Bye Bye Bloodsucker (Wicked Good Witches Book 3) Read Free Page A

He stood up as if this somehow made his statement more serious.
    “What he said.” Michael nodded for added agreement. “Dark magic and Deanes go hand in hand.”
    Melinda looked to William for his opinion.
    The vampire’s eyes darkened and a look of bitterness flitted across his face, which just as quickly turned blank and emotionless. “I am not certain how to feel about this. The Deanes have been gone for many years.”
    Anger rippled through Charlie, his chest heaving with each raspy breath he exhaled. He set his jaw, narrowing his eyes in contempt. How could William not know how to feel? Deanes are evil. Period. It did not matter how many years had passed.
    “I admit,” continued William, “it brings up many painful memories. At the same time, I cannot help but wonder if this is what the Guardian, Nina, spoke of? Is this one of the battles to come? Or perhaps... perhaps we are passing judgment too soon. Perhaps they have chosen not to follow in their ancestors' footsteps. The fact that they are willing to show up at the front door of the Howard family to introduce themselves is worth discussing.”
    “I’m sorry.” Charlie’s voice fumed with distrust. “I don’t think I can accept the Deanes being back, or that they come in peace.” His voice started to shake with anger. “And you of all people, William. You were here when it happened… when they battled the Howards for control of The Demon Isle. They killed three of us that day. Plus a slew of others that came to our aid.” 
    A low snarl slipped through the vampire's lips. His eyes tightened in indignant remembrance. “I recall quite clearly what was lost that day.” William spoke sharply as if insulted by the unneeded reminder.
    His cutting sharpness caught the siblings off guard. They dared not speak.
    William turned to leave spitting out, “I must think on this,” and dashed out of the mansion in a flash.
    That’s the second time in twenty-four hours he’s done that . Melinda felt terrible that she’d been the cause of the first occurrence.
    “Good one, Charlie,” rebuked Michael. “Piss off the vampire.”
    “William is just upset,” Melinda insisted. “It was a tragic time for him.”
    “A time in which the Howard line was almost wiped out!” reminded Charlie. “I will not allow that to happen again.”
    “And we all agree with you. But we do need William for this,” Michael argued.
    “He'll be back soon,” Charlie said, not worried about their mentor. “Even vampires need to blow off steam now and again.”
    “Just try to be a bit more sensitive,” Melinda suggested. “Or has that ring suddenly stripped you of that ability?”
    “I wasn't trying to be harsh. I just refuse to believe the Deanes being back on the Isle can be a good thing. No matter what William thinks, or has lived through in the past.”
    Melinda had no argument to that point.
    Emily shook with a sudden chill. Michael whisked to her side, rubbing his hands up and down her bare arms. “We're freaking you out, aren't we? There's no reason to be afraid. It's just such shocking news.”
    “But you've told me the stories, Michael, and if the Deanes haven't changed, there is reason to be afraid.”
    Melinda scoffed in a huff. “You mean how the Deanes were once the dearest friends and allies of the Howard family, and how they started dabbling in dark magic, which infected them, turning them evil. Then they betrayed their friends by murdering them...”
    Michael attempted poorly to ignore the feelings of confusion and anger swirling off his siblings and girlfriend. “We should probably warn Mack. She’ll prefer to hear this news from us.”
    “Yeah, will you call her, Michael?” Charlie didn’t wait for a response, bounding off his stool and up the stairs to his bedroom.
    His head in a daze, he stripped down, leaning his muscular arms against the bathroom sink, staring into the mirror. He didn’t bother shaving. It would just grow back by the end of the