Page 79 of Taken

“What time does Roland want us downstairs for the meeting?” he asked.

“Nine.”

Simon looked up at the wall clock, and my eyes followed. It was three in the morning. “Fuck,” Simon cursed, finishing his drink before placing the glass in the sink. “Maybe that will do the trick. I need to crash.”

After Simon resigned upstairs, I picked up Melissa from the couch, cradled her in my arms, and carried her to my room.

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I TAPPED MYcoffee mug impatiently with my index finger as we waited for Roland to speak. He took a call right as we finally sat down for the meeting, so now we had to wait even longer. Ezra was the most impatient in the coven, so he tapped his foot against the floor as loudly as possible so Roland would hurry the damn call and get on with it.

“Caleb,” Melissa whispered, sitting down beside me. She bit her bottom lip and looked around. “Are you sure Roland even wants me here?”

“It doesn’t matter what Roland wants. You’ve helped us out more than most,” I said. “You’re a part of this family as long as you want to be.”

My words didn’t ease her discomfort. I could tell as she pressed her lips into a flat line and clasped her palms together, interlinking her fingers. I wanted the coven to know that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Did you mean what you said last night?” Melissa asked, bringing my thoughts back to the conversation we had about being exclusive.

“Yes,” I said honestly. “When I told you that you were mine last night, and though it’s taken me this long to figure it out, I know in my heart it’s real. You’re who I want.”

There was no desire within me to date anyone else, and Melissa and I cared about each other. Still, given the fact that she was sitting in a room with a coven of powerful witches, she wouldn’t truly feel welcomed. As much as I tried to convince her that she was part of us, she may never feel like she truly belonged.

Roland finished his call and stood, placing his palms flat against the table. “Sorry about that,” he said, leaning forward. “We have a lot to discuss, so I’ll get right to it.” He glanced around the table, noting that everyone was accounted for. “When the vampires learned what Mercy’s blood would really do, Maurice orchestrated a team to find another solution.”

Hearing that monster’s name caused a lower, almost inaudible growl in my chest.

Ezra and I both exchanged glances before I said, “There isn’t another solution. It’s impossible.”

Roland shook his head. “That we know of.”

“What are you saying?” Leah asked. “That Maurice found a way to do what hethoughtMercy could do?” She looked around the table, her eyes stopping at me as if I had more answers or a better explanation than my father had.

“When Maurice was in Salem, he built a business supplying blood to vampires for profit,” Roland continued. “He’s acquired quite a client list, and according to Alexander, he was working on locating a specific coven of witches, who aren’t the easiest to find, to help him create a potion that, when given to a vampire, would block the UV rays from the sun and prevent them from burning to ash.”

My jaw dropped, and when I looked around, everyone else at the table appeared just as dumbfounded as me. “How is it,” I asked, “that I’ve never heard of a spell that has the power to do that? And how do you even know this information?”

“Marcus,” he said. “He heard Maurice talking about it before Maurice left the clan. Marcus brought it up to me a few months ago, but until I had more information, I didn’t want the coven involved.”

I slammed my hands down on the table, rattling it, and Melissa jumped beside me. “Are you fucking serious?” I said, heat from rage warming my cheeks. “This could be the very reason Maurice took her.”

Roland shook his head at me. “Mercy can protect herself, Caleb. There are more vampires and witches involved in this than we know. This is the only way to find the covens who have turned to the dark side and take them out. I’m confident Mercy will be able to escape and help lead us to where they’re at. We need to know what they’re up to. Perhaps she can even take them down from the inside.”

I was about to punch my own father in the face. I stood up, balling my hands into fists. “So, you allowed her to be fucking bait?”

“Relax, Caleb,” my father said. “I’ve always done what was best for the coven. Sit. Down!”

Fire ignited in my hands, and I held my palms up.

“Caleb, oh, my God. He’s your father. What are you doing?” Melissa cried as she placed her hand on my arm, trying to calm me, but I only brushed her hand away. I hated pushing her back like that when I knew I was frightening her. My own actions were about to push her completely away.

“You’re a fucking traitor, is what you are,” I threatened. “Twice now, you’ve put Mercy’s life in danger. I swear to God, if anything happens to her, you’re dead to me. I should have known all those years with those monsters would eventually turn you into one. You’re not the man I thought you were. That trust we all had to rebuild after you returned … is gone!”

The trees rattled outside the windows surrounding us as Ezra stood and pulled his hands out, brown light radiating from his palms. “Traitor,” he growled through his teeth.

Simon stood, slightly slower than Ezra, and pulled his hands out as a white glow radiated from them. A gust of wind whipped through the windows and into the kitchen.

Leah remained sitting. She looked up at us with fear shining in her eyes, but she was loyal and would always have the coven’s backs, so she, too, stood and glared at Roland. She pulled her hand to her side, and balls of water hovered over her palms.

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