by Leeah Taylor
As if Lucien even gave a damn. Pretty sure she could wear a paper bag, and he’d be pushing her into the office.
“But I’ll see you later?” Juliette asked. “It isn’t the Fourth of July if we don’t all watch the fireworks together.”
Chelsea nodded. “I’ll be there soon.”
She disappeared up the stairs.
“Ready, Luv?”
She raked hungry eyes over him. “Hmmm, how is it you make jeans and a button-up look so casually sexy?”
He pulled her to him. “It’s the sleeves. Women can’t resist the rolled-up sleeves.”
Juliette laughed. “So that’s Ollie’s secret?”
He nudged her toward the door. “Don’t you start with that.”
“There’s my jealous Frost.”
“Damn right.”
“Stop by Juleps first? I want to check in with Lucien.”
He nodded and opened the door. “Anything you want, Luv.”
“Anything?”
“Except that.” He smirked. Her brow went up. “Or that.”
She stuck her bottom lip out. “You’re no fun.”
“Promise, Luv, you’ll change your mind,” he said.
Juliette stopped him at the top step, leaned into his chest, and pushed up on her toes. “Damien?”
He caught her bottom lip and sucked on it. “What?”
“I’m not wearing any panties.” She pulled away with a wink.
She plays so dirty.
“You are in so much trouble now, Luv.”
Juliette | 38
When Damien took her hand in his to pull her close on the way to Juleps, her heart stumbled. Their song finally changed, and it never sounded so beautiful.
He guided her into Juleps with a hand on her lower back, keeping her close and eyes in all directions.
“I won’t be long,” Juliette said.
He smiled down at her. “I’ll come find you if you are.”
Juliette found Lucien with an old-fashioned in his hand, leaning against the bar and scanning the crowd.
“Anything?” she asked.
“No, but we’ve got every available set of eyes out there. If he shows, we’ll know. Go enjoy yourself.”
Juliette held her finger up to the bartender, and he nodded. “Hard to enjoy myself when there’s a maniac hybrid out there looking to decimate everything I care about.”
A shot of whiskey was set down in front of her, and she drank it, hissing at the burn in the back of her throat.
“Jules, seriously, let Damien take you out.”
She giggled. “You know he looked so adorable asking me out tonight.”
Lucien laughed into his drink. “I can imagine.”
“Kinda cute seeing him all vulnerable.”
“He’s trying.”
She looked out to the dance floor and found Damien with Ollie, joking and laughing. Riley hung off Ollie’s arm, looking perfect beside him. She even looked like she was warming to Damien.
“A werecat princess and King of Sterling.” Lucien smirked. “What is the matter with my brothers and me?”
Juliette put back her second shot. “You guys just know perfection when you see it.”
She slammed the shot glass down on the bar top, flashing him a smug smile.
Lucien laughed. “Get your ass out there. You two deserve one night.”
“Saw Chelsea at the house. Said something about getting ready?”
He buried any expression into his drink. “Oh?”
“What is he up to?”
Lucien laughed. “Juliette, give him tonight.”
This was the absolute last chance Damien had before she washed her hands of him entirely. She hoped he didn’t break her heart one last time.
“Excuse me, Madame Regent.”
Juliette turned to the voice and was struck in the gut with familiarity. The man had dark curly hair and deep brown eyes. Eyes she’d seen before.
Lucien stepped in front of her. “Can I help you?”
“It’s fine, Lucien.” She offered the man her hand. “You are?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, Evan Sawyer. Night pack alpha.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, scrutinizing her memory, but she couldn’t place him. “I’m sorry, have we met before?”
“I don’t think so, Regent—"
“Please call me Juliette. Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure. But I’m told I just have one of those faces.”
He offered her a toothy smile, and it hit her. He reminded her of her father.
“The sheriff insisted I come and let you know that I’m the alpha to the wolves that have come to Sterling.”
He was almost a replica of her father, Johnathan Warren Reid. She was only thirteen when he’d left her to flee her mother. She wanted to go with him, but Ann Marie wouldn’t allow it. Threatened to kill her before she’d let him take Juliette out of Sterling.
So, he abandoned her.
She cleared her throat. “Then we have a lot to discuss.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He paused when she raised a brow. “Juliette, yes, we do.”
Damien cut in front of her. “Everything okay?”
Overprotective, possessive Frost. Juliette pushed him aside. “Everything is fine.” She side-eyed him. “Evan, find me tomorrow, and we’ll talk.”
“Looking forward to it.” He nodded towards Damien and Lucien.
“Who was that?” Damien asked.
“Nobody,” she insisted. “Come on, we’re supposed to be on a date.”
Lucien winked at her as she pulled Damien towards the door to lead him outside into the crowds.
Juliette | 39
Big bulb white lights illuminated the streets in a soft glow as the sun set. Locals and tourists filled the streets of Riverfront Avenue, many lining up at the best food trucks Sterling had to offer. Street vendors, from art to tarot card reading, were scattered over the sidewalks. There was something for everyone. Across from Juleps in Riverfront square, overlooking Sterling bay, a local favorite band played up on the stage.
