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“Yeah. Sorry, not my best moment. It’s just… I’ve always really liked him.” She emphasized “liked.”

“You saw the whole interaction,” I said. I had one more question, and I needed to know the truth. “Did he…hit her? It sounded like he slapped her at one point.”

“What? No! She slapped him before she ran away. He had every right to chase her down and rip her apart, but he’s too nice to do that.”

I sank back against the seat again, relieved. The way Sam had looked, so angry and close to shifting…it was actually a testament to his self-control that he hadn’t. He’d given another shifter an order as an Alpha and she’d struck him. Technically, he had a right to tear her to shreds.

But he hadn’t.

“FYI, I only wanted the truth. I don’t use my abilities to strongarm people.”

“Sorry.” The ghost dipped her head, letting her long hair fall forward in a semi-transparent cascade. I believed she meant it.

“So, you know Lauren?” I asked, trying to change the subject as well as force my way through a murky brain.

“Who do you think drove her on all her dates? I had to put up with all sorts of hanky-panky in the rear seat. She’s not my favorite fare. The weirdest one was the shifter that kept changing into different people as they got all hot and bothered. I had to stop and kick them out of the car in the middle of nowhere. I don’t even think they cared.”

“A shifter changing into different people?” I asked as Mabel squealed around the corner onto my street.

A crowd had gathered on our front lawn and flew toward us, waving arms as we screeched to a halt. I threw the door open as Zoe shoved through to the front, flanked by Mama and Binx.

“What’s happening?” I asked, but a loud crash from inside answered before Zoe could.

I rushed past them and through the door hanging off its hinges, the sudden de ja vu sensation making me dizzy as the two men tumbled across the living room in a tangle of flesh and limbs. Julian’s pants were torn, and his shirt was nonexistent. Sam was still butt naked, thankfully human, and not a wolf I may not be able to communicate with. Blood covered their torsos, and I had no idea who it belonged to. It was exactly the scene I’d predicted when I’d touched Sam the other night. And I knew precisely what to do. They deserved it.

Both of them.

I yanked off the silver earrings Zoe had given me and lunged forward, diving into the melee, hands out. I pressed the silver to Sam’s back and Julian’s shoulder at the same time, invoking the charms with a squeeze.

The result was instantaneous. Sam shuddered, letting go of his grip on Julian. I hadn’t noticed his elongated claws that had torn through the smooth skin of Julian’s chest until he retracted them. He howled with pain, and I winced as he fell back onto the floor breathing heavy and body still.

Julian’s chest stitched itself back together as he too fell back to the floor with a thud. No sound, just corpse-still, eyes wide with shock as they faded from glowing red to glowing blue and then his normal deep, almost purple color.

I knelt in the center between them and took a moment to breathe. Then I stuffed both charms back in my pockets and went to check on Julian first since he wasn’t moving. Cupping his face, I leaned over him, and his pupils focused on me.

“You okay?” I asked, still angry.

“I’ve been better. Why did you do that?” So he was able to speak. He just didn’t seem to be able to move.

I wondered how long the effects of the charms would last since magically enhanced. “Why did I do that? Why the fuck did you attack Sam like a wild beast when he was trying to save me from a baby kraken sting?” I let the information sink in as Julian’s face paled from vampire to ghost white.

“You…he…”

“Yeah. And you shouldn’t have even been there in the first place.” I smacked his stupid, rock-hard chest and gathered my hair out of the way over one of my shoulders.

Julian’s expression morphed from exasperation to shock and finally so much anger that his veins darkened and rose, eyes burning the color of blood as he stared at my neck.

My hand flew to cover the puncture wounds Carmichael had left. I hadn’t taken much blood from him and needed a lot of healing. Damn, I’d hoped they would’ve disappeared. My throat tightened and I let my hair fall loose as I moved to check on Sam. Ignoring the shame growing in my stomach wasn’t easy. I hated that I felt that way. Logically, I knew I hadn’t been responsible, but the message hadn’t made it to my heart.

Sam was sitting, reaching for his back with a grimace. I did the same when I saw the giant red welt the silver had seared onto his skin. Ouch.

“Sorry,” I said. “I just needed to stop you.”

He nodded and winced as the welt seemed to fade slightly then grew inflamed again.

“What’s happening?” I asked, watching it flare then subside then repeat. “Why did it affect you differently?”

Julian snorted. “It’s spelled to prevent vampires from using speed or strength—so freezing us. And I assume so that if a werewolf loses his temper, it gets worse to prevent him from attacking.”