Page 28

“I don’t know what to say,” Colt said, coming up beside me. I turned to him, sympathy for me in the depths of his gaze. “I don’t know where we go from here.”

Fuck.

I paced the greenhouse, my hands clasped behind my neck. “There must be something. I can’t be the only person who doesn’t want this.”

There was no way I would become a vampire.

The night I got smart to one, was the night my life changed forever. I’d never seen terror on a man until Colt found me slumped against a dumpster. I’d begged for his help like a starving boy would beg for bread, and he had simply picked me up, refusing to let me die. He’d dragged me into the chambers, kept my secret, did the research and tracked down the botanical. The one I mixed with Red’s tonic. Turns out, the last cut of the botanical of its kind, the one that had now been destroyed, had been the only living thing he had found to keep the mutation at bay.

Being a blood mage was hard enough.

But if this thing…

“I’ll do some homework, but I think you need to prepare for —”

“I won’t,” I interjected. “I would rather die than let it come to that.”

He shook his head, his solemn eyes not letting my words settle. “That’s not an option,” he said with a quick shake of his head.

I deadpanned him. “Right now, it’s my only option.”

His brow furrowed, deep in thought. He drew a fist to his mouth. “How well do you know the vampire that bit you?”

Callan.

I stared at the dead botanical, and despair filled my chest. “As well as you know him.”

Colt stared at me for a short moment. He perched on a stool, a foot resting on the bottom rung. “Maybe they know something we don’t. I’m not saying it’s a good idea, but it’s worth a shot.”

Pacing the room again, I contemplated his suggestion. I didn’t know how much time I had left before this tonic wore off and the transition would start. If a vampire had access to my magic… I shook the thought from my mind. If I didn’t find a solution fast, any chance of my humanity, and my magic, would be lost to the filth lying dormant inside me.

I wouldn’t let it come to that.

Colt laid his hands on my shoulders, shaking me out of my thoughts. Gripping, he brought my focus back to him. “I’ll do everything I can to help. My father might have some journals I can read through, see if there are any suggestions of the botanical elsewhere.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, needing to focus. The bar needed me. My staff needed me. I also had my first band booked for tonight, a local group. I couldn’t let my distraction screw this night up.

“I need to go,” I grunted, turning toward the exit. “Let me know if you find anything.”

The loud bang of the heavy door closing behind me echoed through the quiet outside. A gull swooped overhead, drawing my attention to the sullen sky above, where bleak clouds leered down at me, dampening my mood further. Dusk gripped the horizon, holding on to the last of the day’s light, and I knew it would be only moments before Cutters Cove caved to the awaiting darkness and the amber lanterns would light the streets. The gothic-style lanterns were one part of the town I loved for their vibe and the aesthetic. I’d backed the funding for them anonymously, knowing how much they would lift the sleepy streets.

Pulling away from the curb, I made my way down the snow-cleared streets to the bar. Once inside, the song thumping through Jinxed was a hit of endorphins. I’d loved music since I was a child. It came naturally to me. I could pick up a guitar and hook a bassline as easily as brushing my teeth.

I swung around the side of the bar, spotting Morgan, who was working tonight. I enjoyed my shifts with her. She was polite with the customers, could have a laugh, and was really fucking reliable. Everything I needed in an employee. The night she bowled up to the bar when I was being slammed and started pouring drinks like she’d worked here her entire life was a night I would be forever grateful for.

Her brows lifted in acknowledgement of me. “Hey, the band got here early. I told them to go ahead and set up.” She poured one of our locals a beer as she spoke, her gaze lingering on me longer than I liked. “Everything okay?”

No. I was anything but okay.

“Thanks, yeah I’m all good.” I rolled up my sleeves, knowing how hot it would become in here in exactly — I stared at my wristwatch — ten minutes. I’d chosen this band as the debut for the bar knowing that they would kick the place into gear easily. The moment they started playing, this bar would become a furnace of moving bodies.

“They look like they’re about ready,” I said, lifting my gaze to the far corner.

I surveyed the makeshift stage I’d set up. A temporary thing until I decided if it was worth doing more regularly. This band in particular had been dropping hints ever since I’d opened the bar, wanting to play here.

Noting the guys, I gave them a nod, and the lead singer made his way through the patrons toward me. Forcing a smile, I shook his hand. “Wren, it’s good to see you. You good to go?”

He ran a hand through his hair, and the other landed on the bar. “Yeah, only we can’t get hold of Jones.”