Sealed With a Curse (WG 1) (21 page)

Bren sat next to me, draping an arm around my shoulders. “And you didn’t take me along because…?”

Aric leaned forward, taking in Bren’s close proximity to me. Normally Bren’s affections didn’t bother me, but they made me uncomfortable in Aric’s presence. I kept my voice casual as I inched away from his hold. “Because you wouldn’t have stopped with just the infected vampires, and I couldn’t risk your going after Misha’s family.”

Gemini rubbed his goatee and regarded me carefully. It was the first time he’d pried his eyes off Taran, who sat in a slinky black dress on the other side of Danny. “Tell me more about the vampires you encountered. It seems odd they would remain at the compound. Their hunger
should have compelled them to constantly hunt for food.”

I shuddered, thinking back to the brawl at the field. But Gem was right: Why would they hang out somewhere as isolated as Zhahara’s property? “Is it possible something prevented them from leaving the premises?”

“A binding spell might be able to,” Danny offered.

The scowls from the other wolves made him shrink back into his seat. Aric watched him carefully. “A spell like that wouldn’t be strong enough against a bloodluster’s thirst.”

Koda knitted his brows—not typically a scary expression for most. For Koda it bordered on a mug shot for
America’s Most Wanted.
“For a human, you seem to know too much about things that go bump in the night.”

Taran rolled her eyes. “What do you expect? He’s a research hound who lives with a werewolf.” She patted Danny’s back until she caught Gemini’s disapproving glance.

Danny coughed into his fist. “I’m actually fascinated by anything supernatural. I’ve studied magic dating back to—”

Liam growled. “No one cares, squirt.”

Bren growled. Danny was his best friend. The only one who could mess with him was Bren. I placed my hand over Bren’s chest. “We care,” I told Liam flatly.

Emme dropped what she was doing and rushed to Danny’s side. “Don’t be mean, Liam.”

Danny stood. “I don’t want to cause any problems.”

I kept my hand on Bren, but spoke over my shoulder. “You’re not, Danny. Please don’t go.”

“Liam. You owe Dan an apology.”

My head jerked in Aric’s direction. His tone, while casual, meant business.

Liam gawked at him in disbelief. “What? Why?”

Aric smiled in my direction. “Dan is a friend of theirs. And you’ve insulted him in their home.”

“Sorry, human,” Liam muttered, but then caught Emme’s attempt at a scowl. “I mean, sorry, Dan.”

Dan sat slowly. “Ah, sure. No problem.”

I released Bren when his muscles relaxed beneath my hold. He’d still
change
in a blink and tear out throats if he interpreted a threat against us or Danny. But for the moment, he seemed satisfied with the apology.

Aric met my appreciative smile with a wink and a grin that transformed me into the goofy vulture from the Bugs Bunny cartoon. My face reddened, and it became harder to continue staring at him.

Bren pulled me close and chuckled in my ear. “Damn, kid. Are you in trouble.” That was bad enough. His next comment was worse. “Don’t worry, Aric. Celia and I don’t have sex as much as we used to.”

My elbow to his ribs had him doubling over. Aric raised his chin in the way most males did before brawls involving bashed heads and bail money. “You two are together?”

Bren coughed out a yes, at the same time I said no. Shayna, of course, just had to come to my rescue. “No way, dude. Celia is totally single. She hasn’t had a date in what, two years?”

I buried my molten-lava face in my hands.
Oh…God.

“Do you kill all the infected vampires you find?” Dan asked quietly.

Aric tore his attention away from me for the first time since I’d come downstairs. I welcomed the distraction like an all-you-can-eat buffet. “What else would we do
with them?” he asked Danny. “They’re too dangerous to keep.”

Danny rubbed his thighs hard, careful not to make direct eye contact with Aric. I could see the wheels turning in that brilliant mind of his, but his insecurities and shyness held him back. “What are you thinking, Danny?”

Danny rubbed his thighs again. And that’s when I knew for sure he was onto something. “Danny?”

Danny tried to smooth back his hair, but as usual his fingers tangled into his thick, messy curls. He shuffled his seat closer and whispered, knowing the wolves could hear, yet feeling more confident if he pretended I alone listened. “I’d like to examine the infected blood—you know, test it to see if I can find anything.”

Aric and Gemini exchanged glances. “Examine it for what exactly?” Gemini asked.

