Embrace The Dawning (The Covenant Series Book 1) (23 page)

Kayci’s brows furrowed. “What kind of gift?”

“It could be anything from good fortune, prosperity, healing, protection, good health. Things of that nature.”

“Oh. That’s very kind of them and incredible that I was able to see them.”

“That’s why every witch looks forward to the Hanu ritual.”

Chapter 15

Adrian paced across his living room, anxiously awaiting the last of the sun to dip below the horizon. He had strapped a pair of curved blades to the holsters on his back. He wanted the extra weapons tonight. He planned to go back to the suite where Danika had left human bodies to rot and where he and Reece had a brief encounter. Now that the police and detectives had collected what they needed from the crime scene, he could spend time there freely without interruption, in hopes of picking up a blood scent. Afterward he planned on hitting local vampire hotspots in an effort to connect any blood scents he found, as well as to dispatch of Danika’s newest fledgling vampires. Admittedly that wasn’t his prime reason for starting his hunt early. He would be pleased if his obligations didn’t take him too late into the evening. He wanted to see Kayci again.

Just the thought of their intimacy caused him to swell with arousal. He craved to have more of her. He feared the longer that craving lasted, the worse his hunger would become. He had no intentions of hurting her, but he had to be careful. He had barely kept himself from ravaging her and indulging too much last night, and the more time he spent craving her, the more his morbid vampire desire would grow.

The sun finally fell below the horizon. Gray skies streaked with pink and blue was his view when he opened his curtains and pressed the button for the automated ascent of the blinds. His thoughts shifted from desire and frustration with his monstrous vampire tendency to the vampire that caused it.

Time to hunt.

***

Kayci stared at her phone, going back and forth over whether or not to call Elise. She really missed her and had a lot to share with her. It felt strange to have gone several days without speaking to her when they normally spoke on a daily basis. Ultimately, her excitement got the best of her, and she clicked Elise’s picture on her phone.

“Kayc! I’m so glad you called! I’ve been so worried about you. How are you?”

“I’m good, Elise. Real good.”

“Oh, thank God! And how are you and hot vampy doing?”

Kayci smiled. “Mmm. Really good.”

“You had sex with him, didn’t you?!” Elise asked accusingly.

Kayci snickered. “Not a conversation I want to have over the phone.”

Elise giggled. “Let’s get together for dinner tonight. I miss you!”

Kayci hesitated. Perhaps dinner in a public place would be all right. They could meet there and then leave separately.

“All right, but let’s drive separate.”

“Sounds good. Want to go to Piani’s Italiana on Fifth?”

“Mmm, yes. Their mojitos are so good, and we haven’t been there in a while.”

“Seven o’clock sound good?”

“Yeah. See you soon.”

Kayci grinned as she hung up.

***

Adrian stepped off the elevator and made his way to the intended condo. He listened for any sounds of movement inside, and once he made sure that the condo was empty of inhabitants, he swiftly picked the lock. As he entered, he detected the aroma of several cleaning solutions, including bleach. The condo’s owner or management had paid for a good cleaning. It would make his job a lot harder, but not impossible.

He didn’t bother with the previously blood-stained carpet, because it had been replaced, as well as several pieces of furniture. He instead made his way to the bedrooms. One by one he walked through each, attempting to pick up any trace of Danika or her coven vampires. One by one he came up disappointed. The cleaning crew had done a thorough job. Too thorough. Irritated, Adrian left the condo just as he’d found it and headed downtown, hoping for more success there.

As he entered Blue Moon, he did a quick sweep of the bar for vampires. He recognized three of them instantly. They were busy socializing with a small group of humans. Another danced with a curvy, robust female, surely intending to feed from her. He entered farther into the bar. He should feed while there. He took a seat at a table and watched the activity, hoping a lead would show up. He observed a group of adults in their late twenties chatting and laughing. One of the females gave her good-byes to the rest of the group. He followed her out. He wasn’t in the mood for dancing or seduction tonight. A particular half-breed consumed his thoughts and was too damn distracting.

