Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) (4 page)

The left corner of Torin’s lip turned up, “Are you putting me second in command around here?”

Braden tried not to smile. “Yeah, do you think you can handle it?”

“I don’t know,” he grinned. “Your cockiness won’t be easy to duplicate.”

“I somehow doubt that,” Braden countered, chuckling at his friend.
“By the way, I wanted to apologize for the other night. I should have trusted you. I just didn’t want you to get hurt. I couldn’t stand losing you, too.”

Torin cocked his head, “You don’t need to apologize. You’ve al
ways had my back,
”
he replied with understanding.

Braden ran his hand through his spiky yellow hair as his stomach twisted with unease.
Looking back up at Ruby’s window, he avoided his cousin’s gaze.
“Yeah well, I know you would do the same for me.”

5

L
IZ

Liz wasn’t sure how long she
sat
at the table with
Teagan and
Cian’s
fathers
when
she spotted Torin help
ing Lexie up the walkway.

Seeing her best friend
up and mobile was a far cry fr
om the state she was in only
days before. The power of her bond with Torin allowed her body to heal
quick
ly
. Her crutches had been replaced with a walking cast and her contusions had
the
faded
tinge
of
light butterscotch.

If the NFL only knew what they were missing
..
.
.

Braden strode in
behind them. The sun glistened off his fair hair, accenting his
perfect
features.
Admiring the
seamless
way his muscular physique moved with purpose, s
he offered a light wave, hoping
they could talk. Braden smiled
quickly
before
heading over to his cousins across the yard.

Teagan and Cian were amusing Ella by the pool. Somehow the two
attractive
damphyrs were able to make the young blond smile. Liz would h
ave preferred hanging with them
if it wasn’t for the fact that Ella’s eyes gleamed like razors whenever she glanced in Liz’s direction.

Sh
e’ll get over it
.

Lexie plopped down
beside her. Torin’s blue eyes studied his girlfrien
d, looking for any signs of
physical disco
mfort. She smiled
up at him and his tense
shoulders visibly relaxed. Kissing
her softly
, he turned
to join
his cousins by the water.

Liz’s eyebrow went up. “Are you two communicating without words now?”

Lexie
stared at Torin’s
backside as he walked away.
“
Kind of – I
guess. He can feel what I feel,” she flushed. “It’s a part of our bond.”

“
Does that mean if
you
d
iscover
the toilet seat up
, he’ll feel that too?” Liz teased.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t find out,”
she
beamed
.
A
s Lexie
looked down at her hands folded neatly in her lap
, h
er
tawny lashes grazed her cheeks
. “He makes me happy though.”

Liz could tel
l. She had never seen Lexie
truly in love before.

Unless her Jared Leto
obsession technically counted, the g
irl
was borderline stalkeris
h. Not that I blame her.

Still, Liz
couldn’t be happier for her friend.

Lexie had suffered a terrible year, beginning with the death of her father. Getting attacked by a werewolf was only part of her problem. At least she would have Torin by her side while she dealt with her mother’s illness and Ella’s infatuation with Nicolai.

Liz’s smile faded. “
I think you
should keep a close eye on your sister
.
She really misses Nick.
The two of them were close.
”

Lexie nodded, “She is so angry with me right now. I don’t know what I can say to make things better.”

“Only time will make things better,” Liz spoke softly. “
She needs your mother.”

Lexie rubbed her temples with her fingertips. “I know she does. Until the elders find a cure, there’s nothing we can do.”

“
Last night while you and Torin were in bed, Braden told Teagan that he believe
s
he located an antidote for
the
lycanthropy. I want to
go with him.”

“A cure? I wasn’
t sure
there was one.”
Lexie’s
tone reflected her relief
. “When is he going?”

“I’m not sure,” Liz answered. “But it must be soon.”

Lexie g
ave
her friend a side
long
look,
a knowing smile crept
across her face.
“Why do you want to go with him? Are you interested in Braden?”

Liz blinked. “Tell me you’re kidding.”

“He’s adorable and a good guy.” Lexie pointed across the lawn, but Liz didn’t need to s
ee her friend
was mo
t
ion
ing at the tall
,
blond damphyr. “Admit it.”

“Yes, he’s fine
, but I’m not
in
to
him like that.
”
Liz poked at the kiwi on her plate.

