“What are they doing?” Kyleigh asked, breaking through Ian’s thoughts.
“It’s a prayer circle,” Dalton explained. “They do this three times a day.”
Ian nodded. “Even though you warned me, seeing her is like seeing a ghost.”
“I know,” Dalton said with a sad smile. “Back when we were young, I thought your mom was the most beautiful woman in the world. When I saw Aubrey, I knew she had to be your sister, even though I’d heard the story of her dying before you were born. If she didn’t look exactly like your mom, I probably wouldn’t have made the connection. It’s crazy that she and her friends ended up this far inland, but I’m glad they did. She really is just as beautiful as your mom was.”
“You need to stop talking,” Ian growled.
“Knock it off, Ian,” Kyleigh scolded. “You don’t get to be overprotective of a sister you don’t even know. Besides, why are you being such an ass to Dalton? You have no reason to think she wasn’t a willing participant in her getting pregnant.”
Ian almost smiled at Kyleigh’s words since he’d been thinking much the same thing.
“She wasn’t a willing participant,” Dalton spit out.
If Ian had been thinking clearer, he would have realized why Dalton was so angry. He would have also remembered the kind of man Dalton was and known he wouldn’t force a woman. Unfortunately for Dalton’s jaw, Ian was not thinking straight, so he launched himself at Dalton, knocking him to the ground, before slamming his fist into Dalton’s jaw again. As they rolled around, fighting for control of the situation, Ian heard a woman screaming and crying in the background. Then Cam’s arm snaked around his neck and squeezed tightly until Ian nearly blacked out.
“You ready to settle down?” Cam asked, releasing his hold enough for Ian to nod.
“I’m good now,” Ian assured him when he noticed his sister standing close to them, clutching her hands, looking terrified. She was probably the one who’d been screaming. “You can let me go now.”
Cam released him but stayed close.
“Well, this is certainly going well,” Kyleigh muttered dryly before approaching Aubrey. “Hi, I’m Kyleigh. I’m really sorry Ian is acting like such an arse. In his defense, he thought you were dead his entire life, and this has been a big adjustment for him. Ian doesn’t handle change well on a good day, and this is apparently a bad day for him.”
“Why would he know anything about me?” Aubrey asked, looking directly at Dalton for answers, which made Ian want to jump Dalton again, but he got the impression Cam was sticking close to make sure that didn’t happen. He’d have to thank Cam for that later, after he beat the hell out of him for it.
“Ian is your brother,” Dalton explained in a soothing voice.
“Brother?” Aubrey asked. “I don’t have a brother.”
“Yes, you do, honey,” Dalton told her. “I knew your mom when I was a kid. She thought you’d died in that hospital when turned vampires tore it apart. At that time, she was pregnant with Ian, so you never met him, but I can vouch for the fact that he is your brother.”
Aubrey’s brow scrunched in concentration. “I sort of remember my mom being pregnant, but I don’t understand why my brother would want to hurt you—if I have a brother, that is. I’m not even sure I want to have a brother, especially one this violent.”
Ian cringed. This whole thing had gone to hell fast, and he had a sinking suspicion that wasn’t an accident. While he’d moved past his moment of believing Dalton had raped his sister, there was no denying Dalton wanted Aubrey to stay here, and Dalton had always been tenacious when he wanted something. Ian suspected Dalton was willing to do what it took to keep Aubrey here, even if it meant letting Ian kick his ass. Dalton had a lot of explaining to do since he was the one who’d insisted Ian come down this way in the first place.
Why encourage Ian to make this trip if he had no intention of letting Ian take Aubrey back to Connor’s territory? After his recent conversation with Marie Therese, something told Ian that Dalton was hoping to use him as a messenger more than anything else. Maybe he’d break Dalton’s jaw later when Aubrey and Kyleigh weren’t around. If he explained to Cam what his suspicions were, the shifter might let him do it.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lexi had taken an extra-long shower that morning, and she’d been tempted to ask Zane to join her. Zane didn’t push her for sex, but he made sure she knew he’d give it to her any time, much like he had earlier that morning. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she tried to focus on getting dressed, rather than thinking about Zane getting her undressed. Having sex with Zane all day would just be a way to avoid dealing with reality. There was no denying it would also be a way to have the best sex of her life. The sound of Zane arguing with someone at the front door pulled her thoughts away from sex, and she went downstairs to figure out what was going on.
“Fine, then I’ll just take her back to my clan,” Zane spat out.
“Knock off the drama, Zane,” the woman at the door huffed, sounding exasperated. “Connor is just trying to keep his people safe.”
“Then we’ll leave, and he can keep everyone safe without treating Lexi like a prisoner,” Zane argued. “My mate needs to work off some of her frustrations, and I want her to do it in a safe environment. I’d take her into the fenced off area behind the house, but it’s too small and not very well-maintained.”
“I didn’t say she couldn’t go,” the woman began. “All I said is I need to clear it with Connor first, and then I told you that I couldn’t take you over there right away.”
