King Hall (22 page)

Their love affair may not have been illegal, just a horrendous taboo, but
I
sure was. The old fear came back to me, even as I nodded, saying, “Fine. I understand.”

Jack nodded and stood, rubbing his palm.

Pearl patted my leg, kissing my forehead as she straightened.

Ezra’s nostrils flared. He held the breath in. His arched brows slammed together right in front of my eyes. Jack and Pearl were already heading toward my bedroom door when Ezra asked, “You smell of fear. What else aren’t you telling us?”

My heart rate broke into a wild gallop.

Ezra growled under his breath.

Jack and Pearl turned and stopped, watching. Waiting.

I focused on my own personal brand of fear training, thinking of a warm and safe place, a tree with beautiful, fat green leaves on a cool, summer’s day, and said what would only make sense, since he knew I was scared, “Nothing you need to know.”

His glare intensified, and I pictured that peaceful tree as he said harshly, “We know everything about each other, and only a threat scares someone this bad.”

Jack took a step toward us, his eyebrows lowering. “What is it, Lily? We’ll help you, no matter what it is.”

Pearl snorted. “You know we’ll kill for you.”

I almost laughed at that, my lips even twitching, which was a mistake on my part, since they noticed, so I stated honestly, “This is nothing that any of you can help with.”
You’re the ones who will kill me if you know.

“Lily…” Pearl murmured, taking a large step forward, now even with Jack.

I held up my hands to stop their barrage. “Trust me when I tell you it’s nothing you should know, and it’s nothing you can help me with.” I paused, and added, “Please. Just let me keep this one to myself.”

Jack sucked in a harsh breath, glancing to Ezra and Pearl, and then back to me before he asked, “Are you being threatened?”

“No.”
Truth.
Not right now, anyway.

“Have you been threatened in the past?” Pearl asked.

“No.”
Truth.
I hadn’t directly been.

“Are you afraid of being threatened by someone?” Ezra asked.

“No.”
Lie.
Damn if my heart didn’t race, my safe-place not holding.

His Vampire actually hissed. “Who the hell are you afraid of?”

Jack’s eyes started to glow.

I sputtered, “Look, I love you all so much, and I know you’re worried about me,”
obviously
, “but just let me handle this. If you know…” I scanned my bedroom for an escape, but found none. “I won’t let you know. It’s mine to bear. Not yours. Please, just stop.”

Pearl stared to the side at nothing, her gaze now glowing, spells and time flittering the air before she gasped in a dreamlike voice, “She’s afraid of us.”

They stilled.

My control snapped with her power usage, which had untangled the answer they wanted. Unable to breathe, I jerked back from Ezra, and started scrambling over my bed, because if Pearl pulled the truth out of me with a damn spell, I was a goner. I lunged off the bed, flying at the window, prepared to take a header out my second-storey window and just praying that my Shifter abilities let me land on my feet.

Instead of the glass I expected, my head slammed against Ezra’s chest. He had moved so fast I hadn’t even seen him. Nothing new, but it still hurt like hell. I hit the floor, rolling and holding my head. I went for the gun I had under my bed, and got a hand on it, but Ezra grabbed my legs, jerking me back across the carpet. I grunted, and dropped the damn gun as he lifted and tossed me onto my bed. I bounced once, then dove for my weapon on the floor, but it suddenly glowed golden and hurled through the air, straight to Pearl’s hand.

I froze from my perch, half off my bed, staring at the gun.

There were silver bullets in the clip. I hadn’t planned on killing them with it. I did love them, so I wouldn’t do anything too drastic, but I had been prepared to stop anyone from following me. Now, they had my weapon.

Flabbergasted, Jack shouted, “What the hell was that?” His brown eyes swung to Pearl. “Is she under a spell?”

Pearl’s eyes were still glowing but, instantly, her skin glowed and her flared gaze began traveling up and down my body, her power pushing against me. She shook her head as I slowly started creeping up onto the bed, and she muttered, “No. No spell. I have no clue what’s wrong with her.” She lifted the gun and I froze again, but all she did was check the clip. “They’re fucking silver!” She glared. “You were going to shoot us with silver bullets?”

Voice croaking in fear, I said, “Not to kill. I wouldn’t do that to you guys.” That was true, I wouldn’t do that even to save my own life, which seemed a little foolish now as I stared at the person holding my means of escape. And death.

