“The Wird girls are not to be harmed. Return to your pews.” Judge Malika spoke softly, but the authority in her voice silenced the house. Within seconds, the audience resumed their seats as if there had never been a disturbance.
I maintained my defensive posture. “Taran, turn down the power. Shayna, hold your position.” My sisters nodded.
Judge Malika tapped her long nails against the dais. “It appears chronic bloodlust played a hand in the events. Since young David’s fate would have been the same had he stood trial, the charges against the defendants are dismissed.”
Taran glared at her. “Wait just a goddamned minute. You’re letting us go, just like that?”
I glared, too—at Taran. “Zip. It. Now.”
Taran narrowed her eyes. “This is bullshit, Celia. Something’s up.”
“Would you rather stay?” Judge Malika asked in a way that clearly said she’d like us to.
Shayna slipped in front of Taran with her palms up. “It’s cool of you dudes not to eat us and stuff. We just want to know why so we”—she motioned her head back at Taran—“don’t ever end up here again.”
Emme tugged frantically on Shayna’s sleeve. Not me. I was ready to knock them both out and throw them over my shoulders. “Seriously? Can we just get the hell out of here?”
The male judge explained slowly, like nothing as stupid as us could possibly exist. “David was in the beginning phase of chronic bloodlust.”
I frowned, confused. I knew bloodlust occurred when a vamp went too long without a feed, and the freaky green eyes had been a giveaway. It was easily remedied, though, by providing the vamp with a supervised feeding so he or she didn’t completely drain the donor. “What do you mean, chronic? I thought bloodlust resolved itself after the infected vampire is fed.”
Judge Malika responded. “Chronic bloodlust results from a powerful magic wielder’s curse. It makes a vampire’s appetite insatiable. The more he feeds, the more he desires, and the deeper he falls into insanity. He’ll lose his beauty and grow in size and strength from overindulgence. His only focus is to continue to eat at any cost.”
“Dude, that sounds sick. How do you cure it?” Shayna asked.
“There is no cure. The vampire must be destroyed,” Malika answered stiffly.
“But how did you know David had chronic bloodlust?” Shayna pressed.
Malika smacked her lips like she could still taste her breakfast. “The first sign was the aggression David demonstrated toward your sister. Violence toward our food is unnecessary. We have no need to kill our prey to feast well. The second was that there was no reason for deprivation. You live in Tahoe. Millions visit there each year; David could have easily fed anytime he wished. Now, if there are no further questions, leave.”
Judge Zhahara scowled with majestic beauty, likely bummed we wouldn’t be sentenced to some miserable death. But when she turned her sights on Misha she smiled with all the warmth of a cobra. “Sir Aleksandr, step forward. Explain to the court why you allowed chronic bloodlust to go unnoticed and undisciplined in your family.”
We tried to exit the courtroom. Misha blocked our path. At first I thought he’d poised himself to attack. I leaped in front of my sisters to protect them. He ignored us, addressing the judges instead. “I assure the court I hold the strictest control over my family.” His voice belied his rage. “On my honor, I will not only discover how this infestation occurred, but I will also hunt and kill all those responsible.” He then turned to us and bowed. “Ladies, you have my deepest apology for this unfortunate incident.”
Incident? Between my date with Destiny and the legions of orthodontically challenged waiting to munch on us, “incident” didn’t quite sum it up. “Take your apology and shove it up your—”
Shayna covered my mouth. “Dude! Are you nuts?”
“Oh, Celia, please. Let’s just leave,” Emme begged in a frantic whisper. “It’s almost their lunchtime, for goodness’ sake.”
I allowed them to escort me out of the courtroom while keeping my eyes on Taran. She runway-strutted the entire length of the aisle. Before making her grand exit, she threw one last comment. “By the way, Sir Aleksandr, your vamp sucked in bed.”
I continued to watch Taran until she safely returned to my side. But unlike most males who met Taran, Misha wasn’t captivated by her. No. His hungry gaze fixed on me.
CHAPTER 3
I thought of Misha as I jogged my tenth and final mile alongside Lake Tahoe’s shore. Fangs and master vampire status aside, he was a beautiful man. A beautiful man who should have tempted me as easily as a fish to a line. And yet there was no temptation. Strange, though, to have someone so attractive see me with desire. Most men ignored me to gawk at my pretty sisters. On the rare occasion a potential suitor did glance my way, my predator side unleashed and intimidated the crap out of him. But what did I expect? My inner beast remained my powerful and loyal guardian, sharing my heart and spirit. She made us tough, strong, and a little scary…she also made us lonely.