Page 25 of Zodiac Demons

I was packing one piece of clothing at a time with a sense of dread in every crease of my folded shirts. A full moon party with Lila. And a full moon party with Marcus. I was going to be exposed to moon beams in front of the single most terrifying person I could show my weakness to.

I was about to be so fucked.

Was there anything at all that even could go right on this trip?

My phone rang, and if I’d been in my full basilisk form, I likely would have literally jumped out of my skin instead of just metaphorically. There was one, single person I would want that call to be from, and several I very much hoped it wasn’t, so the odds didn’t feel actively in my favor right now. Would it be mother or father telling me they were on their way back? Would it be Omari checking in? Would it be Lila, bringing me calm?

Or would it be…

‘Marcus, your friendly neighborhood vampire’

I really should change that.

I hesitated to answer, but I also had to remind myself that, as a vampire, he could physically be here to speak in person in all of four seconds if he didn’t like that I was ignoring him. And the reality was we were going to have a lot to hash out, on so many levels, whether I wanted to talk to him or not.

“This is Threads of the Magi. How may I assist you?” I answered professionally, using my customer service persona to hide every overblown emotion that was ticking under the surface. If there was one single thing that being a Gemini had given me, it was the ability to create believable masks.

“Oh my little serpent, don’t pretend you didn’t stare at the caller ID until the absolute last possible second, debating if you could get away with not answering…” He paused for a taunting second, before adding, his tone a flirtatious purr, “or what kind of consequences I might show you if you didn’t.”

“I could already guess the consequences, and having to see you is never worth it.” I rolled my eyes, ignoring the uncomfortable warmth he always inspired. “Can we get to the point? It’s the summer rush, and I’m quite busy.”

“So Fazer Island for the full moon party, huh?” He certainly got to the point, and somehow I already regretted asking. “Does this mean I’m going to finally get to see the Omega Gemini myself?”

Don’t panic. I’m not going to panic.

“Oh, are you invited? I thought this vacation was only for winners.” Any dig at his ego was a small victory today.

“Not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m mated to the hottest woman either of us has ever met, and she’s mated to the cutest man I’ve ever met, and he can’t reject that mark without my explicit permission, so I’d say I’ve done nothing but win lately.” Marcus was a master of saying the words I feared most out loud. “And wouldn’t you know it, after telling her all about how bad my mate separation sickness was last month—which was fucking heinous, for the record. You’re welcome for that—she decided it was only fair to invite her actual boyfriend on the trip.”

“Lucky me.” I muttered. True death was starting to look rather appealing.

“I was trying to remember: when was the last time we got to share a hotel? I want to say it was the Veloce Hot Springs field trip? Do you remember how much fun we had?”

And that reminder turned my blood to pure lava, as I recalled that entire night way too vividly.

Too, too vividly.

I swallowed thickly before I answered calmly. “I’m not interested in going down memory lane with you, Marcus. I’m simply going to stay close enough to Lila to prevent any of us from suffering the effects of being a mated pair, then we can get this sorted when all of our heads are more level. Nothing is going to happen.”

“Like how you told me nothing was going to happen during ‘inventory,’” His tone was laced with teasing doubt. “Just keep lying to yourself. It doesn’t take any of the fun out of it for me, so I don’t mind.”

“Why are you like this?” I sighed. The fact that we both knew I was going to need his permission to break this pact was perhaps the worst part of all of this. Maybe he’d be nice enough to free me from my mark again, but only maybe. He alone had the ability to drag this out as long as he wanted. The fact that that could mean literal eternity was not lost on me.

“Because being passive has never gotten me anything I wanted, but being aggressive has been so, so sweet.” He was, without question, the most insufferable person I would ever know in any lifetime.

Which was why I attempted to get this conversation to move in any direction but that one. “What about her other mate? Based on her scents, I’m guessing he’s also an Alpha?” I was speaking fairly casually, hoping he might have and give that information. If he was a more reasonable person, his permission as one of her Alphas might also be enough to get me out of this predicament. But not knowing who that was or how to find him, Marcus was currently my only option and my only lead.

Marcus let out what sounded like a very accidental, “Right, I almost forgot about him.”

“I take it you know who her third mate is?”

“Do you remember when I told you I also have an older brother who used to torment me? Not sure he was anywhere near as bad as yours but…” Marcus’ usual confident demeanor bordered on nervous. “Never thought I’d actually have to introduce you two. This is going to be fucking weird.”

My eyes widened, and I had no words. “Her third mate is your brother?”

“Surprise?”

Two of them. I was going to be dealing with two of them. And his brother is supposedly the meaner one between them?