time to assemble,” Carey said, ignoring Beth. Her voice was soft and airy as she looked down at the salt and knife ready where she had asked them to be placed.

  Heidi smirked and Lila sent her a swift elbow in her side, shaking her head. “Don’t piss off the witch.”

  Carey’s black eyes narrowed. “I need everyone’s equal participation and silence for this to work.”

  When no one said anything else, she lifted the container of sea salt from the table and began to walk around them, pouring the salt on the floor. The large circle of salt on the hardwood made Lila cringe since she’d be the one to have to clean up the mess.

  Stopping at the same place where she began, Carey put the salt back on the table. Lifting her arms into the air, she called forth the elements and Lila saw Beth stifle a yawn. This wasn’t the most entertaining thing they could have done, but Lila went with it anyway and repeated what Carey told them to repeat. She had no idea what they were saying since it was Latin—or so she assumed—but she did her best to mimic the sounds.

  Carey’s voice was loud and clear as she spoke when she finally switched to English. Her voice filled the large room. “We call forth our soul mates. Men of honor and integrity, both loyal and kind—”

  “With cocks of steel,” Heidi interrupted, which earned her a dagger-filled glare from Carey, a sharp elbow in the ribs from Maggie, and smirks from both Beth and Lila.

  Carey cleared her throat. “Loyal and kind,” she re-emphasized. “We seek to bind with these men and create lasting relationships full of love and compassion.”

  Picking up the sharp paring knife from the table, she held it out and made a small cut in the middle of her right palm and then the left. Blood welled on her skin as she tried to pass the knife to Maggie, who was staring at her as if she had finally gone over the edge.

  “You’re kidding. There’s no way I’m cutting myself with that.”

  “I don’t have any diseases,” Carey said, again thrusting the handle of the knife in her direction.

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Oh, come on and just do it so we can get this over with,” Natalie groaned.

  Sighing, Maggie took the knife from Carey and made the smallest cuts she could before passing it along to Heidi. She stretched her palms and watched as her dark red blood began to pool in her hands.

  Heidi made the incisions without a second’s hesitation, slicing through the flesh of her palms before slapping the knife handle in Lila’s hand.

  Lila hesitated at first, knowing just how nasty this was. She was a nurse and knew all about blood-borne diseases, but she knew that she didn’t have anything to worry about from her friends, so she went ahead with it. If it made Carey happy and let them wrap this up that much sooner, then she was fine with it.

  She dragged the small knife across her palm the same way the others had, flinching at the sharp sting of the blade and then repeated the process on her other hand. She passed it to Andrea, who took a deep breath and did the same. Around the table the knife went, each woman making the same cuts.

  When the knife finally got back to Carey, she set it on the table in front of her and grasped Maggie’s and Natalie’s hands. The seven women held hands, the blood sticky between their palms. Carey raised their clasped hands in the air, looked up at Lila’s ceiling fan and began chanting something Lila again couldn’t understand.

  The flames from the candles and the fire dimmed as she spoke, causing the room to darken to a point where Lila c
ould barely discern Beth’s face anymore. An icy chill curled up her spine, goose bumps raised on her arms, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

  A shiver went through her body when she felt a light cold breeze float around her. It seemed to have come from nowhere. Feeling Andrea and Heidi’s similar responses next to her, she knew she wasn’t the only one who was quickly becoming weirded out by Carey’s entire production.

  Lila made out the sound of Carey’s voice, but no one was listening to what she was saying. The jokes stopped and so did the laughter. She wasn’t scared and even if she were, she would never admit it, although she knew she wasn’t the only one in the room who was second guessing their decision to go through with this.

  As Carey’s voice rose in intensity, the candles and the fire suddenly roared to life, fully illuminating the room and making the six women jump. Carey didn’t appear phased in the slightest, her eyes lifted toward the ceiling and her feet planted firmly on the floor. Andrea’s and Heidi’s grips on Lila’s hands were tighter than they had been a minute before. Blood squished from between their fingers but Lila didn’t let go.

  Her ears were humming as the energy seemed to build in the room, creating its own pulse in the air surrounding them. Her heart hammered in her chest and the blood pounded in her veins.

  The candles extinguished suddenly, save for the one Carey had left inside their circle on the table. She could hear someone’s sharp intake of breath as the fire went out in the fireplace and wasn’t completely certain that it wasn’t her own.

  Blinking, her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the room. Andrea trembled next to her and Lila wished Carey would hurry and finish this nightmare.

  Carey let go of the hands she had been holding and slowly walked around the table, opening the circle again and granting Lila’s wish. The women released the hands they held, all of them taking deep, shaky breaths as the chill finally dissipated from the room.