I’m not sure what Gemini took more offense to, Johnny’s arm around me, or me running to the vamps. Either way, Bren had to rip him off Johnny.

I glance in the back seat where he continues to tremble. “You scared him,” I accuse.

“Is he still alive?” Gemini asks. He doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Then you should be thanking me instead of criticizing.”

He stomps on the gas as we take the mile-long road leading to Misha’s front gate. The colossal stone wall to my right with gargoyle heads protruding every few feet is all part of his property. Celia lived here for a time, and I haven’t returned since the four-penis demon incident, but considering what’s happening, this is the best place for Johnny to be.

“Are they nice?” Johnny asks.

“No,” we answer at once.

“Wait? They’re not nice?”

“No,” we reply, like he didn’t hear us the first time.

Bren chuckles. “But they are entertaining.” He clasps Johnny’s shoulder. “So long as they don’t see you as prey and recognize you as their equal.” He gives Johnny the onceover. “Yeah, good luck with that, kid.”

I turn and face the front, returning my hand to Gemini’s thigh. As annoyed as I am, it helps settle him, which is why I’m riding shotgun and putting as much space as I can between me and Johnny. I shouldn’t have been so affectionate with Johnny—not because he didn’t deserve kindness, but because in returning it, he crossed the line and insulted my matehood with Gemini.

“He didn’t know,” I remind Gemini quietly.

“He knows now,” he responds, not bothering to muffle his speech.

“You’re making a big deal over nothing. He probably considers me the older sister he never had.” I whisper my words so low, I don’t quite catch them over the roar of the engine as he careens down the road.

“You keep saying that,” he replies, again not whispering. “But I’m not blind to how he looks at you or how he seeks your touch.”

“It’s a comfort thing,” I argue, keeping my voice down. “He’s lonely.”

“The only thing he’s lonely for is you in his bed,” he snarls. “Next time he touches you, he’ll have to draw his arms back on with his toes.”

I turn around and offer an apologetic smile. “He doesn’t mean that,” I say.

Johnny pales, and tucks in his legs into him. “I think he does.”

Okay. He does. I give Gemini’s thigh another squeeze, hoping to remind him of better times and my promise to never leave him.

As I speak to Johnny, I keep my stare ahead. “About the vamps,” I begin. “They’re not going to attack or mess with you.”

“Unless they see you as prey,” Bren repeats.

My shoulders slump. “Bren, as Misha’s guest, he’ll be fine.” I face Johnny. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stay on guard. They’ll test you, and with Misha out of the country, they’ll want to make sure you’re worthy of his presence and not a threat to their master.”

“Misha’s not there?” Bren asks.

“No,” I say. “He’s flying back from Transylvania with his bride. He’ll be here later tonight.”

“His bride,” Gemini repeats slowly.

I throw out a hand. “Believe me, I know. I could barely believe it when Edith Anne told me. Celia mentioned a while back that he’d travelled to Transylvania looking for the future Mrs. Aleksandr. Initially she laughed thinking the vamps were making a joke. Well the joke is on us because turns out, he found the lucky gal.”

“Why is this the first we’re hearing of this?” Gemini asks.

I tilt my head. “I think Aric knew.”

“That’s not what I mean,” he says, removing his foot off the accelerator and allowing the SUV to coast. “He overheard the conversation between Celia and the she-vamp. But as much as that’s what Misha claimed, none of us believed him.” He tosses a look my way. “If you recall the period when he left, it was the same time Celia was returning home to be with Aric.”

And right around the time they became engaged.

“So you thought he was reacting to Celia and Aric’s relationship,” I determine.

“Exactly. We dismissed it as smoke that would eventually clear. We never thought it would become this.” He gives me the side-eye. “Are you certain the leeches were telling the truth?”

I can’t sniff a lie, that doesn’t mean I can’t pick up on one. “I don’t see why they’d lie, aside from trying to screw with me. But the info I received was pretty detailed. Like I mentioned, he apparently took his time searching for the one.”

My fingers draw invisible circles along his jeans when I catch the concern spreading along his features. “What’s the big deal? I’d think you’d be happy, or at least happy he’s moving on and giving up on Celia.”

“What do you know about the woman?”

His question surprises me. “Nothing,” I admit. “Just that there is one and he’s set on marrying her. I’ll be honest, I can’t see Misha settling down.”

