Chapter 11

Ryker

I arrived at the Hawkin’s house around mid-morning.

As I entered the foyer, I wasn’t greeted by the sound of my girlfriend’s preening, as Jude called it, rather the muffled blow of shouting. It was so loud, so very shrill, that it permeated the walls and filled the entirety of the villa.

For good reason, the servants had scattered.

As did most living things when Kimberly’s voice began to rise in both pitch and volume.

Pushing my frustration down beneath a layer of cold calm, I began to pace. My mind wandered to Kimberly’s sister—ah, not sister—cousin, I meant. The girl, who was only a few years younger than myself, would soon be a part of the coven.

And I, as always, would have to manage the inevitable chaos that would ensue.

It helped not that Kimberly loathed the very breath that left her cousin’s lungs, nor the fact that Sterling found her intriguing. What made the matter that much worse was Jude’s involvement.

By fleeing from his hold last night at the beach, the girl had al