“What have you seen?” Ford asks her. Not only is Lealla the reason this pack exists, she’s also psychic.
“Nothing. I have seen absolutely nothing. There are times when I get glimpses of things regarding other events but know that I can’t say anything for fear of altering the future. This isn’t one of them. I have no idea who’s hurting those in the pack. Well, she only hurt Eaton. What happened to Ari did nothing other than make our alpha female furious. She’s currently outside with Rion, both as wolves, as they comb the property with Carter and Cash.”
“Good idea,” I say. “With their powerful senses of smell, hopefully they can find something.”
Suddenly, magic begins to prickle my skin. I tense and scan the room. Lilah takes my hand in hers as she looks around as well.
“Where’s it coming from?” Ford asks.
“The door,” Sienna says.
We shift our gaze to the doorway and find Whit there with his hands splayed and lifted in the air. The male is one of the more calm wolves in the pack. He’s been through a lot lately and isn’t one to draw attention to himself, so for him to use his fae magic—yes, he’s both shifter and fae, thanks to his parents—something must be wrong.
With Lilah’s hand in mine, I begin to push through the crowd of paranormals and make my way over to Whit. We reach him at the same time as Camden does.
“What’s going on?” Camden asks.
“Caspian’s been hurt,” Whit replies with a slight tremble to his voice. Caspian is a member of the fae. He and Whit have become close friends since everything went down with Whit’s mom. “I’m putting a ward up over the room.”
“Whoever this is has fae in them,” Lilah states. “I’m not sure a ward will do much good.”
“Maybe not, although it may slow them down.”
“And if they’re already in the room?” Camden asks.
“Then they will have a hard time leaving. But I don’t think they are. Caspian and I were coming down the stairs to join the party when it was like the rug was pulled out from under him. He quickly tumbled down the stairs. He was barely able to use his magic to stop himself from hitting the floor hard. Then a deep gash appeared on his leg that wasn’t from the fall. It was like someone was flaying him open right in front of me. A second one appeared after that. I didn’t know whether to shift and go on the attack or use my magic. In the end, he healed while I put us in a small impenetrable bubble.” Whit’s eyes meet Camden’s. “I can’t lose anyone else.” I’m not sure if he’s talking about Caspian or Camden or someone else in the pack at this point.
This would be a good time to deep dive into Whit’s head to find out what he’s thinking. Lilah pulls my hand and brings us out of the room. I sigh. I’ll have to figure that mystery out another time. We easily pass through the ward. I’m sure Whit made it so all of us could move around but not a stranger to the pack.
Caspian is in the hallway casually leaning against the wall. His hair is its usual dark blue and he’s not in costume, just casual, human clothes.
“You okay?” I ask him.
“Yeah, fae and all that. I healed quickly.”
“You didn’t see who hurt you?”
He shakes his head. “Once Whit built the bubble around us, nothing else happened. That male may only be half fae but he’s incredibly strong.”
Whit emerges from the ballroom and comes over to Caspian to embrace him. Having lost the ones he loved most, Whit doesn’t deserve any more death in his life.
Camden walks into the hall and looks over Whit and Caspian. His eyes flash green, signaling his wolf rising up before they return to their regular icy blue color. In the next breath, he’s gone, stomping down the hall toward the front of the house.
Well, this is interesting.
7
Ford
It’s official. I’ve crossed over from being mildly entertained to enraged to over the entire thing. I’m tired of chasing this female. Maybe if we go back to normal, she’ll show herself and come to us. Because this is grating on my last nerve.
“More like dry humping your last nerve,” Sol says in my mind.
“Do you need to be in my head right now?”
“I think I do. You see, I, too am over this. I wanted to have a good evening, relax with my kitten, and have some adult fun later. None of that is happening. There’s no fun. Mother and Father are in freaking leather, which I’ll be having nightmares about for centuries. And there’s a paranormal out there hell-bent on ruining this night.”
“The leather... I never want to see them dressed like that again.”
“Why do you think when I teleport to Italy it’s always outside? I never just pop into their living room. I bet this isn’t a costume for them but rather a lifestyle.”
“Oh, ewww!” I yell loudly, unable to keep my mouth shut. A sea of faces turns to look at me. “I’m just going to...” I stride down the hallway with no destination in sight.
This evening needs to end already. I want to kill someone then go home and climb into bed with Sienna. A little or a lot of bloodshed would be the only way to finish this night on a positive note. And not the kind I want to drink. I don’t take pleasure in anyone but my mate. Death, on the other hand, is a different story. I have zero qualms about killing someone who deserves to die.
When you grow up part of the most powerful vampire family out there, you accept death as a common occurrence
