“Couldn’t ever be, because Violet can’t be imitated,” Arion says almost distractedly, his eyes still on her.

Vance’s brow furrows, and I sniff the room, finding only one strange, nearly-muted scent that is likely human, since this hotel is filled with them. “Do you really think Idun would even pretend to lie on me like this?” Arion asks in a rhetorical tone, running his lips up her cheek. “I was the kicked puppy of the lot, in case you’ve forgotten. The loyal dog who wouldn’t stray was always treated the worst.”

Vance’s gaze flicks to mine, like he’s assessing if I’m buying into this or not, before we turn back to Arion. Damien is perched along the side of the wall now, studying Violet intently.

“While Idun was chasing you, trying to get your attention, and showing you all the affection when you finally gave in…”

The vampire just leaves that unfinished sentence suspended, as if he’s grown too distracted by Violet to bother with us right now.

“Damien,” Violet whispers around a moan in her sleep, her leg sliding higher on Arion’s waist.

When Violet makes a short little sound of pleasure and lightly grinds against Arion, the vampire shoots Damien a dubious look.

“It’s Violet,” Damien finally says, eyes blinking like he’s been trying to get inside her head, his entire body sagging in relief like he’s positive.

It puts me at ease…somewhat. I’ve spent the last four hours trekking through the woods behind Vance as we hunted the bastard vampire with yet another new trick up his sleeve. He seems to have more and more of those.

“She smells so powerfully sweet so much of the time, that we never really notice how subtle, soft and almost absent her scent gets when she’s aroused. The very opposite of how one would generally presume such to be,” Arion prattles on once again, back to sharing his sex-fueled insight as he lingers on the high.

As soon as Violet’s not on him anymore, I’m punching him in the face. Mostly because I haven’t ever noticed that until now, and I hate him for pointing it out. Also because the wolf is near the surface, since he’s left me in a frenzied whirlwind of dread and anger all fucking night.

His hand slides down her back, and we all get a view of him pushing inside her when the sheet slips up with his motions. He’s mostly inside her by the time Violet wakes up, and she makes a very pleased sound against his lips as her hips roll, already quickly adjusting to waking up.

“Insatiable vampire,” she murmurs against his mouth.

Vance turns and walks out much calmer, and Damien almost sighs in relief, as Arion forgets we’re even in the room. Arion’s no longer just Idun’s.

This is proof.

Violet has done the impossible, and she’s stolen Arion from Idun’s clutches. He’d never have a casual affair. It’s a line he’d never cross just to trick us.

Just as Damien starts undoing his shirt like all’s fucking forgiven and he’s about to join in, glass shatters, and Violet shrieks, as Arion flips her, coming down on top of her to shield her.

Damien drops to the ground, cursing, as an arrow stabs through his heart. I drop next, as four arrows simultaneously stick through my torso. A roar rattles out of me when I barely manage to get my body in front of Vance before the next barrage of them hit.

I lose sight of Violet, as Arion rolls to the floor, heaving for air, as Vance drops with two arrows sticking out of his heart. Blasted, I thought I’d saved the Van Helsing so he could handle this.

I feel the unknown poison burning through me, groaning as my limbs start to freeze. What new hell is this?

Just as one arrow comes right for my eyes, Violet’s body steps in front of me, and the taste of her blood splatters against my lips.

An arrow is jabbed through her leg, and the assault abruptly ends, silence descending immediately. The wolf inside me stirs, a growl forming in me, as I strain to move even one muscle. It takes me too long to realize the attack was never coming from outside. It was coming from inside the bathroom.

The door creaks open, sending light spilling through the crack. Violet remains the only one standing, while the rest of us continue to be frozen to the ground.

“Move, Violet,” someone grinds out.

By some miracle, the same poison mustn’t have been on the arrow in Violet’s leg, because she breaks off the head of it, making a pained sound that only stirs my growls fiercer, while she removes the rest of the arrow like it’s not her first time.

I can’t see the other woman, but I can see Arion’s gaze growing more furious by the frozen second. He never cuts his eyes away from the mystery woman.

Please, for fuck’s sake, don’t let it be Idun with the scent of another’s blood.

“I guess you’re not always Linda-the-receptionist, are you?” Violet asks as she drops the arrow remnants.

“A girl’s got to put food on the table, even when there’s a head to hunt. Only the girls who dare to be too pretty eat for free,” comes the answer, those words sounding familiar enough to churn my stomach.

I’ve heard that before, haven’t I? Was that Idun who said it?

“Move before I—”

Arion bursts free seconds before I can, but I’m right behind him, as my wolf erupts from me. I feel my vision dimming as the wolf tries to take full control, focusing in on her vulnerable throat.

My heart dives in the next instant, because Violet is suddenly blocking my path again, as though she simply appeared, and I crash into her.

