Page 37 of Protecting His Vampire Mate

Yeah, she was right. We needed to leave Poplar Creek.

She paused, then added, “How did you get away from them?”

“They think I’m a warlock.”

She paused again, for longer this time. “Why would they think that?”

“Um. Tobias is here. He’s, uh—”

I broke off, not sure what I should tell her. If I gave her the whole truth about the visions Tobias had seen, there was no doubt in my mind that she’d jump in the car, drive for hours, and put herself in danger by coming here, too. And she’d probably haul me out of Poplar Creek by the scruff of my neck.

“He thought I might need some help,” I finished, wincing a little at the huge omission. “The hunters saw us together and they caught him doing a spell. I guess they figured we must both be warlocks.”

“Your mate is there?” Veronika demanded, sounding incredulous.

After leaving Seattle, I had stayed with her for a little while. During that time, I had told her almost everything. The rough sketch, at least. I had glossed over the part where I had been forced to kill a double handful of innocent people, but she knew enough.

“He’s leaving. Once I’m not in danger any longer.”

“Bryan…” She let that hang there for a moment, like she was trying to figure out something to say, maybe to talk me out of how I felt. Then, after a moment had elapsed, she seemed to decide against it, because she let out a short huff before adding, “You know what? That’s your business. Live your life however you please. But I’m telling you right now, you both need to get away from those hunters as soon as possible. You don’t want them to catch wind of what you really are. And if they do, you and anyone standing too close to you is going to be in serious danger.”

“Right,” I told her, feeling numb and a little sick to my stomach. With that, I said my goodbyes and hung up the phone, staring at the screen for a long moment in stunned disbelief.

This was so much worse than I could have imagined.

“Who was that?” Tobias asked when I exited the car. His eyebrows drew together as he studied me, taking in whatever expression must have been plastered across my face. “Err, is everything okay?”

“That was my maker. She knew who the hunters were based on how I described them to her. She said they’re bad news. Really bad news.”

“I mean, they’re hunters and you’re a vampire. Of course it’s not a good match-up.”

“She said we should leave town.”

Tobias scowled at that, and his aura literally crackled with pure magic for an instant. It looked like streaks of violet lightning. “They won’t fucking touch you. But we’re not letting them run us out of town.” He paused, letting out a breath, the flash of magic fading. Then he added, “I’ll call Ethan and have him check the mirror. After we’ve had donuts.”

I stared at him, trying to make sense of what he had just said to me.

Why were we suddenly talking about donuts?

After a long moment, it clicked. Earlier, I had enthused about Voodoo Donut—mainly because I had wanted to seem really excited about the prospect of going to Portland. I didn’t fully trust Tobias not to place himself in serious danger on my account and the further we were away from the hunters, the better I’d feel.

“You promised to show me the wonders of a bacon maple bar,” he reminded me.

“I totally did. And you owe me a good cup of coffee.”

“I mean, you had the best coffee ever, courtesy of yours truly. But I’ll definitely caffeinate you some more if you want.”

“Now you’re speaking my language,” I shot back. The wheels in my head started spinning. “And, actually, you know what? Maybe we could make a day of it. I mean, we still have a witness to question, but it’s not like she’s going anywhere. Neither is the ghost.”

“Bryan, this isn’t even subtle.”

“And I don’t get a chance to come to Portland often,” I pressed on, flashing him a winning smile. “We should check out the city before we go back. It’s not like we’re on a schedule or anything.”

“You don’t want us to go back yet.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. Tobias frowned. “Whatever she said really rattled you.”

“Completely true,” I replied, because I wasn’t sure I could lie to him even if I wanted to. “But I also wouldn’t mind feeling like a normal guy for a couple of hours. You think you might be up to that?”

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

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