Page 92 of Veil of Shadows

Merida licked her lips. “You said the middle of the stone seemed to be swirling. Or alive. Right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, something like that. Though, I was pretty disoriented, so?—”

She shook her head quickly. “If Delilah’s got an enchanted ring, that means she’s got more than just vampires on her side.”

That brought silence back down onto all three of us before Voss spoke in that commanding voice of his.

“For now, all we can do is protect what is ours while we search for Bexley. We all have our roles, so let’s get to it. And Merida?”

“Yes, Alpha?”

“Keep at it with those potions and salves. I want every house on this compound stocked as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, Alpha,” she said before she bowed her head and quickly exited the snipers’ nest.

Voss’s gaze volleyed between me and Ronyn as his voice lowered. “Enchantment only means one thing.”

“Witch,” Ronyn growled.

I shrugged. “Or warlock.”

Voss nodded. “But either way, it’s not good. If that ring allows her to wield fire, then as far as I’m concerned, she’s capable of anything we’re capable of. Treat that with the respect and diligence it requires.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Ronyn and I said in unison.

“Anything else?” Voss asked as he looked over at me.

I shook my head along with Ronyn.

Nodding his head, Voss dismissed us.

We wasted no time getting out of that nest and back to our packs so that we could execute phase two of our plan.

Even if we were flying by the seat of our fucking pants in the process.

29

BEXLEY

I couldn’t sleep. Even with the comfortable bed and the cozy, crackling fire, I was wide fucking awake. It happened, sometimes, whenever I was in enemy territory. Adrenaline coursed its way through the marrow of my bones, vibrating me from the inside out. I pulled the comforter up to my chin. I turned myself into every angle and on every side imaginable, trying to get comfortable. Hell, I even had two glasses of red wine from the endless decanter sitting on my bedside table. But nothing worked to relax me. Nothing worked to settle me down.

I decided to put my energy to good use.

I silenced my footsteps as I slipped out of bed. Still dressed in my clothes from the solstice celebration, my dress wafted around my legs as I eased my way out into the hallway. Silence poured over the entire hallway. Not even a footstep was heard. There was no moaning. No walking around. No talking. No… nothing.

I have to figure out where I am.

The first thing I needed was a good look at my outside surroundings. I needed to find a window. My bedroom didn’t have one, and neither did my bathroom. Which meant whatever grand castle-like structure I was in, it had outer corridors I hadto find. I kept my footsteps as silent as possible, inching through the darkness and staying out of the way of the candlelight sconces. If I stuck to the shadows, they didn’t illuminate, which made me wonder if they were blessed with magic as well, or whatever the fuck. Motion-sensored candlelight? There was a time in my life where that would have shocked me.

Not much shocked me anymore, though.

Not with the world I was thrust into, anyway.

“Ooooooh, right there.”

I froze at the sound of the moaning.

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.”

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