Season of the Witch (Claws Clause 2)

From the second he crossed into his brother’s territory, the reek of blood and dead meat assaulted his senses.

Vampire.

Suddenly, he knew exactly why Maddox needed him to get over there as soon as possible.

Colt stabbed his legs into the jeans Maddox left for him, yanked the hoodie on over his head, then hurried inside. He snuffled, wrinkling his nose when the awful stink followed him in.

He found Evangeline in the living room, sitting on the couch. Her long, mahogany-colored hair was disheveled, her lips turned down in a thoughtful frown, though there was a brightness to her forest green eyes that proved she was no worse for the wear despite being the source of the Nightwalker stench inside the house.

His temper flared. It was bad enough when he suspected that a corpse had tried to come back again; he remembered vividly how, only a week ago, Maddox had Nightwalkers scratching at his wards. Now the wards were eerily missing, and Evangeline looked like she’d been through hell.

“What. Happened?” he demanded.

She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “I… I’m not really sure.”

Colt tried to tone down his aggression. Tough, but doable. “Just tell me what you can.”

“Okay.” Evangeline nodded a few times. “Well, it all started because Maddox went out to check the woods. He could’ve sworn he heard someone bumping against our wards again. He told me to wait inside for him, but… well… I thought I heard a kitty crying outside.” She looked up at Colt. “What if whatever was out there got the cat? I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.”

When it came to protecting the hel

pless, the human female was too soft. Coddled by Maddox, shielded by an alpha shifter, it never would’ve occurred to Evangeline that it was a set-up.

A trap.

A harmless meow? An animal in need?

Of course she would’ve gone out to check.

“So there was no cat. Right?”

“I didn’t see one. I wasn’t outside long. Within seconds, the… it had to be a vampire… it had pale white skin and super long fangs… it came out of nowhere. And it was so fast.”

Paras usually were.

“What did you do?”

“There wasn’t any time to run back inside, not like my legs weren’t frozen already. So… I screamed, hoping Mad would hear me.” Her lovely face shadowed. “The vampire, he laughed. He grabbed my arm and he was strong, too. I couldn’t get away. I tried to fight him, but I’m just a human. What was I supposed to do?”

“Screaming was the best thing you could’ve done,” Colt said, trying to assure his brother’s mate. “I bet Maddox heard you.”

“He did. Bradley, too. You know Bradley?”

Colt nodded.

“He was home. He came out low, sneaking from the back of his place, then attacked the vampire. It was the strangest thing, though. The vamp didn’t fight back. He just… he said something and he retreated. Bradley made sure I was okay and that’s when Maddox came running in from the trees.”

Thank Alpha Bradley was around. Kid was a good packmate, if a little rowdy. A jaguar shifter, maybe eighteen? Nineteen? He was barely past cub age and already showing signs that he was an alpha cat; strong, though not as powerful as Maddox or Colt.

Lately, he’d been getting into way too many scuffles with some other packmates. Terrence had suggested Bradley rent a house in the same cul de sac as Maddox. That way, he could have some freedom while still being under the watchful eye of the official Beta.

What good looking out. His stealthy nature and lightning-fast reflexes just saved Evangeline from a fate worse than death. Either she would've been drained or, considering the other option for a human, she could’ve been turned.

No way Maddox would’ve survived that. Losing his mate—or believing he had lost her—nearly killed him all those years ago. If anything happened to Evangeline now that they were officially bonded, he’d follow her to the grave.

Colt knew that for a fact. During the darkest times last summer, when Maddox wasn’t sure if he’d ever get Evangeline to remember him again, he had told Colt as much.

He worked so hard to give his brother the happily-ever-after he deserved. Colt wasn’t about to let any corpse ruin it for Maddox now.