“Make it stop,” she groaned.
I smirked. “Just another minute.”
Next, I kept the first command going while also pressing for her to feel certain emotions.
Nikki was giggling uncontrollably one second, then her fangs appeared when I made her hungry, followed by a blank face when I wanted her to feel nothing.
“How?” she deadpanned.
I knelt down and pulled the energy back toward me. “Beatrix. She was able to merge the power I inherited with me. Before that, the only way I was keeping a tight hold on the magic was to keep it locked in a metaphorical box, but that also made using the power much harder.”
“I knew she’d done something, but damn girl. There was literally nothing I could do to fight back. I’m curious how Bennett would do if you tried something on him,” she said as I helped her up.
Yeah, so was I, considering how well that worked on her.
“So, you can make me do and feel whatever you want. What else?” she asked as she finished getting dressed.
“Tell me, how many surfaces in this room did you christen last night?” I asked.
Nikki’s eyes roamed the room. “Six not including the bathroom.” Then, she glared at me. “Okay, and you can make people answer you with the truth. Though, I would have told you anyway, so that was sort of cheating.”
I grinned and retook my seat at the small table. “I know you would have, which is why I asked. I’d never make you tell me something you normally wouldn’t feel comfortable with.”
She sat across from me. “You’re getting soft. I like it. I mean, I liked the you when you arrived, but now you’re like a mix of me and Rachel. Which is more fun, because I’m never certain of what you’ll do, like when Maciah was being a jerk in the meeting yesterday.”
I nodded, not really wanting to talk about that in the house. “Well, at least we’re moving past that. Mostly.”
“Did Rachel and Zeke leave to go pick up Sam and the wolves yet?” Nikki asked.
“Yeah, right before I came in here, but I don’t want to talk about them.” I leaned back in my chair and grinned. “I take it things are going well between you and Bennett? Possibly even picking up right where they left off?”
Nikki took the seat across from me, grinning like a fool. “Yes and no. I threatened him with castration if he ever attempted to ‘protect me’ again by leaving, then proceeded to list off all the ways I’d learned to kill someone since we last saw each other. Only when I had him inching for the door did I let him know we could start over.”
I shook my head, chuckling. “And by starting over, you mean you finished making up by having wild sex all over your room?”
She shrugged. “That’s how we started out the first time. Why not the second as well? It was an instant attraction when I met him all those years ago. As soon as I had pushed the guilt of wanting someone other than the husband who thought I was dead out of my mind, I made sure Bennett knew I wanted him back then.”
There was a happiness in her voice I hadn’t heard before. Nikki deserved that, and I was glad she’d talked to Bennett instead of pushing him away.
“Want to go beat the hell out of each other outside?” I asked. There wasn’t much that we could talk about truthfully inside the house anymore. At least not until after tonight if all went as Maciah had planned.
“Abso-freakin-lutely,” Nikki replied, just as I knew she would.
CHAPTER 19
Poor Nikki. I really did love her, but she no longer believed me when I said it.
We ended up outside in the front yard as planned, but instead of fighting fair, I used my now-easily-accessible abilities to make sure she didn’t stand a chance against me, like making her think her legs were noodles when she tried to kick me or that there were spiders crawling all over her when she was running.
“You’re kicked out of the womance,” Nikki huffed as she wiped grass from her leggings.
“You can’t do that. Once I’m in, there’s no removing me until I’m dead,” I joked.
She sneered at me. “Maybe that can be arranged.”
I walked toward her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Oh, come on. We’re just having fun.”
Nikki’s elbow crunched at least two of my ribs. “Now we’re both having fun.”
I winced, backing away and ready to go again, but the front door opened just as the Range Rover stopped at the end of the driveway.
Maciah gestured for us to follow him and all joking around ended. He had the vial from Beatrix that would take down our only protection. I knew what he was hoping for, but I was worried about things backfiring on us. There was a possibility that we were preparing for something bigger than we could handle.
Regardless, we raced ahead to the property line, and I glanced up at Maciah. “Are you sure about this?”
He uncorked the bottle. “Positive. If we want to keep control, this is the only way.”
Nikki and I watched as Maciah threw the potion at the shield. There was a puff of smoke where the glass shattered against the magical surface, and we each took a few steps backward. Then, the opaque shield shimmered brighter prior to bursting into tiny sparks of nothing that disappeared before they even hit the ground.
“Looks like one of you bloodsuckers when you die,” a female I presumed to be Sam said as she walked toward us.
She was petite, but there were defined muscles lining her exposed arms and legs. Her white-blonde hair was cut short, falling just past her ears, and she had piercing bright-blue eyes that focused on each of us once she stepped past where the barrier had been.
“I’m Sam.” She held her hand out to me.
I took it, unsurprised when she squeezed harder than necessary. “Thanks for joining us, Sam. I’m Amersyn.”
Her eyes roamed over me before she nodded, then addressed Maciah. “There will be another twenty between our pack and the one we’ve partnered with that will show up tomorrow. They’re driving over while we get things set up for them here.” She nodded toward the tree line. “Are we good out there?”
