Burning

by Carrillo, K. D.

  "Okay, but if she starts flirting with you..."

  Dean kissed the side of my head. "I know. You'll tear her throat out," he teased.

  "Just as long as you know," I answered seriously.

  "Do we sit and wait for them to find us or do we hunt them?" Chloë asked the rest of us.

  "I don't think hunting them will help us. We need to end them without exposing ourselves. The only choice we have is to dig in and ambush them when they do discover us here. We don't have to be sitting ducks just because we are bait," Cooper piped in.

  "I'm game. How do we manage that?" Finn asked.

  "Simple. We force them to expose themselves without revealing who we are," Grey responded, smiling a sharp smile.

  "And if that doesn't work?" Chloë asked skeptically.

  "We tear their throats out," Grey and I said at the same time.

  "Are we done here?" Dean asked, agitated.

  I looked up at him curiously. His gaze was zeroed in on his cousin. Cooper had taken an unconscious step toward the door. Cooper blinked rapidly, exiting his magical fog. He nervously scratched his head.

  "Uh, I think I better get out of here," he stammered.

  "We have some things to discuss," Dean announced and tossed me over his shoulder.

  I looked up from his back. "Talk to you guys tomorrow," I said as we left.

  "No we won't. We're busy tomorrow. There is something we need to take care of before all of this craziness begins," Dean told me on our way down the hall.

  "What are you planning?" I asked.

  "We're going to Vegas," he said simply.

  "I'm sorry, what?" I shrieked.

  "You and I are getting married tomorrow." He set me down and looked in my face. His eyebrow cocked up, daring me to contradict him.

  I propped my right hand on my elbow and looked at my left hand. "I think you are forgetting something," I prompted.

  Dean chuckled and walked to his nightstand. When he returned to me, he went down on one knee. His grin turned mischievous, and he held out a small, black box.

  I held my breath. I mean, I knew he was proposing. Hell, I'd already kinda said yes, but I was still really nervous. He opened the lid and I saw the one-carat princess-cut diamond surrounded by tiny, black diamonds.

  "Anita, you are my light in the darkness. I've had a good life, but I wasn't really living until I saw you last fall. I was happy, but I never knew true happiness until the first time we kissed. I don't care that other people think we don't make sense. I love you, but even that word seems weak. You are the other half of my soul. I'm not asking you to marry me because I can't live without you. I'm not giving you the option of saying no. We are getting married tomorrow because I honestly can't live another day without you as my wife."

  He waited, looking up at me. I smiled at him, but he kept waiting.

  "Aren't you going to say something?" he asked, worried.

  "You didn't ask me a question," I answered with a smile. "Obviously I'm going to marry you. I'm crazy about you too, and you told me we were getting married," I finished.

  Dean cocked his head and looked puzzled. "Just like that, you're giving in?"

  "Don't get too used to it," I teased.

  He slid the ring on my finger, and it fit perfectly. I wasn't really surprised, because he fit perfectly. I’d been damaged before I met him. I wasn't a virgin. Alexander had made sure of that when he raped me two years ago. I'd had flings and one-night stands since then, trying to regain power over my sexuality. Random hook-ups always made me feel dirty, and the thought of having a boyfriend had made me panic—until I’d looked into deep hazel eyes and saw home. Dean was right. He was the other half of my soul.

  Chapter Six

  Vegas Baby

  Grey

  The shrill ring of my phone jolted me out of a fitful sleep. I slid my finger across the screen of my iPhone and answered without looking at who was calling. "Hello," I answered in sleep-roughened voice.

  "We have a major problem," the voice alerted.

  I held the phone away from my face and looked at the screen. Carlos Sanchez was calling me at six a.m. It must have been a problem for the wise wizard to pull a vampire out of bed early in the morning.

  "I'm listening," I replied.

  "Sorry to call you so early, but this is a nightmare and we have to take care of it right away. A newly mature wizard opened a show in Las Vegas. He is performing magic live in front of an audience."

  I sighed. I wasn't exactly sure why we needed to fix this. There were dozens of magic acts in Vegas, and no one believed it was anything other than sleight of hand.

