by Lila Kane
Something ruffles my hair. I open my eyes.
Logan stops kissing me. “What was that?”
The blackbird is back. It swoops low over our heads and I duck automatically, spilling my wine on the grass. Logan curls me against his chest.
“What the hell is it doing here?” Logan asks.
“Working for me,” someone else answers.
I straighten, whipping around. Logan’s breath hitches and he grabs my arm, swiftly putting himself in front of me. My glass drops from my hand. I clutch Logan’s shirt in back and stare, my heart in my throat.
It’s Kane. He’s standing at the edge of the garden and the blackbird is perched on the stone bench next to him.
“Kane,” Logan says, voice tight.
“Logan.” Kane smiles. He’s taller than Logan, just slightly, but leaner, less muscle. He’s just as good looking but in a scary way. Especially when he smiles. Right at me. “Hello, Willow.”
My fingers clench on Logan’s shirt.
“What do you want?” Logan asks.
Kane’s eyebrows furrow. “I thought that would be obvious by now.” His eyes stray to me again, and even from here, I see the danger in their depths. “I want her.”
Keep reading for an excerpt of Betrayed, book three of the
Keeper of the Flame series.
Chapter 1
I cling to the back of Logan’s shirt. His muscles are tense beneath my hands and he reaches behind him, his hand finding my hip.
Kane’s stare is intense on us even though he stands by the bench with the bird next to him. He hasn’t moved, but him being here makes me want to run.
“I think you’d better leave now,” Logan tells Kane.
Kane’s eyebrows furrow. “Hostile, aren’t you brother? This is technically my house, too.”
My heart thumps hard in my chest. It is. Which means we aren’t safe inside.
Voices sound at the edge of the garden as Cheyenne, Ryan, and Myra appear. Cheyenne must have been able to feel something out of place. Her eyes are narrowed, Myra’s mouth is open in shock and Ryan is standing partially in front of Myra.
It hits me somewhere back in the corner of my mind that she might be the one he was talking about. The one he imprinted on.
Kane turns and smiles. “Myra. Great to see you here. How have you been?”
There’s little color in her cheeks, but her mouth is set into a firm line. “Never been better.”
“That’s wonderful to hear. I knew something was going on the moment you up and left your apartment in San Francisco.”
She frowns. “How did you know?”
He shrugs and turns back to me and Logan. “Two siblings in the same place. This place. Shadow Hill. I knew there was a reason. Then I find my little sister looking healthy as a horse and my brother getting very friendly with the Keeper of the Flame. Hmm.”
“Get to the point,” Logan snaps. “What are you doing here?”
Kane sighs. “I already told you. I’m here for her. Willow.”
“Why?” I ask.
Logan glances at me, but I keep my eyes steady on Kane.
“Really? You don’t have any clue?”
“I’m not going to help you with the spell.” The words are familiar in my mouth. The same ones I told Logan when he demanded my help. But he’d been doing it for Myra.
Why is Kane doing it? Power? Immortality? Both?
“That could cause a problem since that’s the reason I’m here.” Kane’s eyes flick to Logan’s before resting on mine again. He steps forward a few feet and flashes a smile. “But I’m sure we can come to an understanding.”
I step around Logan. “No, there will be no understanding.” Logan reaches for me, but I sidestep him. “I won’t help you with the spell. I won’t discuss anything‒”
Logan snags me around my waist and pulls me back, holding me close to his body. “Please, Willow,” he murmurs in my ear.
“Feisty,” Kane says with a smile. “We will talk. But in the meantime…” He glances behind him. “It looks like I’m interrupting a party.”
Maybe he realizes he’s outnumbered. Maybe he’s not in a hurry since we’re all stuck here anyway. He probably thinks it’s fun to make this into a game.
Kane waves a hand at the bird, which flutters from the bench. It flies into the air and circles around us.
Ryan’s jaw clenches and I know he’s preparing himself for something to happen. Either that or he’s trying to stop himself from shifting now that it’s more of a challenge for him. Logan’s arm tightens on my waist and the tension hums in the air all around us.
