Page 8 of Ember's Claim

“Cheeky.” He chuckles. “What brought you out to such a delightful human establishment on this fine evening?” His eyes dilate, and my head gets fuzzy.

Some supernaturals have the ability to force the truth from weaker beings.

Vampires, especially, are known for being able to mindfuck their victims and anyone not as powerful as they are. Rogue’s dad, Silence, also has that gift, but he rarely uses it. Likewise, if Rogue does, I’ve never seen it in action.

The foggy feeling intensifies until my entire body gets warm and fuzzy and a little floaty. My wolf growls her displeasure, and it snaps me out of the haze enough to remember that I’m here for a job I’m not allowed to mention.

“I came with a friend,” I hear myself say. “She wanted to find a guy.”

Okay, technically, that wasn’t a lie. It was definitely subverting the truth, but it was accurate enough.

“How intriguing,” he murmurs and takes a quick step back. “And if you were looking for a male…what would your search criteria be?”

“A wolf,” I blurt out and bite the inside of my cheek to keep from saying more.

“Hmm, if I were searching for a wolf, I would likely check pack lands, but I’m sure you know better than I do how to locate a shifter.” He chuckles, and it sounds kinda dangerous. “What’s your name, little wolf?”

“Ember,” I answer on autopilot.

“Lorcan.” His fingers brush my cheek again. “It’s been a pleasure. You may remember our interaction, but if you attempt to speak of it to anyone, the memories will fade.”

Before I can blink, he’s gone.

My chest rises in rapid pants as the foggy feeling finally lifts from my brain.

That was really weird.

I’m just exiting the parking lot when my phone rings through my SUV’s Bluetooth.

Clicking the button, I pull out onto the highway.

“Are you okay?” Rogue asks in a weird tone.

“I’m fine. Heading back to Haven now,” I assure her. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” she says, and I can hear the tires and sounds of her driving in the background. “I got a weird feeling.”

I open my mouth to explain the interaction with Lorcan, but no words come out.

It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Even when I was a kid and my brother, Larke, used to try to compel me, I could always fight back.

This is completely different.

The more I focus, the more the memories and words that I want to say simply float away.

I finally hear myself say, “Nope, I’m all good.”

“All right, well, call me tomorrow if you want help deciding what to wear on your date with Veryn.” Rogue sighs. “I gotta go. The phone is making my skin itch.”

Fae are hypersensitive to electricity, and Rogue is more affected than most. I snort as she hangs up, but I’m still unsettled. I’m pretty sure Lorcan isn’t a vampire. He didn’t smell like one. There are all kinds of powerful immortals who can mindfuck their victims, but finding them around here is rare.

I’ll have to dedicate some time tomorrow to do a little research.

The next morning, I call my Aunt Nadia to make an appointment to refresh my contraceptive spell. Okay, she’s technically not my aunt, but she and my mom have been friends since forever. She’s the closest thing Haven has to a fertility witch, and for a lot of years, she masqueraded as one.

She has her own office behind her house, where she sees patients, and I don’t feel an ounce of weirdness about seeing her instead of a human doctor.

Human birth control is finicky and unreliable where shifters are concerned. Also, my mom is the one who warned meat lengthnot to trust human contraceptives.

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