“Angelle,” Mitchell warned, and paused, looking her full in the face. She blanched, and he held the stare for a long minute, before he looked back at Tristan and said, “Explain.”

Tristan stuck his tongue out at Angelle and grinned. “McLean was really just supposed to draw Amelia out so I could get to you, but that stupid protective spell got in the way. Really, I thought you already knew he was against you. Or at least would have figured it out when his car stalled in the middle of the gates.” His eyebrows went up and he shook his head, clearly thinking that Mitchell was mental.

A flash of Amelia warning him that there was something off about McLean surfaced, and just like that, Mitchell suddenly felt every bit as mental and stupid as Tristan’s look implied. How had he missed it? The signs had all been there. McLean rushing off for meetings and brushing off his calls. McLean’s jumpy attitude whenever he stopped by to discuss the potential hunter issue. He should have seen it before.

“See,” Angelle growled, waving her arms dramatically, pulling Mitchell out of his thoughts. “He set this whole thing up, and he’s openly admitting that he was trying to get rid of your pet!”

“I knew they wouldn’t get far with her, and clearly, I wasn’t wrong,” Tristan said. “They haven’t left town, and obviously, she’s madly in love with you. I knew she’d stay and you’d take her back.” He crossed his feet at the ankles and brushed at his jeans as if to remove some invisible lint. “Anyway, McLean has this stupid idea that by killing us he can make his town safe. He jumped at the chance when those cross-breeds told him they would get rid of you as long as he delivered Amelia.” He chuckled. “Stupid humans, they trust so blindly. I guess they never really have figured out what or who they should be scared of.”

“Why do they want her?” Mitchell asked, ignoring Tristan’s comment. He hadn’t expected an answer. He was just thinking out loud, but Tristan took the statement literally.

“Something about building a new race of immortals. According to Josh, it was her vision in some past life. A way to end the vampire line. He has some sick infatuation with her, and right now, he’s trying to play the love card, but it’s an act. I could smell the lies.” He grinned triumphantly, as if using his nose was an accomplishment, and then shook his head. “She makes him sick.”

“He looked pretty determined to keep her alive,” Angelle spat, and she cut Tristan a purely disbelieving look.

Tristan chuckled. “Only because he wants to use her as a breeding mule.”

“And you say McLean knew all of this?” Mitchell questioned, his voice dropping to a growl. Breeding mule. They think they can just take what’s mine and use her like that? White-hot rage washed over him at the idea. He had already smelled that hunter all over her, and the thought of him sharing her bed … I’m going to kill him.

“He did, and he doesn’t care what happens to that pet of yours either.” Tristan was smiling, clearly enjoying the burning rage that Mitchell was sure he could see rolling off of him. “I believe his words were, ‘This town was better off before she came. Do whatever you want to that supernatural freak.’”

“Mitch,” Angelle said, and she jumped up from her chair and dropped to her knees in front of him. “Tristan was going to let this happen to her. She’s yours, you claimed her, and he was helping them.”

“Angelle, give it a rest already,” Mitchell said, narrowing his eyes at her, and she rocked back, cringing away. He stood up and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked in an uncertain and shaky voice.

“To pay McLean a visit,” Mitchell called over his shoulder, and when he heard them start to follow, he said, “Alone.”

CHAPTER 18

“Millie, we seriously need a plan,” Megan chirped, as she watched the people from the fair follow Cole into the house.

“What we need to do is get the bond back in place,” Tyler said.

“No,” Josh snapped, turning his glare on Tyler. “We need to kill the vamps and move on with our lives.” His eyes flashed, and he stood up straighter, rolling his shoulders back.

Tyler laughed, not in the funny ha-ha kind of way but more of an I feel sorry that you are so stupid kind of laugh. “Dude, you get that my girlfriend is a vampire, right? You’re really not as scary as you think.”

Josh’s skin shuddered, and his eyes began to glow as he advanced on Tyler. Tyler didn’t back down. Instead, he met Josh head on, and they began to circle each other like boxers in a ring just waiting for the bell to ding.

“Enough!” Amelia yelled, getting in between them. “This isn’t going to get us anywhere.” She scanned the crowd of hunters as her brain attempted to formulate a plan, all the while feeling the glares that Josh and Tyler were shooting over her head. She gritted her teeth, shot them both a look that she hoped told them to knock it off, and then fixed her focus on Megan and Madame Crystal. “The three of us are going to lock up this house. I’m not going to put all these people in the dungeon.” She swiveled, looking up at Josh. “I want you to split the hunters into teams for watch duties. I want you guys to rotate. Post them at the windows and doors, but I would like everyone to stay inside.” Amelia didn’t wait for his response, and she started over to Megan, racking her brain for a spell that would work.