  "Does he really stand out that much?" I asked skeptically.

  "I've been monitoring him for a while. It wasn't really a problem until last week. Then one of those pseudo-journalists secretly filmed his show in order to examine his tricks frame by frame to expose his secrets. You can imagine how that went," Carlos answered.

  "I'd imagine they wouldn't find any gimmicks. Even still, no one is going to believe he has actual magic," I reasoned.

  "Oh, it gets better. The fake reporter of Magic Exposed ambushed him and asked how he performs his tricks. The idiot told him he was a wizard," he said irritably.

  "Who is this guy anyway?" I asked, bored.

  Carlos grumbled. "Nik Athenos."

  Why did that name sound familiar? Wait... "You don't mean Chloë's cousin, do you?"

  "The one and only," Carlos confirmed.

  Chloë's great-grandmother was better known to the ancient world as Hera, the queen of the Greek gods. Her grandmother, who now goes by the name Sophia, was known as Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.

  "Marguerite has a younger brother, Gustavo Athenos. He doesn't like humans and resents having to follow their laws. He thinks we should never have allowed humans control over the world and wants to return to being worshipped as gods. Even so, he has managed to follow Council orders and has kept from being exposed. Unfortunately, his son has all of his attitude and none of his common sense," he complained.

  "I understand that, but even with the exposure, people will still choose to believe he is a performer. I honestly don't see the threat here, Carlos."

  "There might not have been a threat if the Auto-da-fé hadn't reemerged. Marguerite's brother has wanted control of the Council for a long time. Creating a conflict with humans would give him the excuse he is looking for to arrest power away from his sister and return the world into a playground for petty gods and goddesses," Carlos elaborated.

  "I had no idea how sensitive the politics had gotten," I responded truthfully.

  "Honestly, neither did I. Marguerite likes to keep her cards close to her chest. I have orders to go to Vegas, collect her nephew, Nik, and bring him to the Council. Hopefully he will come willingly, but I'll force him if necessary."

  "How can I help? I can't exactly leave at the moment. I won't be any good to you until the sun sets," I reasoned.

  "I know. I need Cooper too. I'm sending the modified jet to come and get you. Cooper and I can conduct reconnaissance, and the three of us will collect Nik once the sun sets. I need one more favor."

  "Tell me and I'll see if I can help," I answered tentatively.

  "Can you see if my daughter will come with you? I won't get much of a chance to see her, but my instincts are telling me I need to see her today."

  "I'll see what I can do."

  Chloë

  "Hey, Coop, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked.

  Cooper was a good-looking guy, but I didn't even feel a little attraction for him. He was the tallest in our ragtag group at over six foot five. Dean was leonine, with lean coiled strength. Cooper was almost his opposite in every way. He had large muscles, and he exuded brute force. It wasn't surprising by his looks that he shifted into a grizzly bear. Despite his forceful appearance, he had the personality of a teddy bear.

  Cooper swallowed a mouthful of omelet before answering me. "I've been pressed into going to Vegas to
day. Watchers business as usual. Some wizard has gone off the rails and is living out in the open. Dumbass. Anyway, we will have to meet with the refugees tomorrow at the earliest. Longer if I need to go to France with Carlos."

  "Vegas sounds like fun. I've been stuck in E-burg all summer. Don't get me wrong. I love it here, but I could use a change of scenery," I thought out loud.

  Cooper's dark-brown eyes sparkled at me. "We might be able to use your help. See, the, uh, guy we are collecting is your cousin."

  I sighed. "What has Nik gotten into now?"

  "He started a show on the Strip and is telling everyone he's a wizard."

  "He never did have a lick of common sense," I muttered. "Yeah, I'll come if you think it would help. Nik and I were friends as kids. We've lost touch in the last few years, but I'll try and talk to him. I can't promise he'll listen to me. Like most people, he doesn't care much for my mother. I think he shifts some of that dislike onto me."

  "I'm supposed to get Anita to go with us," Cooper began.

  "Get me to go where?" Anita asked, running down the stairs.

