Her eyes flickered between Jared and me. “The bond between you both…it is very strong.”

“You have a gift that allows you to measure bonds?” I knew I sounded confused; I’d heard from Antonio that she was genekinetic.

Lena shook her head. “One doesn’t need such a gift to see that your bond is solid. In fact, it’s almost feral in its intensity. That is a very good thing. If you are going to spend centuries with someone, it is important that there are no doubts.”

I totally agreed with her on that one, which was why I still had my concerns about Jared; the more he persisted in freezing me out, the more I feared he would back out.

He gripped my elbow gently. “So you’ve met Lena. Good.” After exchanging smiles with the beautiful blonde, he gestured at the tall man beside him. “Sam, this is Wes. Wes—”

“I’m glad to see that this one has some cushion, as opposed to your past consorts,” laughed Wes as he assessed me in my lavender sleeveless dress.

Cushion? I wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult wrapped in charm. I didn’t particularly like that he had spoken of me in the same context as a consort. As the female that Jared intended to Bind with, I was a hell of a lot more than that. Jared, however, didn’t look like he thought it was anything I should be offended by. On the contrary, he was laughing along with Wes. Maybe, then, I was being a little sensitive.

“Nice to meet you,” I said as we shook hands, making sure my handshake was firm.

“Likewise. Antonio has told me much about you. From the way he spoke of you and your presence, I imagined you to be much taller. Just how small – sorry, tall – are you?”

Ah, I was dealing with a master of backhanded compliments. I didn’t think I was particularly small at all, but naturally I looked that way when stood next to this lanky bugger. “I see myself as the right height for kicking overgrown plonkers in some seriously interesting places.” I said all this with the friendliest smile. Again, Jared hadn’t seemed to notice the insults beneath Wes’ words, or mine for that matter.

Wes’ smile faltered only slightly. With a slight tip of his head toward the grey snake that was staring right at me, he said, “This is Toto.”

Toto? He had to be kidding. He’d called a slithering killer Toto?

“Would you like to hold him?”

Of course I wouldn’t like to hold him. What, did he think I was stupid? Hey, I had nothing against snakes. In fact, as someone who had been brought up by their snake-obsessed father to admire and respect them, I was able to appreciate each and every species. However, appreciating them when there was a glass wall between you and the snake was one thing. Holding an eight-foot long f**ker was another thing altogether.

I was ready to tell Wes no; that he had succeeded in freaking me out like he’d obviously been aiming to do. But then I saw something in his expression that made me pause. Instinct told me that he wasn’t trying to freak me out at all. This was some sort of test. Yes, yes, I knew he, like everyone else, would want to know that I was strong enough to one day rule and that I was good enough for Jared, blah, blah, blah. But how the act of holding a snake would answer either of those questions for him, I wasn’t sure.

What I was certain of was that I had no intention of failing any test.

Pasting a fake smile on my face, I nodded. “Why not.” I felt Jared stiffen slightly, and Wes clearly noticed because he gave him a reassuring smile. Remaining still, I allowed him to drape the grey snake over my shoulders. A pair of black eyes met mine, and then the snake stuck its forked tongue out at me, lightly flicking my cheek. ‘Tasting’ me, smelling me, I knew.

It was then that I noticed the inky-black colouration on the inside of his mouth. My eyes widened. “A black mamba. I’m holding a black mamba?” Oh shit.

“Did Antonio tell you about my gift?”

“No.”

Very proudly, he explained, “My gift is to make pictures that I have drawn come to life. Amazingly, this can even apply to tattoos. Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated with snakes. My four favourite breeds have always been spitting cobras, rattlesnakes, garter snakes, and black mambas. So…I decided to create a breed that blended the four together by tattooing an image of this snake on my chest.”

Interesting and impressive, but also freaky.

“Toto has the narrow, elongated head typical of a black mamba, as well as the black colouration you see inside his mouth. He also has the tail of a rattlesnake, the ability to spit venom like a spitting cobra, and he can secrete a rather foul-smelling fluid from his post anal glands much like a garter snake.”