CHAPTER 23

VIOLET

Staring at the girl formally known as Linda, who is giving me a very disgusted look, I don’t even have time to process how the hell all this just escalated so quickly, and where the hell the other three guys even came from.

So this is Idun. I’m surprised she’s telling me to move so she can hurt them. From what I’ve learned, this is a little out of character.

I should be the first target—the weak omega.

Idun the—

“A girl’s got to put food on the table, even when there’s a head to hunt. Only the girls who dare to be too pretty eat for free,” she says, shattering the fragmented pieces I thought I had laid out, as bile and air simultaneously wad in my throat. “Move before I—”

Arion is suddenly shoving her hard against the wall, and I scream as I dive for him, only to be knocked out of the way by Emit’s raging wolf.

Pain explodes in my side, and Emit slides next to me, eyes wide like he never expected me to go in that direction. My gaze darts back to Arion, who has turned completely toward me, just as a blade shoves through his torso.

His jaw grinds as he turns, thin sword still sticking out, and I lunge again, ignoring the pain in my ribs as I shout, “Stop, Arion, don’t!”

His claws stop their descent abruptly, as I quickly prop against Emit, feeling the impossibly soft fur against me. He quickly turns to flesh when my legs try to give out, and takes on the burden of holding me up.

“Why the bloody hell would I stop?” Arion asks, glaring. “This bitch just tried to—”

“Do it, Vampyre,” Not-Linda says in interruption, smiling darkly. “Please do it so I can be done with you immediately.”

My heart only pounds harder, as my vision dims just barely, Arion’s claws starting to move again, as panic slices up my throat.

“Stop!” I shout again, just as she ducks his swing that he wasn’t planning to stop at all.

“She’s my mother!” I choke out.

He does stop the second swing, almost fully red eyes meeting mine.

The sound of a sword sheathing sounds from right beside me, as Vance puts his sword away. Emit cradles me against him. Damien moves to the other side of Emit. Vance is quickly looking at my slightly bruised side, because Emit’s a cannon ball when charging, apparently.

“She jumped right in front of me,” he murmurs to Damien so quietly I almost miss it.

“Get your filthy fucking hands off her, you patru picioare urâciune!” Mom snaps, causing Emit to freeze and Vance’s eyes to collide with mine, as though none of them believed me until now.

Vance, like everyone else, slowly stares at Mom differently, even as Arion keeps her pinned in place. Mom struggles ineffectively and winces when his claws dig in.

“Violet, clothe yourself before I vomit everywhere,” she says with tears in her eyes.

“You’ve been in here since dropping off that scotch?” I hiss in oh-fuck-my-life-this-cannot-be-happening horror.

“I had a plan,” she grinds out, glaring at me. “I had no idea you would be this involved with my plan.”

She pauses as she gags a little, and a little more horror washes over me just to make sure I’m thoroughly drenched in the shit.

Arion fucking grins, but wipes it away quickly when he sees my face.

“I’m so sorry. I thought you were Linda the flirty receptionist. Why were you flirting with him?” I ask on a shrill pitch.

“Don’t apologize to her, love. Just being around us got an arrow through your leg.”

“She stopped when she hit me, because she didn’t mean to hit me,” I quickly argue, slapping at Emit to put me down, as I scramble to wrap a sheet around me.

Of course, that still leaves the naked werewolf and naked vampire in the room that no one seems to be discussing. Okay, then. Time to tip the crazy scale just a little more in my head.

It sucks so hard to be me some days.

My mother finally comes back to see me fucking her life-long enemies.

“She doesn’t smell like a Portocale,” Emit snarls, glaring at Mom like she’s a lying troll.

“That’s because it takes up to a year for my scent to be restored when I gypsy hop so suddenly,” Mom answers carelessly. Then she cuts her gaze up at Arion. “Make a move or unhand me, Vampyre.”

“Promise you won’t attack if he lets you go?” I ask, and…then get four lethal glares swung my way…that I decide to ignore.

Emit is still guiltily darting a gaze at my covered side every two seconds because of an accidental collision that I caused. It’s not like I feel threatened by them. They can glare all they want right now; that’s my mother. I’ll risk it.

“Promise,” I say again, drawing a glare from her now.

“After what I’ve sat through and endured, only to have that miserable shite tranquilizer burn through too fast?” she asks, not completely sounding like her normal self, but almost like the memories of the times an unusual accent would slip in.

“Violet, you have no idea how tricky Idun’s gypsy freak skin walkers can be, and right now, our presence here ensures them we’re now aware Idun is up. They’ll be flocking in, which is why I never went to collect our things,” Arion tells me like he’s growing impatient. “This one has some sort of paralytic that I want to know more about.”

“It’s my tranquilizer that I’ve been developing for me for when my heart drops. I’m turbo charged right now, due to the lightning I was forced to absorb, so it’s presently a lot more ineffective than in the past when tested,” I absently explain, only feeling the slightest numbing tingles in my fingertips, and weirdly my elbows, through it all.