by K. M. Shea
Celestina peered at me, then turned around in her chair. “Your Eminence!” She swiftly pushed back from the table and stood so she could bow to him. “Did you need something?”
Hastily, all the other vampires leaped to their feet and bowed as well.
Killian swatted his hand at them. “It’s fine.”
Celestina was not so easily convinced. Her shoulders were set with steely determination as she pushed on. “Did you want us to send up your blood packs early tonight?”
“No,” Killian said. “I came to inform you all that we’re going to have…” He tipped his head back as he thought, and his smirk turned devious. “Let’s call it a field trip.”
“Where to, Your Eminence?” Josh asked.
Killian’s smirk was so wide he flashed his pronounced fangs. “Tutu’s.”
Chapter Seven
Hazel
I dropped my fork on my plate with a loud clack. “You talked to her? What did she say?”
Killian strolled into the room, his free hand shoved in his pants pocket. “She won’t bend the rules and let you skip the paperwork—particularly since the Wizard Council took such a strong stance that you need to re-register. It would be bad publicity.”
That was bad news, but Killian was too smug for that to be the end of it. Warily, I glanced at the other Drake vampires, but none of them showed the concern I did. “What did she offer as an alternative?”
“A trade.” Killian sucked his blood pouch down and tossed the garbage on the table. “Tutu has quarterly tests of her security systems at each branch location. She alternates between holding a manual employee test, and a field test where a team is hired to try and break into the building. The test for the Magiford branch location is next week. She’s agreed to hire a team from the Drake Family to hold the field test.”
“Let me get this straight.” I set my elbows on the table and clamped my hands on the side of my head so I could be certain my head was on right. “You want us to try and break into Tutu’s? A bank which is universally acknowledged as one of America’s safest magical storage methods?”
“She’s hiring us—we’ll have contracts that will legally protect us and her,” Killian said. “And if we just so happen to liberate the contents of your lockbox while we are there…” He grinned savagely.
“But would it hurt her reputation more to have something stolen from her bank?” I asked.
“Only if you plan to report that items were stolen from your lockbox,” Celestina pointed out.
I blinked in surprise. That was actually a very good point. If we were hired by Tutu, and neither I nor her staff registered a complaint about my lockbox, we’d be in the clear.
“We won’t take anything else,” Killian continued. “And Tutu set up the contract so when the team makes it in and out, we have to bring proof with us. Your lockbox will be our proof.”
“I think I get it.” I slowly nodded. “But who is going to be on the team? I obviously can’t do it by myself, and you said Tutu hired the Drake Family?”
“Precisely. So for the next week we’ll be practicing to see who qualifies to be on the team. It will be a wonderful bonding experience.” The purr in Killian’s voice made me think the next week was actually going to bond us the same way childhood traumas can serve as bonding experiences for siblings.
“That sounds…great,” I said.
“I’m glad you think so. Come downstairs after you finish dinner. We begin drills tonight.” Killian sauntered from the room.
The second the door closed behind him, the vampires dashed to the table, downed their blood, and tore into a few snacks.
“Come downstairs as fast as you can, Hazel. Oh—but don’t make yourself sick!” Celestina licked her lips after she finished off the last of her blood, then bulldozed her way past Josh—who was putting his veritable armory back on.
Julianne winked at me. “See you in the gym, Miss!” She and Gavino sprinted from the room.
I was a little confused. They seemed…excited. Which, I got that the Drake Family drilled and practiced endlessly, but that didn’t explain why they’d be excited about breaking into a magically warded vault—even if it was legal.
I chewed a mouthful of carbonara as I thought.
And why was Killian doing this? What did he gain by potentially risking his Family? Because let me be straight, Tutu’s was warded to the basement pipes with magical traps and wards. Even if Tutu had invited us to break in, the danger was still very real.
I doubted he’d go this far just for me, so…what was his angle? And what did he get out of this?
Four days into our ‘preparation’, I started getting worried.
Not because Killian hadn’t yet announced who was on the team, but because of the wide variety of activities he was putting everyone through as part of the testing phase.
The night he announced the deal with Tutu, there was a weightlifting and flexibility competition. The following day we all went down to the pool for a demonstration of our swimming skills.
Today, we were practicing climbing on a rock wall I hadn’t even known existed out by the swimming pool.
“Um, Killian.” I watched Celestina rappel down the wall. “Is there something you want to tell me about what we’re going to find inside Tutu’s?”
Killian stabbed a straw in one of his blood pouches—which always reminded me of juice packs. Disgustingly, Killian’s attractive looks weren’t ruined by the childish picture. He made it cool. It was incredibly irritating. “It’s fine,” he said around the straw.
I stared at the climbing gear fastened around my waist and legs—which I had no idea of how to use. “I don’t think it is, actually.”
“We won’t be dodging dragon shifters if that’s what you’re concerned about,” Killian said. “Though it’s pretty safe to assume there will be fire traps.”
“I’ll make a note to bring marshmallows.”
“You never know when you’ll need a snack.” He grinned—the more subtle kind that actually flashed with true humor rather than vindictive cynicism like his regular smirks.
