Could it be true? Sweet Persephone, why did she so badly want it to be? “If we’re soulmates, why did he walk out on me?”
“Remember what I said about your mind getting in the way of fate?” Eve asked. “Sounds like that’s what happened to him. Fate may have deemed you a match, but it’s never easy.”
Dee laughed. “No kidding. You both have to get out of your own ways and let it happen. Stop fighting it.”
Stop fighting. She could do that. If it meant saving Esther’s existence, she would do whatever it took. What other choice did she have? Before she could change her mind, she dove head-first into the soulmate concept and dialed Spencer’s number. It went straight to voicemail.
“Devil damn it. He’s out of the country filming a show.” She dropped her phone on the coffee table and bit her lip. She’d waited too long. If she hadn’t been wallowing in self-pity and had checked her fucking messages, she could have seen him before he left. “Who knows how long he’ll be gone? Esther could be dead by the time he gets back.”
“Do you know where he is?” Dee asked.
“He said he was going to Costa Rica. We didn’t have time to discuss exactly what they were looking for. He could be anywhere in the country.”
Eve grinned slyly. “You know Venus can find anyone when soulmates are involved.”
Her sluggish pulse kicked into as close to a sprint as was vampirically possible. “You’re right. She can.”
“And you’ve got an all-access pass to come and go from The Underworld to anywhere in the world.”
Lilith smiled so big, her cheeks ached, and she shot to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies, I need to pay the Goddess of Love a visit. I’m going to get my man.”
CHAPTER SIX
The long dirt road seemed to stretch on forever beneath the moonlight. Thick forest grew on either side of the path, encroaching, almost suffocating, and brimming with wildlife of the deadliest variety. Venomous spiders, poison dart frogs, and bullet ants with a sting that felt like a flaming railroad spike being pounded into your body were only a few. Then there were the snakes… The Costa Rican coral snake, the eyelash viper. Spencer shuddered. Sweet Satan, how he hated snakes.
He and The Hunt for Cryptids crew had no intention of venturing into the woods on this expedition, and the snakes and insects preferred the cover of trees to the open road where they set up. Half a mile from the nearest town, there was only one predator they were concerned about tonight.
“This looks like as good a spot as any.” Alan pulled a mirror from his pocket and checked his hair. “Ready to roll?”
“I’m going to fly over the area first, make sure no jaguars are waiting to make us a meal.” Spencer set his camera down before turning in a circle to check for humans. This far out, this late at night, they had plenty of privacy. But he never took chances when it came to exposing himself as a shifter.
“Pfft.” Alan waved a hand. “I can take a jaguar any day.”
“Well, I can’t,” Rebecca said. “Thanks for looking out for us, Spence.”
“My pleasure.” He called on his owl, and magic buzzed across his skin before filling his core and morphing his body.
Taking to the sky, he soared over both sides of the forest, circling the area and using his enhanced vision to scan the trees and forest floor. A jaguar’s coloring helped to camouflage it, but the eyes always glinted in the moonlight.
He spotted plenty of prey, and his owl begged to hunt. But he’d have time for that after the filming. A crow cawed from a nearby tree, and Spencer flew toward it, perching on a branch above it. He tilted his head, eyeing the animal. Strange. Crows weren’t native to this area.
“Hey, Spencer,” Alan called, an odd lilt in his voice. “You’ve got company.”
The crow squawked and shot into the night, and Spencer returned to his friends. Holy hell. He landed on the side of the road, and Lilith squatted beside him, her smile brightening her entire face. The same electrical sensation he’d felt in his soul the first time he met her buzzed in his core, and though he tried to stop it, the hoot reverberating in his throat sounded way too much like the word mine in his head.
“Your owl is beautiful.” The sound of her voice made his stomach flutter as if he’d sprouted a second pair of wings, only they were inside his body.
Oh, no. This was not happening. What in hell’s name was she doing here? And why was his body…his owl…reacting this way yet again? She was a fucking vampire, for Dracula’s sake. He shifted to human form and smoothed his t-shirt down his chest, determined to squelch the unwanted emotions awakening within.
“Lilith,” he said curtly.
She flinched as she rose, her smile wavering for a split second before she straightened. “Spencer. I got your message.”
Alan cleared his throat, flashing a what the fuck is going on look.
Spencer turned his palms upward before focusing on Lilith. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
“Your message said you wanted to apologize. I tried the number you left, but it went straight to voicemail. I didn’t know how else to reach you, so I came to find you. As for how I got here…magic, of course. There’s more than one way in and out of The Underworld.”
