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Those divine male spirits returned on their knees, and Oshun forgave them and poured her river over the barren earth until life bloomed. But she remembered being overlooked too, and didn’t want that for human women. So, she pressed her aché into her daughters’ palms, giving Black women the power to bless, curse, heal, summon, create, and survive.

Alright. All is done. Let me get things packed so I can leave tomorrow.

But as I walked out of the bathroom, the bite’s throbbing returned. I stopped and looked down at the dressing.

What the fuck? .

To my shock, the black heart on my chest burned and vibrated.

What is going on?

Then to my utter horrifying surprise, a deep male voice entered my mind. “Little witch, I’m coming for you.”

I blinked.

Aunt Delphine was the only person in my life that could easily penetrate my head and talk to me.

Whatever this was. . .it had great power.

He spoke some more, “And I can’t wait to see you, little witch.”

I stepped back.

Oh, hell to the no.

I shivered.

Who the fuck is that?

Then, this deep, possessive heat gathered beneath the bite, hot, insistent, and frantic as a lover’s mouth. It came like a hurricane building over the Gulf—electricity prickling beneath my skin, longing thickening the air between my heartbeat and his.

My chest tightened, breath catching as if his hands were already lovingly slipping over my body.

Certainty settled into my bones, heavy and sweet as honey.

I didn’t know who he was, but he was searching for me through the dark, and with the hard, hungry beat of my heart, I knew he ached for me with a delirious intensity.

Oh no. I have to call Aunt Delphine. Whatever is coming, I’ll have to stop it with something big.

Chapter three

Compass Needle

Gabby

🎧 Chapter 3 Soundtrack:

Although the man’s voice disappeared from my head, there was this. . .heat that he left behind, and it spread through my body like somebody had poured warm honey into my veins.

My skin tingled.

My breasts felt heavy.

My nipples remained painfully tight beneath my bra, and my panties had become so wet that I could feel the damp fabric every time I moved.

Even the air brushing across my skin felt intimate.

It made me so wet that I had to quickly change out of my clothes, clean up, and put my sleeping gown on.