“Babe,” I press when he doesn’t appear to settle. “Why do you care who he’s with?”

“Because Misha never does anything without getting something in return.” He stops a few feet from the gates leading in, using the last few moments of privacy to further elaborate. “As a master, he could impregnate a female if he willed it to happen.”

This is yet another WTF moment. “He can will his sperm to procreate?”

“Yes,” Gemini answers, as if sperm-commanding was the most natural thing in the world. “For a long time, there were rumors that he and Ileana Vodianova had made an agreement to conceive. Do you remember her?”

As the most powerful she-vamp in the world, Ileana is a little hard to forget. She’s stunning, the kind of woman you don’t want to take your eyes off and not simply because of her beauty. She’s as lethal as her perfect smile and could probably kill me with it.

“I take it she can order her eggs to accept the sperm?” He nods. Of course she can. “But they didn’t, right? I mean, I would have remembered that birth announcement.”

“No, and for that we’re grateful.” He huffs. “Nothing good would have come from that union.”

If I’m being honest, I like Misha. He was there for Celia when death came knocking and she threw open the door. Still, I’m not stupid to think he’s innocent or that he doesn’t have an agenda. Being good to Celia doesn’t necessarily make him a good guy.

Gemini quiets, not wanting to say more, at least not in front of Johnny. “Anyway,” I continue. “After Uri was attacked, he didn’t want to take any chances with his girlfriend’s safety and returned to Transylvania intent on bringing her back to the compound.”

“Is she human?” he asks me.

“I didn’t ask,” I admit. “Although I probably should have. Mostly, I was too shocked by the news.” I shrug. “I guess I’ll find out in a few hours.”

“You’re staying?” Johnny asks, perking up.

“You’re staying?” Gemini asks, growling. It’s not really a question, more like an annoyed statement.

“Just long enough to get you settled and meet Misha’s lady friend,” I tell Johnny, keeping my attention on Gemini. I stroke his shoulder. “I promise, it’ll just be you and me tonight.”

Every now and then, I piss off my wolf to the point that my gentle touches and soothing voice do jack shit. This is one of those moments. My wolf is not pleased.

“I thought you’d be happy.” He looks at me, knowing I’m lying. “All right, perhaps happy is too strong a word. Just look at it this way, I’ll get the goods on the future missus. If there’s anything crazy or creepy going on, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Can’t the wolves stay, too?” Johnny asks. “We can all party with the vampires.”

“What?” he asks when Gemini snarls a curse and Bren all but laughs in his face.

“We’re not there to party,” I tell him. “And trust me when I say it’s not in anyone’s best interest to have the wolves hang with Misha’s undead peeps.” I don’t add that I’m also tired of scrubbing fur and vamp blood off my cute clothes. Poor guy is freaked out enough.

Gemini eases off the brake, stopping directly in front of the wrought iron gates. A deep voice booms from the closest gargoyle head. “Who dares invade the House of Aleksandr!”

Gemini rolls his eyes. “Just open the damn gates, Hank,” I call out, knowing he can hear me through the glass.

“Fine,” he grumbles.

Gemini barrels down the wide slate driveway the moment the gates part. I do a double-take when I find Johnny cowering in the corner, clutching the arm rest. “Don’t do that,” I tell him.

He glances from side to side. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Yes, you are,” I insist. “You’re demonstrating fear.”

“I’m not demonstrating. I’m fucking swimming in it. Did you hear that guy? The one in the gargoyle head? He sounded possessed!”

“That’s just Hank,” I tell him.

“Hank?” He allows his legs to slide to the floor. “So Hank is all right? He won’t hurt me?”

Bren laughs. “Are you kidding? He would totally rip out your kidneys.”

“Bren,” I warn.

His blue eyes brim with humor. “Well, he would,” he mumbles.

“It doesn’t matter,” I offer quickly.

“It doesn’t matter?” Johnny asks, his voice shrilled. “These are my kidneys we’re talking about.” He glances out of the window and tries to unlock the door. It’s a stupid thing to do. The meticulously kept landscape may create the impression of a tranquil and safe environment, except vampire guards lurk in the shadows, protecting the compound. Johnny was safer on the mountain with the bears and the potential demon infestation.

