by Cecy Robson
The deep creases of Bren’s frown softened as he watched Aric. Whatever he saw in Aric’s expression lightened Bren’s eyes with mischief. “I don’t hurt those I love,” he answered with a smirk.
Aric leaned back on his heels, crossing his arms. I glanced at both of them. “How did you know we were home?” I asked when I couldn’t determine what had transpired between them.
Bren put his arm around me and pulled me close. “Cut it out, Bren,” Danny muttered behind me.
Bren’s grin widened. “We went down to that bitch Zhahara’s. The place reeks of infection, and there’s a goddamn bus in her living room. When we couldn’t find you, we headed back to that asshole Misha’s place for some answers. On the way there, I got the call you were back.”
Okay, that didn’t make sense. None of us had contacted Bren. “Who called you?”
Bren motioned toward Mrs. Mancuso’s house. He’d given the old biddy his number in an effort to watch over us. I hadn’t liked the idea then and I absolutely resented it now. The old bat stood behind her floral window drapes, watching the drama. Good Lord, if her hair curlers were any tighter her scalp would bleed. She raised her window, giving Aric, Bren, and Danny the once-over before scowling at me like she could will my death. “Celia Wird, have you no shame? Standing out there half-naked, flashing those young boys like some kind of streetwalker!”
Aric’s dark brows shot up to his crown. “What the fu—”
“Mind your own business, you goddamn raisin with legs!” Taran screamed from inside the house.
Mrs. Mancuso flipped me off, of course. Bren flashed her a panty-dropping grin. “It’s okay, Mrs. M. I’ll be sure to take Celia to confession later so Father O’Callaghan can slap the sin out of her.”
“Be sure that you do.” Mrs. Mancuso gave Bren an approving nod, and me another stiff one. Aric remained fixed to my front walkway. He may have been a guardian of the earth, but I doubted he’d ever encountered evil the likes of Mrs. Mancuso.
Emme called from the upstairs bathroom. I didn’t need to see her to know her cheeks shone like ripe strawberries. “May-maybe everyone should just head in. I’ll be down in a minute to fix dinner.”
Before I could follow Emme’s lead, Bren turned me around so my back was to him. “Ceel…are you going commando?”
Aric growled, low and deep. I smacked Bren’s hands and shoved him up the front steps. “Just get inside!”
The sound of his laughter told me his temper had begun to cool—at my expense, like always. I tried to follow, but stopped when I realized Aric continued to watch Danny.
“Why are you armed?” Aric asked him.
I inhaled deeply. Aric was right: Danny was packing heat, full of gold bullets. Not a comforting thought, considering he couldn’t shoot a wereelephant at close range.
Danny adjusted his Coke-bottle glasses nervously, smashing his mop of black curls between his forehead and the thick, dark frames. Aric’s daunting presence rattled Danny’s lanky frame and made his voice tremble. “We weren’t sure what we’d find. My buddy Bren didn’t want me unarmed.”
“Danny’s human,” I explained to Aric.
“I could tell by his scent,” Aric said. “So how does he know about us?”
I idled toward Aric. “We’ve known each other since we were teens.” I couldn’t stop my smile when I looked over my shoulder at Danny. “I trust him with all of my secrets.” Danny grinned, but then stopped short and stepped back at Aric’s scowl. “Be nice, Aric. He’s my friend, and you’re scaring him.”
Aric pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb before extending his hand to Danny. “I apologize. Aric Connor.”
Danny shook his hand. “Dan Matagrano. Nice to meet you…sir.”
I couldn’t blame Danny for greeting Aric formally. He gave off a certain aura of stature. Aric, however, didn’t appear comfortable with the title. “Just call me Aric, Dan.”
“Okay.” Danny headed toward the door, but Aric stopped him.
“Look, Dan, I know this isn’t my home, but I need to ensure my safety and that of my wolves at all costs. Could you leave the gun in the car?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure, sure. I didn’t mean to insult anyone.” Danny jogged to Bren’s car, popped the trunk, and deposited the gun, then raced just as swiftly into the house.
