Determined to complete the mission so he could come back and try Riley on for size, Kraft turned back to Max. “Okay, lycan. Time to tell me everything.”
CHAPTERTHREE
Riley letherself relax when the vampire took his gaze from her. He’d been looking at her as if planning to feast on her neck right then and there. Talk about intense.
She wanted to gut him and feast on his heart.
Or she wished she did.
After her parents, she’d vowed to never play nice with vampires. But this one was different from the others. The local upir pack were dickheads, always acting like they ruled the magir community. Granted, if they tried, their clan of thirty plus members could probably destroy the Crimson Claw as well as their close allies, but not before dying out themselves.
This nachzehrer, Kraft, felt different. More powerful. And he seemed to have a sense of humor. She hadn’t believed it when her cousin had told her what his time in captivity had been like. Minor beatings from weird vampires. A few spells that had rolled right off his fur, and then video games and board games with the one fanger who had a wolf buried deep inside.
To her surprise, her cousin hadn’t been angry about his time in captivity. He’d seemed to almost like this Kraft guy. Probably some spell that had gotten under his skin to make him not want retribution. Though her cousin, their future alpha, was immune to witchcraft and necromancy, they’d never been able to test him against the fae. Maybe the Night Bloode had cast some kind of fae magic.
Max sighed, breaking into her woolgathering. “Look, it’s actually very simple. Two months ago, a few of our pack were excavating in an area known to be historically important to our kind. We picked up a small statue made of a black metal we can’t identify, but we’ve verified it’s thousands of years old. It’s maybe a foot tall, and it’s a statue of Hirpus.”
Aunt Alice explained, “Hirpus is what most of the world knows as She-Wolf, the wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus. Romulus being the founder of Rome.”
“Yes, I know.” Kraft nodded for them to continued.
“The statue was of a sitting wolf with large claws and teeth. It was dirty, scarred, and not that remarkable. No sign of magic in the thing.”
“This is a lie.” Kraft blew out a breath and rumbled, “That’s your last warning. I’m done with bullshit. Give me the artifact or—”
“Okay, okay,” Max said hurriedly, scowling at the vampire.
Riley had to give her cousin credit. Not much scared him, not even a deadly vampire showing his teeth.
“So the statue—artifact—felt a little hot. It’s ours, Kraft. It belongs to the lycans, to the Crimson Claw. I felt that when I held it.” He shook his head. “And maybe I made the mistake of telling someone I shouldn’t have about it.”
So stupid, she thought but didn’t say aloud, knowing how badly her cousin felt for having lost the thing.
Uncle Jack added, “Max told the wrong person, and she stole it out from under us. A fact that will be remedied very soon.”
“Ah.” Kraft nodded. “Perhaps those are the rumors of pack wars we’ve heard in the city.”
Uncle Jack and Aunt Alice nodded. No need to hide what would soon become a bloody battle. Personally, Riley couldn’t wait. The Wildridge pack had been a thorn in their side for years. And now they’d gone a step too far.
“Yes.” Max planted his large hands on the table, his claws growing sharper. “I was in the city trying to track it down when you grabbed me. We’re after the same thing, the return of the artifact.” He looked at Kraft. “But we’re keeping it when we find it. It’s important to us, and it belongs here, in the heart of the Crimson Claw.”
Kraft shrugged. “I don’t want it. Hecate does. But she’s not unfair.”
Riley heard the lie and raised a brow.
Kraft saw it and grinned. “Well, she’s not unfair to witches. And she seems to be interested in balance. Maybe you should talk to her about it.”
“That’s a good idea.” Jack turned to Alice and shared a look Riley couldn’t read. “Max, I want you to help Kraft get it back.”
“No.” Kraft glanced at Riley. He didn’t blink.
Oh shit.
“I want the berserker with me. She and I will track down your artifact, and she can talk to Hecate about who keeps it afterward. Besides, Riley is clearly female. Hecate’s partial to women, you know.”
Max narrowed his eyes. “I’ll go with you too.”
“That might not be a good idea, young lycan.” Kraft looked pensive, as if he cared about her cousin’s welfare. Oh, he was good. Smiling and acting like a big doofus with fangs and fists and not much between his ears. This vampire was anything but stupid.
