Devon deflated. Charity had finally defeated him, and she wasn’t even trying.
He climbed out slowly before walking around the SUV and lifting her out, gentle despite his earlier freak-out. “In that case, let me point out that you scratched and dented my Range Rover.”
“Wrong, sir. Your Range Rover scratched and dented my head. And I hold a grudge.”
“I have a Red Bull in the fridge. You might drink that. It’ll help. There’s some stuff in the freezer, plus we always get pizza after a mission. Food always helps when I change too often, or need a boost of energy.”
“Genius,” she said sarcastically. “You know so much.”
Devon gave her a lighthearted squeeze as they entered the house. A moment later, he deposited her in the recliner as the whole pack watched.
She froze while trying to get comfortable. “What?”
“They also apologize for leaving you on your own, even though it was on my orders,” Devon said.
“Oh. Well, let’s not mention it to Roger. He’ll just call me in, and then I’ll have to sit in his presence. No thanks.”
“Roger’s okay,” Andy commented, patting the couch next to him.
She laughed at him. “I had a vampire proposition me with money and unearthly pleasures, and you think I said no to him so I could snuggle up to you?”
Andy shot her an award-winning grin. “I’m just that awesome.” He patted the couch again.
Charity rolled her eyes. She did get up, nearly laughing at Andy’s flash of astonishment, before hobbling off to the kitchen, using the walls to stay upright. “I’m hungry.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Devon glanced at Macy as Charity made her way out of the room.
“Follow her,” he said. “She’s weak, though she won’t admit it.”
“Admitting it would be overkill,” Macy muttered as she got up.
Dillon balanced his elbows on his knees. Quietly, he asked, “Is she for real? Did she really chase off an elder?”
Devon gave a condensed version of the story, not leaving out Charity’s heroics. Or the fact that the vampire had propositioned her. When he’d finished, Dillon leaned back in his seat. Andy blew out a breath as Rod stood and started to pace.
“What’s the big deal?” Yasmine asked. “I get propositioned by vamps all the time. Tonight, for example.”
Devon ran his hand over his face, biting back a harsh reprimand for the juvenile question. Some alphas didn’t share details with their subordinates.
“Newbies and lower-level vamps easily give in to their baser desires. They need blood more often, and blood and sex go hand in hand. A pretty girl is extremely pleasing to a new vamp, if he used to be a straight male. Anything that bleeds becomes pretty to a mid-level vamp. But an elder doesn’t feed often. It doesn’t need to. Which means it doesn’t care as much about sex. They live for politics and business. Making money in the Brink and navigating around the elves in the Realm. It eases their boredom.
“But Vlad’s actions tonight were strange. He recognized her, which means she made a lasting impression on him the first time they met. He must’ve smelled us, yet he left his child unchecked and in danger so he could frolic with a human. That isn’t done.”
“He doesn’t think she’s human anymore, I guarantee it,” Rod muttered, looking out the window, probably in hopes the pizza man had snuck up on them.
“Good or bad?” Devon whispered.
“Way bad, bro,” Andy answered. “Way bad. She made sunlight…stuff in the middle of the night. That has got to be abnormal, right? I’ve never even heard of that!”
“You wouldn’t have heard of cutting your toenails, either, if Macy didn’t harp on you about it.” Rod snickered.
“Think Roger knows she can do that?” Dillon asked Devon.
“Knows I can do what?” Charity entered the living room, holding a steaming plate. The simple task looked to be too much for her. Macy trailed her with a concerned expression, carrying two more plates. “Or were you talking about another freak of nature?”
“Make sunlight at night,” Dillon answered.
Charity wobbled as she set her food on the coffee table. Andy hopped up and steadied her.
“I’m good.” She waved him away, and then sighed as he helped her into the recliner. “I’m not sure if Roger knows,” she answered once she was settled. “I did it when I came out of the mansion in a blind panic. He was charging me…or maybe the creature behind me, so he must’ve seen it then. I know it was him because of the eyes. He might not have realized I was the one throwing the magical sunshine, though.”