Well that was just fantastic. He was going to fart on me, wasn’t he? That was if he didn’t spit at me…or maybe sink those lethal fangs into me. Yeah, it was probably a little hypocritical for a vampire to talk about fangs like that, but in my defence, Sventés didn’t have fangs like Kejas did.

My nervousness increased when he suddenly began slinking down my body. And then something occurred to me. “He isn’t poisonous, right?” I kind of got the feeling that Wes didn’t like me, so it wouldn’t have been surprising to find that he was hoping his pet would bite and kill me.

Wes’ devious smile didn’t put me at ease whatsoever.

“Is that thing going to hurt her?” Jared demanded.

With a ‘pfft’, Wes waved a hand. “It is merely a serpent, Jared.”

That wasn’t exactly an answer, was it? And I didn’t trust this vampire as far as I could throw him. My nervousness rocketed to extreme levels when Toto’s colour abruptly changed from grey to a brilliant blue that was typical of a blue racer snake. “What the—”

“He appears to like you.” Wes sounded surprised, but pleasantly surprised.

“I’m flattered.” If the hissing bastard went under my dress, I’d kill him.

“Something very fascinating about this breed I have created is that their colour changes with their moods – even while in tattoo form.”

“Tattoo form?”

“Oh yes, I can turn him back to a tattoo whenever I wish to, just as I can summon him to appear in this form whenever I wish to. I find that when Toto is grey or black, he is alert and wary. I also find that when he is the blue shade that you see now, he is relaxed and content. I am indeed surprised as he is generally antisocial toward anyone other than myself.”

“And yet you put him on me?” I said through my teeth. Wes merely smiled, but it was a genuine smile this time, and I realised that I had passed the test. That was great and all, but there was an antisocial, poisonous killer wrapped around my body. “Look, not to offend Toto or anything, but could you take him back? He’s getting a little too close to my crotch than I’m comfortable with.”

Wes’ mouth twitched in a way that indicated he was holding back a laugh as he returned the snake to his shoulders. “I think I shall greet Antonio and Bran. It has been some time since we were all together.” With that, he turned and walked away with Lena.

“I think that’s everyone,” I said to Jared, sighing in relief that I was alive and un-bit. “Can we go sit down now?”

“What about Fletcher and Norm?”

“Apparently they’re intent on being fashionably late, so sod them.”

Smiling, he dabbed my lips with his. “Sure, baby.” But that smile disappeared as something over my shoulder caught his attention. Of course I’d known that there was an additional guest left to arrive. Well, ‘guest’ wasn’t quite the right word. More like ‘gate-crasher’. But I’d kind of hoped she’d fallen off a cliff or something. Clearly, there was no such luck.

Bracing myself, I slowly turned. So this was quite possibly one of the reasons Jared was so guarded. The cow had to be beautiful, didn’t she? She couldn’t just be a hideous heifer with oozing zits, overgrown hairy moles, and a big fat pimply arse. Instead, with her flawless pale skin, her long tumbling red hair, and curvaceous body, she was like a real-life Jessica Rabbit.

Her gaze – a heated, inviting gaze – didn’t move from Jared even once as she approached, as if he was standing here all alone. It was a snub, and I knew it. Maybe, in addition to being a devious manipulator, she was a silly little mare who was curious to know what it would feel like to have my fist crashing into her face.

Even when she stopped in front of us, she didn’t look at me. What cheesed me off most was that she actually reached out to cup Jared’s cheek. He didn’t back away. He did something even better. He growled so menacingly that everyone within hearing range froze. Just like that, most of the squad were gathered behind me.

She dropped her hand, but she didn’t drop her sultry smile. “It’s been so long, Jared. I’ve been so looking forward to seeing you again.” Her consort didn’t appear to like that, going by the scowl he was wearing and the jealousy shining from his eyes. It would seem that she had this one totally enamoured.

