Creature of Habit (Book 3)

by Lawson, Angel

  The door closed and he quickly tugged on pants before tossing my discarded dress on the bed. “It is.”

  “Who’s here? The Queen?” I laughed because I’ve never seen him flustered about a visitor.

  “Close enough.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The Council.”

  “Oh shit.”

  “Right.” He stepped over and helped me straighten my collar. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m sure it’s just Sebastian. God, I hope he didn’t do anything else.”

  “Will you tell them what Amy said?” I ask, twisting my hair behind my neck.

  “Tell them nothing,” he said, firmly. Bossy. I raised an eyebrow at the tone and he sighed. “I’d hide you up here if I could. They’ll have questions about your… difference. About the transition. They’re nosy, controlling bastards.”

  I snorted. “So the standard vampire?”

  “Times ten.” He grabbed my hand. “Just follow my lead. And the others.”

  “You sound a little dramatic, Grant.”

  He pressed his lips to mine, his fingers to my neck. “I’m mostly just pissed they took me away from you, while we were in the middle of that.” His head inclines toward the bed. He wanted to distract me from his panic. Or at least the closest I’ve seen Grant Palmer come to panicking anyway.

  “Rude.”

  “Exactly.” He tugged me to the door, but stopped short of the threshold. “I love you, Amelia.”

  I nodded and squeezed his hand, wondering why he felt the need to say that right at that exact moment. It wasn’t until we reached the main floor that I understood. The man was intimidating enough. Tall and imposing. Regal almost, but the woman… Her presence made me suck in an unnecessary breath. I kept my eyes on the way her eyes watched Grant and I understood.

  The Council was here and things were about to get complicated.

  ~*~

  His name was Xavier. Hers was Noor. I got the explicit feeling everyone in the room was acquainted except for me. By their reactions though, you wouldn’t think I was even present. Grant seemed to be the one they wanted to talk to, so I did as he said, I followed his suggestion and attempted to blend into the tasteful background of the main hall.

  Ryan hadn’t returned yet and Olivia and Elijah were off somewhere. Genevieve and Miles sat on either side of Grant at the expansive dining room table. I spied on the group from my position against the wall, calming my heart to the slowest point possible and watched their reflections in the floor to ceiling mirror mounted on the wall.

  “It seems you are busy again with another rogue vampire. Is this becoming a specialty of yours?” Xavier focused his attention on Grant.

  “I certainly hope not.”

  “This time though, it’s a member of your own coven.” The man looked at Miles. “Can you explain the bloodshed?”

  Miles’ demeanor hadn’t changed by the imposing nature of their guests. “From what we’ve gathered, Sebastian seems to be seeking out vampires that freely, and carelessly, sire fledglings.”

  “Sloppy, but not against council policy,” Xavier replied. The woman next to him had not spoken at all, but her eyes revealed deep interest. “What is his motivation?”

  “When I find him I’ll ask,” Grant replied. His curtness earned him a glare from Genevieve, who looked more flustered than I knew she could even become. He sighed. “We’re dealing with significant fallout from the Caleb situation. We’ll handle it. As a family.”

  “Do you have a timeline on retrieval?”

  “We should know something soon,” Miles said calmly. “We’ve put a great deal of time into this, and we’re waiting on our scouts to return. Maybe you’d like to stay and see how Grant conducts an operation like this.”

  From my spot, I saw the distinct twitch of Grant’s jaw. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

  Sharp metal clanged together from the bracelets on Noor’s arm. She clasped her hands together and said, “We could spare one day. It will appease our superiors.” Her eyes never left Grant. “I’m intrigued at what you do here, Mr. Palmer, with your particular desire to civilize our kind.”

  Although I sat quietly, her interest in Grant, my mate, kicked my temper into gear. Which normally wouldn’t be an issue—except for the pesky issue of my traitorous, tell-tale heart.

  Xavier’s eyes slid in my direction. “Who’s out there?”

