Her pulse beat steadily in her neck, so she was unharmed at least. She sniffed and turned the other way, revealing the darkening bruise along the other side of her face.
Anger caught him in the chest. Hard. He should’ve ripped the head off the witch who’d hit her. An eight-story fall wasn’t bad enough. He rubbed his finger across the heated bruise. Why hadn’t she healed it earlier? There had been plenty of time before she’d fallen asleep. “What aren’t you telling me?” He dropped to his haunches, smoothing her hair back again.
Then he examined her neck, making sure he hadn’t hurt her when he’d grabbed her. Apparently she bruised easily. His chest loosened at seeing there were no bruises on her neck.
He paused. Wait a minute. He looked closer. There were no markings on her neck. Not a one. The woman had been mated, or so he thought. There would still be a bite, even from a witch. Matings were forever…until recently. A virus had been discovered that could negate the mating bond—at least when one of the mates had passed on, as Ginny’s had. She had said she’d taken the virus and could be mated again. But he’d thought… Maybe he’d been wrong.
Thinking of oddities… He moved down the bed, not far, and reached for her ankle, pulling it out of the bed while making sure to keep the rest of her covered.
A anklet of diamonds and gold spikes encircled her left ankle tightly. Leather held it together, and there didn’t seem to be a clasp. How did she get it off? He rubbed her ankle, and she moaned. He paused. What in the world? Looking closer, he could see a slight green ring around her skin.
Was she so vain she’d let her skin turn green to keep diamonds on? Or did the piece have sentimental value? Perhaps it had been from her mate.
Why that made Theo’s chest hurt, he had no clue. He set her ankle back beneath the covers and turned to head for the master bathroom. After a very quick and hot shower, he was feeling more in control. Oh, he’d let her sleep tonight, but in the morning she was going to tell him everything.
He strode naked into his bedroom and drew on some sweats. She didn’t stir, her breathing even and deep as she slept. He shook his head, heading into his living room and double-checking his security measures.
There was no way he could just go to sleep right now. It was nearly three in the morning, which made it midnight in northern Idaho. Hoping he wasn’t making a colossal mistake, he booted up his television set, put in a series of codes, and sent out a call to the Realm Headquarters. The Realm was a coalition of witches, vampires, demons, and shifters. Its leader, vampire king Dage Kayrs, slowly took shape. “What the hell, Reese?” the king asked, his dark hair mussed and his silver eyes irritated. He stood bare to the waist with a rock-type wall behind him.
Theo winced. “Sorry. Thought you might be up.”
“Are you being attacked or do you need immediate assistance?” Dage’s eyes cleared.
“Ah, no.” Theo dropped into a chair and rubbed his scruffy chin. He should’ve shaved in the shower. “I was hoping the queen was up and working.” The queen was a brilliant geneticist who worked around the clock trying to cure human diseases. Of course, she was at least four or five months pregnant, so she probably needed her sleep.
“I’m up.” Emma Kayrs passed near the camera and slid an arm around Dage’s waist. The queen’s dark hair was piled on her head, and she wore what looked like Star Trek pajamas. Her belly protruded, and she rubbed it. “How are you, Theo?”
“I’m a jerk,” he said. “I shouldn’t have called so late.”
Dage ran a hand down Emma’s arm. “I see you got out of the hotel fire safely. How is Ginny O’Toole?”
Theo’s mouth gaped open. He shook his head. “How did you know?” Surely news of his night hadn’t already reached Idaho.
Dage rolled his eyes.
Emma grinned. “He’s the king. Don’t make him say it. The. King.”
Theo bit back a smile. “Oh, yeah. Well, since I have you, does a mating mark disappear when a former mate takes the virus?”
Emma’s startling blue eyes brightened like they did every time anybody wanted to talk science with her. “No. Never. The bite mark stays in place.” She leaned into Dage more. “But the mating brand, the ones from the Kayrs family, demons, and witches… That does disappear.”
“Are you sure?” Theo asked, his mind spinning.
“Definitely.” The queen nodded her head vigorously. “Why?”
Theo cleared his throat. “Because Ginny doesn’t have a mark on her neck.” He frowned. “Though witches don’t—”
“Witches do,” the queen interrupted. “All male immortals have fangs, even witches, and they bite during the mating process. If Ginny doesn’t still have bite marks…”
“Then she was never mated,” Theo finished, shocked he could find more anger in him than before. “I can’t believe it.”
Dage’s eyes twinkled. “Things are about to get interesting now, aren’t they?”
* * * *
Somebody was chasing her. Ginny ducked low and ran, her feet flying over the invisible ground. They were coming. After all this time, she was going to lose. God. She couldn’t lose.
Theo. He would help her. He had to.
