Robert pulled Preston aside, then translocated them to his office. He turned to him. “What the hell did we see in there?”
Preston snorted, his eyes narrowing. “Which part, Robert?”
“Gina, whatever flowed into her.”
“What are you talking about?” Preston asked.
“I heard it—her.” Robert scrubbed at his face. “I don’t know. She called herself Badb.”
Preston’s brows shot to his hairline. “That’s interesting. I’ve been doing research into my family.” A laugh escaped. He shook his head. “I think she was related to Morrigan. Possibly her sister.”
“Fae don’t stick around as ghosts, right?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Anything is possible. You know that.”
“I guess so.” Robert paced away and came back. “There is something inside Gina. Something like that entity they stopped from getting into her. We need to watch her.”
“Wouldn’t Brent be worried if Badb was something to fear? He’s clearly not worried about Amelia.”
“I’m not sure we shouldn’t worry about Amelia, honestly,” Robert answered. “Suddenly, she knows an awfully lot about ancient beings. I don’t know what’s going on anymore.”
“We’ll keep an eye on her, but we can’t assume the worst. She stopped an ancient evil.”
“One she created.”
“Robert, we’ll keep an eye on her, on Gina, and on a number of vampires. But we can’t assume the worst of everyone.”
“Yeah, I’m trying, but I can’t wrap my head around any of this.”
“Well, in the meantime we should take them home. If anything happens, we’ll know. But there are too many Others here, a lot who won’t get along with different Others for long. We’re going to have a problem if we don’t get them going.”
“You’re right. You should escort those who drove to the parking garage. The rest I’ll deal with.”
“Just those from Edenton, right?”
“Brent and Amelia, too,” Robert answered.
“Let’s get everyone going, and we can go from there.”
* * * *
A fine tremble worked through Mark. His demeanor scared Gina. She wanted to help, and nothing she could do in a crowded cafeteria would work.
Preston moved to the center of the room, getting everyone’s attention. He mentioned taking everyone to their cars and Gina sighed. Mark had already told her Robert had brought him.
Badb whispered, There, the pale one. See her?
Gina scanned the room and stopped on the woman who had her eyes locked on Mark. She had beautiful, long blond hair, bright green eyes, and oozed a darkness that made no sense.
A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up at Robert. “You two ready to go home?”
She nodded slowly, wondering why Mark looked at the other woman as if she were a potential enemy.
Mark stood and pulled her to a stand. Robert translocated them to their living room.
“Gina, I’d like to talk to you tomorrow. It’s important.” Robert seemed far more concerned than normal.
“Of course. But have I done something to concern you?”
His face screwed up a second, then he smoothed his hands down his lapels. “No. But you have something inside you now that I want to understand.”
“All right,” she answered slowly.
He dipped his head. “You two have a good night.”
“Thank you, Robert,” Mark said.
Robert smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Then he was gone.
“What’s that about?” Mark asked.
She shook her head, putting her hands up. “First you talk. You promised.”
He pushed out a breath. “Shower. While we’re in there, I’ll tell you what I can, but you’re covered in blood.”
She looked down and lifted a shoulder. “I don’t remember where that came from.”
Mark lifted Gina off her feet and carried her upstairs, to the bathroom. “I told you I was born a witch, right?”
She nodded. “You mentioned it, but never explained.”
His face scrunched up, then he sighed. “I was married when I was seventeen, to a girl the same age. Kindra was everything to me. I fell for her when were just kids. We went through the binding rituals some coven members perform.” He blew out a breath. “She wasn’t happy in the end. Kindra let something called a doppelganger come in, drain me of my magic, my essence, my life force.” He gulped, then backed away. “She tried to drug me in the end. When that didn’t work, I used the rest of my magic to block her from forcing it on me. I was weak by then. I turned and found the creature who looked more like me than I did. I used the last of my magic to fend him off. Kindra stabbed me, and I stabbed her…” His eyes closed as he slumped against the wall.
“What happened?”
“She was pregnant. I don’t know if the baby was mine or that thing’s, but I know she was with that thing the whole damned time.”
“Oh my,” she whispered.
“It was self-defense,” he answered weakly.
She nodded slowly. “Mark, I know you. You wouldn’t have harmed her if she hadn’t harmed you first.” She dragged his gaze back to hers. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“I thought I’d killed her.” The pain in his eyes tore her apart. He continued, “I wish I had.”
“She deserved death.”
His voice broke. “What if I killed my child? Hell, any child. They were innocent.”
“You wouldn’t have if you had any other choice.” She touched his face. “You were dying, you got away.”
“I stumbled out the door. Tremaine was there. God, I wish they’d gotten there sooner, but as it turned out, I didn’t kill her. I don’t know what happened to the doppelganger, what happened to her, or the baby. I thought she was dead. I assumed that thing would die without me there to finish off.”
“We need to find out what happened,” she answered.
