Poison's Kiss (Deadly Beauties 2)

This just keeps getting better, damn it.

Before I can ask any more questions, Kane's phone rings. He answers while standing up and turning his back on us. Almost a second later, Gage's phone rings, and I listen in as he answers.

"Gallon, what's going on?"

"There's been another killing. It's the same as Thad's - pentagram and all. We need you to get over here and help us deal with the Were council."

"It was a Were?" Gage asks, leaning forward.

I slide out of his lap to give him space, but I keep listening in. "Yeah, a werecat. The Were council

wants blood for this. They tried setting up both Alyssa and Kane this time. They even managed to look just like them for the surveillance cameras. We're explaining the situation, but they want to speak with you personally. I hope you know where the two of them were around three this morning."

They? There are two of them behind this?

"Alyssa was in bed with me, and I was awake. Kane was just down the hall. I'll be there shortly."

Kane's jaw clenches as he lowers his phone. I never even paid attention to his conversation, but I'm assuming he was just informed of the latest setup scheme. Gage puts his phone away, and heads up the stairs, probably to put on more clothing, considering his exquisitely bare upper half shouldn't be seen by drooling eyes like mine.

Dice walks over to the fireplace and puts a couple of new logs on while he adds his thoughts to the mix. "I guess that means there's only one killing left to do before we find out who's behind all this."

Shit. This is bad.

"Who's helping her?" I ask, voicing my concern.

"Probably some idiot she seduced just to set us up," Kane groans, not looking at me. "If she's as powerful as we think she is, it's possible he doesn't even know what's going on. If she can change their identities, she's reached a level few witches ever do even in immortality."

Gage changed my identity, but it only works for a few hours. I don't even know how to do it.

Gage materializes beside me and pulls me to him before pressing his lips to mine. I let him, knowing I'll feel more like a slut if I pull away from the guy I just gave my body to.

"The witch is smart," Zee says as Gage pulls away. "The Were community is the most hotheaded and they'll rush to defend their own in ruthless, merciless fashion. They're one of the few councils not afraid of provoking a war."

"The spirit is probably guiding her," Dray grumbles. "The witch feels connected with it because she more than likely spent years trying to convince people of the truth, only to have them write her off as insane. Now she has valid proof she's right, and she sees this spirit as her savior or friend."

"How is she subduing these powerful creatures?" Dice asks, seeming to be talking to himself more than the rest of us.

"Sierra thought she had a spell, but I don't know of any spell that powerful," Dray says, his body shifting from side to side.

"What if it's not a spell?" Kane interjects. "If this spirit is powerful enough, it could cross the threshold enough to help her. It would have a short period of time before the spirit plane called it back, but it would still have time to subdue any fey."

"That would have been one nasty death," Dray cryptically inserts, and everyone else nods to agree with him, all of them making me feel so young in our world.

"What do you mean?" I ask, feeling left out.

"A spirit is stronger the more brutal their death was," Gage answers, kissing the top of my head as he rests against my back and pulls me to him. "I need to get going. I'm pretty well-affiliated with the Were community, so they'll hopefully listen to me. If not, get ready to fight. This could get ugly."

I cringe. I definitely don't want to take on Weres. Werecats are vicious, and their sharp fangs would leave a worse scar than the venomous bite of a night stalker... if I even survived such a bite. Werewolves are just as vicious, but they hunt in packs, as opposed to werecats who tend to be loners - only socializing when necessary. It makes sense why she went after a werecat instead of a werewolf. Though a werecat is vicious, werewolves travel in packs - you take on one; then you take them all on.

It doesn't make sense why she ever went after Amy though. Sure, the lycan council is just as rash and brutal as the Were council, but lycans are so much stronger, and they also run in packs most of the time. How can you be smart enough to know werecats run solo, but foolish enough to attack one of the strongest beasts of the Fey?

Lycans and werewolves have few similarities, but I'd rather face off with a werewolf than a lycan. Neither is favorable, but a werewolf is smaller, and nowhere nearly as fast. Lycans are bigger, faster, and their bite could rip someone in half.

"Lycans are just as rash and vicious as Were. Why didn't we have to go through all of this when Amy was attacked?" I ask, needing answers to appease my already aching head.

Kane's lips tighten, and he, Dray, and Zee exchange a secretive glance. It's obvious I'm the outsider they don't want to share their secrets with. At least I know Kane doesn't trust me.

"Because Amy never made the council aware of her existence," Kane finally says through strain, contradicting my theory of distrust.