“Oh, I don’t mind. It’s just not a pleasant story.”
“Is anyone’s? Anyone who knows Foxx, I mean. Seems like anyone who breathes the same air as them ends up hurt or dead.”
He gives a short, humorless laugh. “Yeah. No shit.”
Jericho closes his sketchbook and sets it aside, exhaling slowly. “Before Evan and I were together, I went to a club looking for a hookup. Stumbled into the wrong one and met the wrong guy.”
“Foxx?”
He nods. “He cornered me into a deal. Told me I had to give him something if I wanted to leave The Iris.”
Evan reaches for his hand, their fingers lacing together. The sight of it, so casual and intimate, makes me ache with longing.
I chew my lip, waiting.
“Anyway, long story short, he turned me that night. Drank from me until I became weak. Unable to fight him. Couldn’t do anything.”
I flinch. I saw them do that to too many others at the club.
He pauses. “Tobias, you know about vampire gifts, but do you know what Foxx’s vampire gift is?”
I shake my head.
“He can sense another vampire’s gift by touch, before they even know it themselves. It’s how he’s building his coven. Foxx knew I’d be able to wield fire long before I did. It’s why he hunted me. Why he’sstillhunting me.”
Jericho lifts his free hand, fingertips burning a faint orange. Light flickers across his palm before vanishing. My stomach tightens, a mix of awe and fear, just like it did that night in the club. Fire is supposed to kill a vampire, yet he’s immune.
“Foxx wants to own me just like Rip believes he owns you. And I don’t think he’ll ever stop until one of us dies.”
Evan pulls their joined hands closer. Jericho turns to kiss him. My heart hammers oddly. Not jealousy—just acceptance that Jericho can be so… normal.
I play with the bracelet, twisting each bead. The light of the Christmas tree reflects off each one. Jericho really does understand. He wasn’t a captive like I was, but he’s been a prisoner just the same. Violated. His body used and marked and forever changed without permission. I clench my teeth.
“How’d you end up here, though? With the shifters.”
Evan laughs under his breath. “That’s my fault. I, uh, kind of parked on the pack’s land without realizing it. Nearly got Jer killed in the process too.” He cringes, half in humor, half in seriousness.
There’s clearly a story there, but I let it go. It doesn’t matter. What matters is they blessedly stumbled into a powerful sanctuary, just like I did. And now Jericho is their greatest threat, just like I am. We have targets on our backs that will eventually bring the enemy to their doorstep.
The Clearwater Pack doesn’t deserve that.
They also suffered in this, though. They lost someone too. I have to remember that; otherwise, the guilt will eat me alive.
I trace my scars, my throat tight. All this pain. All this death. For what? So Foxx can be a powerful leader with his collection of vamps? Sounds to me like he can’t even control them, if his gift is simply knowing what they are and notusingwhat they are. But maybe that’s where Orem comes in.
That thought has been bothering me. Foxx has been the leader of the coven since the beginning, but with Orem in the mix…
“How do we get out of this?” I mutter to no one. My panic rises, clawing at me, but Jericho cuts in before it can overwhelm me.
“We’ll find them, Toby.” Jericho’s dark green eyes are steady and calm. I want to believe him. “Wewillget out of this.”
Tears brim my eyes. “How though? It just seems so… hopeless.”
Jericho shakes his head. “Don’t give up yet. We have help. A couple of friends are keeping an eye out in the city, and Forest has other packs looking for them too. They’ll show their ugly faces eventually, and when they do? They won’t get far. I promise.”
“Who’s in the city?” Grant asks, bringing the drone inside.
“Kaine and Willow.”
