Cybil hadn’t answered me. She stayed silent as she watched me. “Aren’t you worried I’ll use the power to burn down your zoo?”
“The Bane will keep you in check,” Stella said. “We will have to get the dosage right. Just enough to let you show your flames without doing any harm.”
Cybil studied me closely. Her attention was unnerving without her glamor. “You love her,” she said with awe in her voice.
“I used to.”
“It’s still there. You still feel it,” she muttered before disappearing.
“What the hell?” I said looking around.
I found her across the room with Stella in her grasp. “You, my tiny little mutt, are quite annoying,” she said.
She pulled Stella’s head to the side and sunk her teeth into her neck. Stella’s eyes widened for a second before they glazed over. I watched, frozen with horror, as Cybil drained the blood from my former friend.
“Stop. You’re killing her,” I screamed. I wasn’t entirely sure why I cared, but I did.
Cybil didn’t stop though. She kept sucking on Stella’s neck until her body went limp, and I no longer detected life in her.
“You may be ancient as fuck, but I’m going to kill you,” I said to Cybil when she let Stella’s body fall.
She smiled as she licked her lips. “Honey, that won’t happen, but it’s nice to have goals.”
In a blur of motion, she had Stella’s body in her arms again. I watched as she lowered her lips to Stella’s. Nothing happened. It just looked like she was kissing a corpse. Then I felt it. A wave of energy filled the room, covering me in prickles of pleasure.
“NO!” Philip screamed. He darted forward faster than any shifter could and knocked the vampire away from Stella.
Cybil laughed as she moved closer to him. “It’s too late, Philly. She’s one of mine now.”
A second later Philip landed in front of me. His eyes trained on Cybil.
I glanced at Liam. His focus was on Cybil too. He had sworn to find her and kill her one day. I had a feeling he thought that day had come.
I closed the distance between us, forcing him to look at me. “Please be careful.” He blinked once but didn’t say anything, so I touched my lips to his. “Please,” I whispered against them.
He returned my kiss, slowly, gently. “I’ll do my best.”