“Danny’s a biochemist. He’s done a lot of research with blood-borne infections,” Emme explained from near the stove.

Aric rested his arms against the table. “What good will that do? Are you trying to find a cure?”

“Oh, no. A cure, if possible, would take decades to develop—especially if magic is the underlying component. I’m thinking if I could get a sample of infected blood and compare it to the blood of a healthy vampire, I may be able to find a link, or at the very least something that can help.”

Aric thought about it. “Based on what Celia has said, I don’t expect the plague to end until we find the cause. All
were
clans have been ordered to hunt and kill all infected vampires. But…if we catch one, do you have a way to preserve the blood? I won’t keep a bloodluster alive just to use as a lab rat.”

Danny tapped his fingers on the table. “I have several blood tubes with varying preservatives. One of them should be enough to keep the blood from turning to ash—at least for a little while. Do any of you know how to draw blood from a vein?”

Koda shook his head. “No. But it’s not necessary. We could probably bite off a wrist and just pour the bloodlust into the vials.”

Liam shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah. No problem. Or sever part of his neck if the fucker gives us any problems.” He smiled at Emme’s blanched face. “Sorry, Emme. I didn’t mean to swear.”

Gemini acted like we were playing a round of Monopoly, not discussing ways to drain a vampire of his or her nastiness. “Where will you get healthy vampire blood?”

I didn’t appreciate the attention my sisters and Bren slammed me with. “Don’t look at me that way,” I grumbled.

Taran smirked. “Ceel, you know perfectly well that rich bastard would give you his blood if you asked. God knows he’d do anything to get in your pants….” Her voice trailed off as she caught Aric’s not-so-thrilled expression.

I wished we were outdoors, so I could dig a hole and bury my burning face. Some days it didn’t pay to have chatty sisters. “I’ll see what I can do.” I shoved away from the table to get a drink, careful to hide my mortified expression from Aric.

He followed me to the refrigerator, leaning against the opposite door. “You and the vampire…”

“There is no me and Misha. There is no me and Bren. There is no one in my life, I assure you.” My eyes pleaded
with him to believe me. The gleam in his irises and that irresistible grin told me that he had. Damn, that smile should have been illegal. “W-would you like something to drink?” The heat from his body stroked my skin like a physical caress. It was all I could do not to unravel.

Aric shrugged. “Sure. I’ll have what you’re having.”

I reached in the fridge for a root beer and then grabbed one for myself before sitting on a barstool next to the raised counter. Aric sat next to me. “Will you sit with me at dinner, Celia?”

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

Shayna and Koda stood across the counter facing each other. Shayna had taken a large piece of salami and placed it on the cutting board in front of her. She snagged a wooden spoon out of the drawer and held it by the ladle. At once she transformed it into a long, sharp silver knife. Koda and Aric tensed watching the chopping machine with the long ponytail get to work. She flipped a slice into the air and caught it in her mouth, totally showing off. I couldn’t blame her. It was a relief not to hide what we could do.

Shayna tried to catch another piece, but Koda caught it first. While he chewed, he slipped Shayna an arrogant and kind of scary smirk. Shayna laughed. Although Koda looked like he ate toddlers for breakfast, I knew he didn’t stand a chance against my sister.

“I don’t scare you?” he asked her in a bewildered tone, making me wonder whether he’d heard my thoughts.

Shayna batted her eyelashes. “A sweet little puppy like you? No, of course not.”

“Excuse me,” Emme said quietly. A cabinet door opened and a row of plates and glasses flew out and set themselves on the table. Utensils followed. The wolves
stiffened, falling back into a relaxed state at Emme’s blush.

Aric nudged me playfully with his elbow. “What can Taran do?”

I motioned in her direction. “You’re looking at it,” I whispered.

Blue and white sparks ignited over her head as she and Gemini fell into Barbie-loves-Ken mode. Liam sniffed at the pot of meatballs and sauce Emme stirred. “Whoa, this smells awesome.”

Emme smiled. “Thank you, but I can’t take the credit. Celia prepared them and made the sauce two nights ago. I just heated everything up.”

Aric quirked an eyebrow at me. “You can cook?”

Shayna swung an arm around me before I could answer. “That’s right, dude. One day, this little lady is going to make some lucky guy a heck of a wife.”