Finally, Kane gives a low laugh. “I’ll be in touch.”
He turns and walks from the garden, hands in his pockets like he’s out for a stroll. The bird swoops over our heads and follows Kane away from the house.
“Shit.” Logan runs a hand through his hair, then takes my arm. “Okay, let’s get inside.”
“Wait.”
“No time.” He pulls me to the house.
I try to dig my heels in. “Logan, stop.”
“Logan,” Myra says, making him pause. “Come on. Let her go.”
His jaw clenches. He doesn’t pull me anymore, but doesn’t let go. “Did you not just see who was here?”
Myra sighs. “Yes, I saw him. But he’s here now. There’s not much we can do about it.”
Cheyenne folds her arms. “I want to know something right now. Do you two have any other brothers or sisters we need to worry about?”
“I was wondering the same thing,” Ryan says.
“No more brothers or sisters.” Myra’s gaze meets Logan’s.
He gives a quick shake of his head.
“What?” I turn to face him when he doesn’t say anything else. His mouth is still pressed into a hard line. I’ve never seen him so worried. “What was that for?”
“Kane isn’t someone you want to mess with,” Myra says.
Logan glares at her. “Myra.”
“They need to know what they’re up against.” She shakes her head, pacing away from our group before turning back. “I can’t believe he’s here. I had no idea he knew I’d left San Francisco.”
“It’s not your fault,” Ryan tells her.
She flashes him a small smile, but it fades quickly.
I stare at Ryan until he meets my eyes. Then I gesture between him and Myra. His face gives nothing away, and abruptly he breaks the stare. It is her. It has to be. Which is…I can’t wrap my mind around it. A vampire and a shapeshifter. Enemies. At least in Shadow Hill.
I wonder if Myra knows. If she can feel anything.
“Let’s get inside,” Logan says.
I look up at Logan. “I want to know what Myra is talking about. I want to know more about Kane.”
Logan winces when I say his name, his eyes dark. “I don’t want you around him. That’s all you need to know.”
My mouth drops open. “Logan.”
He curls his arm around my shoulder, and this time I walk with him. He glances behind us and says, “Myra, come on.”
Once we’re in the kitchen again, I frown. “I dropped my wine.”
“I’ll get you another one,” Myra says. She’s calmer than Logan, and strolls to grab another glass from the cabinet.
Logan meets my eyes. “We need to leave.”
“What’s that going to accomplish?” Myra asks, turning to fill my glass.
She passes it over and I accept it gratefully, taking a long swallow. When Logan lifts his eyebrows at me, I sip again. I’m going to need a little buzz if I have to deal with this tonight. It’s like a train that keeps coming, one bad thing after another, all piling up in a huge wreck.
“We’ll be safer somewhere Kane can’t get in,” Logan says.
Myra smiles a lethal smile. “We can take him.”
This seems to amuse Ryan and Cheyenne. But not Logan. “You’re forgetting Willow isn’t a vampire or a werewolf or a shapeshifter. She can get hurt easier tha
n you‒”
“Hey!” I protest. “I just did a fairly good job at kicking your ass in the living room.”
Of course Selena, my ancestor and a very powerful witch, had been possessing me, but that was beside the point.
Cheyenne snorts into her wine glass and then salutes me with it. “That was pretty hard core.”
“See?” I turn to Logan. “I’m not completely helpless. Tell me about your brother.”
To my surprise, he angles his head toward the hallway. “Can I talk to you a minute?”
I take my wine with me, catching a smile from Myra on my way out. Logan’s back is against the wall, hair mussed on top like he’s run his hand through it a few more times. He’s staring at his shoes.
“You should have something to drink,” I say when he doesn’t look up.
“I’m not in the mood.”
I lean into him and his arms automatically come around me. I tip my head up to see his face. “It’s okay to relax a little.”
He grips my chin and gives me a hard kiss. “No, it’s not.”
He straightens and takes my wine from me for a long swallow. When he passes it back, he sighs. “You don’t know Kane like I do.”
“Then tell me,” I say.
