Page 33 of Captive Hybrid

I flinch away without meaning to. ‘Sorry,’ I mumble.

Aidan waves me down, sliding into the seat beside me. ‘It’s okay. I get it. It must be weird.’

I risk a slow glance up at Evelyn through my lashes, expecting her to be annoyed. Instead, there’s a smile in the corner of her mouth. ‘You two, play nice. And remember, Zenna, he’s mine.’

I blink at her as she scoots out of the booth and goes to speak with the bartender. They lean in and start chatting, clearly friends.

My brows rise as I turn to the witch. I’m almost relieved to be with another witch, but he’s certainly not like me. He’s a vampire’s pet. A subjugate. I swallow, unsure what to say. This close, I can smell the soap lingering on his skin, the slight scent of coffee on his breath.

‘Hey, are you okay?’ he asks.

‘I don’t want to be here.’ In the Den, the Tomb. Both. Part of me is tempted to reach out through the bond, asking Mordecai to come and get me. But I don’t.

Aidan has warm brown hair and eyes. An angular but not sharp-looking face, and a smooth, full mouth. His smile is easy. Kind. He nudges me gently with his elbow. ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’

‘Help me? Don’t you want to get out of here, too?’

His brows shoot up. ‘Nope. I’m good.’

‘But there’s—your—your neck—’

A little smile, almost embarrassed, kicks up his mouth. ‘Oh. Yeah. No, that’s fine. That was Evelyn.’ He raises a hand to the vampire at the bar, holding up two fingers. She nods with a smile—a friendly smile—and indicates she’ll be right over. ‘You’re scared of them, aren’t you?’

I nearly scoff. ‘Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be? They eat people.’

Aidan laughs, low and from his belly. Truly amused. ‘They—right.’ He turns so I can see the bite mark in his throat. ‘Zenna, they happen to drink blood. It’s fine. Look, there are good vamps and vamps I try to stay away from. Evelyn is a good one. She never kills. She drinks from me only when I say so, and the sex is amazing.’ He gives a shrug. ‘No worries.’

This time, the scoff rips out of me. ‘No worries? Are you kidding me? What if she kills you by drinking too much?’

The bartender sets two drinks before us, a respectful nod to Aidan as she leaves.

He slides me a drink that looks like coke, but I’m not taking any chances. ‘She wouldn’t. She’s old. She has plenty of control.’

My eyes go to the lounges nearby, watching vampires bite down, hard, on people’s neck. The gasps, and little yelps as teeth pierce flesh. I snap my gaze down to my lap, fingers intertwined. Oh, how I miss home. My eyes dart around, desperately searching for an exit, a way out. Even back to Evelyn’s.

Aidan bumps my shoulder. ‘Hey, stick with me and Evelyn, you’ll be okay.’

I know he’s trying to be nice, but I shake my head. ‘I want to leave this place. I’m a captive here, don’t you get that?’

Aidan drums his fingers on the table thoughtfully. ‘The Tomb is abuzz with talk of you, you know. Is it true you’re a hybrid? Part witch, part fae?’ He tilts his head, staring at me uncomfortably.

Through gritted teeth, ‘Yes.’ My fingers knot in my lap under the table. Thankfully, no one stops to stare at me or question me. They’re much too interested in eating, or being eaten.

The witch glances over at Evelyn, then back to me. ‘Hey, would you let me try something?’ He reaches toward me, palm up on the table between us. A small, glowing yellow ball of light blooms in his palm.

I frown. ‘What is that?’

‘It’s a mood ball. To show you I’m fine. That you don’t need to worry. Touch it, you’ll see.’

I glare. ‘I’ve never seen that spell before.’

‘Because in your, what, twenty-something years, you’ve seen every spell that exists?’

Well, you don’t have to be a jerk.Instead of touching the glowing ball in his hand, I study his face. He’s maybe a decade older than me, but he’s completely calm, shoulders relaxed. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a good actor. What if Evelyn’s been holding him captive, or he has that Stockholm syndrome thing?

If he only thinks he’s okay, will that show up in this spell?

I reach forward slowly, hoping this isn’t some kind of trick. I glance around, but the magic between us goes unnoticed by the other patrons. I get an unwanted glimpse of a male’s head between a woman’s legs, her head tossed back, mouth open in pleasure. I don’t know if he’s biting her or using his tongue, but she certainly seems to be enjoying it.

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