“He knows,” Devon said. “He doesn’t miss much. If he didn’t understand it at the time, he’s figured it out since.”
“What have we here?” Rod asked, surveying the plates. Andy was doing the same thing.
“Frozen food delight.” Charity closed her eyes and leaned back against the leather. “I just heated up a few things and put them on plates. It tastes like ass, but it’s better than moldy bread and cheese.”
“Anything at all is good for me.” Andy snatched a frozen burrito off the plate. “This’ll be a nice little snack until the pizza comes. I’m famished!”
“Are you going to call Roger tonight?” Dillon asked.
Devon didn’t need to ask him what was on his mind. That elder wasn’t acting normally, and if Charity had thwarted him twice, he’d want to settle the score. Devon’s pack would see him again. It was only a question of when.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Sir, we’ve got a visitor.”
Roger glanced up from his desk in the castle, finding Beazie in the doorway with a concerned expression.
“Who is it?” he asked.
She twisted her apron. “Lycus, sir. He’s on official business.”
Roger tensed. Did Lycus ever stop by when it wasn’t official business? The centaur wasn’t known for his friendliness with other magical races. “Did he say what it was regarding?”
“No, sir. But…there’s been some talk about a strange woman that was roaming around here the other day. Bain, that surly minotaur, said he’s never felt so much power from a human. Thinks something is fishy. Like maybe we are engineering magical people somehow.” Beazie huffed. “He was drinking, of course. But he isn’t the only one asking questions.”
“I’ll be right down,” he told her.
“Yes, alpha.”
Roger ran his fingers through his hair. After hearing Devon’s report from the night before, it was clear they wouldn’t keep Charity’s magic undercover for long. If the most cunning elder vampire in known existence was interested in her, he must’ve recognized the same things Roger had from the turning party. He must know what her magic meant. But Roger had hoped to keep knowledge of her away from the Realm and the elves, something Vlad could be counted on to do as well. He didn’t want any more interest from the elves than Roger did.
Roger stared at his papers without seeing them. If the elves had sent Lycus to investigate, it meant they suspected a kernel of truth lay within whatever rumors they’d heard.
He made his way to the courtyard. Lycus waited near the gate with his arms crossed and his rear hoof occasionally stamping in irritation. While some centaurs chose to roam free, Lycus had given up the wilder attributes of his magical race in favor of a life of investigation for the elves. He took great care to maintain his domestic appearance, even going so far as to shoe his hooves for longer travels. He wasn’t a favorite among his people, it was rumored, but the elves used him for all their important issues.
His involvement did not bode well for Roger’s intentions for Charity.
“Lycus. Good to see you. How may I be of service?” Roger stuck out his hand for a shake. Lycus had to bend to take it. Being half horse, he had height aplenty.
“We’ve heard some reports that you entertained a non-shifter a few days ago.”
“Yes. One of our missions was interrupted by a magical human. We brought her
here for questioning. Turned out, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She wasn’t involved in the vampire turning. We let her go.”
“And who was this magical human?”
“A citizen of the Brink. She had no knowledge of her magical ancestry. Her mother left without mentioning it. This was her first visit to the Realm.”
“I see.” A scowl creased Lycus’s flat face. He knew Roger was intentionally being vague, but there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Being on a trial period meant Charity wasn’t officially Roger’s subject—for now, she wasn’t registered in the Realm, and she wasn’t in the Realm at present. As far Lycus was concerned, she was a rumor. Roger would make sure she stayed that way until they had a better handle on this whole situation. The last thing Charity needed was for the elves to roll in and swoop her up. If that happened, she could kiss her dreams in the Brink goodbye. So could Roger.
“Did you ascertain what magic she had?” Lycus asked, stamping his back hoof again. He wasn’t great at hiding his impatience.
