Page 49 of Protecting His Vampire Mate

“That’s the spirit,” Ella chuckled. “Tell me, though,” she said, her gaze sliding back over to Bryan. “What on earth is a vampire doing, hunting ghosts?”

Bryan glanced up at her. “Can’t you just tell?”

Actually, I got the strong sense that she could tell. Ella’s powers were unpredictable, causing her to pick up random bits of information. Sometimes it was messages from spirits of the dead, sometimes it was stray thoughts from those around her, and other times it was impressions from people, places, and objects. Occasionally, she even glimpsed the future.

“I get what I get,” Ella replied, watching him intently.

“Well, this ghost has killed a lot of people already,” Bryan said, sounding equal parts defensive and defiant. “I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

“You do mean that, don’t you? You’d like to protect mortals if you could.”

Bryan nodded, seeming suddenly enraptured by her gaze. I realized, abruptly, that Ella was using her gifts to do what she could to read his mind.

I spoke a short spell to throw up a mental block around Bryan, then grabbed him by the wrist and shook him slightly.

“Hey, what the hell?” Bryan blinked at me in confusion. Then he seemed to shake himself. He glared back over at Ella. “Wait. You were in my head, weren’t you? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

I expected Ella to say something arch and sarcastic, or else to tell us to leave. Or perhaps even to try attacking Bryan. He had, after all, killed witches in the past—even if it wasn’t his choice to do so. I already had a counter spell on the tip of my tongue, just in case.

I was prepared for anything at all except what actually happened.

Ella blinked in surprise, and I saw that her eyes shone. She stepped around the counter, walked up to Bryan, and threw her arms around him.

I was so startled that I dropped Bryan’s hand. I was halfway through a counter-spell when I realized that she wasn’t enchanting him.

She was giving him a hug.

Bryan reacted by stepping backward, away from Ella.

“What in the hell, lady?” Bryan’s fangs were down, and his skin was paler than before. His lower lip trembled, and his eyes shone, but his face was tight with anger as he glared at Ella, taking another step back from her. “I could have hurt you!”

“I am a soul-reader, young one,” Ella informed him. “And I know that isn’t true. What troubles me is that you do not.” She gave him a sad smile and she looked as though she was on the verge of tears herself. “No one knows what was stolen from you, do they? How much guilt you must live with, how it agonizes every part of you. Not your friends. Not your mother. Not your sister.” She glanced over at me. “Not even your mate.”

“How?” Bryan, if it was possible, went even more pale. His eyes widened. He took another step back.

Ella frowned, cocking her head to the side, as though listening to something that only she could hear. “There’s a spirit nearby. A feminine one. She wishes to communicate with you.”

Bryan went even paler at her words. He swallowed hard, his eyes going wide.

Ella paused, pursing her lips. “She seems to be in some amount of distress. I’m getting that she was young when she died. And her name…” She trailed off, staring into space. Then, a few moments later, she blinked and her eyes refocused. “Her name starts with a ‘T.’”

“I can’t do this,” Bryan said, sounding strangled. “I’m leaving.”

With that he turned and marched through the beaded curtain, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Well, fuck.

“Thanks for that!” I snapped at her. “Next time, try keeping your powers to yourself!”

“I just did you a favor,” Ella told me, sniffing dismissively. She blinked away the wetness in her eyes and turned away from me, taking in a deep, shuddering breath. “Don’t be an idiot. Take the iron and go after him. He needs you, Tobias, far more than you realize. He’s barely hanging on by a thread.” She paused, then added, “Don’t worry, I’ll send your coven an invoice. Now, go.”

Shaking my head at her, even though her back was turned and she couldn’t see me, I grabbed the iron spear off the counter. Then, with her words still ringing in my ears, I went after my mate.

*

I found Bryan several minutes later, in an alley. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply. Vampires don’t technically need to breathe, but deep breathing is still calming for them, the same way it is for everyone else.

“Go away,” he said, without opening his eyes. “I don’t trust myself around you right now.”

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