  Grant wasted no time and was by my side in an instant. “I’d like to introduce you both to Amelia Chase. She’s a new member of our coven.”

  “Hello,” I said, stepping into the room, keeping my voice even.

  “From your report,” Xavier asked Miles.

  Wait, I was part of a report?

  “About Caleb,” the bald man assured me. “I mentioned your involvement.”

  For as much as Noor ignored me, Xavier’s eyes had remained glued to me since the minute he realized I was in the room. “Come here,” he declared, waving me in his direction.

  Grant nodded and I walked to the table. Xavier gestured me closer. His handsome face tilted in interest and his hand reached for mine. My instinct was to run, but Genevieve flashed me a dire look, so I allowed him to take it.

  His hand was smooth, soft, as though there wasn’t a line etched in his palm. His skin was dark, nearly black with his palms a fleshy pink. His touch was gentle and I felt a slight thrill as he stroked my inner wrist, feeling for the thrum of blood.

  “How is this possible?”

  “It’s her gift, from what we can tell.” A lie. From Miles. The blood amulet grew warm against my chest. “We’re studying it now. Devoting as much time as we can to learning more.”

  “I’d hardly call that a gift,” Noor muttered.

  “Fascinating.” Xavier held my arm forward. Noor looked at it like she was being offered road-kill. “Aren’t you the least bit curious? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “I sense many things about Ms. Chase.” She pushed her chair back and said, “Genevieve, if we’re staying here I’ll need suitable accommodations.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Mr. Palmer, I’ll be expecting a full run through of your plans by the end of the day.”

  He nodded, jaw tight.

  She exited the room with Genevieve following closely behind her. Miles and Xavier exchanged a look and began discussing business—her further. A moment later, Grant and I stood in the kitchen staring at one another across the wide, marble island.

  “What the hell was that about?” I asked. If I was human, I’d need a drink.

  “Mind games.” He waved a hand as though it was trivial. From the look on my face he must have realized quickly I didn’t agree. “She finds my chosen profession interesting.”

  I blinked. “I see. Are you going to meet with her?”

  “Yes.” The intuitive feeling in the pit of my stomach didn’t like that idea at all. Grant seemed to sense my displeasure. “I’ll update her on Sebastian. We’ll be gone by morning anyway. These people like to meddle—they have no interest in getting their hands dirty with the real work.”

  “Will you tell her about Emmanuel?”

  He thought for a moment. “I’m not sure yet.”

  Grant leaned over the island and caught my hands in his. “We’ll leave soon, catch Ryan on the way back if he hasn’t returned.”

  “Okay.”

  “We’ll find Emmanuel first,” he promised, even though he couldn’t be sure. We both felt it was important to get there before Sebastian. Life or death important.

  Chapter 29

  Grant

  As much as it grated against my nerves, I allowed Noor into the office I use while in Black Mountain. It was not as intrusive as it would have been in Asheville, or even at The Foundation, as I hadn’t truly lived there in such a long time, but still, there’s a difference between an invitation and a demand.

  Noor fell into the latter.

  She arrived on her own, gliding in through the open door, absorbing everything q
uickly. The map on the wall, the papers on the desk. The notes jotted on the yellow, lined pad. She ran her finger down the list I’d made and cut her eyes in my direction. “Your system seems a little antiquated, don’t you think?”

  I shrugged. “It works for me. I like to see everything laid before me.”

  “Hm.” She sat in the desk chair. “Explain the process—the purpose. Justify the time and reasoning.”

  I fought the anger boiling beneath the surface. “I don’t typically justify my actions to others.”

  She laughed. “I’m sure you don’t. Like the child. You did that?”

  Child. That was a reference to Amelia. “Yes.”

  Her head tilted. “Why?”

  Why? The memories of Amelia flood my head. My heart. From the instant I smelled her in my home to the moment I gave her life—reborn. “I thought you were here to find out more about my profession.”

