Then her heart followed his and slowed down, allowing them both to fall into a much-deserved sleep.
* * *
“We don’t haveall day. Well? Come on. Get up.”
Kraft stirred when that obnoxious god poked him again.
“Get. Up. And bring her too.” Morpheus loomed over the bed, staring down at Kraft and his mate.
What?Mate?
Confused, Kraft hugged Riley and glared up at the intruder who had no business in his room.
Dressed this time in shorts and a tank top, looking like a beach tourist with a glowing tan, Morpheus smiled and waited while Kraft slowly got out of bed and brought a sleepy Riley with him.
“Hmm? Who are you?” she asked Morpheus as Kraft found a washcloth to clean them both up before grabbing some clothing for them, secretly pleased that the god should find Kraft’s scent and seed on Riley—Kraft’s female.
Somehow, he and Riley ended up wearing shorts and sleeveless tops, just like Morpheus. But Kraft refused to put on the flipflops the god held out for him.
“No.”
“I’ll take them.” Riley slipped them on her feet, and they shrunk to fit her. Then she grabbed Kraft’s hand and held it, walking together with him as they followed Morpheus through a portal into the Ribald Unicorn.
“Ugh. Not this place again.” Riley scrunched her nose.
“You kids have fun.” Morpheus waved and disappeared.
“Huh. Wonder where he went.” Kraft walked around, studying the bar while Riley went to get the kids out of one of those blow-up toddler pools humans used when the weather got too hot.
“Come help me,” she ordered, as she always did.
He joined her to take the oldest girl out, a beautiful creature with shaggy brown hair, like his, and bright brown eyes full of curiosity. She couldn’t have been more than five or six years old. He dried her off while she giggled and talked about her time swimming with her brothers. To his surprise, the two boys, perhaps three or four, looked like him, just as the girl did, wolfish about the eyes.
She had her mother’s smile while the boys showed off baby fangs, like him, which shouldn’t have been possible. The boys weren’t twins; they appeared a few years apart in age.
“Finally. It’s my turn to play.” Riley seemed to be overjoyed to have the kids out of the pool so she could dive in.
She did and didn’t come back.
Odd.
“Don’t worry, Sire,” the littlest one said. “She’s going to mate Ivan for a little bit.”
“Yeah, Dad. She’ll be fine,” his older brother announced. “She just has to give the pack a few babies so the berserker line continues. Then she’ll be back to us.”
The girl smiled and turned into a small wolf. To his shock, she looked like a little nachzehrer. Then her middle brother turned lycan. Odd, since as a male, he should have been vampire. The youngest snatched a toy that took the attention of his siblings, and before long, the three of them were fighting over it with tooth and claw.
Kraft marveled at what he and Riley had created—not one, but three offspring with a drive to dominate. Mother Night, the trio were drawing blood. He was thrilled.
He wanted to talk to Riley about it, to tell her that he’d finally found what he’d always wanted. Love and affection, a family, security. And all because of her.
But where was she?
She’s not coming,Pazuzu said as he rose out of the pool. No longer a kitten, he now wore a man’s form, tall and strong and dapper in a suit and tie, his dark hair slicked back, his face a study in perfect symmetry. Yet he still didn’t talk with his mouth, but with his mind.She’s going to him.
“Yes, Ivan.” His mate had gone to Ivan, and he knew he should have been more bothered. But then, he’d always been a useless creature put upon the Earth to serve, not be served. Not know pleasure, but pain.
Know your place, fledgling,his father’s voice echoed in his mind.