Never in my life had I wanted to kill Shayna more.

Aric threw back his head as he laughed. I was grateful when his phone announced a text, giving my cheeks a moment to cool. He read through the message and then put his phone down. “How many vampires did you say escaped Zhahara’s?”

“Tim told us two.”

Aric smiled as he read the text again. “Dan. We might not be able to get you the blood. My pack just found and killed the infected vampires.”

C
HAPTER 20

“Are you cold?”

I should have been. The temperature dropped quickly as the sun set across the lake, and my hair remained damp from my shower. But with Aric sitting so close to me on the porch swing, all I felt was his warmth. His pack continued to prowl the area for more infected vampires. Tomorrow, he and a fresh set of
weres
would relieve them. For the moment, I had him to myself.

I leaned back against the arm he’d draped across the length of the swing. “I’m fine, wolf.”

Aric pushed his thick hair out of his eyes, although I’d have given anything to do the honors. It reminded me of dark chocolate, while his eyes were more like melted caramel, so intense, so—

“Why did you help the vampire, Celia? Does he have something on you?”

I freed a bare foot tucked beneath me and pushed against the light blue floorboards, rocking us gently before I hid my foot again beneath my long sweater. “Misha didn’t force me into anything.” I glanced out into the
midnight blue sky. The clouds had begun to clear. Stars sparkled like crushed diamonds, and a hint of the full moon reflected along the lake. “You may think me naive, but I felt bad for him.”

Aric drew out a long sigh, his voice deepening once more. “He’s a manipulator and a bastard. Don’t be fooled into believing he meant to save anyone but himself.”

I thought about how Misha kept close to Emme during battle, how he’d carried me in his arms…and how his family shielded my sisters when the frigging Greyhound took out the entire front hall. Yet I kept those details to myself. Aric hated Misha. Nothing I said could change that. And arguing the point meant arguing with him…and the last thing I wanted then was to fight with Aric. I adjusted the thick sweater around me. From inside I could hear my sisters bustling around in the kitchen. I’d offered to help clean, but Shayna had practically shoved Aric and me outside together.

I lowered my lids briefly. “I understand what it’s like to feel the world is against you. My sisters and I have always been ostracized for being different…even as children.” My fingers played with the big round buttons of my sweater. “The kids at school knew we weren’t like them, but they didn’t know why. Since our last name is Wird, our classmates nicknamed us the ‘Weird Girls.’ No matter what school we went to, the nickname followed.”

“That must have been hard.” Aric’s voice lost that edge and grew quieter.

“It was.” I kept my tone casual, like the cruelty we’d experienced no longer bothered me. Some things, though, hurt forever. I nibbled on my bottom lip, wishing I hadn’t brought my past to Aric’s attention, and thought it best to move on. “But my sympathy alone is not what
compelled me to help Misha. In the end, saving Tahoe seemed like the right thing to do—the only thing to do.”

“You sound like a
were
. Our kind is always trying to save the world from something evil.”

I smiled, feeling humbled. “I think you’re giving me too much credit. I don’t always do the right things.” I examined my palms. From time to time it surprised me that the blood from my first kills hadn’t left permanent stains. I’d been so vicious, brutal…and they’d been only human. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes.”

“Like what?”

My head angled toward him. I hadn’t expected him to be so direct. I wiped my hands against my sweater. The soft cashmere remained gentle against my palms in spite of how hard I rubbed. “Nothing I’m willing to discuss, at least…not tonight.”

Aric nodded, remaining preoccupied with my face. My pulse raced; I was unsure his focus was a good thing. My sisters had strutted out of their rooms like they were going club hopping. I’d slipped on a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved gray tunic, and hadn’t bothered with shoes or socks. No, I wasn’t the odd sister out or anything.

A soft breeze blew my curls into my face. Aric took a long strand and tucked it behind my ear. The trickling heat as his fingertip slid along my neck made my toes wiggle beneath me. “Another day then?” he whispered.

I didn’t answer, caught up in the strong angles of his heart-stopping face. Aric leaned closer and smiled. He had such a nice smile, one I found easy to return. And his eyes—they were business and bedroom all at the same time.

Aric’s clean, enticing aroma mixed with the fragrance of male spice. I wanted to taste his lips, to run my hands
against the hard muscles of his body, to feel him pressing against me—