  "Vegas baby!" Cooper exclaimed. His eyes darkened when Anita moved down the stairs.

  "Why are you trying to take my girl to Vegas cuz?" a sleepy Dean asked, trailing behind Anita.

  "Actually her dad asked for her to come along. He wants to visit with her in between Watchers business," Cooper answered quickly.

  "That is perfect actually. I was going to ask Chloë to teleport us down there, but this is better," Dean announced.

  "Why was I taking you to Vegas?" I asked, confused. A moment later, I noticed light dancing off Anita's hand. I grabbed it and shrieked. We started jumping around squealing, as a best friend is required to do when her friend gets engaged.

  "I wanted you to be there with me, so we were going to have you zip us down there," Anita said breathlessly.

  My head snapped up, and I felt him coming before he entered the room. When he walked in, I went straight into his arms. Finn's fresh-rain smell surrounded me, and I burrowed my nose into his chest.

  "Did you miss me?" he asked in a laughing voice.

  I smiled at him and nodded. How did he do that? Last winter—hell, last spring—if you'd asked me if I'd felt safe with Finn, I'd have said no. Physically yes, but emotionally, definitely not. Now, I felt safer with him, but I wasn’t one hundred percent there yet. I needed him to prove something to me, prove he wanted only me. I wasn’t sure how I expected him to do that, but I needed him to.

  "Did I hear Anita say she wanted you to teleport her and Dean to Vegas?" Finn whispered in my ear. His warm breath tickled, and I found I could only nod. "You can't do it. Do they know you've still been having nosebleeds?" he asked quietly. I shook my head. "Until we figure out what is going on with your magic, you have to avoid using too much of it. I know teleporting people takes a lot out of you. I want to keep you safe," he said and dragged his nose across my neck.

  Rhythmic clicks across the hardwood floors sounded through the room. "Hey, Finn. Looks like I came over just in time. You must be in serious need of proper company." Bridgett sneered at me with her last comment and turned to Finn with a practiced pout.

  For his part, Finn completely ignored her and continued to nuzzle my neck. "Come on, baby. Let's go to our room and pack for Vegas," Finn said in an unnecessarily loud whisper.

  My mouth gaped open, and I was sure I was doing an excellent impression of a fish. Had he just implied that we lived together, like share-a-bed lived together?

  I looked up at him, and his blue eyes sparkled with mischief as he winked. Yes, he knew exactly what he had implied. I glanced over at Bridgett and noticed that I wasn't the only one doing a fish impression.

  "What are we doing in Vegas?" Jo asked from the back door.

  "We as in the five of us are. You aren't included," Anita snapped.

  Jo looked over at Cooper and smiled shyly. "Anita, I wanted to apologize about how I acted when we first met. I've never met a coven like this one. Usually we are all so segregated, but not being accustomed to something doesn't excuse my prejudice. I would really like it if we could start over," Jo said earnestly.

  Anita's forehead scrunched together as she thought. "Yeah, okay. I'd like that."

  Jo smiled, and her face softened. I realized that having the refugees here might not be so bad. Then I remembered Bridgett, and I amended that thought. It wouldn’t be all bad.

  "Is there room for all of us in the jet?" I asked Cooper.

  He looked surreptitiously at Bridgett and frowned. "It should work. The jet seats twelve. I have to pick up Grey before we go. We'll board the plane in the hangar and make sure it is shut tight before we taxi out. We are on a tight schedule, so whoever is coming needs to get ready fast."

  "I'll go get Leah," Jo said and went back out to the apartment.

  Finn squeezed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs.

  "Bet I get ready faster than you do!" Anita sang. She was gone in a blink of an eye.

  "Just a little magic?" I asked, motioning with my finger and thumb to Finn.

  He gave me a half smile. "Let's show her how it's done."

  Finn

  This was going to be an awkward flight. Bridgett kept finding reasons to come near me. I had never been less interested in a woman in my life. Objectively, I recognized her beauty. She was tall, blond, fair, and perfectly proportioned, but it was an icy beauty.

  Anita had dragged Chloë into the in-plane office to plan wedding details.

