Callie - An Enchantress Novel - Book 1

Chapter 32

Thirty-five minutes later, a mud-splattered, once-white Land Rover rolled to a stop not four feet from the front door. The driver twisted in his seat to lift a large folder from the back seat, then exited and made his way to the passenger door. He opened it to help his mate from the vehicle. The wind had eased considerably once the sky had cleared enough to allow the late morning sun to penetrate the gloom. Sparkles of light danced on the raindrop-laden scarlet roses lining the borders of the entrance porch. The ozone generated from the lightning that accompanied the unwelcome visitor earlier that morning, heightened their aroma. He stopped on his way to the front door to pluck a perfect sample from the multitude and passed it to his wife.

Liz smiled, flicking it toward him so the lightly scented water splattered his face.

"I make a romantic gesture and you throw it in my face." He sighed, pulling a cotton handkerchief from the breast pocket of his suit jacket to mop the moisture from his face.

"It's lovely, Stephan. Really, but now is not the time for romance," Liz replied, still giggling at his shocked expression.

The door swung open and Chris ushered them in. "They're in the front parlour. Second set of doors on the left." He then sprinted upstairs to join his two friends, Nico and Mike, who were packing their belongings in preparation for the flight home.

"I don't see why we have to leave anyway," Mike complained when Chris stuck his head around the doorframe.

"If we stay, we could put Callie in more danger. You heard what Sam said. We know she can make Nico shift and she can hear all three of us when we're in animal form. There is no way she is mate to all of us. No matter how I much I want her to be mine." Chris countered from the doorway.

Nico threw the jeans he was about to fold down on top of the case. "No, I can't just leave her. My wolf won't let me. I have to stay and protect her."

"Same here," the other two agreed.

"Right, then let's go tell them we're not leaving."

Nico, having been elected spokesperson, stepped forward from the others when they entered the room. "We're not leaving. No one can protect Callie better than us," he stated. "So we're staying."

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. "Guys, it's your being here that is putting all of us in more danger. If Demetrius can control Callie enough to have her make you shift, then he will take her from us and use her to further his goals. If you feel about her the way I do, you will fight him and then we will all die in the attempt. He cares only for his own gain. Our lives mean absolutely nothing to him."

"Then we fight for her," Chris spoke up from behind Nico.

Callie jumped up from the seat by the window and stormed up to the three of them. "No! That's it! No one is going to die because of me." She poked each in the chest as she spoke their names. "Nico, Chris, Mike - all of you go home now. Get packed. Get on the plane and leave."

"Okay." Mike shrugged and turned from her.

"Will do." Chris complied, turning at the same time.

Nico ground his teeth, clearly trying to fight the order. "I will be back." He looked pointedly at Sam. "You better have more shifters coming cause if they don't see any here they'll know what you're hiding and take her anyway."

"Your three replacements will arrive around 9pm this evening," Sam assured him. "Would you ask Brian to join us please?" Sam turned to face his fellow vampires seated around the room. "Before Brian gets here, I should tell you that he has been kept in the dark about events so far, which is the only reason he was able to answer Morag's questions without giving us away. I'm going to give him the choice of leaving now and hope Morag doesn't notice the difference if a replacement takes animal form or I'll have to compel him to think the replacement shifters are really our three and hope that it holds up under Demetrious' scrutiny."