Family Feud: The Witching Hour Series Book 5 Read online

  Family Feud

  The Witching Hour Series Book 5

  Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  News

  Other books by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Chapter 1

  Terrible day.

  Christ, Julia! I'm done waiting around. We need to set the date, right here, right now," Nathaniel said, glancing at me with his sharp hazel eyes.

  Okay, so he was going off on one again and I really wasn't in the mood to discuss the subject of our wedding, but we’d been putting it off for so long that it wasn't funny anymore. I wanted to marry him, I really did, but the whole thing was getting on top of me. I shifted in my seat, wondering why I was so reluctant to plan the wedding. It was going to be my dream day after all, and we’d gone through so much to finally be together.

  Maybe I needed a couple of days to get used to the idea that I was now engaged to Nathaniel La Caz, the pharmaceutical tycoon who admittedly had broken my heart on more than one occasion. He was able to pick up the pieces and make it whole again by getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him.

  Nathaniel had proposed to me in front of my entire family, who stood startled for several minutes, staring at both of us in shock and disbelief. No one knew he’d planned it; my mum was the first person to start congratulating us, looking ecstatic. Other members of my family weren’t quite ready to have a half vampire within their ranks. For as long as I could remember, my grandmother had been warning us about vampires. In her opinion, it was too risky for us to get involved with other creatures, and no one dared to go against her wishes, well, apart from my dad and, now me. Grandma couldn’t bear the fact that I was ready to share my life with someone other than a full-blooded elf. She left as soon as she had a chance that day, not even wanting to listen to my father’s or my arguments.

  According to her, my whole family’s reputation was on the line. From the very beginning, Grandma was clear that she was never going to accept my choice. It was the twenty-first century and it was time for her to come to terms with the fact that I’d chosen real love over dating within my caste.

  I didn't remember much from the rest of that night, but I did feel happy hearing congratulations from all my cousins: Claudia, Paula and Paulina. Even Aunt Dorothy managed to hug me. My own father had fallen in love with a human woman and ended up marrying her, going against his mother and her values. That night, Dad looked happy, truly relaxed about the fact that his only daughter was now engaged. I was breaking yet another stigma. Vampires were intoxicated by an elf’s scent and most paranormals held the belief that this kind of relationship would never survive. Well, I was going to prove I was an exception to this rule.

  "Congratulations, hon, it’s about time," Dad said, embracing me with his steady arms. I kept staring at my beautiful diamond ring not believing this was really happening.

  "Thank you, Dad," I said, feeling magic flow through me, dancing on my skin. "I'm so happy, but what are we going to do about Grandma?" I sobered quickly thinking of the disapproving matriarch of our family.

  "Don't worry. She didn't speak to me for two years after I married your mother," Dad said with a morbid chuckle. I knew he had struggled to convince his mother to see his side of things, but they eventually managed to work through it. My grandmother had never really connected with Mum, but at least she was tolerant of her.

  “You know, I mean—"

  "Nathaniel, come on. Let's open some champagne," Dad shouted to my fiancé. I guessed this wasn't the best time to discuss what happened in the past, when everyone was so relaxed, drinking Irish cream and munching on mince pies.

  "Julia, are you even listening to me?"

  Nathaniel’s voice pierced my thoughts, startling me, bringing me back to the present. I needed to stop daydreaming like that. We were in my car on the way to see my grandmother to salvage our engagement joy and smooth over whatever had happened, hoping to convince her we were very much in love. I wanted her to understand that Nathaniel wasn't with me because he was intoxicated by my scent, that he truly did love me for who I was. Surely, Grandma only needed to be reminded that he came from a respectable background and he was ageing like a normal human.

  She hadn't spoken to me since the party. I tried to get in touch with her often, but she never answered her phone, and whenever I showed up at her house, she was never at home. She was making this very difficult for me. I even wrote to her, but she hadn't responded to my letters. Nathaniel was very supportive, trying to convince me that Grandma would come around eventually.

  "Yes, I'm sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts."

  He narrowed his eyes and diverted his gaze back to the road ahead.

  "I hope you’re not having any second thoughts."

  "No, of course not."

  "Julia, the sooner we make it official, the better. I’ve waited long enough; we both have."

  "We’re getting married, Nathaniel; nothing is going to change that. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this conversation with Grandma," I said, unable to rid myself of a strange sensation in my stomach. "I think we should set the date now. How about the tenth of June?”

  Nathaniel smiled and placed his hand on my thigh. Heat shot through my body, waking up my magic. Even now, after so many months of being back together, my power reacted to him; his touch was magnetic, sparking against me with electricity.

  “I'd rather have you a bit sooner. I'm thinking more like the seventeenth of May," he said, his eyes hooded with arousal, and my magic cannoned through me again, piercing my heart.

