Warrior Fae Trapped (Warrior Fae #1)(82)

Hell, maybe it was that she’d had Devon to lean on since day one.

But given the last couple of outings, she understood why this was the best solution. She wasn’t in a hurry to see her BFF again.

“We won’t be out all night,” Devon said. He put his large, warm hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be home before you know it.”

She nodded again, hating the prickle of heat behind her eyes. She needed to learn to stand on her own again. She couldn’t always rely on him.

That wasn’t easy with terror squeezing her chest in tight bands.

“This ward is strong.” Devon lowered his voice into a soft whisper. “I had Dean, the mage, check it. It’s sound. You’ll be safe as long as you don’t leave.”

Charity nodded. Devon nodded with her, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Just stay in the ward, okay?”

“Okay,” she answered, liking the warmth and support of his body. Liking his masculine smell and scratchy stubble. It was all real. Being with him helped ground her—it kept her sane through the insanity that was now her life.

He released her with a sigh. The specks of green and gold seemed to sparkle in his warm brown eyes. “I’m looking forward to spooning.”

Her face turned warm at his joking grin. She dropped her gaze, shivering hot and cold. “We’ll see.”

With a chuckle he left the room and, shortly thereafter, the house. She heard his banged-up SUV roar to life, followed by the crunch of the gravel under the tires as he pulled out of the driveway. In another moment, the sound of his motor dimmed and disappeared, a vacant, echoing quiet taking its place.

She was alone.

Charity looked at the window, silently accusing the sun of deserting her as the speckled light in the trees faded. The vamps would be waking up soon. Her BFF’s mind would start to drift her way, bent on the challenge of getting beyond the magical ward.

She was so damn alone. It would be a long, long night until Devon or one of the pack returned.





Chapter Thirty-Six





“What’s the plan, boss?” Rod said, fingering a knife in his pocket.

Devon’s hand fell to his own knife. They all had on the customary sweats that could easily be donned or discarded. He stared out of the bushes at the smallish house, the windows dark and door slightly ajar. The grass in the front yard was so long that the weeds had started at the base of the rosebushes. It looked like the place had missed its last gardening appointment, which made sense, since the owner really only cared about sucking on people’s necks these days.

“Why are they all in one place?” Devon asked quietly, glancing around the street. “I thought they each had a different resting spot.”

Dillon, standing behind everyone else in just his sweatpants, said, “Up until tonight. They’re in there with two humans. Blood party, maybe.”

Devon shook his head slowly. “Two humans for three new vamps? That’s not enough blood. They’ll kill the humans. The calculation of it doesn’t fit the newbie MO, either.”

“Regardless, they’re in there,” Rod said.

“Why don’t we just go in and take them out?” Yasmine asked, standing close to Devon’s right.

“We would jeopardize those humans,” he answered.

“If we don’t go in soon, those humans will probably be jeopardized anyway,” Macy said quietly, staring at the house. “Something isn’t right. I have a bad feeling about this, Devon.”

Everyone but Yasmine shifted in unease. They’d all learned the hard way that Macy’s intuition was reliable.

“It does seem like a trap,” Dillon whispered.

Devon’s heart pumped faster. Battle was near and his wolf was calling.

“Rod and I will change form and do a quick perimeter check,” Devon said, staring at the quiet house. “See if anyone is waiting out there. If not, we’ll slink in and try to catch them as they feed. Macy is right: if we wait too long, those humans will be as good as gone. We have enough missing persons in the area lately—I want to save lives tonight.”

Rod grinned, his eyes bright. Time to shift. Devon stepped out of his clothes, his limbs dancing with contained energy, as Rod did the same. Their burst of magic made everyone step back.

They took off at an easy lope, staying to the shadows, cutting through bushes with skill and practice. Mostly using his sense of smell, Devon searched for signs of other vamps. Elders. After sprinting across the street—hopefully people would think he was just a big dog—he caught a new vamp scent. One he faintly recognized. The vamp had clearly put on the clothes and perfume from its past human life. It had then exited the rear of the house and cut away through the yard.

Why would it leave its house after inviting over the other new vamps and some humans?

Unless this wasn’t a trap at all. It was a distraction.

He followed the trail for another five minutes, enough for him to know the newbie had a destination in mind. His hackles rose.

On his way back, he met Rod. Their gazes held for a moment, conveying impressions with the nuances of their body language. It immediately became clear that Rod had come to the same conclusions about the missing vamp.

Charity was in danger.





Chapter Thirty-Seven