by Lia Davis
After another hour of planning our trap, my mates left, and the sentries went to their side of the floor. Tala and Ami went off to bed, leaving the common area silent, and I yawned. Just as I reached my room, Calista tiptoed through the door. I frowned, but she met my stare.
She giggled. "Oh, I thought everyone was asleep. Should have known you vamps are up late. Well, goodnight."
"Yeah, us vamps don’t sleep." I watched her go to her room and close the door. A strange feeling crawled up my spine. There was something definitely off about Calista, and I was going to find out what. I made a mental note to have Sterling do a background check on our witchy little roommate.
Tomorrow. I didn’t have any extra energy to spend on Calista at the moment.
The morning sun kissed my skin, warming it and waking me. Wait? My curtains should have been shut, and I shouldn’t have felt the sun on my skin. I jerked upright. The movement sent a sharp pain across my skull and pounding echoed in my ears. What the fuck? I didn't get headaches often. Oh shit. Why was I in the forest? I glanced down and gasped. I was naked, which meant I’d shifted and gone for a run?
No, that wasn’t right either. Even though my sisters and I were half lycan, and Mom could shift without the moon, we couldn’t. Our wolves wouldn’t come out unless the moon was full. That wasn’t due to happen for another week or so.
I picked up my hand to scratch an itch on my face and froze when I saw blood. My heart hammered behind my ribs and my pulse raced in my throat. What is happening? I searched myself for injuries and there were none, which told me that it wasn’t my blood.
Did I have another blackout? I had to be out in the forest. The last thing I knew, I went to bed and fell asleep. Pushing to a stand, I stumbled a few steps before steadying myself. My head ached even more as I tried to move.
"Meda!"
I whirled around at the sound of my name. My vision blurred for a moment, then focused on Sterling running at me. He yelled, “I found her."
Found me? How long have I been gone?
Sterling skidded to a halt in front of me, pulling his t-shirt off and tugging it over my head. I slid my arms into the sleeves and let the cotton fall over all my private bits. His shirt was big enough that it fell to my thighs. He pointed to my hands. "Is that your blood?"
I shook head. "No."
Tala and Ami were first to catch up to us. Tala cursed and formed a sphere of water, then took my hands and pulled them through the water to clean them. "Where have you been?"
"I don’t know."
Ami stirred a small breeze to blow through my hair. That was when I noticed it had leaves and other debris in it. It was odd for my sisters to take care of me. Usually, it was the other way around. "How long have I been gone?"
My sisters glanced to Sterling. Tala answered. "It’s Thursday morning."
"What?" The single word question came out in a squeak. "That’s over 24 hours." I’d last fallen asleep Tuesday night. How did I miss a whole fucking day?
"Yeah, what do you remember? And whose blood did I wash off your hands?" Tala glared at me.
"I don’t know. I don’t remember." I hugged my waist and began to shake. "What if I killed someone?"
Peter and Dorian appeared from the opposite direction and enveloped me in hugs. Dorian scooped me into his arms and started walking. "She’s not safe on campus. If she disappears one more time, I’ll go postal on someone."
I sucked in my lip. I was more than able to defend myself, but I wasn’t arguing with him about this. "Someone either wants me to think I’m going crazy or that I killed someone."
"Probably both," Sterling said as he fell in step with Dorian. "Meda, I’m taking you to my house. It’s warded, so you’ll be safer there."
Tala huffed. "What about us?"
Sterling shrugged. "You’re welcome to stay too, but wouldn’t people notice that all three of you aren’t staying in your dorm? Plus, we still need to set that trap. Now, more than ever."
Sterling’s anger and determination pulsed through our bond. The bond… "Sterling, why couldn’t you find me before now?"
The muscles in his temples worked. "I couldn’t sense you at all. Not until about thirty minutes ago. I think that whoever is trancing you knows how to block the bond to your sisters and me."
That was interesting. "So, it’s someone who knows we mated?"
