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Chapter One
Threat Received
The Council was in an uproar, at least the one member standing in front of me was. I couldn't even hold it against them. If I were in their shoes, I would be pretty pissed off too. Then again, those assholes deserved everything they got, and then some.
Fingers snapped in my face and, this time, I didn't flinch. I was still afraid of this fat, bald, little man, I'd be a fool not to be. But I had bigger problems in my life and worse things to be afraid of.
Like this little man finding out that his missing witch was tucked away safely in Rain's cabin, and it had been my old man who'd run down his now dead Council member. And in my Range Rover, no less. A gift I'd been given by Marcus Cole who was now—yikes!—a new member of the Council.
My life was currently a giant pile of shit, and if I didn't figure a way out of it for all of us soon, I feared there was a chance someone else was going to die. And there was no telling whose side that dead body would be coming from, or falling on, for that matter.
"Did you hear me, child?" Adrian huffed.
No, no I had not.
"Of all the nerve."
I thought so too. This was utter bullshit. I groaned under my breath, but sat up straight and looked directly at him.
This fucker was here, in my home. Yes, it was Quinton's house, really, but since Dash and I had made our move official, it had become myhome.
Now this fat, little man had barged in here when I was all alone, save for my bodyguards, of course, and he'd demanded I attend to him at once. I didn't take being bossed around very well, even on my best day. All I had wanted was to send him away. That wasbeforehe'd told Simon and Trenton they needed to remain in the hallway and weren't invited any further.
It was insulting, especially given that we lived here and he did not. Not to mention he had no business telling either one of them what to do. Everything about this visit pissed me off, and I was trying my damndest not to let it show, because even though he didn't look it, he could be scary as fuck.
"What are you doing here, Adrian?" I was pleased my voice didn't tremble in the slightest. "You should really call before visiting, you know how Quinton can get. He doesn't enjoy pop-ins."
I didn't enjoy them either, because it seemed like only assholes—like this guy—and Rain showed up unannounced. I knew why Adrian thought it was okay, he was an entitled prick and knew there wasn't anything we could do to stop him. It was different with Rain. My dad could come over whenever the hell he wanted to, and if anyone here had a problem with that, they could take it up with me.
"Why, child, you don't sound happy to see me. My feelings might get hurt if you aren't careful."
Threat received.
I needed to try harder, or I was willing to bet I'd find myself in deep shit real quick here. Hopefully Simon or Trenton had used the cell phones I provided them with to call Quinton, because I needed him here with me, and I was willing to bet Adrian didn't have the balls to kick Quinton out of a room in his own damn house. I'd dare him to try.
I stood from my chair and turned my back on Adrian. I walked across the room to one of the big windows facing the front yard and, further out, the road. I placed my palm against the cool glass as I scanned the driveway. There, parked at the end of the driveway waiting for Adrian to be done inside, was a black Escalade with windows too dark to see inside. I had no idea who sat behind the wheel and I didn't think it mattered. Adrian had lackeys to do his bidding, I imagined all of the Council members did.
Adrian sighed and the sound came out exhausted. "I want you to come out and sit in on a few meetings with me. A few of the other coven leaders have been requesting to see you, and you've not been interested with meeting with any of them. In fact, no one has seen your pretty face since the funeral, and it's about time we put a stop to that. You cannot hide yourself away and, honestly, child, I don't even know why you would want to. You could be a rising star amongst the witch community. You're bright, incredibly beautiful even with the scar, and you have so much magic inside of you. We've all felt it just standing in your presence. What would attending a few meetings with me hurt you? I want you to consider it. Please, Ariel, for me."
The desperate wheedling in his voice set my nerves on edge. Adrian was never desperate, that seemed so beneath him.
"What's going on, Adrian?" I asked in a careful voice. His tone had scared me, just a little. "You sound upset."
I hoped that wouldn’t be considered overstepping my bounds. With Adrian, there was no telling what was acceptable to say to him or not, and there was no telling what his reaction would be. He'd never been violent toward me, but I had seen through Isobel exactly what he was capable of. And it was, simply put, terrifying.
Because I was beyond stupid, I opened my mouth and rambled on like a bloody fool. "I understand things must be incredibly difficult for you after Daniel's death. You guys are like your own little coven. You know, family even. I can't even begin to fathom losing one of my own. I would be out of my mind in my grief, I'm sure of it."
Shut the fuck up, Ariel! Just shut your filthy, stupid mouth before you get yourself in trouble.
As far as pep talks went, that one sucked. I wasn't capable of anything else at the moment. And it didn't work either, because I opened my mouth and stupidly kept at it.
"I don't know how long you guys were together for. Not that I thought you were like,together, together. I would never make assumptions like that, but if you were, I certainly wouldn't have a problem with it. I'm totally down with one love and—"
Fingers grazed against my elbow. I jumped, and my mouth thankfully snapped shut. My palm fell away from the glass and I whipped around. My hand went to my throat and at Adrian's close proximity. I immediately felt trapped. I backed up, not stopping until I was pressed up against the window. The cool glass against my back was a shock to my system.
My chest heaved up and down as I stared down at the little man. You would think one so much shorter than me wouldn't be so intimidating. You'd be wrong.
"What do you think you're doing?" I croaked out in a choked up voice. "Do not touch me. I don't care who you are, you have no right to touch me."