“It’s okay if we can’t go to their training center,” Lexi said, grabbing both Zane and the petite blonde’s attention.
“It’s not okay,” Zane insisted. “They have no right to treat you like you’re their enemy.”
“You asked for Connor’s help,” the blonde reminded him. “I’m Layla,” she introduced herself as she stepped around Zane to shake hands with Lexi.
“Lexi,” she replied, surprised by how firm and confident the woman’s handshake was. In Lexi’s experience, many women didn’t have the confident handshake skill down.
“I really am working on getting things set up for you to use the training center, but we have several classes going on today. What I’m trying to do is get you in with one of the senior training groups so you’ll have space to fight and other sparring partners in case you want to test your skills with them.”
“I’m not sure how I’d do against a vampire,” Lexi admitted. Of course, the idea of fighting a vampire was kind of exciting. She’d always been one to challenge herself, and sparring with a vampire definitely counted as a challenge.
“The vampires spar with humans from time to time, so they can tone things down when they need to, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Layla said, obviously trying to reassure her.
“She looks more excited than worried,” Zane remarked with a smile as he studied her.
“I am, actually,” Lexi admitted. “So, I’m really going to get to spar with vampires?”
“And a shapeshifter if you want,” Layla offered.
“You’re also a shapeshifter?” Lexi asked excitedly. Her natural curiosity seemed to be quickly winning out over her nerves. “What do you change into?”
“A lynx,” Layla replied.
“Oh,” Lexi said.
Layla laughed. “You sound disappointed.”
“It’s still really cool,” Lexi began. “I was just hoping to see a different animal. Sorry, I have a tendency to just say what I’m thinking sometimes.”
“Don’t worry,” Layla assured her. “After spending time around Zane, I’ve gotten used to that sort of thing. Anyway, I’m a pretty good sparring partner.”
“I want to spar with Lexi,” Zane interrupted, his voice thick with arousal. The thought of fighting with Zane really shouldn’t turn her on, but it did. She wanted to see what he could do. Wanted to see how strong he really was.
Layla was
looking from one to the other, and she suddenly pulled out her phone. “I’ll find out when we can get a more private room, just in case the two of you need to be alone.” Without waiting for a response, Layla walked away, and Lexi’s cheeks heated with embarrassment.
“She knew I was getting turned on, didn’t she?” Lexi asked quietly.
Zane just chuckled and wrapped her in his arms. “I’m sure she noticed both of our arousals, but Layla won’t tease you about it later.”
Lexi nodded. “Thank you for sticking up for me.”
Zane seemed shocked by her gratitude. “When will you learn that there is nothing I won’t do to protect you?”
Chapter Thirty-Five
It took Layla another hour to arrange things at the training center, and Lexi was surprised Zane hadn’t marched her out of the vampire settlement by that point. He was not at all happy about her being mostly confined to the house. If Lexi had to guess, she’d say some of that had to do with the fact that Zane was also feeling cooped up but unwilling to leave her alone.
The vampires had an impressive training center. It was three stories high, with multiple rooms for training and several conference rooms. She could hear training going on in some of the rooms she passed, but they kept the doors closed, making her wonder if that was because they assumed she was a spy of some sort. With a shake of her head, she wondered if Zane’s rants were making her more sensitive.
“We’re in this room,” Layla said, gesturing to the room at the far end of the hall. They were on the third floor, and Lexi didn’t hear much activity up here, so it was possible it was just them. “There are pads and bags if you want to use them.”
Lexi simply nodded and slipped off her shoes before working through her warm up routine while ignoring Zane and Layla. It was nothing personal, just a matter of getting herself completely focused.
“Okay, I’m ready to start,” she told them, and looked over to find Connor and a woman who looked somewhat familiar watching her. They also had, what appeared to be, a wolf with them.
The woman moved forward with the wolf close by her side. “Hi, Lexi. I’m Raven, and this is Fang.”
“Are you a vampire or shapeshifter?” Lexi asked. “Sorry. Hearing the words come out of my mouth, I realize they sound pretty rude, but I can’t help wondering what everyone is.”
“I’m a wood nymph,” Raven responded, not sounding at all offended.
“Of course,” Lexi muttered. “What next? Mermaids?”
Raven laughed. “There’s no such thing as mermaids. Water nymphs and Selkies, yes, but no mermaids.”
“It’s moments like this when I start to wonder if I really am crazy,” Lexi said, mostly to herself.
“We came because I want to see what you can do,” Connor stated, without approaching her.
“Know thy enemy kind of thing?” she asked in a light tone.
Not a lot of people got her sense of humor, but Connor laughed, picking up on the fact that she was teasing him.
“He’s pretty sure he can trust you, but Connor always wants to know if someone can fight well enough to be useful,” Raven explained. “I think he only loves me because I can kick ass with my eskrima sticks.”
“You have eskrima sticks?” Lexi asked excitedly.
