Once Bitten (21 page)

“No,
actually—”

“You
didn’t think it would be important for me to know you intended to align yourself
with the witches?” Her neck snapped when she looked at Lila. “And you, young
lady, what’s your name?”

“Lila.”

“You
didn’t think it important enough to have my consent when you aligned yourself
with the werewolves?” Lila cringed when Celeste glared at her, her narrowed
brown eyes easily picking up on Lila’s discomfort.

“I…”
Lila started, not really knowing how to answer. Luckily, she didn’t have to.

“Celeste,
I understand you’re upset,” Gabriel interjected, reaching out to put his arm
around Lila.

The
little woman jumped up from the chair and began pacing in front of the fireplace.
“Upset? I’m beyond upset. You don’t align yourself with another faction without
approval, Gabriel. You of all people should know this. There are contracts
involved, not to mention the approval of the rest of the council. Does Malcolm
know?”

“No,”
Gabriel said, his spine stiffening.

“Just
wonderful. We’ll have to call him here and do some damage control. As much as I
don’t like it—and believe me, I don’t—we can’t change it now. I suppose Malcolm
and I could come up with some sort of contract…” she said, talking to herself
more than to them.

“Celeste,
that’s not why I’m here,” he said, trying to bring her back to the present.

“I can’t
believe you did something this stupid. All of the work I’ve been trying to do
over the past year will have all been for nothing when the rest of them find
out about this. They’ll all think that Malcolm and I planned this from the
beginning. That we’ve been playing them.”

“I don’t
really care what the rest of the Council thinks,” Gabriel said, getting to his
feet when Celeste stopped to shoot daggers at him, furious.

“You
should! Do you realize how close we are to all-out war? The shifters and the
fae are fighting over borders in the north. Werewolves and vampires are killing
each other for sport in the Southern region. There have been reports of dragons
kidnapping humans, putting all of us in jeopardy. Could you imagine what would
happen if the humans found out about the Netherworld?”

 
Lila gulped. Celeste was all but panting,
but she continued anyway, “Do you realize how hard your uncle and I have worked
to stop the Netherworld from going to war with itself? Already we’ve been
accused of working together in secret and now this! As if Malcolm doesn’t have
enough to do, especially with Declan.”

Gabriel
couldn’t hide the confusion on his face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean
that two days ago your cousin showed up in Boston at the council house with a
witch of his own in tow. At least Declan wasn’t as foolish as you were to mate
with her, but your uncle still had to do some fancy footwork to convince the
rest of the council that there was nothing serious going on between them. That
it was just a casual fling. What are we supposed to tell them now? You just
validated all of their suspicions that the witches and the werewolves are
forming a secret alliance.”

Declan
and Natalie were in Boston? This was news to Lila. She hadn’t heard from her
friend since she left Lila’s house with the werewolf a few days before and she
had hoped that no news was good news. Now she wasn’t so sure.

“Their
suspicions about what?”

Tired
of pacing, Celeste sat back down on the armchair. “That your uncle and I are
forming an alliance to rise up against the Council. You can thank Dis for that,
the bastard. Roarke was quick to agree with him and it took a lot of convincing
to get the rest of the council to let it go.”

The
names were flying out of Celeste’s mouth. Lila had no clue who she was talking
about, but she knew it wasn’t good. Their mating had enough dangers with it,
now there were even more, but this time it wasn’t about them. They were
impacting others.

He sat
back down next to her and held her hand tightly in his much larger one. She
didn’t know if it was more for her comfort or his, but she had no desire to let
go.

After a
moment, he cleared his throat. “Celeste, I’ll sign whatever it is you need me
to sign and I’ll say whatever it is you need me to say, but I won’t apologize
for claiming Lila.”

Celeste
looked deep in thought when the sound of Gabriel’s voice brought her back to
the present. She waved her hand in front of her face, dismissing him. “I’m not
asking you to apologize. There is no point in that.”

Lila
relaxed slightly when she heard how calm Celeste had become. She could almost
see the wheels in her head turning as she figured out what she was going to do.

“I’ll
talk to Malcolm, although I’m sure he’ll be disappointed to hear that his
nephew mated with a witch. He and I will work together to figure something out
to pacify the Council.”

“I’m
sure,” Gabriel said before hesitating. “Celeste, that wasn’t the reason why we
came to you. We’re here because of what Lila and I found.”

“What
you found?” Celeste looked confused.

“We
found a
bainise
bracelet in the
possession of a warlock,” Gabriel said, digging into his pants pocket to pull
out the bracelet. He placed it into Celeste’s outstretched hand and sat back.

“Son of
a bitch,” she muttered, studying the fine threads. “Dis and Roarke, those lying
bastards. I knew they were up to something.”

