JOSS

I check my phone for the third time, pissed off that I've been left alone in a crowded room filled with people I don't want to talk to. Sure, somebody needs to hang around and watch, but Ewan left to check on Vee a long time ago and hasn't returned.

I rest against the wall. I bet Ewan's taken Vee back to their room. All evening, I've sensed his distraction, and I don't need three guesses what he and Vee are doing right now. Either that or Ewan's finally decided to punch Seth, and they're dealing with the aftermath.

Interesting times ahead if he has, either way.

As each minute passes, the room empties further as the alcohol dries up and people leave. I watch as the crowd dwindles to a couple of drunken businesspeople whose raucous laughter grates on my nerves.

Screw this.

I drain my wine glass and set it on the nearby table, beside empty plates covered in half-eaten pastry parcels.

I didn't think it could get much colder, but I rub my arms as I step into the icy world and the temperature drops. No wonder the trio aren't out here. I check my phone—over an hour since they left. Ewan could've bloody let me know what was happening instead of leaving me in the party like an abandoned puppy.

But I guess I wasn't on Ewan's mind. Two people pass and head towards the coach house. I pause. Where are Heath and Xander? They disappeared an hour ago too. I check my phone. Nothing. From any of them.

Should I be worried? In situations like this, we rendezvous at wherever we're using as a base. Heath and Xander can easily look after themselves; I'll head back, and if Ewan is getting down and dirty with Vee, I'll wait for the brothers to arrive back.

I hurry down the pathway, and when I reach the building, the main door is open and snow blows into the hallway. Frowning, I step inside and adjust my eyes to the bright hallway light.

Ewan sits on the floor, back against the wall. He doesn't notice me as his head is tilted upwards and eyes closed. What the fuck? Ewan's clutching his stomach and his eyes fly open as I touch him on the shoulder.

"Ewan?"

He's pale, face twisted in pain as he looks up at me.

"Vee. Did you see Vee?" he asks in a hoarse voice.

"No. What the fuck happened?" I look around, wild-eyed, terrified in case one of the things that attacked him before are around. I crouch down and touch Ewan's perspiring forehead.

He's clammy and cool. "Who attacked you?"

"Seth."

I reel. "How? Shit. Did he hurt Vee too?"

I stand again, and Ewan shakes his head and attempts to pull himself upright. Instead, he winces and slumps back down. "I don't know what the fuck he is, but Seth isn't human. He just beat the crap out of me and then..." Ewan waves a hand. "Disappeared."

"With Vee?" I ready myself to rush out the door and find them. I'm prepared to risk my chances against Seth and get more answers from Ewan later.

"No. Teleported or some shit." Ewan pushes both hands into his hair. "I don't know what happened, Joss."

"Vee?" I ask urgently. "Did he hurt Vee?"

"No. That's a whole other issue." He regards me through tired eyes. "We... yeah." He pauses, and I nod to show I know what he means. "It happened, and afterwards she just turned fucking weird. Totally freaked out like she was in pain or something. Vee left."

"Where?"

"I don't know. I couldn't catch up because Seth caught me first." He swallows. "I'll be okay, but Vee...she was different, Joss. I'm worried, in case he's looking for her too."

I slide down the wall and onto the floor next to him. "How long ago?"

"Five minutes. Maybe ten. After Seth left, I was gonna leave, but can't walk properly." He holds up his phone. "I was about to text you."

I take a huge breath. It takes a hell of a lot to weaken any of us, especially Ewan, because his human form is bulkier. "Tell me everything that happened. I'll text Xander and find out what the hell he and Heath are up to."

I listen to Ewan's story and try to piece together the scene in my head. There are more questions than I have answers to here, each word he says confuses me further. I'm pissed off—Seth's a supernatural creature, and I had no clue? I also have no idea how someone can switch from the weak person Seth is to something stronger, and that worries me. When demons possess, they're limited by their vessel’s physical strengths and rely on any magic skills they have. I stitched Seth's arm. I sensed his weakness and uncertainty. We saw him assaulted and threatened. If Seth isn't a demon, what the fuck is he? No fae could do this.

