Page 27

“You should rest,” Julian said, “I will work on what we’ve discussed.”

“Oh no you won’t,” I said, marching toward where the car door lay on the grass. “Not without me. I mean it, Julian.”

He grimaced, staring around at our witnesses. “We will discuss it in the morning then. I shall pick you up at eight.”

I agreed, ignoring the guttural sounds from the werewolf behind me as Julian drove off, leaving the door behind.

“I’m sorry about our date, but for obvious reasons, I couldn’t make it,” I said, turning on Sam. “I’m not sure I’m up to rescheduling. Oh, and clean up your mess.”

With a pointed look at the warped car door at my feet, I spun, grabbed my sister’s hand, and stormed back inside my house, locking the door behind us.

Chapter Nine

I Get Caught

My cell went berserk at four in the morning, vibrating off the nightstand and blaring an alarm I didn’t know I’d set. Turned out I hadn’t. It was an emergency alert from the base requesting all personnel report in immediately.

The next notification came as I scrambled to find some fresh clothes—Julian saying he was on his way to pick me up. I threw myself into decent shape and was pulling a brush through my hair when his text let me know he was there. With a longing look toward my mother’s closed door, I rushed out of the house and into a fully whole and unblemished vamp mobile.

“Should I ask how you get all these identical cars?” I greeted, climbing inside.

His mischievous grin brought the heat back to my core as we zoomed off toward the base.

“What makes you so sure it’s not the same car?” he asked after a minute, eyes fixed on the road.

“Is it?”

“A magician does not reveal his tricks.”

I stifled a laugh and rolled my eyes, watching the familiar forest slip by. At the early hour, the dark silence bathed the view in a sort of eerie beauty, the kind of place that hid magic and secrets that promised both danger and wonder.

The unmistakable swirl of an aura shone between some brush, and I strained to get a better look. But the car rushed past too fast, and whatever or whoever it may have been melted back into the woods.

“Everything okay?” Julian asked as I bent around the seat to try and catch another glimpse.

“Is there anyone that lives in there?” I asked, righting myself. “That would be up at this time?”

“Oh yes, that’s quite likely,” Julian confirmed cheerily as he pulled onto the lot.

Bright lights flooded the area around the perimeter of the glass building, making me squint. I felt like an escaped prisoner spotted by the guard tower but shook it off as we approached.

Everything seemed normal enough as we entered the empty lobby. Gladys even sat at her desk, though the bathrobe and curlers in her hair were certainly a change.

“You’re late. They’re all in the command center,” she groused.

“Understood.” Julian stepped in the elevator, and I joined him, uneasy.

“What do you think happened?” I asked in a hush.

“I’m not sure but stick close to me.”

The doors opened on the football-sized command center where I’d first met the general. Silence greeted us, despite the bustling lower level. On top stood the giant figure of the man, even larger than I remembered, surrounded by several people I didn’t recognize and, of course, Tittwell, who raised a knobby hand and wiggled his fingers at me in a wave that felt less than friendly.

“You’re late,” the general barked at Julian.

“Ms. Devaux’s vehicle has not arrived yet. I had to pick her up, thus delaying us both,” Julian said. “My apologies.”

“We have a security breech,” the general said, gaze falling on me.