Despite how his words made me swoon, I refused to fall at his feet. At least, for the moment. “Why do you feel the need to protect me?” I asked softly.
His expression remained serious, yet he nudged me playfully and made me lose my balance. “I told you. You’re an innocent.”
Aric’s confidence, chivalry, and pure sexiness drew me to him like magnet. My tigress should have questioned or resisted his gallantry, but his wolf also attracted my beast. I coughed to hide a come-hither purr and scaled a large boulder. I breathed in Tahoe’s soothing aroma, trying my best to stay calm and not pounce on him like a werepoodle in heat. Must not tackle big, hunky werewolf.
Thunder cracked in the far, far distance, and the air filled with the sweet fragrance of witches’ magic. Aric joined me on the boulder, crouching when I did. He adjusted his position so he could sit, all the while keeping his eyes on me. “Tell me more about you.”
I sat next to him and hugged my knees against me, mostly to keep from squirming. “What do you want to know?”
“The same thing I’ve wanted to know since I met you. What are you, Celia? You’re a mortal of magic, but I’ve never met anyone like you.”
Being the center of attention had never appealed to me. That was Taran’s job. Yet Aric’s deep, gentle, voice made it all right to speak, and so did the way his knuckles grazed along my arm. “To be honest, Aric, I don’t know what I am.” I watched his hand as it continued to stroke along the length of my limb. “You come from a family of weres—a were mother, a were father.” He nodded, despite his obvious uncertainty where my train of thought headed. “My sisters and I come from human parents with no trace of magic. I guess you can say we’re the products of a backfired curse.”
Aric stopped rubbing my arm. A strong breeze swept some strands of hair across my face. I didn’t bother pushing them aside, preferring to hide my face. My uniqueness bothered me then more than ever. But since I’d already begun to explain, I thought I owed it to Aric to finish. “My mother was born in El Salvador. She moved to the U.S. when she was four years old. Most of her family didn’t like her. She had lighter skin and eyes, and I think they resented her for fitting in so well with the American culture. When she married my dad, a Caucasian American, they disowned her.”
“For marrying outside her race.” It wasn’t a question. Aric understood based on his pureblood heritage.
“Yes. When Mom became pregnant with me, one of her crazy aunts showed up at the door and cursed her unborn children. But instead of harming us, the curse gave us our special gifts.” I twisted my hair until it rested against my shoulder in one long curl, waiting for Aric to say something, and petrified my “weirdness” would affect his opinion of me. When the worry became too much I stole a glance at his face. “Does it bother you not knowing what I am?”
Aric’s intensity spread into the warmth of his soft smile. His hand swept around my neck, separating the strands of my long waves. He played with them until they fell wildly against my back and shoulders. “I don’t care what you are,” he muttered. “I like what I see. You’re beautiful, Celia….”
My mouth went dry.
But not in a good way.
I felt myself falling backward. Aric caught me on the way down. “Celia. Celia!”
My vision blurred and I couldn’t stay awake. My last memory was of Aric as he raced us along the sand.
CHAPTER 21
I stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. The sun was shining, my head was pounding, and I needed to consume every last morsel of food in the house. Damn, my stomach growled like a cave full of pissed-off cheetahs ready to claw the nearest— Ooh, doughnuts!
I tore into the box like a woman possessed, pausing between swallows to pour milk into a glass. I rubbed my belly after the third powdered doughnut. Feel better, sweetheart? No? Let’s get you some nachos!
Nachos, a carton of bacon, and a few breakfast burritos later, I checked my phone. There were several texts from Aric, wondering how I was, asking me to call him…and one from the vampires.
Celia,
The master fell into a deep coma. That means you and your sisters will, too, since he gave you freaks some of his energy to help him fight Zhahara. Do not operate any heavy machinery, drive, or juggle knives or anything because you could like crash or die or something.
Hugs and kisses,
Ana Clara
Friggin’ vampires. The time on the text told me they sent the message around the time Aric and I had left for our walk…two days ago.
My body went numb. This meant my sisters and I had been asleep for two days. I called Aric as soon as I checked on my sisters.