“As of now, unknown.” Technically, it was true. Roger didn’t have any proof, only a suspicion. “She smelled spicy sweet, but her magic only functioned in spits and gushes. She had no real handle on it.”
“And how did you know she was magical?”
Roger hid his uncertainty behind a stone mask. This was a time to tread lightly and speak in half-truths without getting caught.
“I guessed,” he said, keeping body movement to a minimum. “She was able to escape a house full of vampires without becoming one. I suspected there was something more to her. Teamed with her not-quite-human smell, I decided to chance a crossing into the Realm. We were monitoring her closely in case she didn’t have the magic. She was in no permanent danger.”
“And you said she had magical ancestry. This was also a guess?” Lycus asked, clearly seeing the cracks in Roger’s explanations.
“She claimed both her parents were non-magical humans. It’s clear she has magical ancestry, but she knew nothing of magic or the Realm. I had no way of knowing whether one of her parents intentionally hid their magic.” And he still didn’t. That was the million-dollar question. “Given that she had not intentionally interfered with my duty, that’s where it ended. She was released back to the Brink to get on with her life.”
“I see,” Lycus said, frown lines etching into his dark face. “Yet she had enough magic to get into the Realm.”
“Yes.”
“And thwart the charge of a minotaur without raising a weapon.”
Roger hesitated. “I had two of my wolves with her. One had changed, and the other was ready to. Bain was probably trying to save face by saying it was the girl. He wasn’t drunk at the time. I’m sure sobriety changed his perception of acceptable risk.”
A hoof stamped again. “I see.” Lycus stared for a moment. Roger met the centaur’s eyes easily. Pleasantly. There was no sense in riling anyone up. “Bain’s report was not the only one we received.”
“Oh?” Roger asked. “And what else have you heard?”
Lycus’s expression closed down. “That is classified. When do you expect her back?”
“I don’t, unfortunately.” Roger spread his hands. “Her absence the other night was noticed by loved ones. Brink police were informed. She agreed to give us a pass, since we pulled her out of a dangerous situation, but kidnapping her will get us chased from the Brink. Without us, the vampires will be let off their leash. That would work out badly for everyone.”
“I do not care about what goes on in the Brink. Let them handle their own affairs. I would like to question the girl.”
The way he said it, with tense shoulders and a hard glint in his eye, meant bad things. Roger suspected Lycus’s interest in this matter was a symptom of a larger issue. The elves were worked up in a way that suggested danger was afoot. Roger wondered if this had anything to do with the whispers he’d heard about Lucifer’s planned visit. Lucifer hadn’t walked the golden halls in…decades. Only something major would bring him here now. Roger doubted this was solely about the demons’ failure to stay put.
Roger let condescension slip into his tone. “You realize, of course, that the Brink is a vampire’s breeding ground. If they were allowed to grow their numbers without hindrance, they would be unstoppable should they decide to expand their presence in the Realm. Or don’t you read history scrolls?”
Silence descended between them. Roger increased the menace in his stare.
Lycus dropped his hands. “If she returns, let me know.”
“Just so we’re by the book—on whose authority?”
“The Relations branch sent me. Officially.”
“Noted.” Roger took a step back and then nodded as Lycus trotted out of the gate.
Relations was the faction of the elves who kept their friends close and their enemies under constant threat. They wouldn’t have sent someone as high-caliber as Lycus if it were a simple question of unchecked power. Something was brewing, all right, and Charity had sparked the elves’ watchful eye.
A shiver coated Roger’s skin, something that hadn’t happened in years. One thing was imminently clear: for the time being, they had to keep Charity out of the Realm at all costs.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dread consumed Charity, turning into acid and rising up the back of her throat. She stood with Devon, Yasmine, and Macy in a quiet, grassy outcropping on the college campus.
“Okay, Charity, you ready?” Devon bent to catch Charity’s eye.
