Cadence obviously knew nothing of ghosts, if she thought they couldn’t harm people. Specters were as dangerous as any other monster we’d faced, and this bunch would be even more so.
“There’s my big, strong alpha,” Morgana’s voice purred. It seemed to be coming from multiple directions. “I’ve been looking for you.”
That sounded ominous.
“I came to find you before sunset, but you and your brother were quite busy with your runt. Tell me alpha, what is the proper etiquette for fucking a sibling? Do you top or bottom for him?”
“Bitch, you watch your mouth,” I growled, still slowly turning, waiting for her to show herself. “You know nothing.”
“I know everything,” she whispered, sounding as if she were against my ear. “I know that you are not blood. I’ve always known. Because you are one of us. Your bitch pseudo-mother, Brie Grayson, stole you from one of mine. But now, you will come back to us. We will take your soul and keep it safe.”
“Lies!” I yelled. “Show yourself.”
“Cole, look out!” Darla screamed, but she was too late.
Bryce hit me with all of his weight, knocking me to the ground, pinning me with his muscular body, claws in my chest, almost breaking the skin but not quite. His green eyes had turned to violet, and I suddenly knew where Morgana had gone. The bitch was trying to possess him.
Jaws covered my throat, Bryce’s fangs scraping at the soft skin over my Adam’s apple. If I even swallowed too hard, he’d pierce my skin and turn me into a shifter.
“Well,” I said, careful to keep still. “This wasn’t how I expected the night to go.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Sebastian move forward, but I put out a hand, silently telling him to stand down. This wasn’t a fight he could help me with. This would turn into a battle of wills between Bryce, Morgana and me. And considering the only one who seemed sure of themselves, at the moment, was her, I didn’t really care for our odds.
“Bryce, do you really want to do this?”
“I can see inside his mind, exterminator.” Morgana’s voice wasn’t coming from Bryce’s body, as his mouth was still clamped over me. It filled the air as if she were speaking from heaven. I guess being a ghost had certain perks. “He loves you. A sick, twisted, unhealthy love for you. But also, there’s such hate in him. He hates your humanity. He hates that Sebastian has so much of your heart. He’s scared, hunter. Scared you’ll only ever see him as a brother, not as the partner he wants to be.”
“Bitch, leave him alone,” I warned her.
“He’s so full of emotion,” she said, with a tsk. “His heart bleeds for you. And part of him believes that if he turns you now…” The jaws on me tightened slightly. “Your beast will be more willing to get over the family history than you are as a human.”
“Bryce,” I whispered. “I know you can hear me. If you really want to do this, then do it. Turn me. But I promise you, if you make me like you, you’ll be my omega for the rest of your furry fucking life. I own you now, and I’ll sure as hell own you then. You’re mine. You and Sebastian. You belong to me. And if you make me a panther, I’ll own your whole goddamned pack, too. So either turn me or get the fuck off me, ‘cause we have work to do.”
For a minute, I wasn’t sure what would happen. Then the fangs let up from my skin. His whole body shook as he tried to regain control from Morgana. I knew there was only one way to ensure she was evicted from him. I took a deep breath, and before I could change my mind, I raised the shotgun and fired into Bryce’s chest.
Morgana’s scream mixed with Bryce’s, and I heard Sebastian’s cry of protest, too, but it worked. I rolled to my feet and looked down at Bryce. His green eyes glared up at me, and I knew he was himself again.
“You’ll be okay,” I promised him. “It was just rock salt.”
“Dick,” he moaned, struggling to catch his breath.
“Later,” I said. “Jesus, do you ever think about anything but my cock?”
“I hate you,” he wheezed.
“I know,” I told him. “Listen, asshole, how the fuck am I supposed to kill a ghost?”
“The same way you kill a witch,” he said. “Get her into the goddamned lake.”
Right. How the hell was I going to do that?
“Hey, Morgana!” I yelled. “For the record, I’m the top.”
“You’re all a bunch of animals!” she screamed, her voice whipping through the group like a physical wind. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why won’t you just die already?”
“I was thinking the same thing about you,” I said, backing toward the lake. “I think the truth is that you want me. That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want my soul. You want my disco stick.”
“You filthy… You disgusting… I will kill you. Forget your soul. It’s so despoiled I wouldn’t want it anyway. I’m just going to rip it from your body and send it straight to hell!”
Okay, now, she was good and pissed. That was something. I just had to figure out how to get her to make a mistake.
I looked over at Bryce. He was still on the ground, blood dripping from the puncture wounds in his chest, but he was breathing and moving so I knew he’d be okay. It probably hurt like hell, but his shifter healing would ensure he wouldn’t even scar.
“Hey,
