Mara
My lion doesn’t like this vampire. She’s been pressing low inside me since we walked in, uneasy and still. I don’t blame her. His scent is wrong—death layered under chaos, sharp enough to make my nose sting.
But the way he looks at his mate.
He calls her beautiful Layla every time he opens his mouth.
He watches her pace in front of her dollhouses and his eyes follow her with a devotion I recognize.
The same look Aaron gives me when he thinks I’m not paying attention, like I’m the only thing in the room worth seeing.
Josiah gives Layla that look while she mutters about paint and doesn’t even notice.
I look up at Aaron. He’s already watching me. The smile he gives me makes my tail sway, and my lion swells with pride.
He looks away first. Josiah is sitting in a lounge chair with one leg crossed over the other, his fingers steepled against his chin.
Layla paces in front of him and his eyes drop to her hips, her curves, the sway of her walk.
He doesn’t bother hiding where he’s looking.
My lion would be offended if Aaron stared at me like that in front of company, but Layla doesn’t seem to care.
“I made a mistake,” Aaron starts. “I opened the Witching Glen for my father. I thought—“ He pauses. “I thought he wanted to reconnect. Build something. I was wrong. He used me to get access and then he ran.”
Josiah doesn’t look at him. He’s still watching Layla’s ass as she picks up a tiny paint pot and frowns at it.
“Ahh.” His voice is smooth. “The yearning for a father’s love.”
“It’s the wrong shade of red.” Layla turns the pot in her fingers. “I’m going to have to repaint the whole front. This is unacceptable.” She paces back toward us, her hips swaying, and Josiah shifts in his chair.
“I can help you repaint your dollhouse, my love,” he offers.
“No, no, no.” She waves him off without looking, then stops. Her eyes land on Aaron, slide to me, and she tilts her head. “You have to help them, Jo.”
My tail sways as Josiah shifts in his seat and clears his throat. First time I’ve seen this vampire anything less than perfectly composed.
Layla grins and walks backward toward his chair. She lowers herself into his lap and Josiah grunts, his hands coming to her hips.
“Pay attention to our guests,” she says, sweet and dangerous, “or I’ll wiggle and make you come in this chair.”
Josiah’s mouth curves. “My beautiful Layla, I’m going to bite—“
“Uncle Jo, please.” Aaron groans and I press my lips together to keep from laughing.
Josiah wraps his arm around Layla’s waist and pulls her deeper into his lap. He leans in and drags his mouth across her bare shoulder. Layla lets him, her eyes still on Aaron.
“I need to find Eric,” Aaron says.
Josiah lifts his mouth from her shoulder. “And do what?”
Aaron reaches for my hand and my lion goes still inside me. I already know what he’s going to say.
“I think I have to kill him.”
Layla grins, fangs and all.
“Ahhhh. That’s quite a dilemma.” He adjusts Layla on his lap, his arm tightening around her. “‘Sometimes the one who challenges us most becomes our greatest teacher. And sometimes the enemy is the true friend we didn’t know we needed.’ Chapter twelve.”
Layla giggles and tips her head back against his shoulder. “Jo, stop.”
He buries his face in her neck instead. I watch Josiah’s mouth move against Layla’s skin and I cannot understand this vampire. One minute he’s offering to murder dollhouse manufacturers and the next he’s quoting self-help books.
“I don’t know why I believed him.” Something in his voice makes my lion whimper. “I should’ve known better.”
He looks at me and my tail wraps around his wrist on instinct. He looks back at Josiah, who hasn’t stopped worshiping Layla.
“Eric’s run off. He’s with some warlock who has stolen Blackwood magic. A man named Henry.”
Josiah’s mouth stops.
He lifts his face from Layla’s neck and his eyes lock onto Aaron. My tail unwraps from Aaron’s wrist.
“Oh.” Layla’s playfulness drops. “Jo hates Henry.”
Josiah pats her thigh and she stands from his lap. He rises with her and adjusts his tie, tugs his cuffs straight.
“Henry, you say?” He grins like my fear is feeding him.
