Chapter Four
Macgrath
Today had been a test of my self-control. While I could sense Ava’s presence from a distance, physical proximity was much more difficult than I’d realized. Being able to see her and knowing that I was close enough to touch her presented a temptation that even I had difficulty resisting.
After her conversation with Savannah, Ava remained aloof and gave me a wide berth. The shifter she’d hired as a manager watched me with intense, hostile eyes the entire time I sat at the corner table. If he’d been in wolf form, his hackles would have been raised and his lips pulled back in a snarl.
I drank two cups of coffee over the next two hours and tried to read a book on my phone. It was a fruitless endeavor because my attention wandered away from the words on the screen every time Ava moved.
At four, a message popped up on the screen. It was from Callum. Just a few years after I awoke in that field with no memory of my past, I turned the two men I considered brothers after they fell on the battlefield, Callum and Marcus. Instinct alone had guided me when I turned them, desperate to save the only two people on this earth that gave a shit about me. They weren’t my only offspring but they were the first. They were my brothers. I rarely turned humans after them because I saw how difficult the transition had been. Watching their family and friends age and die hadn’t been easy for them.
Got your message. Call me.
I got to my feet and walked out of the coffee shop, not stopping until I was a block away. I didn’t trust that the shifter behind the bar wouldn’t eavesdrop on the conversation.
I connected the call and lifted the phone to my ear.
“That was fast,” Callum said by way of greeting.
“I didn’t want to give you time to change your mind.”
Silence fell between us and I regretted my words.
“I told you that I didn’t blame you any longer. We don’t speak because you never call nor do you answer when I call you.” He huffed out a laugh, but there was no amusement in the sound. “But now isn’t the time to discuss it. It sounds like you have a problem.”
I swallowed back the words I wanted to say but never would. Apologies and self-recriminations wouldn’t change what I had done.
“I need you to find someone for me. A witch.”
Callum cleared his throat. “Your best bet would be another witch,” he suggested.
“Tried that and got nothing. But the woman I’m looking for has money and she’ll want access to it. There’s only so much that magic can do to hide a paper trail. I need you to use those hacking skills and find that trail for me.”
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do. What’s the witch’s name?”
“Rhiannon Temple.”
Callum fell silent again. He wasn’t even breathing. Finally, he asked softly, “Are you sure you want me to find her? We both know you’re better off without her.”
“I plan to kill the bitch,” I growled, feeling my fangs descend. Fuck. Spending too much time around Ava had brought me right to the edge of control.
“In that case, I’ll try my best to get you what you need ASAP.”
“Good.” I paused. “Thank you, Callum. For everything.”
“Just let me be there when you end the witch and we’ll call it even.”
“We’ll see. There may not be time.” And I couldn’t guarantee that Ava wouldn’t get to Rhiannon first. If she did…there wouldn’t be anything left.
I could practically hear the gears turning in his mind. “Do you need me at your back?” he asked. “Wherever you are, Marcus and I can meet you there. You don’t have to do this alone.”
“I know,” I replied. “But I also don’t want to drag you into my fight.”
“Bullshit. You wouldn’t be dragging us. We’re volunteering.”
A sharp pain originated from my heart, spearing through my chest. His words reminded me too much of the time before I’d changed Callum and Marcus. Before I’d made them like me. Over the years, they’d both adjusted well to immortality, but I found it difficult to believe either of them had ever truly forgiven me.
“I’ll call you if I need you.”
“Do you swear?” he pushed, knowing that I wouldn’t renege on my word.
“I swear.”
“Then I’ll be ready. I’ll contact you in twenty-four hours regarding my progress. If the witch knows anything about technology, this could get tricky as hell.”
“I know. Do what you can.”
I removed the phone from my ear and disconnected the call, lifting my other hand to rub my sternum. Talking to Callum always made my chest ache, even if the conversation went well.
