Now she had to hurry home, dress, then find a way to get the vampire to forget all about his capture and continue living his life however he saw fit.
With a yawn herself, she left him and hurried back to her car. After getting home and cleaning up, she hurried to change into a cute pair of boots, a heavy skirt, and a warm top. She borrowed a set of clothes from her burly lycan roommate and rushed back to work.
As the hours passed, she grew more giddy.
I did it. I rescued a vampire and lycans from the White Sea Witch without anyone’s help. I am awesome!
But as the workday dragged on, she had no luck researching a forget spell that might work on a vampire. And since she’d broken her mother’s hold over him, she couldn’t use Sabine’s magic to make him forget. What to do? She thought about calling Cho for help, but only if he’d swear not to tell Macy.
On her next break, she snuck downstairs to find Orion still asleep, unmoving and in the exact same spot as the one he’d been in when she’d left that morning. She’d brought a bag of clothing and a spare blanket and tucked that around him. Though Orion didn’t appear cold, looking at him half dressed made her cold and turned her on. Neither of which she needed at the moment.
She turned to leave when what he’d said before came back to her. “The Night Bloode never back down.”
Night Bloode.
Macy’s new clan was the Night Bloode.
What were the odds there was more than one Night Bloode clan in the city? Or that one of them happened to be a vryko in an area populated by upir and one clan of multi-tribal vamps?
Sabine had captured and bespelled one of Hecate’s blessed kin while looking like Kaia.
I’m so fucked.
There was no way around it. She had to call Macy.
She dialed her sister with shaky hands.
“Hello, Kaia. How did it go?” Macy asked with a smile in her voice. She yawned. “You’re lucky I’m up early today.”
“Macy, I’m in trouble. You can’t tell anyone. Not Duncan or any of the people you live with.”
“What’s wrong?” Her sister sounded awake and alert.
“I need you to come to ADR right away. I’m off at five.”
“I’m on my way.”
“It’s only three-thirty. You don’t—”
“See you soon.” She disconnected.
Kaia stared at her phone. With any luck, Macy could find a way out of this mess. Kaia hurried back to her position at the front desk in time to answer questions from a group of MEC trainees on extinct fire drakes.
More trainees from MEC, in addition to some university students from the nearby magir campus, took her time. So that when she glanced up, she spotted Macy sitting at a table reading a periodical on witchcraft.
Her phone showed she had another few minutes until quitting. But a glance through the large, stained-glass windows at the back of the grand building showed she’d have to race the setting sun.
Scared and tired, she yawned while inwardly panicking, not having gotten any sleep last night.
“Kaia?”
She glanced up at her boss. “Hi, Tom.”
The older mage smiled. “Great job today. We had more visitors than we normally do thanks to the new training at MEC.”
“No kidding.”
“I’m going to work with Ava on closing. Don’t worry about staying to the very end.” He laughed. “I’m letting you go a few minutes early. Aren’t I a great boss?”
She chuckled, so relieved she could have cried. “The best.”
“See you tomorrow.”
She grabbed her things and walked toward the back exit with a few stragglers. It took everything she had not to run. Once out of view of the main desk, she circled around, caught Macy closing behind her, and darted into a secret passage that led to a downward stairwell.
Macy rushed with her, both of them light on their feet. Once down in the tunnels, Kaia hurried to the archives room.
“What the hell, Kaia? What’s going on?”
Breathless, Kaia waved her on. “Tell you once we’re inside. Hurry.”
They came to a stop a minute or two later, and Kaia prayed she’d beaten the sunset. But when she pushed the door open and stepped through, a force knocked her into the wall and held her off the floor, hands on her shoulders fixing her in place.
Orion breathed her in. “Ah, my apologies. I’m not quite myself yet.” He gently set her down before wrapping her in a hug.
To her shock, that hug felt so darn good. Warm and safe, like home.
“What the fuck?” Macy growled. “Orion? What are you doing here?”
He growled low before turning and shielding Kaia with his body. Upon spying Macy, he relaxed. “Bloode Witch. How’s Smoky? Did you feed him while I was gone? Is Kraft still alive?”
“Smoky?” Macy blinked. “Kraft? What about...?” At his look, she let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, yes, your kitten is just fine. No doubt curled up with that handsome battle cat that keeps terrorizing everyone but Onvyr. And Kraft was alive just last night, though I haven’t seen him since waking up.” She looked from him to Kaia. “What’s going on here?”
“Orion, let me go,” Kaia muttered, surprised he did so without a fight.
He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “I found a witch, obviously.”
“No, I rescued you last night,” Kaia corrected. “Don’t you remember?”
His expression terrified her. “I remember everything. Don’t worry, I have plans to kill the sea witch. That she took your form to enslave one Of the Bloode is an abomination.” He kissed the top of her head. “But have no fear, she won’t harm you, ever. I’m going to drink her dry and feast on her marrow. Consider it a mating gift.”
Macy’s eyes couldn’t get any wider. She choked. “Did you say mating gift?”
“No,” Kaia said at the same time Orion smiled, showing a fang, and said, “Yes.”
Then Macy acted completely out of character. Instead of defending her little sister or doing her best to gut Orion from stem to sternum, she laughed so hard she cried.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Orion didn’t know what he’d said to amuse Macy, but his little mate didn’t look pleased. By the Waters of Nu, Kaia was lovelier every time he saw her. He felt a stirring between his legs, lusting after the beauty. He hadn’t felt such an attraction in decades.
His sleep had revived him, allowing his bloode to replenish the magic that had been missing during his stay at the White Sea Witch’s abode. That bitch had stolen his will with a spell. He also recalled a few stolen kisses he hadn’t much minded, and an attempt to drink his bloode he’d quashed by nearly taking her head off.
But she’d blown some dust in his face, which had confused him, allowing her to stab him with an athame. That stupid dagger had smelled of cinnamon and ash—brimstone. Having not long ago battled a demon in an alternate pocket of one of the hells, he knew the scent well. Unfortunately, the spell had stolen his rage, made him quiescent, and messed with his memories.
Until Kaia rescued him. Kaia, his mate, a gift from the fates he didn’t believe in for having done something worthy.