“Not all,” I remind them. “Someone’s alive. But they aren’t in here.”
Turning, we leave the dead behind and head for the opposite end of the house. After confirming it’s empty, we head up the massive staircase, taking each step carefully. If the heartbeat belongs to a supernatural, chances are they already know we’re here, but even knowing that still doesn’t mean I want to bring attention to myself.
The first door on the right is a bedroom. Based on the gowns hanging in the closet, the various bottles of perfume and makeup on the dresser, and the familiar scent, I would say this was where they held Willa Akacheta prior to her escape.
And fuck, isn’t it a good thing she wasn’t here for whatever the hell this was?
Further down are a few more bedrooms, and finally, we reach a massive wooden door. The heartbeat is strong here, telling us all that whoever survived the carnage downstairs—or caused it—is behind the door.
Gripping the handle, I shove the door open and am met with the business end of a revolver. I lunge to the side as a gunshot rings out. Unfortunately, the fucking bullet still hits me in the arm. Pain surges through my bicep, but I lunge to the side as Elijah rolls, and Fearghas disappears, only to reappear directly behind the blood-covered man seated behind the desk.
“You’re going to want to put that down,” he warns, his own blade pressed against the man’s throat.
“Fearghas, I didn’t realize it was you.” He sets the gun on top of the table, and the fae lifts it and sticks it into the waistband of his slacks.
“Henry.” He releases the man as Elijah comes to stand beside me.
“Are you okay?” he asks, reaching for my arm.
I study the wound and breathe a sigh of relief. “It’s just a graze. I’m fine.”
“You’re fucking lucky, wolf,” Elijah growls, and the man Fearghas called Henry barks out a humorless laugh.
“Lucky? That’s what you want to call me?” His face reddens. “Did you not see the carnage downstairs?” he roars, tears filling his eyes.
“What happened?” I ask, taking a step forward now that the immediate danger has been resolved.
“Witches.” The word is spat out in complete disgust. “They spelled me, made it so I can’t shift, and then turned their attention on my pack. They killed themselves, each other, it was a fucking bloodbath, all while they forced me to watch.”
I stiffen, the explanation of what took place entirely too similar to what Eira described.
“How many witches were here?” Elijah questions, obviously picking up on my thoughts.
“Over a dozen.” He sniffles, pouring brandy from a crystal bottle into a glass. “They were all following the orders of one though,” he growls. “I’ll never forget that bitch.”
“Red hair? Accent?” I hold my breath as I await his answer.
Finally, he nods.
“Heather.”
At my mention of her name, Henry glares up at me. “You know her?”
“I want to kill her,” I reply. “How did they make it so you can’t shift?”
“They came out of nowhere.” He chokes on a sob. “My son. We were going to put my son to rest now that the mourning period is over.”
“Would that be the son who was supposed to marry Willa?”
He glares up at me, but it lacks heat. Then he nods. “Phillip was a fool,” Henry replies. “But he was my son, and I only wanted him to be happy.”
“Of course,” I reply dryly. “What parent wouldn’t kidnap a young woman and force her into marriage to appease their son?”
“Haven’t I suffered enough?” he growls at me.
“Answer her question,” Fearghas replies. “How did they keep you from shifting?”
He shuts his eyes tightly as tears slip down his cheeks. This man has been rumored to be ruthless—evil even. To see him so broken down, I can’t help but feel bad for him. After all, losing everyone you love is not a feeling unknown to me.
Eyes opening, he shakes his head. “I don’t know. It was strange. They came in, and the red-haired woman—Heather—asked to talk to me alone. She said she had something important to discuss, so I agreed. We went into the hall. Before I could react, she kissed me.” Brow furrowed, he relives the night all over again as he tells us. “Then, I heard the screaming. I started to run in,” he chokes out, “to help them, but she grabbed me and told me I wasn’t to shift or interfere in any way. That this was my punishment for thinking I could have control of her city.” He covers his mouth with the back of his shaking hand. “She made me watch. They tore each other apart. The screams, they were deafening.”
