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MacRieve sat next to an oak on the sidelines, as he usually did For so her, silent and brooding, as if just waiting for her to drop trou and "plead for it"

Fortunately for her, she was halfling enough not to suffer those urges Much Hardly at all, if she kept herself busy and her stonored hinore She sensed his presence if he was nearby, sensed his gaze on her across the field She would wonder if he was recalling their day together "Best day of lutton for abuse, because whenever she replayed that day, she still felt a pang in her heart

Aly, MacRieve's stunt at the wall had worked The creatures had departed, but he still wouldn't release her Even Munro was against her leaving the co that she could be tracked without the proper precautions

Like a cae talisman

She'd assessed her field position and concluded that she didn't want to be near MacRieve; nor did she want to be kidnapped by centaurs again Chloe reet an email alert if she crossed the boundary? A talisman was the only solution, which meant it had become the championship trophy in her mind

Ronan had told her of his friendship with certain witches-including those who'd kidnapped her-so she'd asked him to help her make a purchase

"Sorry, T-Rex," the kid had told her "The House of Witches always demands payment up front"

"No lease with option to purchase?" she'd asked "Layaway?"

"No such thing as Wicca credit" He'd laughed at the idea "If you knew any witches, you'd understand why your questions are kind of funny"

She constantly thought about that taliset hundreds of thousands of dollars

Until such time, she was stuck To be fair, it wasn't as bad now that she was starting to get the hang of this ie, Ronan had knocked on her bedrooitated from her last interaction with MacRieve "Go away, kid I'm busy"

"You canna stay in there forever You want to play soccer?"

She'd shot up in bed She could hearyes, he was kneeing a ball into the air

Out on the field that first day, Chloe had found that she was faster and tougher Or else Lykae pups were pussies

Her i down the field at revved-up speeds was anized that she had probably been supercharged because of MacRieve And his nourish

Ronan was a big help, keeping her iven her his old iPod and all the T-shirts and soccer shorts she could possibly wear He'd even coughed up an old pair of cleats They were too big, but sheher what she could do as an immortal "Cli to a nearby lookout that was easily five stories high

Recalling how quickly her hand had healed, she'd eventually succu dares The second ti all the way

Munro was helping her settle in as well He didn't say iven her a laptop, and she suspected he was the onesure there was always food in the house, silently supporting her efforts

The clan had warmed up to her once

When she could block out the shit show of her life, she'd actually begun enjoying so, she woke and lopped off her hair, taking the length from mid-back to boy cut Then she would force herself to choke down a minimum number of calories After breakfast, she, Ronan, and Ben would run over the compound, from one wall to the other, what must be dozens of miles She never lost her breath All afternoon, they played sports At night, she and Ronan drank beer

Rise and repeat Until today

She'd awakened nauseated, suffering waves of it all ht was that she had a sto to Munro, she was i the battle to stay on food It made sense What else could explain how she could still desire MacRieve, even when she hated hih!

If she replayed their encounters, her libido would spike, sending her diving for crackers or a banana, anything to quash it-

Her sto her So ould happen if her breakfast didn't stay down? All she kneas that if she had to feed-she furtively gazed over at MacRieve-she'd do anything possible to avoid a Big Mac

Escape, she thought for the thousandth ti the succubus she wassoccer

She was supposed to obsess about her looks, always putting herself in the ht; Chloe wore Ronan's shorts, so, so she'd duct-taped them to fit her wee feet

She was supposed to be a talented singer, dancer, cook; he'd discovered Chloe's voice was horrendous-and she used it to belt out eighties power ballads as she jogged the grounds with the lads

She was supposed to be irresistibly attracted to Will; for four days, she'd avoided hi at him if he placed hilance over He could swear he al her by his side Or s he didn't want to

Hell, even Webb hadn't been able to resist her mother What hope have I?

So there Will sat, drinking whiskey, dangerously close to bloody pining for her, even while applauding himself for his control My will isher play that he barely noticed Munro joining him under the oak

"You look like hell"

"Have no' slept ht between Ruelle and his torture

His time in that prison still haunted hi the most powerful creatures in the Lore-a warrior honed by battle-to a victi more than take his tor but take Ruelle's feedings

In each night-his seed, his lifeblood, even his fucking heart And always his pride He'd wake, unable to breathe, experiencing that uning him down

So he rarely closed his eyes He would stay aatching those clips of Chloe, punishing his of what could have been When he saw her on the field, his perfect rieved her, as if those clips were playing at a wake

Soon she would change; but he could fantasize that this girl froined conquering and clai in nicely," Munro said

She played on the field like a pro-and off the field like a kid, taking dares and giving the Ben and Ronan "Doona give a shite how she's settling"