I couldn’t help grinning back, until his comment about fire traps sank in. “So, we’re for real trying to break into my lockbox.”
“Yes.”
“And Tutu is keeping her security system on, so she’s not making this any easier on us.”
“No.”
I paused. “Killian…of the quarterly reviews that she’s hired teams to try and break in…how many of them have succeeded?”
Killian checked his wristwatch. “Maybe a dozen.”
“At this location?” I asked. A dozen still wasn’t great odds considering Tutu’s had been around in my grandparents’ time. But the Drake Family was powerful.
“No, nationwide,” Killian said.
“What?” My stomach plummeted to my toes. “How are we going to get to my lockbox if the test has only failed twelve times ever?”
“Getting to your lockbox alone won’t work,” Killian warned. “We have to successfully take something and leave. If her security team catches up with us, they’ll take it back.”
“How wonderful. I should have spent my mornings looking over the wizard registration paperwork,” I grumbled. “Might as well prepare for the inevitable.”
Killian raised an eyebrow at me. “Your lack of faith in the Drake Family’s ability to break laws is upsetting.”
I scrunched my eyes shut and rubbed my forehead. I needed to make some serious headway on my magic over the next few days so I could help as much as possible. Maybe we needed to visit the Paragon again so I could get another book to look at?
“It will be fine, Hazel,” Killian said. “It’s a challenge.”
I shot him a look. “This might be fun and games for you, but I need my signet ring.”
“You missed my point.” Killian nodded to the vampires—who were performing all sorts of impossible athletic feats as they climbed the walls. “I train them so they can be ready for a fight
to the death at any moment. They are the deadliest vampires in the area. For them, this will only be a challenge.”
Slowly, I nodded. “You’re right. They are capable.” I hesitated. “I’m just afraid to hope that something will actually go right at this point.”
“It will,” Killian promised. “We will make it right.”
We stood in silence for a few moments, until Killian added, “And I never said Tutu was the only favor I called in.”
Ah, well, that explained a lot. But it also raised more questions in my mind. The top of the list still being…why?
Why was Killian going through such effort to help me?
I watched Josh shoot at a moving target while he clung to the rock wall. (No one could ever say the Drake vampires weren’t enthusiastic.)
“I appreciate the help.” I slowly said. “But is this really okay?”
Killian sucked on his blood pouch. “You aren’t referring to the rock climbing.”
“No. I’m talking about getting hired to break into Tutu’s so I can grab my lockbox.” I scratched my nose as I watched Rupert scale the wall with the speed of a monkey. “You’re putting multiple Drake vampires at stake. And I don’t think you’re getting anything out of it.” I watched Killian out of the corner of my eye, trying to judge his expression.
He shrugged. “It’s good training for them—and it’s a challenge they haven’t experienced before.”
His expression was too…harmless. Killian Drake was one of the most cunning and vicious beings in the Midwest. There was no way he was doing this because it was a good training exercise. “That can’t be the real reason why you’re doing this,” I said. “Do you plan to snatch something while we’re there?”
Killian snorted. “I may push for political power, but even I know when discretion is the better option. No, Tutu will gut me if she were to find anything besides contents from your lockbox missing. Dragon shifters are possessive—it’s why her company was fast to take off. Everyone knew they could trust her to guard their valuables once they were put under her care.”
This was a believable—and likely—answer.
But it made me want to scratch my head even more. “So what are you getting out of this?”
Killian finished his blood pouch and tossed it in a nearby trashcan. “You doubt I would go through all of this just for your sake?” His eyes smoldered with more hints of red than usual as he leaned in. “Don’t you think I care?”
Bless my soul—I hoped he didn’t. Care, that is.
His gaze was almost magnetic, and with him this close to me—with his arm touching mine—I couldn’t miss how attractive he was, and how dangerous he could be to me.
And, no, I wasn’t referring to the way he could probably kill me with a single blow.
House Medeis. I gulped as I forced myself to cling to that thought. I have a duty to House Medeis.
During my somewhat panicked thoughts, Killian pressed in closer so we were now face to face, and he rested one forearm on my shoulder. “Well?”
I patted Killian on the chest the same way I would pat a happy dog’s wriggling rear. “Please. You’ve taught me better than to think that.”
Killian stared at me, then abruptly leaned back and laughed. “Keeping you is almost worth it for the entertainment factor alone.” He shifted so he now rested both of his forearms on my shoulders in what could maybe be loosely interpreted as a slack hug.
“I’m going to take that as you won’t tell me what you’re getting in all of this,” I said.
“It’s the bonding,” Killian said. “It’s important for blending the Drake Family together.”
“Yeah.” I rolled my eyes. “And I’m totally naïve enough that I believe that.”
Killian chuckled. Standing this close to him, I could feel it start in his chest.
I had been hot before—Celestina made me run laps before she tackled the climbing wall—but Killian oozed cool air, making him extra pleasant to stand next to. I was pretty suspicious that Killian knew this, because he was almost too casual in the way he draped his arms over me.
He noticed my narrowed eyes. “What?”
“You can’t fool me,” I declared.
“About what?”
“I don’t know. But you still can’t fool me.”