“Sure do,” Raven replied. “Can you use them?”
“Yes. I was best in my class.” Lexi normally didn’t brag, but she needed to prove her strength at the moment.
“That is good news,” Layla piped in. “The only people I have to train with are Raven and Norah. While there are a few others who can use them, most aren’t very good, so they don’t give me much of a challenge.”
“The ones we use have been modified,” Raven explained. “They’re heavier because we were limited on the wood we could get to make them with for quite some time. We’ve also added pointed ends so they can be used as stakes, which is pretty useful when fighting turned vampires.”
“Stakes?” Lexi asked. “That really works?”
“Most things die if you stab them in the heart,” Zane told her with a laugh. “Come and show me what you can do, angel.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?” Lexi teased.
“No, but I’m looking forward to trying,” Zane replied with a wink.
Lexi followed Zane to the center of the room and bowed to him. His confusion made her laugh. “We always bowed in class,” she explained.
“I’m fine with bowing. Just wear something low-cut next time so the view is more interesting.” Zane gave her a sexy grin.
Lexi heard one of the women in the room groan, and she was pretty sure Zane had a reputation for saying inappropriate things. Rather than respond to his teasing, she remained focused, studying the casual way Zane held himself. Many might see him as distracted, but Lexi knew he wasn’t. His eyes remained locked on her, and his relaxed stance was merely a ruse. Zane was actually in a perfect position to react when she attacked.
Lexi threw a side kick, which Zane immediately blocked with a cocky smirk. Her kick had merely been a distraction technique meant to move his hands from her original target. Her fist snapped out, and she stopped the punch just as it touched Zane’s cheek.
“Now that was fucking hot,” Zane praised, dropping to sweep her legs.
Lexi barely managed the back flip to prevent him from making contact with her legs. Yes, she was showing off. The back flip was totally unnecessary, but some part of her wanted Zane to see all she could do. She wanted to impress him.
After that, they sparred for at least an hour. Zane was faster than anyone she’d ever fought, and he was definitely wearing her down by the end, but he’d only managed to get her down on the mat a couple of times. Even though he was clearly holding back some, she could tell he wasn’t truly going easy on her. Something told her Zane would never insult her skill by going easy on her.
“I need a break,” she admitted the third time he had her down on the mat. This time, she was really glad there were other people in the room, because the combination of adrenaline and Zane’s scent had her beyond aroused. If they were alone, she’d have been tempted to rip his clothes off, even knowing someone could walk in on them.
Zane inhaled deeply, and a shudder ran through his body. It seemed he was having the same problem she was. “That might be a good idea,” Zane agreed.
“That was pretty damn impressive,” Connor interrupted, as Zane jumped to his feet and held out a hand to help her from the mat. “I’m surprised no one questioned what you are before.”
“Why is that?” she asked.
“You move too fast to be human,” Zane answered for Connor.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Connor said. “While Zane was holding back some, he was working hard to get any hits in. You got past his guard a fair number of times.”
“The medication may have dulled her strength and speed,” Raven added as an explanation.
“And here I thought it was just keeping me from acting crazy all these years,” Lexi joked, because she still wasn’t ready to talk about the Fae thing.
Luckily, Zane saved her from having to talk about it. Of course, he had to do it in a way that made her blush. “We need to go home now before I do something to embarrass Lexi, like trying to get her naked in front of you.”
“I really wish he was joking,” Connor muttered.
“Admit it,” Raven said. “We all love Zane just the way he is.”
“You can all talk about how wonderful I am later,” Zane told them. “I need to be alone with Lexi.”
Lexi decided not to add anything else to the conversation, since she wanted Zane, and she wasn’t sure she’d care if they were alone or not if she had to wait much longer.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Zane was annoyed with how long it took Layla to walk them back to the house. He knew damn well Layla could walk faster than she was. She had to be punishing him for messing with her so often. As if she’d read his mind, Layla gave him an innocent smile.
“You’re a great fighter,” Layla commented. “Next time, I’d like a chance to spar with you using the sticks.”
“Sure,” Lexi replied. “Do you think I’ll be allowed to use the training center again?”
“I’m sure you will,” Layla assured her. “Try not to take the guard thing personally. We’ve had to deal with some traitors in the settlement causing problems, and with everything going on, there’s a lot to worry about.”
“Are you at war?” Lexi sounded nervous at the idea.
“Not exactly at war, but things have been unsettled my entire life. Growing up, I thought the vampires here were evil killers, and we used to feel like we were at war with them,” Layla explained.
“Then how did you end up living here?” Lexi asked. “I mean, this seems like a big jump from thinking vampires are the enemy.”
“Sure is,” Layla agreed. “Long story short—Raven was captured and ended up falling in love with Connor. Raven was like a mother to me when I was growing up, and I trusted her judgment when she told me we were mistaken about the born vampires. Before that, I didn’t know there was a difference between the two types of vampires.”
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