Chapter Nine

Hayley

If Elijah thinks I'll just forget what happened last night and move on—he's dead wrong. From the moment we left my apartment in Brooklyn en route to a Wiccan shop in the East Village, things have been unbearably awkward between us. Halting conversation, nervous glances—of course, Elijah's still polite and charming as ever—but the comfort we once shared is gone. Was it only yesterday that we held hands, kissed, and then…

Images of Elijah's body pressed tightly against me flood my mind. I still remember his light caresses. The way his soft lips brushed mine. A blush rises to my cheeks and all I want to do is dive into a deserted alleyway to calm myself down. Damn him—damn Elijah for assuming the worst in me. Why did he stop me? Why didn't he listen to me?

What I feel for him isn't pity at all. I like him—more than I should. And it scares me. We're no longer strangers. Elijah knows more about me than anyone else in the world. We trust each other. We care about each other.

But what do I mean to him? And what happens when our quest to stop Katherine ends? Do I leave New York and all these troubles behind? Or do I take an even bigger risk…and stay?

Raking a hand through my tangled hair, I release an exasperated sigh. This whole thing has become a fucking mess. Little does the original vampire know that I intend to set things right again. It's time for some brutal honesty. I just have to find the right time.

A firm hand on my shoulder brings me back to the present. We've stopped walking along the crowded, narrow sidewalk, which means we must have arrived at our destination. I peer up at Elijah who's looking crisp and gorgeous even though he's still wearing his rumpled clothes from yesterday.

Elijah's eyes sparkle playfully as he gestures grandly to the building right in front of us. It's a tiny shop wedged between a Starbucks and a lively Mexican restaurant. A wooden sign, hanging just above the door, reads: "Enigmatic Enchantments."

I give Elijah a sidelong glance, "Enigmatic?"

Elijah's lips quirk up a bit and he pats me on the back, gently pushing me toward the shop. A loud bell announces our entry and Elijah steps in front of me protectively.

But instead of encountering a badass witch, there's just a chubby, furry black cat hanging dangerously near the edge of a long bookshelf. Not much of a threat. I can even hear the kitty snoring softly—and it's pretty adorable.

Taking in my surroundings, I notice that even though the space is small, Enigmatic Enchantments is tidy and organized. Each corner has a wooden sign with labels designating what's for sale—spell books, potions, charms, candles—it's quite impressive. A one-stop shop for anyone remotely interested in the magical arts. The store even smells heavenly—a smoky amber scent—and I notice incense by the cash register a few feet away from me.

I'm so busy checking out the magical wares, I don't notice Elijah making a beeline for a curtain way in the back of the shop.

Standing in front the curtain patiently, Elijah calls out, "I know you're there, Max. Come out now."

Silence.

Elijah looks back at me—a scowl on his face—and I can only shrug. This is his operation, after all. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just his back up.

"Max. You know me. And you know your options. You can cooperate and I'll be nice, or you can ignore me in which case—"

Before Elijah can finish, a tall, thin woman with black hair cropped in a pixie cut and startling ice blue eyes appears from behind the curtain.

"Patience is a virtue, Elijah. After living for so many years, surely you should know that," the woman's voice wavers just a little, but her hands are placed hips and her beautiful eyes never stray from Elijah's.

This is Max?

Even I have to admit this person's got guts considering Elijah could rip out her heart in three seconds flat.

Max eyes me curiously, and Elijah moves back a few paces so he's standing right next to me.

"You must be Hayley. You two have become the talk of the town. Our supernatural community is pretty tight-knit, you see."

I can't tell if she's trying to goad me or not, but I decide to play it cool. "That's great about your 'supernatural community.' So you must know the witch who's been helping Katherine."

For a split second, I catch a flash of surprise run across Max's face, but she quashes it quickly and looks directly into my eyes with confidence.

Strange.

"Sorry, I can't help you. How about a potion instead?" She selects a small red vial from the shelf next to her and holds it up.

"This is Blushing Rose…it's supposed to ignite your lover's passion." Max gives me a conspiratorial smile and winks at Elijah, "It looks like this could be very useful for you."

Elijah growls, Max chuckles, and my face feels like it's on fire.

"Enough of this meaningless chatter, Max. I know that nothing happens amongst the witches without your knowledge and approval," Elijah says, doing his damndest to suppress his irritation.

