Page 63 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness

I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew enough to know if Willa was freaking out, it wasn’t good. “We can be there in about twenty minutes. We’ll be fine.”

“Don’t get dead,” she said.

“Ditto.” I hung up and looked up to find Temperance close by.

“I heard.”

I wasn’t shocked. She had amazing hearing.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mina

If the warroom had a scent, it’d be old books, fresh ink, and pure, unfiltered panic. Well, that and hot dude cologne because the place was overflowing with them, and they all smelled amazing.

It was hard not to notice.

I’d been going through something of a sexual dry spell since the birth of my daughter. Sure, I’d tried going on dates, mostly at my sister’s insistence because it had freaked her out that I used to go out with anything with a penis and then stopped cold turkey.

I wasn’t really looking for anyone. Besides, it’s not like a guy would be able to handle really being with me and all that my life came with. I wasn’t just a single mother of a teenage girl. My daughter was more than human. So was I. And while that had ruled out a lot of the dating pool before, Willa had been quick to point out Grimm Cove was different. Especially now that we knew just how many supernaturals resided here.

I hadn’t entertained the idea until four days ago, when I’d been at my sister’s new home, having lunch with her when Jonathan had come home with a buddy of his.

Henry.

It was very clear my sister had orchestrated the entire thing with some help from Astria. That’s what I got for finally confiding in Willa when our daughters were around the age of ten—how it was that I’d really learned about the cave we’d chained her in.

Henry, who was seated next to me in what the Van Helsings called the war room, hadn’t aged a day in eighteen years. It’s something the me of twenty-two years ago would have questioned. The me post-Romania just ran with it. I didn’t look my age either. A perk of having to live with vampire traits.

Henry was as charming and interesting as I remembered him being. He was still weird about his lab on campus and was still a professor. Plus, he clearly knew about the supernatural seeing as how he was sitting in on the emergency meeting Bram and Jonathan had called. The not aging bit made me wonder what, if any supernatural, he might be.

And best of all, Henry didn’t seem put off by the fact I had a daughter. I had yet to formally introduce them and wasn’t planning on it unless whatever was happening between us progressed. They’d met though through Jonathan. I had a feeling Willa made sure that happened.

Temperance seemed to like him well enough. She didn’t know the two of us used to be an item of sorts. And she wasn’t aware that I’d been spending time with him since I’d been doing it on evenings she was at Willa’s house with Hannah.

So far, Henry and I had gone to dinner twice and had plans to do so tomorrow night. We hadn’t jumped back into the sack together yet, and I wasn’t sure we would. I was different than I used to be. The bloodlust was always there, lingering belowthe surface, but the constant hunger for sex had vanished after Armageddon night eighteen years ago.

That being said, Henry was still smoking hot, and he smelled great. His pinkie finger brushed mine. I hid my smile as I sat on the edge of a leather chair that probably cost more than my car, my hands flat on the conference table before me as I tried not to bounce my knee.

I’d barely gotten through the front gates of the estate before Van Helsings were ushering Temperance and I inside the manor. Hannah had been waiting inside with movies ready to stream and junk food. There had been mention of pizza and my stomach was still growling. If Bram didn’t speed things along down here, I was likely to get bitey. That would be bad for all involved.

We’d been here nearly two hours, and so far, the brains behind the calling of the meeting had yet to do anything other than pace and talk amongst themselves. I’m sure most of the room could hear their whispers.

I caught a word or two here or there, but my mind wasn’t where it should be. On the drive to the Van Helsing estate, I’d started to feel odd—like something was off. I just couldn’t figure out what.

I cast an annoyed look at my sister, who was across the table from me.

She shrugged.

I motioned lightly to her and nodded toward Jonathan, wanting her to ask him what was happening.

Currently, he, Bram and Seward were doing their best to wear a path on the floor from pacing.

Unable to take it anymore, I stood, prepared to ask the questions I hoped everyone else had too. Like why were we here and when were we going to eat?

Mostly, I cared about eating. The why I was here was quickly becoming second on my list of important items.

A man who looked to be in his early fifties or late forties came rushing in. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, a pair of shorts, and flip-flops. He grinned. “I’m here. What the hell is happening?”

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