“I think you should watch what you say next,” Garret advised him in a snarl.
“If you add a human to this coven, I will leave, and then where will you be? Three vamps does not a coven make.” His shoulder dripped a trail of red across the dark wood floor as he made his way into the hall and disappeared.
Aric sighed and rubbed his hand down his face, then looked over at Nicole thoughtfully.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop,” Evan said. “She’s not here to join. I wouldn’t want her to.”
Evan made his way past Aric and Garret into the hallway to the basement. He wanted to take a quick shower and think.
And maybe throttle Shane if he said one more fucking word against Nicole.
Chapter Four
It stung. The severity of his words. The surety in them as he told everyone he didn’t want her to be a part of his coven. She hadn’t asked to be. She barely knew these vampires, and this wasn’t a life she would ever choose, so why had he embarrassed her like that?
Like she wasn’t good enough for this group of friends? She meant people. No…she meant supes. She wasn’t good enough for this group of supes. They weren’t friends. They were strangers who drank blood and probably slept in coffins and burned in the sunlight, and did she mention drink blood?
“Evan can fix your scar,” Sadey said, breaking the awkward silence that had descended heavily on the room.
“He can?” Nicole asked. “How?”
“Vampires can kiss a booboo and make it go away, so to speak,” Dawn said and then waggled her eyebrows.
“Um, I don’t think he would want to fix the scar even if I asked. He seems upset.”
“Evan is a complicated man,” Sadey murmured, pushing her mashed potatoes around on her plate with a fork. “But he’s a kind man. Smart. Level-headed. Loyal. He’s right, though. You wouldn’t want to be part of this. There’s always heat on us, and there’s always danger. It would be even more so for a human.”
“We need to hunt your attacker and get you back to normal life,” Garret said, straightening up from where he leaned on the doorframe to an office. “It’s too late to hunt tonight. We only have a couple hours until dawn.”
“Stay here tonight and get some rest,” Aric told her. “You’ll be safe here. Tomorrow, the coven will have a meeting and plan the hunt.”
“You’re not just protecting me, you know,” she said. “You’re protecting the town if you get him.”
Aric nodded and made his way to Sadey, rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. “Will you show her where the spare bedroom is and the clean sheets? I can tell she’s still a bit uncomfortable around vampires.”
“I’m sorry,” Nicole rushed out. “I think you’re really nice and very kind for letting me stay. It’s just…”
Aric smiled kindly and gestured to her cheek. “There’s no need to explain.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”
“There’s no need for that either,” Garret rumbled. “It’s the least we can do for our kind terrorizing you.”
Dawn stood and swung her blond hair out of the way before she picked up Sadey and Nicole’s plates. “I’ll get the dishes tonight. Nicole, you get settled, and we can chat at breakfast. Are you going to work tomorrow?”
“Oh, no, not yet. I’m a therapist. Or counselor? Whatever term you prefer. I cancelled all my appointments this week because of…well…” She waved her fingers at her face. “I don’t want to traumatize my clients more. I’ve just been responding to them by text messages and emails when they have a hard time come up. I probably won’t go back until next week. The police told me I’ll heal up faster and cope better if I just get back to my normal life, but I guess I don’t really know what that is anymore. Everything is strange now. Home used to be my favorite place. I liked my routine. I functioned well that way. I woke up the same time every morning, drank the same brand of coffee, put clothes on, did my make-up, fixed my hair, went to the gym, in the same order every morning. I filled the same time slots with clients every day, had the same lunch—a bologna sandwich with mustard and plain potato chips, and a sparkling water at the same time every day. Came home at the same time, one hour before dinner, which I made depending on the day of the week. Spaghetti Mondays, and taco Tuesdays, and Wedge Salad Wednesdays, and so on. I read the same genre of books for thirty minutes before bed every night, and I went to sleep at nine o’clock. Every night. I did margarita Tuesdays with a couple girlfriends once a month. Used the same decorations around my apartment for holidays. Change wasn’t something I dealt with because I didn’t have to. I was comfortable. My life didn’t feel boring. It felt full. But now? My life doesn’t feel safe anymore, and my old routine seems so far out of reach, and I keep thinking about that night, and that monster. It’s hard to focus on anything else.”
“And that feeling of chaos, milady, is normal life for
