Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) (3 page)

Thank God they don’t read minds.

Fianna cleared a place for it among the platters of fresh fruits and vegetables. “I haven’t had a potato salad in months, it sounds lovely.” Her Irish brogu
e was ethereal
.

“Was everything okay at Ruby’s place?” Endellion asked concerned. “If I
had known you were heading there
, I would have asked Donovan or Torin to accompany you
, and make sure the place was clear
.”

“It was nice and quiet.
”
Liz
appreciated the motherly concern, but could hold her own if she caught anyone lurking about.
She was the one who insisted Lexie join her for some
self-defense classes at YMCA. Being man handled by anyone was not an option. “
Is Lexie and Torin here yet?”

Endellion shook her head, “She’s checking on her mother, but will come along soon.”

As the backdoor of the house opened, a plump woman sauntered out carrying a serving platter full of heaping finger sandwiches. With a head full of shocking brassy curls, she had
the biggest green eyes
Liz had ever seen. S
he recognized Aileen’s resemblance to her son
,
Teagan.

“You must be Liz.” Swiftly, the robust woman
added the tray to the table.
Lissome as ribbon
, h
er body moved five different direc
tions at once, practically dancing
. “I’ve been nailed to the floor with all of this work, or I would’ve invited you over yesterday.” After wiping her palms on her cotton apron, Aileen gave Liz a warm embrace. “Are you keeping well?”

Liz couldn’t help but smile, s
he
had imagined Endellion as
the face of
Ireland, but Aileen was the spirit
. “I’m fine thanks.”

Aileen stepped back and gave Liz a head to toe survey. “Tea
gan is still off with his mates
, but he should be here soon. I hope the little gobshite has been minding his manners.”

“Of course,” Liz
answ
ered. She
wasn’t sure if Aileen’s concern was because her son was an insatiable flirt or for some o
ther reason, but she liked Teagan. He was
easy to talk to.
It was when she tried talking to Braden that she got tongue tied. He was too cute to stand next to and still form sensible language patterns.

“Glad to hear it or I
would beat the little gimp,” the
Irish
woman
hooted, causing
her bosom
to wiggle
. Her laughter had force, just like her tone. “You’re a bonny girl, give him time.”

Glancing past where the three women worked assembling their feast, Liz spotted Ella sitting alone by a large in-ground pool. Realizing she must have walked over with Endellion, Liz ventured across the yard to her best friend’s sister. 

As
Liz sat down on the chaise lounge beside her
, Ella barely looked up
. The blonde’s long hair had grown past her shoulders, accenting her pretty golden skin. Liz had always wanted skin like Ella and Lexie’s
, but instead got the Captain’s pearly white hue
. Burning was easy, but tanning was impossible.

At one time, Ella was a complete brat and drove Liz nuts. If she wasn’t on their heels, she was going out of her way to add caustic commentary for the sole purpose of being spiteful. Seeing her now, Liz realized the thirteen-year-old was no longer
a child. With the same petite figure as her sister, she had become a young woman.

Liz looked down at her own shapely build. In jeans and a black and white striped
tank, she was dressed for a skate park
rather than a garden party. Her wrists were adorned with bangles and the layers of her ebony hair
had been flat ironed. From
the expression on
Ella
’s face
, Liz was certain she wasn’t the only one feeling out of place.

“How long until everyone gets here?” Ella asked, her voice just a whisper.

Liz shook her head, “I thought they would all be here by now.” The sun was bright. Liz scraped the deck chair across the cement, edging it towards the shade. “I’m usually late for these kinds of things.”

“I feel weird sitting here. I don’t know why
they won’t let me just stay
home.” Ella picked at the frayed hem of her jeans. “I’m old enough to be there alone.”

Liz wondered how much she should say. She didn’t think Ella’s age was the reason they didn’t want her to stay alone in the big house. “Do you like everyone here
,
okay?”

“I guess,” Ella smirked.  “The guys are cute, but their parents are creepy. I can’t believe they’re all
old
.” She looked over at the women. “They take good care of my mom though.”  

“I’m sorry about Ruby
,” Liz offered. She k
new it must be tough seeing her mom
that sick. “And that Lexie got hurt, too.”

Ella’s face hardened. “She should have known better.”

Liz was unsure if Ella was referring to her mother or Lexie, but neither could have anticipated what was going on. “Well, at leas
t your sister is healing
. Her bruising is already gone and she won’t need the crutches much longer….Must be nice.”

Ella’s head snapped up. “Nice? She gets all of this attention and the ability to heal from her hot new boyfriend, while th
e rest of us have to suffer for her mistakes. Because of Lexie
, my dad is dead and now Nicolai doesn’t have a family or a place to stay.”

“And that’s Lexie’s fault?”

Her dark brown eyes glowered at Liz. “She never once tried to fit in and now everything’s ruined. If Mom dies, I’ll be stuck with these people forever.” 

Liz bit back the words she wanted to say and thought about Ella’s position. The girl was angry and scared and talking out of her hat. Normally
,
she would have read her the riot act on not being selfish, but decided to let it go. “Your mom won’t die. I’ll make sure of that.”