Shoulders shaking, he falls forward, forehead onto the desk.
“Succubus magic,” I state the obvious. The kiss tipped it off. “The bitch is trying to strong-arm her way into power.”
“Over a dozen witches, that’s a hell of a lot of power,” Elijah adds. “Where the hell did she get that many followers?”
“The same way perhaps?” Fearghas offers.
“Possibly.” I step around the desk and kneel beside the once terrifying head of the Drake family. “We are going to kill her,” I tell him. “She will pay for what she did here.”
He sits up and stares at me with grief-stricken eyes. “I want to help.”
“That’s going to depend on how you answer my next question.” Straightening, I stare down at him, ready to strike if need be.
I don’t give a shit what he saw if he sent those hunters after Jack.
“What?”
“Think carefully, Henry, and don’t lie to me.” I pause as I choose the best way to phrase my question. “Have you had any contact with hunters lately? Anyone you alerted about the man Willa ran off with?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to me,” I warn again.
“I told Willa and Jack Keller that they would not face any harm by my hands. I haven’t had time to have contact with anyone because I’ve been busy making preparations for the son the hunter slaughtered.”
“You sound pretty damn pissed to me,” Fearghas adds. “Sure you had nothing to do with it?”
Henry glares up at him. “Jack Keller killed my son, and I let him go. I did so because Phillip was unstable on his best day, and I chose not to start a war between my pack and hunters.”
“Jack was attacked earlier today.” Elijah’s voice is low, dangerous. “By a group of hunters who somehow discovered his relationship with the shifter. According to them, you are the only one with knowledge of that, so why would they come here if you hadn’t let word out?”
“I assure you, Hunter, it was not me.”
“If it was, I will find out and I will kill you,” I warn. “Until then, you’re more than welcome to help us with Heather.”
He starts to get up, but I shake my head. “We’ll call you when we need you.” I turn to leave, and Henry clears his throat.
“You’re Rainey Astor,” he says.
Turning to face him, I see a bit more steel in him than before, and honestly, I’m not sure that’s a good thing. “I am.”
Nodding, he walks around the desk. “You know what it feels like to lose loved ones.”
I swallow hard. “I do.”
“Then you can understand the difficult decision I made to allow the man who killed my son to walk freely.”
I think of Cole. Of how technically, he was the one who dealt the killing blow to Delaney. I also realize I feel no anger toward him. What he did was not his own choice, and yet killing Phillip Draco was Jack’s decision. Not that I blame him, just putting things into perspective. “I do.”
“I would not have brought any harm to Willa or Jack. I will await your call.” He takes a seat back down behind his desk and pours himself another glass of whiskey as we let ourselves out.
Without another word, Fearhgas takes my hand and clasps his other on Elijah’s shoulder, and we leave the Drake estate behind.
23
Elijah
“This fucker.” Jack tries to sit
up, but Willa shoves him back down.
“Stop moving.”
He glares at her though it lacks any real heat. Beside me, Rainey chokes down a laugh. “Henry said he didn’t call them in,” I tell him.
“Do you believe him?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
She shrugs. “Because I don’t think he had time to tell anyone. Do I think if his pack wasn’t murdered he would have let you live peacefully? Hell, no. But I think things have shifted now. He watched everyone he loved being slaughtered. I think that even if he did, he’s paid the price.”
“He’s still an asshole,” Jack grumbles as he lies back on the couch.
Watching the hunter have his side blown open with a shotgun was a hell of a lot more disconcerting than I originally thought it would be. Either I’m starting to soften toward the man I once wanted to shred, or I’m just exhausted with the thought of Rainey losing people she cares about.
Honestly? I think it’s both.
“So there’s a shit ton of hunters in Billings, and they’re all gunning for me? Perfect.”
“For us,” Willa adds.
The door opens, and Josiah rushes in, flanked by Cole and another shifter I haven’t met yet. “Willa, thank God. You’re okay?”
