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Chapter Twenty-Three
Skylar
I was back in a pair of borrowed clothes. Men’s jeans with a belt I managed to add another hole to. It wasn’t ideal, but I was clean and that was one of the few good things I had going for me right now.
Oh yeah, and the whole adding a third mate thing. I knew that was probably something I should be celebrating but right now it felt like a complication I was going to have to overcome.
From what I’d experienced with Xander and Elias, I was certain the emotional attachment was going to grow now that everything was out in the open.
I still wasn’t sure how I was going to break the news to my other mates. I figured I’d open with the fact that David was willing to help us.
A prickle spread on the back of my neck, making my hair stand on edge. I tensed, and froze, my hands stopping the process of pulling my wet hair into a bun.
Something was coming. I looked over at David, who was lounging on the awful bed. “Did you feel that?”
He sat up, quickly going from as comfy as a cat, to fully alert.
Nervous flutters filled my stomach. Something was happening. It didn’t feel like my usual magic detection. I finished putting the hair tie on and dropped my hands to my side. “What was that?”
“The ward dropped,” he said.
My shoulders fell with relief. That wasn’t so bad. I knew that was coming and I should be excited about it. But now it was time to face reality. I had to find Xander and Elias and explain my newcomplication.
I don’t think I’d been this nervous about a relationship since I brought a boy home to my dad. He didn’t react well. It was the first and last time I ever did that.
Someone pounded at the door and I jumped, then turned to David. “Who knows we’re here?”
He had a knife in his hand and a scowl on his face. “Nobody knows we’re here. Not even Jasper and Hadrian.”
“Well, the vampires all knew this was the place,” I said, fear tugging at me.
“It’s morning,” he said.
Skylar, we’re coming for you. Hold on.
I inhaled a quick breath. “Elias.”
“He found you?” David’s tension eased, but only a little. And he still had a hold of the knife.
“You agreed to help us,” I reminded him. “That means you have to play nice.”
“Being your mate is going to be boring, isn’t it?” he teased.
“Sure, if you think destroying demon magic, running from hunters, and trying to outsmart the vampire queen is boring.” I left the room and walked toward the door.
Just as I turned the handle, David called out. “Skylar, wait!”
I already had it open and the face staring back at me didn’t belong to either of my other mates.
A strikingly beautiful woman with jet black hair looked up at me through long, dark lashes. She had to be in her late teens, but she carried herself with the air of someone much older. Her violet eyes locked onto mine before she dropped her gaze, sizing me up. She flicked her eyes up again just as her lips moved into a chilling smile. It was an expression you’d expect to see from someone who had read about what a smile was but had never seen a genuine one in their lives.
It wasn’t right.
David’s hand gripped my upper arm and he yanked me back. Then he lunged forward and tried to close the door.
Instead, the door blew from its hinges. A cloud of dust rose around me and I blinked the debris from my watering eyes. What the fuck had just happened? Coughing, I staggered backward, reaching for David.
The dust settled quickly and the woman swept into the room, the full skirts of her elaborate ruby dress billowing around her like a sea of blood.