  "Let's just focus on convincing Grandma that there isn't anyone else right for my life but you. I expect you to behave." I looked over and smiled at him.

  We knew this was going to be an almost impossible task, because my grandma was the most stubborn person alive. The difficulty of the job in front of us weighed heavily, leaving a deafening silence in the car.

  "I bet Jasper thinks you still owe him something," Nathaniel said, breaking the silence, reminding me that so much was still unresolved.

  After my short conciliation, things between Jasper and me were still dangerously complicated. He had made a dark promise to come back for me, whatever that meant. That was almost eight months ago, and thankfully I hadn't heard from him since. I tried to be vigilant about not finishing work late and going home alone. Nathaniel was worried that eventually Jasper would try to come after me again.

  "Jasper isn’t a problem at the moment and you, Mr. La Caz—don't even think about getting me a bodyguard. I'm fine," I said, making sure I was loud and clear about my expectations. Nathaniel was often ready to go to extreme measures, just to keep me safe.

  "He threatened you, Julia, which means he threatened me, too. You can't expect me to sit around and wait for him to attack you."

  "He won't att
ack me, Nathaniel. That’s not his style," I said, releasing electric sparks that unfortunately melted holes in my seat. Yeah, even after shagging each other every day my energy was still pretty active and moving through me, demanding to be released. "Let's forget about this. The wedding—so, seventeenth of May, right?"

  I deliberately changed the subject. I didn't want to start another pointless argument. Like everyone in this world, I had a past, a very complicated one that involved Jasper. Nathaniel just needed to accept it.

  Suddenly, the car started making very strange noises, and then it stopped, right in the middle of the road. Nathaniel tried to bring the engine back to life turning the key and pumping the clutch, but he gave up after a few attempts. It was dead—no spark, no noises, nothing other than a series of clicks. We still had a fair distance to go before we would reach Canterbury and people started looking through our windows, glaring at us, honking their horns and gesturing wildly, as we were blocking the traffic.

  “What's going on?" I asked.

  It was just after five on Friday evening and rush hour traffic was beginning to build up. Nathaniel pulled the handbrake and got out of the car; I followed and helped him push the car to the lay-by on the roadside. We were on the outskirts of London, and the road was almost at gridlock. He asked me to open the bonnet and started looking at the engine. He’d most likely never dealt with a broken-down car. Nathaniel could afford the best of things.

  It was frosty outside; the late February temperatures were below zero. Nathaniel stood staring at the engine, muttering to himself about things I didn't understand anyway. It was getting dark pretty quickly.

  "So? Anything?"

  "It's the battery. When did you last change it?"

  I pulled a face at him. "Never?"

  He closed the bonnet and embraced me in his arms.

  "There you go. Anyway, let's call Roberto. We’ll get someone to collect the car later."

  I wrapped my arms around him and nestled into his body heat while he spoke to Roberto. His driver was on the way, so we would make it to my grandma’s eventually.

  "You should sell this death trap on wheels and get a new car. This shouldn't be happening."

  I laughed, looking at him. "I'm trying to save up. Besides, this car is perfectly all right."

  "I'll buy one then. Soon, you’re going to be my wife, which means what’s mine is going to be yours."

  "But—"

  "There is no but, Julia. You’re not safe in London while that bastard is still out there. Besides, what if Elvira was right? She wasn't the only one who thought you have an extraordinary power."

  A few months ago, a highly skilled witch talked herself into believing that I was the perfect vessel for a dark ritual she’d planned to perform on me.

  "I think you’re exaggerating."

  Nathaniel wasn't really the exaggerating type, but I didn't want to agree with him. I was just stubborn like that, even though the witch wasn't the first one to imply such things about my powers.

  "Julia, I think we should look into your family history. Something isn’t right here, and you know it."

  Looking up into his handsome face, I could almost see the thoughts whirring through his mind. He must have felt lost in all the unresolved issues that continued piling up. I knew deep down that we needed to start clearing them up, but the task was daunting. I raised my hand and stroked the frown line that crinkled between his eyes. I didn't know how to answer him so I kept my mouth shut, because for some reason I wasn't ready to agree with him. We met over four years ago when I came to his factory offering recruitment services to his business. Our beginning was quite rocky, but we made it work. Now I couldn’t imagine being with anyone other than him.

  After half an hour, Nathaniel’s driver, Roberto, arrived. We were going to take care of my car tomorrow. With my luck, it probably wasn't only the battery but something more serious. I didn't want to accept a new car from him, just because we were together. I enjoyed my independence.

  An hour later, with major delays on the motorway, we were driving through the village where my grandparents lived. My parents weren’t very wealthy in comparison to my grandparents. Dad was the Chief Inspector of the police department’s Paranormal Unit.

