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I’m being realistic, she said. And the exchange at the cottage didn’t mean anything, not really. You were upset. You lashed out. We hardly know each other after all. We should be allowed to have a few squabbles, especially given all that we’ve been through.
You’re right. As always, Olivia took a pragmatic view and it eased him. Yet another sign the woman was right for him.
Zane added, For now, then, we’ll focus on the attack at the Guild. I’m going to path Chase and see where we’re at.
Good idea.
He headed for the mainland as he contacted his lieutenant.
When Chase responded telepathically, he assured Zane that the Vampire Guard and the Shifter Brigade had quickly taken care of the Invictus.
So you have everything under control? Zane asked.
We do. I have another crew coming in from Bergisson Realm to transport the surviving wraith-pairs. We made an effort to capture as many of them as we could, rather than kill them. We’ll be sending twenty-one pairs back to undergo dissolution and rehab.
That’s good, he responded. Do you need me to come back right now? I can, though there’s something I should take care of first.
No worries here, Chase said. We’ve already gone through every building on the premises. And Zane, here’s the good news; there wasn’t one fae casualty. Many were hurt from the feedings, of course, because the wraiths are brutal with their fangs. But your Guard force disrupted the Invictus before any of the women were actually drained to death.
Thank the Goddess for that.
And Luther has his brigade hunting through the forest in wolf-form, putting those noses to good use, ferreting out any Invictus that might be trying to hide.
Zane breathed a sigh of relief as he ended the connection. The report had been so much better than he could have expected. However, it shaded Margetta’s attack with a new, more sinister meaning. She’d had a single goal in attacking the Guild, which was to kidnap Regan, and she’d succeeded.
Reaching landfall, he pathed with Olivia, sharing everything Chase had told him. But before we head back, we need to talk. There’s something I need to say to you. How ‘bout I set us down on the beach again.
I think it’s a good idea.
He flew along the coast, taking Olivia back to the beach south of Angler’s Cliff, the place they’d first made love and where she’d swam as a wolf then bounded against the cliffs.
Setting her down on the sand, he didn’t let her go. Instead, he surrounded her more fully with his arms and kissed her. She responded by slinging her arms around his neck and returning his embrace in full.
After a moment, she said, “Zane, I’m so sorry I took off when I did.”
“And I apologize for what I said. It was unconscionable.”
“Well, yeah it was pretty bad. However, I knew you were hurting, that you were just trying to create some distance because of what you’d just learned about Emily. But that’s not the reason I left.”
He’d never been more surprised. “It isn’t? Why did you go, then?”
She licked her lips and he could sense she was nervous. “Because I’m feeling so much for you. I should have stayed and been honest about why I reacted as I did. I tend to withdraw, and that’s not a good thing. But I confess I’m overwhelmed by what’s happened between us. Yet, I’m excited as well. I think what we have is extraordinary.”
He smiled down at her. “I think so, too.”
“And I don’t mean just the sex.”
“Neither do I.”
She nodded. “I want you to know it means the world to me that my shifter abilities have helped you and have served Swanicott. Which leads me to ask, how will we ever find Regan?”
As the ocean waves settled gently on the shore, one after another, an understanding came to Zane, a knowing beyond himself. “I think I’m beginning to understand why so many blood roses have shown up in such a short space of time, and almost designed for ruling mastyrs. It seems to me that you’ve each arrived when most needed, which means I think Ian should take over at this point.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “Do you think Regan is a blood rose?”
“I’m almost sure of it, though I didn’t react to her as I did to you.”
Olivia slid her hands down his arms and gripped his forearms. “I don’t think I was always a blood rose. It’s possible that I became one the moment I entered your captor’s tent in the Dead Zone. I think you ignited this gift in me. Maybe the same thing will happen if Ian goes after Regan.”
