Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
The long dirt road seemed to stretch on forever beneath the moonlight.
Thick forest grew on either side of the path, encroaching, almost suffocating, and brimming with wildlife of the deadliest variety.
Venomous spiders, poison dart frogs, and bullet ants with a sting that felt like a flaming railroad spike being pounded into your body were only a few.
Then there were the snakes… The Costa Rican coral snake, the eyelash viper.
Spencer shuddered. Sweet Satan, how he hated snakes.
He and The Hunt for Cryptids crew had no intention of venturing into the woods on this expedition, and the snakes and insects preferred the cover of trees to the open road where they set up. Half a mile from the nearest town, there was only one predator they were concerned about tonight.
“This looks like as good a spot as any.” Alan pulled a mirror from his pocket and checked his hair. “Ready to roll?”
“I’m going to fly over the area first, make sure no jaguars are waiting to make us a meal.
” Spencer set his camera down before turning in a circle to check for humans.
This far out, this late at night, they had plenty of privacy.
But he never took chances when it came to exposing himself as a shifter.
“Pfft.” Alan waved a hand. “I can take a jaguar any day.”
“Well, I can’t,” Rebecca said. “Thanks for looking out for us, Spence.”
“My pleasure.” He called on his owl, and magic buzzed across his skin before filling his core and morphing his body.
Taking to the sky, he soared over both sides of the forest, circling the area and using his enhanced vision to scan the trees and forest floor. A jaguar’s coloring helped to camouflage it, but the eyes always glinted in the moonlight.
He spotted plenty of prey, and his owl begged to hunt. But he’d have time for that after the filming. A crow cawed from a nearby tree, and Spencer flew toward it, perching on a branch above it. He tilted his head, eyeing the animal. Strange. Crows weren’t native to this area.
“Hey, Spencer,” Alan called, an odd lilt in his voice. “You’ve got company.”
The crow squawked and shot into the night, and Spencer returned to his friends.
Holy hell. He landed on the side of the road, and Lilith squatted beside him, her smile brightening her entire face.
The same electrical sensation he’d felt in his soul the first time he met her buzzed in his core, and though he tried to stop it, the hoot reverberating in his throat sounded way too much like the word mine in his head.
“Your owl is beautiful.” The sound of her voice made his stomach flutter as if he’d sprouted a second pair of wings, only they were inside his body.
Oh, no. This was not happening. What in hell’s name was she doing here?
And why was his body…his owl…reacting this way yet again?
She was a fucking vampire, for Dracula’s sake.
He shifted to human form and smoothed his t-shirt down his chest, determined to squelch the unwanted emotions awakening within.
“Lilith,” he said curtly.
She flinched as she rose, her smile wavering for a split second before she straightened. “Spencer. I got your message.”
Alan cleared his throat, flashing a what the fuck is going on look.
Spencer turned his palms upward before focusing on Lilith. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
“Your message said you wanted to apologize. I tried the number you left, but it went straight to voicemail. I didn’t know how else to reach you, so I came to find you. As for how I got here…magic, of course. There’s more than one way in and out of The Underworld.”
“You live in The Underworld?” Rebecca gaped.
“I do.”
“Sweet! I’m Rebecca.” She shoved her hand toward Lilith, who accepted the shake.
“Nice to meet you.” Lilith turned to Alan. “And you must be Bigfoot, the star of the show. I’m Lilith.”
“You… Uh…” For the first time in Alan’s life, he was speechless.
Lilith cast her gorgeous grin toward Spencer, and his breath caught in his throat. “I’ll hear that apology now, so we can move forward with our relationship.”
“Relationsh—” His nostrils flared with his exhale. He could not have this conversation right now. “I’m working, Lilith. Text me your number, and we can talk about this when I get home.”
She flinched again, and she gazed upward, her brow pinching as her lips puckered. Why the hell did he find her expression so damn adorable? It was her magic. It had to be. Lilith was a seductress, and he wasn’t about to become her next victim.
That was what he told himself, but when her gaze met his again, something snapped inside him, and warmth bloomed in his belly before rising to his chest. She’d gone to a lot of trouble to find him. The least he could do was offer the apology she deserved.
“Give us a second, guys?”
Alan looked from Lilith to him. “Sure thing.” He nodded in the opposite direction, and Rebecca followed him down the road, leaving Spencer alone with Lilith.