“We do, but I’m scared. What if I did kill the child? Mine or not, it wasn’t the kid’s fault.”
“Mark, you can’t think like that. You had no choice.”
“I really didn’t,” he admitted. “The worst part is, if that thing is still alive, then the coven is still around, thinking that thing is me.”
“Who cares what they think?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t, but if those things are still there, what happened to them?”
“Would you want to go back to them?”
“Never. They aren’t my people now. They refused to believe that something was trying to take my place. They told me I was crazy. They threw me away.”
He shook his head and reached in to turn on the shower before turning back. “Last I heard, the coven wasn’t there. I don’t know anything more than that.”
She framed his face with her hands and kissed him. “Shh, it’s okay. I understand. I’ll never choose anyone over you.”
“I’m not that dumb idiot anymore. I know you’re mine. She wasn’t mine. I just thought she was.”
“She’s a fool,” Gina whispered. Then she pulled the shirt over his head before trailing her fingertips over his chest. “Now, talk to me. Tell me what put all this guilt in your head.”
He leaned against the counter and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “She was there, at the Silver Council Headquarters. I saw another witch I knew. Before any of you were brought back. Then I felt Kindra sometime after Robert brought you to me. I saw her, Gina. She’s alive.”
“I’m sorry. Maybe she’s changed? I mean, Clint used to be cute.” She winked.
He snorted. “I remember when he came here. He didn’t look all that different.”
She shrugged. “He’s not you.”
He smiled as he rid her of the tank top. “I know that. All I’m saying is he hasn’t changed much. I know you don’t want him now. I haven’t worried about that since the moment we locked eyes and I knew what you were.”
“But you were afraid to make me yours.”
“You’d been hurt for years, traumatized. And even if you can’t remember, the thought of that worried me. I didn’t want you to ever think poorly of me.”
“You may frustrate me occasionally, like when you think you need to protect me. I don’t want that. I just want you to be honest.”
One corner of his mouth twitched before he sighed. “That’s why I’m telling you all of this. I just didn’t want to go there surrounded by people I don’t know.”
“I get it.” She leaned up and kissed him.
Mark pressed a kiss to her lips and hooked his fingers in her waistband before dragging the rest of her clothes down her long legs.
* * * *
Gina trailed her fingers over his abdomen. She wanted to forget everything and just be with him, but it was her turn to tell him what she knew. “Something happened in there. I’m not sure I understand it. But something helped me get rid of the evil.”
Mark kicked off the rest of his clothes and carried her into the shower. “What evil?”
She blew out a breath. “I don’t know. Ancient.” She pushed him back. “Only, there’s still something inside me. Something good. There to prevent that from happening again, but I don’t understand it all.”
Mark’s face hardened with concern. “Something inside you?”
“I don’t hear her now. I don’t even feel her. She’s watching over me, though.”
“We should talk to Tremaine, or someone. Figure that out.”
“Amelia and Brent said not to worry.” She lifted a shoulder. “That thing, the evil one wanted to take me over. She stopped it.”
“Okay, but we really should talk to Tremaine, or someone who knows more about that stuff. I’m not afraid of you, or it, but I want to make sure it’s not going to be a problem later.”
A smile graced those plump lips. “Okay then.”
“I’ll take on anything with you, Gina.”
She wrapped her hand around his hard length. “I have no doubts. I love you, Mark.”
“I love you too.” He pushed her hand away. “Now, let me make sure you’re whole and healthy before I make love to you.”
She smiled up at him and dropped her hands. “Can’t you tell just by looking at me?”
He smoothed his hands down her neck, her shoulders and arms, then moved his hands under her arms, on her sides to run his palms down her body, all the way to her ankles. He guided one of her thighs over his shoulder, then the other as he knelt before her, making sure her back was against the wall of the shower as he licked her core.
She whimpered under the erotic assault of his tongue. She loved the way he did that. Her fingers speared into his hair and gripped tight as he drove her crazy.
“I’m there, I’m there,” she chanted.
Mark didn’t stop until she came, then shifted her until his hard length was at her core, gliding in. Their mouths collided as she held his face to hers, devouring him.
He thrust into her with earnest, gripping her ass, holding her in place as he worked in and out of her body. Mark kissed down her throat, sucking here and there.
She cried out his name and felt him all the way through her soul as they came together. Something sparked between them, magic rushing loose. Not from just the presence within her, but something from him as well.
“Did you feel that?” he whispered, sliding down until she sat on his thighs while he sat on his knees.
She nodded, a smile on her lips.
“Why do you look so happy?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not worried about it.”
He frowned. “Gina, we might need to be. I felt magic stir inside me. That’s not supposed to happen to a witch who becomes a werewolf. And that means those damned Fae may want me all over again.” He rubbed at his face and sighed. “I’m sorry. I can’t help worrying.”
She caught his face, staring into his eyes. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”
He kissed her lips softly. “We will.”