Page 27 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness (Grimm Cove #7)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Mina

I turned at the sound of my name to find Henry and Dave running toward me.

Dave caught Henry by the arm. “See. I told you she’s fine.”

Henry grabbed me and yanked me to him. He dipped his head and kissed me.

I was so shocked, I didn’t make a move to stop him.

A second later, he was being ripped away from me and tossed in the other direction. Vlad went at him. “Do not touch my wife!”

Dave made a move to assist Henry but stopped. “Uh, you’re on your own if you’re screwing his wife.”

Vlad snatched hold of Henry and lifted him off the ground, snarling as he did.

I started for the men, intent on keeping Vlad from hurting Henry. Only, I wasn’t needed. I froze, watching in stunned horror as Henry’s body began to contort violently.

The sounds of bones breaking and reforming was loud enough to leave me flinching for him and cupping my mouth.

Dave groaned dramatically. “Great. You went and woke up Hyde.”

“Hyde?” I asked, lowering my hand from my mouth as I watched Henry go from a tall, sexy brown-haired guy with blue eyes to an even taller guy with ink-black hair that was to his shoulders—shoulders that were even broader than Henry’s. “What the hell?”

He lunged at Vlad, grabbing him around the waist and body-slamming him to the ground with so much force I felt the earth move.

Temperance screamed.

Jonathan stood there watching it all unfold like it was the best thing he’d seen in his abnormally long life. “We should probably help him.”

“Which one?” asked Bram.

“Henry, of course,” said Jonathan. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Get him, Henry!”

Dave shook his head. “Hyde! You’re talking to Hyde now. Like this, Henry doesn’t exist.”

Gasping, I ran for Vlad and the guy that used to be Henry. They were rolling around, trading blows. I was nearly to them when Vlad snarled, and they shot up and off the ground—several feet off it to be exact. Vlad spun and threw Used-to-be-Henry like a shot put. Worried Henry might be hurt, I tapped into my dark gifts and turned into black mist.

When I reappeared, it was in the spot Used-to-be-Henry was headed for. I wasn’t sure how heavy he’d be or if I’d have enough strength to do anything more than get flattened by him, but I was willing to try. I put my arms out.

“Mom, no!” Temperance shouted a moment before she was suddenly a mass of bats, coming at me with so much speed it was nearly a blur. The bats took hold of me, lifting me out of the way at the last second. Temperance dropped me to the side and reformed into a human. She grabbed me, hugging me tight.

Used-to-be-Henry struck the ground so hard he actually dug a partial hole with his body. Looking at the size of the crater he was lying in, I doubt I’d have been able to do much other than get pancaked.

“Vlad, enough!” I shouted.

He either didn’t hear me or didn’t care. He went at Used-to-be-Henry again.

Temperance grabbed my hand. “Is he going to kill Henry, erm, Hyde?”

I honestly wasn’t sure.

Dave laughed. “I highly doubt it. Give it a minute.”

And just like that, Used-to-be-Henry came up with a roar and spun around, catching Vlad with an uppercut. It was Vlad’s turn to go flying into a tree. It splintered.

The men continued going at one another while everyone stood around, watching it happen.

Unable to take it anymore, I made another attempt to intervene. Temperance grabbed my arm at the last second, distracting me, and I twisted around to find Vlad there, his body a hairbreadth away from slamming into mine. The control he had was unbelievable.

“No more,” I said softly, pleading with my eyes. “Please.”

“He kissed you,” he said, not bothering with whispering.

Used-to-be-Henry laughed, sounding nothing like Henry when he did it. “Y’know the cave, just off campus, dark as pitch? I told Henry to take ’er there. Same place he used to try chainin’ me up. Ask her what happened there.”

As his words registered in my brain, followed closely by what they meant, I spun around and glared at him. He filched, and I watched as his body contorted again, this time returning him to a form I knew well—Henry.

Vlad tried to get around me to go at him again.

I spun and slid my arms around his waist, putting my lips to his ear. “Enough.”

“When he ceases to breathe, then it will be enough,” said Vlad, venom dripping from his every word.

“Careful, Henry, this one has a thing for impaling,” said Dave with an eye roll.

Vlad snarled.

Henry looked confused and rubbed the back of his neck. “W-what did he do? What did Hyde do? Did he hurt anyone?”

I stared down at him. “You took me to a cave you used to chain yourself in? That’s how you knew about it? That is what the chains were for?”

He paled and pushed to his feet.

“What are you?” I asked.

“A dead man walking,” said Vlad.

“Look who is talking,” interjected Dave.

Vlad glared at him. “Careful, Jersey Devil, I am not a man to be toyed with.”

I twisted to face him fully. I’d deal with Henry later. I cupped Vlad’s face.

He tried to continue glaring at Dave, but I forced his attention on me.

After a minute or so, he exhaled slowly, seeming to calm somewhat. Then he tensed. “You are looking at me like I am in trouble.”

Temperance eased closer, and I grabbed her, pulling her in for a hug. It left her sandwiched between Vlad and me.

Another thought occurred to me. Vlad had started everything off with Henry by yelling about me—his wife. “Hey, what do you mean by wife?”

Temperance gasped. “Mom? Wife? You’re married? Since when?”

I shook my head. “Never.”

Bram lifted his hand this time as if waiting for me to call on him. “If I may.”

“Oh, please do,” I said, and Vlad cringed.

