protect your family too.”
“Oh, I like him. Really freaking like him. Winter definitely has to keep him,” Ethan whispered to Marcus.
Damn straight Winter was fucking keeping him. The vampire needed someone to shake some sense into him. He was pissed at Winter, but he was more worried about him than pissed. He didn’t question that Winter cared about him, but he was all too eager to toss his own life and needs aside and take responsibility for all the safety needs of the Variks. And that was just wrong. It wasn’t all on Winter’s shoulders.
“Fox—” Winter started but Fox just waved a hand at him.
“We’ll talk about it later.” He had no desire to air all his thoughts in front of an audience. God knew they’d already learned more about them than Fox was ready to share. He was still getting to know Winter, figuring out what they meant to each other. There was no reason to share things with the rest of the Variks yet.
Flopping down on the chair again, Fox turned his attention to Marcus. “I take it you’ve heard nothing from Zelda.”
Marcus shook his head. “No. I’m getting the impression that she’s avoiding us. We may have to take on Damon without talking to her.”
“What about that forum you were using,” Winter asked. “SpellIt?”
Fox shook his head. “I wouldn’t trust them for a prophecy. We’d get nothing but trolled. It’s only good for old, time-tested spells and possibly rare ingredients.”
Fox chewed on his bottom lip, his stomach coiling into tighter and tighter knots. He couldn’t believe he was about to say this, but Winter had said he’d do anything to protect his family. This would be included in that anything.
“I know a witch. Another one,” he admitted softly.
“Really? I thought you didn’t. Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Winter demanded.
“Because the last time I saw her, she tried to kill me. I barely got out with my heart still attached to the rest of my body,” Fox shot back. He stopped and took a calming breath. There was no point in getting irritated with Winter. He was more angry at himself for being weak and scared of the old bitch. “She didn’t like me all those years ago, and I can’t imagine anything has changed her opinion since then.”
“Do you think she’ll help us?” Marcus asked.
“Honestly? No. But seeing as we have no other options at this point, we might as well try. I’ll need a little time to locate her. She was in Washington when I knew her, but she’s like the rest of them. Moves around when she gets the itch.”
Marcus nodded. “I’ll leave you and Winter to it. Just keep us updated. If you need anything…”
“I’ll call you,” Winter finished.
Fox remained sitting with his head in his hands as Winter walked Ethan and Marcus over to the door. A hand briefly touched Fox’s shoulder and he looked up expecting to see Ethan’s smiling face, but he was surprised to find Marcus’s worried blue eyes watching him closely. The vampire squeezed his shoulder wordlessly and continued to the door.
He didn’t know what to make of the moment, and truthfully, his brain and heart hurt too much to mull it all over.
Maybe he and Winter had been moving too fast. They’d known each other for two weeks, and they were already talking about moving in together. It was all insane and ridiculous. No one fell for another person that fast.
It didn’t matter that Winter made him feel so happy and free when they were together.
That they laughed constantly.
That they shared the same interests.
That they could talk about anything.
That they felt completely safe with each other.
Except Fox’s heart was breaking into a million pieces, and he didn’t know how he was going to ever put it back together again. Every piece he picked up had Winter’s name on it, and it might be time to throw those pieces out.
Chapter 23
Winter sat in his office, watching Fox retreat up to his room under the excuse of wanting to take a shower. Marcus and Ethan had left an hour earlier, and Fox had spent that time searching for a witch by the name of Cheryl Watkins. It was by sheer luck that she was living close in Massachusetts. Just a few hours’ drive away.
Their plan was to drive to her place and hope she could shed some light on this prophecy. While they had the wording, proving that Fox was linked to it, they needed clarification on whether Fox’s