Gabriel
cocked his head to the side as he studied Celeste’s reaction. “Up to what?”

“I
still don’t know. This doesn’t tell me anything except that they’re working
together. I had my suspicions before but this confirms it. And the warlock you
took this from?” she asked, dangling the bracelet in the air.

“He’s
been taken care of.”

“Most
excellent.”

Lila
was surprised by how easily Celeste had taken the news that Gabriel had killed
someone. She seemed to enjoy the thought of the warlock’s death.

“He
attacked us,” Gabriel elaborated, looking surprised himself at her reaction.

“I’m
sure he did. I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to the Council, telling them
that the warlocks were up to no good. For ten years, at least. Dis never hid
his hatred for witches, so if they attacked one it doesn’t surprise me.”

“I’ve
never heard of warlocks attacking a werewolf before in the werewolf’s own
territory.”

“I
haven’t either, but if they were there hunting and you got in the way?” She
shrugged her shoulders. “Everyone knows that it’s been open season on the
witches recently. Only the council denies its happening. More witches have
turned up missing in these past two months than ever before and Dis is still
somehow managing to convince them that the warlocks are not involved. The
entire council is out of touch with reality.”

Gabriel
leaned back against the couch and rested his chin in his hand as he talked to
Celeste. “I’ve noticed.”

“Now
that you’ve handed me this, I doubt that Roarke is as clueless about Dis’s
intentions as he’s led everyone to believe. He knows what the rest of the fae
are up to.”

Lila
listened to them going back and forth, following bits and pieces of their
conversation. Celeste didn’t ask her any questions and she didn’t offer up any
additional information, choosing instead to remain quiet and hold Gabriel’s
hand.

With
everything that she heard, she made a firm deal with herself that once she was
home she would never leave her house again. At least not until the world
outside her door settled down a bit more. There was so much she didn’t know and
didn’t understand. She didn’t know how Gabriel held it together as well as he
did. Her best guess was that he was used to the chaos of the Netherworld and she
wondered if she would ever be able to adjust as well as he did.

Gabriel
told her about their trip to Long Lake and the response they got from the
werewolf district leaders. Celeste just shook her head.

“I
understand why Malcolm wanted you to go there first, but those morons couldn’t
find their dicks with two hands and a map. He should have known he wasn’t going
to get anywhere with them.”

Lila
chose that moment to ask a question. “What should we have done?”

“My,
my, she does speak.” Lila felt Gabriel tense beside her. “Gabriel should have
brought the bracelet to me himself and left you at home. It’s too dangerous for
you both to be out and about, especially for you. You, like every other witch
out there, are a walking target. Go home and lock your doors.”

“That’s
it?” Lila asked, frowning.

“What
do you mean, ‘that’s it’? Of course that’s it! I’ll talk to Malcolm and figure
out some sort of contract. In the meantime, I suggest you both get the hell out
of Massachusetts before you’re spotted by one of Dis’s little over-achieving
minions. Don’t let anyone else know you’ve mated until we get that contract
signed and reviewed by the council.”

Gabriel
got to his feet, pulling Lila up as he went. “Send a contract and we’ll sign
it.”

“You’d
better.”

Chapter Ten

Lila
was relieved when they left. It’s not that she didn’t like Celeste, but she
wasn’t comfortable around her and was happy to be out of that house. With a few
more words of warning, Celeste had all but pushed them out her front door.

They
hurried back to the Jeep, Gabriel keeping an ever vigilant eye on those around
them. The streets were busy for a Tuesday afternoon. Tourists as well as locals
were out and about. Lila watched the sidewalk under her feet as she struggled
to keep up with Gabriel’s long strides.

She
climbed into the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt as Gabriel turned on the
car. He was pulling away from the curb when he said, “Home bound.”

“About
time. Get me the hell out of Massachusetts.”

“You
don’t like Massachusetts?” he asked as he made his way through traffic toward
the interstate that would take them back to Maine. Back to Cantor.

“I
wouldn’t say that. The little bit of it that I saw, I liked for the most part.
Except for her house. That creeped me out.” Eyes, eyes, everywhere. Her hair
was still standing up on the back of her neck.

“That
house had been lived in by one witch after another for the past two hundred
years. They say that they never leave there, even after they die.”

That
didn’t surprise her in the least. “I believe it.”

“Not a
fan of ghosts?”

Lila
looked out the window as she answered him. “I think I’ve tinkered enough with
the supernatural, thank you very much.”

“If
only you knew.”

“Please
don’t have any more bad news for me. I’m a strong, beautiful, funny, charming
girl, but I can only handle so much.”

