Page 9 of The Succubus's Song

“You’re wrong,” Finley argued. “If it involves you, then it is my problem.”

A pang of longing tore through Mara’s weak defenses. She was too emotionally raw from dealing with the sudden arrival of her sister—and hungry—to deal with Finley McEwan. Her entire body stiffened as she shook her head slowly.

“That’s very kind of you, Finley, but if this has anything to do with what happened at Christmas…”

“Just because you rejected me doesn’t mean I don’t still care about you,” Finley’s voice was disturbingly even.

Mara bristled. “I didn’t reject you—”

“You did, and your reasoning was stupid.”

“It was not stupid!” Mara blurted, jumping to her feet. “You don’t know what I am, Finley. You are a mortal man. Trust me, your affections for me aren’t genuine. I’m designed this way. You have no business in a supernatural feud!”

Finley didn’t miss a beat, standing up and raking a hand through his hair in frustration. “Why don’t we see what Calum and Fern have to say about it then?”

“Don’t you dare tell them!”

“I’ll do whatever I—”

“Enough!” Emmett roared. He slammed his fists on his desk and stood, causing his heavy oak desk to shake. Mara and Finley were immediately silenced, sitting down in their chairs like scolded children. Emmett let out an exasperated sigh and grunted.

“Calum has enough on his plate right now, trying to work out the kinks of his return to the throne in Faerie. We’ll alert him if we need to, but not yet. Now, Mara, did your sister say anything else?”

“No.” Mara shook her head. “She said it was a warning. I doubt they’re stupid enough to descend upon the city without at least a semblance of a treaty with Calum, but they’ll keep pestering me to convince him.”

“Do you think the city is safe?”

“No,” Mara repeated. “If Alice is here, then she’s not the only one. They’ll need to feed, and they’ll have no problem seducing mortals.”

“Can you handle them?” Emmett pushed her, raising a brow as he settled back into his armchair.

“Yes. I’ll keep an eye out for them.”

“Good. Do that until they expose themselves again. If we catch them in the act, then we can go to Calum, and he’ll have evidence to restrict your family’s movements. Right now, they have plausible deniability that Alice is acting on her own.”

Mara smiled at Emmett. “Always the general, aren’t you?”

“Ha,” Emmett huffed out a rough chuckle, picking up his coffee. “Unfortunately. And you…” Emmett looked at Finley. “You’re a part of this family now, like it or not.”

“So, I can help—”

“No,” Emmett cautioned. “It means that we protect you. If Mara’s family is smart, they’re trying to figure out who’s running in Calum’s inner circle.”

“I don’t see what the problem is,” Finley hedged, crossing his arms over his chest.

Mara felt bad for him. He’s got a heart of gold and doesn’t know what to do with it. She watched him argue with Emmett for a few more seconds before she interrupted.

“Finley,” Mara pleaded, “you’re not getting it. If my sisters are back in Edinburgh, it means they’ll need to feed. Who do you think they’ll go after?”

“Mortal men, you’ve explained this part to me,” Finley whined. Mara wanted to shake him.

“Okay, so if they’re looking for Calum’s weak spot, do you happen to know any mortal men who he might consider family now?” Mara crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Finley’s face twisted in realization.

“Oh.”

“Exactly,” Mara retorted. “Finley, if my sisters find out about you, they’ll come for you.”

CHAPTER FIVE

---