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A hardened ridge jumped beneath her ass. “Ah, trust me, I would never cut off any part of your body. Now, clothing is definitely something I’ll gladly snip and slice.”

“Lalalalala,” Eliana sang while holding her fingers in her ears.

Chapter Ten

Thana buried her face against Severin’s throat, unable to believe he could say such things in front of his Clan. Well, she shouldn’t actually be shocked by his audacity. The male was completely shameless. Which she loved so fucking much. She made sure the last thought stayed hidden behind a wall so thick and high he wouldn’t get a chance to overhear.

Severin blew a puff of warm air along her neck. “Eliana, what did you find out that couldn’t be shared outside this space?”

“The girls with the crescent marks were all targeted as we thought. They’d all applied to temporary agencies for jobs across several states, or were in some kind of group home. Now, here is where shit gets weird. What agencies or homes ask females for birthmarks? Tattoos, maybe. But to ask for a birthmark is ludicrous. One female recounted that during her interview, the man she spoke with was really interested in her heritage and kept remarking on her light eyes and hair. She said he seemed particularly interested in her neck, but she’d worn a turtleneck sweater. He’d asked her about it, which on its own might not be odd, but it’s October on the East Coast.” Eliana curled her right fingers, tapping the table.

“Yeah, that’s fucking odd as shit. How did they get all of them into one storage container on that dock? That's the question.” Uriel sat back in his seat. His question fell into the silence.

“Magic and a lot of fucking drugs, I would assume. Did anyone test them for anything like that?” Eliana squinted her blood-red eyes.

Thana shook her head, an instinctual denial forming on her lips. “I didn’t sense any, but that doesn’t mean shit. Those females were probably too scared to allow a professional in any capacity near them.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine any one of them sitting on an examination table with their sleeves rolled up. Goddess knows I wouldn’t be stripping down and putting on a gown to be looked over either if I’d been in their shoes.” Eliana shivered. “It was just a thought.”

“Good question, Ellie. I’ll reach out to Savage and see if he noticed any,” Severin offered.

“So, you guys are good?” Eliana looked between Uriel and Severin.

Again, Severin wasn’t one to explain himself to others, but he also didn’t want discord spread between his Clan. “Uriel felt you all needed to be aware of what I had given you and decided to push instead of ask.”

“He doesn’t believe the proverb about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar. Although supposedly, if you’re sweet like honey, kindness, politeness, and gentle persuasion are much more effective at getting what you want from people than rudeness, anger, or harshness, like the taste of vinegar. I’m not so sure. What if the person you’re trying to persuade likes the taste of the sour, bitter things over the sickeningly sweet?” Enzo asked.

“Good question, brother. I guess it’s all in the eyes, or tastes of the beholder.” Castle stared up at the ceiling.

Severin’s grip on Thana tightened. She wondered if he liked her taste. No, she couldn’t think about shit like that in a room full of vampires.

“I like your smell, your tastes, your everything, Thana,” Severin whispered, licking a slow path up her neck and gripping her earlobe between his teeth.

“Severin, you’re going to make your female blush if you don’t stop.”

Thana smiled at the other female in the room. Eliana, or Ellie as she’d heard the others call her. Of course, she wouldn’t use such an informal name unless the female herself approved it.

“I love the way your skin blooms such a lovely color of red. As you all might’ve guessed, Thana is...mine,” Severin announced. His arms tightened around her.

She wanted to protest that she belonged to herself. For years, she fought her brother Thane and the others for independence. Looking at Severin’s domineering aura, the males in her Family didn’t hold a candle to him when it came to being overbearing.

“Thana, you don’t need to fear me or what you are to me. Every being has strengths, especially females. Hell, females are probably the most dangerous on this planet. I’m the one who should be worried. You could thrust a dagger through my heart, and I wouldn’t raise a hand to harm you.” Severin lifted Thana’s hand to his lips and kissed her wrist.

“And that is saying a lot, deirfiúr. One time, he tossed Enzo off the fifteenth-story balcony because he accidentally tossed a throwing knife that landed too close to Severin’s body.” Eliana’s eyes sparkled, and she held her hands about a foot apart as if showing the distance the actual knife had been from hitting Severin.

Severin’s hand came up holding a gleaming star-shaped weapon. “Are you sure you remember correctly? As I recall, the object flew only inches from my body. Had I not had the reflexes that I do, it would’ve impaled me directly over my heart.”

He twirled the deadly weapon between his fingers. The silver didn’t burn him like it would normal vampires and wolves. The silence that followed his words grew.

Thana’s hand came up and rested on his wrist, not daring to touch the blades. He could share with her, with all of them, the ability that kept him from silver poisoning.

He looked into Thana’s eyes, hating the slight fear mixed with anger. Shit, he was a bastard. To date, he’d never had a reason to weaponize his strength against those closest to him. To do so with Thana made him disgusted with himself. Severin understood better than anyone how dangerous he could be, but he tamed his powers around his Clan, except in battle or when his life was threatened. His inner beasts wouldn’t let him be defeated and would use whatever it took to win.

“Do I scare you?” he asked, unsure if he was asking Thana or the room.

Uriel snorted but didn’t speak. Castle sat back and jerked his chin once, acknowledging with an affirmative. Enzo tilted his head, licked his lips, then sighed and closed his eyes. He and Eliana both nodded twice at once. However, Severin knew the one person whom he wanted to hear from hadn’t spoken or moved from her perch on his lap.

“I’ve been around powerful men my entire life, Severin. I understand your need to control everything around you, including those you feel are under your protection.” She held up her hand, cutting him off. “What you don’t get to do, though, is bully me. I’m a female of worth. I was a female of worth before I became a vampire, and I’ll be a female of worth long after whatever this is between us. It’ll be a cold day in Hell before I allow you, or any male, to use force to bend me to his will.”