Dice could simply walk back in, but I think he knows better. Gage really is stronger than I thought.
"Finally," a beautiful voice interjects as my mother gracefully descends the stairs, drawing all eyes to her.
She's a vision in a long white dress with a train that softly trails behind her. I glance out to see Dice throwing a tantrum, though nothing he says can breach the house. I'm sure he is releasing several choice words right now. He finally gets in a car, slamming the door once again. I'm glad all the sounds are muted.
"I thought you'd never get rid of him," Mom continues, bringing my attention back to her.
Gage looks so broken right now. I wish he wasn't in my line of sight, but he's right next to the stairs.
"Drackus?" Mom asks.
"He'll be back soon. The other planes douse his craziness," Gage says with effortless nonchalance.
Mom's eyes come to rest on my night stalker, but he accepts her scrutinizing gaze. Her lips tighten as she returns her gaze to me.
"Kane?" she asks.
I nod, and then I lean against him, letting the gesture tell him I've got his back. Wisely, Mom refrains from saying whatever she really wants to.
"Very well. What was the incubus saying about Alyssa being a succubus?"
Gage grumbles something about this being the last thing he needs right now as he wipes away some sweat.
"He was trying to say I'm some sort of succubus. He's crazy," I gripe.
Mom seems fine. Completely unaffected. Kane and Gage aren't as cranky as Dice and the wolves were.
"I think it's starting," Gage says through a weary sigh.
Chapter 5
Never Impossible
"What's starting?" I ask, sick of the vagueness.
Kane kisses the top of my head, seeming to be in on what they're all silently discussing with their eyes.
"Not until she's immortal. It's impossible," Mom murmurs, shaking her head.
"We don't know what's possible and what's not. No one documented the creatures before her," Gage answers.
Am I really being discussed and not spoken to? Again?
"Creatures before me?" I scoff, almost growling.
"The ones like Freya," he says, meeting my gaze.
My heart sinks. It can't be true. They're wrong. I can't let this happen.
"No. Absolutely not. I'm not secreting succubus juice over here just because Dice said so."
"You are," Kane murmurs hesitantly. "Dice is gone and the seduction is still in the air. The question is why?"
"Why is she suddenly leaking succubus?" Gage asks, provoking a nod from Kane in response, but it almost looks as though he has a secret he's reluctant to share. Instead, he shrugs. "Who knows? If it's starting, I'm not worried about her succubus coming out. It's all the deadly things inside her that—"
"Stop fucking talking about me like I'm not here!" I shout, making everyone twitch with a startled jolt. "I'm not this damn...thing! I'm a witch. A simple, happy, light witch."
I don't want to be a monster. I can't be a monster.
Kane pulls me to him, shaking his head as his lips graze my forehead. "I'm sorry. Let's get out of here for a while. This day has already been too intense. I'm starving anyhow."
Mom flinches upon hearing a night stalker voice the fact that he's starving while holding her witch daughter in his arms. I'd gladly let him feed on me if I wasn't so pissed about what assholes they're all being.
"I meant actual food," Kane says, amused when he notices my mother's discomfort.
Her lips thin, and again, she holds back her spiteful remark that is probably stinging her tongue.
"Alyssa, you should stay here with us," she says, her wary eyes not leaving Kane.
"No," I say, refusing to loosen my grip. "And stop looking at him like that. You of all people have no right to judge."
A roar of chilling laughter floats through the house, letting us know Drackus is home. I can't believe he lost his fucking mind and tried to take me out.
He strolls through, chuckling at Mom's expense, prompting her to roll her eyes in response.
"She does have a point, dear," he murmurs while giving her a wink.
My jaw drops. What the hell?
"You're still high on the power," she grumbles. "Go drink that potion and try to sober up."
He's covered in the same ashy residue as Gage was as he stalks toward her, seeming indifferent to all of us. Her cheeks flush as he nears with an animalistic prowess, his eyes dark and jaded with too much of the high.
He's stuck in the in-between right now. I get high and come straight down. Drackus sometimes does the same thing, but he struggles on occasion. I'd hate to be in that in-between phase, but I almost wonder if that's where I was when I went to Kane's last night. If I was then that means I hit the ultimate high—like Drackus.