The air moves as Angus and Marco shift, and suddenly I’m standing between two wolves the size of the biggest draught horses I can imagine. Angus bows down to let me climb on, and I grab handfuls of his shaggy gray fur as I settle behind his withers. Marco’s a blur of blackness as he dashes off into the woods.
We watch the dark wolf go. Angus’s body vibrates beneath me with anticipation. I squeeze my knees and pull my feet in tight against his ribcage, slowing my breath to match his rhythm. I lean down onto his thick neck and rub my face over the back of his pointed ear. “Let’s go,” I whisper as I grab on tight.
Angus takes off like a shot, forcing every single thought out of my head. All except one tiny word that hums in the back of my mind.
Mine.
Chapter Three
JOELY
It’s full dark by the time we get back to the house, and the mood among the guys is festive. After a delicious pre-holiday meal prepared by Marco featuring handmade veggie pizza, salad, and several bottles of red wine, we all move into the living room and settle in around the fire.
I sip my wine and admire the lights and decorations all around the room, from the holiday tree to the pine boughs and red berries draped over the mantel. “I feel like I’m sitting in a postcard,” I say.
Angus smiles. “You can thank Salma for that. She was really big into the holidays. Made us swear that we’d keep doing this for her.”
Marco scoffs. “As I recall, you’re the one who got upset when we voted to only have one tree this year.”
Angus shrugs sheepishly. “What can I say? I love the holidays and I want to keep doing it for Salma.”
“That’s really sweet,” I say, recalling the things they’ve told me about the witch who was practically a mother to them. Salma found them years after they’d escaped from the vampires. She took them in and gave them a home, all while teaching them about their magic as she raised them into men.
“I’m making all of her favorite dishes tomorrow,” Marco says.
“Really? I’d love to hear more about her.”
“You would have loved Salma,” Angus says.
Marco touches my hand. “And she would have loved you. Though she’d be pissed that we are—”
“Marco.” Van cuts him off and shoots his brother an angry glare.
Marco shrugs. “What? Are we supposed to pretend that she didn’t—”
“Enough!” Van pushes his wine glass onto the table and storms out of the room without another word. His footsteps pound the stairs as he goes up and after a moment, his departure is punctuated by the slamming of his bedroom door.
Marco drops into a chair next to me and rubs his face in his hands. “That guy really needs to chill out.”
Angus leans into me and squeezes my shoulder. “Don’t worry about Van. He was really close to Salma.”
“I’m sorry if I said something I shouldn’t have,” I say.
Angus shakes his head. “Before she died, Salma made us promise that we wouldn’t come after Underwood. She didn’t like the way Van was so focused on avenging Tobias. She said that revenge was for the weak. She said that a life for a life was a hollow victory. That nothing would quench that flame.”
Marco joins him and the two of them speak in unison, their voices small and craggy in an what I assume is an impersonation of Salma. “And if you let it burn forever, it will devour you too, Harry VanDemaar.”
They mean it to be a fun memory, but their words ring through the room with a chilly pall.
Angus sits up straighter next to me. “The first thing Van did after Salma died was magic his way into the Society. He worked forever on a spell to make the three of us test as having Ancient Magic, which, we obviously don’t have. It took him years. But in the end, he went against Salma’s dying wish so the three of us could be here.”
“Because of Underwood?” I ask.
Marco nods. “Yeah. Van was sure that coming here was the next thing the prophecy needed. Nothing had progressed at all with it for the longest time. We were starting to doubt it was real. Salma was against it, but Van thought the prophecy needed a push. Turns out he was right.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “How do you know he was right?”
Marco looks up at me and smiles. “Because of you. You’re the Nightbird. You found us and because of you we destroyed the Vessel and ended Damon’s hold over us. We’re free for the first time in ages, Joely. We can be our wolves without fear that he can track us.”
“But he’s still out there. He’s still a powerful vampire. Isn’t it more dangerous not knowing where he is?” I ask.
Angus shrugs. “Damon will be back. Van is certain that this isn’t over. It won’t be over until that vampire is dead. But Van’s convinced that with you here we will finally put an end to Damon Underwood.”
I shake off a shiver. “I don’t know how you can be so relaxed knowing there’s a vampire out there who wants you dead.”
Angus takes a sip of wine. “He’s been hunting us since 1844. Since the day we killed his sons and escaped. After more than a hundred and seventy-five years, it stops keeping us up at night.”
Marco adds, “And now that his magical tracking device is no more, it’s leveled things a bit. I’d say it maybe even tips things in our favor. He still doesn’t know who we are.”
“Oh my god. I almost forgot.” I slide my glass onto the coffee table and get up. “I have something for you.” I hurry into the foyer as I gather up my courage. I realize now that I have to
