His Miracle Mate: Rise of the Moon Children

Chapter 1

"She's not a fairy," Vlad said. "She's much more."

Silence blanketed the room. Hale shook his head. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Before I say anything," Vlad said. "I want you to take a blood oath."

"To whom?"

"To Ezra," Vlad said. "He's the only one I trust with her life."

Hayden glared at Vlad. "You think we're not loyal?"

Hale put his hand on his son's arm. The older witch didn't look insulted, simply thoughtful.

The light streaming in through the window dimmed as gray clouds covered the sky. Standing next to the window, Vlad's face grew shadowed, yet his blue eyes were lit from within.

"I'm not taking any chances," Vlad replied firmly. "You know I trust you with my life, Hale. But this is not about me."

"Hello!" Haley said, snapping her finger. "Can anyone explain what the hell is going on?!"

I had to agree with Haley. What in the world was happening? One moment we were talking about how I could apparently bend an element of nature, and how that made me very powerful. The next Vlad was saying I wasn't a fairy and was asking Hale for blood oaths.

And what the heck was a blood oath anyway?

"I will explain. But not before doing this," Vlad said, his eyes flickering to me, eyes that knew much more than he let on.

Ezra, standing behind my chair, looked at Vlad through narrowed eyes. Hale and Vlad shared a long, quiet look. Probably linking. Finally, Hale nodded. "Alright. We'll do it."

Ezra stepped closer to Hale.

Hale retrieved a pocket knife from an ankle sheath hidden beneath his black slacks, then slashed his palm in one quick slice. I winced when Ezra did the same. It reminded me of what I had to do to escape my kidnapper.

Hale and Ezra shook their bloody hands, their eyes glowing. Hale then passed the knife to Haley and then to Hayden, who did the same with Ezra. Vlad got towels from the attached bathroom for the four of them.

Once they were done, I turned my confused gaze to Ezra. He closed his bloody fist around the towel. "What was that?"

"A blood oath. Ceremonies that involve blood swapping are very customary for supernaturals. Like blood oaths. They're promises of fealty. If one side betrays the other, they'll know."

I could see now why Ezra had said that blood was very important in their world. So Hale and his children basically swore their loyalty to Ezra. No wonder Hayden looked offended when Vlad suggested it. I glanced at Vlad. Didn't he trust them?

"Aren't you going to take a blood oath?" Ezra asked Vlad, arching a challenging brow.

"It would be redundant," Vlad said.

"Redundant?" Ezra inquired.

Vlad headed to the door. "I already took one to protect her many years ago."

"To whom?" Ezra asked.

Vlad opened the door. "Tat's what I'm going to tell you. Come on, I don't want to have to repeat myself twice. The others should know as well."

So we followed Vlad downstairs, where everyone was still in the living room, in addition to Blake, who was shocked to discover I had been kidnapped and returned all in the span of twenty-four hours.

"You sure know how to get yourself into trouble," he mumbled next to me.

I jabbed my elbow in his side. "It's not my fault," I whispered.