Chapter 17
Ifelt rather than saw Ray’s sudden shift into high alert. The hairs along my arms and the back of my neck rose. He was staring. No, he was glaring behind me. And whoever he was looking at, he was not a fan.
“Simone! What an unexpectedly lovely surprise.” Before I had a chance to react, Brianne’s brother-in-law Ezekiel had my hand in his.
He pressed his cold, dead lips to my skin.
I felt the slightest twitch of pain, as if he’d grazed one of those long canines of his over it.
A test, maybe. Or he’d fought the urge to bite.
Either way, it gave me the big time willies.
“Hello, Zeke.” I sent a zap of electricity along my arm, enjoying his displeased jolt, then removed my hand from his grip. “Enjoying the weather, I see.”
“I was taking a stroll through the woods and happened to see you two chatting here.” He flicked a glance in Ray’s direction. “Hello again, Ray.”
“Oh, right, you two met during the—”
I barely had time to get the words out. Ray leapt from his chair with a vicious roar and shifted. Full wolf.
Right in the middle of Illusion Square.
My heart lodged in my throat as quickly as Ray sprang from the chair.
He was on all fours and full of fur before I blinked, his muzzle in a fierce snarl that sent icy shivers down my spine.
Zeke, for his part, seemed mostly unfazed.
That is, until Ray barked. It was a short, low sound that came from his diaphragm, and it activated something fierce in his opponent.
The charming leer of seduction I hated but had grown used to disappeared from Zeke’s face.
He’d always had a clear semblance of humanity, but that was erased as the monster that lay hidden underneath slithered to the surface.
I would never again wonder about the differences between Nate and his human-feeding brethren.
I could see it now more clearly than ever.
Nate had embraced humanity. Zeke gleefully kept his demon just under the surface.
Somewhere far in the back of my mind, the place where I stored thoughts for after the crisis, I realized this was one of Brianne’s fears.
How easily she could become like Zeke, if she only allowed it. If I couldn’t help her.
A second shiver rolled through me, and I had no way to suppress it.
Stay away from her.
Whoa. Ray hadn’t spoken, not out loud, but every one of us heard the message loud and clear. It was like a projection over his head, tiny menacing closed captions that warned the vampire he was about to get ripped apart.
“I was merely saying hello, dog.” I winced at Zeke’s tone, at the undercurrents of menace and mockery.
He wasn’t afraid of Ray’s warnings. Not one bit.
There was some lore, something about vampires and werewolves being mortal enemies.
But Ray wasn’t a werewolf. He was a wolf shifter, and I was mostly sure that was just twinkly literature and not reality.
Zeke wiggled his fingers, beckoning Ray forward with nails extending into razor sharp weapons.
They could definitely slash through Ray like a hot knife through cold butter.
I didn’t want to step in. I really didn’t.
But Ray pawed the ground like he might charge, and I couldn’t be sure who would win.
Someone in the rapidly forming crowd uttered a horrified gasp.
Previously barely aware of our existence other than quick hellos, the crowd surrounding us had suddenly grown quiet, save for a few horrified gasps.
I found myself grateful for the weather.
For the way it kept away tourists. But even amongst the folks who lived here, this blatant display of the supernatural was unusual.
I had to make a choice: step in between the vampire and the angry wolf shifter, or do crowd control.
I wasn’t sure I could even manage the former.
Illusion Square always felt like my jurisdiction, so to speak, even though one of the women who ran it was a badass witch in her own right.
They didn’t need me. But I’d caused this. So I wanted to fix it.
“Everything is fine here, folks. We’ve got control of this situation.
It’s just two normal men having a normal conversation.
” I let my BMVTM grow, careful to allow it to touch only the people who were giving off holy-shit vibes.
It felt icky to mess with people’s minds, and I didn’t want to do it more than I had to.
I scanned the rows of people, grateful to see more than a few approving smiles and encouraging nods.
“You’re free to go back to your day. Have a lovely one. Watch out for that rain!”
My voice sounded far away in my head, driven back by the fear of what was about to happen. My ears were hollow and tinny, and there was not a speck of saliva left in my mouth. As the crowd, minus the women of Illusion Square, dispersed I turned my attention back to the square off.
It hadn’t progressed, thank the gods, but I wasn't sure why. Or even why it had started. During the boobicane, Zeke had gotten out of hand, and it was Heidi, one of Ray’s employees, who’d managed to keep him under control while we were all trapped in the Magnolia.
Well, with the aid of my patient Gandy’s bug brigade. Not that I wanted to think about that.
But this was next-level viciousness. Something was off.
Stay away from her, Ray said. In a moment of pure duh, I realized he’d meant me.
Was Ray protecting me from Zeke? Well, that was not necessary.
And as much as a big, strong man rendering aid to a damsel at the top of a tall tower appealed to my inner little girl, this was not the time for testosterone-fueled heroics.
With breath I could barely control, I took a step forward, my magic prepared to take over the situation if common sense didn’t work. Zeke’s eyes had grown dark, and as I moved closer, I saw they were crimson-rimmed, as if the blood he subsisted on was rising to the surface.
Ray was crouched, poised to attack, and the amused expression on Zeke’s face told me he could handle it.
Putting my hand on Zeke to soothe seemed like it would make Ray lunge.
So I put my back to Zeke, standing between them to face Ray down.
His own eyes were fierce, and they looked at me with something like shock.
“He can’t hurt me, Ray.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. “He’s not even capable of hurting me, Ray. Or you, for that matter. He’s just an old vampire.”
Behind me, Zeke let out a sound, something so close to a harrumph I knew I’d struck his fragile vampire ego. In any other situation, it might have amused me.
I kept my focus on Ray, watching the emotional transition as feral rage receded and a strange confusion replaced it. He stepped back, so quietly and completely that I felt cold air spread between us.
Ray scanned the remaining crowd, dipping his head in what might have been an apology.
The Mighty Oak rippled, and a branch slapped at the air near his rump.
He let out a sharp yip. Then, with a sorrow so intense it brought tears to my eyes, he bolted for South Bridge and disappeared into the Wanderer’s Woods.
Zeke chuckled as if he’d won. I wanted to rip his fool throat out myself. “You should leave. Take Main Street. No sense in y’all meeting in the forest, and Lord knows the sky is dark enough.”
I said it all with my back to him, signifying my lack of concern about his ability to bite or attack me. But I breathed a sigh of relief when he bid us all adieu—the bastard actually said adieu—then disappeared into the forest.
Moments later, as I righted Ray’s chair and collected the plates in apology for the chaos, the unmistakably frustrated howl of a wolf shifter shot through midday.
Worst. Date. Ever.