He
laughed, the rich sound making her stomach flip. “Don’t flatter yourself or
anything.”

“Never.”
She grinned.

They
made light conversation as they made their way out of Salem and then out of
Massachusetts. When the sun began to sink below the horizon, Lila’s stomach
began to growl loudly.

“We can
stop for dinner,” he said.

They
had been in Maine for a little less than an hour and still had over two more
hours of drive time before they got home. She would love to get something to
eat but stopping to go in somewhere would just take up more time.

“I just
want to get home. Can we go through a drive-thru?”

“Sure.
A burger sounds good right about now,” he said, signaling when they approached
the next exit.

Finding
fast food was easy outside of Portland. They ended up skipping the drive-thru,
choosing instead to just go inside and order to-go so they could stretch their
legs.

Lila
went into the bathroom while Gabriel ordered their food. When she came out again,
he was filling their cups at the drink machine and holding a tray.

“Weren’t
we leaving?” she asked when he saw her.

The
small shake of his head had the hair standing up on the back of her neck.
Something didn’t feel right. “We have company,” he said, his voice low enough
for only her to hear.

When he
leaned down to grab some straws, she glanced over his shoulder. There, sitting
at a table next to the children’s play area, sat a familiar face, one that she
had hoped to never see again.

The
bald warlock had worked his way through half his box of fries, the remainder of
which were now left to grow cold. A man she assumed was another warlock was
sitting across from him. His long red hair was tied at the nape of his neck. He
was ugly, his face covered with old acne scars, his nose long and crooked. And
he had the meanest looking green eyes Lila had ever encountered. They went from
shock to a deadly glare within seconds.

He
looked as if he had just found his prize. His excitement at having his enemies
in his sight was palpable. He was waiting for them to run, just so that he
could give chase. The warlock was in full hunt mode, his brown eyes narrowed as
he watched her movements closely. She couldn’t help but wonder how much of a
reward he would get if he brought her head back to the warlocks on a stake.

How had
she gone from Lila, the simple human nurse without any real cares in the world
to Lila, the witch who was on the run from bloodthirsty warlocks who wanted
nothing more than to see her and Gabriel dead? How had she turned into someone
who could no longer leave her house without the threat of someone trying to
murder her? Or torture her? Or whatever they planned to do with her?

And
they planned to do something. To both of them. Gabriel was in just as much danger
as she was. Granted, it wasn’t going to be three against two, but two against
two was still a threat and one she didn’t know if they could get away from.
When they had been at Andrea’s, one against two had been hard enough. It had
been an encounter that had nearly killed her.

Fear
made her hands tremble. Her muscles tight, she was ready to leap from the
restaurant and pray that she could make it back to the Jeep before the two
warlocks caught her. But they would catch her. And they would go head to head with
Gabriel when he tried to defend her. Her heart threatened to explode, sweat
tickled her brow.

“Calm
down,” Gabriel whispered, the sound of his voice pulling her out of the deer in
the headlights stance. He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him while he
balanced their food tray with one hand.

Gabriel
sat down at a table across the restaurant from the warlocks and positioned
himself so he was still able to keep them in sight. Lila sat down across from
him and grabbed her drink from the tray. She forced her straw into the top and
sucked down half the drink in two big gulps.

“You
really need to calm down,” he told her, his voice low.

She
didn’t know if she wanted to run, scream, cry or start hurling stuff at the
warlocks. “I am calm.”

“Bullshit.
Your heart is going a mile a minute. Breathe and relax,” he said, leisurely
picking up a fry and popping it into his mouth.

She
didn’t know how he could be so calm but she trusted his judgment. “What are we
going to do?” she hissed after a minute.

“I don’t
know yet. They won’t start anything here. There are too many people around.
Just relax and eat your food. I’ll figure something out.”

Lila
tried to do as he instructed. She managed to force down half her cheeseburger
and a few fries before everything threatened to come back up again.

She
wished he would think of something and think fast. She didn’t know how they
were going to get away without a fight. As soon as they left, the warlocks
would follow. And while they may not necessarily pick a fight in the parking lot,
they would certainly tail them until there was no avoiding an altercation.

They
had been lucky to get away not only once but twice. How many times would they
be able to run before they were caught? For the warlocks, would the third time
be the charm?

 
Not acting soon also meant giving them
more time to figure out what they were going to do. The last thing Lila wanted
was for one of them to get on a cell phone and call for backup. Luckily neither
man had reached for a phone. Yet.

Gabriel
was finishing her fries when three big, burly men walked into the restaurant.
They looked like they had had a long day at work and just wanted something
quick to eat before heading home to their families. Lila knew the type. Hard
working lower-middle class men struggling to take care of wives and children.
She took care of them all the time in the hospital. They were the ones who came
in with chest pain or missing fingers from a workplace accident.