“I’m just…I need you to do something for me first.”
“What?”
“Come with me.”
I frown. “Where?”
“Away from here‒somewhere safe.” He takes my hand, staring down at our linked fingers. “We could even go to your house. He’s not allowed in there, you’ll be safe inside.”
I start to protest, to tell him we’ll be fine. That we’ll figure it out. But then I see his expression. His cheeks are tight with worry. His eyes start to darken.
“Let’s get in the car and go to your house.” He smiles. “We’ll relax and have some wine.”
I feel like I’m sinking. I’ve felt like this before, but it feels too nice to question it. “That sounds good.”
Within an instant, he’s taken my wine and set it aside. His arm curls around my shoulders. “We’ll take my car.”
Something nags at my insides. “Logan…”
“It’s fine,” he assures me. He guides me to the door. “Let’s get to your house. It’ll all be just fine.”
I frown as cool air hits my face. “No, this isn’t right.”
Logan gathers me in his arms and has me to his car in a second. He pulls open the door and tries to load me inside.
“Wait. Logan.” I shake my head, feeling like mist is clearing from my very foggy brain.
“Please get inside.”
I settle my hand on his chest. “Did you just…” It hits me suddenly like a hard smack to the face. “Logan!”
“I need to get you out of here.”
“You can’t just influence me whenever you feel like it.”
He blocks me in so I can’t go for the house. “Please.”
“Logan, this is not how we’re going to do things. And what about everyone else?”
“We’ll get you safe first and then figure out a plan.”
“No‒”
“Yes.”
I try to push him out of the way. “Move, Logan.”
He grasps my hands in his. “Please, Willow. Please. Let me make sure you’re safe. I can’t let anything happen to you. I can’t.”
My hands go still in his. The anguish in his voice hits me right in the heart. He tilts his forehead against mine, cupping one hand behind my neck and drawing me close.
“Willow.”
His breath is warm on my neck. Logan is quickly becoming my weakness. He said he loves me. He’s trying to protect me from his brother. But, above all that, he believes in me. He makes me stronger and accepts me for who I am. I’m dangerously close to falling in love with him.
Which terrifies me. I don’t know what’s going to happen beyond this moment, and I’m afraid of losing someone else.
I give in and wind my arms around his neck. He lets out a quiet groan and crushes me to him. He buries his face in my shoulder. His voice is muffled when he says, “Please tell me you understand.”
I turn my head, watching the sun set through the trees. A cool breeze tickles my cheeks and ruffles my hair.
“I understand.”
He pulls back. “Good.”
“But.”
His chest rises and falls with a sigh. “Please.”
“We figure this out together. No influencing me‒no using your vampire powers‒”
“He could be out there right now.” Logan’s eyes stray to the trees. “It’s not safe for you to be here.”
My lips curve. “It’s not safe for you to try to influence me either. You know how angry I can get. And with fire at my fingertips‒”
“It’s not funny.”
I step back from Logan. When he reaches for me I shoot him a glare and he stops, holding his hands up. “Fine. I see your point.”
I cross my arms. “Which is?”
“You don’t want me to influence you.” He runs a hand through his hair, paces away. “You want to make decisions about this together.”
I nod. “And?”
He runs his hand through his hair again, shaking his head. “And I don’t like it.”
“Logan.”
“Don’t use your chiding voice on me, Willow,” he warns. “I’m the one who got you in this mess. I want to make sure I get you out of it. Without getting hurt.”
There he goes making a point I can’t argue with again. The intensity and passion in his eyes make words stall in my throat.
He paces back to me. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Every second you stand out here, you’re in danger.”
“Then ask me.”
“What?”
“Ask me to go with you, don’t tell me.”
He looks like he’s going to argue again for a moment, but then he steps closer to me. He cups my cheeks between his hands in a way that melts my heart. “Please,” he says again, voice tender. “Come with me. Let me make sure you’re safe.”
I nod. “Okay.”
His shoulders droop in relief. “Good.”
“But let’s talk to the others first.”
He snags my hand and all but drags me inside. “Then let’s hurry.”