It was just me and Aric, him in a dark red sweatshirt that complemented those sizzling baby browns and faded jeans that hugged his strong legs, and me…in all my nasty glory.
“You should’ve called me, Celia.” Aric’s voice dropped lower. “I would have handled the situation. There was no need for you to get involved.”
“I didn’t have your phone number,” I answered like a dumb ass.
Aric walked ahead of me. He picked up and handed me a simple blue gift bag tucked behind the wooden railing. “Look inside,” he urged when I just stared at it.
I pulled out the latest and greatest iPhone, complete with some Bluetooth thingamajiggy, a high-tech earpiece, and a sleek lavender case with little white birds on it.
Aric cleared his throat as I examined the case. “I had a female sales associate pick it out. If you don’t like it, you can exchange it for something else.”
“I like it. It’s sweet.” I smiled. “You went overboard, though. This stuff is nicer than what I had.”
Aric didn’t blink. “I told you my students would replace your things.” He held his hand out. “May I?”
I handed him the phone, thankful the smooth surface would help me wipe the putrid prints off easily. He punched in a few numbers and handed it back to me. “That’s my number. You ever need me, you call. If the vampires give you any shit, you call. If there’s a mansion full of infected vampires, you call. You don’t go looking for trouble.” He let out a long breath. “You can’t heal, Celia. The right strike by the wrong foe could kill you. I don’t want that to happen.”
Aric Connor cared what happened to me. Whoa. He’d given me his digits…and a whole lot of attitude. “So did you come to my house just to give me the phone or is the reprimand an added bonus?”
Like Misha, Mr. King of Wolves probably wasn’t used to getting any lip. His voice dropped another octave. “Celia.”
I held up my hand, trying to squelch my grin. Knowing he’d come to see me made me giddy. “We’ll talk as soon as I get a shower. I promise,” I insisted when he tried to argue.
“We’d better,” he answered.
I held the edges of Misha’s sweater down as I climbed the steps…and then took the fastest shower in history.
CHAPTER 19
Everyone sat at the kitchen table except for Emme and Shayna, who busied themselves heating the food. The wolves leaned back in our chairs, arms crossed, eyes fixed on me. Aric wasn’t a happy wolf. His ungodly pissed-off expression worsened as we spilled more details about our seventy-five near-death experiences.
Bren sat next to me, draping an arm around my shoulders. “And you didn’t take me along because…?”
Aric leaned forward, taking in Bren’s close proximity to me. Normally Bren’s affections didn’t bother me, but they made me uncomfortable in Aric’s presence. I kept my voice casual as I inched away from his hold. “Because you wouldn’t have stopped with just the infected vampires, and I couldn’t risk your going after Misha’s family.”
Gemini rubbed his goatee and regarded me carefully. It was the first time he’d pried his eyes off Taran, who sat in a slinky black dress on the other side of Danny. “Tell me more about the vampires you encountered. It seems odd they would remain at the compound. Their hunger should have compelled them to constantly hunt for food.”
I shuddered, thinking back to the brawl at the field. But Gem was right: Why would they hang out somewhere as isolated as Zhahara’s property? “Is it possible something prevented them from leaving the premises?”
“A binding spell might be able to,” Danny offered.
The scowls from the other wolves made him shrink back into his seat. Aric watch
ed him carefully. “A spell like that wouldn’t be strong enough against a bloodluster’s thirst.”
Koda knitted his brows—not typically a scary expression for most. For Koda it bordered on a mug shot for America’s Most Wanted. “For a human, you seem to know too much about things that go bump in the night.”
Taran rolled her eyes. “What do you expect? He’s a research hound who lives with a werewolf.” She patted Danny’s back until she caught Gemini’s disapproving glance.
Danny coughed into his fist. “I’m actually fascinated by anything supernatural. I’ve studied magic dating back to—”
Liam growled. “No one cares, squirt.”
Bren growled. Danny was his best friend. The only one who could mess with him was Bren. I placed my hand over Bren’s chest. “We care,” I told Liam flatly.
Emme dropped what she was doing and rushed to Danny’s side. “Don’t be mean, Liam.”