"True. As the oldest member of the most powerful family of witches in New York, nothing happens without my say-so. And though I may know something about Katherine's mind-control abilities, there are a few things you should know first," Max replies arrogantly.

Elijah cocks an eyebrow and I cross my arms in front of my chest. This should be good.

"One. Even if a witch was involved, I am bound by the honor of my family name—the Du Monte name—never to betray one of my own. Two. Witches are forbidden to aid any vampires in this town. We do not serve your kind."

Max glares at Elijah, but the original vampire's face is a mask. Which means he's probably boiling with anger.

Quickly, I cut in to the conversation, "But if a witch is helping Katherine, isn't that person violating one of your rules?"

The blue-eyed witch heaves a sigh and explains impatiently, "Yes, but we would deal with that matter amongst ourselves. No need to concern yourself, wolf."

I clench my fists and grit my teeth. This bitch is getting on my last nerve. And from the way Elijah's lips are pressed tight, his dark eyes glowing with intensity, I can tell he's had it.

"There are ways to make you talk, Maxine," Elijah seethes.

Max smirks and boldly steps closer to us. "A threat, huh? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You've balls of steel to come here—on my turf—and threaten me."

The witch raises her palms to face us and closes her eyes. Suddenly, the room feels ice cold and the lights in the shop grow dimmer. I try to move forward, but it's as if my feet are glued to the floor. Glancing over at Elijah, his eyebrows are knit together and I can see he's struggling to move as well. Perfect. We're both sitting ducks at the mercy of a witch who despises us.

Then Max opens her eyes. Within seconds the lights in the room illuminate, the temperature warms, and the magical barrier that froze me in place vanishes. I shift my feet around just to test that I can, in fact, move. Elijah gently touches my arm and I look up to see his dark eyes full of concern. I nod my head, silently answering his unspoken question. I'm fine. Just pissed off.

Max's slight smirk morphs into a full cocky grin and I have the urge to slap it off her face. "I should have mentioned point three earlier. I am a descendent of a very powerful line of witches. Don't mess with me. You'll regret it."

Looking over at Elijah, I'm surprised to see his calm, collected demeanor has returned. He doesn't rise to Max's bait.

"You have a point," Elijah says carefully, "we'll leave. But do give my regards to your brother—Daniel, isn't it? He's here is he not?"

The victorious grin plastered on Max's face is quickly replaced with a deep frown. In the corner of my eye, I see her hands are shaking.

What the hell is going on?

"I-I d-don't know what you mean," Max stammers.

Now it's Elijah's turn to smile. "Yes, you do. He's been hiding behind that curtain the whole time we've been here. Strange, isn't it?"

Max doesn't speak. Her face is drained of color.

"No matter. I'm sure we'll all meet up again soon enough."

Then Elijah inclines his head politely toward the speechless Max, takes me by the hand, and leads me out of Enigmatic Enchantments.

"You want to tell me what the hell that was about?"

Elijah doesn't answer. He doesn't look at me. We're back in his luxurious apartment now, standing in his enormous kitchen, and he's busy gathering two large bowls and filling them up with some brand of ice cream I've never heard of—Gelato Delizioso. Must be something rich people enjoy.

He heaps at least four scoops of thick chocolate ice cream into a bowl and slides it over to me on the kitchen island.

I glance at the bowl of ice cream and stare at Elijah incredulously.

"You haven't eaten anything since this morning. I thought you must be in need of a snack." Elijah fills his own bowl, spoons a large helping of ice cream, and shovels it into his mouth.

He flashes me a charming grin, "This brand is quite good."

As if on cue, my stomach rumbles and I put on a show of halfheartedly digging into my ice cream.

But with one bite, I'm in heaven. It is delicious. I scoop more and more ice cream into my mouth until my spoon hits the bottom of the glass bowl. Damn that was good.

Peering up from my empty bowl, I see an amused Elijah is looking at me intently.

"Feel better?"

Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of an answer, I incline my head slightly. "Ok, so as you were saying about Max…"

Elijah reaches out for my hand and leads me to the leather couch in his living area. He motions for me to sit down—and I do—but feel bereft when he releases me from his tight grip. I miss the feel of his rough hands in mine.

He takes a seat next to me and exhales. "I apologize for leading you into that place blindly, but I needed to test my theory—which required you to behave as normally as possible."