He could be the poster boy for American
Eagle
Outfitters
…
I’m more Hot Topic-ish
.

Lexie leaned for
ward with a smug expression. “I never would have guessed I’d be with Torin
,
”
s
he plucked a grape from Liz’s pl
ate and popped it in her mouth, “
but he’s exactly what I needed.”

Liz allowed her eyes to venture over to where Braden stood by the pool. His smile was charming, but that was beside the point.
Attractive or not, Braden
was the only one with a plan.

“I just want to make sure he d
oesn’t come home without Ruby’s
cure.”

6

BRADEN

The midday sun was radiant as
it spilled
warmth upon Braden’s skin
.
He had always cherished sunlight and the
pleasurable sensation of it bath
ing his skin.
Now, he
wished he could bask in it
forever.

With his family gathered around him, Braden’s damphyr senses were alive.
His vision dr
ank in the beauty
of the foliage, fabrics, and flowers that created the backyard’s palette
.
The rhythm of voices mingled with the life of the forest behind them, producing a son
g only his kind could hear
.
He breathed in the
rich
aromas
a
round him, absorbing
the fragrances of the gardens,
bountiful food platters, an
d Liz’s sweet fragrance
.

With the magic of her bond to Torin, Lex
ie no longer had the same
aroma
as
her s
ister and friend
.
Instead, the
petite brunette
smelled lik
e family
.
Liz
, how
ever, had a savory
scent and it wasn’t just her vanilla infused perfume. Her scent was alluring and when it carried on the breeze, he
relished
in
it as it passed.

Liz was speaking
animatedly to Lexie at the end of the long banquet table. With her varied facial expressions and active body language, he had never encountered a
being with so much spunk.

It must be exhausting
.

Her pale skin stood in contrast to the raven hair
that fell in cascad
es down
her shoulders. Even from a distance, her gentle bone structure made a lovely profile. Her face was almost pixie like with her sma
ll nose and dimpled chin
. In Ireland,
one would wonder if she belonged to
the gentle pe
ople, until she spoke
.

It wasn’t that her voice was
horrible
;
on the contrary, it had a
pleasing
quality
.
But
Braden wasn’t accustomed
to the forceful manner in which Liz expressed herself.

She speaks first, thinks later.

First
,
she
i
nsisted
in front
of Lexie and Torin
that
she would
accompany
him
to locate
the cure
when she first arrived in Erris
.
Then last night, she did it again when he was talking to Teagan on the patio. Both times, she didn’t ask him if he wanted her company,
she
just stared at him
adamantly
with her
lash swept
hazel eyes. When Liz
looked at him
like that, his mind blanked until he
forgo
t what he was supposed to say. 

The teen
was beautiful, but she
bewildered and frustrated him.
He knew
her intentions were good
, but there was no way she could go with him
without discovering what had to be done
.
She would be put in danger and that was one thing he didn’t want on conscious.

As it was, he made a
deal
to appear
alone without another damphyr
if he wanted to
be given
the cure. He just
hoped they would make good on their promise to deliver the antidote
before ending his life
.

Braden tried to keep a calm expression despite feeling the constant pull of anxiety. What he wa
nted to do was take
a long run in the woods around Eagle Lake
. Maybe
even
clear his thoughts and have one last hunt.  Instead
,
he forced a smile while standing around
like it was any other September day in Maine.

“I see you’re
not
watching Liz again,” Torin said.

Braden looked away from her
and back to his cousins. They were all smirking at his expense.

Teagan sat balancing
his chair
precariously
on two hind legs, his face bright with amusement. “You need to practi
ce being a bit smoother with that one
. She’ll chew you up and spit you out.”

Braden shrugged off his friends, “I’m not checking her out.”

“You’ve been caught bro. Take it like a man,” Cian added, giving Braden a playful punch in the shoulder.

“You’re a bunch of girls. You know that, don’t you?” his face
was reddening.

Teag
an peer
ed at him
from
over his cheeseburger
, “I think you know she’ll just want me anyway, so you’re sparing yourself the heartache.” He to
ok a dramatic bite of his sandwich
, and
chomped
loudly
.

“Now you’ve done it,” Torin said grinning. “They’re heading over.”