“Shannon,” Victoria said. “You will race home now and you will remember that Aden walked with you.”
Dread beat through Aden as Shannon’s eyes glazed over and he picked up speed. Soon, the boy disappeared beyond the trees.
“What’s going on?” Aden asked.
“I wish Tucker and Ozzie were the worst of it,” Victoria said. “Dmi—another vampire and I found Mr. Applewood, the baseball coach, and his wife, last night. Chewed up.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, her ring glittering in the sunlight. “No one knows yet, but when they’re discovered, the police will think there’s a pack of wild animals on the loose.”
“So it has begun,” Riley said gravely. He carried two backpacks, his own and Mary Ann’s, and now he shifted both to one shoulder, freeing up one of his hands. To better reach for a weapon if needed? “I feared it had when I realized several kids were absent today.”
“Goblins?” Aden asked, recalling what they’d told him about the fearsome flesh-eaters. They liked their victims living and fresh. He, too, shifted the two backpacks he carried—his and Victoria’s—to one side.
Victoria nodded. “I suspect so.”
His stomach rolled. “We’ve got to stop them.”
“I agree,” Riley said. “But the only way to do that is to find where they’re sleeping during the day and kill them while they’re vulnerable.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Mary Ann said, kicking a pile of acorns.
Riley opened his mouth to reply, probably to protest and command her away from the actual fighting, but thought the better of it.
“We’ll need weapons,” Aden said. “We’ll also need time. Time I don’t have, because of chores and watchful eyes at the ranch. But I don’t want you guys going without me.” He might not have possessed superstrength like Victoria or superspeed like Riley, but he was not without skills. Plus, he would place Victoria’s life before his own, ensuring her safety. Riley, he suspected, would do the same for Mary Ann, perhaps even placing Mary Ann’s life before Victoria’s. Therefore, they both had to be there.
“I can obtain the weapons,” Riley said. “And I will summon my brothers. They will help.”
“You have brothers?” Mary Ann asked, eyes wide.
He nodded. “Four by blood, raised by Vlad like me, and many by circumstance.”
“Wow.”
Aden heard the uncertainty in her voice and wondered what she was thinking.
“They will like you,” Riley promised. “Do not worry.”
Ah. Now he understood. He looked to Victoria, whose hair was braided in a crown around her head, giving her a regal appearance. “Do you have any siblings?”
“Two older sisters. Lauren and Stephanie. And I’m sorry to tell you this, but they will not like you. I tell you only to warn you, since you will be meeting them tomorrow. You are human and they consider humans a food source, nothing more. Already they question my…preoccupation with you.”
“You don’t have to explain,” he said. He’d been despised his entire life. Adding a few names to the list of people who hated him wasn’t a big deal. “You’re the only one I care about.”
Suddenly Victoria threw her arms around him, kissing him hard and deep. He spun her around, despite his surprise, holding her close, kissing her back with everything he had. For that single moment, he was able to forget his troubles, the future. Victoria, too. Laughing, more carefree than he’d ever seen her, she allowed her head to fall back, watching the trees spin above her.
“You’re always astounding me,” she said. “In all the years of my life, no one has managed to shock me even once, yet you have time and time again. I expected you to run from danger. You didn’t. I expected you to hate me for what I am. You don’t. I expected you to be hurt by my family’s prejudice. You aren’t.”
He stilled and gazed down at her, this beautiful girl of his dreams. “Because I, well…” He cleared his throat. He wouldn’t admit that he loved her, not with witnesses. “I told you. You’re the only one I care about.”
Her lids fell to half-mast as she planted another kiss, this one swift but soft, on his lips. “I have a surprise for you. It’s under your bed.”
“What—”
“No. Do not ask, for I will not tell you.” Reluctantly, she moved from his embrace and clasped his hand. “I hope you like it, though.”
A gift from her? “I know I will.” Now, he couldn’t wait to get home.
Riley, he saw, had Mary Ann pinned against a tree, a lock of her hair in his hands, whispering to her as she peered up at him shyly.
“Come on, you two,” Aden called.
At first they ignored him. Then Mary Ann laughed and shoved him away. Riley gave a mock growl. Aden had never seen the shifter so at ease. “Aden’s right,” Riley said. “We should go. Dmitri’s waiting for you, princess.”
The princess in question gasped, stiffened. “Shut up!”
“My bad,” Riley muttered.
That reminded him…“So who is Dmitri to you?” he asked Victoria as they all jumped back into motion.
Riley’s attention whipped to Victoria, eyes narrowed. Gone was his relaxed demeanor.
There was no color in her cheeks, and she stumbled over her own feet. “Aden,” she began.
“It’s time,” Riley said. “He needs to know.”
Oh, no, Elijah suddenly moaned. Oh, Aden. I’m so sorry. I just heard her answer. She’s going to tell you, but please don’t react right away. All right?
Aden stiffened.
Victoria gulped. “Dmitri is my…betrothed.”
Betrothed. Took him a moment to recall the meaning of the word. When he did, he stopped. Betrothed—engaged. He’d thought himself stiff before, but now his muscles clamped down on his bones with so much force, his entire body shook.
“I didn’t choose him,” she rushed out. “My father did. I want nothing to do with him. I hate him. You have to believe that.”
“But you will marry him?”
Her gaze fell to the ground. A moment passed. She nodded once. “I cannot fight my father on this. He has planned it since my birth.”
“What about your sisters?”
“They are promised to others.”
Filled with fury, he gripped her upper arms. “Why didn’t you tell me?” If she had, he would have fought the urge to love her. Or fought Dmitri when he’d had the chance.
“I wanted to be with you and I didn’t want that between us.” Slowly her lashes rose until that crystalline gaze was on him, burning deep. “You wouldn’t have kissed me.”
“You’re not marrying him,” he gritted out. “You’re not.”
“My father desires the alliance because Dmitri’s family is strong. There is no getting out of it. Not without bloodshed and death. And pain. Oh, God, the pain he can inflict…Not just on me, but on you and everyone you love. I’m sorry, Aden. So sorry.”
In the distance, he heard a twig snap. Heard Riley suck in a breath. Heard a gasp as the shape-shifter shoved Mary Ann behind him.
Riley was ripping off his clothing, snarling at the trees. “Sneaky witches.” Finally Riley was naked, Mary Ann was looking at him, blushing, and then he was changing from man to wolf, fur sprouting from his skin, bones elongating, reshaping until he was on all fours, sharp teeth bared.
“Witches?” Frowning, Victoria turned.
Aden fought past his emotions and followed suit just as woman after woman stepped between the trees, encircling their group.
“Break the circle before it solidifies,” Victoria cried. One moment she was beside him, the next she wasn’t, moving so quickly he only saw the blur of her clothing. When she hit the edge of the trees where the women were, she slammed into some type of invisible wall and flew backward, tumbling to the ground.
Aden rushed forward, placing himself in front of her. All eyes were focused on him as he bent down and drew the daggers out of his boots. He kept the silver hidden by pressing it against his arms, the hilts tight in his hands.