After he fed from the woman under the ill-lit parking garage, Adrian casually reentered the bar, feeling more revitalized. He did another sweep, coming up disappointed. He let out an irritated growl before leaving and making his way to the next bar.

***

As Kayci entered Piani’s, a huge smile spread across her face. She waved at Elise, who was already sitting at a table. Elise, sharing her same wide smile, enthusiastically waved back. As Kayci approached the table, Elise got up and hugged her firmly.

“It’s so good to see you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” Kayci took the seat across from her.

“So fill me in on
everything
,” Elise demanded sweetly.

“No, you first. I want to hear about you and Greg.”

Elise beamed a smile. “I’m officially his girlfriend! He actually asked me to be his girlfriend. It was so adorable and sweet. We’ve been posting all kinds of pics on Twitter and Facebook. He even mentioned a trip to Ohio for me to meet his family. They all go to an Ohio State game together every year. He has two older sisters. Both married and have kids. He
loves
his nieces and nephew. Talks to them on social media all the time and always goes home for Christmas to see everybody.”

“Wow, Elise. You’ve got yourself a good-hearted family man. Better keep that one.”

“I know! He’s incredible. I’m a little nervous about meeting his family though. Their opinion matters a lot to him. What if they don’t like me?” A worried pout formed on Elise’s face.

“Elise, come on.” Kayci frowned at her. “Everyone likes you.”

“I know I’m probably creating anxiety that I don’t need to, but I like him so much!”

“Your trip will be awesome. Just be yourself. They’ll love you.”

Elise smiled in relief. She obviously needed the encouragement.

After they ordered their food and received their drinks, Elise turned the topic to Kayci.

“So what’s been going on in your world?” Elise asked.

“Hmm, where to begin?”

“What do you mean, where to begin? What else has happened?!”

“For starters, the more time I spend with Adrian, the more I want to
keep
spending time with him. Honestly, he is amazing. He’s ridiculously handsome, he’s caring, protective,
and
incredible in bed,” Kayci admitted with a nervous bite to her lip.

“I knew it!” Elise preened. Her voice lowered to a near whisper. “So what was it like?” she asked.

Kayci rolled her eyes. Those were details she wasn’t willing to share, at least not in a restaurant.

“Um, this isn’t the best place to talk about it, but I assure you it was like no other experience I’ve ever had.”

Elise giggled. “Well, that’s a conversation I look forward to. So anything else happen besides falling for Adrian?”

“I’m not…” Kayci paused. What she was about to say wasn’t true. She
was
falling for him. A knot developed in her stomach. There were so many things to consider before she let herself fall
in
love with him. Would he want her if she didn’t want to be a vampire? Would he lose interest in her as she grew old? Would she ever want children? Did she want to transform and be like him? Did she want to see her parents and best friend grow old without her? As the many questions swam through her mind, her head began to ache. She reached for her glass and took a long swallow of her mojito.

“You are falling for him. That scares you, doesn’t it?”

Kayci looked up at her best friend, who knew her too well. “Yeah, it does.”

Their conversation paused as their food was served. After a few bites, Kayci continued, “There have been some terrifying and exciting events that have taken place in the last several days.”

Elise’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth. “Do tell.”

“The Covenant found out about me. They dragged me into a meeting with them. As you can see, I managed to come out alive.”

Elise dropped her fork onto her plate with a
clang
. “What were they like? What did they say to you?!”

“The moment I walked into the room, I could sense the powerful energy that surrounded me. I was terrified. Adrian said I hid it well and impressed them. I don’t know how I did, but hopefully that’s a good thing.”

“What did they talk to you about?”

Kayci inhaled deeply. “Well, the leader of the Covenant’s name is Eva. She’s very powerful and seems to be a very old vampire. She had a private conversation with me and disclosed to me that…she’s my aunt.”

