Free Doomsday Brethren, Book 04: Entice Me at Twilight by Shayla Black Page A

The possibility sickened him. “And?”
    “The good news is, Mathias didn’t show his parlor tricks to the humans or use them for target practice. The bad news? Mathias realized quickly that the bride was gone, and guests gave him her name. He knows Felicia is most likely the Untouchable.”
    The words were like an earthquake in his chest. Everything inside Duke shifted. Any hope that she could easily return to her life imploded, turning to rubble. He’d known that letting go of his potential mate would be hell, but he’d been prepared to do it for Mason’s sake … and Felicia’s. But now that Mathias knew her identity, the game had changed irrevocably.
    “Damn it,” he cursed in a low voice. “What now? We cannot just wait a few days, then return her to her world with a simple guard. She’d be in constant danger, along with every child she watches at her nursery school and—”
    “I know.” Bram sighed heavily. “Take her to Ice’s. We’ll discuss the future there.”
    “What’s there to discuss?” Duke’s mind raced. “She can’t simply be a human again until we find some way to neutralize the threat to her safety.”
    Bram paused. “Does that really break your heart, the thought of her in our world, so near you?”
    Even now, Duke was doing his best to tamp down his inappropriate thrill at that realization. “She doesn’t belong with us. With me. She’s not
safe.”
    “She’s no longer safe anywhere.”
    Duke smashed his palm on the steering wheel, then winced as Felicia stirred. “I don’t want her in danger.”
    “You may not have realized this, given your life of privilege, but you don’t always get what you want.”
    “Fuck you,” he growled.
    “That make you feel better?” Bram challenged.
    Dragging in a breath, Duke tried to rein in his temper. Bram was merely the messenger in this situation, and as much as he wanted to tell the wizard off again, it would do little good. Felicia had been inexorably dragged into their world, and he had no idea what to do next.
    “I want to talk to that prick who ran off with my bride,” Mason shouted in the background. “Right now! He will return Felicia to me or so help me God … Give me that!”
    After a loud fumbling, Mason hissed into the phone, “Simon?”
    “Or you’ll what?” Duke returned. “Beat me for keeping Felicia out of danger?”
    “She’s
my
bride.
I
should be the one to keep her safe, you horse’s ass! But you snatched her from me. Now the tabloids are atwitter about the fact you abducted Felicia from our wedding. She’s the subject of the worst innuendos. They captured some very clear pictures of the two of you. I saw how you were looking at her.”
    Mason paused, clearly hoping Duke would bow, scrape, or otherwise apologize. He didn’t say a word.
    “Bring Felicia back,” Mason demanded. “I’ll protect her. I don’t trust you. You’ve already banged every attractive woman from London to Edinburgh. You even seduced my French tutor, despite my crush on her. Nothing I feel matters one whit to you, and I know you’d think nothing of using this danger to lure Felicia to your bed.”
    The French tutor? Yes, his thirtieth birthday. His transition from man to wizard. Duke barely recalled touching the woman. But that weekend, he could have shagged an entire sorority and been unaware of it.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Too little, too late. You shagged Nicolette and the others for hours and returned them exhausted and dehydrated. Iwon’t let you do the same to Felicia. Or worse.”
    Duke grimaced. He’d never meant to hurt Mason, but after that fateful weekend, their once close relationship had given way to animosity. Until now, he’d never known why.
    Mason went on, “Given the way these people demolished the chapel, I can’t deny there’s danger. If it’s directed at Felicia, I know very important people in the government who can keep her safe. You’re not trained—”
    “The man who attacked you earlier is