Page 99 of Rafe

“Do not test me, vampire!” Ilsbeth pointed her finger at him. “Feelings get you into trouble. Feelings are irrelevant. Rafe, you’re a wolf now. Behave like one and start focusing on what’s next.”

“Yeah. Sure. I’m sure it’s broken. Because I’m a wolf. I’m good.” Rafe’s words didn’t convince him it was true. “I just thought I’d feel different.”

“There is no bond. You’re officially single, Alpha.” Dominique shot him a flirty smile. “I’m up for a ride after this shit is done.”

“What?” Rafe shook his head.

“Okay. The human can come as long as I get to feed. All’s fair in love and war, so they say,” she joked.

“Skylar is off limits to you. Forever.” Rafe adjusted the straps on his vest.

“Try not to ruin your outfit this time,” Thorn instructed. “You’re lucky I had my tailor make two. This tan coloring suits you well. You’ll blend with the desert. Fits you like a glove. You look as good as an ice cream cone in Hell.”

“Knock it off. You guys are killin’ me. Besides, I’m not available,” Rafe reminded them, his mind on Skylar.

“But you are, Alpha,” Ilsbeth corrected.

“Not true. I have a mate out there,” he argued, confused by his pervasive thoughts about his lovely human.

“Not yet,” Dominique noted.

“Come on, everyone. Ilsbeth’s right. We need to focus.” Rafe crossed the room, accepting a tall glass of sweet tea from Henri. “Let’s review what we’re doing here.”

“Vegas. We’re going far away from the city, deep in the desert. My guess is she has some kind of portal opening there. She needs privacy. And so do we,” Ilsbeth began.

“How do you know she’ll be there?”

“She’ll have no choice. I’m going to summon her.” Ilsbeth turned, her expression somber. “I don’t know how much power she has but after today’s little display clearly she can find you.”

“Rumor in Hell is she’s constructed some kind of a domicile within the rocks,” Thorn added.

Rafe’s instincts were warning him not to trust all of what the High Priestess told him, especially after the midday barbeque she’d ignited. “She’s in another realm?”

“Whispers among the fae say she’s hidden with dark magick. Like her sister, she’s quite clever and apparently has planned her escape for some time. But what else could hidden mean if it’s not another realm? That’s for you to find out, Alpha,” Thorn explained as he reached for his teacup.

“She’s clever. Patient. It’s been years since I bound her. She will surely have infected others.” Ilsbeth’s face drained of color. “The is only one thing that can bind her. It’s the Hellfire you brought back with the spell. They will come for her, and I plan to drag her back into the realm where I sent her. She must inhale it, take it with her. It must be intimate.”

“I’m a wolf. How exactly is this supposed to work with a witch?” Rafe asked, his mind churning. “Greyson could flash to her.”

“It will be challenging. By now she’s created protection spells against each of us. But she wants to kill you, so in order to do so, she’ll need to get close to you to work her magick.”

“Does she have any weaknesses?” Rafe asked.

“The obvious is silver. She’s susceptible to its poison at this point, I imagine.” Ilsbeth crossed the room, leaning on the hearth. “It’s all speculation at this point. Today she waited until I was inside to show her face. Sure, she’s confident enough to intimidate, to try to steal your human. But to face me? That would have been the true test. But ah, she wasn’t ready. I suspect she’s saving her magick for the final battle she intends on having.”

“She’ll attempt to bind you,” Greyson told her.

“Perhaps. She can try. She wants to kill Rafe to hurt me, but you?” Ilsbeth laughed and pointed to Greyson. “I’m thinking torture first. Perhaps a guillotine.”

“She’ll have to catch my ass first,” Greyson grumbled.

“Do not engage with her. You caused this mess,” Ilsbeth scolded. “Thorn will watch for demons. Hellhounds. Tears in the realm. I will distract her, allowing Rafe to get close.”

“Okay, then. Is everyone ready to get this shit show on the road? Send this bitch back to her cage?” Rafe clapped his hands together, anxious to defeat Zyaire. This was the final task and then he’d start his life anew.

“Let’s do it,” Greyson agreed.

“Hey, I almost forgot. Let me check with Kenji. He can help with the zombie things. Just in case.” Rafe crossed the room and dug his cell phone out of his pocket. As he slid the pad of his finger across the glass, it buzzed out loud, vibrating in his hand. Skylar.