Surprised that Liz didn’t argue back, Ella’s defensive posture
lowered
. “Good.” She sat back in the lounge chair and covered her eyes with the back of her hand. “It doesn’t change Nick’s situation though. I hate that he’s all alone.”

Liz wondered why Ella wasn’t afraid of the fact that Nicolai was a wer
ewolf. It was as if she had more than two days
to come to terms with what the fifteen-year-old was. Maybe Nicolai had been a little more candid with Ella than anyone realized.

Was it more than just a crush or hero worship?
Suddenly, Liz understood.

Ella’s in love
.
Well that complicates things
.

Liz didn’t know Nicolai, but she knew how dangerous his brother
,
Alik was. If Nick plotted and schemed the way his cunning brother did, he could have manipulated his way into El
la’s young heart, m
aybe already infecting
her.
The idea made her sick.

“You haven’t fooled around with
Nicolai, have you?”

Ella bolted forward in
her seat. “You are a total freak.”

Liz could see the hurt in Ella’s expression. “I’m sorry I asked you that way. I should have worded it differently.”

“No, you shouldn’t have asked me at all.” Ella’s arms crossed over her
chest. She tapped the
tips
of her nails as she glared
at Liz. “I’m thirteen. I may not be a baby, but I am not a slut either,” her pitch wavered. “And if I did, it would have been my business. Our parents were only married one month, so it wasn’t like we were related or anything.”

Liz scooted to the edge of her seat. “My concern wasn’t that you were being incestuous. My concern was that you could become a werewolf.”

“Do me a favor and don’t talk to me,” Ella’s voice trembled, “ever.” With a shake of her b
lond hair, she shifted herself in the seat until only her back faced Liz
.

With a sigh, Liz stood and headed back across the yard
. She wasn’t going to win that argument. At least Ella hadn’t made a huge mistake. Having one member of the family infected was bad enough.

Lexie better keep a close eye on her sister
.

4

BRADEN

Before joining the others, Braden crossed the two neigh
boring
front lawns
to Torin’
s
home.  The four families
lived along the same secluded street. As children, they would run f
rom house to house, exploring
their own little universe. 

He could see why the elders wanted to live in close proximity. They needed to protect one another, but they also needed the sense of fellowship only other damp
hyrs could provide. Even in Ireland
, the old-ones still huddled together in little covens across different counties. 

His grandparents w
ere fond of the northwest shore
s
of Mayo. He had planned on visiting them, but worried too much abo
ut Brigid to leave her for
long. Knowing she didn’t have
an eternity on earth
made her vulnerable.

If he could stomach it, he would try to write them a letter explaining why he had to go. Unlike his father and brother, at least they could have answers for his death. For years, the elders tried to understand what happened, speculating different possibilities. But Braden knew and none of their notions were
remotely close. His mouth set in a hard line; he hoped it would end with him.

Rounding the patch of large
cedars at the edge of the barn
, Braden noticed Torin standing
barefoot
outside his carriage house door. His chestnut hair was slightly tussled and his b
lack tee-shirt rumpled. Braden smiled.
His
once broody cousin
was visibly relaxed. Lexie worked
wonders on him.

Torin smiled as he approached. “Why aren’t you next door?”

Braden shrugged his shoulders. He needed time to talk to Torin alone without the others listening in. “Thought I would stop over and make sure someone was going to sit with Ruby.”

“Yeah, my father just went in. Lexie’s changing now and then we’ll head over.” An amused expression flickered across his face. “Are you sure that’s why you’re hiding over here? Liz must be there by now. I’ve seen you watching her.”

Braden stared at Torin, puzzled. “I haven’t been watching her.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Seriously,” he countered
. “
She isn’t even my type.”

Torin grinned
incredulously.
“Whatever you say.”

Braden looked up at the house. Lexie’s mother was being kept as comfortable as possible on the second floor. “How’s Ruby today?”

Torin’s expression grew serious. “Not well. The rash has spread and her skin is breaking down.”

Braden swallowed. He couldn’t put off going any longer.
“I wanted you to know t
hat I’
ll be leaving soon
. An old friend of my father’s has access to a
n antidote
for the
virus.
”
Although he hated lying to Torin of all people,
he worked at keeping his tone
as light
hearted as possible.

“Already?” Relief flooded
across
Torin’s dark features. “Are you heading to Eire?”

Braden
offered
a slight nod
. “First thing tomorrow.”

Torin’s brows knitted, deciding what to do. “Lexie will want to stay here with Ruby and Ella. I’ll ask Teagan and Cian to take turns watching the place at night. I don’t know if Nicolai will come around, but
I want my father
to have backup just in case
…
.”

“Actually,
” Brad
e
n
interrupted, “
I think you need to stay.
You’re the only one with experience fighting a werewolf and if Cian and Teagan were to go through the change while we were away, the elders would need one of us here.”

Braden knew
his explanation
made sense, but there was more to it
. He needed his cousin
to take his place as protector of the coven, especially now that his closest friend had a fate-partner.
But he also knew he couldn’t risk Torin trying to
stop
him
.