Juliette barely hid her excitement, skipping down the stone streets and dragging Damien towards the music. It was like time had never passed. He always took her to the street gala. He’d spoil her with art, trinkets, and oddities from the vendors. Balk at the amount of food she could eat her way through. And he’d dance with her under the stars to Etta Jones just before the fireworks went off.
He shook his head. “I swear you have a bottomless stomach.”
Juliette laughed, stuffing her face with cotton candy. “I’ve barely eaten anything.”
“Ha, okay.”
She shrugged. “Can’t help that I love food.”
He tugged her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple. The music from the stage morphed to something slow, and a memory took hold.
She motioned to the stage with her head. “Playing our song.”
“Juliette, is that your way of asking me to dance?”
She avoided eye contact as she stuck the last bit of blue sugar in her mouth. “No.”
He twirled her around and tugged her toward him to collide into his chest. She gasped then smiled and tucked her head under his chin. Sucking in the myriad of smells of the Riverfront. Street food wafted through the air. The warm sweet scent of summer from the bay.
“Say it,” she murmured.
“Jules…”
She peered up at him. “What is the worst that could happen?”
“You’re taken away from me.”
“I could be taken away from you now. And then what?”
She pushed up on her toes, throwing caution to the wind, and kissed him. If anything, it was one last time just in case he blew his last chance. His hands closed around her face with an eager longing and thirst as his tongue pressed to taste her and she let him.
“Oh, hell, Jules.” Damien nuzzled against her cheek. “I swear
you’re going to be my undoing.”
He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Etta James blared from the speakers on the stage. She melted into his lead and buried her face in his chest, inhaling her favorite spice and getting lost in it.
She let her head fall back, capturing his storm watching her. “Take the risk for me. I’d rather risk hearing you say it one time than dying and never hearing you say it.”
“God, is that what you think?” He brushed his lips over hers. “That you aren’t worth the risk?” He pecked her on the lips. “You’re worth every risk, Luv.”
Xavier cleared his throat beside them. “Sir?”
Juliette dropped her head into Damien’s chest. Make up your mind, fate.
Damien growled. “This better be really good.”
“We’ve spotted him, sir.”
“Go,” Juliette urged him. “I’ll get Lucien.” Damien hesitated. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He jerked her to him and kissed her hard then he was gone. She moved through the people to get to the bar, missing the warmth of his arms. Come hell or high water, that man would tell her he loved her before night’s end. She didn’t care what it took. No more almost I love yous. No more interruptions. Tonight. They’d deal with Ramsey, and she was going to have her happily ever after with the stubborn-ass vampire.
A hand grabbed hers, and a smile stretched across her face as her heart swelled. Guess it was a false alarm. She turned to meet dark gray eyes, and a knot formed in the middle of her chest.
Ramsey pulled her close. “Hello, Kitten.”
She swallowed. Fear wasn’t the only thing keeping her silent but the real threat he posed amidst hundreds of humans. Her eyes raked over the faces. Damien wasn’t anywhere near them.
A spark of purple energy engulfed her hand, hidden between them. She held it close to his chest. A similar spark of blue danced over his fingertips, and he gripped her hand. A shock of electricity jolted through her, and she gasped, gaining the attention of a few people around them. Ramsey nodded in their direction with a charming smile as if he had just surprised her.
“Nod politely and dance with me, Juliette,” he muttered.
She leaned into his embrace. His hand slipped into hers, and now they looked no different than anyone else. A young couple enjoying a romantic evening.
“That’s my good girl,” he said.
“What do you want?”
He took the lead in their dance. “Your mother was almost a genius.”
“You’d be the only one to believe that.”
He caught her attention with the intensity of a Frost. “Where should we start, Kitten?”
“Magic?”
His brow pulled together. “What about it?”
“How did you complete the spell?”
“I’m not following, Kitten. I haven’t. Not yet.”
He looked genuinely confused.
“How is your magic like mine?”
“The blue energy?” She nodded, and he arched a brow. “Born with it, Kitten. Just like you.”
She shook her head. “No, my magic was like any other witch until Ann Marie altered it.”
“Then you never delved deep enough, Kitten.”
No, he was wrong. She hadn’t had the energy-based magic until her mother went poking where she didn’t belong.
“Oh, Juliette, I really wish we could’ve met under different circumstances.” His gaze softened. “Your mother bound the wolf in you and turned you into a vampire. But you’ve always been unique, just like me.”
Was it the isolation that had kept her from learning more? How could she have not known, or discovered, just how powerful her magic was?
“Why are you doing this? If you gave your brothers a chance, you might be able to turn this around.”
“I’ve had twenty-five years to learn all about my brothers. I don’t hate them, Kitten. Perhaps envy what they had, but I do not hate them.”
“Then give them a chance.”
“Kitten, I’m giving them the chance you and I were denied.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know, but it will. Maybe not for you.” He sighed with his brow pulled together. “I need you to know that this is not how I wanted things. I really wish you hadn’t killed Rebecca.”
