Selene lay in her bed till she could no longer stand it. Her mind, which was now conspicuously quiet, reeled with images of Neeman and how hurt he’d been by what she’d done. In the past, she’d fled the scene as soon as the males hit the toilet. She’d never stayed around long enough to find out how they turned out. Seeing him like that had been more painful than she’d like to admit.
For all of his standoffish, boorish ways, Selene liked Neeman. He was a good man and loyal. He’d not done anything but try to keep her safe, this entire time. Though she’d been...less than easy to get along with.
She blew out a heavy breath. She never used to be like this. Okay, she’d always kind of been like this, but that had been when she’d let her demon side rule her actions. Her other half craved chaos, pleasure, and pain. Unlike Mason’s other half, which craved destruction. She wondered why it was they’d turned out so different despite having the same father.
It had been that chaotic side of her the elders had tried to control. She looked down at her stomach and laid her palm across it.
“Manifesto,” she whispered. The air around her stomach shimmered with light and then peeled back, revealing the skin underneath.
Scars crisscrossed her skin like a preschooler’s doodle board. Deep grooves coursed over her ribs and down her belly. White puckered scars from each piercing of the skin, each cut, each burn. She ran her trembling fingers over them, remembering each in turn and who had produced them. A face burned into her memory, the man who haunted her nightmares.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. He didn’t matter now. He couldn’t reach her here. Not now that she was back with her brother.
Footsteps pulled her from her memories.
“Obscuro.” She waved her hand over her stomach, not even looking at it.
She jumped from her bed and riffled through the bags. She pulled on a pair of black leggings, a blue couture t-shirt and a pair of flats. Then she pried her door open. Neeman, Riley, and another tracker marched down toward the elevator. Neeman looked over his shoulder and she closed her door.
A minute passed.
“Dispareo.” She waited till her image faded and then opened the door again and stepped into the hall. Rushing to the elevator, she moved aside when the doors opened. Silly really, since she was already invisible.
She looked inside then hopped into the empty elevator and rode up to the warehouse floor.
The door opened and she tiptoed out and waited. Riley turned and looked at the elevator.
“What’s up?” asked Neeman.
“Nothing. Someone must have pushed the wrong button.” Riley got into the SUV. The engine started. She sprinted for the vehicle and jumped for it. She planted her foot on the rear bumper and landed on all fours on the bars of the roof rack. The door opened and a Vampire she didn’t recognize looked up. He shook his head and got back in.
Selene blew out a breath and settled herself on the roof as the SUV backed out of the warehouse.
By the time the SUV pulled into the drive of a large estate, Selene’s arms and legs burned from hanging on. At some point during the ride, a bug had hit her in the face. She wiped the splatter from her cheek and swallowed down her disgust. Cleaning toilets and bug guts. Her trip back to the Earth plane was not as glamorous as she had expected.
* * * *
Neeman, Riley, and Stephos pulled up to Coven House and were let in the gate by Siad, Coven House’s head of security. The driveway already held several cars in addition to those owned by coven members.
He still wasn’t up to his normal strength but that wasn’t going to stop him from doing his duty. His thoughts turned to Selene. He hadn’t told her he was leaving the compound but what did it matter? She wasn’t his mate.
“Are we waiting for something, boss?” asked Riley.
“No.” Neeman cut off the engine and stepped from the car. He walked to the entrance with the other trackers and met several of the house guards and William. “Are they here yet?”
“Not yet.” William stuck out his hand. “Within the hour. Thank you for coming.”
“Any time.” Neeman shook hands. “Chicago is our home and Danika is our Lord. We’ll always be here to protect those two first.”
“As will we all,” replied William. The young vampyr grew in strength and wisdom every day. “Come on. We better tell her I called you.”
Neeman nodded. Maybe William hadn’t grown in wisdom as much as he’d thought.
The group entered the front hall. All around the splendor of Coven House hit him once more. House slaves were busy at work. There were no other Vampires to be seen.
William turned. “We will be meeting in the atrium, but—”
“Neeman?”
Danika and Mason descended the stairs. Her almost-human coloring was still quite off-putting.
He bowed to her, as did the rest of the entourage.
“What are you doing here? We didn’t have a meeting, did we?” She plucked at her red silk blouse.
She looked from William to Mason and back. Her amber eyes made his gut clench. He much preferred her blue ones.
“No. I heard you might need some help, so I thought we’d make sure everyone played nice.”
“Played nice? That’s one I’ve never heard you say before,” she said. “I thank you for coming but this is a private meeting and—”
“I asked him to come,” said William.
Danika’s brows furrowed. “Why didn’t you consult me first?”
“Because you would’ve said no.”
“Damn right I would have said no. There is no reason—”
“We need them,” interjected Mason. “You’re being pressured from every side. I need to keep a level head while they’re here and I won’t be able to do that if I am trying to watch everything at all times.”
Danika ground her teeth together. She turned on her mate and stepped up to his enormous frame. “Who is the lord of this coven? You? William? No, me! It is just this kind of thing that makes the three kings think they can push me around and tell me what to do and who to let in my lands.”
“That’s not fair,” said Mason. “You know very well that William and I only ever have your back. We called Neeman because he is family. Coven family. And he has a right to know what’s going on in our area if he’s to do his job effectively.”
Neeman couldn’t see Danika’s expression, but he had a pretty good idea what it looked like.
Danika didn’t like being wrong, but she liked being seen as weak even less. And if having him there strengthened her, she’d allow it.
Mason set his hand on her waist and leaned in close. He whispered something in her ear so low that even Neeman’s vampyr hearing couldn’t pick it up. After a second, Mason chuckled and Danika’s posture relaxed.
“Fine. Neeman can be here.” She turned to him. “But you are here as coven family members, not trackers. Which means I don’t want Coven War Five breaking out tonight. Are we understood?”
Neeman nodded.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s everyone have a drink before they get here.”
The group headed into the kitchen. Neeman caught William’s arm. They hung back until the rest of the group was out of earshot.
“Do you have anything besides Savor?” he asked.
“We have blood slaves if—”
“No.” Neeman waved his hand and licked his lips. His gut clenched. He’d never told anyone he didn’t drink directly from the vein. Not even Danika. “Do you have anything in stock?”
“We have some in the cellar storage.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in a few.”
William looked at him quizzically for a moment and then nodded. “Of course.”
Neeman walked to the back stairs. At least they’d won the first battle. Danika agreed to have them there. Now to make sure no one killed each other at the meeting.