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“Shift!” I demanded.

The wolf chuffed and then Ezra appeared before me in a flash, clutching his head, agony eclipsing his face. “Marlowe… please… I can’t think like this. The king… he did something to my mind…”

He fell to the ground on his knees, his pained bellows echoing through the trees.

“Ezra!” I cried. I ran up to him, crouching down to look at him better. “What did he do to you? What’s wrong?”

Damnit, why couldn’t I stay mad at him? I should have been rejoicing, laughing about him finally facing some consequences for his decision to ally himself with that son of a bitch king. But watching him struggle and writhe in pain was too much.

“Kian,” I said, getting up to take off my dress. “I’m going to shift, can you turn away?”

He held up his hands in the universal sign of “I mean no harm,” and took a few tentative steps towards us. “Ezra, my name is Kian. I might be able to help…”

Ezra looked up, his pupils dilated and growling viciously. “Stay away, bloodsucker!”

I smacked him across the head. “Knock it off, asshole! Just let him try.”

He winced as what look like another wave of pain washed over him, and nodded quickly. “Fine, but if you bite me…”

Kian gagged, and I chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation. “Yeah, no worries about that. Here, I’m just going to put my hand right here on your temple.”

He bent over, gently placing his palm along the side of Ezra’s head. His skin glowed with a warm, violet light that slowly seeped into Ezra’s skin, radiating outwards before being absorbed.

Ezra’s eyelids fluttered, and he released a shuddering breath. “How…”

“I took a look at some shielding magic recently, it seemed like something I could replicate and adjust.”

My eyes widened and I turned to look at my new vampyr friend. “Well, damn, aren’t you full of surprises?”

Ezra blinked a few times, his pupils readjusting as he slowly moved back to his feet.

“This is just temporary,” Kian warned, taking a cautionary step back. “I don’t know how long it will hold, but at least for now you should find some relief from whatever was attacking you internally.”

My brother nodded, closing his eyes. “Yeah, I can still feel it there, but this is good enough for now.” He turned back towards me, his expression falling. “Marlowe… I’m so sorry.”

“You are?” I asked. The tone of his voice, his posture—although I still kept my eyes up because I would never get used to him just swinging dong all day—it all seemed like “normal” Ezra. But it could easily be a trap. Maybe he’d decided luring me away from my pack was better than an all-out fight. “What for? And why? And where’s Canna?”

The mention of his omega made him flinch, and his hands balled into fists at his sides. “Alaroth is holding her hostage until I bring you back…”

I growled, and Kian grabbed my arm to pull me behind him. “We’re not letting you take her back to him. Are you insane?” he hissed. Wispy black shadows surrounded his hands and forearms, and he took a widened stance in preparation for an attack.

Aw, I was liking this vampyr more and more by the second. I could see now how he’d won over my pack. “Thanks, Kian, but I’ve got this.”

I stepped back around, letting some of my own magic comeforth, playing with bright concentrations of energy in my hands like I was merely juggling a few balls. “So, you’re going to exchange me for Canna, is that it?”

Ezra shook his head, his eyes widening. “No, I would never…”

“Oh, but you’ve handed me over to that maniac for far less, haven’t you? Excuse me for questioning your intentions,” I snapped.

Did it really take having his own omega for him to finally realize what he’d done to me? What he’d done to our parents?

Or did it have something to do with the magic that had been attacking his mind?

I took a deep breath, cracking my neck and rolling my shoulders to release the tension building in my muscles. “Look, I’m going to let you speak, uninterrupted, for three minutes. If you haven’t convinced me by the end of your time that you aren’t trying to haul me back to be tortured and assaulted, I’m going to sic Kian and Wasabi on you. You may be alpha of alphas, but not of vampyrs and vryscrals, got it?”

Wasabi growled her agreement from where she lay in wait, her green scales keeping her camouflaged in the leafy undergrowth. A pixie flitted by, dousing Ezra with a heavy dose of dust before zipping back off.

He closed his eyes, sneezed, and let loose a resigned sigh. “Got it.”