Page 107 of The Slayer Seduction

“We need to lure Celeste to the mayor’s office and destroy it all.”

Adam looks at her like he wants more explanation, and we all do.

“This is the plan,” Lavender says, laying it all out and I know everyone hates every facet of it, but it’s what we need to do. If we don’t destroy the books and Celeste tomorrow, then there’s no telling what will happen to all of us.

Everyone checks on me one last time, but the moment Adam teleports us back to the apartment, I can’t help but to fall apart the second we’re on our feet in my living room. He holds me tightly, and I feel safe in his arms.

“Let’s get some rest,” he says, his large hands framing my face. “I’ve got you, whatever you need.”

He says nothing else, doesn’t tell me to stop crying as he helps me undress and showers me, or when he puts his shirt over my head and tucks me into bed. His imposing frame wraps around mine, and slowly my nerves calm.

He rubs my back and I rub his.

“How did the Slayer communicate to me through the void?” I ask, since we haven’t gotten a moment truly together since he rescued me.

He clears his throat and softly says, “Your friends kind of killed me for a little bit.”

I pull away from his touch for a moment to search his face. He’s dead ass serious and while I know my coven would do anything for me, it’s a wholly new experience having someone who does that with no other reason but wanting to.

The Slayer is my mate, and he’s been intense about me since the moment we’ve met. That connection was undeniable. But this feeling between Adam and me, it’s a conscious decision.

Part of me wants to cry all over again, but I’m sick of it.

“We’re going to kill her for everything she’s done to all of us,” I promise.

He nods, his deep-brown gaze searching mine, like he’s reading right through me. Like maybe he’s holding back those words just like I am.

Instead of saying all the ridiculous things my heart wants me to, I rest my head on his chest, and the beat of his heart lulls me to sleep.

The plan has me on edge. I’m gripping on to Adam’s hand like I might lose him again if I let go.

The Slayer has been spending the last twenty-four hours resting. We need him for our part in the plan, which no one is happy about.

We’re bait.

Witches, wolf shifters, and vampires have the entirety of all the government buildings surrounded. The wolf shifters and vampires are working together for part one of the plan. Together they are tracking down any humans in any of the buildings, the wolf shifters using their more normal demeanor to ask them to politely leave, and if that doesn’t work, the vampire will glamor them to get the fuck out.

We don’t want any innocent blood on our hands.

I mean, there’s likely going to be destruction of public property, but that was unavoidable. The map shows that all the spell books are in her office and it’s a misstep on her part, keeping them in one place.

Maybe she’s so old that her ego has grown too large and she thinks she’s untouchable, along with her books.

A newcomer pops into place next to us, and my wand is up, ready to strike.

Adam squeezes my hand. “It’s fine. He’s a slayer too. He’s working with us.”

“Yes,” the man says plainly, his eyes voided out. He glances over at my glowing map and his brows furrow. “There are only four spell books.”

I glance at Adam, and he sighs. “I don’t know if your…I don’t know if she destroyed it or if maybe she played you.”

“Played me?” the man asks in his own deep-eerie slayer tone of voice.

Adam looks at me and back at the slayer. “Celeste has been keeping the other slayer he cares about away from him. They search for each other each cycle.”

It tugs at my heart as I tilt my head at him.

“How many cycles has it been?” I ask him and the slayer has to think for a long moment.