by Eve Newton
“Fine,” I say, giving him what he wants but determined to find out the truth.
He smiles and stands up. “Good girl,” he says. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
“Sure,” I say, then, “wait!”
He turns back to me.
“Si and Vi? They’ve done what we asked?”
He nods. “Yeah, they brought in about fifty supes a couple of hours ago. They’re safe downstairs, but we are at max capacity for refugees.”
I breathe out in relief. “Okay, good.” I wave as he nods and leaves my office.
There is only one way to get the truth about this change, and that is to go straight to the source. My mother is as bad a liar as I am. She knows it and she also knows I’m not an idiot. She will talk, I just need to give her a reason to spill it in the next couple of hours so that I can fix whatever fucked up shit is going on.
Chapter 40
Lilith
Slowly, I make my way outside and into the bright sun, taking a moment to bask in the warmth and the quiet calm before everything goes wild. As I get to the hot spring, I pause, seeing a bald man meditating in the newly placed, small stone circle on the opposite bank.
“Join me, child,” he says, opening his eyes and holding his hand out for me.
“Uhm,” I mutter, needing to get to my mother to figure out what is going on before noon.
“Come,” he says, smiling serenely.
“Frank?” I ask, approaching him cautiously.
“Yes. You are Lilith.”
I nod even though it wasn’t a question.
“Sit,” he says.
I drop to the ground in front of him and cross my legs. He takes my hands and closes his eyes again.
“Why does it feel so peaceful in here?” I murmur. It’s like all the world’s pain and fears and negativity are blocked from entering the circle.
“I have cast a protection spell around the circle,” he says. “It will not protect you from what happens inside the circle.” His almost purple eyes search mine. I lick my lips and blink to break the intensity of his gaze.
“What does that mean?” I whisper, the dread of his words settling heavily onto my shoulders.
“I have visions of the future,” he says.
“Like my mom?”
“Not exactly. Ember’s gift is her own. I can see future events when I focus on something specific,” he explains.
“And what did you focus on here?”
“You,” he says, tightening his hold on my hands.
I drag them back, suddenly a bit creeped out. I shove them under my thighs and glare at him.
“Why is Mason at the center of this circle?” I ask anyway, even though I don’t know this man, nor do I trust him enough to believe a word he says.
“To protect you,” he replies.
“From what?” I whisper.
Frank shrugs. “That I cannot see. Remember that love is the key,” he says and stands up. He steps out of the circle and teleports out in a shimmer of purple smoke.
“What does that mean?” I shout out, scrambling to my feet, but he’s gone. “Fuck!” I growl and kick out at one of the stones that Frank placed to consecrate the ground. It makes me stop and feel sheepish for losing my temper in the sacred circle.
“Lilith.”
I turn and groan at the person who just said my name. “Hannah, can you please just fuck off out of my face.”
She holds her hands up; her face full of sorrow. “I’m sorry, Lilith. I know I’ve been a horrid bitch since I came back. I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I know you and I know you care. I’m having trouble letting go…it’s no excuse. I’m sorry.”
I stare at her with incredulity. I never expected this in a million years. “Erm, thanks,” I mutter. “I’m sorry you’re hurting. I don’t mean to add to that.”
“I know,” she says stiffly. “I h-hope that you and Lloyd are happy together.”
I can see how difficult it was for her to say that. It breaks my heart, but I won’t apologize for loving him. As much as I crave Axl and as clear as it is that Mason and I are connected on a bone deep level, Lloyd and I belong together just as much. He is the quiet to my storm. He is the level head when I want to scream, he reassures me that I can do this Queen thing when my doubts flood me that I’m failing. He loves me with no judgment, even though I know the Vampire thing is hard for him to get over. I would be lost without him.
“We are,” I say quietly.
She nods and walks away.
I grimace as I see my mother hovering in the background. “You,” I say accusingly. “You made her do that.”
She shrugs and comes closer. “You’re my baby girl. Do you think I’m going to stand by and watch while someone verbally attacks you with lies and malice?”
