Page 25 of Forsworn By The Vampire
Then there was Christian, the tall, dark, and silent type who exuded a sexual energy I could feel all the way over here. His mate, Ryan, was stunning with her hair like the sunset, white skin, and sapphire blue eyes. But she was just as quiet as he was, and never left his side. There was something haunting about her. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
But the scariest one? At least where the vampires were concerned? Yeah, that was definitely Dante. He stood as close to the front door as he could get and still be considered as one of the group. The guy was huge and muscular, his dark skin tattooed in black ink all the way down his left side from what I could tell. He stood behind the couch directly behind Laney, his mate, with his fists clenched at his sides. And every few seconds his eyes would drop down to the top of her chestnut brown head, then he'd glance over his shoulder toward the door. His energy gave me the impression that he was like a stick of dynamite, ready to explode at any moment. And I wasn't sure if that explosion would protect us or hurt us, although the rest of the vampires and witches didn't pay him any mind, so I tried not to let him worry me. However, so far I'd managed to keep myself as far away from him as I possibly could.
"...much do you want me to say in front of the others?"
My ears perked up. Aunt Judy glanced at Alice, Alex, and myself. But he wasn't talking to her. His question was directed toward Luukas.
The master vampire didn't hesitate with his answer. "I have complete trust in my vampires and their mates. And I'd think you would also need to have that same trust in your coven. The djinn needs to be stopped, and that's not going to happen if we're keeping secrets from each other."
Aunt Judy agreed. "Go ahead," she told the warlock. "Say what you have to say."
His eerie eyes went to Shea, then to Ryan. She gave him a nod.
I looked at the pretty redhead again, wondering what her connection with him was.
Jesse reached up and ran his hand over the raven's feathers. I'd already picked up that it was what he did when he needed something to steady him. There must be quite a history between the man and the bird that they were that close. "I know who helped the djinn the night we rescued Alex and Kenya."
Aunt Judy showed absolutely nothing of what she was feeling on her face. "Who was it?"
"One of your witches."
Her eyes shot to Alice, then me, before going back to the warlock. I'm sure we looked just as shocked as she was. "That's not possible."
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this. But it's something you need to know so you can protect yourselves."
"And how do you know this?" my aunt asked him.
The raven made a deep, raspy call, fluffing her feathers as though she was offended by the human's question. Jesse reached up and ran his hand over her feathers to calm her. "I was told by things who see far more than I do."
"Things?" Aunt Judy asked him. "What sort of 'things'?"
I had a perfect view of the warlock from where I stood, so I saw the way his jaw tightened and how his mate placed a hand on his back, petting him much the way he had the raven.
"He's telling the truth." Ryan spoke up, and I wasn't the only one who turned a shocked face toward her. The only one who didn't seem surprised was Christian, her mate. "My brother and I can speak to...spirits, I guess you would call them. They watch over us and tell us things that we wouldn't know otherwise."
Aunt Judy glanced over at Luukas, the master vampire, for confirmation. "I've never found anything he's warned me about to be false." Though his words rang true to my ears, there was something in his eyes when he looked at the warlock that told me these two were not friends.
My aunt looked at the witch beside Luukas, and when she nodded in confirmation, she turned back to the warlock. "All right. Let's say I believe you. Who is it?"
"I don't know her name. But they told me she has bright red hair and hazel green eyes. And she is not here," he finished.
Holy shit.
He was talking about Angel.
Chapter 15
Jamal
Istood just off stage, rolling my head on my shoulders and trying to shake off this damn funk I'd gotten myself into. The music changed as it morphed into my stuff, and I pushed everything out of my head except the stage and the heavy beat that was now throbbing through my veins stronger than my own pulse.
Dancing was the only thing that ever lightened my soul. It was just me and the music. And nothing could touch me.
But as soon as I jogged out onto the stage, high five-ing Brogan as he came off, my senses came alive. And it wasn't the music that caused this particular reaction.
She was here.
I felt it deep in my bones, even before I glanced into the audience and spotted her bright red hair sitting at the bar with Elias. She was wearing ripped up jeans, high-heeled boots, and a soft-looking, creamy sweater with studs on the shoulders. Red lipstick made her full lips glisten.