"Possibly."
Peter took my hand when Dorian set me on my feet at Sterling’s BMW. "More reason to have you stay at Sterling’s house. It might actually help set the trap. We are hoping that whoever is doing this will look for you."
"What if they move to Tala or Ami?" Fear burned my gut at the thought of my sisters being targeted. But in reality, maybe they already were.
"What makes you think we aren’t already targets?" Ami asked. Her features were masked with concern and sadness.
"Not sure. I was just thinking out loud. But do me a favor." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Find out if I killed anyone." The idea of harming someone made me ill.
Sterling opened the passenger door and waited for me to climb in. He put his face close to mine. "You didn’t kill anyone." He kissed me and closed the door, not waiting for me to argue. I smirked. My alpha witch. A warmth settled in my heart and it wasn’t my fire. It was Sterling.
My thoughts drifted to Dorian and Peter. I needed to form the bond with them. Or at least spend more time with them. But things had been crazy. "How long am I staying at your place?"
Sterling started the car then covered my hand. "As long as it takes to put an end to the spells."
Tala tapped on the window, and I rolled it down. "We’ll keep you guys updated. But Meda needs to know that over half the school is walking around like zombies. It’s weird. I have a bad feeling something big is coming."
I frowned. "Maybe you should go stay at home."
Tala shook her head. "No go. If we do that and you aren’t with us, Mom and the Niswi will for sure get involved."
We might need to call them in soon. But Mom was pregnant, so, for now, they needed to stay out of it. "If you can pull Papa aside, he might help without telling Mom."
"I was thinking of him or Paw." Tala glanced at Ami then back to me. "Stay, for now, low and stay safe. I won’t bring Papa in unless I have to."
"Will do." I reached out the window and took her hand. "I’ll see you two soon."
Tala let go of my hand and stepped back. Sterling took off toward the Hightower Syndicate and his parents. Shit. His parents. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.
Chapter Ten
Sterling's car pulled up to a gate and he pressed buttons on the keypad.
"I would've thought it would be magically warded," I said as the gate opened, and he pulled forward. With a gasp, I realized I'd spoken too soon. The feel of the ward letting me enter chilled me to my core.
"Feel it?" Sterling asked with a wide smile. "Everyone makes some sort of noise the first time."
"Will it feel like that every time we go in and out? What was that?"
My voice faded as I stared at the house. It was brick, and bigger even than the one I'd grown up in. That was saying something, as my childhood home had also been the government for the entire species of vampire and lycan combined.
He chuckled as he pulled into a massive garage full of all kinds of cars. "No, just the first time. It's a layer of wards. I'll take you to the perimeter and let you focus in on it and feel it. There’s wards to cover every contingency we and our Circle could think of."
"Then why the gate?" Sterling pulled into a spot near a door in the corner and hopped out of the car. He'd come around and opened my door before I even stopped gaping at the cars lined up beside us. "So, you're rich?"
He laughed. "The gate is for appearances, and to keep humans out. Wards aren't always as effective on them. Wards are designed to work for or against magic."
"So what's to stop someone from hiring a human to come to kill you?" We walked around the back of the cars. "You
still didn't answer my question."
"We are wealthy, yes. Our sales in the paranormal community have enabled my parents to invest in the human stock market."
The rumors about the Hightowers being a part of some sort of mob or mafia filtered through my mind. For the first time, I wondered if staying with Sterling really was the safest option. "Are you sure it's okay for me to be here?" I asked as I looked at the rather plain exit to the house.
"This is the safest place a witch can be."
"I'm not a witch," I reminded him gently. After our bond, there was no way he could be hiding anything too nefarious. I didn't know all his secrets or anything, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had my best interests at heart, and at his core, he was good and honorable.
"No, but you have plenty of magic. Almost as much as I do. You're in a league all your own." He opened the door and motioned for me to go through first.
"My sisters are there with me."