  "Hello, Finn," Bridgett purred, taking Chloë's seat.

  "Bridgett," I responded curtly.

  Grey sat across the aisle on one of the leather sofa-style seats. He raised his eyebrow curiously at me. Definitely awkward.

  Bridgett touched my forearm to reclaim my attention. I pulled my arm away and glared at her. I heard Grey chuckle at my discomfort. Bastard.

  "I thought we should take the chance to get to know each other better. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I was hoping we could change that," Bridgett said sulkily.

  "That depends on how you treat Chloë," I snapped.

  "I don't see why she has to factor into us being friends. She isn't one of us," she pouted.

  I gritted my teeth. "She's my girlfriend, that's why. I won't be friends with someone who is mean to her."

  "You can do better," she stated.

  I was done arguing with her. I unbuckled my seat belt and went to join Dean, Cooper, and the twins.

  Grey got up and intercepted me halfway there. "You've changed," he said, surprising me. I scratched the back of my neck, uncomfortable with talking about this with him. "I'm glad to see it," he said, interrupting my private thoughts.

  "Look, Grey, this might be hard for you to hear, but I don't want anyone else. I'm in love with Chloë. I'm afraid Bridgett isn't going to take a hint. I don't want Chloë thinking I want the attention Bridgett is giving me. Aah, I don't know why I'm talking to you about this."

  "You were very clear with Bridgett," Grey said, his expression darkening. I shrugged. "No, you were. I'm not sure she will take a hint. She seems to feel you belong to her." Grey shook his head.

  "I don't. If she screws things up with Chloë, I'm going to be super pissed."

  Grey patted my shoulder. "Talk to Chloë. Talk until she believes you only want her."

  "Why are you helping me? I know you're still in love with her," I accused.

  "You're a good guy. I do love Chloë, and I want her to be happy. She can have a life with you. Get married, have children—hell, even an afternoon picnic. I want her to have those things," he answered pensively.

  I could see everything he described and it didn't scare me anymore. Okay, the idea of kids was a little scary, but I was sure, far in the future, I would welcome that too. I guessed I was growing up. Forever with Chloë sounded like heaven.

  I felt hands slide up my back, and I tensed. "Am I interrupting?" Chloë asked, amused.

  I relaxed, realizing it wasn't B
ridgett. "No, Grey and I were just talking," I told her.

  "Is something wrong?" she asked nervously.

  I looked at Grey, and he nodded encouragingly. "It's just Bridgett kinda made a pass at me, and I was afraid you would get upset," I admitted.

  "So you were talking to Grey about that?" she questioned.

  "I approached Finn, actually," Grey interjected.

  "This is weird though, right?"

  "We are coven mates, and I'd like for us to be friends. You are happy with him, right?" Grey asked her.

  It was strange to stand there and listen to them talk about me. It was also hard watching them. There was a connection there that hadn't disappeared. The worst part was that Grey was actually a decent guy. I wanted to hate him because he had been her first, but he made it impossible.

  "I'm very happy," she whispered.

  "That's all I want for you. Be happy," he said softly and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. I wanted to rip his arm off and beat him with it. I recognized that urge as irrational, but my possessiveness was only growing stronger when it came to her.

  "What do you mean she kinda made a pass at you?" Chloë asked suddenly.

  "Ugh, she touched my forearm a couple of times and said we should get to know each other better," I fumbled out.

  "And? What did you tell her?" she demanded.

  "I told her I don't like the way she treats you, and when she pressed the issue, I got up and left," I answered, feeling stupid. Maybe I was making a bigger deal out of this than it was.

  I glanced at Chloë's face, and her eyes were glowing bright green. Not a good sign. "I really don't like her," she seethed.

  I stroked her face and kissed the end of her nose. "Hey, you don't have anything to worry about. I only want you," I told her.

  She smiled shyly at me. "Good, because I only want you. I'm glad you are getting along with Grey."

  "I'm trying to come to terms with him still being in your life. It's uncomfortable, but I can see that he's a good guy. As much as I hate to admit it." To change the subject, I said, "I can't believe Dean and Anita are really getting married today."