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The souls immediately began to protest.
“No,” he said. “Thanks for the offer, but I like them and don’t want to hurt them.”
They calmed, but only slightly.
Maybe it’s time for a new girlfriend, Elijah huffed.
Victoria began tapping her chin again. “Perhaps, then, we will ward you against the witches. We can’t protect you from all their spells—you don’t have enough skin for that many tattoos—but we could cover the basics, the most dangerous. Mary A
Dan would throw a fit if Aden came home covered in tattoos. And Mary A
“Some vampires are, but we aren’t around the witches enough to concern ourselves, really. For the most part, they avoid us and we avoid them. Wolves, though, can’t be warded. Their animal form doesn’t hold the ink, so it’s a waste. The moment they shift, their wards fade. I suppose we could ward Riley against certain spells for the meeting since he’ll be in human form. Knowing him, he’ll insist on going with you.”
He lifted her hand, kissed her wrist. “I don’t understand why Riley doesn’t just take over the vampire clan. He’d make an excellent king.”
And…there it was. The spark of anger that always accompanied talk about crowning a new king. Seriously. What the hell?
“The wolves have more loyalty than any other race. The need to guard is ingrained in them.”
“Well, leading is just another form of guarding. We’ll talk about that later, though. Let’s guard him for once. What do you think?” He was fighting the urge to jerk her back into his lap. If they stayed here, he would kiss her again. Guaranteed. “That witch is probably giving him fits.”
Victoria nodded and a moment later, the world around him disappeared.
A DESERTED CABIN, miles from town. From anything. Filled only with wolves, a vampire and weapons. Well, and also a blindfolded witch who was tied to a chair in the center of an otherwise empty bedroom. Not Marie, Mary A
Riley had immediately begun his interrogation, and it had gone something like this:
Riley: Where is the meeting between your kind and Aden Stone supposed to take place?
Witch: Go suck yourself.
Riley: Maybe later. Meeting?
Witch: Enjoy death.
Riley: I have once already. Now, decide to talk or lose a body part.
Witch: May I recommend a finger?
Riley: Sure. After I take one of your very necessary hands.
Witch: Look, you mangy mutt. The elders will be here any day now. They had pla
At that, frustration had filled the room. Guilt had filled Mary A
The same futile exchange was repeated three more times.
“Let me try,” Lauren finally said, moving behind the witch and placing her hands on the girl’s shoulders. Her fangs were longer than they’d been a moment ago, and there was such hunger in her eyes it actually hurt Mary A
But then she recalled Victoria’s words. Words uttered only yesterday, though an eternity seemed to have passed since then. Witch blood was like a drug to vampires. Once Lauren tasted the witch, there would be no pulling her off. And then Victoria, whenever she arrived—where was she? What was she doing?—would probably join the feasting.
“I’ll only nip her,” Lauren said, words now slurred. “Only take a little. She’ll start talking then. Swear.”
“No!” Riley shouted, and Mary A
That’s when Victoria and Aden at last appeared. Both were flushed, their lips swollen and red, glistening.
Ah. They’d been kissing.
Unlike Mary A
He’d paid more attention to Lauren in the half hour they’d been here than he had to Mary A
Had she lost Riley already? Anger and helplessness, sadness and sorrow mixed together and filled her up. With the rise in her emotions, a warm, sweet breeze drifted to her. In and out she breathed, that breeze floating to her lungs, seeping into her veins, soothing every part of her. Just like that night in town, just like this morning with Marie, she welcomed the sensation. So good. And the taste…like candy. Sugar-coated, sparkling, fizzing.
Riley told Aden and Victoria what had been happening while forcing Lauren to move away from the witch.
“Use your voice on her,” Aden suggested to Victoria. “You know, the powerful one.” Then, “Shut up, Caleb! I’m not kidding. Her shirt stays on.”
Who was— Ah. One of the souls. Who did Caleb want to strip?
“Voiced commands don’t work on witches,” Victoria replied. She moved into Aden’s side, snuggling close, as if she couldn’t bear to be separated from him. “Their magic prevents it.”
Magic. Yes. That’s what she tasted, Mary A
She didn’t need Riley, she thought. This. This was all she needed. It nourished. It completed. It didn’t change its stupid mind.
How she was soaking that magic in, she didn’t know and she didn’t care. Just as long as she never stopped, she’d be happy.
“Fine, I’ll ask, but after that you have to simmer down,” Aden said with a sigh. Was he still talking to Victoria? Or to one of the souls? “Did you once know a guy named Caleb?” He focused on the witch.
“No,” the bound girl replied, flippant. “Should I have?”
“Did you once know a guy who could possess other bodies? A guy who died a little over sixteen years ago?”
A pause, laden with tension. “Who are you? The boy who summoned us? Don’t deny it, I can feel the pull of you. Why do you want to know about the possessor?”
Aden suddenly looked both excited and nervous. “So you did know him?”
“I didn’t say that,” she snapped. “Now tell me what I want to know!”
“First, let’s get a few of your facts straight. The summoning was an accident. I didn’t mean—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the witch growled, and that growl was far more intimidating than any sound the shifters had made. “Is it you who’s feeding off my magic right now? Tell me! I demand to know! And I demand you stop this instant, or the moment I’m free I’ll curse the skin from your bones. Do you hear me? Stop!”
Everyone in the room stilled. Someone gasped in horror.
“Feeding off your magic?” Lauren said with a frown. “No one would dare. There are no Drainers among us, witch. We would have killed the offender already.” Drainers? Killed?