Of course he had every right to be angry. Yet when he directed that anger at the dark-haired nymph, he felt echoes of hurt and bewilderment, disappointment with himself.
Why should he be disappointed with himself? Because he’d been bespelled? Vampires could withstand a hell of a lot from their kind and most magir. But demons were a whole other level of fuckery.Of coursehe hadn’t been able to protect himself against demon magic.
Kaia might not have put the spell on him to steal his will, but she’d been there to take advantage of it. Hadn’t she?
The past six nights with her seemed a dream, snippets coming to him of her smile, of him doing all manner of things from making her food to protecting her while she slept, and even once or twice of swimming with her. But laughing? Orion wasn’t a big laugher unless it was at someone else’s expense.
Then he’d recall how she kissed, how she tasted. He shifted in his seat, bemused to find himself growing hard.Did we have sex despite her denial? Is that why I’m still fixated on the female? Or is there something more? Why do I care that she doesn’t like her mother and worries about disappointing her father?Or that I have a sudden hankering for hot chocolate and carrot cake?
The flashes faded, the swirl of memory washing down the drain in his mind and disappearing.
An hour passed.
“You’re pretty quiet,” Duncan said as they turned toward Mercer Island.
That woke him up, and he looked behind him but didn’t see the SUV. “Where’d they go?”
Duncan answered, “We thought it would be a good idea for Macy to take her sister to their father’s, so they can check her out there. He’s a grand mage, his wife a strong witch. His home is protected from the White Sea Witch better than Kaia’s place on the water.”
“She should be with us.” Irritated at the separation and not sure why, Orion floundered for an excuse that sounded believable. “She might still be holding onto me with her magic. What if I told her something?”
“Mormo will figure it out,” Kraft said. “We’re all meeting together, Hecate too, to see what we need to be on the lookout to handle.” He swore. “I hate witches.” He shot a look at Duncan. “Except for Macy. But she doesn’t count. She’s our witch.”
“Mywitch, but okay.” Duncan smirked.
Sure, Duncan could be a smartass. His mate had committed herself to him and the clan. But Kaia hadn’t exactly—She’s not my mate.Stop thinking she is.
Yet the more he told himself to forget about her, the more he missed her.
“She’s going to be watched, right? I don’t want to find out later that she and her mother planned this from the start.”
Duncan frowned. “We’ve got a handle on it, Orion. Relax. Just sit back and shut up.”
He grunted, swearing at them under his breath, but on the drive home, he felt nothing but an ache under his breastbone, where his heart beat a forlorn rhythm, Orion surrounded by kin yet once again all alone.
* * *
“Oh my God.I knew this was going to happen.” Macy handed Kaia another tissue without looking, her eyes on the road.
Kaia took it, wiped her eyes, then blew like a foghorn. “Sorry,” she said, muffled by the tissue. “I can’t help it.”
“You missOrion?”
Kaia frowned at her sister. “You can stop asking that. Yes, I miss Orion. I’m telling you, he was different than he is now. He was sweet and kind.” She sniffed, doing her best to stop crying. “I knew it was a mistake, but it’s hard not to like someone when all they think about is you. He was so helpful and sweet.”
“You said sweet already. Ugh. The vryko I know is a big pain in the ass. He’s funny but also once threw me across the room. He’s all for equality, even when beating people up, so I guess that’s a plus.”
Macy didn’t understand. Kaia had met therealOrion, the vampire with doubts and hurts buried deep. Of course he wouldn’t show that to anyone else. He had to protect himself, living in a house filled with killers. No softness, no mercy. It was a wonder any of his kind survived.
“How do you live with them?” she asked her sister.
Macy shrugged. “I love Duncan. Vampires aren’t what everyone thinks they are. Oh, they kill. They’re natural predators. But they don’t all go out murdering people just because they can. They have a drive to dominate, and they go by the old code of might makes right. It can be annoying, sure, but to keep vampires in check, you need strength.
“Revenants are different than the vrykolakas. Duncan’s all about being smooth and sneaky. His smile is the last thing you’ll see before he slits your throat.” She smiled, as if that was something to be proud of. “But Orion is in your face. He’s big and mean, and you know not to mess with him because he can and will end you.” She glanced at Kaia before returning her eyes to the road. “I just have a tough time seeing the big guy making you breakfast or rubbing your feet. That spell Sabine laid on him must have really burned out the core of who he is.”
“I can see that now.” Kaia wiped her eyes. “It’s not his fault. But it’s not mine either.” She allowed herself to feel more than hurt, to tap into the anger at what she’d lost and embraced it. “I didn’t cast that spell. My mother did. I tried to free him.”
“Exactly. Get mad, not sad.”
