Page 21 of Toadstools and Vampire Kisses

Blue eyes peer at me through a break in the vines and he lets out a lengthy burst of laughter. I glare at him, waiting patiently for him to finish.

“Cousin, where is Fran?” I snarl.

“I don’t know,” he chortles. “Trust me, this is hardly intentional. Your Fran apparently did not appreciate my efforts and found a clever way of preventing me from fulfilling my part in our agreement. She summoned this up and caught me like a mouse in trap before I even had a chance to evade it.”

I grimace as I cut free a segment only to watch it grow back quicker than I can tear it away. I give the mass a shake of my head. “It appears you are stuck for the time being.”

“Yes,” Jack agrees with a yawn. “I worked at it for a while before I realized that it was completely useless. I will remember this trick next time, though. She won’t snare me twice!”

I sigh in exasperation. I doubt that it will be as easy as he believes it to be. “It will be wise to keep in mind what they are capable of when we are in their company.” My brows draw down in a quizzical frown as I consider the Durmont coven, particularly the one female who is mine. “They are quicker to act than I recall witches being.”

Jack laughs again from within his prison, and I wonder at how he has the audacity to laugh at me when he is stuck such as he is. I wasted too much time with Sarah, and now Jack is testing my patience. I glance around anxiously, eager to get moving. I have not located Fran yet, and the evening is almost over!

“Reynard, the last time you were around witches was when they would have been killed by any of their fellow humans if they so much as suspected them of witchcraft. This is a different time. No one is out witch hunting, so why wouldn’t they be freer to defend themselves as necessary?”

“I suppose that means I must leave you until I convince Fran to withdraw her spell,” I mutter.

“And what of the news?” he asks, leaning closer to the vines. I hear a soft curse, no doubt from pricking himself on the spines, but he doesn’t back up.” Is she the one?”

I rub my chest absently and nod. “She is. I cannot stand this feeling of separation, and it is only growing stronger, though I cannot say I approve of your method of ‘helping’ me.”

Jack gives me a sheepish look. “I admit that in retrospect it was a bad idea. It was a bit impromptu on my part. I was still trying to think of a way to plausibly separate you and your witch when the blue-clad witch whom I was escorting caught sight of you and mentioned how much she would love to be introduced. Her fascination with you, dear cousin, was irritating but it seemed too good of an opportunity to pass.”

“You ought have. Then I would not have been blasted when I was forced to evade her attempts to seduce me.”

“By the infernal gods, that figures.” Jack groans. “I wouldn’t have minded being seduced.”

“Well, I did, and now I must deal with whatever damage that might have caused between me and Fran.” I sigh at his look of chagrin. “Will you be all right in there?”

He chuckles and nods. “I’m all set. A few of the children have been slipping me little treats. I think I’ve discovered a profound love for pumpkin squares.”

My nose wrinkles. “Surely you are not eating that? You will make yourself sick.”

“Digestive issues are worth it,” he declares with a wet sound that I suspect is a bite of said treat. It is confirmed when his following words are muffled by the food blocking his smacking lips. “Go ahead and find Fran. I’ll be fine in the meantime.”

I shudder in revulsion and happily leave him to it. Thankfully, it does not take me long to find my mate. I am, however, less than pleased who I find her with.

The galkin sitting at her side sips from his cup as he watches me stalk toward them, a small smile curling his mouth. I narrow my eyes on him as I come to the side of the table. He is sitting far too close to Fran for my liking.

“Well, well, well. It seems that the rumors were right, and a vampire has descended upon the Durmont coven.” He glances over at Fran, his smile widening. “Fran, why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugs pensively, and for a moment it appears that she recoils from the familiar way in which he touches her arm in inquiry. I am of the mind to rip it off, but it is clear that no one present knows what this male is. The last thing I want to do is a cause a panic in the humans around us due to an outburst of violence, no matter how well deserved.

“Why are you here?” I manage to ask, though my already thin patience is waning further. “I doubt you were invited.”

He grins and settles back in his chair, his arms stretching across the back so that his hand brushes Fran’s arm where it dangles. I try not to eye that hand as I focus on him.

“Not invited, true, but then I doubt you were invited either. More like that you were sent, and the coven simply agreed to your presence. But why is that I wonder?” He taps his chin. “It is very suspicious. Wouldn’t you agree, Fran?”

My mate glances up at him, a frown puckering her brow. “I don’t see how that’s any business of yours. What my mother decides on behalf of the coven is between her and the representatives from the vampire coven she has welcomed. What I do think is that this entire conversation has nothing to do with me. If you two are going to measure dicks, I think I would rather be elsewhere.”

Fran stands, her eyes boring into me as she walks from around the table and briefly pauses at my side. “Did you find what you seek?”

There is a note of fury in her voice that makes my nerves spark and my cock hard, but the words that come from my mouth exit entirely without my permission on a soft growl. “Yes. I have found you.”

A look of surprise crosses her face, but it is replaced by a bitter twist of her lips. “What a pity you didn’t discover that earlier.” She snaps her fingers, and a coiled tension of magic that I failed to notice suddenly unravels from the air followed by a loud crash in the direction from which I came. “You might want to check on your cousin when you have a minute,” she adds with a grin. “Now if you’ll both excuse me, I think I am done here.”

My eyes follow her as she walks away, the galkin momentarily forgotten until he too begins to rise. I reach out and grab ahold of him with one hand, my claws sinking dangerously against the soft skin of his neck. All the while, my eyes never leave my mate as I watch her join her mother at the fore of the ballroom. The dragon is prancing around with the pumpkin on his head like many of the other males are doing, and a deep ire curls and boils within me as I watch. It is pure rivalry, and I know that, but still I watch and wait patiently for someone to arrive to whom I can turn the galkin over.

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