Lexi walked out of the bedroom a few minutes later, looking every bit the lethal, centuries-old vampire she was.
She had swapped her yoga shorts for a pair of dark, distressed skinny pants with slit knee details, paired with a sleek black tank top.
A fitted red leather jacket gave her a dangerous pop of color, and black heeled boots completed the look.
Aleksander let out a low, appreciative whistle, his dark eyes raking over her.
“You look incredible.”
Lexi shot him a wicked wink, adjusting the collar of her jacket.
“Are we going by car? Because as much as I love the McLaren, Oregon is a long drive.”
Aleksander shook his head.
“No, we don’t have time for that.”
He stepped toward her and held out his hand.
“We’re going to use a teleportation spell I developed. I call it Disapparition. Fair warning, though—it’s going to feel a little funny. Like being squeezed through a very tight tube.”
Lexi raised an amused eyebrow.
“Like the Harry Potter one?”
Aleksander nodded with a smirk.
“Exactly.”
Lexi didn’t hesitate.
She stepped right into his space, taking his hand and wrapping her other arm securely around his waist, pressing herself tight against his chest.
“Lead the way,” she murmured.
Aleksander held her firmly and focused his magic.
Instantly, the physical space around them began to violently distort and twist within a clear, rippling haze.
The air in the bedroom warped as a loud, heavy rustling and rushing sound built up around them, echoing like a sudden hurricane trapped inside the room.
Then came a sharp, deafening crack.
A brilliant, blinding flash of bluish-white light erupted, completely illuminating the room for a fraction of a second.
The space twisted inside out, and in the blink of an eye, Aleksander and Lexi were gone.
All that remained in the suddenly quiet bedroom was a faint, lingering cloud of smoke slowly dissipating into the air.
Thousands of miles away in Portland, Oregon, Lucy Bennett stood waiting in a quiet, secluded safe house.
With her cocoa brown skin, striking almond brown eyes, and long, dark hair, the tall, athletic witch looked effortlessly stylish in her trendy clothes. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Pacing nervously beside her was Josette “Jo” Laughlin.
Standing at five-foot-ten, Jo was a strikingly beautiful woman with a slim, athletic figure, long jet-black hair, and piercing blue eyes that were currently clouded with deep anxiety.
Jo stopped pacing and looked over at Lucy.
“Is he really going to come here?”
Lucy gave a confident, reassuring nod.
“He got the message. He’ll be here.”
Jo let out a heavy sigh, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.
“I hope so. I hope he can actually change how the Gemini Coven works.”
It had been nearly two decades since Jo had distanced herself from her family and her coven.
She had fled her old life after the horrific tragedy involving her sociopathic twin brother, Kai, and the brutal murder of four of her siblings.
She wanted absolutely nothing to do with her father or the coven’s archaic traditions.
But despite all the trauma and distance, she still cared deeply for her youngest siblings, Lucas and Olivia.
The twins were rapidly approaching their twenty-second birthday, and Jo was absolutely desperate to ensure they didn’t have to go through with the barbaric, deadly Merge.
Before Lucy could offer any more words of comfort, the air in the center of the living room suddenly warped.
The physical space violently distorted and twisted within a clear, rippling haze.
A loud rustling and rushing sound instantly filled the room, like a sudden gust of hurricane-force wind trapped within the walls.
Crack!
A deafening sound echoed through the house, accompanied by a bright, blinding flash of bluish-white light that forced Jo and Lucy to shield their eyes.
As the brilliant light faded, a faint cloud of smoke slowly drifted toward the ceiling.
Standing perfectly composed in the center of the room was Aleksander.
Still holding tightly to his waist was Lexi, who blinked a few times, looking just a little breathless as she adjusted to the intense sensation of magical teleportation.
Aleksander let his hands drop from Lexi’s waist as the faint smoke completely cleared.
Lexi took a moment to find her footing, brushing a stray lock of blonde hair out of her face.
She looked around the unfamiliar living room with a mix of awe and deep amusement.
“We’re in Oregon?” Lexi muttered, her eyes wide as she looked back at him.
“Okay, that is very handy.”
She had already gotten an earful from Sheila over the phone about Aleksander’s new vampire girlfriend.
But unlike her strict, traditionalist aunt, Lucy had spent years traveling and dealing with all kinds of supernatural creatures.
She had met plenty of terrible, bloodthirsty vampires, but she had met some genuinely good ones, too.
More importantly, she knew her cousin better than anyone.
If Aleksander—the Avatar of Nature—openly claimed a vampire, he clearly saw something profoundly worthwhile in her.
Lucy walked confidently toward them.
Right behind her, Jo followed at a much slower pace, still blinking rapidly.
She was completely in shock, trying to process the literal distortion of space and light that had just dropped two people into the middle of the house.
When Aleksander saw Lucy approaching, a genuine, warm smile broke across his face.
He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her in a tight, familiar hug.
Lucy hugged him right back, holding onto him for a long moment.
As they pulled away, Lucy’s striking almond eyes shifted to the blonde vampire standing comfortably by his side.
A knowing, playful smirk touched her lips.
“It seems you made new friends,” Lucy pointed out smoothly, looking Lexi up and down with an approving nod.
Aleksander offered a lazy, unapologetic shrug, flashing his cousin a charming grin.
“You know me.”
Lucy let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
But as quickly as the familial warmth arrived, her expression shifted back to serious business.
She turned slightly, gesturing to the stunned, dark-haired woman standing a few steps behind her.
“Aleksander, Lexi,” Lucy began, her tone turning formal.
“This is Josette. She goes by Jo.”
Lucy paused, letting the weight of the situation settle in the room before revealing the full truth.
“She’s the one who reached out to me. Jo is a Gemini witch. Specifically, she is the eldest daughter of Joshua Parker—the current leader of the Gemini Coven.”
Aleksander’s dark eyes instantly locked onto Jo, the easygoing charm vanishing from his face.
He immediately understood exactly how complicated—this situation was about to become.