Page 63 of Quintus

“They’re here.” Quintus scooped Gabriella in his arms.

“Again, people. Who the fuck is here?”

“Lilitu. The witches,” she responded.

Gabriella screamed as the high priestess appeared before her. The witch’s neon orange hair trailed over her shoulders in two thick braids. Her white pupils burned through the darkness.

“Little Gabriella. We’ve been waiting for years and here you finally are.” With fire in her eyes, the witch sneered.

“No, no, no,” Gabriella repeated, panic twisting through her. She froze, her hands clutched to Quintus’ shirt as the distinctive odor of her mother’s burning flesh registered in her mind.

“I’m going to give you this one warning. Stay the hell away from Gabriella or you’ll die, witch,” Quintus growled.

“Wrong, vampire. You have something that belongs to me. Gabriella. She’s one of us.”

“Lilitu.” Horrifying memories of her mother’s murder flashed through Gabriella’s mind.

“Stupid half-breed. Did you really think you were avoiding us?” The high priestess cackled, and licked her lips. “But before we take you back, give me the bone.”

“Orange hair, huh? Doesn’t seem to really work for you.” The Alpha gave a sharp laugh. “Don’t get me wrong. I like a girl who stands out in a crowd.”

“You know what I like to do to wolves?” she asked.

“Is this a proposition? Because I’m sort of on the fence with this one. You’re kind of hot in a psycho killer sort of way.”

“I’ll chain you in silver and skin your fur from your body while you beg for mercy. I could use a pair of wolf testicles in my next spell.” She gave Hunter an icy smile.

“Okay, maybe once. If you’re really into me, I could take one for the team. Those braids are a turn on. I could wrap my hands around them. This is a tough decision.” Hunter shrugged, and put his hand on Quintus’ shoulder.

“Give me the bone,” she demanded, her voice screeching. “I’ll spare you, wolf. Give it to me now.”

Gabriella’s heart pounded in her chest as Lilitu drew closer. Quintus, get us out of here.

“Ya see now, that’s a turn off. Hey, Quint…how about you do your thing?”

“You can run, but you’ll never get away!” Lilitu screamed, her arms outstretched.

Gabriella’s head spun as she dissolved, dematerializing out of the catacombs. The last thing she saw was the high priestess, her cold eyes burning a hole through the darkness.

She rolled onto the bed, coughing back her nausea. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she clutched her stomach. She reached for her wolf, but the mighty beast hid in the dark recesses of her psyche, afraid of what she’d seen.

“Are you okay?” A comforting hand swept over her hair. “Gabriella.”

“I’m sick. I…I can’t do that.”

“I’m sorry, bella. The effects on wolves…it’s something you’ll have to get used to.”

“I can’t do any of this.” Anger boiled inside her, frustrated. She wasn’t a vampire. She’d never be one. He had a mate, one who was alive and well. “I’ve got to get up.”

Gabriella attempted to shove off the bed, but her head spun and she flopped back onto the mattress.

“You need to take a few minutes to recover,” he told her.

As Quintus’ palm touched her back, she went still. She reluctantly accepted the calming energy he sent through her body. Her heartbeat slowed, and she exhaled a breath.

Gabriella had been on the run for years, but never in eighteen years had she come as close to being killed as she had tonight. The high priestess had waited, claimed she’d known where Gabriella was all along.

Ramiel had threatened to expose her on more than one occasion. He often would tell her something that only a Circe coven witch would know about Lilitu. She often wondered how he’d become privy to such exclusive information. Had she known where I was the entire time? Why didn’t she kill me? A flash of the high priestess twisted through her head and a fresh rush of nausea rolled through her again.