Maciah nodded. “Absolutely. Do you need anything? You mentioned they’d have their own tents, right? Regardless, our house is open to you any time of the day or night.”
“We won’t need anything from your nest, but the offer is appreciated. The arriving wolves will have everything we need to stay for as long as you need us,” Sam said, losing some of the attitude she had arrived with.
Zeke and Rachel had gone up to park the vehicle with the other shifters still in the car, but they were headed our way now and—mother eff—wolves were big.
There were three men with Rachel and Zeke. Each of them was over six feet tall with wide shoulders, dressed in dark clothing. They were certainly going to be helpful, as long as their wolves were stronger than the vampires we’d be facing.
Sam pointed to each of the men as they approached. “That’s Collin, Paul, and Rich.” They each waved as their names were called. “We’re staying in the forest out there,” Sam said to them, and they nodded before backing up and…
Mother effer. They shifted right next to us.
I’d been in the know about shifters since shortly after I learned vampires were real, but I’d never actually seen one change from human to beast. Seeing them in action had my pulse quickening.
Their bodies vibrated with tangible energy, then in the next second, they were on four legs without a shred of clothing to be seen.
“Cool, isn’t it?” Nikki asked.
I shrugged, not wanting to seem like a fangirl. “Sure.”
Two black wolves and one brown one headed toward the forest, running casually as if a human potentially seeing them wasn’t a concern.
“Care to come in?” Maciah asked Sam.
Rachel nodded eagerly. “Yes, please do. We’d love to visit longer.”
Well, at least Rachel wasn’t jealous of the she-wolf any longer. That was going to make things a lot easier.
“I really shou
ld be with my pack. I’ll let you know when the rest arrive,” Sam said, then turned to shift. Her wolf was tan with darker brown paws and was ridiculously quick as she charged after the others.
“I wouldn’t mind going on a run. We’ve been cooped up for days. Anyone else up for it?” I asked, hoping to get the last of the details from Maciah about what to expect moving forward.
“Now is probably the best time,” Maciah answered, glancing back at the house.
“I’m going to find Bennett, but you guys have fun,” Nikki said, then disappeared toward the porch.
“You guys in?” I asked Rachel and Zeke.
Rachel nodded. “Always.”
We took off opposite from the forest, so the wolves could settle in. They weren’t putting off vibes of being super comfortable around us with how quickly they’d headed toward the trees, but that didn’t bother me. They’d shown up, and that was most important.
Another minute or so later, we were several miles away from the house and standing at the edge of a park already filled with children and parents for the morning.
“Maybe not the best spot,” I said, looking around.
“We won’t be here long,” Maciah said, pulling me to his side.
The moment his arm wrapped around me, my insides softened and I leaned into him, fitting perfectly against his side.
“So, are there any other surprises, or do you have a solid plan in place?” I asked.
“We’re going to talk about people arriving to help tomorrow and throughout the week. I believe if Viktor thinks we’re gathering an army, then he will act quickly, as in tonight, to avoid dealing with the pack of wolves Nikki will now go mention to Bennett inside the house. In return, Bennett will then tell her that his help is a day behind and won’t be arriving when we expected, but that instead of only a few vampires, we can expect a couple dozen showing up in just another day or two.”
“I like this plan. If we can get him to come here, then we’ll have the upper hand,” I said.
“It’s not if but when. Viktor will come to us. It’s just a gamble hoping he does so tonight,” Zeke said.
“Any idea who might be relaying information to him yet?” Rachel asked.
Maciah glowered. “No, but once Viktor is dealt with, if the answer still isn’t clear, then Amersyn can force the truth out of whoever is responsible.”
I grinned, liking that idea, but also finally seeing the true value in having not done so yet. Maciah had been coming up with ideas as things changed, and he’d made a solid plan, one I was ready to see come to fruition.
“So, we just go back to the house and talk about all the help we’re going to have and hope for the best? What if Viktor has too many vampires with him and the four wolves waiting to help aren’t enough?” Rachel asked next.
“The vampires Bennett is telling Nikki about, hopefully right now, are already on their way. They’ll stay in the forest until Bennett calls for them. The wolves are already aware that they’ll have company, but both groups know to give each other space,” Maciah answered.
“I feel good about this. Even if they don’t show up tonight, we’re still going to be ready for them,” I said.
“How did practicing with Nikki go?” Maciah asked me.
“Really well. I was able to do several controls at once with little effort.”
“Try it on me again,” Zeke suggested, likely because he’d been the only one to really break through my ability before.
My eyes met his and I smirked, waiting for the reaction I was hoping for.
Several tears slipped down his cheeks, and he looked at Rachel. “I’m so sorry.”
Her eyes widened. “For what?”
“I have no idea,” he mumbled through the tears.
Maciah tugged on my arm. “That’s probably enough now.”
“Is it, though?” I joked as I pulled the power back.
Zeke straightened and hissed at me. “I thought we were friends.”
“I thought you might be stronger than my mind control.”
Rachel covered her mouth, trying and failing to stifle her laughter.
“Maybe we should head back now,” Maciah suggested.
“You don’t want to test these superpowers out more than once?” I asked with a smirk.
