Page 93 of Twice Bitten

“Yes, well, you deserved it.”

“Perhaps I did.” He shook his head. “While Beckett is what I wish to discuss, the subject matter is different.”

I crossed my arms and stared at him with suspicion. “Alright.”

He turned. “Come. Let’s start walking. We’ll be out of the woods in about twenty minutes. My Second is driving your car back.”

A flash of memory, the frantic bail out of the car and the subsequent run to get to safety. I groaned. “Oh shit. I left my car on the side of the road. How many tickets did I get?”

“None.”

At my look of astonishment, Silas smiled. “A couple of my shifters spotted a frantic dark-haired woman bailing out of her vehicle and hauling ass toward the woods. They thought they should call me.”

“Ah.” My cheeks burned. “I’m sure that was weird enough to get put on your radar.”

Silas grunted in agreement. “The claws and fur and glowing eyes helped influence their decision.”

I winced. “Within ten minutes of someone ripping off that amulet, everything started. I couldn’t make it home.”

“You were safe the moment you stepped into those woods. I went looking for you as soon as they said it was a curly-haired woman.”

Warmth bloomed in my chest. “You could have stopped me from eating Thumper.”

Silas grinned, making my heart skip a beat. Damn. He was fine all mussed up and dirty. “You didn’t eat Bambi, so you gotta take it as a win.”

We walked a little while before Silas shoved his hands in his pockets. “Beckett has been on our radar for a while now. Some of our female shifters have had issues with him, though he’d never gone further than verbally harassing them. He’s never been as enamored with our women as he is with you.”

“Lucky me,” I said dryly.

“I think there’s something in your blood that draws him to you.”

At my sharp look, Silas gave me an apologetic smile. “You are a witch, yes. But you are something else too. Something I can’t put my finger on. Beckett senses it as well, and whatever it is it’s making himnuts.”

“You’re saying my blood draws him like an aphrodisiac?”

“Something like that. I’m not sure if he wants to kill you or make you his mate.” He winced. “Or whatever vampires do. I’m not sure they’re capable of love. Not like we are.”

“He’s attacked me twice now. Neither time felt like he wanted to book a trip to Vegas.”

Silas stopped and held out his hand. “He attacked you again?”

I nodded. “A few days ago.” I held up my arm. “Should have known something was weird when his claw marks healed the same day he gave them to me.”

He held my arm up to the light, stroking a finger down my forearm, his touch a light caress that made my stomach tighten. “No scarring,” he murmured. “How deep did he cut you?”

“Nearly to the bone.”

Silas’s eyes flashed with a silver glow. “I’m sorry, Alex. He needs to be taken out.”

I never felt in danger when I was with Silas, even knowing he might be more of a predator than Alric. “The Prime visited.”

Silas’s attention snapped to me. “When?”

“A few times. I saw him yesterday morning.” He lifted a dark eyebrow, and I waved a hand. “Beckett broke into my house. It’s a whole thing. Regardless, Alric wanted the same thing you did.”

“He knows.”

“About the poisonous blood? Yes. He’s known for months.”