“Fuck’s sake, Mom. I’m capable of fighting my own damn battles. Especially when it comes to Hannah and Lloyd.”
“You don’t need friction right now. I’ve spoken to your father. He’s sending her back on assignment today. You don’t need to worry about her for a while.”
Well, I can’t say that I’m not grateful for that. But it still rankles me that she made Hannah come to me to apologize. It kind of takes the sincerity out of it.
Sighing with annoyance, my hand on my hip, I ask, “Why did you tell Lloyd to move me out of the center of this spell? You told me that I was the hub. This is all going to go tits up now.”
“No, it won’t. Lloyd has sorted it out. You are still the hub, Lily. It’s just I need Mason to take the brunt of this spell.”
“Why? What are you protecting me from?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know, but it’s not worth the risk for me.”
“So, you’ll throw Mason to the wolves instead? Uhm, so to speak.” I press my lips together at the stupidity of that comment.
“He agreed and he will do anything to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting! And this spell is supposed to join us all together. It’s supposed to be a good thing! You, Dad and the Wolf did it years ago and you’re all still alive.”
Her eyes cloud over, and I gulp, but then she shakes her head slightly. “True,” she says quietly. “But I can never be too careful with you.”
“What did you see?” I demand.
“I saw Mason at the center of the circle, nothing more,” she states, almost coldly. “Don’t question me, Lilith, just do as I have foreseen.” With that rather harsh reprimand, she turns and stalks off back to her cottage. I hear the door slam behind her and flinch.
“Nothing more, my ass,” I mutter.
I look up at the sky and realize that the time is close. It’s nearly noon. The nerves creep up on me, but I push them away. There is no room for doubt. I have to trust in the man that I know and love, to keep all four of us safe and alive.
I know he won’t let me down.
Chapter 41
Lilith
Breathing in deeply, I spot the three men striding towards me, determination on their faces. My nerves ping, my stomach clenching slightly before I exhale and tell myself to relax.
“Hey,” I say with a smile. “We ready?”
Lloyd nods warily, probably trying to gauge if I’m about to throw up a stink about the change. I don’t. Does it still annoy me? Yes. Am I accepting it? That would be a big fat nope. However, I have to pick my moment. There is no way in hell that if there is danger involved that I’m letting Mason take the hit.
No. Fucking. Way.
And if my mother, Jacob and Lloyd don’t know that about me by now, then that’s on them. Frank’s warning has only made me more determined to do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe. Lloyd is just going to have to think on his feet when the time comes. I trust him to figure it out.
I watch as Lloyd sets out four black candles and shows us that we should each stand next to one. I, of course, stand in the middle. He grimaces at me.
“Lily, please. Over there,” he points to the Northerly placed c
andle.
I scowl but move. It’s not time yet. An argument will ensue, and we will lose precious time.
Mason takes the center point and I glower at him.
“Don’t make a fuss, love,” Axl murmurs to me, pulling me to him and giving me a swift kiss on the top of my head. “It’s the way it has to be.”
I nod and tilt my head back for a proper kiss, which he gives me with a soft laugh. He claims my lips, gripping my chin tightly, his tongue swishing over mine slowly, sensually, making my knees weak. He sucks my bottom lip when he pulls back and then takes his place, ironically, on the Eastside. I snicker at Lloyd’s balls, placing him where the sunrises. Axl pulls a face at me and all is well between the two of us at least. The other two men are tense and waiting, just waiting for me to act.
I don’t.
It occurred to me during Axl’s kiss that maybe I should let them do it their way, and when it fails, we can do it my way.
Planting my feet, my hands held loosely in front of me, I stare into Mason’s eyes. I see the question in them, the quiet resolve and finally the relief when he sees how guileless I am.
“I trust you,” I mutter.
“Thank you,” he murmurs.
