She tried to race by me, but I gently caught her around the center, lifting her off her feet. There was no struggle from her as she slumped against me, the damp swimsuit soaking into my clothes. “I’m scared, Slade,” she whispered, and I wanted to just fucking kill them all.
It was my job to ensure she never felt fear, and I was failing her again. “If anyone is stupid enough to attack us at home, they will be destroyed.”
My dragon rumbled his appreciation as she hugged around me. “What did you see in the cameras?”
Trying to explain it didn’t work as expected. “The house is filled with shadows, but only on the cameras, and when I zoomed in…” A bead of sweat dripped from my temple. “I-I saw a clown.”
Emme blinked, and parted her lips, before her brow furrowed. “Like… a circus clown? Aclownclown? I don’t understand.”
Yeah, burning the house down was an excellent option right now. “I’ve never liked clowns,” I reluctantly revealed a fear that no one knew about, except maybe Hunter. There’d been an incident with the television during a particularly fucked-up movie when we were young.
Talon looked so confused, like he couldn’t understand the words coming out of my mouth. Emme pressed her lips together, her eyes flat-out laughing at me. “Did you perhaps watch a movie with a clown and red balloon when you were young?”
Muttering a curse, I glanced over my shoulder and returned her to her feet. “I’m going to check out the house. You wait here with Talon.”
In typical omega fashion, she completely ignored me and stayed right on my ass as I re-entered the house. At least Talon was keepingherass protected by bringing up the rear. As we stepped into thehallway, I caught a glimpse of red, but when I took off toward the theatre room, there was no sign of anyone.
The only scents in here were my pack’s, and the only heartbeats were Emme’s and Talon’s.
Worry built in my chest as I explored the house room by room, finding nothing out of place and no shadows. “Are you sure you saw something?” Emme asked gently. “Show me the cameras.”
Pulling out my phone, I flipped through the rooms again, only to find nothing on the screen now. “Let’s check upstairs,” I said, shaking my head. “My system is more thorough up there and I have recordings.”
Emme remained closer as we ascended to the third floor, when I reached my room, I headed right for mystalker wallas Emme dubbed it. I hadn’t really needed it recently, having my mate up close and personal instead. But when I pulled the curtains open, everything was exactly as I left it. I scanned the multiple screens, and a rage filled growl spilled from my lips as I caught sight of a shadowy clown standing right in the living room. As I stared, it lifted a long, shiny blade, and waved at the camera, like themotherfuckerknew we watched.
Emme and Talon moved to stand on either side of me. “Do you see it?” I demanded, staring at the soon to be dead clown, who was taunting me with a wide, red smile.
Emme peered closely at every different frame of security, until I pointed toward the living room one. When I met her gaze, she looked more confused than ever. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be seeing.”
I jabbed right at the footage, only to find there was no sign of the clown again. No shadows either. “Did your father find any witches left except for you two?” I asked her, trying to piece together what was happening. This was not a normal situation, so either I was being fucked with, or magic was involved.
She shook her head. “Nope. He’s still searching, but from what he can tell, America is all but witch free these days. You think magic is involved with your little clown problem?”
She lifted her hands, and for the first time I could scent magic. “I can’t sense anything,” she said, and I caught the concerned expression she shot Talon’s way.
My mate and brother thought I’d lost my dragon mind, and maybe they were right.
Turning from the security, I faced mywall of Emme, squinting at each picture to find a clown sticker across it. Tearing one down, I shoved it under their faces. “Surely you see the clowns on Emme’s face? Someone is fucking with us.”
They both stared at the image, and Emme reached out and grasped it, bringing it so close it almost touched her nose. She returned it to me with a frown. “It’s just a picture of me when I was twelve.”
Right then, in that moment, she tightened up the bond again… completely giving herself away. Iwasbeing fucked with, but it wasn’t by an enemy.My little brat was pranking me.
Talon glanced over as well. “Where is the clown? Is this like that game Emme tried to play on Kellan’s phone and lost?”
Ah, she had the whole pack in on it.
My dragon calmed right around the time our omega pouted. “Look, no one could find that weird little human in every image. His stripy shirt blended in perfectly to the background.”
I glanced at the monitors to find the knife-wielding clown front and center, giving me the creepiest smile. Oh yeah. Whichever of my brothers was under that mask was getting his ass kicked.
Playing along, I snarled. “That’s it. I’m burning this house down.”
Emme gasped and called after me as I raced down to the living room, only to find it completely empty. The fucker was fast, which made me think it might be Kellan.
Scales rippled across my skin as I played their game. I’d barely hidden my smirk as the clown appeared, wrapping its arms around her. Excited for the beatdown about to happen, I launched myself at them, right as Emme spun in its arms and planted a kiss straight on red painted lips.
Halting, I raised one eyebrow and Emme examined my face before she sighed. “Ah, dammit. You knew.”
