Page 88 of Twice Bitten

Alric stared at her for a moment before giving her a sharp nod. Vesper turned on her heel and stalked out of the house.

“She’s full of personality,” I observed.

A faint smile. “Vesper is the brains behind my operation. Underestimate her at your peril. She does not need a personality to function admirably as my strategist.” Alric rose and placed his mug in the sink. “But don’t let her icy exterior fool you. She burns hot as the sun.”

Without saying goodbye, Alric walked out the front door, pulling it closed behind him.

I slumped and reached for the carafe, pouring myself one more mug. Why did I always feel so exhausted every time I talked to that man?

TWENTY-FIVE

The day sped by in a whirlwind of chores and errands, most of them involving refurnishing my house. As much as it rankled me that I had to do this, what made it worse was the Prime or his cranky strategist had apparently called every shop in the entire city and left his credit card on file with strict instructions not to let me pay for a single thing.

It seemed I couldn’t buy anything unless I signed the entire bill over to the vampires.

I’d even gone back to the hotel area to try to find a shop he’d missed, but the asshole was thorough. Every single shop refused me.

Pissed off and annoyed, I walked out of the last shop into a moonlit night. The heavy globe hung high and bright above me, casting a silvery glow onto the treetops and buildings. I touched the pendant around my neck and shivered.

Silas might be an ass, but he’d done me a solid by giving me the pendant and not demanding it back when I’d thrown him out of my house. I fished through my purse and grabbed my keys as I hurried across the parking lot.

Earlier today, I was able to buy a fridge—Alric had forgottenabout the hardware stores, I guess, and I paid extra to have it delivered the same day. But I had no groceries yet. The last thing on my list.

I bent to unlock my door.

A swish of clothing way too close to me had me spinning around, but not fast enough. A blow to the head sent me slamming into the car door. I put my hands up to block the next blow, but none came. Instead, a clawed hand reached out and sliced the wolf pendant from my neck.

I lunged for it, but the attacker spun and took off running through the parking lot, disappearing before I could get my bearings.

“Hey!” I sprinted after them, stopping at the edge of the woods. Night had fallen some time ago, and flailing through the woods on a full moon was definitely a dumb idea. Shifters of all kinds were out tonight in their animal forms.

While they still had their human reasoning, their emotions were more animal than anything for the next twelve hours. I hesitated at the edge and swore viciously before backing away.

I didn’t feel any different, but getting home took priority now. I could lock myself in the basement if things got out of hand. My paranoia was running wild with scenarios. Silas would not have given me that necklace if he didn’t think shifting was a possibility.

Once I was back in my car with the doors locked, I let out a slow breath and willed my fingers to stop shaking. Why would someone steal the pendant? Did they know something I didn’t?

Everything happened so fast, I couldn’t tell if the culprit was a shifter or a vampire or someone tailing me in the store who thought they might be able to make a buck at the pawn shop. They hadn’t tried to swipe my purse or anything else, which made the entire thing suspicious.

Shaking my head, I started my car and pulled out of theparking lot, keeping a close eye out for the figure, but whoever he or she might be, they were long gone.

Ten minutes later, I was out on the main road and had just turned the radio up when I broke into a cold sweat, the kind of sweat you get when you’re starting to run a fever.

I was twenty minutes away from the house. With shaking fingers, I pressed the fast key to call home.

“Alex? Everything alright?” Edmund’s voice sounded echoey as it always did when he used the speaker system hooked up in every room of the house.

“I th-think some-something is wr-wrong.”

“Where are you?”

I sent my current location to the computer. Edmund swore. “Can you make it home?”

I could smell everything. The leather in my seats, the acrid artificial tang of the air freshener hanging above my mirror, the gym clothing I’d tossed in the back seat after my Pilates class, the cream used in the coffee I’d stopped for a few hours ago.

My mouth felt weird, heavy, and my teeth ached.

“Don’t th-think so. Someone st-stole the pen-pendant.”