A few moments later, Lloyd is done with his prep work. Candles, a large copper pot, a spell book, which is just for show – I know my Warlock, he’ll have the spell memorized – and a weird looking vessel which looks a bit like a gourd.
“Lilith,” Lloyd says calmly, taking the Westerly point. “Can you coil your magick, I’ll need it in a moment.”
Nodding, I do as he asks. I inhale slowly and draw on the Witch power deep inside me. For once, the Vampire keeps its nose out of Witch business and lets me do what needs to be done. It’s the pool, without a doubt. It won’t last.
“Who’s taking the South?” I ask in an exhale.
“We don’t need it,” Lloyd says, calmly. “Axl, Lilith, move forward, please.”
Frowning at the vague response, I take a step forward until I’m close enough to Mason to reach out and touch him. I want to. Our bond is screaming at me to. I hiss as the crescent moon on the back of my neck feels like it is on fire at his nearness. He sees me place my hand on it and smiles, slow and cool. He plucks up the hem of his black t-shirt, giving me a glimpse of his tanned skin. He drags the top of his jeans down a little bit, making me drool as I see his defined, muscular body, but then I gasp when he turns around. On the top of his ass is the exact same birthmark that I have on the back of my neck.
“Mine,” he whispers, turning around and letting his clothes fall back into place.
Mouth agape, I meet his gaze, full of adoration which is reflected back in mine. I give him a shaky smile. “Yours,” I murmur.
“Hold out your hands,” Lloyd instructs, interrupting our moment, brandishing a sharp ceremonial athame.
We all do as we’re told.
First, Lloyd slices Mason’s palm, then mine, then his own and Axl’s last.
“Mason, join hands with Lilith,” Lloyd says.
Mason holds his up. I place my bleeding palm against his. He clasps my hand, lacing our fingers together, his usual intense look deepening, hooding his eyes.
“Now Axl,” Lloyd says.
Mason lets go of my hand and takes Axl’s.
“What are we doing?” I whisper.
“Making Mason the center of the circle,” Lloyd says evasively.
“I get that, but how?” I press.
He sighs, clearly not wanting to tell me. Or maybe it’s not me he didn’t want to tell. He gives Axl a quick glance and then says, “Mason is an Alpha. You are his Fated Mate. We are, essentially, accepting Mason as our Alpha.”
“Whoa, wait, what?” Axl says, pulling his hand away from Mason’s with a look that would kill a houseplant. “You better be spinning a yarn, mate? I’m now some bitch to a Wolf?”
I find it interesting that it’s the ‘Wolf’ part that he seems to have a problem with.
“Essentially,” Lloyd murmurs, remaining calm in the face of Axl’s anger.
“Fuck this,” Axl spits out.
“Stay where you are,” Lloyd barks at him. “You break this spell, then Lilith doesn’t get what she needs to fight the Hunters.”
Axl grimaces but stays put, definitely pissed off and making sure we all know it.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” I ask Lloyd gently.
“Because I knew he would get like this,” he replies stonily.
Well, I can’t fault that logic, much as I’d like to. “Still, you should’ve said,” I say.
“Now you all know, can we get back to it?” Lloyd asks brusquely.
I nod and watch as he and Mason share blood. Then it’s my turn. I share my blood with Axl first, which definitely appeases him somewhat, especially when he brings our linked hands together to lick away the rivers of blood pouring from my hand with a sexy smirk.
“You, I don’t mind being bound to, Strawberries.” He drops our hands with a vicious look at Mason.
“It doesn’t mean anything, except for the spell,” Mason mutters. “We needed to swap Lilith out and unless you are some kind of Vampire Prince, I’m it. Drop it now.”
“Fine,” Axl grouses, but the hesitation and glint of amusement that I see in his eyes piques my interest. “But I’m not your Beta, or whatever the fuck you call it. I’m all Alpha, baby,” he adds, running his hands sexily down his hot bod.
I snort with laughter and find myself seriously turned on. “Oh, yes, you are,” I murmur, eyeing him up. “And are you some sort of Vampire Prince?” I add, catching him off guard.
