Page 64 of Seduced By Moonlight

“It’s a start.” Kayden looked squarely at both of them. “And maybe stay out of the clubs for right now too?”

Lance grumbled but nodded. “Of course, you understand that if you don’t want me going out on my own, I’m going to be dragging the two of you with me.”

“Of course you are.” Mika slapped Lance on the shoulder. “We expected nothing different.”

Kayden chuckled halfheartedly. Maybe he could talk Lance into a couple of nights at home. He wasn’t much into the bar scene like Lance.

When they joined Tank and the rest of the crew, he noticed the atmosphere was now fraught with an uneasy tension that hadn’t been there before.

No one had much to say, and a few hours before sunrise, Kayden wrapped up. As he walked outside, he noticed clouds gathering overhead. Well, that certainly mirrored the mood here.

The crew quickly gathered into their vehicles with hardly any of the usual banter that characterized the end of their workdays.

As Kayden drove away from Ward’s castle, every shadow seemed like it could conceal a threat. Paranoia could debilitate in high doses. He knew that. But right now, it also felt like an appropriate response.

Shouldn’t it be getting lighter? Daylight was only an hour and a half away. Why the hell was it so dark out there?

Kayden’s grip tightened on the steering wheel as his gaze scanned the dark horizon. The natural light that should have been gradually illuminating the sky was absent, swallowed by an unnatural blackness spreading like ink in water.

A chill ran down his spine, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“Shit,” Kayden flick the headlights to full beam, though they did precious little to penetrate the lingering dark.

“Is it me or is it really, really dark out there?” Lance asked from the passenger seat.

“It’s not you,” Kayden said, focusing on the road ahead. “Damn it,” he muttered, adjusting his rearview mirror. He wanted to be home, not out here in the middle of nowhere.

As he crossed through the final protective ward marking the boundary of the gargoyles’ territory, a mysterious figure suddenly materialized in the center of the road. The air shimmered around the person, casting an eerie glow that contrasted with the darkened sky above.

Kayden took his foot off the gas pedal, his mind racing with uncertainty. The engine’s hum softened as his truck slowed, and his grip tightened on the steering wheel.

The figure tossed their hood, and there stood Marianna Crescente, draped in a cloak. She was surrounded by a half circle of witches.

“Oh, fuck me,” Kayden whispered.

They raised their hands, fingers weaving through the air with mesmerizing grace, as if skillfully tugging at invisible threads woven into the fabric of the universe.

From their fingertips, glimmers of green and violet light danced into existence, swirling and merging to form orbs that throbbed with a sickening green energy.

The lights flickered and flashed, casting shadows that twisted and writhed as if alive, painting the surrounding darkness with an unsettling glow.

They’d blocked the road, and a sense of dread crept over him. He couldn’t just barrel through and run them down. Could he? Yeah. Yeah, he could. He stomped the gas.

With a silent command from Marianna, the orbs shot forth like meteorites, striking Kayden’s vehicle. The front tire blew out with a deafening pop, causing it to jerk violently to one side. It swayed under the impact.

“Hold on!” Kayden yelled, his voice barely audible over the roar of the engine and the screeching tires.

He gripped the steering wheel with all his might, his knuckles turning as white as chalk as the car veered wildly toward the looming ditch and the line of towering pine trees.

The landscape blurred past in a chaotic dance, the headlights casting frantic shadows that flickered and disappeared in the dense darkness of the night.

Oh God, they were heading for the fucking trees.

Another volley of magical orbs shot past them, exploding against the ward they’d just traveled through and into a vehicle of his crew.

“That motherfucker!” Kayden screamed.

“Shit. She’s trying to collapse the wards. It let our caravan through, and now she’s attacking that opening,” Lance yelled.

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