Drantos Read online

  “I’m glad one of us understands what you’re saying. Did you know my mother? You seem to have.”

  “I know more about your family than you seem to. Aveoth’s lover died a week ago. He’ll be looking for another to replace her…and he wouldn’t be able to resist your sister if she were offered to him.”

  “Offered to him? Who the hell is Aveoth? Some alien warlord in your head?”

  “Stop with the aliens. I’m not insane. Aveoth is a powerful clan leader. He will be looking for a new lover and Decker will give your sister to him.”

  “Whatever.” She was getting a headache trying to make sense of his ranting. “You’re making my grandfather sound like some pimp, as if my sister is a hooker. She’s not.”

  “I’m telling you the truth.”

  “Oh hell,” Dusti sighed. “I’m not even going to try to follow what you’re saying. There’s medication out there that will help you. You really need to see your doctor. I believe Decker Filmore is a rich ol’ perv, but you’re saying he wants to turn Bat into some kind of hooker? No way.”

  “Your mother should have told you the truth.”

  “About what? That there are crazy people who live in their own made-up worlds? She covered that when I started noticing boys and she taught me about stranger danger.”

  He hesitated. “Now isn’t the time to go into all of this. We’re going to talk later, when we’re somewhere more private.”

  She wasn’t about to point out that he’d dragged her out of the clearing so no one could see them. She just wanted to get away from him. “Great. Let me go.”

  He took a deep breath. “Your mother wasn’t human.”

  “Really?” Dusti relaxed, the bark of the tree lightly digging into her back when she leaned away from the man pinning her to it. “She was an alien?”

  He smirked and his eyes seemed to crinkle at the corners. “We’re from the same planet, just different worlds.”

  “Ah. That makes total sense.” Dusti rolled her eyes, not caring if he saw her reaction. “So we’re talking different dimensions? Okay. Why don’t you let me go and return to yours then? Have a safe trip. Do you click your boot heels together to get there?”

  The amusement left his strangely intriguing gaze. “There’s the world that humans live in and the part of it that they never see.”

  “Ghosts then?” She couldn’t resist. Her hands brushed the front of his shirt, feeling the warmth that seemed to radiate from him even through the thin cotton material. “You feel solid enough to me.”

  A soft growl came from deep within his throat. It disturbed Dusti, frightened her. She pressed tighter against the tree and jerked her hands away from his chest. Something in his dark gaze flashed, seeming to glow for a split second, before he leaned in closer until their noses touched.

  “We’ll discuss this later.” He backed off, released her, and took a few steps away. “Return to camp.”

  Drantos watched Dusti stumble away, nearly running back to the blanket. The taste of her blood remained on his tongue. He’d only taken a few drops, but it was enough.

  She didn’t know what she was. It stunned and pissed him off at the same time. He thought she might have been lying at first but her responses were proof enough. She thought he was crazy and didn’t believe anything he’d said.

  Uranus. He snorted and turned, quickly moving into the woods. The sister was easy to find. She softly cursed, almost walking into a tree. Her night vision seemed nonexistent.

  He approached her, making sounds so she wouldn’t be alarmed. She froze, eyes widening.

  “It’s Drantos,” he called out.

  She turned in his direction. “I went too far. I can’t find the camp.”

  That made his anger deepen. It was obvious she didn’t know what she was, either, and her senses were those of a human. She was only about fifty yards from temporary camp but the thick vegetation blocked the fire from her view. She still should have been able to smell burning wood and hear the soft voices of the survivors.

  He reached out and curved his fingers around her upper arm. “I’ll lead you back.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I take it you can’t see anything?”

  “No. I hope I didn’t pee in poison ivy.”

  “There isn’t any in this area.”

  “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” She gripped his arm as they walked. “Thank you for looking after my sister.”

  He escorted Bat past the edge of the trees to the clearing. “Could you help me calm some of the passengers? They’re still pretty upset.” He wanted to keep her away from Dusti. “I think you’d do a better job of it than I would. My size seems to scare a few of them.”

  “Sure.” She turned her head, staring at her sister. “I should check on her first.”

  “She’s fine. I just left her to look for you. She was worried.”

  Bat walked away from him and toward an elderly couple. He stood there watching her, to ensure she kept far from Dusti. He needed to think.

  Decker Filmore had been denied using his own daughter to bargain with Aveoth when she’d fled, but now he must be planning on doing the same thing with her daughters. Daughter, he corrected. Decker believes he can only use Bat. He mistook Dusti’s scent to mean she didn’t inherit any of her mother’s traits.

  Aveoth would never want to take Dusti as his lover with her being so human. She’d be considered too frail. She’d age faster too, if the harsh life of living with the GarLycan didn’t kill her outright. He’d want Bat instead. She’d be considered more worthy because at least there were hints of some of her mother’s heritage, implying she would be tougher.

  The smell of a fresh kill teased his nose and so did the familiar scent of Kraven. He backed into the darkness and located his brother quickly. Kraven dumped the deer on the ground and bent, wiping his hands on the grass to clean them of blood.

  He heard Drantos approach. “That was easier than I’d thought.”

  “I know why Decker sent for the women.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it too. Aveoth lost his lover. They’re Marvilella’s granddaughters. Her sister was once promised to Aveoth, so he’ll be interested in her kin.”

  “We’re both in agreement then.”

  “Yeah. Decker wants to break the alliance we have with Aveoth. That is, if the rumors are true that Aveoth is addicted to that family’s blood. Maybe it’s just a bullshit tale.”

  “I don’t want to bet on it. Do you?” Drantos softly growled, annoyed.

  “Hell no.”

  “It’s Bat that Decker will use. We can’t allow that to happen.”

  “Damn.” Kraven sighed. “I might want to wring the mouthy one’s neck when she gets going but not literally. I thought about killing them at first but it was just the shock of finding out who they were. I got past that. I’m not going to hurt a helpless woman.”

  “We’re not going to kill them. We need to get them to safety.”

  “Decker isn’t going to just allow them to return to wherever they’ve been living. Hell, he probably sent some of his men searching for the crash site as soon as he realized what happened when the plane didn’t land. We might have company by morning if they can pinpoint where we went down.”

  “Do you recognize this area? I think we’re about fifteen miles from our southern border.”

  “I agree. That means Decker is about thirty miles away. The darkness will slow down whoever he sends but they can cover a lot of ground when the sun rises.”

  “We have the advantage,” Drantos whispered. “Decker doesn’t know someone warned us about those women, or that we were on the plane to stop them from reaching him. And we used false names so we’re covered if he gets a look at the passenger list.”

  “That’s true.”

  “We have another problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  Drantos hesitated but his brother needed to know. “Dusti and Bat don’t know the truth.”

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