"Not totally. You're the alpha, right?" I nodded and looked around. We stood in a small foyer with a tile floor. The walls were cream and had nothing adorning them.
"Right through here," he said, opening another door to a large laundry room with two washers and two dryers. It was large enough for a clothesline and industrial mop sink as well. "And then through here," he said with a chuckle as he opened the door on the opposite side of the laundry room.
We stepped into one of the most beautiful kitchens I'd ever seen. The tile backsplash was a myriad of shades of gray and the appliances were apparently hidden behind panels of the onyx cabinetry. The floor was black as well, with a matte finish. I walked farther into the room, trying not to look like I'd never seen anything fancy. I grew up in a mansion, after all.
We had money, but this was wealth beyond my wildest imagining.
Shit, I bet they really were mafia.
"Well, nice kitchen," I said.
Sterling shrugged. "I'm not in it much. I've got a small kitchen off of my apartment."
"You have an apartment here?" I realized I didn't know if he even lived here or if we were only there for my safety.
"Yeah, when I came of age I could've moved out, but it's safe here and my parents don't give me a lot of trouble. Eventually, I'll get my own place, but for now, it's fine." He opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water, handing one to me. "At least until I'm through with school."
"You're enrolling at our college?" I asked hopefully.
"No, my parents convinced me to go to a human college to learn business. They swear it's helped them immensely." He shrugged. "I had an odd childhood, really. I came to the academy, but I also had extensive lessons at home and all through the summer. I doubt there's a witch alive that has anything left to teach me. At this point I just have to hone my power and make it stronger and more reliable."
A woman's smooth voice interrupted us. "You're far too cocky. You still have much to learn, young peacock."
We turned toward the dining area of the kitchen to see a woman walking toward us. She had dark blonde hair, slicked back into a high ponytail. She looked young, but her eyes betrayed her age. She was far older than she looked.
"Meda, this is my mother, Tanya. Mom, this is Meda."
Tanya stopped in front of me, a girl she'd never met, standing in her kitchen wearing her son's tee and nothing else. I pulled the hem of the shirt down nervously and gave her a shaky smile. "Nice to meet you," I said. My voice wouldn't rise above a whisper.
"You're in some sort of trouble. That's apparent from your clothing. Or lack thereof." She stepped closer, getting directly into my aura. Damn, I felt the power radiating off of her. She inhaled sharply.
"Mom, don't," Sterling said in a warning voice. "Don't do what I know you're about to do."
With a step back she gave him a haughty look. "And why not?"
"She might steal your magic if you try to get into her mind without her permission."
Tanya laughed. "I find that unlikely. Stealing magic isn't as easy as fiction books make it sound."
He took my hand. "Mom, I am so tempted to ask Meda to prove you wrong, but I'll be a good son and explain instead. But if we could, I'm going to take her to my room and find her something to wear."
"Fine, but I want an explanation. Please, meet me in the family room in half an hour."
"Deal," Sterling said, stepping forward to press a kiss on her cheek. "Knew I could count on you." He pulled on my hand. "This way."
I kept my other hand firmly on the hem of the tee, holding it down below my ass as we walked away. "Nice to meet you," I called.
"Likewise, I'm sure." We left the tall, thin woman staring after us as we made our hasty exit from the kitchen.
Sterling's apartments turned out to be above the garage, except you couldn't get to them from the garage. Instead, he led me to a set of stairs off the kitchen. They went up one floor then branched off each way. "That way goes to the main part of the house and the other bedrooms." He pointed to the left. "And this way goes to my apartment and what I call the fun zone."
"Do I even want to know what that means?" With my luck, it meant like a secret sex room or something.
"It's where the movie theater is, the bowling alley, and access to the pools and tennis courts."
I gaped at him as we slowly climbed the second set of stairs, but then my attention was diverted to the massive paintings lining the walls. "Are these your ancestors?"
"Yes. Those two are my grandparents. They were killed in a witch war before I was born."
