She gave a lingering look at Julian on her way out the door, the same one that most female students gave him when he was teaching their class. Except I didn’t want to scratch Tabby’s eyes out every time she looked at him.
“So…” I slid my hands down his arms to lace my fingers with his. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“We found a lead on your note.”
All the excitement of controlling my powers was forgotten by those few words. I drew Julian over to the couch, pulling one leg up onto it between us.
“Do you know who wrote it?”
Julian shook his head, his blonde hair falling out of his bun and partially in his face. “No, we couldn’t track the charm that was used on it back to the person who used it. Tabby was actually the one who helped us figure that out.”
“Oh, then should I have asked her to stay?” I half moved to stand.
Julian stopped me, so I settled back onto the couch and waited for him to explain.
“Now, I’m only telling you this so you don’t feel like we are excluding you, but I want to be clear that under nocircumstances are you to go off and try to find this place on your own. Understood?”
I pursed my lips, my eyes narrowing. “I guess I can accept those terms.”
“Tabby says that there is a black market for charms like the one on the note.”
“A black market?”
That was the first I was hearing of it. For a moment, I wondered if my parents knew about these markets. Or even more so the Hunter’s Guild.
“Yes, it shows up on the full moon at a different location every moon cycle. We think it’s our best bet in finding out who attacked you.”
“We?” I cocked my head slightly. “We who?”
“Me, Tate, and Kyren.”
My brows rose and then I huffed a laugh. “You? Working with a werewolfanda vampire?” I shook my head with disbelief. “Has the world gone mad?”
“Ha ha, laugh it up.” Julian grabbed my hand, pressing mine between both of his warm palms. “But this is about your safety. I would work with a million vampires if it was what it took to not feel like I was going to lose you at any moment. One wrong move. One hunt gone wrong, and that could be it. I’d come to grips on you wanting to help make the world a safer place for everyone, but I can’t stand by and let these anarchists target you because of their vendetta against the council.”
“Julian,” I squeezed his hand back, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. And I know you three will do everything in your power to make sure of that.”
I paused for a moment, calculating the full moon in my head. “So, you’re going to the black market next week? Who’s all going with you? Did you report this?”
Julian winced. “Not in so many words. President Fleming knows that we are looking into who attacked you, but the guild doesn’t know what progress we’ve made.”
“I wonder if it has to do with that vampire at the club,” I mused out loud. It seemed too coincidental not to be. What are the chances that two groups of people wanted me dead?
“Vampire at the club?”
I glanced away from him at his question. “Oh, uh, nothing really. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Jack.” Julian cupped my chin, turning my face toward me. “What happened?”
I placed my hand over his and forced a smile. “It was nothing. Really. I’m fine. Kyren was there. No one got hurt. Let’s just focus on the black market next week, okay?”
“Kyren?” Julian stood to his feet abruptly. “The vampire knew about this? Oh, and I’m sure he probably told his boyfriend too. Am I the only one who doesn’t know what happened?”
I grimaced. “Uh… well… I haven’t exactly told my parents or reported it in any way. So no. But I just figured they were part of this whole group that attacked me before. Which they still could be,” I quickly added on, then grabbed his arm keeping him from getting off the couch. “Please, Julian. It’s not that bad. I promise. No one even touched me. I mean not besides some manhandling. Mostly the guy — Hamish — just threatened me. Did the whole villain speech. Then Kyren swooped in and got me out of there before any blood was spilled.”
“Oh, Kyren swooped in, did he?” Julian barked a laugh, dragging a hand through his hair. “You just got snatched and threatened while in public, and you don’t think that’s a big deal?”
“Shhh.” I grabbed at his arm. “Keep your voice down or my parents will find out and then I’ll end up being even more of a prisoner than before.”