It slid up into her chest in a smooth motion, slicing through her flesh clean between the ribs and piercing her heart. She barely sucked in a gulp of air.
Ramsey held her up, and war fought in his eyes. A confliction she didn’t understand. “Did you know that the witches blessed Sterling when it was established? Make a teensy-weensy blood sacrifice on it, and poof, all of Sterling becomes my altar.”
His wrist twitched, and she tried to cry out, but it caught in her throat. Icy cold pulsed through her chest while fire ignited in her veins, and a sweat broke out on her brow.
“Poison?” she muttered, struggling to breathe.
Ramsey took a vial of blood from his pocket. “The blood of a pure vampire, witch, and venom of a pure werewolf imbued with the magic of your mother’s spell. Ann Marie never should have used the blood of half-breeds.” He studied her with a hint of concern. “Took a few days to charge the spell, so I needed you distracted.”
“Why?” she forced out.
“They deserve this just as much as I do.”
It didn’t make sense. She blinked away the blackness creeping into her vision.
Ramsey touched his forehead to hers. “Please forgive me.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple. Chaste like the alley. A finger hooked under her chin, and he lifted her face to his. “Listen to me, Kitten, ya hearing me?” She nodded weakly. “Tell them to get the tip out, and you might make it. Part of me hopes you do because I think we’re far from done with each other. But if you don’t, I am truly sorry.”
The blade slid out of her chest, and pain blasted through her. Ramsey disappeared. She staggered back, holding her chest as liquid heat drenched her fingers. She frantically searched for a familiar face. Turning in all directions, she was unsure if she was moving or if the world was spinning.
Damien | 40
“Where the hell did you see him?” Damien demanded, looking in all directions. “How could you lose him just like that?”
Xavier searched the crowd. “Damien, he was here.”
He didn’t doubt Xavier’s claim. He just couldn’t believe that they’d lost him.
“Well, he’s not now. I’ve got dozens of guys out here. How could you lose him?”
Ramsey was pissing him off. What was his game? He scanned every face. He wasn’t there.
“Where is he?” Lucien asked, coming to stop with Ollie in tow.
Damien looked behind them. “Where’s Jules? She came to get you.”
Lucien shook his head. “No, Jet got us.”
Dread tightening in his chest, Damien looked back in the direction he’d left her. Up towards the stage where the crowd had easily doubled.
He reached for Xavier. “Radio everyone and get me eyes on Jules. Now!”
Xavier barked into the radio. “Who has eyes on Jules?”
Ollie shoved him. “The fuck were you thinking?”
Damien didn’t say anything. Every response came back as no visual. Nobody had eyes on her. Sickness boiled up to the back of his throat, and he swallowed it.
“Son of a bitch.” He turned to Lucien. “Go back to Juleps and look for her.”
A distraction was all Ramsey had been about the entire time. This one, though, could cost a whole lot more than some dead Elders or a leveled District. He pushed through the people, maneuvering between the dancing throngs of couples, trying to find her. Fighting his way to the curb, Damien climbed up on one the cement bases to a light pole. He scanned over the crowd looking for her, and his heart slammed down into his belly.
He saw her eyes first, drenched in defeat, light snuffed out. The dark
crimson spreading down the front of her white dress, dripping down over her fingers, forced him to act without thinking.
No!
He jumped down and bolted through the crowds. The people around her looked on in horror, gasping when Damien appeared out of nowhere and caught her at the waist as her legs gave out.
“Luv, what happened?”
She pulled in a shallow breath. “Poison.”
Damien lifted her up into his arms. “Ramsey?” Her head bobbed from side to side as he pushed through the crowd. “Talk to me, Jules.”
He forced his way into Juleps, cursing and elbowing his path through dozens of people. Lucien froze halfway down the stairs, color drained from his face.
“What happened?” Lucien asked.
Damien crashed through the office door and took her over to the couch, laying her down. His hand covered the spot on her chest.
“Open your eyes, Luv.” They opened into slits, sweat dripping down her face, “You have to tell me what happened.”
I’m never letting her go.
“Blood spilled...” she said, fading.
Damien tapped the side of her face. “Hey! Tell me about the poison.”
“Tip in my heart.” She was fading, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. I could be taken from you now. Then what? Why did he leave her there?
Riley dropped down beside him and pushed his hand out of the way before shoving her fingers into Juliette’s chest, making her whimper.
“I know, Jules, trust me, I don’t like it any more than you do.”
“What are you doing?” Damien asked.
“She said tip in her heart.” Riley dug deeper. “Means he used a poisoned-tipped dagger. Need to get it out.”
Juliette’s eyes rolled into the back of her head.
“Luv, open your eyes.” He shook her. “Jules!”
She winced, her fading gaze meeting his as she sucked in a breath. “Say it.”
“Jules, please,” he begged.
She wheezed. “I don’t want to die without hearing it.”
“Not dying, Jules. All in,” Riley gritted out.
He touched his forehead to hers as her heart slowed. “We are not ending here. Okay?”