“I can’t say I feel the same.” Jared slipped his arm around me – a move that forced her to acknowledge my presence. She actually looked down her nose at me. That confirmed that she was, in fact, a silly little mare who was curious to know what it would feel like to have my fist crashing into her face.

I cocked my head. “Males who Turn people are referred to as ‘Sires’, so with you being a female, I guess that makes you…a ‘Bitch’.” Ignoring the muffled laughs coming from the squad, I gave her a winning smile.

Her answering one was thin and fake. “I have been looking forward to meeting you.”

I almost snorted at that.

“Wait…is she a Sventé?” her consort asked disbelievingly, bursting into laughter.

Before I knew what was happening, my whip was in my hand and I’d cracked it around his throat, cutting off his laugh. Yes, I should be used to this by now and be easily able to shrug it off, but, well, I preferred not to.

Jared kissed my temple, grinning. “I think he’s learned his lesson, baby.”

I sighed. He was no fun. “Fine.” I allowed the whip to fade away.

“A Sventé Feeder,” said Magda to her red-faced, coughing consort. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible, Brook. But, then, I wouldn’t have thought it possible for Jared to claim someone, considering his issues with women in general.”

There was an odd note to her voice that told me I was being baited. Obviously I wondered what she meant by that, especially since Jared was a mystery to me in some ways, and it got to me that I didn’t know him as well as I wished to. But she would know that, wouldn’t she? She was already using her gift against me.

Evan appeared then, wearing the mother of all scowls. He stopped at Jared’s side, glaring at the woman in a way that said he’d happily kill her and think nothing of it.

“Evan,” she crooned, “it is good to see you also.”

“She’s kidding, right?” he said to Jared, who tightened his arm around me.

“I heard about your mother. My condolences to both of you.” To Jared, she then said, “I imagine, what with everything that happened, that you’re not attending the funeral.”

He’d be attending hers if she tried to touch him again. Slut. And here she was baiting me a second time. “Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be on fire, Magda?” I asked casually. Her brow wrinkled. “Use your gift on me, and I’ll use mine on you. That’s how it’s going to work. Don’t test me on that. Unless, of course, you do have a curiosity about burning – I’d be more than happy to help you out with that.”

“Someone seems a little jealous,” said Brook.

I arched a brow at him. “Should I take that as an indication that you’d like to become better acquainted with my whip?” He swallowed hard, losing his smirk. Arsewipe.

“I think you may be right, Brook.” Magda turned back to me, grinning. “I suppose it’s only to be expected, considering I have a blood-link with the man you love.”

I went nose to nose with her, smiling at the way it clearly unnerved her. So she wasn’t as confident as she appeared to be. “Let’s look at it this way: you need to use a gift to piss me off and make me jealous. All I have to do to have that effect on you is breathe.”

Turning on my heel, I headed for the balcony, hoping to get a little fresh air. There was no point in acting as though her words hadn’t had the desired effect. With her gift, she would know how they would make me feel. Annoying me even more, I knew she’d be enjoying it. However, what was pissing me off the most was that Jared had clearly opened up to her about his past when he had told me bugger all.

That was why I avoided his touch when he came up beside me. “I need a few minutes alone,” I snapped.

“Don’t give her what she wants, Sam.”

It was too late. I already had. But if the wanker next to me had simply opened up to me like he’d opened up to her, I wouldn’t be feeling like this at all. With that reasoning, all I wanted right then was for him to be far away from me. “I said, I need a few minutes alone.”

He reached for me. “Baby—”

I pulled away. “Don’t call me that.” That was my kneejerk reaction whenever he upset me – to deny him the right to call me anything even remotely possessive. What complicated things a little was that his kneejerk reaction to that was to f**k me senseless to prove that I was his. At least he wouldn’t be able to do that right now. Suddenly he caged my wrist with his hand and there was a queasy feeling in my stomach as he teleported us into one of the empty conference rooms in the mansion. Shit.