I turned and headed back toward The Magic Bean. When I entered, Ava was nowhere in sight for the first time since I arrived. But the wolf behind the counter was still there and he was watching me with burning golden eyes.
I ignored him. Jealousy and hostility radiated from his body, declaring his issues with me like a flashing neon sign. No doubt he could smell my interest in Ava and he intended to mark his territory.
Before I reached the table where I had been sitting earlier, the shifter appeared in front of me. I jerked to a stop. He’d moved faster than I’d ever seen a shifter move before. He moved faster than a vampire.
But he didn’t attack, so I relaxed my arms and let them hang casually at my sides. That preternatural burst of speed was enough to set me on guard. If he moved that fast across the shop, how fast would he be in a fight?
“Stay away from her,” he growled.
I studied him. Now that he was closer, his jealousy was stronger. So was the hostility. But beneath it all lurked something else. I stared into his eyes, barely prodding his mind. There it was. Grief and rage. He had lost someone important and he was angry at the world.
I couldn’t blame him for that.
“I can’t,” I responded softly. “But I can promise you that I won’t allow her to come to any harm.”
“Even from yourself?” he asked, his voice still little more than a low rumble.
“Even from me,” I swore. “I’m here to protect her. Nothing else.”
He drew in a deep breath and growled again. “Don’t lie to me, vampire. I can smell you and your feelings toward Ava.”
I nearly growled back at him and fought the urge to bare my fangs. Wolves and vampires were both territorial creatures, which was why truces between packs and vampire communities were often tenuous and short. The animalistic instincts that ruled us and the predatory behavior we exhibited made it damn near impossible to maintain a civil relationship. I knew of a few packs and vampire leaders who had made it work, but not many.
“It doesn’t matter what I feel,” I shot back through gritted teeth, my fangs digging into my bottom lip. “It matters what I do about it. And I don’t intend to do anything about it.” I paused. “And let’s not forget that Ava has a mind of her own. She wants nothing to do with me.”
The wolf stared at me. Though I loomed a good five inches over him, he seemed as large as I was. I knew then that he was an alpha. No beta could fill up space the way he did. His power swelled and flexed around him, making him seem broader and taller than he was.
After a few tense moments, he relaxed. “You’re right. Ava does have her own mind and there’s not a damn thing either of us could do to change it.”
His words could be construed as a concession, but they struck me as resigned. As though he already knew the outcome of the situation and didn’t like it, but had accepted there was no way he could alter it.
Before I could respond, he stepped back. In a blink, he was once more behind the counter. Fuck me, that wolf was fast. And not a moment too soon, because Ava pushed through the door that led to the back of the shop. Her eyes landed on me and she jerked her head, holding the swinging door open.
Though I felt his eyes on me, I didn’t spare the shifter a glance as I walked toward her and slid past Ava into the storage area. She let the door swing shut behind her and our gazes collided.
Suddenly, I was reminded of the last time we were in this room. Two months ago, shortly after Rhiannon disappeared, I found her in this storage room and kissed the hell out of her.
Judging by the way her violet eyes flared as she stared back at me, she was remembering as well.
“I think it’s time we had a chat,” she stated.
The low, husky tone of her voice made the declaration sound more like an invitation. But the way she straightened her spine and pinned me with those eyes was all business.
My gaze wandered over her face, the wolf’s words ringing in my head. He’d said that Ava had her own mind and there wasn’t a damn thing either one of us could do to change it. Maybe he hadn’t intended that statement as I had taken it. Maybe he was acquiescing because he knew how Ava felt about me.
I glanced quickly at her throat. I couldn’t hear her heartbeat, likely because of some charm or spell she kept on her person, but I could see it.
There. At the base of her neck, just above her collarbone, was the telltale flutter of her pulse. It was quick and light, thrumming at a nearly frantic pace.
Although I doubted Ava Amaris would ever admit it, I affected her as much as she affected me.
And I would never do anything about it. Because I was unworthy of a woman like her and there was no dragon I could slay that would change that fact.