"Are you sure it was Seth?" I ask Ewan.

"Yes. Unless someone replaced Seth while I was with Vee—not likely. I told you, the bastard has played us for days—weeks, even." Ewan attempts to stand again. "I've told you what I know. Now we find Vee, before he does."

He's right. It's less than five minutes since I found Ewan, but five minutes too long. I haul myself back to my feet. "Are you okay to wait here? I'll look for her."

He nods and waves a hand, clutching his stomach. "Yes. Go. I'll slow you down. If anything happens to Vee..." Ewan trails off.

"This is Vee he's messing with. A different Vee, too, if what you say is true. There's a reason Seth hasn't acted before now, and we need to find out why.

"Stop talking and just fucking look for her," he growls.

The door at the end of the hallway slams closed and my heart moves to my mouth. Seth? I ready myself, although fuck knows what I can do if it is him.

I jerk my head around and see Heath and Xander striding towards us. Xander passes by, staring ahead with a black look, and bangs open each bedroom door before turning to us.

"Where’s Seth? Where's Vee?" His eyes are wide, and I sense his panic.

"They've both left," Ewan replies.

Xander storms over and leans down into Ewan's face. "What do you mean gone?"

"Vee left, Seth disappeared." He pauses. "Vanished."

"I told you," says Heath in a low voice. "He's Chaos."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"I think he means we're fucking stupid." Ewan tips his head back and stares at the low ceiling. "I'm fucking stupid."

Xander spins on his heel and half runs to the door. "We find Vee. Now. I'll explain later."

Ewan meets my eyes, sharing my confusion.

Chaos?

* * *

We all want to look for Vee, and Ewan tried to walk out with us, trying to convince us he was okay, but after taking a few steps he stumbled, the pain in his face clear.

Ewan shakes his head at me. He doesn't want me to tell the others how he feels. I wouldn't be able to, though, because what’s behind Ewan's pain isn't only physical. He's a mess of emotion: confusion and fear. Guilt too? What exactly happened between him and Vee?

"I think Heath should stay with Ewan," I call after Xander. "Just in case."

Xander pauses and turns. Is he thinking the same as I am? I don't know how badly injured Ewan is, and he could need Heath.

Fuck. I rub my temples, annoyed the thought crossed my mind.

"Seth didn't do much. I'm okay. I'll be fine in five minutes." Typical Ewan, playing things down.

"I don't want to wait five minutes," snaps Xander. "Vee's been away too long already. We need to find her."

Ewan takes a shaky breath. "I tried to stop her. I'm sorry, okay?"

"Nobody's going to blame you for anything, Ewan." I reach out to touch his shoulder, but he flinches away.

"Come on!" urges Heath. "Stop wasting time."

"Exactly. We find Vee and then we need to talk about Logan and Ripley."

I jerk my head around to look at Xander from where I'm watching Ewan's face. "Ripley?"

"Yeah. Long story. It'll wait."

Heath interrupts, "He's here. Ripley told us about Chaos...Seth. We thought we were coming back here to find you and explain, and not find...this."

"Vee." Xander's voice is firm, tinged with fear. "We look for Vee before we do anything. I don't want to waste time swapping stories. Heath—stay here. Joss, come with me."

Xander and me leave them and rush out into the cold. The moon shines off the snow and lights our way between the coach house and the main building. Xander doesn't speak, but I'm as lost in my thoughts as he is.

Where would Vee go? What's happened to her?

Will she reject or accept us?

And what the hell did Heath mean about Ripley? Is he here?

Halfway to the house, I spot a female figure standing between two tall pine trees, at the edge of the area the cars are parked. I know in a heartbeat who this is; I push Xander's arm and point.

"Is she leaving?" I hiss.

"I hope she doesn't have car keys," Xander speaks the words as he picks up his pace and heads across the car park towards Vee. I shiver with the cold and fear. Is Vee still the girl we love?

She's facing away from us and staring across the grounds, standing tall, hands in her pockets. We stop short of Vee as if she's a wild animal we might scare away into the darkness she's looking into.

"Vee."

