Even the migraine listened. As quickly as it had started, the headache vanished, leaving Vivienne clear-headed and slightly disoriented. She quickly opened her eyes to scan what damage Max and Conall had done to each other but they were both focused on her. Max’s eyes were wide. He blinked rapidly in her direction, while Conall had cocked his head to the side in an inquisitive manner that for some reason reminded her of a wolf.

Why are they staring at me like that? Vivienne’s gaze moved from one to the other.

***

With that command, Vivienne had unlocked a hidden part of herself, and both men could both feel waves of raw power flowing unhindered from her body. To add to that, a hazy yellow glow surrounded her, making her appear more goddess than any creature of earth.

“What?” She said it as if it were the only reasonable question to ask of the two macho-men who had just halted their fight-night simply to stare at her.

At her voice, Max sprung into action, turning his body to face Conall, who in turn glared at him. “We have to get out of here. Now. With a signal like that, trackers will be here in a minutes.”

“Trackers?” Conall asked tersely, his body tensing once more. “Why are trackers after Vivienne and how do I know you’re not one of them?”

“What are you two talking about? What are trackers?” Max turned to Conall and kept his reply short. “I’m not one of them, and I don’t have time to prove that to you now. You either trust me or risk your mate’s life!” He paused and let that sink in. He could tell Conall had mated Vivienne. The scent was high on her skin, and though he was unsure how, as the joining of a witch and were was strictly forbidden in his covenant, Max was willing to stake his life on the fact that Conall would kill himself before allowing anything to happen to Vivienne. He didn’t like the guy, especially as he hadn’t recognized his animal nature when the human part of him had been intoxicated that night at Fangs, but he had to figure out a way to bind her powers, and then they had to get out of there.

Conall relaxed slightly, though the severity of his glare did not change. Satisfied that he was listening, Max continued, “We have to leave now.”

The werewolf nodded, and Max realized they’d come to an interim decision. Good.

***

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Vivienne felt once more like a fly on the wall. They weren’t even listening to her, and although irritated, a feeling of absolute contentment had settled across her body. She felt refreshed, alive, as one did after a five-mile run or a dip in a cold lake.

Conall approached her, obstructing her view of Max with his towering body, and his hand came up to touch the side of her face. She leaned into his touch, and barely repressed the urge to sigh in contentment. She wondered if he could sense that, for his eyes heated, and his gaze briefly fell to her lips before he spoke. “You won’t understand any of this now, but we need to leave. I’ll take you back to Cedar Creek.”

She lifted her brows and shook her head, feeling his hand move against her cheek as she did so. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.” Vivienne turned to Max. It was impossible to see him with Conall’s broad shoulders blocking her. “You two were just fighting, beating the hell out of each other for some unknown reason and now—now you’re best friends? I’m confused. Really confused. Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

Conall’s lips parted, and Vivienne prepared to hear something that would make sense. She heard an elevator ding. His lips merged together once more.

“Let’s go. This way.” That was Max’s voice and Conall shifted his body slightly to look at Max. Vivienne caught a glimpse of Drew, standing wide-eyed in one of her long T-shirts, and staring at Max with an expression of shock on her face. Drew must have come down recently, when Conall’s body was blocking her view of everything.

Seeing Drew standing beside Max, perfectly all right, reminded Vivienne of the robbery, and how it could have turned out much worse. She sidestepped Conall to throw her arms around her friend. Drew tensed at first, but after recognition kicked in, her arms closed tightly around Vivienne’s shoulders. As Drew’s body shook, Vivienne rubbed her back, telling her that it would be all right, that everything was replaceable, figuring that Drew was still in shock over the robbery.

“Oh my God, Viv,” Drew began, only to have Max pull her back.

“Later,” he told Drew, his gaze steady. He looked to Conall, then Vivienne. “We’re running out of time. Let’s go.”




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