Page 36 of To Crave Truly

“Whether you like it or not, I’m going.” I spun to face Rae. “What was the address?”

Her eyes crinkled with concern. “I don’t know, Lori. I agree with Alec.”

“What?”

She grabbed my arm and pulled me to one side, not that it would really make a difference since the others pretty much all had supernatural hearing.

“Lori, I love you, but you’ve just been turned into a vamp. No one knows how you’re going to react out there. What if you go feral? What if you turn on one of the team?”

“I wouldn’t!” How could she even think that?”

“I know you think that, but you’ve only just come back to us. Can you fault them for wanting to make sure you stay safe?” Rae pinned me with a look that I knew very well. It was her don’t-mess-with-me-asshole look, and she’d used it on guys who’d kept asking for her number when we had worked the bar together. How much had changed since those simpler times when the highlight of my day was inventing a new cocktail and laughing with my best friend. Now look at me. I was wearing shadows, wondering about when I might have to feed on blood, and trying to decide if I could persuade a Hell Hound to let me go to a crime scene. Oh, and potentially be responsible for destroying the world.

I sighed and my shoulders dropped. “Fine. But I don’t like it.”

“I know,” Rae said as she squeezed my shoulder. “But maybe you can learn something more from Flora.”

“She’s right,” Alec said as he stepped beside me. “Flora will need settling and you need to keep an eye on Iver. Besides, Edwin is still here and he’s keen to spend some time with you.”

I knew they were trying to make me feel better about leaving me behind, and I knew it was for my own good, but it still fucking stung.

Alec pressed his lips against my temple in a soft kiss. “Thank you. I know this isn’t easy and I know you feel like we’re excluding you, but that is furthest from my intentions.”

I took a deep breath and melted a little in his embrace. “I know. I’ll look after Flora and make sure she’s taken care of. Just come back to me, okay?”

He smiled warmly down at me, and I melted even more. “Of course, cupcake.”

Then, with another press of his lips against my forehead, he left the room with everyone following in his wake leaving me with a frightened witch who’d had a vision of me at the end of the world.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Chapter Sixteen

Lori

Flora was still eyeing me warily and the frantic beat of her heart was insanely loud. Like a marching band of drums or a herd of stampeding elephants. And what was that smell? Spicey and rich and like the most amazing—

“Lori!”

Huh? What?

I blinked, the room slowly coming back into focus. Iver stood in front of me, a flash of curiosity sparkling in his black eyes.

“Fancy putting the fangs away?” he drawled. “I think you’re scaring the witch.”

I reached up and touched my lips and oh, shit. “I’m sorry.”

Flora was braced against the back of the sofa, her knuckles white with the effort of pushing herself as far away from me as she could possibly get.

“She’s newly turned,” Iver said with his usual bored drawl. “Got to expect a few control issues in the beginning.”

Flora looked at Iver like he was crazy, and, admittedly, I was still trying to figure that out myself. The guy was always watching me like a hawk. Like I was the one on the cusp of doing something weird.

I think he’s waiting for me to jump out. Maybe I could scare him.

I snort. “I’d love to see that.”

Iver’s eyes narrowed into two thin slits. “What’s she saying?”

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