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Ignoring the vamp, I focused on Cecilia. “This might sound crazy, but it might be that you’re somehow, and I have no idea how, strengthening our animals? The physical contact, the emotional turmoil, or something else? I don’t know. I need to be sure of something though. May I hug you?”
“Yes. You never need to ask for a hug,” Cecilia replied, though she looked a little nervous as she climbed off the bed and into my arms. I squeezed, feeling her warmth against my body.
“Okay if I get more intimate?”
She gave her response by running her hands up under my shirt.
Which in turn raised my own temperature. By a lot. My bear began to growl, gripe, then roar, his muscles knocking my insides, swelling under my skin, unmistakably stronger than usual.
I let go of Cecilia and stepped back, wiping sweat from my brow. I was extremely worried now. My bear was strong enough already, hard enough to keep under control. I didn’t need him getting even more powerful. Maybe I’d lose control of my shifting, or I’d shift and never shift back again? I breathed deeply, my words shaky as I said to everyone there. “I think you’re amplifying our powers. We’re not just drawn to you romantically.”
She gasped.
“We’re all crazy about you, yes. But it’s something more. Something potentially dangerous…”
I looked around the faces, everyone had a look of confusion. Even Xander’s smug grin had been wiped clean off.
I’d never give up Cecilia, and my bear wouldn’t either.
But what the hell was going on?
Xander
“Oh, to be young and in love! I do envy you, dear boy.”
Persephone, my oldest and wisest aunt—she was very wise, with the exception of the one piece of advice she’d given me to woo Cecilia—had stopped by my place. She’d wanted to check on my quest to win Cecilia’s heart.
In a blouse and skirt of midnight black, she was perched primly on my couch, with her long legs crossed, her foremost foot dangling in a lace-up ankle boot, bobbing, as if tapping to a tune only she could hear.
We were both at the one place we could be ourselves, without other paranormals to judge: Bloodhaven. Our coven-owned, small skyscraper in New Lincoln’s city center. The outside was gleaming glass and steel, blending in with the neighboring banks, hotels, and luxury apartments. While the interior harkened back to a bygone age from Eastern Europe. The floors were cloaked with Turkish, Persian, and Azeri carpets. The walls wore thick coats of ruby and garnet and flaunted crystal lighting and fine art.
Above the recreation and feeding hall levels, every coven member had a room or suite, the size and location directly tied to their family line and status. An antiquated system, I hadn’t been able to get the coven to shake.
As their leader, I had the penthouse. Aunt Persephone had half of an entire floor beneath me, able to visit me at her leisure, by way of a private elevator.
But I’d barely been home since meeting Cecilia after the game. So I hadn’t caught up with my aunt since I’d first told her of spotting my little human.
I sighed, easing into my high-backed chair’s plump upholstery, gazing out across the city skyline as it shadowed, drenched in a stunning sunset. Persephone was several feet across from me, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
“That’s the problem, aunty. I don’t feel that young anymore. I feel like I’ve spent far too much time gallivanting, pursuing fun, pleasure, not thinking of the future.”
She scoffed, sipping at her Bloody Mary through its steel straw, before replying, “Oh don’t start that, please. Not young. What are you, then? A creaking old vamp? Shall I fetch you a walking aid? You’re hardly over a hundred.”
I picked up my can of Bloodweiser from the side table and tipped a mouthful. The cool fizzles of frothy, booze-laced crimson soothed me. But my deeper concerns wouldn’t be that easily fixed.
“Well, I certainly hope I look as good as you when I’m”—I reminded myself Persephone was a little sensitive about her age— “would you like a top up?”
Tawny eyes sly, nodding, she broke into a grin, the fangs peeking flawlessly under black lipstick. “Oh, go on then. And a bigger splash of vodka this time, please.”
Taking her glass, I walked behind the bar and refilled her highball, plunking two fresh ice cubes into the ruby froth, stirring its potent vodka vapors gently in with the straw. I grabbed a fresh can from the fridge, choosing a Blood Light, just for a change, and returned to our seats with drinks in hand.
She sipped hard on the straw, ending with a satisfied gasp. “That’s nice. You’re a good lad to your aunty. Now, tell me all about how it went with your little human tease, after the game. Did you take my advice? For your first meeting?”
“I did.”
Her tone heightened in girlish excitement. “Oh, I bet she liked that. What girl wouldn’t? The thrill of the shadows, the intrigue, the romantic gesture of appearing from nowhere, to surprise her, entrance her with that beautiful, fanged smile. She must have been thrilled to bits, ready to fall into your arms.”
Cracking the fresh can, I glugged at the foam to stop it spilling over the rim. “Uh, well, not exactly…”
