Page 58 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

“At least let me hug them goodbye. They’re leaving soon,” she protested.

I obliged, and after a few hugs, was finally hauling my mate down the beach again.

If I saw any of Cecil’s vampires on the way, I’d kill then before my mate’s magic could finish the job.

Sage fellasleep on the couch while I was turning a movie on. A knock at the door had me crossing the room, absently wondering where I’d left my phone.

Anyone who knew me well was aware that I lost it as often as I didn’t. I’d been trying to hold on to it so I could stay in touch with the security team, but with the wards healthy again, I hadn’t bothered to bring it with me that morning.

A glance out the window showed Harv and Bailey on the doorstep together. They rarely spoke to me at the same time. Isuspected they were worried I’d catch on to the relationship they thought they were hiding if I saw them together very often.

They took a quick step away from each other when I pulled the door open.

“What happened?” Bailey asked. “We have a dozen vampires crowded in the medical room, and no idea why they’re so sick. The most coherent one said they drank magic blood.”

Technically, he was right.

They just hadn’t bothered to make sure it wassafemagic blood.

And they’d underestimated my mate, which wasn’t going to happen again.

I was fairly confident I could end their suffering and let at least a few of them live by washing the rune off Sage’s leg, but I wasn’t going to do that. If a dozen vampires died the first time someone attacked her, there wouldn’t be another attack. Period.

Which was ideal, obviously. I didn’t want my mate to be at risk in our home.

“Cecil cornered Sage in one of the restaurants. He took enough of her blood to wipe her out completely.” I opened the door wide enough for the couple to see my mate curled up on our couch, then angled it to hide her again. “He threatened to give her to the witches outside the resort if she refused, so she didn’t. She charmed the blood they took instead.”

Technically, she had runed it. Not charmed it. But they wouldn’t know the difference.

I didn’t want anyone to understand exactly how my mate’s magic worked unless she decided to explain it to them herself.

“Your calm little witchpoisonedthem?” Harv asked, his expression almost incredulous.

She definitely didn’t come across as violent. Or murderous. And she wasn’t—she was smart. She knew where she was living and how to protect herself.

“Yes.”

Bailey whistled. “She’s totally badass. I should’ve done that years ago. Your mate’s going to take out Cecil and his entire inner circle in one go.”

Harv grunted. “We can hope.”

“Some of them might recover,” I said. “Regardless, word will spread that she’s more dangerous than she looks.”

“We should emphasize that. I can spread the word and get people to start talking about it,” Bailey offered.

“Good call.” I glanced backward when Sage made a sound of pain. Between exhaustion, blood loss, and heat, she was in bad shape.

I needed to use my magic to heal her, but I wasn’t sure how a dose of my fire would affect the heat already burning in her veins. The last time, it was intense for her.

“We’ll get going,” Harv said, stepping back. I didn’t miss the arm he put around Bailey’s waist, gently pulling her back with him.

She took another step away from him quickly, and there was no ignoring the frustration that crossed his face.

I had no idea how they hadn’t mated yet. They’d been together for decades, so they had to genuinely believe that I was goingto have issues with their connection. Considering he was a werewolf, they must’ve been fated mates or something.

I needed to have a conversation with them about them not hiding their relationship, but for the moment, it wasn’t a priority. My mate was unconscious on the couch, and that was what mattered.

“Good luck with Sage,” Bailey said, forcing a smile.

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