She
watched them get their food and sit down at the table next to the warlocks, a
plan quickly forming in her mind. Whether or not it would work, she didn’t
know, but it was the only option they had. Short of calling in a bomb-threat
and doing that would only land her in jail.

Lila
leaned across the table and asked, “Any ideas?” She figured she’d give him one
more chance before she made her move.

“I’m
working it out,” he said, frowning at her. He watched her carefully, suddenly
suspicious.

She
sighed and took the lid off her cup before draining what was left of the
contents. Looking up at him after she set the now empty cup on the table, she
whispered, “There’s a fire alarm by the bathrooms. When you hear me yell, pull
it and get ready to run.”

Lila
picked up the tray that was piled high with their trash with one hand and her
empty cup with the other. Gabriel’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist and
forcing her to stop.

“What
are you doing?” he asked.

“Getting
us the hell out of here.”

“No, I’ll
figure something out. You’re not going to put yourself in danger.”

She
huffed at him. “I’m already in danger! We both are. You can’t protect me all
the time and if I can get us out of here in one piece, then I’ll try it. I’ll
try anything. Please, just trust me.”

A war
of emotion played on his face and when he didn’t immediately release her wrist,
she feared he wasn’t going to. Finally, his hand relaxed and he nodded.

“I do
trust you.” She gave him a small encouraging smile.

Picking
up the tray and her empty drink cup again, she rose from the table. She stopped
at the drink machine, filling her cup to the brim with soda and ice. Glancing
at Gabriel, she saw him watching her carefully. Lila wanted him to get up and
go do what she had asked. She relaxed when he finally rose from the table,
heading toward the bathroom.

When
the redheaded warlock got up from the table and made his way in the direction
Gabriel had gone, Lila began to hurry. With the tray and drink in hand, she
made her way over to the trashcan that sat behind the warlocks and the working
men at the next table.

The
bald warlock followed her movements with his eyes and when she came close, got
to his feet. Brushing against his towering body, she shrieked and sent Gabriel
his cue.

“How
dare you!” she yelled at him, pushing her tray full of garbage against his
chest and throwing the full cup of soda into his face.

The
warlock was stunned. He wiped the dark liquid out of his eyes and stared at
her. Whatever he had been expecting her to do, it hadn’t been that. He was
soaked, the soda covered his chest, ruining the white dress shirt he wore.

The
working men at the next table got to their feet after having also been splashed
by her drink.

“What’s
going on here?” One of the men demanded, shaking the drops of soda from his
hands and glancing at his friends.

“This
bastard just grabbed my ass!” she yelled, jabbing her index finger into the
warlock’s chest. “Let me tell you something. I’m not that kind of woman. How
dare you put your hands on me?” The warlock’s face turned a bright shade of red
that darkened with anger.

She
took a step away from his threatening stance, looked over at the men and
demanded, “Are you just going to let him do that to me? I’ve just been
assaulted!”

“Miss,
I’d hardly call it an assault…” one of the men started.

“You’re
just as bad as he is!” she screamed, aware of the curious glances of the other
patrons around her. “This is ridiculous! I came into this family establishment
to have a nice meal, not to get manhandled. And you three, you’re just as bad
as he is!”

“We don’t
want—” one of them started when she shrieked at the top of her lungs, cutting
him off.

“You
bitch,” the warlock spat, glaring at Lila who was inching back toward the door.

Any day
now, Gabriel.

“There’s
no reason to talk to her like that,” one of the men said, cracking his knuckles
and taking a step toward him.

The
shrill scream of the fire alarm left her ears ringing. The warlock looked
around in confusion and Lila bolted for the door in time to see Gabriel heading
in her direction.

She got
to the door before him and barreled through it. He unlocked the car with the
keyless remote and jammed the keys in the ignition after jumping in, revving
the engine to life.

He
pulled out of the parking lot faster than was necessary. Lila looked in the
mirror in time to see a flood of people leaving the restaurant. The two
warlocks were in front of the crowd, the red head sporting a bloody lip.

“Took
you long enough to pull that alarm,” she commented when they were back on
track.

He
smirked. “Sorry, I was otherwise occupied.”

“Beating
the crap out of the warlock?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest and
suppressing a grin.

“Guilty.”

“Oh
well.” It had all worked out. “Let’s not stop for anything else to eat, please.
Or for gas. Or to stretch our legs. I just want to make it home in one piece.”

“I’m
good with that.”

“Did he
corner you?” she asked, now noticing the bruise that was slowly coming up on
his cheekbone.