"Magic won't work?" I asked.
"Nope, tried it." She shook her head and popped open a bottle of blood. "But the Trolls aren't the main problem. There are at least a hundred Wraiths and no one can kill a Wraith."
"I can," said a hauntingly familiar voice from the doorway.
God damn it, she was supposed to be gone. My gut clenched and my fury made my eyes go green. I whipped my head to Raquel and she took a step back. There was no way in Hell I would allow her to be part of this. She needed to stay alive—gone and alive.
"No," I snapped. "You will not be involved with this. I forbid it."
"I didn't get the memo about you being the boss of me," Raquel said flippantly as she sauntered into the room.
"Check your mail. I laid claim to you two hundred years ago. You're just too much of a coward to step up to your life," I said as I walked toward her and backed her up against the wall.
"Stand down," Jean Paul growled at me as he drew a knife.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said softly to Jean Paul as I kept my eyes trained on Raquel's. "It would be a shame to lose a good warrior before the fight even begins."
No one moved and no one spoke. The silence was charged. I knew every eye in the room was glued to my back and I didn't give a shit.
"Back off, Jean Paul," Raquel told him as she stared daggers at me. "He won't hurt me."
"No one can hurt you, Princess," I said as I placed my hands on either side of her, effectively caging her in. "Your outer shell is so hard it's impossible to break. God knows I've tried."
Her scent and her eyes trapped me more than my arms trapped her. Her lips were a breath away from mine. My fangs descended and my cock stiffened painfully. Maybe it was time to take the decision out of her hands and make it for her.
She placed her hands on either side of my face and slowly pulled my mouth to hers. The feeling of being home shot through me and my need for her burned so intensely I forgot we had company.
"Ummm… while this is all kinds of awesome, we have a Troll and a motherfucking Wraith problem at the moment. Maybe you guys can work this out a bit later," Astrid chimed in gleefully.
"Oh my God," Raquel mumbled as her cheeks blazed red.
"This is not over," I whispered as I ran my thumb over her swollen mouth. "I'm taking this out of your hands. We clear?"
She nodded quickly and slipped from my embrace.
"I'm the only one that can banish the Wraiths," she said as she regained her composure. "I would never ask anyone I cared for not to be who they are, or to forgo using their power to save the ones they love."
"Ohhhhhh snap," Astrid shouted as she danced around the room. "Guess she busted your ass, Heathcliff."
I nodded absently at my certifiable cousin and kept my gaze on Raquel. Was I one of the ones she loved?
"It's one of my gifts," she said.
"It's almost sundown," Ethan said tightly to his sister. "You're no good to me."
She was flanked by her guards who looked ready to do battle. The only one who was unhappy was Jean Paul. He was positively furious.
"I can last through the fight if I have the blood of three Master Vampyres," she said evenly and stared hard at her brother.
"It might be helpful to know what happens to you at sundown as we will all be counting on you," I said in what I considered a reasonable tone. Apparently I was the only one who thought I was reasonable.
"Get off her ass," Astrid grunted as the others nodded their agreement. "She's got some whopper super uper duper mother humper of a secret, but if she can suck the ghosts back into Ghostville, I'm good with cryptic right now. You can get the goods on her when you get into her pants later."
Ethan made a guttural noise of disgust and pinched the bridge of his nose. He then sighed and shook his head… resigned. He couldn't possibly be considering her offer. Ethan stared at the ceiling for a long moment and then shrugged.
"Today must be my lucky fucking day," Ethan muttered, barely hanging on to his composure, "because we happen to have three Master Vampyres in the room. Astrid and Heathcliff, roll up your sleeves. Raquel needs to feed." He rolled up his own and approached his sister. "Are you sure about this?" he asked as he took her face in his hands.
"Do we really have any other choice?" Raquel asked as she took his wrist. "Let me be good for something."
"This really is completely fucked up," Astrid informed the room as she rolled up her sleeve and offered up her wrist. "After Heathcliff finds out your secret identity or that you're really a man or something more frightening than that, I get to be let in on the secret too or else I'll go gangster on your ass. Sound fair?"
"Perfectly," Raquel said as she bit back a small grin.
"Heathcliff, start reciting baseball stats in your head and bring your sorry fighting ass over here. We're going to feed your mate so she can obliterate a hundred invisible evil asscankers."
"I'm not his… " Raquel started.
"Enough of that shit," Astrid snapped. "I’m right and you’re wrong." She got in front of Ethan and shoved her wrist in Raquel's face. "One Master Vampyre coming up."
Raquel glared at her. It was clear she wanted to clear up any misconceptions, but Astrid was having none of it. Her hair was flying all over the place and she was starting to glow. Even Raquel knew better than to screw with a pissed off Astrid.