“He faced a demon-were hybrid, a queen of Fairie, and a dragon,” Nika pointed out.

“All three of which simply attacked him. None of them tried to beguile him with the kind of allure Hell can bring to the table,” Stacia said.

“You think she will try to entice him with beauty and sex appeal?” Nika asked, amused.

Stacia frowned, crossing her arms. “Well, isn’t that a standard tactic?”

Nika’s smirk flowered into a full smile. “Not with him. He has you. He’s had every hot witch at Arcane throw themselves at him. The Princess of Summer has no effect on him, with all her magical allure. That would be the dead wrong approach for her to take. She’d have to amp herself to otherworldly beauty and frankly, he would find that very, very suspicious.”

“He’s let you that far into his mind?” Stacia asked, not entirely happy.

“Rarely. But he is not threatened by me and so he has little lapses where he lets down his guard. I’ve seen enough to know how he feels about you. Don’t underestimate that kid’s actual maturity level. His faithfulness shames most men, of any age.”

Chris watched emotions flicker across Stacia’s face. If he had to guess, she was a bit jealous that Nika had been able to see into her mate’s mind, but she couldn’t conceal how deeply pleased she was by the telepath’s words.

“You have a bond with him, right?” Chris asked. And immediately felt invasive at the shocked frown on Stacia’s face. “Just, you know, I’ve heard there is one.”

“Theirs is forming. Not as fast as two full weres, but I think it will be deeper and wider when it’s fully in place,” Nika said. It was her turn to collect a glare. The vampire shrugged, unconcerned. “I’ve been reading chosen vampires, mated werewolves, and every other type of bond for decades. I’m considered one of the Coven’s top three telepaths.”

Stacia kept her level gaze on Nika for a moment longer, then turned back to Chris. “What’s the plan?”

“Well, you go collect your witch. Tonight I’m going to take Nika and we’ll drive around and see what she gets in the way of random thoughts and what I get in the way of demon visions. Tomorrow, we send the kid back up to class, but this time, you, your wolf pack, me, and ‘Sos will all spread out and see what we can scent. We’ll hang in a loose net around our stalking goat and see what we see.”

“I’ll have to put some strict guidelines in place with Holly and Devaney. Scent and call, no follow, sort of thing.”

“Exactly. Now we’re gonna head to Arcane to check on the twins, grab a bite, and then we’ll see if we can pick up anything,” he said.