Kraft snorted.
Duncan roared, “Here and now, I vow I’m going to—”
“Oh stuff it, honey. He’s worried for Orion.”
Duncan narrowed his eyes on his mate. “So it’s okay for him to turn into an even bigger arsehole than usual and threaten my mate?”
“That’s right. The death of her and her womb if I don’t get my answers.”
Duncan grew deadly still.
Macy stared beyond Kraft. “Seriously, I promise. Bloode swear, pinky swear. Whatever. I’ll explain everything after we deal with the ghouls.” She said to Duncan, “Duncan, please. He’s got poison on the end of that stick. Rathenow ghoul toxin.”
“Rathenow?” Duncan paused and raised a brow at Kraft.
Kraft gave a subtle shrug, and Duncan turned, likely so his mate wouldn’t see him smile. “You swore, Bloode Witch. This is no simple thing you have agreed to do.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I know how close you two are.”
Duncan coughed, but Kraft heard the snicker he didn’t quite hide.
Pulling back the stick, he tossed it to the ground.
Macy rubbed her throat. “Should you leave something like that around for anyone to find it?”
Duncan picked it up.
“Duncan, no.” Macy rushed him, but he held her back. “It’s toxic! Who knows what it will do to you.”
“What? This broken number two pencil?”
“But...” She studied it then scowled at Kraft. “What about the ghoul toxin?”
“From Rathenow? A lovely little town in the district of Havelland? Really, what mischief in your brain.” Kraft huffed. Then he shifted into his wolf to get away from the angry witch.
Duncan tried to placate her while Kraft tore into the ghouls, warning them to go back where they’d come from, far away. But a few didn’t want to listen. While he convinced them to leave, he let Duncan tend to his snippy mate.
No longer in a foul mood since he’d finally gotten what he wanted, Kraft chased ghouls for fun until it was time to leave. Running up the sides of the walls, he bounded much farther than any normal nachzehrer might move in wolf form and awaited the pair at the top of the cave.
When they returned to vehicle he’d demolished, he realized he might actually deserve the angry looks turned his way and gave a sorry yip.
Macy glared. “Don’t talk to me.”
He cocked his head and gave her the puppy dog eyes domestic canines had mastered. Ha, there. A subtle softening in her expression.
Until her mate snorted.
“And you, stop laughing,” she snapped at Duncan.
“I’ll make him pay for scaring you, luv, I swear.”
“You’d better.” She gave Kraft the evil eye. “Because if you don’t, I will.”
That gave Kraft pause. She was, after all, their Bloode Witch. None of them had any idea of what she might be capable.
But none of that mattered, because in just a few hours, they’d be on their way to saving Orion from some horrible fate.
He could feel it.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Kaia woke up to the smell of chicken and waffles downstairs.
The time had passed eight in the evening, and she yawned as she dragged her feet to the bathroom and showered. After dressing, she made her way downstairs and sighed inwardly at her man.
I have a man. Well, a vampire, but he’s male, so that counts. She smiled at him.
He smiled at her.
Then she did what she’d been doing each day since they’d arrived. She went and gave him a big kiss.
“I like waking to that,” he said.
“Me too.” She took a deep breath. “Ah, breakfast.” At eight at night, but who cared? “Thank you, Orion.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
She paused. “You really don’t have to do things for me if you don’t want to. I appreciate it, but please don’t feel like it’s your job to take care of me.”
“But it is, mate.” He rubbed her nose with his, and the darling expression made her heart swell.
So this is love. She sighed. “You’re pretty great.”
“For a vampire?”
“For a man. Male. A romantic partner, how’s that?”
“Romance? I don’t know if I’m all that romantic. That might actually be part of the spell.”
“I don’t care. I like you as you are.” Her smile faded. But is that who you are? How much of this is really you and how much is the spell?
He took her chin in his hand and stared into her eyes. “No spell could make me feel this way. Stop worrying.”
“You always know what I’m thinking.”
He winked. “I’m that good.”
She laughed, feeling amazing.
He opened his mouth and froze.
“What’s wrong?”
“Stay here.” He vanished, out the door so fast the curtains swayed in his wake.
She’d given Macy directions to the place but no one else, and Macy hadn’t texted that she’d be arriving. Nervous, Kaia grabbed a rolling pin from the kitchen and moved to the front, peering through the curtains in the sidelite to the left of the door.
Moments later, Orion breezed through with a relaxed expression. “My kin and your sister have come to visit.”
“Oh good.”
Their shared relief faded as they realized what that meant.
Kaia shrugged and tried to pretend she wasn’t bothered. “Well, our happy vacation had to come to an end sometime. And hey, at least you can get back to normal.”
“With you by my side, yes.” He seemed adamant about that, so she had some hope that they might continue this relationship. Orion was so sweet and kind, loving and thoughtful. Could his non-spelled self be that different from the male she’d fallen in love with?
Macy walked through the door with two vampires. Not quite as large and imposing as Orion, the handsome one in the suit had a proprietary hand at the small of her back. Kaia had heard about Macy’s fancy mate, so she figured he had to be Duncan.
The other one looked as if he wanted to eat her, and she took a step closer to Orion.
Tall, dark, and fierce with shaggy hair and muscles to rival Orion’s, the snarl of danger was there and gone when he glanced to Orion. “About fucking time.” He dragged Orion into a bear hug then quickly put his snarly face back on. “Who the fuck is this?”
“Watch your fucking tone,” Macy growled in a voice Kaia had never heard her use, shocked at all the F-bombs dropping all over the place.
The angry one rolled his eyes. “Let it go already, Macy. You got pranked. Hell, Rolf gets me all the time. I let it go.”’
“After you try to feed his head to his arse,” Duncan murmured.
Macy turned to Kaia and pulled her in for a hug. “I’m so glad to see you. I’m sorry I hadn’t texted or called much. We were working overtime to find something to break the spell, and I’m happy to say we found it.” She shot the crabby vampire a look. “I mean, it’s not a ghoul toxin or anything, but it should work.”
He sighed loudly and started complaining in German. Kaia didn’t know the language, but she clearly understood his tone.