“I believe he claimed you, Mina. In our eyes, that makes you his wife.”

I touched my neck where Vlad had bitten me years ago. My attention was locked on him, and he had the good sense to look ashamed. “Dracula, I think we’re overdue for a long talk.”

“ Lumini?a mea , the look in your eyes says you are rethinking allowing Van Helsing to stake me.” He winked. “Remember, I have been searching high and low for you for years.”

Dave eased in closer. “Folks, let’s take this get-together somewhere else. I’m sensing black magik in the area still.”

“Oh, that reminds me. Drac, erm, Vlad,” I said with a blush.

He grinned. “You may call me whatever you wish.”

“Right. Uh, some guy who looked a lot like you wanted me to tell you something.” I thought about it. “My mind is a little jumbled from everything happening, but it went something like blah, blah threat. Blah, blah more threats. And then… Fratele meu, dragonul.”

Vlad gasped. “What?”

The black wolf was shifting into a man in seconds.

Jonathan had his shirt off and was covering Lucian’s groin before anyone could see anything. He growled at the man.

Lucian held the shirt to him, his gaze never leaving Vlad. “The forest witch, she warned of a great darkness in your bloodline. A great evil. I thought she meant me. She said brother by blood. I assumed she meant our ties to Dragos.”

The look in Vlad’s eyes said he wasn’t so sure that was the case. He blinked a few times and then narrowed his gaze on Lucian. “You took her from me. Twenty-two years ago. You stole her away from Romania. You betrayed me twice.”

I pulled on Vlad, tugging him to me. “Stop. I don’t know why he did what he did, but he saved my sister, and he made sure we were safe and far from Helen and Dragos. That much I do know. And he came through when Helen and Lester showed up here trying to kill us two weeks ago.”

Vlad paled. “What?”

I patted his arm. “Take it easy. We lived.”

“Mom, um, here,” said Temperance, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing a car key fob. “We, okay, I sort of borrowed one of the Van Helsing SUVS…again.”

I exhaled slowly.

“Don’t worry. I learned my lesson,” she said before looking over at Bram. “I’m sorry.”

He glanced at Vlad. “Have you transportation of the normal kind while you are here?”

“I do, but it is not close,” Vlad said.

“Keep the SUV,” replied Bram. “Come to the estate. We can discuss the attack tonight as well as the message delivered to Mina for you. We should try to figure out what we are up against.”

“We?” asked Vlad.

Bram nodded. “Yes. Mina and Temperance are family to us now—therefore—so are you.”

I went right for him and hugged him tight, knowing that couldn’t have been easy for him to say. “Thank you!”

Jonathan grunted. “Bloody hell! He’s my brother-in-law!”

Lucian laughed. “I was waiting for you to put that together.”

Vlad even cracked a smile.

Bram’s phone rang. He withdrew it from his pocket and answered a second later, he was putting it on speakerphone. “Hi, Mr. Dracula, I’m Marcy, Bram’s wife. Welcome to Grimm Cove. I’m so happy you’re here. Teya and I have been talking about this day for ages. Happy to have everyone in one place now. I can’t talk long. I have to help Buffy start packing her things. She’ll be living with you, you know?”

“Buffy?” asked Vlad, staring at the phone and then me.

“Raccoon,” said Temperance with a huge smile. “Mom, we’re going to take Buffy?”

“What? No!” I said fast.

“But Marcy said she’s be living with, um, Dad?” she said, clearly trying the word on for size.

Vlad froze.

“She will!” exclaimed Marcy. “She’s very excited. She wants to help paint. Oh, and Mina, she’s looking forward to the babies. Hurry up and get pregnant with them. Vlad, I’m assuming you don’t need me to tell you what you have to do to make that happen, right?”

He looked stunned and confused.

Yep.

That’s how most of us looked when dealing with Marcy.

Temperance made gagging noises again. “That is so disgusting. I don’t want to think about my mom and dad bumping bits.”

Hannah eased up alongside her father and Lucian. “Can we go now? I think I have demon guts on my shoe.”

Lucian cringed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for them to splatter you when I killed him.”

She glanced up at him. “It’s okay. But can you try not to do it again.”

He nodded.

“Jonathan,” said Marcy, still on the phone. “Stop thinking about all the ways you can kill Lucian. He’s your daughter’s guardian. Accept that he’s part of your life.”

A line of very British-sounding curses came flooding out of Jonathan.

Hannah lowered her head, laughing at her father.

Lucian grinned from ear to ear. “I bring out the best in him.”

“Katarina,” said Marcy loudly. “You can come out. She really isn’t angry with you. Oh, no! Burgess put Daddy’s shoe down. I have to go! Bye, Honey-Bear. I love you.”

Bram didn’t look the least bit embarrassed to be called Honey-Bear.

Katarina picked that moment to appear next to me out of seemingly thin air.

I gasped.

She took a step back.

Memories from the night outside of the cave in Romania came to me, and I found myself moving toward her, closing the distance between us. I pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you.”

She locked her arms around me so tight I thought I’d break.

Vlad was suddenly there. “Katarina, careful.”

She nodded and hugged me tightly again.

I let her.

Temperance and Hannah were suddenly there, joining in the hug.

“Women,” said Dave.

Bram’s phone pinged. He checked it and held it out for Dave. “My wife wishes for me to tell you that your time is coming soon. Enjoy bachelorhood while it lasts.”

Dave’s eyes widened. “Shit.”