She picked at the frayed material outlining the sleeve of her worn hoodie. If she didn’t answer, did that mean she could skip the class where she might see a creature who used to be Donnie?
“Charity?” Devon asked.
“Yes, Devon. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She brushed a stray piece of hair away from her cheek.
He straightened and took a step toward Yasmine, who would be shadowing him tonight. He held up his phone. “You have my number?”
She nodded and placed her hand on her rear jeans pocket, feeling the sleek new smartphone trapped there. Normal people would’ve taken pleasure in surprising her with something as exciting as a girl’s first cell phone. Instead, Devon had walked into the kitchen in his boxers, adjusted his junk like a Neanderthal, and tossed the package at her.
He’d said, “You needed a phone. Now you have one. You have a new computer, too. It’s in the office. Don’t break them. What is this, oatmeal? You couldn’t make something edible?”
She hitched her backpack a little higher on her shoulders, the weight greatly reduced thanks to the thin and light computer she’d unpacked earlier in the office. She should’ve been over the moon now that she was firmly in the modern age with everyone around her. Unfortunately, all she could think about was whether the cute boy she’d been crushing on all year would be in class tonight—and whether he’d been turned into a walking nightmare.
“That’s a work phone,” Devon said, professional and confident. “You need to keep it on at all times tonight. Keep it on vibrate, and respond if any of us contact you. Got it?”
“Yes,” she responded, brushing the hard outline with her fingertips again.
“If it doesn’t show up, wait in the class until one of us texts you with an all-clear. That’ll mean we’re waiting for you outside.”
“Okay.” They’d gone over the plan before leaving Devon’s house, but clearly Devon didn’t think any of it had sunk in. She wondered herself.
His voice hardened. “If it does show up, don’t let it get you alone. Vampires naturally beguile their prey. You’ll be attracted to it. Maybe even crave it. But don’t act on that, got it? That’s a trick. You have to remember that those feelings aren’t real.”
“I know.”
“Keep your eye on it, but keep your distance, too. If it follows you, stay around other people until you can lead it to Macy or me. We’ll handle it from there. Okay?”
“I know.”
Devon loo
ked out over the grass for a silent moment. His sigh was so soft that she barely heard it. Then he stepped closer and put his large hand on her shoulder. The comforting heat of his touch seeped down into her.
“It’s not really Donnie, Charity, okay?” he murmured, for her ears alone. “It is a creature wearing a mask that looks like Donnie. It won’t care about you; it’ll care about your blood. This is a war. Donnie was a casualty of that war. Understand?”
With a sinking feeling in her gut, Charity pulled away. “I know,” she whispered again, acid sharp in her throat. She blew out a breath and tried to keep her composure.
“Be safe,” Devon said. “Be strong. Macy will be waiting nearby if you need anything.” And then he was striding away, Yasmine at his side, the two of them crossing the grass like a couple of beautiful celebrities.
Macy stepped up next to Charity. “How are you doing?”
“If I said ‘fine,’ would you believe me?”
“If I said ‘yes,’ would you believe me?”
Charity gripped the strap of her backpack. “I don’t want to do this. What if I end up being the bait that lures Donnie to his death? I get that he’s…changed, but…”
“This sucks. There’s no two ways about it. One day you should talk to Roger about it. Shortly after he became alpha and started cleaning up the Brink, an elder turned one of his good friends as a personal FU. Roger chose to be the one that disbanded the newbie. He felt responsible for killing his friend. Or so I heard. So he knows what you’re going through. He’d talk to you about it. He’s good like that.” Macy patted Charity’s shoulder. “At least you had no part in Donnie’s change. It could easily have been you. I mean…if vamps can change fae. And, you know, if that’s really what you are.”
The pep talk was going downhill.
With a deep breath, Charity shouldered her courage and gave a resolute nod. If she waited any longer she’d lose her nerve entirely.
Warrior Fae Trapped: A DDVN Book Page 16