The Warrior Vampire(111)

“More or less. It’s our best shot at this point.”

He could definitely see the merit in her plan. “No silver.”

Naya’s gaze dropped. “It’ll be suspicious otherwise.” If she bound him with silver, it would weaken him and he’d be unable to protect her if Naya’s plan went south. Ronan ground his teeth and the tips of his fangs nicked his bottom lip. He swiped out with his tongue and licked the blood away. “I’m sorry, Ronan. I don’t know another way.”

“I have a pair of gold cuffs in my glove box,” Luz offered. They were approaching the house and needed to act quickly. “If they think he’s been tainted by magic, gold would be what you’d use, right?”

Interesting. Up until now, Ronan hadn’t considered the possibility that gold might contain the magic inside of him. He looked at Naya, his brows raised in question.

“Taking prisoners into custody isn’t exactly part of the job description, if you know what I mean.” Naya spoke for Ronan alone as he bent her head close to his. “But since gold is a conduit for magic, the cuffs will hold a charm. Paul has asked me on occasion to charm gold cuffs for the elders to use if one of the male members of the pod has committed some sort of offense. It prevents them from shifting. No one should know that gold doesn’t disable vampires in the same way. You’re sort of a rare breed, you know.”

Naya winked and it coaxed a smile to his lips. “Let’s do this, then.” He held out his hands to her palms up. “I’m your prisoner.”

Her gaze heated and she didn’t look away as Luz handed her the cuffs from the glove box. With the gentlest of touches, she secured the wide bands of gold around each of Ronan’s wrists. When she finished, she bent over him and kissed the gold. “I’m your prisoner, too.”

“Gag.” Luz shifted in her seat to turn and look at Naya. “Time to ditch the love-struck routine and get your badass bitch face on, chica. And you’d better make it convincing, because Joaquin just showed up.”

The male took up a place near the group of twenty or so who had gathered outside of the elders’ building. His dark brows drew down severely over his eyes and his mouth formed a hard line. Arms folded across his chest as he braced his legs apart. He carried himself with the air of one who held authority, and it was obvious that in the absence of their chieftain they looked to the younger male for guidance.

“Okay, Luz, get ready to make a break for it.” Naya shifted in her seat as Manny brought the truck to a stop on the opposite side of the street. “Make the powder as quickly as you can and get your ass back over here.”

“What are you going to do?” Luz reached for the door.

“I’m going to wing it. Now, go.”

Manny cut the engine and hopped out to chase after Luz. Naya took a deep breath and let it all out in a forceful gust. She wasn’t facing this alone, though.

“Leaving the chieftain where he is?”

She hiked a shoulder. “Seems like the best idea for now. When Luz gets back, we’ll haul him out of there.”

“All right.” When the others discovered that Naya had bound their leader it would only ruffle the shifters’ fur. “What’s our play for now?”

“Now,” Naya said as she reached for the door handle, “we distract them.”





CHAPTER

34

No way would Joaquin buy that Naya had brought Ronan in to turn him over to the elders. Not after admitting to him that she was Ronan’s mate. She didn’t really need Joaquin—or any of them—to believe her. She just needed to stir enough curiosity and confusion among the elders gathered on the street to buy Luz enough time to make the truth powder.

Naya gathered magic in her palm. Without intent it was simply raw energy. How she used it would be up to the elders and Joaquin. Because one thing was certain: She wasn’t taking shit off of anybody else tonight.

“Naya, you captured the vampire?” Diego, one of Joaquin’s closest friends, asked with an insulting amount of surprise. She hunted demons, repossessed rogue magic, and protected her people as she patrolled El Sendero night after night. But the thought of her capturing a vampire was a gods-damned shock?

Joaquin didn’t waste any time setting the record straight. “He’s not her prisoner.” Joaquin’s lip curled with disdain and he spat at Ronan’s feet. “She thinks the vampire is her mate. She’s playing at something.”

“I smell magic,” another of the elders spoke from the rear of the group. “A fair amount of it, too.”

Naya brought her palm up and regarded the golden light glowing there. “I am a bruja. Wouldn’t you agree that the scent of magic clings to me?”