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For another, he’d been hot, debonair even Except for the evil

Despite the danger he exuded, Greta turned the doorknob and slipped into the cottage

"Don’t do this to me, Mick You know I need this blood" Dayne stood at the other end of the roo a pot of coffee, his back to her A cordless phone was pressed between his ear and shoulder

Greta dropped the duffel bag on the floor without a sound and tuned her a in to listen to his phone call The other man’s voice trembled over the phone

"IIunderstand that sir, but we have a ffir to those who follow our code of ethics and it’s been bbrought to my attention that youdon’t"

"I’m very unhappy about this It was Alistair wasn’t it? That little shit wasthe world every night"

"Please, Sir, I’ what my boss told me He said to tell you it’s a conflict of interests to continue delivering your ship- you to the Board of Magical Merchants for discri"

Greta heard Mick’s sigh of relief over the phone Soical anything wasnever to return

Dayne stabbed his finger against the button to end the call, then flung the phone across the room Greta froze His back was still to her when he spoke

"I thought I told you to leave Or was h? Perhaps it would help if I spelled it out with catnip" He turned to face her "Or I could carve thesilver ritual knife balanced precariously on the edge of the desk Silver wouldn’t kill her necessarily, but it burned like hell and was rabbed Greta by the wrist, hauling her back to the entryway "Have you any idea the danger you put yourself in when you trespass on a sorcerer’s property?

Shall I enlighten you?"

Greta wrenched herself free of his grip "You don’t have a supplier now I’ll give you the blood you need if you’ll let me stay until after the full moon I won’t cause any trouble" She wasn’t sure why she was still asking to stay He’d justblock Hiding in a hollowed-out tree for the next several nights was sounding like a ed sorcerer

Dayne had crossed his arms over his chest, his stance wide, and to the human eye, relaxed But Greta could s off him She’d always been able to smell emotion, but the scent seemed sharper now

"They send one of you, all pretty and in distress, and I’ to protect you? Let’s get one thing clear I’uy I don’t rescue fair ht over the bad guy part

Hein Latin with his arht she was about to die Instead, the cordless phone floated fro hand His eyes remained trained on her as he punched the numbers into the phone

"Clarissa, I’ht be persuaded to set aside a pint of werecat blood for me

I need it by the full moon"

"Mr Wickham, um hi," a sleepy voice on the other end answered "No, it’s okay You’re our best customer We actually don’t have any therian cat blood in stock We can get some, but it’ll take six weeks; our supplier’s backed up You could try a local therian"

"Meow," Greta said, still in human form

"I see Well, thank you anyway" Dayne clicked off the phone and glared at Greta, as if she’d soummed up the works

"So, then I can stay?"

"I’ll have to erect stronger wards Please keep in mind, you are here for ht in shining armor I don’t care about your personal problems

And if you wander from the protection of this house, I will not be lured into the trap to save you I don’t get involved with Weres"

"Therians," Greta said, returning his glare