A whoosh of air was all that alerted me Ezra was coming and, regrettably, it wasn’t enough to help. I was abruptly flipped and shoved onto my mattress with a heavy brute of a Vampire on top of me. Grunting, I tried every possible way to get out of the hold, and almost managed once with a knee to his groin, but he succeeded in keeping me contained. He was too fast, remarkably powerful, and damn muscled for a Vamp. I hadn’t been able to beat him in hand-to-hand once yet.

I closed my eyes in defeat, pinned under him.

There was no way I could get away with these three in the room. One of them, possibly, if I had been smart and kept distance between us. I had almost got my gun back, until Pearl had snatched it away, but there was definitely no way of escape with all three of them here.

Blinking my eyes open, I stared up into Ezra’s narrowed, spring green gaze.

He hissed softly, “What the fuck’s going on, sweetheart? What have you done that you’re so scared of us?” His head cocked, his words quiet. “I’ve done many things that could get me in trouble. Especially after my mate died, but never once did I fear what you guys would do to me if you found out.” He paused, grinning, and then drawled, “You’ve been naughty. Fess up, and I promise it won’t be as bad as you’re imagining.”

A little hysterical, I laughed. “Oh. It’s bad. You’ll kill me. Instantly. Same as Jack or Pearl. Or any other King or Elder.”

Ezra snorted. “I should have been killed eleven times by our Laws.” He winked. “I’m still here.”
Truth
.

“I’m not even going to ask what you’ve done, Ezra,” Pearl muttered. “I can only imagine.” She sat on my bed beside my head, gun still in hand. “Plus, you’re smart enough not to be afraid of us.” Golden eyes dipped to me. “But you, Lily, what have you done that has your common sense taking a leave of absence?”

“God, this has got to be good,” Jack mumbled, sounding almost excited. He sat down on the other side of my head. “Ezra’s right. Just tell us. As long as you haven’t killed any of the munchkins, I can pretty much guarantee this isn’t as bad as you’re thinking. We probably wouldn’t be able to hide a dead imp, since the parents would be squawking about their missing brat too much.” He smiled. “You never know, though.”

Oh, dear Lord. I choked on tears. “God, I love you guys,” I shook my head, “but this one’s even worse.”

“Tell us,” Ezra purred soothingly, but his grip had in no way loosed on my wrists. “You know you aren’t getting away until you do.”

Fat tears trickled across my temples as I looked back and forth between them. Eventually, I stared at the gun. “I’ll tell you if you promise to make it as painless as possible.” Maybe, a bullet to the brain, like how Dominic had died, would be the way to go.

Jack muttered, “We’re not going to kill you, Lily. Calm down.”

Pearl placed the gun far away, on my nightstand, her implication clear.

“Sweetheart,” Ezra coaxed gently. “Just open your mouth and tell us.”

I gurgled, and then laughed deliriously under him. “Funny thing you should mention mouths.” Clearing my throat, my chuckling died a short death as I peered into those spring green eyes that were hooded just so I wouldn’t be scared, but he wasn’t fooling me. “Jack. Pearl. Come in real close. You won’t want to miss this.”
Might as well add some humor to my impending death.

Jack and Pearl bent closer, placing their heads next to Ezra’s, all their foreheads touching.

I sighed, staring at them only inches away. “Now, pay attention to my mouth.”

Three pairs of eyes lowered to my mouth as I opened it slowly.

My bitty fangs descended.

Brown, gold, and green eyes gradually widened, then opened wider, just like their mouths were, uncannily, in time with my fangs descending.

Staring at them, I tried to gauge how they were going to kill me. I had lied to them terribly, but I hoped that because they loved me they wouldn’t be too brutal. As the minutes ticked by and my friends remained silent, their jaws slowly closing — even though their eyes stayed as big as saucers — I decided they would be swift about it. I didn’t believe they would be deliberately cruel.

I tried smiling, but they just stared at my fangs. “Well, how are you going to off me? A bullet or injection?” Those were the two I bet they would choose from.

“You’re a hybrid,” Pearl murmured in immense shock.

I nodded. Um, yeah. That’s what the fangs meant when I also went furry.

“They’re so tiny,” Jack whispered, lifting a hand, and he touched my left fang.

I flinched, glaring.

“Don’t ever touch the fangs, man,” Ezra whispered heatedly.

“Why?” Jack asked, finger hovering over my fang, but he lowered it again.

