Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Zack
The vampire bitch zooms away from the house and I growl, frustrated. I’m in no shape to give chase and neither is Moretti or Santiago. The witch whips out her phone and calls someone. She nods quietly as she listens and then hangs up without a word.
Grandfather doesn’t even blink. He’s fully focused on Samantha and I force myself to let it go. One problem at a time. I turn my focus back to Samantha and grind my teeth. There’s strain evident in every muscle, like she’s fighting an internal battle.
Santiago’s expression is bleak when he carries her back to the house.
Silently, we all follow them inside and once again I find myself on the couch.
The ache in my leg is demanding my attention now that things are winding down.
The witch looks me over, then digs something from her purse, and hesitates before walking over.
“Here,” she says and holds out a small bottle.
“What is that?” I ask suspiciously.
“It should help with your leg,” she replies.
“Why are you giving it to me?” I’m not a big fan of witches and this one is probably the one who caused Samantha to flip out.
She squares her shoulders. “Samantha is under The Coven’s protection. I’m here to look after her interests on behalf of The Coven.”
“How—”
“Just take your medicine, Zacky,” Grandfather cuts in.
The witch glances over at Samantha, who is whimpering in Santiago’s arms.
“I think your pain is affecting her. This should help,” she says and there’s a pleading note in her tone.
Grandfather looks like he’s ready to thump some sense into my thick skull, so I reach for the bottle and drain it in one go. The relief is immediate and the tension drains from my body. Some of Samantha’s whimpering eases too and we sigh deeply at the same time.
“Thank you,” I say.
“You’re welcome,” she replies and looks relieved.
“Sophie, I appreciate The Coven helping my grandson,” Grandfather says, all formal.
“Don’t mention it, Lord Courtkenay,” she says, but the blush on her cheeks shows that she’s pleased.
“Someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Santiago looks from the witch to me to my grandfather. Just then, Rafael’s phone rings and he picks it up without looking. The cursing that comes from the other end is very easy to hear.
“You fucking imbecilic vampire,” a woman shouts. “You didn’t tell me she’s awake!”
“Thea—”
“I’ll brew your blood into potions and hex your fate. I’ll ground your fangs to dust! I’ll—”
“She’s hurt,” Rafael roars, cutting her off.
“What?!”
Santiago moves to take Samantha when Rafael motions to him, then the vamp walks out of the room. The witch looks pale and Grandfather stoic, but there’s a glint in his eyes.
Samantha takes a couple of shuddering breaths and whispers, “Was that Thea?”
“I think so, Ms. Ramsey,” Grandfather replies to her. “You have some very powerful friends.”
“Huh?”
“Since when is Samantha under our protection?” I ask Grandfather at the same time.
“When The Coven calls in a favor, you don’t refuse,” he replies, but again there’s that glint in his eyes. “And since I was already on my way to check on you after the pack informed me about your injury, it wasn’t a hardship to make a little detour.”
“She threatened to curse my bloodline if I didn’t make it here on time,” the witch whispers, her voice a mix of awe and fear. “I’ve never been tasked by The Coven before.”
Just when I’m about to reply, a pair of ghosts, or prisms—I’m not a fucking afterlife expert—pop into the room. They look around and then move to hover around Samantha. One of them disappears and reappears.
Even Grandfather looks a bit shaken when the ghosts sprinkle some herb in a circle around Samantha. Then they hand the witch a little pouch and disintegrate.
“It seems The Coven called in all kinds of favors for you, Ms. Ramsey,” Grandfather says. “I look forward to figuring out why.”
“That’s a protective herb circle,” the witch says as she opens the pouch. “And this is a spirit-cleansing potion. I need to make a tea.”
“If… if that was Thea, she is—was—is my best friend,” Samantha says. She’s looking faint but relatively clear-headed. “And I’d very much like to know what the hell is going on.”
“Thea is on her way. She’ll be here in a couple of days,” Rafael says as he walks back into the room. I swear his ears are red. He locks eyes with Samantha. “You woke up sooner than we anticipated, so she’s out of the country, but she’s coming.”
“Thea? Thea is coming? For real? But what about—” Samantha babbles, while Moretti tries to keep up with replies.
Grandfather clears his throat. “Now, Zacky, I need to be going. I trust that you can look after Courtkenay interests regarding Ms. Ramsey,” he says.
“What about the pack?” I want to leap at the chance to stick to Samantha’s side, but Henry is in no condition to lead and we have a monster to hunt.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll head over there and stay until one of your brothers has time to come over. Ms. Ramsey’s safety is one of our top priorities.”
“Of course, Grandfather.” I don’t need to ask why because you just don’t mess with The Coven. And besides, this assignment is no hardship from where I’m standing.
“Good. We are going to have a discussion once I have the pack under control. I trust you to keep the communication open. No need for any unnecessary confrontations.”
Cold fingers run down my spine. Grandfather is clearly expecting there to be a confrontation of some kind, but between whom? There’s something more to all of this. Why is The Coven so interested in Samantha? And who is this Thea?
“I already made sure the pack has Mr. Moretti’s and Santiago’s contact information. Mine too,” I say and Grandfather nods.
“Good.” He turns to the vampires. “Mr. Moretti. Mr. Wacerra.”
They pause their hushed conversation.
“Lord Courtkenay,” Moretti says.
“I’ll trust you to keep her safe. My grandson is officially representing our interests in the matter from here on out.”
“Understood, Lord Courtkenay.”
“Walk me outside, Sophie,” Grandfather says as the witch walks back into the room with a steaming mug.
“Of course,” she says. “Please make sure Ms. Ramsey drinks this while it’s still hot.” She hands the mug to Moretti and follows Grandfather out of the room.
Samantha sighs, pulling my attention back to her. She takes a sip and I don’t know what I expected, but her convulsing in Santiago’s hold isn’t it. The pained whine breaks my heart.