Page 21 of Air of Seduction

Leaving the basement, I ascend the stairs and head to Aidan’s office. There’s no one there.

I check my phone, but there are no messages. Markus usually sends me a text to tell me where they are by sundown, but since the sun is still up, if only for a little longer, he hasn’t gotten around to it yet.

For all I know, they might all be out searching for the master. Perhaps they’ve received some new information about his whereabouts. But I’ll have a look around the house just in case.

I could, of course, send a message to Markus, asking where they are. But it’s not that urgent. And for some reason, I feel strangely reluctant to text him right now.

As it turns out, there was no need to text anyone. Approaching the open living room door, I hear voices talking. I stop just out of sight of anyone in the room and listen.

“He might have already left London, but the plane he arrived on from Long Island is still at the airport.” Lucas sounds irritated, but then we’re all impatient at the moment, all too aware that the master is out there, corrupting vampires and turning humans into slaves.

“Callum and Vamika are currently working the London angle, or one of them is while the other one is driving. They’re also trying to find Barry and Olivia and any of the master’s travel companions.” I can practically hear the frown in Aidan’s voice.

“My friend Ron is looking for any signs that the master has left London,” Lucas adds. “So far he hasn’t found anything relevant.”

“Which means we have to assume he’s still here.” Markus’s deep voice slides over my skin like a warm caress.

Damn. I should forget about him. Even with his strange, uncontrolled behavior the last few days and Kate so sure he likes me, I don’t want to get my hopes up. Because even if he, against all odds, has feelings for me, I doubt he’ll ever act on them.

And I sure as hell won’t. Because it’s more likely to blow up in my face than any other outcome. And I don’t want to lose these people, since they’re the closest thing I have, and will probably ever have, to a family.

“I just received a text from Henry.” There’s a smile in Aidan’s voice. “He and Eleanor will be flying out from Inverness in a few hours. And they’re bringing Gawen and Nes with them.

“For those of you who haven’t heard about them, they are the ones I fought with against the evil witch in Scotland. Henry is a wolf shifter and an alpha of the pack located not far from Inverness, and Eleanor is his vampire mate. Nes is Henry’s sister, also a wolf shifter, and Gawen is her hybrid mate.”

“Is Gawen the one you mentioned?” Markus asks.

“Yes.” Aidan chuckles. “I can usually tell by touching someone what kind of power and abilities people have, but with him I could only get a glimpse. There’s power inside him I don’t believe I’ve ever come across before, and I don’t think it’s got anything to do with him being a wolf-kelpie hybrid. It’s something more, probably an inheritance from some ancient ancestor. But he hasn’t tapped into that potential yet.”

I choose that moment to enter the living room, my body tense with anticipation of seeing Markus again.

“I look forward to…” The team leader’s usual control slips a little when his eyes land on me, and he follows me with his gaze. “To…meeting him. And the others of course.”

I avert my gaze and nod to no one in particular before heading toward an empty chair at the other end of the table. It’s not until I plop down in my seat that I realize I’ve just sat down next to a woman I’ve never seen before.

But before I can introduce myself, Aidan’s words grab my attention. “Eleanor isn’t just any vampire. She was sired by the master and is Lyn’s blood sister.”

I nod in agreement. I met her on a few occasions back before our maker was supposedly killed, but we never spent much time together. The master intentionally kept each of us from getting to know our siblings well to prevent us frombanding together against him. Perhaps this will be a good opportunity to get to know her a bit better.

Chapter 13

Payton

I can’t help the way my body stiffens, and I look at the woman next to me out of the corner of my eyes, trying not to be too obvious about it.

Vampire. She’s a vampire. What is she doing here?

“Relax,” Ronan whispers in my ear. “She’s one of us, one of the good ones.”

I nod slowly without looking at him. She’s obviously welcome here, but that doesn’t mean I automatically trust her. Her very nature requires her to feed on humans, and that fact alone renders her untrustworthy in my book for the very same reason you can never completely trust a lion.

My phone rings, and I quickly yank it out of my pocket. It might be…

I don’t recognize the number on the screen, and if my friend wasn’t currently held against her will by a vampire, I wouldn’t answer. But she is, and there’s always the odd chance that she’s been able to get ahold of a phone to call me.

Sliding my finger over the screen, I accept the call. “Hello?” My voice sounds a bit breathless. I hate answering calls from people I don’t know.

“Payton.”