“Yes,” Aveoth cut him off. “Exactly. I would hate to see you leave your clan and venture into the human world. You belong here. So do your offspring. They’ll be as strong as you are.”

“You’re sure?” If Aveoth was right, his children could still be born with the ability to shift if he fed Dusti blood on a regular basis while she was pregnant.

“I’m certain. It’s been done for generations with Gargoyles. It’s why all of us retain our bloodlines so strongly, regardless of the race of women we breed with. That information is for you and your family only. Do you understand? Never repeat where you learned it.”

“Thank you.”

Aveoth stared at Dusti. “She is tempting. I miss the blood so much.” He looked at Drantos. “Take her and go now. I have a corpse to dispose of and a few more to make.”

Drantos shifted Dusti in his arms, gently draping her over his shoulder, then sprinted off into the woods.

Aveoth had practically admitted that the blood-addiction rumors were true. It made him afraid for his mate. She carried the bloodline Aveoth craved in her veins. She was already bleeding. Drantos could smell it, felt the sticky blood under his hand even now, and had glimpsed the damage to her leg. He just wanted to get her far away in case Aveoth reconsidered letting her go.

Motivation to protect his mate made him push his limits. It would have been faster if he’d shifted to all fours to run but he didn’t believe Dusti was up for another shock.

He’d never forget the way she’d looked when she’d first seen him coming out of those woods. He’d been enraged to find Aveoth touching her. That probably hadn’t helped. He just hoped that one day she could accept both sides of him without fear or revulsion. Otherwise their future might be tough…but it wouldn’t matter. They’d have to find a way to make it work. He wasn’t ever letting her go, even if he had to fight her every step of the way.

Chapter Eleven

Drantos stopped at the river. He gently repositioned Dusti to lower her to her feet. She didn’t miss the sweat that sheeted his skin—every inch of it, as she could see, since he stood before her naked, but she raised her attention above his waist after a quick peek at his lower half.

“Thank you for coming after me.”

“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t?” Anger darkened his gaze. “I will always come for you.”

“Are Bat and Kraven really okay?”

“She was fine when I left her to go in search of you. No broken bones or severe injuries. She is safely with Kraven. He’ll recover. We’re strong and heal quickly.”

Dusti relaxed. “Thank God. I was worried.”

“Kraven told me what you did, why it was you who was taken.” Drantos scowled. “What were you thinking?”

“You mean because I said I was Bat?”

“Yes.”

“Kraven was really hurt and on top of her. She wasn’t moving. That thing…” She paused. “Craig was heading right for her. I had to stop him. You would have done the same. I didn’t know how badly she was hurt or if moving her would kill her. I just wanted to protect my sister. “

Some of the anger eased out of his features. “I might have done the same thing in your place. I don’t like it but I understand.”

“You called Aveoth your friend.”

“We spent a lot of time together in our youth.”

“You made him out to be some terrifying badass.”

“He is. He grew hard.” He paused. “Gargoyle jokes aside, I wouldn’t ever count on our past to prevent him from killing me. The winters are very harsh here and VampLycans tend to remain close to home. One summer he was the Aveoth I knew, winter came, and I never spoke to him again. He wanted nothing to do with us. I don’t know exactly what caused him to change so much but our friendship died along with any softness inside him.”

“Margolia’s death maybe?”

“He’d already lost her. No. I think it was having to challenge his father. He avoided us after that. It was…” He grimaced. “Many years ago. He’s grown a reputation for viciousness. You saw how easily he took a life.”

“You wanted to kill that guy too.” She lifted her chin and hugged her chest. “Don’t even deny it. You would have taken out Craig, right?”

“I’d never deny the truth to you. Yes, I would have ended his life. He kidnapped you, helped injure Kraven severely, and harmed you. Turn around and let me see your leg.”

She hesitated but turned. “I wouldn’t have minded you beating on him but can I admit I never want to see you kill someone?”

He crouched behind her but she refused to look back to glance at his naked body. The sight of all that raw male muscle left her a little tongue tied and she wanted to talk to him without her mind straying from the things they needed to discuss.

His gentle touch on her calf didn’t startle her. She’d expected it. He used one of his hands to cup icy river water to pour over the wound. She gasped but held still. “You could have warned me. That water is really cold.”

“I’m going to lick the injury closed. Don’t pull away.”

Her body tensed. “You can do that?”

“Yes.” Hot breath warmed her icy wet skin. “I don’t want you to scar, sweetheart.”

She closed her eyes and tried not to tense. The first touch of his raspy, hot tongue made her heart race. Something about him always did funny things to her body. He instantly made her react sexually, and even with the tension between them, she had to admit to being severely attracted.

Talk to him, she ordered. You need to find out about him and Yonda. Her mouth parted. “Is she your girlfriend? Did you cheat on her with me? I want the truth.”

The warm tongue paused in licking the back of her leg. “Are you willing to listen now?”

“I asked. Duh.”

He chuckled. “Hang on. I’m almost done.”

Her leg tingled slightly as he swiped her with his tongue. She wondered what else he could do besides change into a fury, terrifying beast, lick wounds closed with a few strokes of his tongue, and hypnotize people with his beautiful eyes. It unsettled her that she knew so little about him yet they’d had sex.

He finished with her leg and released her. She knew when he rose behind her, could sense it when he stepped closer, even though he didn’t touch her.