Either way, Rafe wanted to wake every night just like that. He wanted to see those sleepy eyes open and the tousled blond hair. He wanted to feel the delicious scrape of whiskers across his flesh as Philippe stretched and moved against him before finally tilting his head up for a kiss.
What he could do without was the worry that immediately clouded Philippe’s eyes when he likely remembered what they were doing that evening.
But after tonight, it would be over. They were going to take care of the MacPherson threat and they were going to focus on finding a way to be together every night after that.
The heavy silence of the woods was broken by the roar of car engines as they drew closer. It had to be the MacPherson clan. The Variks had arrived hours ago at a different drop spot and had walked through the woods to the meeting place. The MacPhersons would be able to sense them, but the hope was that they were spread out enough that it would be hard for them to pinpoint exactly how many vampires had accompanied Philippe.
With a squeal of tires and spray of dirt, four large SUVs came to a halt at the edge of the picnic area. Rafe’s stomach twisted to see so many fucking vampires unload from the vehicles. He did a quick count and came up with twenty, including Ezra. Jullien was pulled, bound and bloody, from one of the trunks.
The man with the wolves was also present, but his wolves were not. But that likely meant they were out in the woods already.
That was fine.
Part of the reason they’d arrived so early was to give Bel a chance to make some new friends with the local residents.
If the feeling of grim satisfaction coming from his twin was an indication, Bel had done just fine in the friends department.
Ezra walked beside Nolan while another dragged Jullien along. The other vampires fanned out around them. Philippe’s balled fists shook at his sides. Yeah, Rafe was ready to rip Ezra’s head off as well.
“You brought the Variks with you,” Ezra said in a voice filled with disgust.
“You’re not a complete idiot, Ezra,” Philippe snarled. “You had to know how this was going to go. After you betrayed me, betrayed people who trusted you, there is no way I would ever join another clan with you.”
“That’s what I thought.” Nolan shrugged his shoulders and held up his empty hands a bit helplessly. “We had to play this farce out.”
In a flash, Nolan reached over and sunk his fingers into Ezra’s throat. The vampire didn’t have a chance to react other than a widening of his eyes. Nolan grunted softly as he tore out Ezra’s throat. Blood sprayed over the clearing and he fell to the ground at Nolan’s feet.
Philippe jumped back on a gasp, and Rafe had to grab the tree trunk he was peering around to remain where he was. He wanted to rush out to Philippe and protect him with his own body, though there were no regrets or worries about Ezra as they watched him choke, blood pouring from his body. The ground greedily lapped up the black fluid, stealing it away even as Ezra tried to stop its flow.
The dying vampire looked up at Philippe standing only a few feet away. He lifted one blood and dirt covered hand toward his former friend before collapsing in a lifeless heap.
“I’ll admit I had my doubts about his plan from the beginning,” Nolan murmured. “Siding with someone who betrayed you, even if they couched it in terms of ‘protecting you from yourself.’ ” Nolan snorted. He pressed the toe of his shoe into Ezra’s stomach and pushed until the body flopped over onto its back. “He never was much of an asset.” Nolan lifted his eyes to Philippe and smiled. “But you and Jullien? I definitely see benefits to having you in the MacPherson clan. Particularly with your gift.”
“How the hell could my gift possibly help you?” Philippe replied. His words were a little ragged and uneven, as if he were struggling with the violence he’d just witnessed. Even if he’d planned to kill Ezra himself, he’d known the vampire for a long time. Counted him as a friend and brother once.
“Because you can find them, Philippe. You can find all the weak and useless vampires no one wants.”
“But why? You had Ezra kill those same vampires in the Arsenault clan.”
“And that’s exactly what I plan to do with the rest of the pests that infest our world.” Nolan’s relaxed stance disappeared. Straightening, everything about him seemed to grow hard and implacable. “Our kind has been weakened by too many vampires that can’t effectively fend for themselves. They don’t wish to be vampires. Never wanted to be. I say we help them with that.”