True Love Hunting

Chapter 18

Spencer knew the vampire had figured it out as he turned his head to look at him. Spencer let the chainsaw die, and silence filled the air as the two just stared at one another. Spencer kept his face impassive as he met the vampire's gaze unflinchingly. He wasn't about to hide from the vampire, though aggravating him about it wasn't a good idea.

He watched as Cassius's eyes flashed red for the briefest moment, causing Spencer's inner wolf to raise its hackles, though not much visibly changed. The two brothers seemed to pick up on Cassius's mood change and were at his side in a flash.

Dragos and Micah stole glances at the motorcycle and then turned back toward Spencer with the same conclusion as Cassius had come to. The door to the cottage opening broke all of them out of the tense moment. Endangering the women was out of the question, so they all cooled it and relaxed their stance.

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I felt mortified. I saw the way Cassius was facing Spencer after discovering the motorcycle. The two brothers were at Cassius's side; I wasn't sure if it was to side with him or prevent an altercation. We quickly walked over to the men. I knew it wasn't the safest idea to get in the track of a vampire, but I wasn't about to let him hurt Spencer, not that I genuinely believed Cassius was like that. Dragos, though, might if he was there to side with Cassius.

I stepped in front of Spencer, handing him a glass of water. He, at last, broke his connection with Cassius to look down at me and the water I offered. A kind, caring smile flashed across his face before he reached for the water.

"Thanks," he said to me. I smiled back at him so the others couldn't see.

When I turned back around, the vampires had already started to finish cleaning up and stacking the wood. Spencer offered the chainsaw up to Dragos, who took it with a neutral expression and a nod. He disappeared into the forest with it. I turned to the other three, offering my sincere thanks for their help in getting the mess cleaned up. I walked with them to the edge of the clearing at the path that led back towards the manor.

"If you need anything else, just call us," Cassius said, turning to me. He stood over me, and I angled my head to look into his face. His eyes were sad as he reached out and brushed a knuckled down the side of my cheek.

Too quietly for anyone else, except for probably Micah, he whispered, "Let me know if you want my company."

I reached out and squeezed his hand, saying, "I will. Thank you so much for all of the help. It would have taken me weeks by myself."

Another brush along my cheek, and he was gone. Micah and Aurora turned and walked, at human speed, down the pathway toward the manner holding hands. Aurora flashed me one last knowing grin after looking behind me at Spencer before they disappeared from sight.

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Spencer watched Cassius reach out and touch Lenny's cheek. It irritated him to some degree, but he wasn't going to make a fuss about it. It would only make the situation more tense. Instead, he turned and walked over to his motorcycle to examine it.

The front half of the bike was pretty well smashed and would need to be fixed; many parts would need replacing. The electric start was shot, but he picked the bike up and climbed on the bike to use the kick start to see if the engine still worked. It coughed once, twice but took on the third try and roared to life. Well, that was a relief; it just wasn't drivable at the moment until he did some work on it.

"It runs!" Lenny cheered.

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The sound of the motorcycle running brought such a massive relief to my system I couldn't even describe it. I was the reason it had been crushed in the first place. If Spencer hadn't brought me home, it never would have happened. I still felt guilty over not listening to my gift, though it had also warned me about walking home; who knows what would have happened if I had chosen to do that instead?