Covet (Clann)

promised me. You owe me one.”
    Oh. So he hadn’t taken her back immediately.
    I read her thoughts. Yes, I finally got the nerve to call him and apologize. But he insisted we meet and talk about it some more face-to-face over lunch the next day. So technically he didn’t accept my apology until a day later.
    “Ah,” I said. “Then I guess I do owe you a hunt.”
    She grinned. “That you do.” And by the way, thanks for helping me yank my head out of my butt.
    I returned her grin. “Anytime.” I sighed, happy that at least someone around here was finally getting their happy ending. Then I winced as a pungent stench wafted up my nose. “I take it you guys had a successful hunt?” I pressed the back of my hand to my nose to try and block some of the smell.
    “Oh, sorry about that,” Ron said. “Yeah, we caught one and delivered it to the butcher so they can process it. They donate their services and the meat to local food banks. The thing is, Anne’s not supposed to go hunting again without telling her parents first, and it was kind of unplanned today. So we were hoping…”
    “That maybe you’d loan me the use of a garden hose and some water?” Anne finished with her best hopeful smile.
    “Ugh. Fine. Have it. I’ll get some bleach.” I headed around the side of the house, entering through the back kitchen door where I thought I remembered seeing a bottle of bleach under the sink.
    Dad blurred into the room, his face phone free for the first time in days. “Savannah. We have a problem.”
    Great. Now what?
    I sighed. “What’s up?” Had he read Anne’s mind or something?
    “I just got off the phone with the council. They are coming here.”
    “Here, as in to Jacksonville and the Clann’s headquarters ?” It came out as a squeak.
    He nodded. “They have already landed outside of Rusk and are on their way by car.”
    “What for?” Oh crap. Oh crappity crap! Had they figured out somehow that I could do magic now?
    “They heard about the Clann leadership vote. However, they have been led to believe that the vote is a cover. They think the Clann is actually meeting in order to strategize the beginning of the next war.”
    My jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
    “Unfortunately I am not. I have been attempting all day to convince them that their intel is wrong, but none of the council members are listening to me.”
    So now the council was headed out to meet the Clann in the Circle. And Tristan was there….

CHAPTER 36
    I vamp blurred out the back door, around the house and down the driveway, stopping at Anne’s truck. “Sorry, guys, gotta go. Tristan’s in trouble at the clearing.”
    Then I took off running before Dad, Ron or Anne could try to stop me.
    I reached the edge of the Coleman property a few minutes later, my hands and face numbed by the cold wind I’d just run through. Carefully I climbed over the wooden fence that surrounded the property, and immediately my skin began to crackle. Either they were using magic to take the vote, or I was too late and the battle was about to begin.
    The backyard behind Tristan’s house was quiet, the front yard and circle drive filled with too many vehicles to count. When I reached the edge of the woods, I slowed to a crawl, choosing each step carefully so I landed on soft moss instead of pinecones or twigs that might give me away.
    When I could see the clearing, I realized the fighting hadn’t started yet. The Circle was filled with descendants, all turned toward the still empty stone chair in the center.
    A familiar man’s voice boomed out. “And our new Clann leader is…Tristan Coleman!”
    I froze, my throat locking tight. So he’d gotten the majority vote after all.
    Now I had to help him stop the war from starting here tonight.
    I saw Tristan give the crowd a tight smile and sit down in the stone chair I’d once seen his father resting in.
    “Good job, baby,” I whispered, a tear slipping down my cheek. Tears of pride, I told myself as I wiped them away.
    Then, beneath all the cheering of the descendants, I heard twigs snap close to the edge of the clearing.
    Gowin approached the Circle with at least twenty vampires behind and at his sides. But I didn’t recognize any of the other vamps with him. Had the council sent him and a small army to represent them instead of coming themselves?
    And more important, how the heck were Gowin and the other vamps able to reach the edge of the Circle?
    I understood that my Clann