Drantos Read online

  The pain settled in deep and she wished her sister were with her to discuss it. What did Bat think about Aveoth wanting to take her as his lover? How was she adjusting? Did she finally understand that Decker Filmore was a complete asshole? Were they okay? Was Bat scared? Angry?

  Frustration rose at the lack of answers. She worried about Bat. She just hoped they were safe, wherever they were.

  She finished the oatmeal and washed the bowl. Her gaze traveled around the kitchen. It was her new home. She bit her lip and had to admit the roomy log home was way nicer than her crappy apartment back in California.

  “Dusti?”

  She turned to face Drantos. He was awake, just wearing a pair of low-hipped silky boxer shorts. His hair was mussed from sleep and the expression on his face uncertain.

  “Morning.”

  “You look so sad.” He closed the distance between them, studying her eyes. “What’s wrong? Tell me.”

  “I was just thinking about things.”

  He reached out and put his hands on her hips. “Do you regret becoming my mate?”

  She didn’t have to think about it. Her feelings for him left her no doubt. “No. Never.”

  “What is it then?”

  “I was thinking about Bat, my parents, just everything.”

  He pulled her closer until she was gently resting against his body. “Kraven will take care of your sister. He’ll send word when he feels it’s safe. We have a strong sibling bond, and he knows Bat has one with you. He won’t wish us to be concerned.”

  “As if getting a message to us will be enough. I just want this mess to be over.”

  “Aveoth is a skilled hunter and you heard him say he will go after Decker. He always keeps his word.”

  “I almost feel sorry for the old bastard but not quite.”

  Drantos arched his eyebrows.

  “That Aveoth guy is pretty scary.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “Can you move as fast as he did? I swear I blinked and he was somewhere else.”

  “It’s a Gargoyle trait.”

  “His skin changed color and texture, too. Another Gargoyle trait?”

  “Yes.”

  “And he flies? I heard you mention that when we were talking about the plane crash. How does that work? He’s huge.”

  “It’s hard to explain.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. We have time. This is my new world, I should learn about it. Those GarLycan things are our neighbors, right?”

  Drantos took her hands and backed up, leading her into the living room. He had her take a seat on the couch and he lit the fireplace. She liked the way it made the room feel cozy as he sat next to her.

  “Gargoyles can blend into their surroundings by camouflaging their bodies to appear rock-like, and they can harden their skins into rigid outer shells. It makes fighting them really tough when you can’t pierce their skins easily. They also become denser when they do that. I don’t know how it really works but when Aveoth sprouts his wings, his skin takes on a kind of less dense structure.”

  “He sprouts wings?”

  “Yes. I’ve seen him do it when we were younger. They are concealed near his shoulder blades. In human form you can’t see them. The skin seals to look perfectly normal on his back, but these flaps open and his wings elongate and expand outward.”

  “That’s so strange.” She took his hands, needing that connection. “And you change forms.”

  “Yes.”

  “It sounds painful when you do it.”

  “We adjust. It’s not the most comfortable experience at first but with time it becomes much easier. It doesn’t hurt me.”

  “Are you totally you when you have hair and a tail?”

  “I’m always me.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  He grinned. “Yes. I was attempting to tease you into laughter. You look so serious. I’m still the same person, regardless of my shape. I admit I feel a little closer to nature when I have claws. I’d never hurt you if that’s your concern. I’m able to rationally think.”

  “I believe that. You seemed like you when you gave me a ride here on your back.”

  “Good.”

  Dusti hesitated. “What about your Vampire side? What do you get from that? I know your saliva can heal your bites, and the sun doesn’t bother you. You’re really tan.”

  “Slower aging. I don’t need blood to survive and the sun isn’t a weakness. I’m mostly Lycan. That bloodline runs stronger in our family.”

  “But I’m the opposite.”

  “You need some blood to keep you healthy.”

  “That’s still gross.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t think so. Do you need me to show you how sexy it can be again?”

  Just remembering what they’d done together when he fed her his blood had her adjusting her position on the couch, inching closer to him. Drantos turned her on so much. “It’s going to take some time before I stop hating the sight of blood but I guess it’s something I’d better get over.”

  “You’ve been very brave about this.”

  “And a pain in the ass.” She felt regret. “I thought you were insane.”

  “It was annoying but understandable. I put myself in your shoes and it had to sound as if I had lost my mind when I told you about things you’ve only seen in movies and books. The information they give isn’t accurate in most cases.”

  “Right. You don’t shift into a hell beast and go all bat-shit homicidal.”

  He laughed again. “No. I don’t.”

  She envied him his light mood. “I keep trying to figure out how I’m going to fit in here. I need some kind of job to help pay the bills and a way to retrieve all my stuff from my apartment.”

  “You don’t need a job. You’re my mate. It’s my duty to take care of you. I’ll hire someone to go clean out your apartment and drive your belongings here. We have a few Lycan packs who work with us from time to time. They are related by blood to some of us.”

  “I take it that I won’t be able to go do that myself?”

  “No. It’s too dangerous with Decker still loose.”

  “Fantastic. Werewolves are going to be packing my underwear.” She grimaced. “Okay.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be professional about it. It’s the only way to get your things here.”

  “I wasn’t bitching. It was more like me saying it aloud because I never thought those words would come out of my mouth.”

  He laughed. “I love that you’re keeping your sense of humor.”

  “I’m trying.” She paused. “I’m a housewife now? I have to warn you that my cooking skills aren’t the best and I’m not a huge fan of cleaning.”

  “We’ll share the housework and I can teach you how to prepare meals. It will be fun cooking together.”

  “What do you do for a living?”

  “I’m an enforcer for my father.”

  “Does that pay enough to keep the lights on?”

  He looked highly amused. “Yes.”

  “Is it like a nine-to-five job?”

  “No. We’re assigned shifts to patrol and sometimes I was sent on missions, like finding you and your sister.”

  “Is it dangerous living here or something? Do bears and rabid squirrels attack?”

  He chuckled again.

  “I’m not trying to be funny.” She shrugged. “I’m just clueless.”

  “We don’t have an issue with rabid squirrels. Bears wandering into our territory are persuaded to move on. We live in harmony with nature but we can’t exactly have them trying to get inside our homes to go after food. We keep all the dangerous predators distanced from us.”

  “So that’s what you do? You scare away mean animals?”

  “We also make certain no one trespasses in our territory. Humans like to do that sometimes to hunt. Nobody enjoys being shot at when a poacher mistakes us for a wolf.”

  “That happens?”

  “Rarely. We patrol so it doesn’t.