The Way You Bite(67)

“He said that in so many words.”

Blay shot her another displeased glare. He really didn’t like being interrupted when he was on a roll. “You and he must determine if there is more than chemistry. Can you can create a life as partners, or is it smarter to part ways, even if both of you will suffer?”

She liked the thought of Lexan following her. Of him needing her. “What do you think is smart?”

“This is your life, not mine. Sometimes following what your heart says can be the scariest. Trust me, I know. I fell for a married vampire, which was against my code on many levels. Yet, I loved your mother with every fiber in my being for every second of her existence. I must find her murderer, or I’ll never have peace. You are all that is left of her. You are my only living blood…” He glanced at the doorway and stepped into the shadows in a corner of the room.

“It’s over between Lexan and me. Done. We’re incompatible.”

Blay nodded. She couldn’t interpret what exactly the nod meant. She waited for his argument in Lexan’s favor, but he remained mute.

Trace strode in and glanced around, his gaze passing over Blay as if he didn’t exist. He frowned as he met her gaze. He suspected something wrong. “You ready?”

Vee shot a questioning glance at Blay.

Blay said, “If I don’t want him to see me or hear me, he won’t. You might be able to do this, too. Mind manipulation.”

“Let’s go somewhere private to talk for a few minutes. Not here.” She grabbed Trace’s arm and tugged him out of the room and downstairs. Thanks to her new ultrasensitive hearing, she could hear wolves moving everywhere in the house. She led him outside. He started to speak, but she put her finger to her lips and motioned him to follow to a large tree.

For a moment, she listened, picking up the crackle of dead leaves fluttering in the wind and a bird moving on the tree above them, but no wolves nearby. “Tell me your plan and what you think is going on.”

“Out here? It’s freezing.” He hugged his arms tight to his body.

“In there everyone’s listening, especially in the bedroom.” She glanced up at the moon, losing her focus on Trace for a few seconds as the orb called to her again. A run might be nice. No.

Trace scanned through a message on his phone. “I think Carol is in big trouble, whether she’s aware of it or not. If we want to see her alive again, we’ve got to help her.”

“You want me to go back to North Carolina with you? That’s a bad idea. There’s got to be another way.”

“I’m not leaving you with wolves. Maybe I can drop you off somewhere else to wait while I go get Carol.”

“I’m not going near North Carolina. Let me ask Lexan to help.”

“Sure, let’s ask our father’s arch enemy to give us a ride to his front gate. That’s got death sentence written all over it. We’ll need to steal a car and head for the border. No problem to cross.” He could mesmerize any human into letting them pass.

“No.” She crossed her arms.

“You’d let Carol die?”

“I don’t want her to die, but I don’t see how sacrificing all our lives in a suicidal heroic gesture makes sense.”

“It’s our only option. I’ve got a place out of town where we can lie low and figure out where Carol is.”

“I’m sure she’s in the heart of Dominic’s house. Are we going to play superspy and sneak in there in the middle of the day and steal her out?”

“Not a bad plan.”

“What’s wrong with you? I was kidding.” She waved a dismissive hand. “I’m going inside to ask for help on this.”

He caught her arm. “Don’t. Damn it. Please don’t make me do this.”

“Do what?” Her gaze dropped to his free hand where he held a small device she recognized as a modified syringe the size of a pen. It contained a potent sedative capable of knocking her out for hours. Squad vamps used it on wolves. She’d never seen it used on a vamp. “You wouldn’t.”

He jabbed it into her thigh. “I’m sorry. This is about saving Carol and you. I’m going to save both of you. These wolves have brainwashed you into thinking you’re some sort of mix.”

Everything went woozy. “I don’t want to leave here. I need Lexan.” It came out slurred.

He caught her when her knees buckled. “I promise I won’t let anyone harm you.”





Chapter Twenty-Five


The round chambered into Lexan’s nine-millimeter Glock with a comforting click as he racked the slide. He tucked the gun into his waistband holster next to the six-inch serrated knife and backup magazine. The routine didn’t calm him like it usually did. Hell, a jab of heroin straight into his heart wouldn’t soothe him. He was jacked up on need to hunt Vee and establish she belonged with him. That meant together as in now, tonight, tomorrow, and every other moment from now to forever.

He pushed his fingers into his temple and massaged, but his headache pounded on.

She’d needed space. One hour and twenty-four minutes of space was going to be enough. He couldn’t handle one second longer.

The door to the guest room flew open. “She’s gone,” Eric announced.