“I should have done something,” I whispered.

“Listen, I don’t know exactly what happened, but I know you, Gwen. I know you fought back and didn’t make it easy.”

His words only caused more guilt. Not once had I tried to use magic to fend Ian off. Sure I had fought against him, but my strength was nothing compared to a vampire’s.

“We’ll deal with this. I have a meeting with the council tonight; I’ll fix it, Gwen.”

Two hard knocks banged on the main door and made me jump. Aiden left the bathroom and answered the door. “Where is she? What happened?” I heard Fiona ask. I closed my eyes and took a couple deep breaths before climbing out of the shower. I slipped into a bathrobe that hung on the back of the door and eyed my clothes with disgust, I’d burn them later.

Fiona sat on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands. Aiden stood next to the large window and stared out at the city below. When I walked closer, both of their heads turned towards me. I hated the pity in their eyes. Both of them watched me cautiously. I looked away to escape their stares.

“Gwen.” Fiona stood but didn’t touch me.

I gave her a sad smile and the tears began to fall again. Fiona’s hesitation faded, and she wrapped me in her arms. All of the tension that had been building released as soon as I felt the comfort of her arms. She rubbed my back and started to sniffle along with me. I caught sight of Aiden over Fiona’s shoulder, and I mouthed the words, “Thank you.” I desperately needed my best friend and he had known. Aiden wasn’t able to comfort me at the moment, but he had made sure someone would. It was only one of the many reasons why I loved him.

“I’m going to step out and give you two time alone. I’ll be at the bar if you need me.”

When he left, Fiona and I sat on the bed. “What happened? Aiden said Ian had done something bad to you and you were hysterical.”

My eyes closed and I hung my head, not sure if I wanted to explain the details of what Ian had done. I thought about what it would be like if it had happened to Fiona, and I knew I would go insane from not knowing. Fiona and Aiden were probably going crazy as speculations bombarded their minds. What Ian had done was horrible, but at least it hadn’t gone further.

I ended up telling Fiona everything and watched as tears fell against her cheeks. She watched me with so much sympathy it made me feel worse. My own guilt demanded that she and Aiden be mad at me, as stupid as that sounded. I felt like I deserved it.

“You have to tell the council, Gwen.”

“What?” I gaped at her like she’d lost her mind. I didn’t want the attack to be public knowledge, and the last people I wanted to hear about this was the council.

“Not about what he did, but that you guys are bonded. It’s dangerous, Gwen. They might know how to break it.” Fiona’s eyes begged for my cooperation. It made sense that the NAWC could have information on how to break my tie to Ian.

“Aiden is meeting with one of his council members tonight to discuss how to break the bond. If that doesn’t work, I’ll tell our council, okay?”

Fiona looked apprehensive, but nodded her head. “All right, if that’s what you want. Now, what does a girl have to do to get a little room service around here?”

*****

An hour passed before Aiden came back to the room. Fiona and I were surrounded with food and a small pile of alcohol bottles we’d swiped from the mini fridge. Will and Grace reruns played on the television, and we laughed as Grace poked her water bra and it spurted everywhere.

I looked at Aiden and smiled, finally feeling a little bit like myself. Warmth emanated within me as he watched me. He still seemed unsure on whether he should touch me, so I hopped off of the bed and hugged him. Now that my mind was a little clearer, being close to Aiden didn’t send me running. I inhaled his spicy clean scent and let it soothe me.

“I’m sorry for everything. I know I was a little crazy earlier.” I said against his chest.

“If I have to tell you to stop apologizing one more time, I’m going to take away the chocolate,” Aiden warned. Fiona and I had ordered everything they had in chocolate—ice cream, cake and pudding.

“What a horrible threat.” I laughed.

Aiden smiled and nodded his head. The atmosphere of the room was still touchy. They were being careful around me and I hated it. I didn’t want to appear weak.

“Fiona, can I speak to you for a moment?” Aiden asked.

I arched my eyebrows in confusion, not sure why he couldn’t talk to her in front of me. Fiona hopped off of the bed and they walked outside the room.

I pressed my ear against the door, but it did nothing to help me hear their conversation. Deciding it was hopeless, I pressed my face to the peephole. Aiden had his arms crossed and a ticked off look on his face while Fiona spoke. It looked like she was telling him what happened, which annoyed me. Aiden should have heard it from my lips. The more Fiona spoke, the worse Aiden’s anger became. He ran his hands through his hair and then fisted them at his side. I caught of glimpse of black in his eyes before he closed them.

