Unraveled

of you to offer,” he told Draven, then coughed again. So uncomfortable. “To do anything, I mean, but, uh, nothing like that will be necessary.”

I think I hate you right now, Caleb grumbled.

You should be thanking him, Elijah said with a sigh.

Draven’s eyes narrowed, her lashes fusing together. “Well, if you change your mind…the offer has no time limit. Now, what shall we do for our date, hmm?” Hot breath trekked over his face, and he stepped back. “I know humans enjoy having dinner together. We could eat.” Her attention returned to his pulse and she laughed. “Or I could.”

“I’d prefer not to be the main course, thanks. Or dessert,” he added before she could.

She shrugged a delicate shoulder. “Then let’s get to know each other better.” The words were purred. “That’s why I’m here, after all.”

She couldn’t be more obvious. Elijah’s disgust was clear. She wants to be queen, nothing more. If you marry her, you’ll be in pieces by the time she’s finished with you.

“Yeah, I kind of figured that out on my own,” he muttered. First, Aden wasn’t marrying anyone. Not even Victoria. Not yet. He was only sixteen. Well, almost seventeen. Second…he realized he didn’t have a second point.

“Figured what out?” Draven asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

He had that effect on everyone. “Oh, uh. Nothing. Listen.” He backed up a few more steps, placing himself out of striking distance. “For our date, we can sit there, in the hay—” he pointed to one of the empty stalls “—and talk about any laws you’d like to see changed.” Easy. Innocent.

The grind of her teeth echoed from the wooden walls. “Sitting in hay and talking about laws isn’t romantic.”

“I never promised romance.” God, he wanted this to end. Did Victoria know Draven was here? If so, was she currently bottling her feelings? Part of him certainly hoped so. Unbottling her was fun.

“You studied the stars with Stephanie.” Irritation radiated from Draven. “When she met with your councilmen, she extolled the virtues of such a pastime. Now, I would like to study the stars.”

The candidates really were reporting their “dates” with him. Talk about embarrassing! “Sky’s clear right now. If you want to look at the stars, you’ll have to come back tonight,” he said, knowing full well he wouldn’t be available. First, therapy. Then dinner. Then he’d be in town with his friends, hunting. “You aren’t allowed to drink from any of the humans here, though, and that’s an…order. From your king.”

Embracing the role of sovereign? Elijah asked.

No. Yes. Crap. Desperate times and all that. He’d only said what was necessary.

Draven popped her jaw, even as she bowed her head in acknowledgment of his command. “I will not harm your friends, Majesty. You have my word.”

“Thank you.”

“However, I cannot visit tonight. You may not know this, but guards are posted around our home at all times. We all take turns protecting what’s ours. Tonight, from midnight until six, I must patrol the grounds. Unless you relieve me of my duties…” She reached out and drew a fingertip across his collarbone. She was close enough to touch again, yet he’d never seen her move.

He had to arch his back to avoid further contact. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. That wouldn’t be fair to the others.” Impartiality, yeah, that’s what he was all about.

Her hand fell heavily to her side. “Very well,” she said stiffly. “We will postpone our date, then.”

Not if he could help it. “Great. Can’t wait.” Except that I can. Forever.

“Until then.” Draven turned and floated from the barn, leaving him alone with a sudden sense of doom.

EIGHTEEN

A few hours earlier…

THE DAY PASSED in a haze for Mary Ann, classes and tests and friends mere blips in her mind. Riley had ignored her, even though they shared the same schedule. That was more than a blip, but not the cause of her upset.

There were only two more days until the witches’ death curse took effect. If it did. Health-wise, she still felt fine. And yet, she’d never felt so helpless. Or more desperate. “What if” was a constant refrain inside her head. What if she went to sleep in two days and never woke up? What if her heart simply stopped beating? What if a car plowed into her?

If she had to round up every witch in the area and call a meeting to order herself, she would. And she would—hey. Wait. Her eyes widened as her mind whirled. Maybe she could do that. What if she used her…aptitude for sensing magic to find the witches, kinda like following her very own yellow brick road, and forced them into the same location?

Finally, a “what if” she liked.

Would calling a meeting to order herself count, though? Or would she simply earn the wrath of some very powerful women?

Worth trying, she thought. And besides, she’d already earned their wrath. So, next question: when to begin? Aden would be busy most of the evening; he had an appointment with his therapist and a dinner at the D and M Ranch. But Riley and Victoria, and even Lauren, could help her. They’d all planned to meet up anyway, but if Mary Ann struck out on her own, she could find the witches, call her friends, and they could bag and tag. Of course, Victoria and Lauren might wonder exactly how Mary Ann was able to sense witches now, and Riley had told her not to tell anyone about her new ability. With very good reason.

Crap. Victoria and Lauren were out. Mary Ann would have to rely on Riley. Only Riley. Her stomach clenched. He was clearly angry with her again. After all, she hadn’t told him about Aden’s possible murder. And she’d broken up with him, had meant it, and she wouldn’t change her mind. Don’t cry. That didn’t mean they had to stay away from each other, though. Didn’t mean they couldn’t be civil. They could work together, amicably, to save their lives. Couldn’t they? Yes. Yes, they could. And next time she saw him, she would tell him so. Even yell at him if she had to.

He’d commanded his brothers—the snow-white wolf and the golden wolf who had followed her and Penny that night—to walk her home after school and had taken off. Where he’d gone, she didn’t know. She’d asked the brothers, but they had ignored her, merely keeping step beside her.

Now she pounded inside her house, shutting the two out before they could race past the front door. Her dad could barely tolerate Riley. No way she’d introduce him to two more wolves. Wolves she didn’t even know, at that. Wolves who clearly hadn’t wanted her to know them.

“How old are you?” she’d asked both after failing to gain Riley’s location.

Nothing.

“Do you have the same parents as Riley?”

Nothing.

“Are you nervous about the death curse placed on him?”

Again, nothing.

Finally she’d given up on that, too. Her relationship with their brother was over—seriously, don’t cry—so of course they hated her and wanted nothing to do with her.

She sighed. Her dad was still at work, the house silent. Mary Ann sprinted up the stairs, down the hall and into her bedroom. All the colors splashed throughout blended together and created a bright rainbow haze. Usually she found comfort in that. Today, not so much.

At her desk, she withdrew her cell phone from her backpack and sat down. Are you really going to do this?