“Johnny, get a hold of yourself,” I tell him.

“You said I’d be safe here,” he reminds me. “That this was a good place to be until the witches came for me.”

“You will be safe,” I say. “The vamps won’t harm you unless provoked or in defense of their master. That doesn’t mean they won’t try to screw with you.”

I groan when he curls inward. “You can’t behave this way in front of the vamps. They’ll eat you alive—” I hold out my hand when he pales. “Sorry, they won’t actually eat you. But they sure as hell won’t respect you.”

My pep talk does nothing. If anything, he’s close to hysterics and I can’t have that.

I point at him. “You’re the Fate,” I remind him. “You have to walk into that compound like you’re the baddest mother fucker in the room.”

“Just don’t verbalize it,” Gemini adds.

“Oh, yeah,” Bren agrees. “Totally don’t verbalize that shit.” He nudges Johnny. “Unless you want to kiss those kidneys goodbye.”

“Will you stop it,” I tell him when sweat pours down Johnny’s face. “You’re not helping.”

An idea sparks in my head. “Think about what it was like to walk out on stage, or attend an event where everyone knew who you were. Were you scared?”

“No, but my fans worshipped me.” He glances at Bren. “They weren’t threatening to tear out my organs.”

“That’s not the only reason,” I say. “You weren’t scared because you were Johnny Fate. You’re still Johnny Fate. But instead of being a rock god, you’re the new god in Witchville.”

I’m trying to make him feel better, but the words are hard to say. The only reason he’s getting the title is because Destiny is losing the crown. I suppose that’s why my voice softens and Johnny seems to cling to my every word. “Believe you’re strong and formidable, and they will, too.”

I angle my body back toward the front as Gemini pulls onto the long circular drive. He parks directly in front of the stone steps leading up to the two-story double doors. On both sides of each step waits a vampire dressed in a designer black suit. They’re all newly made, deadly, and waiting for one false move.

“Remember what I said,” I tell Johnny. I swing open the door. “Come on, it’s show time.”

I step out, my head high and my shoulders back. Unlike Johnny, the vamps don’t scare me. “Hank here?” I ask.

The female vamp at the top hops down in the time it takes me to reach the base of the steps. She smiles with all the warmth of a cobra. “He’s coming,” she says.

Yes, he is, and does he ever know how to make an appearance. A human, dressed like a scantily dressed Little Bo-Peep races down the steps, giggling and glancing back to make sure she’s being followed.

And is she ever! Hank, the naughty sheep, is steadily in pursuit. I know it’s him despite that he’s only wearing a black speedo and a rubber sheep mask.

It’s not a gift. I’d recognize that eight-pack anywhere.

He stops in front of me, peeling off his mask, his sweat-soaked hair glued to his face as if camera-ready for some kind of athletic photo shoot. “Look who’s here,” he tells me. “My favorite weird sister.”

“And look at you!” I say. “My favorite—never mind. I hate all of you.”

He looks past me, ignoring the slight. “That him?”

I glance over my shoulder to where Gemini stands beside Johnny. To his credit, he tried to help Johnny appear respected by opening his door. I’m not sure it helped given Johnny’s slacked jaw appearance and how he seems ready to move back into the “cave.”

I turn to Hank, nodding. “Yes. That is the mighty Fate.”

“Mighty?” he asks. He smirks when I nod. “More like puny. You serious about what he is? He looks like some Justin Bieber impersonator minus the height and pubes. Shit, Taran, he could pass for twelve.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” I remind him, waving an arm at what’s left of his costume. “And royalty knows no age limit. Don’t forget, King Tut became Pharaoh at nine.”

He huffs. “And died at nineteen.”

Bren leans against the SUV with his arms crossed. He dances his eyebrows at the she-vamp who greeted me. “Cast your eyes elsewhere, mongrel,” she snaps at him.

Bren chuckles and opens his arms. “Baby, you know you can’t wait to have some of this.”

She hisses, more because he’s right based on the once-over she gives him. I’m ready to hiss, too. It’s like he’s trying to prove there’s nothing between him and Emme.

Hank motions to Johnny. “The tough-guy Fate going to wait by your boyfriend all day?”

And because he doesn’t look like enough of a pussy, Johnny takes a step closer to Gemini. Gemini stiffens. It’s taking everything he has not to roll his eyes.