“Amelia!” Josh snapped, and with a commanding wave, he beckoned her back to his side. When she ignored him and kept walking, he grabbed her, stopping her in her tracks and yanking her back to face him. “You’re being careless, Amelia,” he warned. “Everyone should get downstairs now, before the vamps show up here. We can keep them safer in the dungeon.”

Amelia faltered, and when she glanced around, she noticed some of the hunters nodding in agreement, and she didn’t miss all of the hateful glares. There were a few grunts and a bunch of unbearable mumbles. They all hate me, she thought. Completely hate me. How did Mitchell command the respect of others without them all looking at him as if they were just biding their time for a chance to get rid of him? Because he does not command it, a small voice in her head answered. And at that moment, Amelia wasn’t sure what bothered her more. Was it that people just respected Mitchell because he had earned it? Or that she was taking advantage of her power and commanding the hunters against their will? Or was it that her thoughts were now actually answering each other in full conversations?

“Back off, Josh,” Amelia said evenly, shaking off her thoughts. She let her eyes drop to his hand that was wrapped tightly around her bicep and then back up at him, giving him what she hoped was a truly terrifying look. She guessed she pulled it off, because his hand loosened and then fell away in a rush. “They won’t come here,” she said. “Mitchell’s not that stupid. He saw our numbers. He won’t risk it.” If there was one thing she knew about Mitchell, it was that he was always cautious, and he could, and would, wait them out. “He’ll wait until we venture out of our comfort zone,” she said with absolute certainty.

“You’re wrong,” Josh growled, and he puffed out his chest in a show of authority, as if that would actually work on her. He must have noticed that the little show of I the man crap wasn’t working, because he let a deep sigh escape, and his chest deflated like a popped balloon.

Amelia gave him another hard look, and she’d be lying if she tried to say that it didn’t give her any satisfaction to see Josh pale under the stare, and then she turned and started over to Megan, with Tyler falling in step beside her.

“What about securing the whole block like before?” Tyler asked, as they made their way up the steps of the terrace to where Megan and Madame Crystal now stood, with ribbons of brilliant power seeping from their fingertips.

Amelia thought about it for half a second before shouting it down. “No, just the house for now, Mitch will expect me to lock up everything.”

Tyler grinned and chuckled. “Millie, this might be a first, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were actually thinking. I think Mitch might have actually rubbed off on you.”

Amelia rolled her eyes and stifled a groan. Josh ruined the moment with a growled huff as he bounded up the steps behind them. She eyed him with fierce intensity. “Josh, stay out of our way.”

Between the three of them, securing the house didn’t take long. Megan came up with a protective spell, and with a few tweaks and a little help from the hunters, they were able to make it vampire specific. Amelia wasn’t thrilled that the magic might set them on fire if they tried to enter the house, but for now, it would work, and all she could do was hope they had enough sense not to try.

After a few more pleads and grumbles, Josh finally got it together, splitting up the hunters like Amelia had requested, and posted the first shift through the house. He set the rest of them up upstairs in the games room and living room with blankets and pillows before promptly retreating into the study to brood, Amelia assumed.

She checked on the newcomers, which Cole had deposited in the media room. And by the giggles and dozy faces, he had also given them a nice dose of what she liked to think of as cotton candy power.

Once she was sure everyone was as comfortable as possible, Amelia tried to probe Madame Crystal for more information, hoping that the psychic had seen something useful. After thirty minutes of questioning though, all she had gotten was a blank stare and ramblings that made absolutely no sense.

When she couldn’t take it anymore, Amelia touched base with McLean. And again, she hit another brick wall of no information. He claimed that his men hadn’t spotted anything out of the ordinary after leaving the fairgrounds, and he assured her that the townspeople were taking the lock down seriously and that he would call if anything changed.

When she hung up the phone, Amelia wanted to scream. Frustration and fear filled her. She wished Mitchell was here, telling her what to do. She missed the rest of her family, their encouraging words, their laughter, their support. She knew she had to be strong, but without them, she felt anything but strong at this moment. That’s when she remembered Luke and Eric. They were in the dungeon, in the house, and the urge to run to them and just talk to them overtook her.