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“There. That should do it.” She nodded firmly before stepping back toward us. “My siblings will have felt the power shift. We better go before they all get here to demand what’s happening.”
“Of course, Mist—Aida.” I smiled at her before turning to summon an exit.
“Any hopes for who takes your spot?”
“Bella’s always wanted my hounds, so I’m sure she’ll put in a good fight for it. Plus, she likes having the most, so it seems like a natural progression. Although, I suspect none of the others would want Bella to rule over them.”
I snorted at the idea of Belphegor having more power than the rest of them, forcing them to do her bidding. The exit opened into a forest, and I turned to look at my partners. “This should take us close enough to Huntsville to seek asylum with them.”
“And if they don’t?” Magnus asked the question at the back of my mind. I wasn’t sure what would happen if we weren’t taken in by the Huntsville Misfits, but I’m sure we could figure something out. Worst case scenario, there was always the Otherworld with the Fae. Those would be tricky political waters to navigate.
I hoped it didn’t come to that.
“Well, this is it. No turning back now.” Aida grinned like she hadn’t a worry in the world, and maybe she didn’t. She was leading herself into a life of comfort, knowing we two men would gladly follow her and take care of her however she wanted.
And Hell, I could think of a thousand ways I intended to take care of her alongside Magnus.
AIDA
Four Months Later
Strange as the whole situation was, Huntsville had become our home. Of course, they weren’t happy about our arrival at first. But the whole purpose of the pack was to be a home for supernaturals who didn’t have one.
As it turned out, Magnus wasn’t the first vampire to arrive. They’d already accepted one from Europe named Xander, who’d mated with a wolf. It was me they had an issue with, but after I promised not to harvest any souls inside the village or surrounding villages, I was welcome to stay.
It was an easy enough deal to me now that I wasn’t duty-bound to fulfill numbers for Hell. I only needed souls occasionally to sustain myself, and for that, we hunted. It worked for now. I didn’t know if it would work a hundred years from now or even in another millennium. I was certain my men and I could adapt because when we wanted something, we got it no matter what.
The girl I sat with at the bar laughed, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“And I can’t believe it, you know?”
I nodded. “You know, this is probably gonna sound crazy, but I had a cousin who got into Wicca, and she learned this—like—spell to cast on her ex-boyfriend.” It was easy enough to fake a valley-girl voice, which sold the whole character I was going for.
The girl’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, apparently, he got genital warts and passed them onto the girl he’d been screwing behind her back.”
“No way.” She grinned and threw back her drink.
“What would you do for that?” I asked, lowering my voice encouragingly.
She looks thoughtful for a second. “Giving Charlie genital warts?” She barked out a laugh. “I’d sell my soul for that.”
I grinned. “It’s a deal then. Come on. I think I still have the text message my cousin sent.” I slipped off the barstool and held out my hand to the girl. As she touched it, I felt the transfer, binding her to me. College girls were such easy prey; it was almost laughable.
We drove out to the nearby forest as I explained what needed to happen for the spell. The girl chatted as we made our way out, completely oblivious to her impending doom. But then again, most humans were. Thanks to Talon, the scene was already set for me, and I began the fake spell, getting her to participate.
Then, at the crux of it all, Talon let out a spine-tingling howl far too close for human comfort. The girl grabbed my arm and glanced at me with wide eyes.
“What was that?”
I clutched the fake crucifix on my chest, playing the role. “You don’t think it’s a demon from Hell come to get us, do you?”
Her eyes widen more. “I mean, demons aren’t real?” she asked innocently.
Talon broke through the brush, appearing in hell-hound form as he let out another gruesome howl.
“Oh, my God!” she shrieked, scrambling to her feet as she tried to get her footing and make her way back the way we came. Except we’d chosen this part of the forest for good reason, every way out looked the same, and there was no way she would pick the right path.