I clear my throat. “You may call him Johnny if you win his favor, otherwise you’re only permitted to address him as the Fate.”

Hank barks out a laugh. “You’re kidding, right?” He turns to the other vamps. “Did you hear that shit?” he asks.

Hank stops laughing and leaps away when I light up in a funnel of blue and white flames. “The fuck, Taran?” he says.

The vampires bare their fangs, inching back with their nails elongating. They may be immune to sunshine, but unless they’re a master, they’re not immune to fire.

“Do you dare question the Fate’s power?” I demand.

Hank blinks back at me. “Are you seriously challenging me?”

“You’re damn right I am,” I reply, adding another notch to my already scorching flame.

Sometimes, a gal has to be the one with the balls in the room, especially when Fate’s have all but shriveled up.

“Listen, and listen well,” I command. “The Fate is under my protection and that of the Squaw Valley Den Pack. As the most revered and powerful witch among all covens, he is not to be harmed, and as a guest of your master, he is to be welcomed as family and friend without prejudice.” Heat flares as streams of blue and white swirl around me. “You will show him the reverence he deserves or you will suffer our collective wrath. Permit him through, bow as he passes, and for hell’s sake get him something to eat.”

With a snap of my fingers, I switch off my fire. Gemini and Bren flank my sides, their arms loose and ready to act. I turn to address Johnny.

“Are you ready, your highness?” I ask.

At first I’m sure he’s ready to scramble back inside the SUV and beg us to save him. But then he shuts the door, mimicking my strong posture and lifting a chin stiff with determination. “I am.”

He has to stop himself from saying thank you. It’s a good start. What he does next, is even better.

The tattoos along his arms come to life with each step he takes. The vines and leaves of his jungle sleeve snake and move in a makeshift breeze. A leopard stalks through the bright green vegetation, yawning to expose his fangs, the glint in his eyes sparkling as he looks in my direction.

At the same time, lava boils between the cracks in the earth of his Mordor-themed sleeve, spouting smoke as he reaches the first vamp. But when he passes Hank, it’s all I can do not to fist-bump him.

The leopard extends out of Johnny’s arm and takes a swipe at Hank. Hank jumps out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting clawed in the face.

“That was a warning,” Johnny tells him. “Please, for your sake, don’t upset my guards.”

Bren makes this odd choking sound, trying to keep from laughing. I’m worried he’ll give Johnny away, but that’s not how Hank takes it.

Like the other vamps, Hank’s focus is on Johnny’s ever moving tattoos, enthralled by the way the leopard shrinks in size and withdraws into Johnny’s skin.

“The Fate is welcomed to the entire east wing,” he mutters, watching the leopard stalk through his jungle home.

 “No,” I say.

“No?” Hank jerks his head up. “Why not?”

“The Fate prefers privacy at all costs,” I tell him. “He respectfully requests use of the guesthouse during his stay.”

“It’s smaller,” Hank tells me, speaking slowly as if I’m not aware.

“I know, and I’m telling you, it’s what the Fate prefers,” I repeat. The less the vamps have access to him, the longer Johnny will be able to pull off this façade.

Hank looks at Johnny, his features quizzical and questioning.

“I like my privacy,” Johnny concurs.” He lifts his arms slightly. “We all do.”

Hank’s stare returns briefly to Johnny’s tats. With a jerk of his chin, he motions to the vampire opposite him.

“It will be just a moment,” Hank tells Johnny. “My apologies, young Fate.”

Again, Johnny has to stop himself from saying thank you. But he does nod regally, just as he damn well should.

“This way,” Hank says, leading him forward.

I keep my arms behind my back, hoping Johnny will follow Hank and not remain glued to my side. He does, hesitating only briefly.

Gemini turns to me, lifting my chin and planting one hell of a sexy kiss on my lips. It’s his way of reminding the vamps who linger that I’m his and also under were protection.

It’s also his way of telling me my aggression made him hot.

“Tonight?” he asks.

“Tonight,” I promise.

Bren knocks me affectionately on the shoulder and hops down the steps. “Way to show them who’s boss, Taran.”

I wait for Gemini to return to his vehicle and drive away before following the remaining vampires inside.

So far, so good. The thing is, nothing is ever at it seems in the House of Aleksandr.