Sealed With a Curse(60)

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.”





CHAPTER 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.”