“I’m fine. It wasn’t me who was shot.”
“Jack.” The relief in Josiah’s voice at the hunter’s survival is palpable.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been shot,” he grumbles. “But I will admit that having my side completely blown to shit is a new one.”
“Call me when you’re nearly beat to death in an alley,” Rainey jokes.
I glare at her, and she shrugs. “Apparently, we’re not joking about that yet.”
“We’re never joking about that,” I clarify.
“Who did this?” Josiah demands.
“We thought perhaps Henry Drake had something to do with it.”
As soon as Rainey mentions the Drake patriarch, Josiah growls, his hands elongating into claws before he takes a deep breath and calms himself.
“He didn’t, Dad.” Willa fills him in on everything Rainey and I told her, and the man sighs, sitting on the edge of the couch at Jack’s feet.
“That’s awful, I couldn’t even imagine. Losing everyone like that. Even if he is a bastard, that’s just—”
“Horrible,” Willa finishes his sentence.
Josiah nods sadly. “I will reach out to Henry, see if he wishes to take a place within our pack.”
“You would do that?” I’m surprised by the wolf’s kindness, especially given the fact that Henry kidnapped and had every intention of enforcing the arranged marriage between Phillip and Willa.
“At one point, Henry and I were friends. It’s how our children became betrothed.” He reaches over and takes Willa’s hand. “While I will never forgive him for what he did to my family, I can offer him safe haven during this time. I would wish for the same if he were me.”
“You’re a better man than I am,” I admit easily. There’s no way in hell I would make that choice. Maybe it’s my long life—the way I’ve realized, time and time again, that people don’t change—but I wouldn’t trust the Drake patriarch anywhere near me.
“Do you know who killed his pack?” Josiah asks us.
“Heather,” Rainey replies tightly. Every time she mutters the witch’s name, I can feel the anger—the rage barely muted beneath her forced smile. “I can’t wait to bury my blade in that bitch’s black heart.”
The shift from the woman who’d once told me how she hated her legacy, how she despised the killing, is surprising. Even given the horrible atrocities some of the supernaturals commit, Rainey never took pleasure in the killing.
With everything Heather has done, she deserves no mercy, and I hate to admit that I’m grateful Rainey will deal none out when it comes to her. There will certainly be no hesitation from me.
“We’ll figure out who brought the hunters,” Rainey promises Jack. “But you need to stay hidden. Both of you do.”
“Yeah, yeah, easy for you to say. Your bloodsucker turned into a hunter. You got to break the rules and still eat your cake. It’s horseshit.”
Unable to keep the grin from my face, I glance over at Rainey, who’s watching Jack with total and complete amusement. “Breaking the rules was definitely a fun part.” She reaches for my hand, and I take it without hesitation. “We’ll be around if you need us.”
We step out into the hall, closing the door softly behind us.
“That shows some pretty epic character for Josiah,” Rainey comments as soon as we’re securely in our room.
“I agree even if I do think it’s foolish.”
“You don’t believe he should offer a safe haven?” She turns toward me.
“Fuck no.”
Rainey lets out a breath and nods. “Neither do I. I know I told him he can help with Heather, but we need to keep a close eye on him. On the off chance he’s still under her influence.”
“Exactly,” I agree.
“I feel bad for Jack and Willa—for what they’re going through. Even as I’m grateful it’s not us.” She winces. “Does that make me a bad person?”
“We faced more than our fair share of murder attempts. I say it’s not selfish at all to be grateful we’re no longer the target.”
“At least not for now.”
“At least not for now,” I agree.
“Do you ever think about how short life can be?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Short? You do realize I’ve been alive for over four centuries.”
“And even another four would be too short.” She goes up on her tiptoes, and I lean down to meet her lips.
Soft lips I will never get enough of.
“I have a surprise for you,” I murmur as I pull back and run my palm over the side of her face.
“What’s that?”
“Come here.” I pull her toward the bathroom. Releasing her hand, I crank on the shower and turn back toward her. “Get in, and I’ll be back.”
