Ever since moving in with these odd vampires, Kraft had been itching to belong. His old clan had been happy enough to be rid of him, not comfortable with his ability to destroy. Weak, pathetic. They hadn’t been admirable. He and the wolf he called self knew this.
Here, in this mortal city, he’d found pack. The vampires from all different tribes each had their own strengths. But together, they were a true power. Their patriarch had become a master at just a little over a thousand years of living. Duncan could move through time and space, circumventing supreme spells, though he didn’t think anyone but he and his mate knew it. And Orion could move through water as if born a creature of the sea. No other vryko that Kraft had ever seen or heard about was so fast and powerful in any element other than air. He had no idea what Rolf and Khent had buried beneath the respective veneers of annoying draugr and snippy reaper. But for Hecate and Mormo to bring them, specifically, here, meant they were no mere death-bringers. But something more.
He found Macy kissing her mate in front of their bedroom doorway. She was dressed. Duncan wasn’t.
“I’m seeing a lot of white skin,” Kraft complained. “Too much.”
Macy blushed, but Duncan only grinned and shut the door behind his mate, forcing her to deal with Kraft while Duncan went back to bed, from the sound of it.
“Hey, Kraft.” Macy smiled.
He nearly tripped over the kitten meowing at his feet. The feline refused to believe himself in danger from Kraft and continued to sneak into his room when Orion wasn’t around. He lifted the gray menace and tucked it in his arm so it would stay out of his way. He also ignored its abominable purring, though the furry part of him kind of liked it.
“Macy, your sister is beguiling our vryko.”
“What?”
He told her what had happened.
“You’re telling me Orion raced after my sister because he wasworriedabout her?” She goggled.
“I know.” He didn’t like it either. Then he told her about Orion’s room smelling odd. “And he had a dream. But our kind don’t dream, Macy. What does it mean?”
They walked together to Orion’s room so she could look it over.
“Kraft, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I don’t think the spell Sabine placed on him has anything to do with Orion’s connection with Kaia.”
“What connection?”
She just looked at him.
He scowled. “What?”
She put a hand on his arm that felt... nice. Like kin-pack. “I think they might be mating.”
“No way.”
She paused and turned around in the room. Then she closed her eyes and murmured under her breath, her impressive magic lighting up the room in a soft, red glow. “Morpheus,” she muttered. “Ha. I know it’s you.”
“Who?”
“I need to talk to Hecate.” She left Orion’s room, Kraft trailing behind her.
“But what about Orion?”
She turned. “If he’s smart enough to grab my sister and hang onto her with both hands, he’ll be the luckiest vampire alive. Well, next to Duncan of course.”
While she went in search of the goddess, Kraft went downstairs to confront their lycan prisoner. But when he reached the living space, he realized he still had a content kitten in his arms and held the creature up to show his fangs.
It hissed back at him, then blinked, yawned, and just hung from its ruff, watching him.
“You have no sense to be afraid,” he growled.
It growled back. He hated to admit he found it adorable.
“Go wait for Orion upstairs. He’s gone to flirt with a sea nymph.” Kraft snorted. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and play familiar to a witch, like your brother, because the sea nymph cast some kind of spell on my kin.”
He put Shadow down, unprepared for the kitten to laugh at him and dart away, as if the little thing understood what he’d said and approved.
