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Chloe sighed as she also took it in. “Do you want a full powered nulling chain, or one that’ll just take the edge off your…energy?”

“Just enough for the edge. Think you can have it ready in like an hour? I’m already late for work. Kin’s going to kill me.”

Chloe nodded and motioned towards the door of her bathroom. “In the meantime, how about a shower? No offense Ro, but you reek of sex.”

XOXOXOXO

Kin glared down at her from the open second-floor landing as she entered the office an hour later.

As she was late, had missed a couple of appointments, and dressed in what he deemed inappropriate office attire, Rowanwasn’t shocked by the annoyance he radiated. She’d even stopped by the donut shop next door in anticipation of it.

However, the predatory instinct that flashed in his red-rimmed eyes when they landed on her was unexpected.

It was the only warning she got before a fireball hit her square on the chest, making her crash through the sliding front doors and back out onto the busy cobblestone streets of downtown Black Cove.

She cursed and looked down at her torched shirt. It struggled to contain her privacy, and the skin underneath was already blistering. She crossed her arms, noting the small crowd forming around her.

“We have got to work on you using your words!” She hissed as she called forth a curtain of ice to halt his next attack. She phased away from the wreckage of glass and metal to turn her attention to the shifter stumbling down the stairs. Something was seriously wrong, but she hadn’t the faintest idea what as she curled her arm around his neck and flung him into the front desk where Dew had evacuated from as soon as she realized the two powerhouses were going fist to cuffs.

“I got it!” Louisa appeared out of thin air and plunged a syringe into the side of the struggling kitsune’s neck.

Rowan and the vampiress took a step back as white fur bubbled to the surface of his face.

“Kin! Get a hold of yourself, asshole!” Rowan held her hand out, calling for gravity to pin him to the granite. He howled against the invisible restraints, but he was slowing down. It gave her enough time to look around and realize she hadn’t been his first victim of rage. Louisa was in a pair of shredded white leathercoveralls, had several bruises to her face and dried blood on the corner of her lip.

The only thing that stopped Rowan from digging her own fists into Kin’s face was his sudden lack of fight. Whatever had been in the syringe had finally kicked in and Kin was unconscious.

“It wasn’t his fault.” the vampiress groaned as she found an intact chair and sunk into it.

Dew fluttered down from the pendant light she’d been perching on and laid a hand on the deep gash the vampire had on her neck. The skin sewed itself back together and scabbed over before their eyes.

“Are you low on blood?” Rowan demanded, falling to her knee in front of her and examining her dilated pupils. If even the slightest flicker of crimson passed through, she would open her vein for the vampiress to suck on.

“No.” Louisa waved her concern away. “He was more busy fighting his fox than me. The only reason I got tore up was that I got in his way of hurting himself by trying to inject him. The only reason you got tore up is because you have shifter pheromones pouring off of you. What is that? Dragon?” Her examination of the white-haired elf tore a gasp out of her. “You know your succubus is showing, right?”

Dew blinked and looked her over. “It isn’t always showing?”

Rowan’s lips twitched. Even knowing that fae had incredible senses, she’d never considered Dew knew of her true nature throughout their entire relationship. The faerie had never treated her as less than. A brief vision passed in Rowan’s mind’s eye of those she’d shown her true appearance to. Their disgust always felt like a slice to her soul.

“No, Dew, it isn’t to other mystics.”

Dew’s bright eyes widened. “So they don’t know how cool you really look?”

“Cool?” Louisa let out a laugh. “Dew, you know Rowan isn’t cool.”

“She’s really cool!” Dew clenched her hands over her heart and closed her eyes as if the truth was too hard to take, and she fluttered around Rowan’s entire body. “Look at these wings! They could carry at least twenty of my family members on one trip.” She grabbed the horns protruding from Rowan’s head as if riding a bull. “These horns are weapons ready to slash any dastardly enemy, even if she’s tied up. I’ve felt blades duller than these wonderful tools!” She held her suddenly bleeding hands up, demonstrating the validity of her words.

Rowan gasped. “Dew!”

Dew ignored her and grabbed Louisa’s face with her still bleeding hands. “And do you see that tail? I bet if you arm wrestled with it you would lose! My Rowan’s body is a work of art! Every single part.”

Rowan felt warmth spread throughout her entire being. Yes. Dew was right. Some of the trepidation she’d felt over her true appearance being out on display melted.

Louisa giggled, “Well, when you put it like that. Of course she’s cool. I’m not sure how I didn’t see it before.”

Louisa had seen it before.

Rowan recalled the first time the succubus charm failed in front of the vampiress. It had been during a life or death test for Spellcasters Academy. Though they’d been in many of the sameclasses for nearly a year at that point, Louisa and Rowan hadn’t actually exchanged anything more than greetings.