“You’re always trying to get me naked.”
“And that will never stop.” I grip the back of her neck and yank her toward me, crushing my mouth to hers in a bruising kiss that leaves us both breathless. Then, I pull back and smack her right on the ass. “Now, go get a shower, and don’t come out until I say so.”
“What do you have planned?” She narrows her gaze on mine, and I shake my head.
“Not saying. It’s a surprise. Just stay put.”
“Fine.” She reaches for her shirt and pulls it up over her head. The sight of her breasts barely covered by black lace makes me groan. It takes all my self-control to remind myself what my plan is and why it can’t also consist of naked, soap-covered Rainey.
“Sure you don’t want to stay?”
“I already showered. Remember what I said. Wait until I say so.”
“You’ve got it.”
Quickly, I make my way to the kitchen and grab one of the dozen bags of Skittles I stashed in Tarnley’s pantry. Then, I toss a bag of popcorn into the microwave. It feels like it takes forever for the damn kernels to pop, but finally, they finish, so I dump them into a bowl and grab two root beers—Rainey’s favorite soda, according to Jane—and head back down the hall toward the bedroom.
I’m just walking in as the shower turns off.
“Give me a few minutes!” I call out as I fumble with the doors of the armoire and the remote Jane showed me how to use that morning while Rainey was still sleeping.
After pressing an array of buttons and becoming incredibly frustrated, I finally find the picture I’m searching for.
“Bout damn time,” I murmur.
“Everything okay?” Rainey calls out. “I do need clean clothes.” Her amusement is evident, so I grab a long shirt and shove it through a small crack in the door.
“Get dressed and count to ten before you come out.”
“Okay.”
I’ve never gone on a d
ate with a human. Hell, I’ve never done anything like the humans would. My dates never consisted of movie nights, and the thought of binge-eating buttery kernels while curled in bed with Rainey is far more terrifying than actually taking her somewhere. Somehow, it feels like the stakes are higher.
Why? Who the fuck knows, but by the time Rainey starts counting, my stomach is in knots, and I feel pathetic.
“Ten,” she starts. “Nine.”
Popcorn near the bed.
“Eight.”
Soda’s on the nightstands. Skittles on her side of the bed.
“Seven.”
Reaching beneath the bed, I grab the candles Jane stashed for me.
“Six.”
Lighting them swiftly, I set one on each nightstand and the other three on the dresser. I barely manage to set the last one down and turn off the light when Rainey announces that she’s coming out.
Her eyes widen when she takes in the scene, and I hold my breath, waiting for her response. Is she going to laugh at me? Tell me how stupid it is that we’re taking this time with so much going on?
Instead, she turns to me, eyes glossy, and smiles so fucking brightly I’m sure I’ll go blind.
“You said you wanted to have a movie night. Back on that first morning after Salem.”
She nods. “Mr. and Mrs. Smith style, I remember.” Her eyes travel over the snacks, the candles, and to the movie. “And you’ve got it.”
“I wanted to do something normal for you.”
She moves further into the room, the long nightshirt falling just to her thighs. Hair wet from her shower, it falls heavily over her shoulders.
“Do you like it?” I ask, needing to hear from her that this wasn’t a completely idiotic idea.
“Like it?” She meets my eyes. “Elijah, I love it. I can’t—” she trails off, voice cracking with emotion. “It’s the best thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Releasing the breath I was holding, I pull the covers back on the bed so she can slide into the silk. Then, I hand her the Skittles and soda before heading to my side. After stripping off my shirt, I climb in beside her and put the popcorn between us.
“I love you,” she says softly.
I meet her eyes. “I love you too.” Clearing my throat, I wrap an arm around her shoulders so she can nestle against my side. “Now, let’s see what Mr. and Mrs. Smith style is, and whether or not it’s something we should attempt to recreate.”
Blood Cure: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (Vampire Huntress Chronicles Book 3) Page 15