I feel a twinge of annoyance at his duplicity—and my irritation must show on my face because Elijah immediately addresses my concern, "It's not that I don't trust you. I just needed Max to believe she had us in the palm of her hands. You see, there is only one family of witches that has the power to instill that kind of ability in a vampire like Katherine—the Du Montes."

I nod, encouraging Elijah to continue.

"And yet, Max's—shall we call it disdain?—for the vampires is well known to all supernaturals in New York. So, she wouldn't have helped Katherine. And aside from Max, there's only one other Du Monte witch in New York—her brother Daniel. He was my main suspect, but I had no conclusive evidence…until now."

Elijah clasps my hands in his and comforting warmth spreads throughout my body. God, his touch feels good.

"I felt his presence in the shop. I knew she was hiding him. And then when she became defensive—even risking her own well-being by using magic in the middle of the day when anyone could have witnessed it—I had my proof."

Scooting closer to Elijah, I ask, "So now what? Why didn't you grab him right then? Why wait?"

A chuckle escapes Elijah's throat and he removes his hand from my grasp to brush a strand of hair off my face. "In case you weren't aware, it's unwise to attack the Du Montes when they're at a clear advantage."

Which makes sense. How could I forget the terrifying feeling of absolute powerlessness when Max cast her spell?

"Better to wait. When they're unprepared. When they least expect something's amiss. Once we have Daniel, we can reverse whatever spell he's cast to grant Katherine such overwhelming power."

I muster up a smile, "And then we'll beat Katherine and we can call quits on this investigation."

Elijah doesn't answer me. He observes me silently, seriously, and then murmurs, "Indeed."

"And I'll go back to my life and you'll go back to yours?" It's not meant to be a question, but I'm holding out hope that he'll disagree with me.

But the original vampire says nothing.

My fists tighten and my lips squeeze shut. His silence hurts me more than anything. Hot tears threaten to spill over, but I swallow them back.

My voice almost cracks, "Why aren't you answering? Say something—anything—for god's sakes."

Clearing his throat, Elijah pulls me into him, and my body trembles as I feel his strong arms enfold me. "What do you want me to say? That I don't want you to go?"

He pauses for a beat and mutters under his breath, "What if I don't?"

I pull back from his embrace and stare into dark eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Seeing the pain there, I can't help myself—I have to take the pain away. Leaning in, I close my eyes and brush my lips against his in a light, airy kiss. Then Elijah presses his lips harder against mine, demanding more. My hands wrap around his neck and I pull him down so he's lying on top of me, but our lips never break contact. It's as if we're one being and all I know is my heart will ache if I don't touch him.

Then Elijah whispers against my lips, "Let's not talk of this now, Hayley. May I just hold you in my arms for a while?"

The vulnerability I see in Elijah's face melts my heart. We don't have to talk about the future now—but one day soon we'll have to. For now, I nod in assent and snuggle myself against the curve of his muscular body.

Elijah strokes my hair and plants soft kisses on the side of my face. His soothing caresses calm me, and my breath syncs with his. I remain cuddled up next to him until my eyelids grow heavy and flutter shut. It occurs to me that I might be dreaming, but the last thing I hear before I fall asleep his Elijah's low, sexy voice repeating over and over again, "Please don't leave me…"

A slamming door startles me from my sleep. My eyes snap open and panic seizes me as I realize Elijah's nowhere to be seen.

Did he step out somewhere?

Then I hear loud footsteps in the entryway to the apartment and my heart settles. He must've just returned from an errand. I leap from the couch and run to the door, eager to see Elijah's handsome face—but what I actually encounter shocks me to the core.

Giving me a withering death glare is a strange man with short blonde hair, glittering dark eyes, and full lips curved down in a deep frown.

Oh holy shit.

Even without the garish period costume, I still recognize his face. It's the douchebag brother. Klaus.

He's back.

Klaus steps forward—his posture hostile and intimidating—but once he registers that I'm not a threat, his ferocity dissipates and he gives me a curious look.

Instinctively, I step away from him, but he moves in closer to me, taking a whiff of my scent.

His menacing frown turns into a cocky smirk in an instant. "It seems my brother has been busy while I've been away. Do you want to explain what you're doing here, little wolf?"

My mouth is dry. My hands are shaking. And all I can think is: Where the hell are you, Elijah!?