“Yeah,” Kayci added when Elise’s expression turned to shock.

“Better yet, her brother is my father, and my birth mother, get this, was a well-known witch.”

“Yep, didn’t expect that, did ya?” Kayci added when Elise stared at her speechless.

Kayci twitched uncomfortably at Elise’s silence. After a few seconds, Elise finally spoke.

“So wait does that mean? You can do magic like Rosemary?”

Kayci bit her lip and nodded.

“What?!” Elise squealed, drawing the attention of the people at the tables nearest them.

Kayci, along with Elise, smiled and apologized to the people staring at them, then returned to the conversation. Kayci anxiously awaited Elise to say something.

Elise brought her voice down to a much lower volume. “That’s unbelievable, Kayc. You’re like a freaking superhero or something. Did you try to do any spells?”

Kayci let out a breath of relief. She was thrilled that Elise didn’t freak out.

“I love the nerd side of you, Elise. I think that’s kept you from running away from me, screaming, this whole time.”

Elise shrugged. “Well, it is weird that my best friend that I’ve known for over twenty years has turned out to be so different from the person I thought I knew, but it’s also incredible that witches and vampires are real and that my bestie is one of them.”

“I did do my first spell, with Rosemary’s help,” Kayci told her excitedly. “I created and manipulated fire. It was mind blowing.”

“I’m so jealous!” Elise whined. “Why do you get to have all the fun?”

“Don’t get envious—it’s not all fun. The Covenant doesn’t know I can actually use magic yet. I’m concerned that if they do, they might try to use me for their own gain.”

“I’m sorry, Kayc. I’m sitting here selfishly thinking I have a lifetime discount to spell casting, and you’re probably terrified. I mean, a week ago your life was pretty normal, save for the fact that you had a few weird qualities, but otherwise life was normal, and then wham!”

Several of the customers at the other tables gave Kayci and Elise a dirty look this time. Elise mouthed
sorry
once again.

“Then after being attacked by a”—Elise lowered her voice even more—”a vampire, your life became, I don’t know, a real-life horror movie with real monsters.”

“Exactly.” Kayci frowned. “And now I’m trying to figure out where I fit in, because there isn’t anyone else like me, so I can’t exactly ask someone with more experience about what I should do. I’d like to talk with my aunt more, but I don’t even know if I can trust her.”

“I’m so sorry, Kayc, and here I’m worried about a silly trip to meet Greg’s family.”

Kayci’s stomach churned with guilt when she saw Elise’s remorseful expression.

“Elise, don’t belittle your problems or worries. The last thing I want is for there to be a divide between us or for you to feel like your problems don’t matter compared to mine. I want us to always share our worries, no matter what.”

Elise regained her usual cheery smile. “Well, no matter what, I’m here for you, Kayc. I may not be able to give you great advice on
particular
topics, but I’m always here to listen and, of course, drag you into my fun escapades. Oh! I know what we should do. We should take a road trip! Get you away from all this craziness for a while. Maybe take a cruise or go somewhere out West.”

It sounded fun, and Kayci could use a break from everything. Maybe by the time she got back from the trip, Adrian would have found and caught Danika and perhaps the Covenant would have moved on to some other place. She’d have to call all her clients and let them know she’d be going on vacation. The lack of pay during the vacation would hurt, but she had set aside plenty of money for something like this.

“All right.” Kayci smiled. “I think I could make it work. I really could use some R & R time. A cruise sounds awesome. Let’s both check out the deals the cruise lines in Miami have and see what we can come up with.”

Elise clapped, wiggling her butt in her chair. “Yay! Oh, Kayc, it will be so fun. Drinking, dancing, shows, laying by the pool, swimming, checking out the local tourist traps. It’ll be awesome! I’ll let Greg know that my bestie and I are taking a girls’ trip. Hopefully, he doesn’t get jealous.” Elise giggled.