Chapter Sixteen
Macgrath
“We’re coming to you, Ewan.”
Callum’s words were barely audible over the buzzing in my ears. “What?”
“Marcus and I are on our way to you right now,” he enunciated slowly and clearly, as though he wanted to make sure I understood every syllable he uttered.
“No, you shouldn’t,” I argued. “Rhiannon—”
“Is an evil bitch who will probably try to kill us all. Yeah, we’re aware. But it will be easier for Marcus to track her if we’re—”
It was my turn to interrupt. “Fuck, no!” I yelled. I sucked in a sharp breath and released it on a huff, reaching up to pinch the bridge of my nose. Shit. Everyone in the house probably heard that outburst, even the human.
I had to get control of myself. I was letting Rhiannon and all of this get to me. It was eating away at my control, inch by inch, until there would be nothing left of me but uncontrollable rage and hunger.
“Marcus can track her. You and I both know it.”
“But at what cost to him?” I asked, my voice cracking.
Marcus had the gift of precognition. When he was human, it was too weak for more than predicting weather patterns or where the enemy might turn up in battle. But when I turned him, the gift grew stronger until it held him in a stranglehold. During the last few centuries, he’d gained control.
Yet I couldn’t forget how it had been in the beginning, when the visions damn near drove him mad. If anything could push him closer to that edge, it would be his peek into Rhiannon’s mind. If I had known what the cost would be before turning him, I never would have done it.
“He knows what’s at stake and he’s willing to take the risk,” Callum added.
“But I’m not,” I whispered. “Rhiannon has taken enough from me. I can’t allow her to take either of you as well.”
Callum fell silent for a long moment. Then he drew in a deep breath and replied, “Ewan, we will be safe. Marcus and I are stronger now than we were a century ago. And even if we aren’t strong enough to defeat Rhiannon on our own, your group is powerful. You are powerful. Together, we will remain unharmed.”
I wanted to refuse, to tell him to stay the fuck away from Austin because we would all probably die, but I couldn’t find my voice. My throat was locked down tight.
“I’ve exhausted all my options here,” he continued. “I won’t be able to track her through her financials any more. Well, at least not in a short amount of time. I couldn’t locate the hacker. He’s too damn smart. He figured out how to cover her tracks and it would take weeks of digging and at least one powerful witch or warlock for me to find the information I need. This hacker isn’t just using his knowledge, but magic as well and it’s powerful and dark. It will take too much time. This is the only way.”
I gritted my teeth and felt my fangs descend. “I know,” I admitted. I hated those words. I despised that my weakness would now put Callum and Marcus in danger.
“We’ll be there tomorrow morning,” he stated.
“You’ll stay in the house I was using before. It’s warded and completely off the map.”
“Great,” Callum muttered. “That means we’ll be lucky if there’s running water.”
“It’s not that bad,” I replied. And it wasn’t. Though the house was somewhat rustic and off the grid, it still had a lot of amenities.
“Yeah, but you say that about sleeping on a cave floor,” he argued. “And the rest of us are trying to avoid permanent neck damage.”
I would have smiled at his grumbled complaint if a car hadn’t been slowing to a stop in front of Savannah’s house. My body tensed when I saw who sat behind the wheel.
I growled deep in my chest. “Look, something just came up and I need to deal with it. I’ll call you back in a bit with the address.”
“Rhiannon?” he asked quickly.
“No, a damn wolf.”
“Understood,” he replied before he disconnected the call.
I slid the cell phone into my back pocket and let my arms drop to my sides as Harrison Morris parked his car and climbed out.
His gaze was alert and wary as he approached the front porch and he seemed poised for a fight.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice low so no one inside would overhear.
“I was invited,” Harrison replied.
I glared at him. “By who?”
“Ava called me yesterday and told me not to worry about opening the shop today. Then she asked me to meet her here this morning.”
The back of my neck prickled with possessiveness when he said her name and I had to swallow a snarl.
The wolf studied me, his expression strangely detached considering how territorial he’d been just a couple of days ago. “Ava’s made her choice,” he stated suddenly. “And she didn’t choose me.”
The rage building within me lessened at his words. “What?”
Harrison took another step toward me, putting his foot on the bottom tread of the stairs that led up to the porch. “Ava chose you, Macgrath. I don’t like it, and neither does my wolf, but I have to accept it. Ava makes her own decisions and controls her own destiny. She decided that you were the one she wanted. Nothing I do or say now will change her mind.” He came closer, taking another step up the stairs until we were only a couple of feet apart. “But that doesn’t mean that I’ll hesitate to jump in if you fuck this up, vampire. I care about that woman, more than I’ve cared about anyone in a long time, and I will protect her at all costs. Even from the man she chose.”
I wanted to throw him across the street and watch him bounce off the sidewalk. I wanted to tear his throat out with my fangs. Because she hadn’t chosen me, at least not yet. When she did, I could only pray that the wolf was right and she would return my feelings. Her reaction to me this morning in the kitchen gave me hope. Even if her heart wasn’t ready to recognize what I was to her, her body did. She responded to my presence, her heartbeat rising and her scent changing. While I was pleased with her body’s quickening in my nearness, I wanted more. I wanted her heart and soul. I wanted everything.