  “I assume you’ll find your family—only after leaving a wake of bloody deaths behind you. Your motives are bizarrely clean. Your conscience less so, but who of us is without sin?” She crossed one leg over the other, a sharp heel angled away from her body. “You’ve spent a lifetime—or two—meddling in the affairs of your family and the humans you feel compelled to protect. Wouldn’t you like to rise above all of that? To something greater?”

  “Not particularly.”

  “So you’re content cleaning up the mess of the lesser and raising pennies for the unfortunate? Do you not think you’ve repaid any and all debts that you may have incurred?” she asked.

  “This isn’t about debts.”

  “No? Not to your mother? To Olivia. Even Caleb? Do you not see that in your world you do nothing but create chaos that returns tenfold?” She picked up a stack of papers on the desk.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and counted, mentally, to ten. “What exactly do you want, Noor?”

  She flipped through the papers, barely paying attention, but she was a vampire, I’m sure she culled what she needed. At her leisure she asked, “What do you think will happen to the girl? The one you’ve marked like a dog in heat?”

  My hands clenched. “Nothing. Nothing will happen to her.”

  “Perhaps.” She shrugged with false indifference. “That pulsing heart tells me differently. She’s a liability. A babe born with a weakness. She should have been terminated on the spot.”

  Blind rage flickered over my senses.

  “How dare you—“

  She stood, walking close. I restrained myself from choking the life out of her. “When you’re ready, we’ll be there. For both of you.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “The Council. We want you.”

  The idea floored me. “Ridiculous.”

  “I know. I thought so, too. I did, I knew the arguments I laid out were weak and would never sway you. You’re as rogue as the men you hunt.” She ran a finger over the starched collar of my shirt. “Just dressed better.”

  I snatched her wrist in mine.

  “I thought that but then you revealed the girl.” She smiled, mean and hard. “You won’t be able to protect her.”

  “I will always protect her.”

  “Hmm…” she hummed, flicking a tongue over her lips. “Have you tasted her yet? The blood of an immortal?”

  “Stop.”

  She’d easily revealed my biggest fear. A fear she picked up on immediately.

  “No?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Someone will,” she said with confidence. “It’s only a matter of time. By nature we’re a curious species.”

  Noor stood very close to me, inches from my chest and face. I could end her in a moment, I had no doubt about that. But then I’d lose everything. Amelia. My family. I narrowed my eyes and asked, “Are we finished?”

  She looked up at me and pursed her lips, as though we were very much not finished, but she thought better of it. “For now.”

  She passed me, and I watched her leave, eyes hard on her back. At the door she paused and said, “The offer stands. When you’re ready, let me know.”

  She said it as if it was a done deal. That we would cave and come to them. Over my dead body.

  Chapter 30

  Amelia

  Sharp, clean air. Gray, full sky. Wind slapped against my cheeks like the sound of my name, echoing in my ears. Amelia… Amelia… Amelia…

  The feeling of cold settled in my bones, working into my muscles. A spot in my mind told me vampires don’t get cold. That we’re beyond that sort of weakness, but the weight of it crushed me.

  I blinked, tree bark coming into focus, brown and weathered. Lined with veins of lichen. A bird twittered. The earth crunched.

  “Amelia!”

  “What?” I whispered, pressing my fingers to my ears. There was something I had to do. A purpose for my mission. A dot on the horizon that needed my attention. I shielded my eyes and attempted to focus.

  “Amelia!”

  My body jerked back, wrenching me from my goal. I spun, hand fisted, making contact. The loud crack on impact, doubled with the howl of pain, shook me from my stupor. The cold vanished and I stared at the man in front of me, holding his cheek.

  “Adam?”

  “What the fuck?” he said, carefully working his jaw. I stood frozen as the world zoomed back to me, proportional and clear.

  “Where am I?” I asked, looking around the unfamiliar terrain.

  He spat, blood landing on the thin layer of snow and said, “About five miles from Lost Cove.”

  “I…” I stumbled for words. I had no recollection of leaving the house or for what purpose. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

  “I was just about to ask you that. That was a hell of a punch.”