“Yeah.” Aaron’s grip tightens on my hand. “I learned about him recently. Vaguely.”
Josiah walks toward us and my lion’s ears track every step.
“Where did you see him last?”
“Downtown Detroit. In front of Brookstone and Blackburn. It’s closed now.”
Josiah shows his fangs and my tail swishes behind me.
“Can you stop him?” I ask.
He turns to me and my body locks up. His irises shift from brown to a bright bloodshot red.
“Beautiful lioness.” His voice is lower now, darker. “It would be an honor to kill him for you and your mate.”
I grab Aaron’s arm.
“Eric too,” Aaron says. “If he gets ahold of dark magic—“
“How does King Amir feel about the Witching Glen?” Josiah asks.
Aaron goes quiet. Josiah tilts his head. “‘You can only save those who are willing to save themselves. The rest, you must love from a distance.’ Chapter fourteen.”
“So not only do you know that Amir wants to destroy the Witching Glen,” Aaron says, “you agree with him.”
“Then who will be its warden?” Josiah watches Aaron with those red eyes. “Did you come here to ask me?”
He looks at Layla. She’s back at her table with paint on her fingers, focused on her dollhouse. She doesn’t look up.
“I will not pull my Layla into such a world,” Josiah says.
“I didn’t come here to ask you that,” Aaron argues.
“Ah, but you did.”
I frown. I don’t know what just happened between them but Aaron’s shoulders have dropped.
“That seems to be the nature of Wintermoon. I am not wanted here.”
Aaron groans. “I’m sorry. I’ll admit it was a thought, but I hadn’t considered acting on it.”
“I appreciate your honesty.”
Josiah moves. One moment he’s in front of us, the next he’s across the room at Layla’s side, so fast my shifter eyes barely catch the blur. He catches her wrist before she dips into the paint again.
“What?” She tilts the panel toward him. “I want to get this finished before sunrise.”
“My love.” His thumb brushes her wrist. “I hate to interrupt your project, but there’s something I need to take care of.”
She frowns and then she smiles, fangs flashing. “Date night?”
“I’ll dance with you over their bodies.”
“Oh, Jo.” She straightens his tie for him. “You’re always so romantic.”
I scrunch my nose and Aaron catches my expression.
“If the last place you saw Eric was in Downtown Detroit,” Josiah says, turning back to us, “then he’s still in Downtown Detroit.”
Aaron frowns. “I don’t understand.”
“Your father will be easier to track than you think. If he’s still with Henry, that makes him easier to find.”
Josiah kisses Layla’s hand and snaps his fingers. A portal opens in front of us, swirling, dark, edged in light that doesn’t belong to any magic I’ve ever seen. My lion presses forward inside me.
“How did he do that?” I look up at Aaron.
“Are you coming?” Josiah asks him. “It would help. You can track Eric much better than I can.”
“You want to go now?” Aaron questions.
Layla walks into Josiah’s arms and presses a kiss to his cheek. His eyes close, and when he opens them the red has faded.
“‘To wait for the perfect moment is to wait for a moment that never arrives. Action, imperfect and immediate, is the only honest response to urgency.’ Chapter twenty-one.”
My tail switches behind me, fast, agitated. My lion is pacing, every instinct telling me this is a very bad idea.
“Would you prefer to take your lioness somewhere safe?” Josiah asks.
Aaron’s hand tightens around mine and pulls me into him. A purr rolls out of me.
Aaron looks down at me and my lion stills.
“I’d leave you with your father, your pride, if I wasn’t so selfish,” he says.
My lips part and he leans in and presses his lips against mine. I lean into it and my tail curls around his hip.
“But after almost losing you,” he murmurs against my lips, “I can’t do it. I need you to stay with me.”
My lion purrs so hard my chest vibrates. “Okay.”
“I swear I’ll take care of you.”
“Okay.” It comes out softer than I want it to, but his eyes light up and his mouth curves.
“Love.” Josiah squeezes Layla one more time and she melts into him. He looks at us over her shoulder. “How sweet.” He releases her and gestures toward the portal. “Shall we?”
Aaron kisses me again, quick, then turns me toward the portal.
