Page 30

Leah

“I get that you came to our rescue or whatever, but do you all really have to be here for this?” I narrowed my eyes at the assembled Leyore women, all of them crowding the grand entrance of what Maxine had explained was their coven’s (very fancy) headquarters.

Jordan leaned against the massive pillar at the entrance, arms crossed over her chest, smirking down at me. “Considering you two ran off on your own and then needed all of us to help you, you know, not die, I’d say yeah, we’ve earned the right to be here for this.”

“Exactly,” Addison piped up, slinging an arm over Hunter’s shoulders and wiggling her brows at me. “Besides, we’re emotionally invested now.”

They had all apparently decided that my business was their business and so, while Maxine and I waited for my grandfather to arrive, the rest of them clustered around us, eager to witness my atrocious acting skills.

Our story was that I’d had a terrible asthma attack and my dear friend Maxine , fearing for my health, had called on her wealthy friends to summon my grandfather to the city.

Once he arrived and found me perfectly fine, Maxine would pretend to have overreacted and I would pretend to be my usual disgruntled self.

Sky, River, and Dylan had pulled off the first part of the plan without a hitch. Apparently it had taken very little convincing to get my grandfather on a plane to see me once they explained the “dire situation”.

They had left him in Amara’s care to come and help with the final fight, though I had no idea how that interaction must have gone.

Once we were cleaned up, regrouped, and no longer shaking with adrenaline or covered in waxy goop, we all converged in the grand hall of the Leyore coven headquarters, waiting for Amara to arrive with my grandfather.

I rolled my eyes at the other women, casting a quick glance at Maxine who stood at my side. She was looking a little tense, so I took her hand and wove my fingers with hers. “You all right?”

“Yeah.” She hiked her shoulders up and dropped them again, a nervous little laugh on her lips. “It’s just… I haven’t seen your grandfather in years, what if he doesn’t like me anymore?”

“Oh please.” I nudged her with my elbow, squeezing her hand in mine. “He’s never stopped talking about you and how fucking great you were. God, it was actually awful.”

That earned me a sheepish smile from Maxine, complete with pointed canines— which reminds me.

“As for the rest of you.” I lifted my head to the other Leyore women, barring Addison who was the only one of them without fangs. “No sharp teeth, no claws, and no… transformations—or whatever the fuck it was that you did out there on the airstrip. My grandpa does not need to see that.”

I was still reeling from what I had witnessed out there in the rain.

I knew they were vampires, and I had thought that meant pointed fangs, pale skin, and a penchant for drinking fresh blood.

What I hadn’t expected was their alternate forms—giant, sinewy creatures with massive bat wings, all folding neatly back into their skin once the battle was over.

My fingers still trembled slightly at the memory, and Maxine noticed. She lifted my hand to her chest and pressed it there. “We only shift when it’s absolutely necessary. Trust me, I’ve got zero intention of scaring your grandfather into an early grave.”

“Well… good.” I swallowed and forced a small, teasing smile. “Because I’m honestly not sure how I’d explain that all my new friends are giant bat creatures.”

“The anatomy is actually super interesting!” Addison chimed in, nudging at her fiancée. “Hunter lets me run tests on her sometimes, and it’s fascinating. Even their bone density changes when they shift.”

“I am naught but a lab rat to you,” Hunter lamented, touching an overly dramatic hand to her forehead.

I had to snort at the visual—Addison taking meticulous notes while Hunter lay sprawled in some monstrous, half-transformed state. But the laughter died quickly in my throat and a pang of guilt twisted inside me.

I hated lying to my grandfather, but I didn’t want him seeing anything that would terrify him.

It was hard enough accepting the existence of vampires myself, back when Maxine’s family had turned up on my doorstep.

They had scared the shit out of me, and I was still getting used to the idea of the supernatural world. I didn’t want that for him.

Maxine noticed my change in expression and she sighed. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not easy, having to keep secrets like this.”

“It’s all right.” I stepped closer, leaning into her shoulder and breathing in her scent. “It’s for the best, I know that. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”

“By the way,” Dylan interrupted—a rarity in her case, I’d come to learn. “Maxine, you didn’t shift throughout that entire ordeal with Gregor. Why?”

Maxine glanced up, stark clarity in her eyes. “I didn’t need to. I was strong enough to beat him without it.”

“Yeah, about that.” Jordan folded her arms, raising a brow. “Exactly how long have you been holding out on us? Since when have you been able to dish out a beating like that?”

Maxine shrugged, color in her cheeks. “I’ve been, uh… training on the side. For a long time now. Believe me, I didn’t know I had it in me either.”

