Tate sighed and relented, letting me slide down his body so slowly and suggestively that it had my heart pounding.
“Can’t we just skip? You can test out your powers on me, I know a few ways to make that fun for both of us.” He wagged his brows at me salaciously.
“No.” I giggled and shook my head. “You might be willing to risk your life, but I’m not. I’ll catch you later.”
He caught my hand and pulled me to him once more. His mouth found mine in a soul-searing kiss that almost made me change my mind.
“Lunch?” he asked when he pulled away, leaving me breathless.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah. Lunch. I’ve got to...” I stepped back and pointed at the door. “Yeah, bye.”
Tate grinned smugly as I walked out the door, trying to get a handle on my raging libido.
The rest of the day went by without incident thankfully. I tried my best not to make any kind of commands even on accident. The few times I did say something command-like, itdidn’t seem to have the same kind of response that the crows and Tate had yesterday.
It was making me wonder more and more if it had to do with how out of control my emotions had been yesterday or if it was some other kind of trigger.
“Maybe it was a fluke?” Tate asked, walking me back to my room later that day. “A one-off.”
“But it happened twice?” I winced, though a part of me hoped he was right.
“I’m not sure then, princess. Have you called you dad about it? I really think—” He paused, his nose suddenly sniffing the air, then he put his arm out in front of me. “Hold up. Do you smell that?”
I frowned and sniffed. A sharp coppery scent filled my nose.
“Blood?” I asked aloud, starting toward my room.
“Hold up, princess.” Tate grabbed my elbow, urging me back to his side. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m a hunter.” I arched a brow at him. “Do you really think I need your protection?”
Tate stared at me for a moment and then sighed. “Fine, I guess you’re right. But still, at least pretend you need your big, macho protector and let me go first?”
Smiling slightly, I gestured forward. “By all means.”
I followed after Tate, keeping my ears peeled for any sudden movements or to see if whoever left the blood near my room was still nearby. Reaching into my bag, I pulled my gun out and readied myself.
Tate arched a brow at it.
We stopped before my door, which oddly was closed. We exchanged a glance before Tate turned the knob and pushed the door open.
I gestured to him to let me go first. He pressed his lips into a tight line, clearly not wanting to but relented and let me take point.
It was as if a massacre had happened in my bedroom. Every inch of it was covered in blood. But there were no body parts. It was as if someone had taken buckets of blood and threw them all over the room.
“Jack,” Tate said in a wary tone.
I turned to see him pointing at the wall by the door. Someone had taken the time to pause their artistic work to write a message for me on the wall.
The only good Durand is a dead one.
Chapter 25
Julian
“This is ridiculous, Julian,” Jack argued, chasing after me as I searched around her room and grabbed the few things that hadn’t been covered in blood. “I can take care of myself.”
I laughed harshly. “I have no doubt about that, but this has gone too far. Even if I wanted to let you stay here,” I gave her a pointed look when she opened her mouth to argue, “which I don’t, your parents would kill me.”
