Blood's Fury (Deadly Beauties 1)

Instead of poking the bear, I simply sit there quietly as we drive around a mountainside. It's obvious he was just waiting for me to need his help. We're nowhere near the cabin I was in, and he was there to save me the second I screamed for help.

"Where are we exactly?"

"About a ten hour drive from where you were. I'd vaporize you and carry you with me, but after having done that not too long ago, it would quite possibly kill you. Besides, it's exhausting to travel long distances too frequently that way."

This is just weird. I'm living with changers and night stalkers, and now I'm riding with a dark user.

"Did I get you into trouble with the dark council?"

He huffs out a touch of laughter and then shakes his head.

"Not at all. They couldn't believe you made it that far before backing out. Your council wouldn't listen to you anyhow. It was purely for your benefit to know the truth so you'd stop chasing down dead ends that all lead to us."

"Okay, okay. Fine. So if those night stalkers aren't with you, who are they with?"

"They're sure as hell not with me, but I don't know who they're working for. It's obviously someone of magic, otherwise they couldn't use the black diamond of Roth. If it's someone dark, they're keeping themselves distanced from the council. If it's someone light, they're doing the same. Keep an eye out for someone who might have recently dropped off the grid. They would have had high clearance to even know who the keeper was."

"And what happens if I find out something? How do I get a hold of you?"

"Don't worry," he says with a small smile. "I'll be checking in."

"I'm not sure if that's a warning or a threat," I dryly joke, and he lets out a laugh, proving he's not as stern-faced as he pretends to be.

"It's simply a promise. If you need me, you can always send up a message flare with the right chant, and it'll call me to you."

"Really?" I muse, considering I've never heard of such.

He bursts out laughing, mockery in his roaring release, and then he shakes his head as my cheeks burn red.

"No. Don't be ridiculous. You can call me. I've already programmed my number in your phone. It's under Vicious One."

I slouch down, now that I've revealed how truly gullible I am, and I face the window while scrolling through my phone to see Gage Saber as part of my contacts, though he didn't literally program it the way he claimed.

Hmm. Saber? It's a fitting surname, considering this alliance could very well be a double-edged sword.

"You're right. You did program it under Vicious One."

He chuckles lightly while rolling his eyes, and I let my eyes fall heavy, exhausted from the day of unexpected craze.

Waking up in my bed, I quickly glance around at the room. Frankie is asleep on the floor, and I nudge him to s

ee him startle awake.

"Shit, you scared the hell out of us," he gushes while reaching up to jerk me in his arms.

"What happened?" I muse, not remembering anything after falling asleep in the car with Gage.

"We spent most of the day looking for you, and then suddenly you were just in your bed, as if you had appeared out of nowhere. When I tried to wake you, you wouldn't budge. I realized it was a sleeper spell, one that just has to take its course and wear off naturally. Who took you? Was it that guy again?"

Knowing Frankie would storm the castle and fight Gage to the end over this, I shake my head.

"I don't think so. I'm fine now. Where's Aunt Hilly?"

"She's with the others in the living room. You want to talk to her? She's been worried."

"Um, actually, I think I'll just get some more rest. As crazy as it sounds, I'm still a little tired."

And I don't want to deal with Aunt Hilly.