Page 53 of Assisting the Alpha
Ethan and Cal go to rush over, but stop and cover their faces when Raj and Kit shake themselves, spraying water all over us. I yelp and cover my eyes with my arm, regretting all the choices that led me to this point.
Jet laughs and I can’t help but join in, feeling more of a sense of belonging with these people than I have in my coven since my parents died.
Chapter Fourteen
AYO
“Remind me again why you think visiting the vampire clan will be of any benefit whatsoever?” Ethan asks from the driver’s seat of his SUV.
We’re almost to the law firm Uncle Vittorio and the head of the Moretti clan, Uncle Lorenzo, own together. When Uncle Vittorio called me last night and told me we needed to meet in person to finalise some paperwork for my inheritance, I knew Ethan would insist on coming with me.
At this point I should probably just tell him the truth, but since I was warned off from claiming whatever my mum left me, there’s a part of me that really needs to keep this to myself. If I could have done all the paperwork on my own without even Uncle Vittorio’s help, I would have.
I don’t want Ethan worrying about my safety more than he already is. I know he thinks I might be targeted by the murderer because I actually saw them that night at Love Bites. He needs to be fully focused on discovering who it is and arresting them.
This inheritance is most likely a magical artefact that someone wants to get their hands on. As impressive as Ethan is, magic is not in his wheelhouse.
“I know you want to be completely focused on gathering evidence against Xana,” I begin.
“Or interviewing her,” he grumbles.
“Right. But she’s dodging you, and the evidence is thin on the ground.”
“What’s that got to do with the vamp clan?”
Ethan’s about as grumbly as usual, so I don’t think he’s actually against this. I do need him to be distracted enough with Uncle Lorenzo to allow me time alone with Uncle Vittorio, though.
“Vamps and magic-users tend to work together, or at least have an easier truce than other species.”
Ethan sighs from the depths of his soul. “Which means if they know anything, they’ve probably already told the task force.”
I nod. “Meeting Uncle Lorenzo and making nice will be of potential benefit to the investigation now as well as in the future if we win the contract and become the new task force. He’s the head of the clan and specialises in criminal law.”
Ethan glances at me, a slight smile on his face, before pulling into the car park nearest the law firm.
“What?”
“You said ‘we,’” he points out.
I flush and hunch down in my seat. I shouldn’t have said that, because technically my contract is only for three months and Ethan hasn’t actually offered to extend it, but it just slipped out.
He parks the car, turns off the engine, then puts a hand on my thigh. “Hey, none of that. I like that you think of yourself as one of us.”
“You do?” I straighten a bit.
He leans over and kisses me, keeping it annoyingly chaste. “Yeah, I do.”
I smile to myself as we step out into the light drizzle and walk a short distance down the street. I really want to hold his hand, and I’m starting to rethink keeping this thing between us from my coven. I mean, would it really be so bad?
Even though it’s still early days between us, I can’t imagine Ethan ever not being part of my life. I’m drawn to him in a way I’ve never experienced before. It’s getting so intense that I don’t like being apart from him on the rare occasions when he does something without me, like a meeting with the mayor and her team.
That’s probably just my naivety and inexperience showing though, right? How many people find their soulmate at the age of twenty?
As soon as we step inside the sleek glass doors, the red-headed vampire receptionist lights up. “Ayo!”
“Aunt Lexie!” A wide grin splits my face. “Since when do you work here?”
Aunt Lexie is eternally twenty-four and looks like she never left the nineteen forties. Her hair is always curled to perfection, her red lipstick is on point, and her white skin has an unnatural smoothness exclusive to vampires and fae. She’s also one of the Moretti clan’s enforcers, so it’s jarring seeing her here.