More rich laughter. “If things don’t work out with House Medeis, perhaps the Drake Family ought to officially adopt you,” Killian purred.
“Is that even possible?”
“You could be our mascot. Or pet.”
“Such a tempting offer.” It was right about then I noticed Gavino, lingering a few feet away and staring at the ceiling in a way that communicated he’d rather be anywhere but here.
Killian didn’t even have to look at him—he kept his half-lidded gaze on me. “What?”
Gavino bowed extra low. “Sorry for interrupting, Your Eminence, but everyone has completed the initial climb, except for Hazel.”
Killian pulled back from me. “Fine. Come on, Wizard. You’re up.”
He strode for the climbing wall, and I dutifully followed—trotting to keep pace with his long legs.
He glanced down at me. “I’m impressed. I thought you’d try to get out of the climb.”
I shrugged. “As long as someone checks all these ropes for me since I don’t have a clue what to do, it will be fine,” I said.
“You’re getting braver—how commendable.”
“Not really. I don’t know why you think this would be such a big deal when you chucked me off the roof of Drake Hall!”
Killian sighed as we stopped short of the wall. “It was only the third floor.”
Before I could protest, Celestina approached us with a smile. “Which part of the wall do you think she should climb, Your Eminence?”
“Hazel is extra cheeky today, so I was thinking the highest portion.” Killian pointed to the one part of the wall that reached the ceiling.
He glanced at me—very obviously looking for a reaction—so I kept my expression flat just on principle.
“Or perhaps you could just yank her up and down like a pinata,” Killian said.
I broke and wrinkled my nose at him. “That’s so mature of you.”
Killian winked, before his expression turned serious as he turned his attention to Celestina. “I wanted your observations on how everyone performed today.”
I tuned out and instead scuffed my running shoe on the gym floor, producing a squeak as my thoughts returned to Killian’s joking earlier.
Yeah, it’d be really bad if he actually cared about me.
Killian cared deeply about things that were important to him. I don’t know if he loved, or was even capable of love, but between his political dabbling and public figure, it was pretty obvious he cared about the Drake Family, and it was equally obvious he’d tear the region apart if someone tried to hurt his people.
If he cared about me like that, vampire or not, there was no way I could hold out against him. And that was where the danger was. Because caring was definitely not the same as loving. And the last thing I needed was to have an unrequited love for Killian Drake.
Chapter Eight
Killian
I sat on the windowsill of the farm house and checked my watch. 4:30 am. I needed to start the drive home soon. I was only an hour and a half away from Drake Hall, but I had to get back before Hazel woke up, or she’d ask more questions.
Questions I didn’t know the answer to.
I studied the sleeping werewolf curled up on a dumpy mattress. It was Alpha Nash—leader of the Flatlands Pack and clearly one of Mason’s newest co-conspirators, although obviously not a very good one.
I’d been sitting here for the better part of thirty minutes, and the overgrown mutt had yet to sense me and wake up.
Which would be more fun—to wake Nash up with a dagger at his throat, or casually kick him awake?
In the end I decided it was best to go with a classic, so I ghosted over to Nash’s bed and se
t my hand against the Alpha’s throat, then pressed down hard.
Nash’s eyes snapped open, and he thrashed against my hold, snarling until I set my knee on the man’s sternum.
Werewolves were physically stronger than vampires. But I had Nash pinned to the mattress like a bug, and based on the Alpha’s eyes that were fever-bright with fear, the darkness, the throat grab, and attacking the Alpha in his own home—with wolves standing watch—had scared the hell out of him. And a scared enemy was never a smart enemy.
I smiled.
“Alpha Nash.” I spoke in a lowered tone—one the guard werewolves wouldn’t hear, but still conveyed I wasn’t afraid of Nash or any member of the Flatlands Pack. “Do you know who I am?”
Nash’s eyes bulged, and with my night vision I could see the Alpha’s face was turning a mottled shade of red and purple. The werewolf fought for a breath of air, then wheezed, “Killian Drake.”
“Very good,” I said. “You’ve been a bad dog, Alpha Nash. You’ve made an alliance with a wizard who is attempting to set himself up as the new Adept of House Medeis.”
Nash tried to shake his head, but he couldn’t do much more than rock his head due to the grip I had on his neck. “N-n-no. The W-wizard Council was a c-c-coincidence.”
I felt Nash’s throat contract with the effort it took to talk. “Really? Is that all it was? Then I suppose the legal contract of an alliance you registered with Mason at the Magiford Curia Cloisters was also a coincidence?”
The Alpha’s skin turned ashen, and sweat beaded across his forehead.
I watched him for several long moments. “Because I am generous, I’m going to give you a chance to correct this miscalculation of yours. Dissolve the contract with Mason. Stay far away from House Medeis, and never set your eyes on Hazel. In the future, if I find so much as a tail hair from a member of your Pack around House Medeis, I’ll come back with my Family. And next time you won’t wake up.”
I pushed down hard enough to make Nash gurgle, then eased off the werewolf. I glided back to the open window. “You’ve been warned, Nash.” I slipped out the window, landing on the front porch roof with a thump so soft it didn’t make the seemingly half-deaf watch wolves twitch an ear.