Sky shook her head, mildly baffled. “You pulled all of that off without a monstrous shift, that takes some serious skill.”

Dylan looked like she had something to say but couldn’t quite force the words out.

Maxine noticed immediately and batted her eyes at the other vamp. “Yes, Dylan?”

Dylan bristled, glancing away with a scowl. But then she sighed, hung her head, and mumbled, “Just… Show me your routine sometime? I’d like to see how you’re building up that kind of power.”

That had Maxine grinning gleefully, with all the scheming satisfaction of the Cheshire Cat. “Are you saying you want my assistance? Dylan, I’m flattered.”

The other vamp rolled her eyes, throwing up her palms like she was done with the conversation.

River hovered a little apart from the rest, sporting an unmistakably smug grin. “I’ve known you could do it for a while,” she said. “Just needed to believe in yourself or whatever. Now look at you—taking down an ancient vampire with your bare hands.”

She clasped her own hands under her chin like a proud school teacher whose student had finally aced a test.

A chorus of light chuckles rippled around the group and Maxine’s cheeks flushed even deeper, though she tried to hide it by glancing down at my hand entwined with hers. I brushed my thumb against her knuckles, pride swelling in my chest.

We were interrupted just then by the rumble of an engine and a sleek silver convertible pulling up outside. I glanced at Maxine, heart leaping into my throat, before mustering up the nerve to step outside and greet my grandfather.

The rain had eased into a faint drizzle and I approached the sidewalk, where the convertible had just ground to a halt at the curb. The car door opened and a familiar old man climbed out, clad in an ancient hand-knitted sweater, patched elbows and all.

As soon as his gaze found me my grandfather hurried forward, faster than I’d ever seen him move.

“Leah!” Before I could get a word in, he wrapped me in a tight embrace, hands patting my back as though checking for damage. “Are you all right, dear? I came as soon as I heard!”

I cringed inwardly, guilt biting at my insides. “I’m fine, Grandpa,” I assured him, though my tone came out more squeaky than sorry. “Really, I just—it was more of a sniffle. We, uh, might’ve overreacted a little bit.”

Over his shoulder, I spotted Amara stepping out of the vehicle. My eyes widened a fraction. She looked much better than the last time I’d seen her. She looked sturdier, stronger, though somehow… different.

An odd hush fell over the gathered Leyore women behind me, and then I understood.

I sensed them all quietly absorbing the realization that Amara was now a fully-turned vampire. I could practically feel their curiosity crackling in the air. Questioning eyes flickered to Dylan, but no one said a word in front of my grandfather.

The old man pulled back. “Sniffles?” he echoed, sounding bewildered. “You were practically on death’s door the way they made it sound.”

At that, Maxine sheepishly butted in, trailing up behind me. “I, uh—sorry, sir. We kind of panicked.”

I stepped aside while my grandfather studied Maxine for a moment, wrinkled frown easing into sudden recognition. “Maxine, is that you? My, you’re all grown up now!”

He glanced back at me. “But why the bloody hell did you send your new friends to fetch me over a case of the sniffles?”

I shrugged, playing innocent. “Better safe than sorry?”

“You could have just said that you missed your old grandpa,” he huffed, ruffling a hand in my hair. “As long as you’re truly all right, kid. Either way, it’s good to see you.”

The other women all tittered at the embarrassing display of affection and I scowled in their direction. My grandfather followed my gaze, eyes flickering between the odd collection of friends I’d recently acquired.

“I must say, I’m quite impressed with your friends over there.” He nodded his head toward River, Sky, and Dylan. “They were so polite— and quite well off, I presume —they paid for my ticket and everything! How did you land yourself with such a fine crowd?”

“She showed off her algae collection and they were all immediately smitten.” Maxine poked at my ribs with a sly smile and I glowered back at her.

“She does love her algae.” My grandfather nodded solemnly like that stupid fucking story made perfect sense. “Has she told you about her work? Leah is a bona fide marine biologist, best in the business if you ask me.”

“ Grandpa ,” I groaned, steering the old man into the building, mortified when the others cracked up laughing. “Let’s just get you inside, okay?”

Maxine met my eyes over his shoulder, smiling from ear to ear, and it hit me then that we’d made it. After everything that happened between us, after all the lies and betrayals and broken promises, we’d made it.

The monsters were gone and the running was over, and something as simple as reintroducing her to my grandfather—and not dying of pure embarrassment in the process—was the only immediate worry we had between us.

We stood on the precipice of the rest of our lives, and now it was up to us—the two of us, and no one else—to decide what to do from there.