  "Just turn left here and we should—"

  My voice died down when I saw blue and red lights flashing outside my grandparents' house. Nathaniel said something to me, but I blocked him out trying to process what I was seeing, feeling as if a ton of bricks had crashed down into my stomach. The police and an ambulance were parked outside the house. I couldn't breathe, I couldn’t think. I kept telling myself that it was just a precaution, maybe a mistake and everyone was okay.

  When Roberto finally stopped, I leapt from the car, but Nathaniel was faster. He grabbed my hand.

  "Julia, slow down. Let's calm down and speak to the humans," he said, but I didn't want to listen. I pushed him away and ran towards one of the officers.

  "This is my grandmother’s house. Please, can you tell me what’s going on?"

  The air around the property was soaked with magic and my skin crawled, rippling with anxiety. Two female police officers exchanged a silent glance. They looked like they were reluctant to explain what had happened.

  "Barbra Taylor, she’s your grandmother?" one of the officers finally asked.

  "Yes!" I shouted, rapidly losing control. "What happened? Is she all right?"

  More silence followed, and I imagined the worst. I was ready to strangle them both. I sensed dark spells, lethal magic in the air, slowly drifting away. I felt it in the back of my throat like when you stand too close to a bonfire and the smoke makes you cough. Someone had used an illegal spell that made my skin crawl with fear, its noxious presence terrifying me.

  "I am sorry to have to tell you, but I'm afraid that your grandmother is dead. I'm so—"

  I couldn’t let them finish. I pushed them away unable to process this new piece of information, feeling when my magic took over my body and suddenly exploded; I couldn't control myself anymore. I dropped to my knees. The cold ground should have hurt my knees, but I felt nothing. I glanced down and saw my hands were covered in flames; my vision was blurry, distorted by tears. This wasn't happening for real. It was only a dream, it had to be. Life really couldn't be this cruel.

  "Julia! Wait!"

  I didn't want to listen to Nathaniel. I had to see my grandma. She couldn’t be dead, because she was indestructible, a force of nature who would always be there, wouldn't she?

  Staggering to my feet, I began moving forward slowly, picking up speed as I ran past a few officers at the door and stormed into the living room. Standing in the doorway, I glanced around the room, my attention caught by the scene in front of me. Then I saw her. Her body lay prone on the floor as if she’d laid down in an odd position and didn't want to get back up. One of the medics was kneeling by her head, checking the pulse in her throat while shaking his head. “Confirmed deceased,” was all he said. My ragged breath pulling in over my teeth caught everyone’s attention, yet I paid no attention to them. It was the lack of her power that hit me first and the fact that she was still just lying there, motionless. She wasn't telling them off for wearing their shoes, or the fact the front door was open, or that I hadn't called before showing up.

  I fell to my knees and crawled towards her, my whole body trembling. I took her hand, curling her cooled fingers around my own, and held it to my chest, rubbing the back of her hand to try to warm her up. I could hear a high-pitched keening noise and hoped it would stop soon until I realised it was coming from me. The dead silence in the room unnerved me. There was no chatter of a radio talk show in the background. The fire was unlit, so there were no crackles and pops from the coals or logs and the silence seemed to make the entire thing seem so much more real. I heard the sound of assured steps behind me. Some voices started to whisper, but I couldn’t stop staring at this woman I truly loved. Despite all our differences I didn't want to imagine my life without h
er. She was the one who kept the whole family together, a true matriarch, someone to be revered and turned to in a time of need. Didn't she know I needed her? I would always need her.

  "Julia, come on, you need to leave."

  It was Nathaniel. He was touching me, trying to pull me away, but I refused to leave her side. Tears were streaming down my face, and my hands were on fire.

  "There’s still a chance. What about Emily? She’s the white witch." I choked, looking at Nathaniel.

  "Julia, humans are here, and they’re staring at your magic," he whispered, embracing me, probably to cover my flaming hands. I didn't care. I wanted to know what happened.

  "Have you seen her hands?" someone asked.

  "They’re on fire," someone else said.

  I wiggled away from Nathaniel and stared at the intruders in my grandma’s home. How dare they come in here without an invitation? Not one of them had taken their shoes off and she hated that. My anger spiked, and I lost it. I wanted them out and I wanted them out now.

  "Get out, all of you! This has nothing to do with you!" I shrieked, my throat sore from the venom in my tone.

  Humans had no idea what was going on. The blond police officer looked at Nathaniel and started talking.

  “We're not sure what happened yet. We received an anonymous phone call—"

  "I said, get out!" I screamed.

  "Please, my fiancée needs time alone with her grandmother."

  I was sobbing, feeling like my heart was being torn apart. Questions were mounting in my head. Was Grandpa dead too? Where was he?