It took several attempts for her to get the words out.
“She killed Zoey.”
“Where is she?” I was dumbstruck with disbelief. This couldn’t be happening.
“Lilah? She’s gone. Zoey? In there.” Jez pointed to the bedroom and a fresh flood of tears emerged. She made no attempt to wipe them away.
A sick feeling gripped me as I made my way to Jez’s room. I didn’t want to see this, but I had no choice. The thick scent of blood grew as I drew closer. The faint light shining through the open blinds cast a silver glow on Zoey’s prone form. My keen eyesight was more than good enough to see in the dimness, but I reached for the light switch anyway, needing the false comfort of the overhead light.
Pale yellow illumination bathed the room. I held my breath, unwilling to breathe in that sweet hybrid blood. What I saw was horrifying, and though he’d been dead for more than a year, my first thought was of Raoul. Because I had loved him despite what a pompous, selfish ass he was, I had promised myself I’d keep Zoey safe, for him.
Zoey lay sprawled on the bed. Two sets of vampire bites marred her carotid artery. Blood stained the pillow beneath her. She had bled out quickly. Her bright blue eyes, now dimmed in death, stared off toward the ceiling. Jez had thrown a blanket over her to hide her nudity. Otherwise, the scene was untouched.
I’m sorry, Raoul. Zoey had never been one of my favorite people. She had killed her father and hurt both Kylarai and Arys as well as an innocent man. Perhaps I should have left her in the woods as wolf, but I’d felt it my duty to restore her to human form. Not once did I see her as anything other than a liability I was forced to accept. That didn’t mean she deserved to die.
Returning to the living room, I sank to my knees beside Jez. I laid the dagger on the carpet and pulled her into my arms. She sagged against me before throwing her arms around me and sobbing. I plucked the cigarette from her fingers and tossed it in a Coke can on the coffee table. The sizzle as it hit the contents was loud, poignant, accompanied by Jez’s heartbreaking cries.
Tears filled my eyes; rage filled my heart. Two of my wolves had now died at Lilah’s hand. She wasn’t going to stop, not until I stopped her.
“I’m so sorry, Jez. I’m going to make her suffer for this. Somehow. I promise.”
“It happened so fast,” she said between sobs. “She didn’t come alone. She brought some guys. They made me watch. I thought I was next, but she just killed Zoey and left.”
Another flood of tears cut off her words. I glanced around the apartment, wondering what to do with Zoey. Ideally, I’d call Fox and have him bury her beside her father. Fox was a city wolf that provided medical services to werewolves. He would normally help me with the safe and proper burial of a wolf, but involving him in any way might jeopardize his safety. Vampires would have to take care of this.
“Why didn’t she kill me, too?” Jez sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “She barely looked at me, except to tell me it wasn’t personal. It’s fucking personal now.”
I released my hold on Jez to fetch her some tissue and a glass of water. I felt absolutely useless handing them to her. It was a poor substitute.
“Jez, I’m sorry. This is my fault. She’s doing this to force me to come to her willingly. To give her my blood.” I sniffed back the tears that threatened. Pulling my phone out, I called Arys who didn’t answer. Great. Not only had he let me go off alone tonight, he had also made himself unavailable.
“No, Alexa, this isn’t your fault.” Jez moved from the floor to the couch and promptly lit another cigarette. “It’s Shya’s fault. He made the dumbass decision to bind her instead of driving a stake through the bitch’s heart.”
“I know,” I sighed, infuriated. “He’s also the one who told Lilah my blood would break her curse. Manipulative son of a bitch.”
Unable to force myself to drag Zoey’s body out of there, I concentrated on reaching Arys through our mental connection. His resistance wasn’t what I expected. I took that to mean he didn’t want me to know what he was doing, but I didn’t