She smiled tentatively before catching her bottom lip between her teeth. That little flash of fang sent blood pooling in his groin, which was so not the reaction he should have been having. Spencer did not date vampires. Hell, he’d be happy if he never dated anyone again.
“I’m sorry for leaving the way I did.” With his arms by his sides, he tapped his index fingers against his thumbs, hoping the single sentence would suffice and she’d be on her way.
She simply arched a delicate brow, and he drew in a breath, grasping for the right words that would convey his sincerity without giving her the idea he was interested.
Because he wasn’t interested, and he would keep telling himself that until he believed it.
Besides… While it was flattering that she tracked him down, the fact she was able to pull it off proved she had power and sway in The Underworld.
No telling what kind of magic she used to locate him.
“I’m sorry for being rude, but I’m not interested in dating anyone. I told you that from the beginning.”
“Then why did you ask if I was free the next day?”
“I lost myself for a moment. When I found out who you are, it snapped me back into the present, and…even if I was interested in dating, I don’t go out with vampires. No offense.”
She crossed her arms, her expression turning from amused to curious to baffled. “Why not? It’s the blood drinking, isn’t it? Do you faint at the sight of blood?”
“No, it’s not that at all. Vampires are hunters; so are owl shifters. It’s…the whole bit about you being immortal and me having the lifespan of a human.” He shrugged. “I can’t get past it.”
“That’s a minor issue that’s easily remedied.”
“I don’t want to be a vampire.”
She rested a hand on her hip. “I see.”
“I’m sorry you came all this way for an apology, but that’s all I have to offer. I should have explained things, and I didn’t. Now, I’ve got to get back to work. I assume you can find your way back home?”
She straightened her spine, lifting her chin slightly. “That’s not all I came for.”
Why was she making this so hard? “You seem like an amazing woman, but—”
“No.” She held up a finger. “Let me finish.”
He looked down the road at his friends, silhouetted against the moonlight. Alan tipped back a beer, already preparing for the show.
“I have a problem, and I think you can help me.” The crow he’d seen earlier swooped down from the sky and landed on Lilith’s shoulder.
“Don’t tell me you have some kind of power over birds.” If that were the case, he needed to fly as far away from her as possible. She was already mesmerizing without using any magic at all.
“Of course not. This is Percival, my familiar.”
He nodded at the crow. “Nice to meet you.”
“My other familiar is at home, and she’s fallen ill because of me. I didn’t want to tell you this, but I, the Queen of the Night, have become a homebody. Esther is lethargic, and she has lost her color, and if I don’t add some excitement into my life…if I don’t find a purpose soon…she’ll die.”
Spencer looked at Percival, the crow’s onyx feathers glinting blue in the moonlight, and his stomach tightened. He knew a few witches with familiars, and the animals were more than pets. They were an extension of the person.
“I didn’t know vampires had familiars.” He stroked the back of his index finger down Percival’s chest. Lilith’s breath caught, and he jerked his hand away.
“Lucifer created them to be my companions in the early years of my curse. I was the only vampire in the world for quite a while.” Her gaze grew distant as if the memory were painful. “Please, Spencer, I don’t know what else to do.”
“How can I help?”
“Let me stay. Let me watch you film your show. I’m sure being near you—” She pressed her lips together. “Being near the excitement will help. It has to.”
He drew a breath, taking in Lilith’s attire.
She wore solid black, her long-sleeved shirt and pants form-fitting, accentuating every curve.
Her black ankle boots had a rugged sole and low heel, and though it was ninety degrees and more humid than Hades’ asshole, her brow hadn’t even begun to glisten with sweat. Must be nice.
“I’m dressed for adventure.” She flashed her thousand-watt smile, and his heart felt like it stuttered.
It didn’t, of course. The muscle responsible for pumping blood through his body wouldn’t malfunction due to a beautiful woman, but the sensation was a warning sign… one he was about to choose to ignore.
He returned the smile. “You’re dressed to rob a bank.”
“Maybe we can do that tomorrow?”
He laughed. “All right, you can stay.” How could he turn her away when an animal’s life was on the line?
“Thank you, Spencer. You have no idea how much this means.”
“Stay out of the frame. Just stand behind me and keep quiet.”
“You won’t even know I’m here.”
Oh, he would know. Simply being in the vicinity of Lilith made his blood hum and his owl flutter beneath the surface. The woman was magnetic…and dangerous.