SEDUCTIVE PREY

PSYCHO-JACKED

Zayd's amused laughter is all I hear as I rush back into the sitting room to find Ethan fighting the Syndicate, who are no match for him while they beg and plead for him to stop. Refusing to even raise a hand against him to protect themselves.

He stalks toward Preston who is lying on the ground, severely injured and trying to heal. I throw myself in front of him, fully prepared to kick my husband's ass if I have to, because I know how much he loves every member of the syndicate as if they were his own blood. If he kills one of them, it will destroy him.

Ethan abruptly stops and the rage from his eyes disappears. He blinks twice and shakes his head as if he's coming out of a trance. Then his eyes scan the room and I see the devastation hit before he ever utters a word.

"Did I... was this me?" He asks.

"S-something was controlling you." Preston tells him. Grunting in pain as he slowly climbs to his feet.

"Not something..." I shake my head. Knowing what I'm about to tell him will only piss him off even more. "Someone. Zayd to be exact."

His head whips in my direction and his eyes flicker crimson before he balls his fists and forces them back to a calm blue.

"How?" He asks.

"I don't know. But you said it yourself... he's an enchanter. And I think you and I are his latest conquests."

"What do you mean?" He narrows his eyes at me.

"He paid me another visit and happily admitted he had us under some sort of spell. Right before he told me to check on you and I found you trying to rip the syndicate apart." I explain.

Ethan sniffs the air around us, his eyes trailing some invisible pathway before they settle on me. "Did he touch you?" He asks.

And then some.

Swallowing hard, I don't know how much to admit to him. He's already on edge. And telling him Zayd and I shared an embrace too intimate for my liking, and a kiss I didn't want to share but somehow shared anyway just doesn't seem like a smart thing to do right now.

The walls around us began to rattle gently, and I pull myself away from my thoughts long enough to catch Ethan's furious gaze.

Crap...

Super Vampyric mindreading skills for the win.

I must learn to stop thinking whenever he asks me a question, I don't want him to know the answer to.

The walls go from a soft rattle to an eardrum bursting rattle that shatters every window in the room. Maybe even the town with how much force he's putting off.

I must calm him down.

Taking a step toward him, I'm fully aware of the bloodshot eyes that track my every move. He gives a slight shake of his head, but I ignore him. Reaching out to cup his face with my hands. Only, he vanishes in a gust of wind before I can touch him.

"Shit." Jacob curses. He and the syndicate whipping their heads toward the door before they too vanish in a gust of wind.

At first, I assume they've gone to console him and he's avoiding me. But then I remember his last words to Trudy and Viv, and my heart seizes in my chest.

No...

Calling on Ethan's power, I use it to track Trudy and Viv. They're easier to track than Ethan and I know if I find them, he won't be too far behind.

If he's not already there.

Once I have a lock on their scent, I use his Vampyric speed to catch up to them and they both collide into me. We all fall to the ground and within seconds, Ethan snatches Trudy up by her neck. Her feet dangling and her fingers clawing at his hand.

"Ethan don't!" I plead.

Gently I approach him, but he throws up a wall between us that I can't break through. No one can.

"I told you to make sure he couldn't get in, and not only did he return undeterred, but he kissed my wife and threatened to take her virginity in front of me." His hand tightens around Trudy's neck. Leaving her gasping for air.

He had to have dug into my memory to gleam that explosive bit of information.

"Ethan, please," Vivienne drops to her knees before him. Bowing her head out of respect, she tells him, "We have tried everything to keep him out. He must have some sort of link to the inside that we are not aware of. But we will find it, and we will fix this."

Vivienne's words hit me like a kick to the teeth. Because if all Zayd needs is a link to the inside, he has two very powerful ones standing in this room.

That clever douchebag is using our own power against us.

"It's us." I blurt out loud. Ethan turns his attention to me, and I place my hand over the hand he has clenching Trudy's neck. Gently, I force his hand down until she is back on her feet. Then I pry his hand away from her neck. "We're his links to the inside."

We've been psycho-jacked.

"Explain." Ethan swallows hard.

"He can control us, so there must be some trace of him in us somewhere. And whatever it is, I'm willing to be its enough to have us lo-jacked to this psychopath. He can find us-"

"No matter where we are." Ethan finishes my sentence for me. "Bloody hell."

Turning to Vivienne who is holding Trudy in her arms, I ask her, "Is there a way to sever his connection to us?"

Vivienne gives me a look that says she's not saying a word after what Ethan just did, but Ethan's outbursts is the last thing she should be worried about.

"If he can control us, he can use us against everyone in this room, Viv."

She glares at Ethan for several moments, before turning to me and nodding. "It depends."

"On what?" Ethan asks. Garnering another scathing look from her.

"On how the link was established."

"How do we find that out?" I ask.

"We can ask him, but I doubt he'll tell you. Or we can put you both through a series of tests that are likely to kill you before we ever figure it out."

Great...

We're back to square one.

"Unless..." Trudy sits up. Massaging her neck where Ethan's handprint is still visibly present.

"Unless what?" Ethan listens intently. Then he adds, "My apologies."

"Unless we can get the answers from someone who knows him better than all of us. Someone who has spent every day with him learning his ways."

One by one, everyone's gaze shifts to me. I'm about to tell them I don't remember crap about

the time he and I spent together when it quickly dawns on me why they're all looking at me.

Zola.