The man stood behind a woman seated on a small settee. They didn't smile at the camera, more like they grimaced. "Charming," I said.
Sterling laughed. "Aren't they?" The top of the stairs opened into a long hallway. "Entertainment to the right, my apartment to the left."
"I guess we don't have time for a quick bowl, do we?" I said wryly as we walked on plush carpet toward his apartment.
Once inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. "This is more like it."
It wasn't gross or anything, but it also didn't look like we were walking around in a museum. The apartment opened into a large room that served as living room, dining room, and kitchen. On a coffee table in the living room, he had magazines piled up beside books on witchcraft. The furnishings were obviously expensive but lived in. The kitchen, while not very big, obviously had the best cabinets and appliances. Sheesh.
"Bedroom's over here. Let me find you some clothes."
I turned to find him holding open a door. I spied a bed in the room. A large bed. "What am I going to do about that?" I asked, suddenly even more aware of my naked lower half than I had been with his mom. "I'm going to need some of my own clothes."
Sterling gave me the most mischievous look I'd seen on him yet. "Do you though?" His gaze roamed down my body, waking my wolf. She sniffed the air hopefully.
"Stop that, both of you." I walked past Sterling with my head held high. "We don't have time for that yet."
"Both of us? Wait. Yet?"
I stopped and turned back to him. "You didn't think I'd want to wait forever did you?"
He grinned. "I'm glad to hear it, but again, let me ask. Both of us?"
"You've never heard Peter talk to his wolf before?"
Shaking his head, he opened an enormous closet. "No. Your wolf listens to you?"
"Sort of. It's more like my internal voice, but I know it's the primal, animalistic side of me."
Sterling held out a pair of sweats with a drawstring waist. "I think this'll work."
"Do you happen to have any undies?" I asked sheepishly. He pulled open one of the built-in drawers and handed me a pair of boxers.
"Thank you."
Walking to the door, he turned his back so I could put the clothes on. "Dorian and Peter went to the dorms with your sisters. Your sentries are searching the campus still. Tala called them on their way because it was hard to convince them not to call your parents the moment you were discovered missing from your bed."
"Done," I said. "Can you ask them to get me clothes while they're there?"
"Yep, that's the whole reason they went."
He showed me the bathrooms and the other bedroom in the apartment. "Dorian and Peter stay here a lot. They might as well move in, really."
The future of our habitation loomed in my face. Where would we all stay? Now that I knew they were mine, the absence of Peter and Dorian pressed on me. Mates tended to need to be around one another nearly constantly the first few years. That might prove difficult.
I used his bathroom and swiped his brush to do a better job on my hair than Ami's air had been able to do. I also had a smudge of mud on my neck and still a bit of blood under my nails. Lord, I must've looked a real mess.
We walked back downstairs, but not all the way down. Sterling let me across the foyer into what he had called the family area, up another set of stairs, and into a large room with a lot of couches on it.
Tanya sat on one of the sofas with a man I'd never met. On another sat two of my Niswi.
Shit.
"Hey, there, Paw, Papa," I said nervously, incredibly thankful they hadn't seen me without pants on. "What are you doing here?"
Paw stood and grabbed me, nearly crushing me in a hug. "I'm so mad at you."
He handed me over to Papa, who gave me the same treatment. "What were you thinking?"
"That I'm an adult, and that I wanted to try to solve this on my own."
"Even when we were your age, when we were confronted with large problems, we asked our parents for help. There is no shame in it." Papa and Paw exchanged looks. "Tell us what's going on."
They sat back on the sofa across from Sterling's parents. I sat with my dads and Sterling sat with his parents.
"Start with why you seem to be wearing this boy's clothes," Paw looked angrier than Papa.
Papa looked thoughtful. He sniffed the air. "Voss," he murmured. "Smell them."
Paw did as he asked, then his jaw dropped. "Mates."
"What?" Tanya said, shocked. "No. They're too young."
The man beside Tanya spoke for the first time. "Older than we were."