I was also glad that Ava had so many people in her life that cared about her. Who would lay down their lives to protect her.
But there was one thing I wanted to clarify with the wolf before we ended this conversation. “You care about her, but I belong to her. Everything I am, the very blood in my veins, is hers to do with as she pleases. I exist for her and I die for her.”
His eyes widened at my words and he stumbled back, tripping over the steps as he moved. “She’s your mate,” he whispered, comprehension dawning in his expression. His eyes moved over my shoulder as though he could look through the exterior walls of the house to see those inside. “Dear God, she’s your mate and she has no idea.”
My head bowed as Harrison came to the correct conclusion. Yesterday, I finally understood why I was so drawn to Ava. Why I couldn’t stay away from her even when she hated me.
She was my mate and every cell in my body screamed for her. When she collapsed, the fear nearly overwhelmed me. I knew at once that I couldn’t lose her. That I would die before I lost her, because a world without Ava in it was no place I wanted to be.
The shifter and I stared at each other, a strange understanding passing between us. If anyone other than a vampire could be sympathetic to my plight, it would be a shifter. Mates were highly valued and cherished by their males. To be forced to keep your distance from your mate was the worst sort of torture for a werewolf. Just as it was for a vampire.
Before either of us could speak, the door opened and Ava stuck her head outside.
“There you are, Harrison. I was beginning to get worried.” She stepped out onto the porch, her eyes darting between the two of us as though she was trying to determine what was going on. “Savannah made a ton of food. Why don’t you come inside and have something to eat while we talk, okay?”
The wolf nodded at her and came up the steps. He was careful not to touch me when he walked by, which made Ava’s eyes narrow to slits. I moved to follow him, but her hand shot out and grabbed my arm.
“Just one sec,” she muttered as she reached out to shut the door behind the shifter. Then she faced me and put her free hand on her hip. “Harrison is our ally,” she stated.
“I know.” I wanted to glance down where her fingers still touched my skin, but I didn’t want her to remove it. Not yet.
“So you weren’t out here snarling at him a few minutes ago?” she asked pointedly.
“We had something to discuss but we worked it out.” I would let her draw her own conclusion.
Ava studied me closely for a moment and I saw her eyes flicker down to her hand where the ring rested on the base of her finger. The stone remained blue.
There was a twinge of pain in my chest. I wanted her to trust me and an evasive answer to her question was not the way to earn that trust. But I wasn’t ready for the conversation that an honest answer would beget. She wasn’t ready for it either.
Ava relaxed, dropping her hand from my arm. “Okay.”
It was my turn to eye her closely. Ava did not back down. She was tenacious when she wanted answers. “Just okay?” I asked softly.
She nodded. “It’s obvious that talking about it is only agitating you more. As long as you and Harrison remain in control, I’ll leave it alone.”
The last of the tension leaked out of my body, until she spoke again.
“Was that Callum on the phone?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She waited a moment and when I didn’t elaborate, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Macgrath, I appreciate that you care about my safety and the safety of my loved ones, but none of us can take on Rhiannon alone. It would be suicide and we both know it.”
It was the first time she’d admitted she needed help in dealing with Rhiannon. Having felt her power firsthand, I didn’t doubt that she was stronger than the dark witch, but Rhiannon was evil. She had no conscience and gave no thought to who she might hurt. All that mattered to her was achieving her goal.
“Callum and my other offspring, Marcus, are on their way here,” I explained. “They’ll arrive tomorrow morning.”
She tilted her head, her gaze sharpening. “Will they be able to help us locate Rhiannon?”
I ran a hand over my hair. “Marcus has the gift of precognition.”
Ava’s brows lifted. “How strong is his gift?” she asked.
“Strong. Strong enough that, for a time, I worried it would drive him to madness.”
“I see,” she replied with a nod.
The answer was cryptic and disturbed me.
“He is in control now and has been for centuries.” I didn’t want her to fear my brothers. Though I created them and despite our estrangement for the past century, I still thought of them as brothers rather than children.
Once again she placed a hand on my arm. “I believe you, Ewan,” she stated.
She so rarely used my first name. When she did, I felt it deep in my chest, as though she’d reached inside and took my heart in her fist.
Though she wasn’t using magic against me, Ava Amaris had me under her spell and I was a willing captive.
Her hand gave my forearm a light squeeze. “I’m glad he’ll be able to help,” she stated. Then she shivered. “It’s cold out here. Let’s go inside.”
As she entered the house, the itch began between my shoulder blades once again. I looked over my shoulder, scanning the street with all my senses, even the magical ones, but there was nothing there.
Still, the itch intensified until it was nearly a burn. Somewhere out there Rhiannon was watching us and preparing to strike once again. Only this time it wouldn’t be a distraction. She would come with fury in her heart and death at her fingertips.