Danny stood. “I don’t want to cause any problems.”
I kept my hand on Bren, but spoke over my shoulder. “You’re not, Danny. Please don’t go.”
“Liam. You owe Dan an apology.”
My head jerked in Aric’s direction. His tone, while casual, meant business.
Liam gawked at him in disbelief. “What? Why?”
Aric smiled in my direction. “Dan is a friend of theirs. And you’ve insulted him in their home.”
“Sorry, human,” Liam muttered, but then caught Emme’s attempt at a scowl. “I mean, sorry, Dan.”
Dan sat slowly. “Ah, sure. No problem.”
I released Bren when his muscles relaxed beneath my hold. He’d still change in a blink and tear out throats if he interpreted a threat against us or Danny. But for the moment, he seemed satisfied with the apology.
Aric met my appreciative smile with a wink and a grin that transformed me into the goofy vulture from the Bugs Bunny cartoon. My face reddened, and it became harder to continue staring at him.
Bren pulled me close and chuckled in my ear. “Damn, kid. Are you in trouble.” That was bad enough. His next comment was worse. “Don’t worry, Aric. Celia and I don’t have sex as much as we used to.”
My elbow to his ribs had him doubling over. Aric raised his chin in the way most males did before brawls involving bashed heads and bail money. “You two are together?”
Bren coughed out a yes, at the same time I said no. Shayna, of course, just had to come to my rescue. “No way, dude. Celia is totally single. She hasn’t had a date in what, two years?”
I buried my molten-lava face in my hands. Oh…God.
“Do you kill all the infected vampires you find?” Dan asked quietly.
Aric tore his attention away from me for the first time since I’d come downstairs. I welcomed the distraction like an all-you-can-eat buffet. “What else would we do with them?” he asked Danny. “They’re too dangerous to keep.”
Danny rubbed his thighs hard, careful not to make direct eye contact with Aric. I could see the wheels turning in that brilliant mind of his, but his insecurities and shyness held him back. “What are you thinking, Danny?”
Danny rubbed his thighs again. And that’s when I knew for sure he was onto something. “Danny?”
Danny tried to smooth back his hair, but as usual his fingers tangled into his thick, messy curls. He shuffled his seat closer and whispered, knowing the wolves could hear, yet feeling more confident if he pretended I alone listened. “I’d like to examine the infected blood—you know, test it to see if I can find anything.”
Aric and Gemini exchanged glances. “Examine it for what exactly?” Gemini asked.
“Danny’s a biochemist. He’s done a lot of research with blood-borne infections,” Emme explained from near the stove.
Aric rested his arms against the table. “What good will that do? Are you trying to find a cure?”
“Oh, no. A cure, if possible, would take decades to develop—especially if magic is the underlying component. I’m thinking if I could get a sample of infected blood and compare it to the blood of a healthy vampire, I may be able to find a link, or at the very least something that can help.”
Aric thought about it. “Based on what Celia has said, I don’t expect the plague to end until we find the cause. All were clans have been ordered to hunt and kill all infected vampires. But…if we catch one, do you have a way to preserve the blood? I won’t keep a bloodluster alive just to use as a lab rat.”
Danny tapped his fingers on the table. “I have several blood tubes with varying preservatives. One of them should be enough to keep the blood from turning to ash—at least for a little while. Do any of you know how to draw blood from a vein?”
Koda shook his head. “No. But it’s not necessary. We could probably bite off a wrist and just pour the bloodlust into the vials.”
Liam shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah. No problem. Or sever part of his neck if the fucker gives us any problems.” He smiled at Emme’s blanched face. “Sorry, Emme. I didn’t mean to swear.”
Gemini acted like we were playing a round of Monopoly, not discussing ways to drain a vampire of his or her nastiness. “Where will you get healthy vampire blood?”
I didn’t appreciate the attention my sisters and Bren slammed me with. “Don’t look at me that way,” I grumbled.
Taran smirked. “Ceel, you know perfectly well that rich bastard would give you his blood if you asked. God knows he’d do anything to get in your pants….” Her voice trailed off as she caught Aric’s not-so-thrilled expression.