“Not exactly,” he says shortly, but not out of anger, more less than happy to talk about it.
“Oh?” I ask with a smile. “Do tell.”
“’Nother time, Strawbs. Busy here, yeah?”
He deflects my question by gesturing at Lloyd.
“Count on it,” I say, glaring at him, letting him know that he isn’t getting away with this.
“Not. Your. Beta,” Axl reiterates, stabbing his finger at Mason after every word to emphasize his point.
“Got it,” Mason snarls. “Can we do this now, please?”
“Yes,” Lloyd says. “Enough fucking about. Noon is closer than I’d like now.”
I lick my lips, an action that draws Mason’s eyes to my mouth. My heart starts to beat that much faster, my blood simmering under the surface of my skin. I share blood with Lloyd, his shy gaze touching my heart.
“Step back to your points,” he instructs.
We all remain quiet now. I focus on the space above Mason’s head as Lloyd begins the chant. The cool, magickal breeze ripples over my fevered flesh, causing my nipples to pucker in response. I focus on the magick, coiling my own even tighter, waiting for Lloyd to request access to it.
“Now,” he whispers, not missing a beat from his chanting. He is composed, skilled, powerful and fucking sexy with it.
I hold out my right hand, forming an orb of pink magick. Lloyd reaches for the magick with his right hand, his left, clutching at the spell-gourd. I feel him suck the magick off my palm and I concentrate on forming a band of pure electricity running from my hand to his. He hisses as my magick touches his, stifling a soft groan. I look over to make sure he is okay and find, to my amusement, that he is seriously turned on. The bulge in his pants is ready to poke someone’s eye out. I smirk at him, which he returns.
“Have wanted to touch your magick for a long time, Lily,” he murmurs.
I want to ask why he didn’t mention it before, but I don’t because he goes back to chanting and concentrating on the spell.
I start to relax, even though my arm is starting to ache from being stretched out for so long. Everything seems to be going perfectly.
“Lilith!”
Fuck’s sake. “Not now, Philip!” I practically shriek at him.
Love is the key.
I frown. That wasn’t Philip’s voice.
“Lilith!”
&nb
sp; Okay, that was. “Go away!”
“Lilith, please, listen to me. The Hunters, they’re coming…”
I grunt and force him out of my head. He can’t be here while we are trying to do this.
“…must prepare…Lilith? Are you there?”
“Fuck off,” I grit out.
“Everything okay?” Mason whispers, probably as a result of my clenched jaw caused by my telepathic conversation.
“Lilith, listen to me…”
Love is the key.
What the fuck is going on? My head is swimming with voices that aren’t mine, and I’m feeling sick. My vision blurs, so I close my eyes for a moment. When I open them again, Mason’s face is contorted as if he is in pain.
“Mason!” I call out, but it sounds like I’m shouting through mud. I forget plan B and revert instinctually back to plan A. Mason needs to get out of the center, like, now!
The wind has picked up, whipping stray strands of hair into my face. Axl’s black duster is billowing around him. Lloyd’s feet are planted firmly, but I can see he is struggling to stay on his feet as the spell wreaks havoc with his body.
“Stop!” I shout at him. “Stop the spell!”
He grits his teeth and shakes his head.
“Mason, get out of the circle now!” I shriek, panic setting in. Something has gone horribly wrong.
“Keep her back!” Mason shouts to Axl.
His hand closes around my wrist the second before I step forward to shove Mason out of the stones.
“No!” I screech. “Don’t do this! Lloyd, stop the spell, you’re killing him!”
Mason falls to his knees, clutching at his head. He lets out a moan of pain, his body convulsing violently as the spell works its way through him. The flash of blue lightning that fires out of the gourd and into him, electrocutes him before it pings off in all directions, burying itself in my chest first, then Axl’s and then Lloyd’s.
“It’s working,” Lloyd shouts above the wind. “Mason, just hang on!”