Before he could touch me like that once more, I nipped his damn finger, using a little of my Vampire speed. Fangs were very sensitive. A soft touch felt like an intimate caress.

He yelped, and stuck his finger in his mouth. I had made him bleed.

“Told you,” Ezra murmured absently.

My eyebrows came together, rolling the drop of Jack’s blood in my mouth. “You’re right, Ezra. Watered-down.” Odd, that.

“Uh-huh.” He nodded mechanically. “I wasn’t lying.”

Pearl cocked her head the other way, lowering it even more, and stared at my fangs until Ezra knocked her head out of his way with his forehead. Distractedly, she rubbed her head where he had bumped her, murmuring, “They’re kind of…” Her voice trailed off as she cocked her head the other way.

“Cute,” Ezra rumbled. “They’re pretty damn cute. They fit her.”

Pearl said, “Yes. That’s it.”

Jack nodded in agreement. “They’re tiny. Like her.”

They stared.

I closed my mouth, pursing my lips.

They scowled.

Ezra let go of one of my wrists — totally stunning me — and pinched my chin with two fingers and pushed it down, making me open my mouth again, and before my shock wore off, he grabbed my wrist again.

They stopped scowling, staring in fascination.

My sigh was heavy. Of course, they would act this way first. Who wouldn’t? “Guys, the suspense is killing me. Shot or injection is all I want to know.”

Jack ignored me, asking, “Do you drink like a full-blooded Vampire?”

I nodded. “Once a day.”

“Who do you drink off of since no-one can know?” Pearl asked. “Or do you use your powers to make them forget?”
Illegally
was left unsaid, but I heard it anyway.

“I only ever drank off Dominic, and he loved it, so I didn’t need to use my powers like that,” I informed them honestly.

“He knew?” Jack asked, sounding mystified.

“Of course he knew,” Ezra rumbled. “He was her mate. She would have bit him twice for their mate mark.” He paused. “Right?”

Another nod as I waited for their answer.

Pearl’s eyebrows came together even though she still stared at my fangs like the other two. “He was a Shifter. Shifters get naked a lot. How did no one see the Vamp mark?”

My lips twitched.

Ezra chuckled, vibrating on top of me. “She put it somewhere hidden.”

Pearl and Jack blinked, and then nodded studiously.

“What do you drink if…” Ezra’s nose crinkled. “Sweetheart, not bagged. That’s revolting.”

I shrugged the best I could under him. “How else am I supposed to drink without doing anything illegal? Since me being
alive
is illegal enough?”

His straight nose still scrunched, he ordered brusquely, “You’re not drinking that shit again. You’ll be stronger if you drink from the source, without all the processes they put the blood through. You’ll drink from me in the future.” I quit breathing under him, and his head jerked toward Pearl. “Or Pearl, if she lets you. I think Jack’s a little fang-frightened. Plus, he tastes like crap.”

Pearl nodded. “I don’t mind. Especially if it’ll make her even stronger than she is now.”

Jack muttered, “Well, hell. I’m not real big on the fangs, and have never let a Vamp drink off me before, but Pearl said it wasn’t bad. I’ll donate every third day.”

Frozen, I was sure my face was turning a horrible shade, as I hadn’t taken a breath yet.

They smirked, gazes still on my pearly fangs.

Ezra murmured, “Breathe. You should have known we weren’t going to kill you over some archaic law.”

Shaking his head, Jack muttered, “You know us better than that.”

Pearl clucked her tongue. “She was even going to shoot us to get away. Bad form, Lily. We would never kill you, so wake the hell up. We’re in this together. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

I sucked in a huge breath, and started
weeping
. They were serious. Their heartbeats were normal and I smelled no deception. They loved me that damn much.

Ezra muttered, “Shit. I didn’t expect that.” He sounded rattled.

“Of course you didn’t. You’re a guy. Quit restraining her and hug her,” Pearl ordered.

“Do something!” Jack’s eyes were enormous. “She looks so pitiful.”

I didn’t even care that they were staring down at me as I sobbed. I was just so frigging happy I couldn’t control myself. As soon as Ezra let go of my wrists, I wrapped my arms around Jack and Pearl, pulling them down onto Ezra and me, where he had followed directions and enfolded me in his arms. I sputtered against their faces, “You guys are so great. I couldn’t ask for better friends. Ever.”

Jack groaned, patting the top of my head.