“Oh?” Rolf stalked the fae.
Before Rolf could reach him, Kraft interrupted. “Wait. Hold it. Let’s say Sebastian is creating a new version of berserkers and hellhounds. How can he keep them here? Demons don’t do well in our plane, which is why Paz has to possess a kitten so he can stay.”
Khent paused. “That’s a good point. If they were my creations, I’d ground them. Feed them a regular diet of berserker blood to keep them strong, of course. Much better than regular lycan blood. Or...” He frowned at Kraft. “Or I could feed them berserker flesh, which would make my creations last much longer. Better yet, I’d eliminate the need to feed them the blood and flesh of lycans of this plane by breeding a new species altogether. I’d take a berserker from this plane and join it with one of my hellish creations.”
Rolf’s eyes narrowed. “Where is Riley?”
Kraft darted out of the lab back upstairs, only to find her still missing from his room.
He hadn’t realized the others had followed until he had to fight to get past them to exit his bedroom. He hurried to Mormo, whom he found talking to Varu in the living room.
“Where’s Riley?” he asked, interrupting them.
Varu’s eyes narrowed. “What happened?”
“Khent and Rolf can tell you.”’
“I can too,” Onvyr offered and sighed when the reaper and draugr bared their fangs. “Aw, come on, guys. I want to help.”
Mormo frowned. “Riley left with Max an hour ago. They said they were going to fetch back the artifact from their contact, Talon.”
“Did they say where?” Kraft asked, mentally readying himself to find then beat the stubborn female for leaving without him. Well, she probably wouldn’t allow that. But he could kiss the breath out of her then berate her while he fucked her into pleading for forgiveness. Yes, that was a plan.
“The place where you found him before, I think. The Ribald Unicorn.”
Kraft automatically looked to his patriarch, who was getting a hasty explanation from Khent.
Mormo said, “Kraft, I want you, Khent, and Rolf to find your mate.”
Onvyr gaped. “Kraft has a mate?”
Rolf gave him a sly grin. “I knew it.”
“She still owes me,” Khent was saying while snapping his fingers. Soon, a few of his pets joined them, waiting. “The Ribald Unicorn,” he told his crows. “Go and wait once you’ve got eyes-on.”
The dead birds raced away.
“When you return with Riley and her brother—alive,” Varu emphasized to Khent, who sighed.
“Fine.”
“Then we’ll talk about all my kin getting mates without asking permission first.” Varu looked annoyed.
But everyone, even Kraft, who was worried about Riley, broke into laughter.
“Permission. Right.” Rolf pretended to hang himself. “I’d rather die and come back as Khent’s bestie.”
Khent rolled his eyes. “No thank you, but I agree. I ask nothing of you but to lead with a modicum of talent.”
Varu glared.
Kraft waved to get everyone’s attention. “Yeah, this is great. But we need to go before Sebastian uses the artifact to enslave my berserker.”
“How are you going to bring her into the clan?” Mormo asked, his eyes bright. “We could use a berserker, but I highly doubt her pack will allow it.”
“I doubtshe’llallow it,” Varu said drily. “We’ll figure it out later. Right now, I want that artifact back here, and both lycans under this roof. Kill the sorcerer.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Kraft grabbed a few items and met Rolf and Khent in the Mercedes. So focused on getting to Riley, he didn’t worry about driving, darting into the backseat instead.
