Gypsy Moon (Page 4)

Shera looks at my chest, her head tilting, as I lean over and let my heart drop a little more.

This is red-zone territory I’m playing in, but as I pull on the chains, hearing the metal whine and Shera suck in a sharp breath, I realize it won’t be enough.

“Shera, I’m going to need you to pull with me. I’m not an alpha either,” I say on a sigh.

She blinks a few times, glancing from my hold on the chains to my eyes. “What are you?”

“Not important right now. Pull with me when—”

“Tell me plan B before you pull these chains off me. The second these chains are gone, I become a threat in their eyes. If this fails, this is my life we’re talking about. They’ll kill me.”

Her eyes hold mine, her breaths moving a little quicker.

I shrug a shoulder. “Plan B is to find you somewhere to hide until help comes.”

CHAPTER 2

EMIT

Lemon and Leiza hand Vance a drink, while Arion sits at the salt line, swirling a drink in his hand and absently staring at the fire.

“Just let me know when I can flip the sign to closed,” Leiza says quietly, her eyes flicking to and from Arion in an instant, before she scurries up the stairs.

“I don’t think they like me being this far inside Violet’s home,” Arion states idly, as we play the video of Abby taking Violet once more. “I’m glad they decided every store needs good surveillance, though,” he adds as the glass in his hand shatters.

Vance balances a blade on the tip of his finger, letting a single drop of blood drip free, before flipping the dagger and catching it at the hilt.

“Violet’s not letting me find her. Either she’s unconscious or she’s purposely refusing to let me find her. The loop that wolf made is still threading loose and could take me at least five days to get through. Do you stupid sons of bitches tell everyone about the loop?” Vance grinds out, glaring over at me specifically.

Three times she’s been attacked by wolves.

Mine or not, three fucking times she’s been attacked by wolves. By nature, vampires are worse. Only once has she been attacked by vampires.

My eyes flick to Arion, who simply glares at me.

In this moment, I feel like they’re on his side instead of mine. Even Damien is leaning toward Arion at current.

“I remember two of you agreeing that Violet wanted to let the purebloods go until we had more information, and—”

“What Violet wants is irrelevant and an easy out for you to get by without killing more wolves than you have to,” Arion says very bitterly. “We are alphas of small reflections of our monsters. One little show of dominance here and there isn’t e-fucking-nough anymore. At most, Shera has three, maybe four days left before she attempts to drain Violet. It’s likely Violet may rip my favorite beta to shreds.”

He tosses the note down to the table that Abby left behind.

However long your vampire can hold back her monster is how long your sad little gypsy toothpaste-maker has left. Find her if you can, almighty alphas. Dead or alive, depending on how good you are.

xoxo

Abby

It’s dotted with smiley faces at the bottom.

“Violet’s not going to be okay if she panics and kills Shera. Not to mention what will happen once that many wolves find themselves with a new target to latch onto,” Damien piles on.

I didn’t even remember Abby’s fucking name. I sure as hell didn’t recognize her as Ian’s daughter.

“Ian was an infected beta. Why was he organizing a pureblood army?” I ask more to myself than to them.

“Because he could,” Arion spits out. “Who the hell was going to stop him from taking over when he put you under? That’s what he truly believed would happen, Emit. They think you this weak. You’re too busy—”

“Unless it helps find Violet, it can wait,” Damien cuts in coldly, looking down to the drink in his hands.

“Violet can’t die,” Vance says calmly, studying his blade as he begins to sharpen it, “which is the only reason you haven’t all been stabbed. I’m going to need you to shut the hell up so I can concentrate on breaking the loop if you want it done faster.”

“With a gathering that large, they’d need a sizeable central location,” Damien says to Vance. “This is clearly a ploy to draw us in for some sort of trap. I’d happily step right into it. No need to cleverly disguise the bloody thing in a riddle.”

“I’ll get a clearer head if I start on foot,” Vance says impatiently as he stands and darts out.