When Fiona stopped talking, Aiden said some words and she nodded her head. They turned to come back into the room. I ran over to the bed and sat down so that they wouldn’t know I had been eavesdropping. “Everything okay?” I pretended to watch television.

“Yeah,” Aiden said with a smile. “I have to meet with Aaron. You and Fiona are welcome to stay if you’d like.”

“Aaron?”

“He’s a member of the vampire council. I’ll get this all sorted out tonight, Gwen.” I nodded my head, not completely convinced the VC would be jumping to help a witch break free from a sadistic vampire.

“Are you staying or going back to Moon?” Aiden asked.

“I think we’ll go back. Call me when you hear something?”

“Of course.” Aiden walked over and placed a kiss upon my head. He was careful not to let his hands linger on my shoulders too long. It made me sad that I had made him feel so cautious around me.

“I’ll see you later then.” He gave me one last look and nodded his head towards Fiona before leaving. I rubbed my forehead and wished the motion would erase all of the dark memories of tonight. I was starting to feel like myself, but the dream was still vibrant in my mind and made my gut twist in disgust.

“You ready to go?” Fiona used magic to clean up the mess of dishes that were all over the bed. Anger and sadness filled her eyes, although she pretended to be strong.

“Yeah, I just need to change.” I went to the bathroom and shrugged out of the fluffy bathrobe. It pooled at my feet like a fallen cloud, and I caught my naked reflection in the mirror. My hair was limp and my eyes were swollen with the flood of tears I’d cried. My skin was pale and my blue eyes looked almost haunted. Ian had violated me, and I hated that he had bestowed fear within me.

My eyes traveled to the heap of my clothes I’d worn when I arrived at the hotel, but I couldn’t put them on again. Looking away from the mirror, I concentrated on creating new clothes. I settled for yoga pants and baggy sweater and within seconds the clothes covered my body. With a deep breath, I stepped out of the bathroom, and Fiona and I headed back to Moon.

The car ride back was quiet. Fiona turned the radio on and changed the station every time a sad song played, like I’d start crying if I listened to it. Frustration built each time the songs switched. When she was about to change the station again, I reached up and shut the radio off.

“I’m fine, Fiona. You don’t have to watch yourself around me or monitor the music.” I looked out the window then felt bad for snapping at my best friend. “I’m sorry, I know you’re just trying to help, but I can’t stand being treated like a victim.” I gave her a weak smile.

“But you are a victim, Gwen. What Ian did was horrible, and you don’t have to put on a brave face for anyone, especially me.” She reached her hand out, grabbed mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. Why was she showing interest in my life now? Was Ethan busy tonight? I swallowed the words I wanted to throw at Fiona and accepted her comfort instead. Just like me, it’d take Fiona and Aiden time to get over what Ian had done. As much as I hated the attention, I wouldn’t throw their concerns back at them even if I really wanted to.

“Thank you, Fiona. I do appreciate your worry, but maybe dial it back just a little bit. I’m not going to let Ian break me.” I had my time to cry; now all I wanted was to figure out how to kill the son of a bitch.

“Okay, but I’m not letting this go. Ethan has been teaching me some pretty cool stuff, and I have something up my sleeve that’ll prevent Ian from bothering you again,” Fiona beamed, showing twin rows of sparkling white teeth.

Snorting, I asked, “Like what?”

“You’ll see.”

8

Back at the castle, Fiona hauled me towards the herbal room. I leaned against the door frame while she rummaged through jars of dried plants and other questionable items. She pushed three jars into my arms and continued on her mission to find more ingredients for whatever spell she planned to keep Ian away.

I wasn’t sure anything would help, aside from Ian’s death. The magic that ran through his veins was strong from the brew he drank. Ian knew how to do magic I still hadn’t learned. I’d let Fiona perform her spell though I didn’t have my hopes set high.

“Don’t they have dried bat wings?” A loud clatter echoed around the small stone room as Fiona searched.

“What are you going to do with bat wings?” My voice rose in pitch at the thought of using something so disgusting. I was fine with herbs, but when spells called for animal parts, I became apprehensive.

“Help protect you, duh,” Fiona answered. “Here it is!” She placed the supplies in a large glass bowl and motioned with her head for me to follow. We made our way upstairs and into my bedroom. Fiona sat Indian-style on the floor, and I mimicked her. She took everything out of the bowl and placed it in front of her. I watched the concentration on her face in awe. Fiona always used magic, but I’d never seen her cast a spell. She manipulated objects all the time, but never did anything as ritualistic as this. Six white candles floated around us in a perfect circle. When they landed on the floor their wicks popped to life with a bright flame.