The way he looked at me was so intense, with promises lingering between us, promises of the future and what we could have together. “But know this,” his feral side came out just then, not directed at me, but most definitely a warning to those who ever crossed him. “Know that if anyone tries to take my mate from me, family or not, I won’t be able to stop myself a second time.” His hand tightened around the small cell phone, the plastic and metal creaking slightly from the force, threatening to break.
I knew what he meant. Death. Elimination of the threat.
I said nothing, just nodded and gave him a small smile, one that conveyed that I understood him. That I wasn’t going to let that happen either.
We were in this together.
And then he relinquished the phone, leaned down closer to me, and had a finger placed under my chin. He captured my lips in a deep, lingering kiss, as if he didn’t want to leave but forced himself to.
As if he needed this kiss to give him the willpower to leave me alone in the room.
With a harsh growl, he tore away from me and headed toward the bedroom door, stopping once to look at me, and then another rough sound left him before he gave me some privacy. I felt warm all over.
Warm from his kiss.
Warm from his touches.
And especially warm from the very possessive way he was with me.
I looked down at the phone, pulling myself out of these combustible emotions and focusing on the task at hand. I let out my own shuddering breath, knowing I was about to fight my own battle where my family was concerned.
19
Lennox
“This is a horrible fooking idea,” Tavish muttered and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets.
I glanced at my brother, unable to deny what he said. “Aye,” I muttered, not sure what other word would convey exactly how fucked up this shit was.
Our uncle, Adryan, was crazier than any of us, and that wasn’t just because he was a ruthless vampire. He was a tracker, a cold-blooded hunter, loving the chase simply because… he knew he’d catch whatever he was after.
Without fail.
As head of the American Vampire Clan, Adryan had a lot of Otherworld support and power behind him. He wasn’t known for his mercy, so the fact that Mam called him for help told me how worried she was over the situation. And rightly so.
And on top of that, he was bringing Kane and Sebastian, our cousins and Adryan’s righthand muscle, who were just as vicious and brutal as our uncle. It said shit was going to go even more sideways.
I could see Tavish was a lot more anxious than I was, my brother pacing, running his hands up and down his denim-clad thighs, his eyes flashing every once in a while as he looked around.
I leaned against the Range Rover and crossed my arms over my chest, the airstrip silent, empty. It was owned by the clan, and for obvious reasons. Otherworld creatures didn’t do commercial flights. Privacy and safety and all that shit.
I scrubbed a hand over my short dark hair and exhaled, having just gotten an update from Da about the situation with Luca and Ainslee.
After replaying everything to Tavish, Tadhg, and Odhran, I could tell everyone was on edge. It was hard not to be when Luca had singlehandedly damn near taken out a group of fully grown alpha male Lycans. And then of course the bastard had taken off with our baby sister.
I was lost in thought when I heard the jet approaching. I pushed off the SUV and straightened, feeling my muscles tense automatically, my wolf rising.
Danger approaches.
We all stood motionless as the jet came in, descending, and then finally landing before circling around and stopping completely. For long moments, no one moved, the engines winding down, the air smelling like fuel.
I was pretty sure no one fucking breathed.
And then the plane door opened.
The stairs came down.
It was a long moment when we stood there, not moving, not breathing; hell, I was pretty sure we were waiting for the other shoe to drop. And then Adryan was the first to step out, a big motherfucker who had to duck down low and twist his shoulders to the side just to clear the door.
Sebastian and Kane followed suit, equally as big as our uncle, and both having identical “stay the fuck out of our way or we’ll cut your balls off” expressions.
“Shite, has he gotten bigger since the last time we saw him?” Tavish muttered.
“And then some, brother. He’s been gorging himself on blood and death.”
Adryan and our cousins were off the stairs and walking toward us, each one flanking our uncle, their instinct to watch over their leader carved into their very DNA.