Vita’s eyes flash opened as she sucked in a breath, and her hand went to her throat.

Deak crouched before her as he watched her try to calm down. “Vita, what happened?” he asked softly.

It took Vita a minute to answer as she tried to gather her thoughts on what happened. “I was in your house and standing in front of a door to which I assumed was the library. My hand was on the handle, ready to open the door, and then I was spun around, and something had me by the throat and told me I wasn’t supposed to be there,” she told them.

Deak let out a growl and stood up. He pulled out his phone and clicked on the app to check the security cameras around the house; he was rarely home and didn’t want squatters trying to invade his space.

Zachary walked up behind him to watch the footage. “Wait, go back a little. I think I saw something.”

Deak rewound the footage by a few second and rewatched the footage.

Zachary watched the video closely and reacted when he saw it again. “Okay, pause right there. I recognize that ring. One of the men on the faction council was wearing one just like it,” Zachary told him.

Deak snarled with anger. “Which one?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m not sure of his name. But he was pale like a vampire.”

Vampires.

Deak could feel the blood in his body boiling with anger. He leaned down to look at Vita. “Are you okay?” he asked, trying to keep his anger not directed at Vita.

Vita nodded. “I can go back and see what he’s looking for.”

Deak shook his head. “No, it’s too dangerous. Stay here. I’ll be back later.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. Without any other explanation, Deak walked toward the door and left.

On Deak’s way to the elevator, he ran into Tabitha and Marco.

“Where are you headed?” Tabitha asked.

“To have a chat with some vampires,” Deak answered.

“Do you want some backup?” Marco offered.

Deak shrugged as he pushed the button for the elevator. “It’s up to you,” he told them.

Tabitha smiled and nodded at Marco. “I’ll let Ruby know,” Tabitha told him as she mind-linked Ruby.

Tabitha: Ruby, we saw Deak in the hall, and we’re going with him.

Ruby: Tab, I don’t think that’s a good idea. He was angry and stormed out of the room. Maybe you two should return to the room and let him go alone.

Tabitha: Why do you constantly treat me like a little kid? You are not my mom or Luna. I was letting you know where we were going out of respect.

Ruby: Tabitha Lynn Meyers! I don’t know what has gotten into you lately, but that is not how you talk to your elders. I can contact your Luna. Would you like to speak with her instead? We will discuss this more when you get back here.

Ruby: Tabitha?

Ruby: Tabitha!

Tabitha blocked her mind link from Ruby. She didn’t need a lecture at the moment. Her body was shaking with anger. She closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Ruby was right. This wasn’t normal behavior for her. But she was tired of always listening and helping everyone else with all their problems. She just wanted to live and enjoy being a young adult. Lately, things had gotten too intense, and she needed a release. That’s why she'd volunteered to go on this trip. Tabitha wanted time for her and Marco without someone else’s relationship getting in the way of it. Was that a selfish request? Maybe. But when was she supposed to put herself first before others? Tabitha shook the thoughts out of her head.

“Tab, why do I have Ruby yelling in my head right now?” Marco asked with guarded tension.

Tabitha shook her head. “Just tell her we will be back later, and we’ll be careful.”

“You should listen to Ruby. She’s only looking out for you,” Deak suggested.

Tabitha sighed as she reached up, placed both hands behind her neck, and pulled to release the tension. “I know. But Marco and I can protect ourselves. We are trained to be warriors. Protectors of the pack. She should have enough trust in us to be safe.”

Deak nodded in understanding. “I wish I had someone older that still cared about me,” he admitted.

Tabitha lowered her eyes to the floor as she took in what Deak was saying. Her mother had died when she was younger, and her father was always away doing research for the packs. It had been a while since she had talked with him. Ruby and Luna Cynthia took her under their wing and were there for her when she needed a mom figure. Tabitha felt ashamed of how she reacted. She would talk to Ruby and apologize for her behavior. But first, she needed to release some pent-up aggression that was festering inside her.

When the elevator opened, Deak, Tabitha, and Marco made their way out to the lobby. A gentleman from the concierge desk walked up to them. “Is there somewhere I can help you get to?” he asked them.

Deak smiled warmly and answered, “Yes, we need to see the faction council. Can you have a car take us there?”

The concierge smiled as he waved his arm for a car.

***

Vita got up and started to pace the floor. Why did Deak leave without telling her where he was going to go? She could tell that he was angry and she was worried about what he was going to do. She should have followed him.

“Vita, please calm down. Deak can take care of himself,” Zachary claimed.

Vita nodded, but she was still worried.

They hadn’t been separated since the fight with Colson’s pack and the witches. Vita wasn’t sure if the curse played a crucial part in his temper being set off so quickly. It was a side of Deak she hadn’t seen before except when he was fighting with Tristan. Vita quivered when she thought of that man’s name. Even after death, he was causing problems for her.

Vita looked at Gretchen and remembered what Amanda told her. “Gretchen, I spoke with Amanda earlier. She asked if I had talked about Tristan’s body disappearing with you,” Vita said with a lifted brow.

Gretchen’s eyes widened when she heard Amanda’s name. She had forgotten all about Tristan’s body disappearing. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I was going to talk about it with Uncle Zachary and grandmother, but didn’t see a good time to bring it up. Did she mention any footage of it happening?”

Vita nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Mm-hmm. Smoke made Tristan’s body disappear.”