Chapter 26
26
brOGAN
E sme and I came downstairs hand in hand, and I couldn't take my fucking eyes from her.
If I thought she was gorgeous before…
God. I had no fucking idea.
We'd showered together, and she was dressed more casually than I'd ever seen in stretchy black pants that showed off her perfect ass and a pullover red top with black stripes, the stitching so fine even I could tell it was probably expensive as hell. Her thick, dark hair, still damp from the shower, was gathered in a low ponytail with wisps of escaped hairs that framed her gorgeous face. She wore no makeup since I'd thrown it all in her bathroom trash. All natural, she was fucking stunning , even without that damn red lipstick that drove me insane.
Despite the voices coming from the back of the house, she was the only thing that consumed my thoughts as we reached the bottom of the stairs and headed toward the kitchen. Something fundamental had shifted between us tonight. The connection I'd felt with her since that first night at The Purple Fang had deepened into something I couldn't have imagined possible when I got into her head, and I'd been utterly unprepared.
I'd heard her silent pleas. Knew what she needed from me. And honestly, I was still shocked by it all.
I'd been in people's heads before, but only to do what needed to be done, and this was so much more than rearranging some stranger's memories. I'd never listened to anyone before. I'd never wanted to until now. I couldn't leave her thoughts all night, even after I knew every inch of her body and kissed and tasted every single one of them. I held onto that mental connection while we laid in bed with her sprawled across my chest. I clung to it while we were in the shower.
And I was still there, terrified that at any moment she'd put up her shields again and I'd be shut out.
I thought I'd find chaos in her mind, maybe discover she had evil within her, given what she was and the kind of magic she practiced. Instead, underneath the sorrow of losing her family, I found nothing but fierce determination, courage, and a protective love for those she considered hers that was so intense it had stolen my breath. Her thoughts were vibrant and alive—colors and sensations rather than just words. I saw her family through her eyes, felt the searing pain of their loss, and understood the weight of the guilt she carried for surviving.
But the most shocking part was seeing myself from her point of view. In her mind, I wasn't the mess I'd always believed myself to be. A male who hid how fucked up he was behind goofy shirts and flirty smiles. She saw past the sorry excuse for a human man I was, past the vampire, past the dancer, past the walls I'd built. She saw me as worthy of protection, worthy of sacrifice.
And it fucking terrified me.
No one had ever seen me that way—not even myself. How could she look at me and see something worth saving when I'd spent decades convinced I was beyond redemption?
It made me want to prove her right.
I squeezed her hand as we reached the bottom of the stairs, wondering if she'd ever understand how completely she'd changed me in these moments. I'd gone from a man afraid of his own desires to someone who couldn't imagine existence without her.
She consumed me. Filled my soul. And for the first time ever, the voices from my past had finally shut the hell up.
However, there was a brand new voice jackhammering around in there.
Esme drank my blood.
The mating bond is complete.
Now, she'll live as long as I do. Decades. Centuries. It doesn't matter how long I drag out this life, she can be right here with me.
The question was, would she want that? Guilt gnawed at my gut, killing the buzz of happiness I'd been walking around with since the word "mine" came out of her luscious mouth. I should've explained this whole fated mate thing days ago, instead of chickening out like the pussy I was.
As if she felt my attention on her, Esme gave me a warm smile. I drank it in, memorizing her face before she found out what I'd kept from her and booted my happy ass to the curb. Maybe she didn't want to live forever. Maybe, once all this stuff with Marcus was done, she'd still leave.
You need to tell her, that damn voice nearly shouted.
I know. I KNOW. And I will.
I'd tell her. And I'd do it tonight. I just wanted to hang onto this for a little bit longer before I ruined everything.
Esme squeezed my hand, her presence beside me a warm current in the endless icy river of my existence. Her fingers laced with mine were an anchor, grounding me in a way I hadn’t realized I needed until she entered my life.
Then we stepped into the kitchen, and reality slammed into me like a boulder when eight pairs of eyes all turned to us. The air was thick with unease, and the faint hum of anxiety coming through the bond with my coven mates made my skin tingle. Everyone was here. Even Alex and Angel.
Killian stood at the center, leaning against the island with one hand braced on the counter behind him. He looked up when we entered, his sharp gaze taking us both in from head to toe, stopping for a second on our clasped hands. No one needed to tell him what we'd been doing. Hell, most of the house had probably heard us. And, the vampires in the room could certainly smell the blood exchange that had taken place.
I couldn't do anything about that, but I really needed to have Lizzy or Angel put one of those sound barriers around my room.
If Esme stayed after we'd talked.
Killian lifted one eyebrow at me, but otherwise said nothing. Lizzy, on the other hand, gave us both a huge smile. However, it fell just as quickly as it appeared as soon as Killian resumed speaking.
“The plane carrying Jesse, Shea, Ryan, and Christian never landed,” Killian told us, rubbing his thigh absentmindedly. “They were supposed to be here three hours ago. I went inside and asked if anyone had updates about a private jet that was scheduled to arrive, but no one knew anything. I’ve made multiple phone calls both to the airport in Seattle and to their coven. According to Luukas, Nikulas and Aiden left them at the airport and watched the plane take off. We've all tried calling their cell phones, but there’s no answer. No trace of them.”
“Nothing?” Kenya asked. “No messages, no last-minute changes, no sign of them at all?”
Killian shook his head, his expression grim. “Nothing. It’s like they vanished midair.”
The room fell silent as Killian’s words pressed down on all of us. Esme’s hand tightened on mine, her warmth a stark contrast to the cold dread creeping up my spine. I could smell the nervousness radiating from the others, their unease sharp and palpable.
“Vanished midair?” Alex broke the silence, his golden eyes narrowing. “That’s not possible. Even for us. Or you.”
“It’s Marcus,” Angel said, her voice cutting through the room like a blade. Her hazel-green eyes flicked to Jamal and then back to Killian. “He’s the only one with the power to pull something like this off. And he’s been playing games with our lives since he showed up in the city. He's playing with us now, because if you think he doesn't know what we're doing at all times, you're wrong.”
A muscle jumped in Killian's jaw, his fingers drumming against the counter. “Aye, that’s what I’m thinking. But we need proof before we go charging into this blind. If Marcus is involved—which I can't think of any other possible explanation—he’s got a plan, and we’re already three steps behind.”
“Great,” Dae muttered from the corner, running a hand through his short, dark hair. “So we’re dealing with a djinn who can make entire planes vanish. Fantastic.”
“We need to find them,” I said, the words coming out before I could stop them. All eyes turned to me, and I felt Esme’s gaze burning into the side of my face. “I mean, there's gotta be something we can do.”
Killian’s eyes locked onto mine, his expression unreadable. “And how do you propose we do that, lad? We don’t even know where to start looking.”
The room erupted into a flurry of voices as everyone started throwing out ideas, but the truth of it was, none of us had any fucking idea what he could've done with them. They could be in another country. They could be in another dimension.
Hell, they could all be dead.