I moved quickly, surging through the distance between us and wedging my shoe in the crack in the door before the witch could
pull it closed. The door hit the side of my foot, springing back to open slightly as her fingers scrambled to keep hold of the knob. Her eyes widened slightly at the speed, blinking as I appeared in front of her suddenly.
Reaching up, I rested my forearm against the siding next to the door and leaned into her face as my upper lip pulled back, revealing the faintest hint of fang. Her heartbeat increased, pulsing faster in spite of whatever training she’d had to try to disguise her nerves.
“Why don’t you come outside and lie to me again, love?” I asked, smiling down at her as those odd, mismatched eyes blinked up at me. They were fanned by natural, long black lashes. The circles beneath them reflected just how tired she must have been, and I had a moment where I wondered if it was her norm or because of her recent loss.
“I’m surprised you can fit on that porch with the size of your ego,” she said, smiling that fake, saccharine grin that made her appear older than I knew her to be. It was the look of a cynical woman who had lived long enough to experience the ugliness the world had to offer.
It made her seem ageless.
Movement behind her distracted me from the way her lips curved around her next word, preparing to deliver me with some doubtlessly clever,
enjoyable line that would both infuriate and entertain me. It had been so long since someone readily offered me a challenge. Her refusal reminded me of the thrill that had once been in the chase of predator and prey.
A boy of maybe six stood in the hallway behind her, glaring at me as he clutched a fire poker in his hand. He hefted it awkwardly, showing that he knew nothing of what to do with it.
It was a drastic difference to the way Willow held herself, to the steadfastness and stillness in her body. Every movement served a purpose, every twitch of her finger was intentional.
She’d trained, I realized with certainty. Whereas the boy had not.
Willow turned her head to look at the boy over her shoulder in the same moment she thrust her free arm out and covered my mouth with it. Any doubt I’d had fled, her hand cutting off the command to allow me entry into their house.
He did not possess an amulet to protect him from compulsion.
I grinned against her palm, letting my fangs touch her skin and reveling in the shudder that went through her body.
“Get back in the kitchen. Now,” she ordered. The boy glared at her but did as he was told, swinging that fire poker at his side as he stalked out of sight.
It was almost cute that he wanted to protect her. I imagined she didn’t agree when he’d revealed the deception she’d tried to create. She released my mouth when she felt certain I wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t use my compulsion against the boy I had to presume was her brother.
“That’s quite the secret you’re keeping, Witchling,” I said, staring at the side of her face as she watched him disappear from view. The carefully constructed mask she’d donned for me slowly slipped away, the faint hint of a pleasant but blank smile dropping. Her face hardened, her cheekbones appearing sharper as her gaze glimmered, and she slowly turned it up to look at me through those long lashes.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, pressing her lips into a flat line. Her sweater parted to reveal the faint glow pulsing around her tourmaline amulet, shimmering against her olive skin.
“If you come with me quietly, I won’t tell the Coven about the male witch in your house,” I said, making an offer that she wouldn’t have received from any of the others. I was the only one who cared so little for the laws of the witches that I would dismiss them so carelessly.
“You expect me to trust a blood-sucking parasite?” she asked, her eyes flashing in defiance. With the walls dropped between us, the depths of her hatred for my kind became clear in the endless gaze she leveled me with.
“You can’t hide in that house forever. I’m offering you a way to save your brother from making the Choice. Call someone to get him and come with me, and no one needs to know,” I said, raising my hands placatingly. I didn’t back away, didn’t give her the opportunity to close the door as my foot stayed wedged in her way.
She took her eyes away from mine, turning to look back in the direction her brother went one last time before she made the choice we both knew was her best option.
But when she turned her attention back to me, her scowl shifted into a satisfied grin. “Watch me,” she growled, her nose crinkling with the almost animalistic snarl that consumed her face. She released the door entirely, stomping her boot down on my foot in the same moment she jabbed the side of her hand into the front of my throat.
My breath cut off. Sharp pain erupted through my throat as she crushed it. Her second strike went to my balls while I was still reeling from the fact that the vicious thing had attacked me. I covered my groin with both hands to protect myself from the foot she raised, leaving my chest open as she used it to shove me back a step.
I didn’t go far, but it was enough.
She retreated with speed I rarely saw in even the most well-trained witches, grabbing the door and pulling it closed while I gaped after her. My throat pushed out, uncrushing and healing, as I rotated my head from one side to another.
Fucking witches.
The curtains on the front windows pulled closed even though she was nowhere to be seen in them, leaving me to turn to face that Hell-damned mailbox at the end of the driveway. I pulled my cell phone from my pocket, dialing Juliet’s number.
I descended the three steps that led to the ground in front of the porch, pressing it to the side of my face as I stared at the too-quiet house.
“Do you have her?” Juliet asked, and the sound of the SUV starting came through the call.
“No. She knows what we are. I want eyes on every exit point from the house,” I snapped, grinding my jaw as I walked around to the backyard and
forcing myself to listen for any sound of escape. I’d be damned if she snuck out while I was alone.
“Got it,” Juliet said, undoubtedly shifting the car into gear. With no need for discretion any longer, she’d floor it down the road to close the minimal distance in no time.
“And Juliet? When she does surface, she’s mine. Is that understood?” I asked, wincing as I took a step and my balls throbbed with pain.
Juliet was silent for a moment, thinking before a harsh chuckle bubbled free. “The witch got the jump on you, didn’t she?”
“I underestimated her,” I admitted, staring at the closed curtains on the back of the small, green house. “I won’t make that mistake twice.”
