Cursed By Destiny
Page 63

Shayna knitted her brows together. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Yes, it was,” Taran snapped.
Danny entered the room and jerked a thumb toward the living area. “Food’s here.”
Everyone followed me into the kitchen, gasping when they saw the giant buffet that awaited. My empty stomach growled and cramped when I began to fill it, but the loss of Misha’s family made me sad. I finished quickly and slumped on the sage-colored couch, tucking my legs beneath me. “How many of Misha’s family died?”
Shayna exchanged glances with Taran, who jutted her chin. “She needs to know. The sooner we tell her the better.” Taran looked at me square in the eyes. “Eleven vampires . . . and Virginia.”
My spine straightened. “Misha killed Virginia for attacking me?”
Bren scoffed. “And for poisoning you and for planting the witch fire.”
Taran cut him off, appearing more furious than I’d seen her in a long time. “Misha questioned the bitch with his mojo after they revived her. She admitted to paying a Tribe witch a shitload of money to make both. When the fire didn’t take you out, she slipped the poison in your bisque, knowing it would drive you to kill yourself.” A spark of blue flame crackled over her head. “But that wasn’t all. She’s also the one who sent word to the Tribe and the shape-shifters, painting you as the perfect weapon . . . and one that needed to be disposed of.”
Shayna played with the edges of her long ponytail. “When the poison didn’t work, she made one last desperate call to that witch who’d helped her. The Tribemaster was supposed to come for you and you alone.” She let her hair go. “She hadn’t counted on the army he brought with him or that they’d also target Misha.”
My jaw tightened. “She let them through Misha’s wards.” My sisters nodded. I shook my head in disbelief. Virginia had hated me—that was obvious—but to risk Misha’s life to come after me skydived right into psycho.
Bren leaned back into the sofa, placing his hands behind his head. “What I don’t get is why the hell you didn’t just feed Virginia to Misha? Seriously, kid, did you have to give yourself to that ass**le?”
“I wasn’t really thinking, Bren. I just reacted. I mean, crap, he was going to die.” I rubbed my hands against my knees and tried to think things through. “It seems strange that Virginia would make me think Tye was Aric.”
“Ceel, you’re forgetting the poison was designed to make you crazy obsessive. You couldn’t fixate on Tye like that unless you truly believed him to be Aric.” Shayna leaned forward in her seat. “Remember how you told us Virginia was constantly lurking about? She probably learned of Destiny’s prediction. Think about it. Would anyone question you wanting Tye based on what Destiny said?”
What she said made sense. And yet, Virginia’s actions didn’t seem quite right. My mind struggled to work things through. “But wouldn’t the witch Virginia used need something of Aric’s or Tye’s to make the magic target them specifically?”
“The most powerful ones can do with just a photo, Celia,” Danny answered. He’d been quiet, listening carefully to what everyone had said. “And Tribe witches are exceptionally lethal—that’s why the Tribe recruits them.”
“Okay, I guess that wouldn’t be so hard to do.” I glanced out the window when I heard someone outside. “How are the other vampires doing?”
Bren chuckled. “Those losers are fine. The healthier ones gathered a bunch of clubbers in South Tahoe and brought them back to replenish themselves. The next day they hit the casinos and had some Mexican.”
I quirked a brow. “Mexican?”
“His name is José,” Danny explained.
Emme walked to the window. “José and his friends were looking for work so Maria brought them back here.”
“To eat?”
Shayna nodded. “Yeah, Ceel. But they’re also helping to repair the damage to the house. Misha is paying them a heck of a lot more than we make. We should have been carpenters.”
Aric burst through the door and barreled toward me. He scooped me into his arms before I could greet him. “What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting.”
I kissed his pursed lips and smiled. “I’ve been resting for three days. It feels good to be up.”
Aric sat on the couch, keeping me on his lap. He ran his fingers against my neck and carefully examined it. His eyes softened once he realized I wasn’t going to keel over. “Thank God you’re safe.”
I snuggled against him and took in his scent. “I’m fine, wolf.”
Bren rolled his eyes. “Get a room.”
Taran flashed a wicked smile. “Or a garden,” she sang.
My face flushed and so did Aric’s. “You told her?” he murmured in my ear. He tickled me with his nose, so I knew he wasn’t mad.
I played with the buttons on his shirt. “She pretty much figured it out on her own.”
Misha came in then, followed by Liz. “Hello, my darling.”
“Hey.” I was relieved to see him safe and healthy. So why did my body heat up and why the hell was I panting? I was surprised by how my body responded to seeing him, and so was Aric. He released me gently, then lunged at Misha. He didn’t get within three feet of him before hitting an invisible wall.
Misha flashed him a little fang, the arrogance he was infamous for soaring to the surface. “Tut, tut, tut, wolf. You know what Martin said.”
My ni**les hardened at the sound of his voice, and damn, he hadn’t even glanced my way. I tried to cover myself with my arms. My aroused scent filled the room, and everyone with a supernatural nose noticed. I just about begged God to kill me when they all gawked.
Bren burst out laughing. “Oh, shit. This is going to be good.”
“Ceel, cut it out!” Shayna admonished.
As if I had any control over it.
Aric’s growls struck the air like a raging wind. “What are you doing to her?”
Misha quirked a brow, his devilish grin widening despite his obvious surprise. “Nothing, I assure you.”
Danny cleared his throat, leaning close to speak softly. “Since he fed from you so deeply, your subconscious is associating him with, um, you know . . . climaxing.”