She turns her head at my voice, and I'm relieved to see her face is no different. What did I expect? A transformation into something harsher?

"I need to find someone, but I don't know what I'm looking for," she says in a flat voice, and turns back to stare across the grounds again. "There are powerful demons in the house. We should start with them."

"Start what?" asks Xander.

Vee turns to look at him, expression curious. "Killing them."

Xander swears under his breath. "We can't kill those demons, Vee. Not yet."

"Why?" Her voice hardens. "What if something is hiding amongst them?"

If only she understood the irony in her words. I step forward and reach out to take her hand. "We need to talk, Vee. Will you come back to the rooms?"

She folds her arms across her chest. "I don't have time. We don't have time. We kill those demons, and then we find more. We keep going until we find whoever I saw."

Xander straightens. "Who did you see? Where?"

Vee places fingertips on the side of her head. "I saw the world burning, Xander. Everything destroyed."

I didn't think my heart could beat any faster, but each minute that passes since I saw Ewan terrifies me more. "What else did you see?" I ask.

Vee's breath mists around her head as her breathing quickens and she shakes her head. "Too much. But I know now. I know I have to stop him."

"Did you see Seth?"

"Why would I see Seth? He can't help."

"Please, come with us, and we'll explain." Xander steps forward too, and we're both wound tight, ready to stop Vee in case she decides to run.

Vee steps away. "You can stay or come with me. I'm going into that house and ending them. How many did you see? I know you saw more than Breanna. I can sense them." She sucks in a breath. "I'll end Logan too. I don't give a fuck who he is."

I've witnessed a vengeful Vee before, seen her shut down emotions and attack, and my greatest fear sneaks in. Has Ewan been the one to erase the humanity she once asked to lose?

"We need to talk," I repeat. "A lot has happened tonight."

"Like this. What happened to you?" asks Xander bluntly.

She blinks. "Didn't Ewan say? He was right. Once we had sex, he changed me, and now I know what I need to do. I know I'm strong enough."

For what? Rampaging through the world, taking down demons?

"How about we head back to Heath and Ewan," I say in a cajoling voice. "Ewan's worried about you."

She waves a hand. "Then where is he?"

I look at Xander who nods. "He's hurt, Vee."

"What? Was it me? Did I hurt him?" Her demeanour switches and I'm relieved the emotional connection remains enough to distract her from her plans. "Please tell me what happened to me didn't hurt him too."

"No. Seth did."

"Seth?" She frowns. "How? Did they fight? Did he have a weapon or something?"

I sigh and hold out a hand. "Let's talk somewhere warmer. All together, the way we should be."

Vee looks down at my hand, and as she hesitantly takes hold, my body floods with her emotions. This is like the day in the hall when I picked up on her distress, and the intensity is now turned up to maximum. But this isn't distress—it's a strength and determination I've never felt before.

"Your hands are hot for someone standing in the freezing Scottish countryside." I laugh, but she pulls away her hand again.

"Why are you so scared of me?" she whispers.

In a sudden move, Xander steps forward, and without looking at me, he seizes hold of Vee and pulls her to him. Vee's arms remain by her side as Xander envelops her in his arms. He rests his face against hers as he holds Vee tight.

I knew from Xander's few words how much he worried about what happened to Vee, but I never expected the guy who keeps his emotions in check to react to Vee physically. He doesn't let her go, and slowly she wraps her arms around his waist. They stand, together, beneath the moonlight in an embrace that relieves me but hurts at the same time.

I walk over and stroke Vee's hair. She trembles as she moves and rests her head against Xander's chest.

I touch Vee's cheek and her skin burns against my hand, like a patient with a fever who should be delirious at this temperature. "You're burning up, Vee."

"Yeah, holding you is like holding fire." Xander moves his head to look at her. "The same as always."

Vee smiles, filling my heart with more relief, until she speaks. "I'll talk to you. Then you need to let me go."

In response, Xander's hold on her tightens. I wait for him to argue, to tell her no, but perhaps he understands how much of Vee's War has been triggered by whatever happened.

He looks at me. There's no way in hell we're letting Vee out of sight.