6. Chapter Six

Before I could have my first foray out of the bedroom, Ewan insisted on sending his mother away to avoid an incident. Then Walter showed up to break the spell he’d put on the door to keep me trapped inside.

“How are you liking the fangs?” he teased.

I glared at him. “How would you like them in your neck?”

Ewan’s teeth ground together. He was extremely nervous about letting me out, and my comment about biting the fae mobster didn’t help the situation.

Walter threw his head back and laughed. “You do know I’m the only person who can let you out of this room, yeah?”

He stood in the hallway, safely out of my reach–lucky for him. While I was aware he was goading me, true anger formed a pit in my stomach and the urge to attack grew strong. Oddly, I didn’t thirst for his blood, not even a little.

Is it because he’s Winter’s father? I wondered.

Ewan put a hand on my shoulder. His touch calmed me, and I leaned against him.

“Undo the spell,” Ewan said in his alpha voice.

Walter’s intense gaze focused on Ewan’s face, studying him for several long moments. His tone was no longer teasing when he finally spoke. “That’s a lot of power you got. Learn to control it, and you truly will be the King of Wolves.” He shifted to me. “You ready?”

I don’t know, am I? I wondered.

Ewan’s hand moved to the small of my back. “There’s no one else in the house. You’ll be fine.”

A part of me hated myself for needing his reassurance, as if I was incapable of making decisions. On the other hand, I didn’t entirely trust myself now that I drank my meals.

I nodded to Walter. “Work your magic.”

Maybe it was the time I’d spent as a dimensional fae, but I assumed Walter would wave his hand and the spell would lift. It was way more complicated than that.

He started at the top of the open doorway and drew runes in the air, working his way to the ground. The entire time, he chanted in old faerie. When he’d filled the space with fiery symbols, he stepped back and raised his hands. I felt him summon his magic, and then he blasted the invisible barrier.

The runes shattered and fell to the floor, disappearing upon impact. Walter made a sweeping bow, inviting me to leave the room. Ewan kept his hand on my back as I took my first tentative steps through the doorway and out of the bedroom.

Walter’s heart beat fast from exertion. I smelled his magic just as acutely as I heard his blood pumping through his veins. And yet, it wasn’t tantalizing in the least.

Ewan guided me the short distance to the bathroom. “You did well,” he said, brushing a kiss over my forehead.

I shrugged. “Nothing about him is appetizing.”

Walter’s laughter carried down the hallway. “That’s by design.”

“There’s a tonic he takes. It’s very hard to come by and very expensive to acquire,” Ewan informed me. “While you get cleaned up, I’ll find you something decent to wear.”

“You’re leaving?” I asked, not loving the idea of being alone.

“All the exit doors are spelled, and Walter will be in the house if you need anything,” Ewan said.

I stared up at him wide-eyed. “You’re letting him babysit me, seriously? He’s a criminal.”

Walter snickered and called out, “People locked in glass houses, blah, blah—you know the rest.”

Ewan ignored the fae and cupped my cheeks. “I’ll be back soon.”

He stole a kiss and backed out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I waited until I heard him leave the house and then tried the door handle, a little surprised when it didn’t send a current of electricity running through my body.

I took a long, hot bath, washing and conditioning my hair several times to get out all the knots. It was the most human I’d felt since rising, and I wanted to bask in the normalness of it all as long as possible.

Ewan returned long before I climbed out of the tub. He checked on me twice, first bringing a set of brushes and combs and a toothbrush and then delivering a silk robe and a folded stack of clothes.

My fingers and toes should’ve looked like prunes, but apparently that was an upside of vampirism. I took my time combing out the tangles in my dark hair and luxuriating in the feel of the silk against my skin.

Then, the steam cleared from the mirror, and I saw my crimson eyes and pale face. To say I found the sight alarming was an understatement. In the dreams, I never saw myself as a vampire, so this was definitely weird.

For the most part, I still looked like me, except more intense—colder, fiercer, fangier. My wolf stirred and rose, ready to make an appearance. I almost let her. Staring at my reflection was a reality check I needed, yet definitely didn’t want. Gold ribbons swirled in my red irises until I finally pushed my wolf down.

A knock sounded at the door, and then Ewan slipped inside. He met my gaze in the mirror, expression softening. He didn’t say a word as he crossed the room and pried the comb from my fingers, taking over where I’d left off.

No one had brushed my hair since I was a child. I closed my eyes and focused on the feel of the teeth against my scalp. A tear leaked from between my shut lids. Ewan ran his thumb across my cheek, wiping it away.

“I know it’s hard,” Ewan whispered. “It’ll get easier, in time. You have me.”

