Warrior Fae Trapped (Warrior Fae #1)(27)

Charity gave him a vague smile, because saying no to a man like Roger wasn’t something she could stomach at the moment, but no, that didn’t sound good. Tour be damned—she’d find the quickest way out of here and take it. She hadn’t been on the vampires’ chosen list—her mind still stuttered at the idea that those fabled creatures were real—which meant she wasn’t in danger. She could hitch a ride out of here, no problem.

But as she sat idle, thinking, little bits of information stitched themselves together. The handsome man outside of her classroom. The watchers, stalking her and Sam out to the street. The laugh.

Roger thought she was an unplanned wild card, but could he be wrong? While she hadn’t gotten an invite, she’d been approved as a sub for Jessica. Was she now a hunted woman?





Chapter Twelve





Roger glanced down at Devon. “Send two people with her. Then meet me in my office.”

“Yes, sir.” Devon stood with grim determination. He watched Roger’s back disappear through a door leading deeper into the castle before turning back to Charity.

He took a deep breath to keep a leash on his temper. Despite what Roger had said, he had a hard time believing Charity hadn’t had a deeper purpose in that house. How could a girl who oozed magic not realize she had any? Granted, last night he’d only smelled her—this throbbing electric pulse she gave off was something new—but her magic was too potent to have just started to mature. Much too potent. And even if she hadn’t known about it, no random girl off the street, whether she had fighting training or not, could get past an elder vampire.

She’d taken on a whole house of vampires! It wasn’t just luck and raw power that had gotten her out of there alive. Nor did he believe the vamps had spent the night around her without realizing she was special. Not with that smell. Not with the strange, ethereal quality of her skin, which seemed to glow from within. She was keeping something to herself, he knew it.

Or maybe you’re pissed that she’s in Roger’s favor for some reason, and you walked away nearly empty-handed…

He gritted his teeth and worked on another steadying breath. Last night had been his big chance to prove himself to the best alpha in the world. Probably his only chance, and he was lucky to have even gotten one. All that work for nothing. He’d botched it. He’d only gotten three newbies of nine.

All because he’d needed to guard one girl.

Sure, Roger seemed to think she’d saved them rather than screwed them, but Devon couldn’t help feeling like a failure.

He stared down at the girl’s heart-shaped face and dainty features. Her eyes were almost the same brownish-red as her hair. Her beauty was offset by the firm set to her jaw, the attack readiness of her pose, and the defiant sparkle to her eyes. Her magic poked and prodded him, goading him to violence, drawing out his raw aggression. Her silent challenge was clear, as it had been since she’d woken up. But being that she wasn’t pack, he wasn’t allowed to establish the pecking order.

Could this situation get any worse?

“I don’t speak scoff,” she said.

Yet another deep breath.

“As you heard, I’ll hook you up with two escorts,” Devon said coolly, tamping down the desire to upend the table. “They’ll take you around this area. Try not to stare—some species think that’s a challenge. You don’t want to provoke a Jorogumo or a Hellhound.”

Charity stared at him with squinted eyes and shook her head. Her brain was trying to shut down. He knew exactly how she felt.

“They’ll be in shortly,” Devon finished.

Before she could ask a question, he was striding through the interior of the castle. He found his pack a moment later. They’d gathered in one of the sitting rooms, waiting for Devon. As he walked in, they all looked up, ready for instructions. Probably wondering what came next.

So did he.

“Andy, Macy, you’re on tour duty,” he barked. “Take Charity around a few of the safer parts of the Realm. Stay close. Keep her out of trouble.”

“You want us to keep her out of trouble?” Macy said, her light brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail.

“That lady seems good in a tight spot,” Dillon reflected. “Give her the rules and she should be fine.”

“You’ve seen her in action for a total of fifteen minutes, bro. What makes you an expert?” Andy asked.

“Great question,” Macy said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jimmy smirked. “Jealous much, Macy?”

“Irritating much, Jimmy?” she shot back.

“She got out of a house full of vamps,” Dillon said. He scratched his hooked nose and looked up through his lashes at Macy. “Then she somehow got past Roger and ran out of the castle. Doesn’t take a genius to notice the obvious.”

“She shouldn’t have been scared back into the house in the first place.” Devon’s eyes flayed Jimmy. “Roger’s probably wondering why I have such a poor handle on my pack. We screwed up, starting with you, Jimmy.”

Jimmy shrank down in his chair.

“You’ll be disciplined after I talk to Roger,” Devon continued. “Until then, Andy and Macy, ease Charity into this world. Roger wants her acclimated, and I won’t let him down again. Rod and Dillon, start tracking the new vamps. If, by some miracle, Roger doesn’t pull me off this detail, I want to go after them immediately. A lot of the vamps that turned them are dead, which means they’ll be out of control. If we don’t get to them fast, the innocent bodies will pile up.”