Page 46 of Only You, No One Else

Mark nodded.

“It's different magic…” Riley smiled. “… a little outside of the Coven’s practices, but it can help us…” He waved a hand between them. “…kind of get a sample of his influence if you will, so that we can then use it to track and maybe stop him.”

“You think that’s possible?” Marcus asked.

“Yes.” Riley’s confidence didn’t waver. “I got the idea when your wolf pulled Caster into your mind space…”

“What?” Dean’s shock was not unexpected. His full, almost dangerous attention was on Mark. “What is he talking about?” This time, Mark didn’t have time to fortify his defenses. His brother’s Alpha sailed past the psychic barrier so fast, Mark gasped and held his eyes shut. His wolf woke with a start before submitting to Dean’s more dominant Alpha.

He grabbed his brother’s arm. “Dean…”

His brother relented, and he breathed a sigh. When he opened his eyes, Caster was at his side, a challenge in the look he leveled on Dean, and everyone was looking at him.

He sighed, shook his head at Caster before turning to his brother. “I was going to tell you…”

Dean glanced between him and Caster and then nodded, accepting Mark’s unvoiced request to keep this discussion private.

“And the traitor?” Marcus asked, his gaze on Damien, and Mark thanked him for easing the tension building between his brother and Caster.

Damien nodded at Riley, silent communication between the two, before a significant portion of Riley’s power filled the room, and less than a second later, a vampire Mark had never met materialized in the middle of the room. His features contorted with what looked like a mixture of pain and surprise. No visible bonds were holding him in place, but his body struggled as if he were bound by the strongest of ropes.

Mark looked at Caster, and there was underlying pain behind his murderous look. Cy wore the same expression, as did Damien. Marcus retained his calm composure, but there was a sudden shift in the room’s energy that had little to do with the power Riley had not reined in.

CHAPTER 29

The only thing keeping Caster from tearing Mason to shreds was the subtle command in Marcus’s almost imperceptible shake of the head. He’d almost leaped out of his skin when he’d materialized, bound and struggling, but with the same air of confidence he always wore. Would his family survive the multiple betrayals? Uncle Lucien and Bastian weren’t enough?

It would not do to tear his mother’s younger brother apart, as satisfying as that would be. But even as all the ways he would kill his uncle played in his mind, there was a tiny part of him that hoped Riley had made a mistake. It was impossible. Riley didn’t make mistakes, but the potential heartbreak his mother would suffer because of this was not a prospect he wished to entertain.

“What is the meaning…” Mason’s voice trailed off as he took in the room. His eyes landed on Marcus, and he bristled, losing all fight.

Yes. That was the right response. Even in the midst of all the anger coursing through him, Caster couldn’t help his admiration for Marcus’s authority. He was the only person Caster knew who could reduce even the most powerful vampire to a bumbling mess.

“So, you decided to switch allegiances?” Marcus was calm, too calm. That didn’t bode well for Mason.

To his credit, Mason didn’t try to deny it. He stopped moving, stared Marcus down, and said nothing. So, it was true. He did betray them. Because of him, they’d almost died. The witch had almost gotten what she was after.

“Why?” The single word found a way out of Cy’s clenched jaw. His fists were curled tight, but he, too, was held captive by Marcus’s command of the situation.

Mason, resigned to his fate, lowered his gaze. “You wouldn’t understand.” It was a tiny whisper of a confession, but its significance couldn’t be louder.

“Try explaining it.” The tight grip on his forearm, Mark’s tight grip, held Caster in place as he too struggled to contain his anger.

“Enough of this nonsense,” Riley said before the presence of his power overwhelmed the room. He whispered something in Latin, and Mason’s body jerked forward. He felt Mark’s surprised gasp as Riley’s power took control of Mason’s body.

When he relented, Mason’s eyes had lost the blue familiar tint. They rolled back into his head before returning devoid of color, a black emptiness where his eyes used to be.

“Ask him anything,” Riley said.

Marcus nodded, never once taking his eyes off Mason, who had no way to escape Riley’s immense power. This interrogation style had been very useful during the war. A prisoner was immobilized, unable to lie. Torture was unnecessary when Riley was around.

Who is he?

Mark’s question, calm as it was, seemed out of place in a mind consumed with violent images.

He’s my uncle. My mother’s brother.

Mark’s response was the slight tightening of the hold he still maintained on Caster’s arm. Sadness infiltrated the anger as he watched Marcus rise to his full height. Would his family survive the witch and her antics? Would his mother?