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"Okay, well," Aden said, and popped to his feet He wavered, still weak, but didn’t fall
Victoria stood beside hiht I’d see the day Victoria got her tonsils cleaned, did you?" Maxwell asked Nathan
Nathan barked out a laugh "That wasn’t a cleaning That was a full-on surgery"
Aden’s cheeks heated "Enough" He turned to Victoria, pulling her close for a final hug "Distract them," he whispered in her ear, "and I’ll take off with Jennifer"
She kissed the side of his face before drawing away, her hand re as possible When she was positioned in front of the wolves, ere still grinning like loons, she looked at Maxwell "Take ery? Sure, I’ers
They disappeared a second later Nathan spun, frowning Then Victoria reappeared, alone, and grabbed his arm before he could stop her They, too, disappeared, this ti Aden alone
Now! Caleb coan Think about this
"Thinking tih, he stalked back down the hall to the witch’s door, drew in a breath and turned the knob
TWENTY-SEVEN
MARY ANN CHEWED ON her botto-out-of-his-nostrils Riley She was once again in his bedrooe of his very soft bed, the door closed, footsteps echoing beyond it She doubted anyone would barge in--even if she screamed, which she wouldn’t, he wouldn’t hurt her, but company would have been nice just then Riley paced in front of her, an intiht," he said, each word measured "Tucker was in the woods Outside the cabin You saw him He waved you over And you Actually Went" The last was uttered with disbelief
"Correct"
"You talked to hi distance of him"
"He wouldn’t hurt me Not that way," she added before Riley could reuish Tucker had caused and the tears she had shed
"You don’t knohat he’s capable of, Mary Ann He’s a demon"
"Part demon" And the father of her best friend’s baby If he decided to help Penny and be a part of the baby’s life, then he was going to be a part of Mary Ann’s life, as well, because she planned to be there for her friend Riley needed to learn that now "And he’s calm around me You know that"
"Then," Riley continued as if she hadn’t spoken, "you waited a few hours to tell iven Tucker tiet away Riley was a wolf, an expert tracker, and easily could have found hiht So, once she was sure enough ti hungry and dragged Riley out of the cabin to fill hi at all Instead, he’d brought her here to yell at her
Riley scrubbed a hand down his face "Why do I bother protecting you, if you’re just going to throw yourself into dangerous situations?"
"Because you like me" Until this mess with the witches was over Then they had some major issues to work out Or not She still planned to leave hier seeping froh at times likes these, I’ain what Tucker said about Vlad"
That, she could do "Hein an underground crypt behind this house That said for ordered his And that said for ishis people"
"Yes, Vlad would be, but he couldn’t have survived total body je la nune poisoning No one could have"
"How do you know?"
"I’ve seen others die that way"
Was that…guilt darkening his green eyes? Had he killed others that way? The fact that she wasn’t disturbed by the possibility proved just how i in this otherworld "Maybe he healed You once toldyou, and that his people hoped he would somehow recover I mean, seriously That’s why Aden hasn’t been crowned officially"
"First, if Vlad was alive, he would have come to us" Riley’s head tilted to the side "Unless he was too weak, but then…no No He wouldn’t have sent a kid to spy Second, Vlad was also staked Maybe he could have healed from one injury, but not both Not in such a weakened condition" A heartbeat later, he added, "God, I can’t believe I’ about this with a human Vlad killed for less"