I watched the door shut behind him, slumping onto the couch when he started his Escalade seconds later. I opened my robe and stared at the girls, mortified and convinced the universe hated me. If he had to see my breasts, why couldn’t it have been the perkier of the two?
I groaned as the phone rang, covering up when I saw who called.
“Hi, Misha,” I said before he spoke.
My sisters ambled in less than ten minutes later. I disconnected my call, surprised they were alone and lacking the smiles I would have expected after spending time with a sultry pack of wolves.
Taran tossed her purse aside and flopped onto the couch next to me. “Shit, Ceel. Where the hell have you been? Misha’s staff has been calling us nonstop.”
Emme and Shayna knelt in front of me. Emme placed her hand on my knee. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you since you walked out of The Hole. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“It sort of got damaged.” I frowned. “I sent you a text, Emme. Didn’t you get it?”
Emme shook her head. “I’m sorry, Celia. My battery was low. I left my phone charging upstairs.”
“Okay. But never mind me; what happened with your wolves?”
Shayna grinned, but her smile lacked its typical glee. “Dude, Koda and his friends rushed out of the club shortly after you did.”
My eyes widened although I probably knew the reason. “They did?”
Shayna nodded. “Koda got a call while we were slow dancing. It was strange; a moon appeared on the screen, but he didn’t answer it. He just grabbed Liam and Gemini and they took off.” She shrugged. “I thought maybe he liked me, but he didn’t even bother to say good-bye.”
At least he didn’t run off at the sight of your boobs.
Emme crinkled her nose. “Did you call Bren? He’s been worried. Especially once he realized Misha’s vampires were trying to find you.”
“Ah. No.”
Taran wiped the mascara beneath her eyes with her fingertips, then gestured to the cordless phone in my hand. “Then who were you on the phone with?”
“Misha. I’m going to help him kill Zhahara.”
My comment hit Taran like a physical slap. Her blue eyes fired with anger as her head whipped toward me. “Like hell you are!”
I let out a breath. “Taran, I just got off the phone with Misha. Bloodlust is spreading like fire. He’s been forced to kill again.”
“Well, sucks to be him.”
I shook my head. “You don’t get it.”
Taran jumped to her feet. “I don’t have to get it. This is bullshit!”
I rose and slipped off my cozy bathrobe, revealing the bruises to my shoulder, arms, and back. My entire right side resembled the continent of South America, each contusion highlighting a different country. My sisters screamed. Loudly. Emme stumbled to her feet in her rush to heal me.
“Oh, my goodness. What happened to you?”
“I found the big, bad wolf.”
Emme screamed again. “Your boyfriend did this to you?”
I sighed. “No, Emme. His students did.” And he’s not my boyfriend…but I wish he could be.
I explained everything after Emme healed me, leaving the flashing-the-werewolf part out.
Taran paced back and forth across our wood floor. “Look. I’m sorry about those women and all. That seriously has to be the worst way to die. But your wolf has a point. This is so not our problem.”
“He’s not my wolf.” I stared at my fingertips. I had to scrub them to get all the blood off. “And that blonde…God, she looked so much like you, Emme.” My heart clenched as I remembered. “She could have been you.”
Shayna clasped her hands over her mouth. Taran swallowed hard. And Emme—poor Emme—didn’t move.
“I’m going to Misha’s house tonight. I was just waiting for you to get home.”
Taran’s leopard stilettos tapped the wood floor until she met me face-to-face. “Not without us you’re not.”
I suspected Misha was rich, like all master vampires, but when we pulled onto his property, I didn’t expect to drive almost a mile just to reach the front gates.
“Damn,” Taran muttered when I finally stopped our Subaru.
The exterior of the massive compound appeared to be surrounded by a tall stone wall. Gargoyle heads protruded randomly from the barricade. Their snouts spewed water, but in the darkness they appeared to drip blood. I could barely see the house from where we waited; the trees lining the driveway blocked my view. Maybe it was the gargoyles or the thickening clouds overhead, but I suddenly had second thoughts.
I cracked my window, hoping for an intercom so I wouldn’t have to leave the safety of the car. I scented two vampires. One of them eyed us suspiciously through my window. The other assumed a stance directly behind our SUV. If he thought I wouldn’t run him over, he was wrong.