“It’s Callie fucking King now.” Lucas moves with vampire speed, appearing at my side. The sun is low in the sky but not completely set yet. He’s either ignoring the slight burn or…or it’s not hurting him because he’s become even more human.
Felix stops short but recovers fast. “Right. Evander told me you were with the vampire.”
I hold up my hand and wiggle my fingers, showing off my ridiculously large diamond ring. “I am.”
“Damn.” His eyes zero in on the ring, and I’m sure he’s wondering why we live in such a humble house when we can afford a six-figure ring. Or maybe he’s thinking the diamond is fake. I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care.
“We got married about two and a half weeks ago.” I look at Lucas, feeling my heart swell in my chest as I remember him standing at the altar waiting for me. He looked so sexy in his tux, and knowing that he loves me enough to spend literal forever with me—ugh, I wish we could have sex tonight.
“Well, congrats on that. Now, tell me about this curse.”
I step back to let Felix into the house, but Lucas doesn’t move. He can look intimidating as hell when he wants to, and he hasn’t drawn his fangs—yet.
“So you know Callie?” He asks it like a question, but I know better. I resist the urge to pull an Eliza and roll my eyes. Vampires are possessive and jealous by nature. Lucas is confident enough not to be bothered…most of the time.
“Yes, we went to the Academy together,” Felix explains, and Lucas finally steps to the side. “I graduated a year ahead of her, with Evander.”
“You were friends?”
“Among other things.” Felix gives me a cheeky grin, and I want to slap it right off his face.
“You dated?” Lucas’s brows pinch together, and my familiars shadow back into the house. I close the front door and Scarlet comes running, skidding to a stop in the foyer and growling at Felix. “Good girl,” Lucas praises, bending down to scoop up the puppy. She gets all excited that he’s actually paying attention to her and licks his face.
And Lucas allows it.
I let out a sigh. I don’t have time for jealous vampire drama tonight, and neither does Lucas.
“Yes, we did,” I say flatly. “I did have a few other boyfriends after Easton.”
Eliza zooms into the foyer, crowding us all uncomfortably together. “You mean, after the witch hunter who tried to murder you?”
“Yes.” I hike my brows and force a smile. “That would be the one.”
“Interesting.” Eliza crosses her arms. “Your old boyfriends keep showing up in your life.”
Felix’s jaw tenses. “The witch hunter is back? Do I need to cast a protection spell for you?”
“Cool your jets. I ran into him recently, and he’s changed. A lot. He actually came to our wedding.” I take Scarlet from Lucas and shove the wriggling puppy into Eliza’s arms. She acts like she doesn’t want her but kisses her when she thinks I’m not looking. “Now…um, thank you for coming. Please come in.”
Lucas lets out a low growl, and if he wasn’t hurt, I’d elbow him hard in the ribs.
“Of course. When Evander called, I knew this was a case I had to take. And that was before I knew it was you.”
I nod, feeling nervous all over again. “Evander said you specialize in curses now.”
“I do. After personal involvement in a curse we were unable to break, I changed my university studies from transformation to breaking curses. It’s a bit of an obsession of mine now to learn as much as I can.” He forces a smile, and I see a bit of heartache reflected in his eyes. “If it will help save one witch or warlock, then it’s worth it.”
“Right.” I take Lucas’s hand and yank him into the living room. “Did Evander tell you what happened?”
“Briefly, but I’d love to hear it from you. From both of you.” Felix takes off his shoes and coat and snaps his fingers, materializing a bag in front of him. We all go into the living room, and Felix takes notes as Lucas and I go over everything that happened.
Lucas grumbles when Felix gets crystals and herbs out of his bag, saying he’s going to take a look at the curse.
“Just shut up and lie down,” I tell Lucas through gritted teeth. My anger slips away, and for a second, Lucas can see just how scared I am.
“Fine,” he says and lies down on the couch, letting Felix look at the curse. “How long did you date Callie?” he asks as soon as Felix places a crystal on his chest.
“Only a few months.”
“Did you sleep with her?” he asks seriously.
“Lucas,” I scold, ignoring the smug look on Eliza’s face. Yeah, I know, he’s a pain in the ass. “That doesn’t matter.”