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I tilted my neck, exposing my skin, hoping he’d be tempted to drink instead.

“Why don’t you just drink from me,” I said. “I know blood is more tempting than sexual pleasure. This is what you really want, right?”

Maybe if I asked, it would entice him, but it was clear he was only interested in one thing, and it wasn’t my blood. His hands were now by my thighs, pulling up my dress.

I froze, screaming in my head over and over, but no sound came out. The drugs were in full effect now, rendering me paralyzed.

Anything but this.

My body went completely numb, and my hands dropped to my sides. I closed my eyes and tried to go to another place, but suddenly, Devon’s grimy hands left my thighs, and the pressure against my hips was released. When my eyes shot open, I saw Devon shoot across the room with a trail of flames behind him. I turned to the doorway, and Caleb stood there, fire blazing from his fingertips, and his eyes were brighter than I had ever seen them.

At that moment, I thanked God I had forgotten to text him on the hour and that we were safe.

CHAPTER6

“DID YOU KILL him?” I asked as I awoke in Caleb’s bed the following day.

When he didn’t respond, I looked at him, and an unsettling feeling hit the pit of my stomach. He was seated across the bedroom in a chair facing the open window.

Caleb’s hands rested on his face, his elbows on his knees. His shoulders slumped, and his stare was empty and distant when he finally looked at me. The last time I saw Caleb like this was a year ago, when I told him we would never be together.

He wouldn’t answer, so I pressed another question. “Fine, where’s Sarah?” I only needed to hear him speak.

“She slept in the guest bedroom downstairs,” he said finally.

Relief washed over me. Sarah was safe. We were bothsafe.

“Caleb, is she … is she okay, at least?” I asked.

He nodded. “I think so, but she’s not woken up since I laid her in bed. You’ll want to speak with her when she’s awake. Don’t worry, I slept in Roland’s room since he’s still out of town,” he explained, as if he had been reading my thoughts. He probably assumed I thought we shared a bed together. I wouldn’t have cared; we would have just slept. Despite our past, I trusted Caleb with my life.

“Does the coven know where I am?” I asked. “They’ll worry since I didn’t come home last night.”

He nodded and moved in my direction, then laid down next to me, creating enough distance so we didn’t touch. “Yes, he’s dead,” he said. “After his body turned to ashes, I swept him outside the back door into the parking lot. Your cover isn’t broken. He’ll just be a missing person to them.”

“To myfather,” I corrected, watching the gloom on his face turn to surprise as his brows raised.

He pursed his lips and blinked. “What are you talking about? Your father?”

Still staring at him, I said, “Alexander is alive, Caleb.”

Caleb’s eyes grew wide, tipping his head to the side. “He was there?”

“Alexander is the leader of the Black Horse Clan and the owner of the fucking club,” I explained. “He never knew it was me, though. Sarah’s spell didn’t fade until we left the main dance floor. He didn’t see me transition back.”

“Jesus Christ,” he said, letting out a heavy breath. “Mercy, this changes things a bit, doesn’t it?”

“No. I’m not going to let emotions change things. Alexander is a vampire who runs one of the most dangerous vampire clans on the east coast. I won’t hesitate if I have to kill him,” I said.

Caleb’s phone beeped, pulling his attention away from me. I waited as he read an incoming text message, then turned to face me again.

“It’s Melissa. She found a fresh tattoo on the inside of Tippy’s lip. She thinks the person who killed him did it postmortem. She’s sending me the image now.”

We waited a minute, and the image came through. Caleb clicked on it, opening it to its full size. The tattoo was of a black horse with red eyes. We looked at each other and back at the image. “A vampire murderer is leaving us a signature. That’s a new one for us,” I said.

“At least we were right about who’s doing this.” Caleb closed down his phone screen. “It’s obvious that whoever did this wanted us to know he’s part of the Black Horse Clan. They’re drawing you out,” he said. “Let’s be one step ahead.”

“We always are, Caleb.”

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