  “Just, uh, a little confused.” The feeling returned to my fingers and toes. My hearing evened out. “I should probably get back.”

  “Does Grant know you’re out here? Alone?”

  I stared over his shoulder at the tracks I’d made getting to the clearing. Single line—paced at a run. Adam followed my line of sight and his eyebrow lifted. Dozens of footprints marred the area. All mine.

  “I don’t know. Sometimes the new senses are overwhelming. I must have gotten distracted and lost track.”

  He frowned. “I’ll take you back.”

  I nodded and followed him out of the woods.

  ~*~

  Grant and Adam stood on the front porch discussing me. They didn’t try to hide it or anything. I supposed that was nearly impossible with my hearing change. So I pressed my back against the wall and listened as Adam described how he found me and my behavior on the way back to Black Mountain.

  “She seemed confused.”

  “It’s common,” Grant said. “The smallest thing can overwhelm the senses.”

  “But to get that far away? She was very close to Lost Cove. I don’t think anyone would have done anything but the agreement stands—no vampires on Melungeon property.”

  “I know, and thank you for looking out for her.” We’d passed Grant on the main road, his SUV coming to a skidding halt. I’d barely gotten out of the car when he had me in a tight embrace, worry etched all over his features.

  “Just luck. I was heading to the woods when I caught her scent.” He paused. “From the look of her tracks she was in a hurry and maybe agitated. I called her name over and over but got no reaction. Well, until she clocked me.”

  I sensed rather than heard Grant smile. “She’s definitely strong. It’s taken some getting used to.”

  “How are things going with the other stuff? The heart…”

  “I can’t say it hasn’t caused some concern. It puts a target on her back. It makes her different—vulnerable, I guess. My species isn’t kind to outliers, especially one that can be exploited.”

  “What do you mean?” Adam asked.

  “Her blood. There’s nothing like it. And there’s nothing more important to my people. Nothing—other than power. Combine th
e two and…” He laughed bitterly. “I don’t know what lengths others will go through to hurt her.”

  Grant’s voice was raw. Trembling. I’d never heard him so revealed, outside our bed—outside of the two of us. He’d tried to explain the risk to me, but I’d resisted, thinking he was being over protective as usual. But his tone. The strain. Realization took hold.

  “Do you think it gives her an edge? Or some sort of special power?”

  Grant hesitated, probably afraid to share too much information with someone that was a known enemy, but the lines had blurred between our people. “Her blood may be powerful to those who drink it. It could enhance their own abilities and strength.”

  “You haven’t tested this theory?”

  “No.”

  “Shouldn’t you?” Adam asked to my surprise.

  If he answered or gestured I couldn’t make out what it was.

  “I understand, I guess. Well, is there anything I can do?” Adam asked.

  “Is that a serious offer?”

  “I owe you a debt. I’m ready to repay it when you need it.”

  My ears tickled at the sound of Grant rubbing his hand through his hair. Delegating wasn’t one of his strong suits, unless it was over paper clips and dusting. To my surprise though, he replied, “I think I have something that would be perfect for you. How good are you at tracking?”

  “Found your girl, didn’t I?”

  Grant laughed. “You did. Now let’s see if you can help find Sebastian.”

  ~*~

  Teeth bore down on my hip, lips trailed across my belly. His hands were everywhere, as though they hadn’t traveled the territory before. It felt different—each time was different. I was different.

  Lifting his chin upward, his face leveled with mine. His hair shooting up in a dozen directions, eyes dark purple and dilated. He was naked, exposed—out of control—making me dizzy and hot. Looking down on me he smiled, wolfish, predatory and my hips lifted to him—for him.

  “Gran—“ I began, but was cut off my his mouth. He kissed me hard, fully, and again my body sought connection with his. After the first time at the cabin, I learned that Grant liked rough sex. Vampire sex he called it, heightened and full intensity. It was more than that, I knew. It was his preference, which made my blood thrum and boil. He’d gone decades without a partner and now he had one that he loved and could handle the physicality he desired.