I wished we were outdoors, so I could dig a hole and bury my burning face. Some days it didn’t pay to have chatty sisters. “I’ll see what I can do.” I shoved away from the table to get a drink, careful to hide my mortified expression from Aric.
He followed me to the refrigerator, leaning against the opposite door. “You and the vampire…”
“There is no me and Misha. There is no me and Bren. There is no one in my life, I assure you.” My eyes pleaded with him to believe me. The gleam in his irises and that irresistible grin told me that he had. Damn, that smile should have been illegal. “W-would you like something to drink?” The heat from his body stroked my skin like a physical caress. It was all I could do not to unravel.
Aric shrugged. “Sure. I’ll have what you’re having.”
I reached in the fridge for a root beer and then grabbed one for myself before sitting on a barstool next to the raised counter. Aric sat next to me. “Will you sit with me at dinner, Celia?”
“Yeah. I’d like that.”
Shayna and Koda stood across the counter facing each other. Shayna had taken a large piece of salami and placed it on the cutting board in front of her. She snagged a wooden spoon out of the drawer and held it by the ladle. At once she transformed it into a long, sharp silver knife. Koda and Aric tensed watching the chopping machine with the long ponytail get to work. She flipped a slice into the air and caught it in her mouth, totally showing off. I couldn’t blame her. It was a relief not to hide what we could do.
Shayna tried to catch another piece, but Koda caught it first. While he chewed, he slipped Shayna an arrogant and kind of scary smirk. Shayna laughed. Although Koda looked like he ate toddlers for breakfast, I knew he didn’t stand a chance against my sister.
“I don’t scare you?” he asked her in a bewildered tone, making me wonder whether he’d heard my thoughts.
Shayna batted her eyelashes. “A sweet little puppy like you? No, of course not.”
“Excuse me,” Emme said quietly. A cabinet door opened and a row of plates and glasses flew out and set themselves on the table. Utensils followed. The wolves stiffened, falling back into a relaxed state at Emme’s blush.
Aric nudged me playfully with his elbow. “What can Taran do?”
I motioned in her direction. “You’re looking at it,” I whispered.
Blue and white sparks ignited over her head as she and Gemini fell into Barbie-loves-Ken mode. Liam sniffed at the pot of meatballs and sauce Emme
stirred. “Whoa, this smells awesome.”
Emme smiled. “Thank you, but I can’t take the credit. Celia prepared them and made the sauce two nights ago. I just heated everything up.”
Aric quirked an eyebrow at me. “You can cook?”
Shayna swung an arm around me before I could answer. “That’s right, dude. One day, this little lady is going to make some lucky guy a heck of a wife.”
Never in my life had I wanted to kill Shayna more.
Aric threw back his head as he laughed. I was grateful when his phone announced a text, giving my cheeks a moment to cool. He read through the message and then put his phone down. “How many vampires did you say escaped Zhahara’s?”
“Tim told us two.”
Aric smiled as he read the text again. “Dan. We might not be able to get you the blood. My pack just found and killed the infected vampires.”
CHAPTER 20
“Are you cold?”
I should have been. The temperature dropped quickly as the sun set across the lake, and my hair remained damp from my shower. But with Aric sitting so close to me on the porch swing, all I felt was his warmth. His pack continued to prowl the area for more infected vampires. Tomorrow, he and a fresh set of weres would relieve them. For the moment, I had him to myself.
I leaned back against the arm he’d draped across the length of the swing. “I’m fine, wolf.”
Aric pushed his thick hair out of his eyes, although I’d have given anything to do the honors. It reminded me of dark chocolate, while his eyes were more like melted caramel, so intense, so—
“Why did you help the vampire, Celia? Does he have something on you?”
I freed a bare foot tucked beneath me and pushed against the light blue floorboards, rocking us gently before I hid my foot again beneath my long sweater. “Misha didn’t force me into anything.” I glanced out into the midnight blue sky. The clouds had begun to clear. Stars sparkled like crushed diamonds, and a hint of the full moon reflected along the lake. “You may think me naive, but I felt bad for him.”