I see the other side before we step through—dim colored lights, the outline of a long counter, bottles lined up against a dark wall.
My lion’s ears go forward. It’s not any kind of place I’ve been before. The air coming through smells wrong.
Aaron stops on the figure behind the counter. Blond hair, pale skin glowing, a glass in one hand, a rag in the other.
“Andrew?” Aaron says.
Andrew looks up. He sees Josiah behind us and his face drops.
“Thirst Trap?” Aaron groans but takes my hand and pulls me through.
The smell is worse on this side—alcohol soaked into wood, old smoke, sweat, human scents layered into every surface like the walls have been marinating in them for years. I press closer to Aaron and my lion huffs inside me, offended.
“Who is Andrew?” I ask.
Andrew is already moving, flashing around the counter. He stops in front of me and bows his head. His eyes are warm when he straightens, his smile real despite the frown he just gave Josiah.
“I haven’t had a beautiful lioness in my bar in a long time,” he says.
My tail sways once, cautious. I look around.
Josiah and Layla step through behind us and the portal snaps shut. Andrew’s smile stays but it tightens at the edges, forced now, and my lion catches the change in his scent before I see it on his face.
Andrew turns to Aaron instead, looks him up and down, and his smile warms.
“You got big,” he says.
“My first time in Thirst Trap,” Aaron says, looking around.
“Must be trouble in Wintermoon if you’re here.” Andrew’s voice drops. “The children of Wintermoon don’t leave the land.”
Aaron nods, his head dropping.
“Nice to visit my old home,” Josiah says behind us.
“Must be big trouble in Wintermoon.” Andrew doesn’t look at Josiah. He points at him and Layla without turning around. “If you decided to come to him for help.”
Aaron sighs. “This isn’t on Jo. It’s me. I’m the reason Wintermoon is in trouble.”
“Is this how you greet a family member?” Josiah asks, amused.
Andrew rolls his eyes. “I’m calling Kade.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Aaron says.
Andrew studies him, then he nods. “I’ve got some rooms ready. Follow me.”
I stiffen. My tail goes rigid and I look up at Aaron. “We’re staying?”
My tail swings in annoyance, hard clipped arcs that knock against Aaron’s leg.
“Yes. For now. I need to find Eric.”
I want to say it. That I’ll put my claws through Eric’s throat myself if it means protecting my mate, that my lion has already decided and I agree with her. I hold it back.
But Josiah and Layla chuckle behind me. The sound is dark and low and perfectly in sync, and when I turn their eyes are trained on me. They caught it in my scent.
Aaron looks between them. “What is it?”
“Your mate.” Josiah’s grin is slow. “I enjoy her darkness.”
Layla grabs his tie and tugs. “Let’s go to bed. There’s some things I want to do to you before you’re busy tomorrow.”
Josiah chuckles as she pulls him toward the stairs, his hand finding the small of her back. “Oh, beautiful Layla. Are you going to torture me?” His voice drops. “I surely hope so.”
I watch them go up the stairs, Layla’s fingers wrapped around his tie, Josiah’s mouth on her neck before they’ve even reached the landing. My attention goes back to Aaron.
He’s glaring at me.
“What did they smell on you?” he asks.
I don’t answer.
“Mara.” He looks at Andrew, who is standing very still with his hands up, glancing between us. “I know you can smell whatever is going on with her. What is it?”
“Oh, hell no.” Andrew holds his hands higher. “I’m not getting into fated mate issues. I’ll show you your room and that’s it.”
Aaron turns back to me. My tail—the traitor—comes around and brushes across his chest. He grabs it with one hand, his fingers closing around the tassel, and points at me with the other.
“Don’t do it, Mara. Whatever it is you’re up to. Don’t do it.”
He leans into me and my lips part.
“Understand me when I say I’ll burn all of this shit down if something happens to you.” His voice is low. “Behave yourself and stand beside me.”
“Listen to your man, Mara.” Andrew is already heading up the stairs, his back to us. “I’ll be mad as hell if I have to remodel my nightclub again.”
I hiss at him.