The weight of his emotions crashed down on me. I covered his hand with mine and pressed it against my face, reveling in his touch. His guilt over turning me was palpable. He worried I would grow to hate him over time.

“You didn’t have a choice,” I said, squeezing his fingers. “I have loved you since the day you entered my life. Nothing will ever change that.”

Ewan finished combing my hair and bent down and kissed my neck. “Remember you said that.” He ran one finger down my throat. “Come downstairs whenever you’re ready.”

I gave him a tight smile, not feeling great about his ominous comment. “Yeah, sure.”

Once he’d slipped into the hallway, I unfolded the stack of clothes he’d brought earlier–jeans and a soft pink sweater. They fit surprisingly well and appeared new, though they didn’t have tags. The boots were a little big, as if they were meant to be worn with more than one pair of socks.

I didn’t look in the mirror again, too afraid of my own reflection.

Two mortal heartbeats filled my ears as I started down the stairs. One, of course, belonged to Walter, and the other to Winter. Just like before, I sensed her presence before I saw her. She sat on a couch in the living room with her father, neither of them speaking.

Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall when they first met, I thought.

Winter turned as I entered the room, her smile too bright. “Feeling any better after your bath?”

“A little,” I admitted.

Walter’s keen gaze followed my every move, muscles tense as if ready for a fight. He’d been much more relaxed earlier, so I guessed this reaction had something to do with the fact his daughter was present.

Ewan wandered in from the kitchen with a cup of tea in one hand and a large, green plastic cup in the other. He brought both drinks to me.

“Essie brewed this for you.” He nodded toward the tea. “This is my blood mixed with a tonic, meant to dull your senses temporarily.”

My mouth salivated at the thought of his warm, rich blood. I drank that first, downing the entire cup like the sole participant in a chugging contest. The tea was hot, and I sipped the concoction while Ewan explained our afternoon plans.

“My beta, Charlie, and a few other wolves have offered themselves up. You’ll meet them outside, in the open air,” he said, speaking slowly. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”

“Me too,” Winter piped up. She glanced toward her father. “So will… Walter.”

“Collen and Essie are also coming,” Ewan added.

“This seems like a questionably large gathering for my first time out,” I said. “Maybe we should start smaller.”

“The fae are really there for the wolves” protection,” Ewan admitted. “And Winter insisted on attending, and the others decided to make it a family affair.”

I understood the abundance of caution, particularly from Walter and the Sables. They would do anything to protect Winter. As would I.

“They don’t get it.” Winter shook her head, brown hair falling around her shoulders. “Our bond is too powerful. You won’t hurt me.”

Walter’s jaw worked back and forth. “Never say never, kid. A newborn vampire is unpredictable.”

I finished the tea and carried my empty cups into the kitchen, needing a minute to collect my thoughts. If blood still pumped in my veins, my heart would’ve been pounding. Nothing about this situation felt good or right.

I’m not ready, I thought. I need more time.

I’d wanted out of that bedroom so badly, and now I wanted to run back upstairs and hide beneath the covers. That, however, wasn’t an option. Ewan had asked me to be by his side when the challengers came for him. Not because he needed me to win, but because the Taurus pack was now my pack. I wasn’t just Ewan’s mate. I was the highest-ranking female wolf in their mountain range. It was my duty and my right to be present for a challenge.

Together, our power was untouchable, unquestionable. As a new alpha facing opposition, Ewan needed to show he was strong enough to lead, and my presence would help with that. I wanted to be there for him, which he deserved.

There was also the Mat of it all. Like always, the asshole was playing chess while the rest of us played checkers. He’d gone to the Cursed Realm to retrieve Cassius, all thanks to the rips we had made between our worlds. In another life, we’d taken the boy there for safekeeping. All that hard work went down the drain the moment Mat set foot in the Cursed Realm.

He would return triumphant to our world. In my heart, I knew once he had his descendant, the prophesied war would truly begin. I needed to be ready, and hiding beneath my covers wasn’t adequate preparation.

“Hey, you okay?” Ewan came up behind me as I rinsed the cups in the sink, resting his hands on my hips. He buried his face in my damp hair. “We can wait another day.”

I leaned back against his chest. “No way. I’m good. That tonic must be working because I didn’t hear you coming.”

His arms slipped around my waist. “If it’s too much, just say the word.”

I tilted my head to the side and peered up at him. “You don’t have to coddle me. Really. I’m fine.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You realize I can feel your emotions, right?”

“Then you should know I’m dying to meet your beta–Charlie, was it?”

Ewan took my hands, intertwining our fingers. He used his alpha voice when he said, “No more vampire jokes. They suck.”