Arion’s eyes meet mine. “This girl attracts more attention and trouble than should be possible.” His lips tug up in a sadistic grin. “She better be damn glad I know she can’t die.”

“It’s not an open pass. You remember Bobo. He could charge into a room and drop some bodies, sure. But it’s a short burst of rage-filled energy, and Violet’s too young to have too much of it bottled up, even with her empathic levels,” I point out.

“She’ll collapse and then they’ll find someone old enough to guide them to the next step. Which is sawing her to pieces,” Arion adds, eyes on mine again like he and I are definitely going to find out who’s stronger the second this is all over.

“Apples and bloody oranges,” Arion says, his gaze jerking away as his knee begins bouncing. “Trouble magnet. I can’t remember the last time I had this much dread in my gut. Vampires. Wolves. Occults. She’s the omega under everyone’s feet all at once.”

He curses as he runs his hand through his hair.

“It’s as though she’s deliberately the opposite of Idun,” I say under my breath.

“Probably the reason for our damning obsession with her,” Damien adds on a dry note. “Every time we give her a moment to herself, she gets herself into a mess.”

“So it’s settled. She’s moving in with me, and you all can come see her when you want to,” Arion says like he’s declaring it the new law.

“I’m struggling to see how that’s the next thing out of your mouth. Did I miss another conversation you only had in your head?” I ask him.

“Well, she needs twenty-four hour vigil. I’m the strongest, because, aside from Idun, I’m the only fucking real monster in this group.”

“Idun’s not in our group,” Damien quickly tells him, narrowing his eyes.

Arion exhales harshly. “She will be very shortly, and we can’t deny her alpha position. I didn’t mean romantically,” Arion clarifies.

“He used to be quicker at the loops,” Damien grumbles.

“He’s slower because of all your loose ends mucking up his mind, so stop trying to make this his fault when it’s Emit’s. You don’t even have a good reason to hate Vance anymore,” Arion gripes at Damien before gesturing toward me. “Emit is the fuck-up right now.”

“I think telling you she’s unable to die has hindered the seriousness of the situation we’re in,” Damien says, glaring over at Arion.

Arion’s cool smile flits away as his pupils waver. “Perfectly on edge, mate. But until Vance does his part, I can’t do mine. Do you want me somewhat sober when that time comes?”

“Fair enough,” Damien says with a shrug.

“And Violet stays with me,” Arion adds, pushing for that last bit of extra he always does after winning any argument.

“That’s not even—”

“Where else will she stay? Is she going to stay with you?” Arion asks him in interruption, swinging a dubious look at him. “You, who struggled with some omega purebloods?”

“I took a sabbatical from feeding. Things are looking up now, though. Heart’s beating firmly. I’m still an alpha, Arion,” he says with a sneer.

“It’s going to take longer than that to replenish all you allowed yourself to lose. Especially since you’re avoiding dealing with Dorian,” Arion goes on.

“Dorian isn’t my problem, and how did this get turned around on me? You were hating Emit. Let’s get back to that. It’s his fault Violet is at the mercy of pureblood wolves and held captive by a daughter with too many secrets. Let’s also be pissed about the fact Violet won’t let Vance find her, because she’s a stubborn girl who thinks she can handle whatever, since she hasn’t found her limit yet.”

And Arion’s back to glaring at me.

“I’m going to go see if I can catch a scent that’s strong enough to follow and at least give us a general direction to point Vance in. Find something more helpful to do,” I say as I stand and walk out.

“Spoken like the true guilty party,” Damien adds to my back, and I turn to see him saluting Arion with his drink.

It’s never good when Damien plays nice with Arion. It’s all fun and games until they finally collide.

A heavy thunk and Damien’s shouted curse has me looking back again, just as a bloodcurdling scream cracks through the air and sends a pained chill up my back.

I always forget how much more the vampire’s curse hurts until I hear that scream.

I’ve seen Arion brutally tortured and never scream like that.

The curse has finally claimed him for his turn.