He shook his head and grabbed my hand. “No, I think we’re good here. We’ll be ready for Viktor. Hopefully tonight. We have Beatrix’s potions. Amersyn has full control over her abilities. We have help that nobody else knows about.”
“We’re going to beat him,” Zeke said, nodding at everything Maciah said.
More than anything else in the world, I hoped they were right. I had all the faith, but I wasn’t stupid. Anything could happen, and Viktor had been waiting for this moment a lot longer than us.
He wasn’t going to go down easily, but neither was I.
CHAPTER 20
We got back to the house to find Nikki on the couch with Bennett. I hadn’t really been able to talk to him, and that didn’t sit well with me, especially knowing that Nikki had fully forgiven him.
I went to the kitchen and grabbed a few bottles of blood, setting the extras on the coffee table, then perched on the arm of the couch next to him. “So, Bennett. Tell me about yourself?” I asked casually.
Maciah cleared his throat, pulling me from my spot and toward another chair. “This isn’t necessary.”
“Maybe not to you. You’re welcome to go do whatever it is you do when you’re not doing me while I do what I want.”
Nikki choked on the blood she was drinking. “Warn a girl before you say something like that next time.”
I shrugged and grinned as Maciah sighed, taking a seat and directing me to sit with him.
Rachel and Zeke joined us. “What did I miss?” Rachel asked.
“Just Amersyn talking about all the sex she has with Maciah,” Nikki answered.
“Oh. We already know about that. Carry on,” Rachel replied, earning me a glare from Maciah.
I rolled my eyes at him. “It’s not like I kiss and tell. They can hear us.” Then, I gave a pointed stare at the rest of them. “Just like we can hear them.”
Rachel’s hands shot up, covering her face as she buried herself into Zeke’s chest. He merely grinned proudly while Nikki laughed and Bennett remained a statue.
Meanwhile, Maciah sighed at my antics, but he said nothing more, because I was right and he knew it. Plus, I was no longer embarrassed talking about our relationship. Accepting there was little to no privacy in this world had been a lot easier once I became a vampire and realized it was also easy to tune out the sounds you really didn’t want to hear. Like your friends having sex.
“As I was wondering, who are you, Bennett?” I asked him again since he’d remained quiet throughout the whole interaction.
He had that whole passive vibe going with a heavy dose of I-will-kill-you-without-thinking-twice look in his shadowy maroon eyes. The long, dirty blond hair added to his appeal, and I understood why Nikki had fallen for him in the first place.
“I’m a vampire,” he answered nonchalantly.
I gasped, then deadpanned, “Really? I had no clue.”
He smirked at me, the first bit of emotion I’d seen on him besides when he was looking at Nikki. “Where did you find this one?” Bennett asked Maciah.
“In an alley, killing vampires,” Maciah answered.
Zeke grunted. “She even stabbed me that night.”
Bennett raised a brow. “And you still brought her into the nest?”
I snapped my fingers. “Hey. This isn’t about me. This is about you. The guy who disappeared for five years and shows up out of nowhere.”
Bennett’s eyes narrowed and jaw tightened. Good. I’d struck a nerve. That was my intention. I may have wanted Nikki to forgive him for her own happiness, but this guy had also hurt my Maciah. I wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily. Bennett just needed to be thankful I wasn’t using my ability to force what I wanted to know
out of him. That was a line I was pretty sure Maciah and Nikki wouldn’t let me cross.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said quietly.
I leaned forward, giving Bennett my full attention and making sure I had his, because I only wanted to say this once. “You’re right. I don’t know, but what I do know is that I’m here now and I care about the people in this room. If you attempt to leave again, I will hunt you down. You won’t hurt them again.”
Bennett let emotions slip from him, lowering his guard for the first time. Regret, grief, and hope were the three most prominent as our gazes remained locked.
“I have no intention of parting from this nest again,” Bennett said evenly, truth bleeding from his words.
“Good to know,” I said, drawing back and leaning against Maciah before deciding to add one final threat for good measure. “I’d help Nikki turn you to ash if you do.”
He nodded and grabbed Nikki’s hand. “I won’t give her a reason to ask that of you.”
I crossed my arms and smirked. “She won’t have to ask.”
Nikki grinned at me, but pressed closer to Bennett, whispering something to him as Maciah’s lips pressed to my ear. “That wasn’t necessary, but thank you for caring.”
His tone was low and only meant for me, but I shrugged him off, not wanting to make a big deal about the conversation as long as my point was made and understood.
“Now, when are these friends of yours showing up? Tonight, tomorrow, next week?” I asked Bennett next, wanting to get more of our show going now that I’d said my piece with him.
“They’ll be here tomorrow, and like the wolves, they’ll stay as long as needed,” Bennett answered.
“The wolves are on track as well. They might even be bringing in another pack we didn’t count on, which will be nice,” Zeke said.
“We just need to keep a rotation of people watching the roads for incoming threats. Eddie is outside now, but we should probably have a few of us out there at a time,” Maciah added.
Vampire Vow (Scorned by Blood Book 3) Page 13
