“Can the male not wait? She’s hardly of age to entertain the idea of love.”
“Tell that to a fourteen-year-old. They know everything at that age.”
“What’s her Breed?”
I leaned forward. “Human.”
He drew in a breath, and I hated the way Chitahs could smell truth and lies without hearing a word.
“Not my business,” he said at the tail end of a sigh.
I turned to look at him. “If you want to help, guide us to our destination. Shepherd might also know the way, but we could use your protection. Those lions will hurt these kids. If they don’t keep them, they’ll sell them as sex slaves.”
Matteo’s lip curled in a snarl.
When Christian reappeared, his hands were caked in mud. He flicked a peevish glance at me while heading to the other room. “Don’t ask.”
I smiled as he went to wash his hands. It was a juicy story I’d probably never hear, and somehow that made it even funnier.
“You didn’t tell me you were mated,” Matteo remarked.
“What makes you say that?”
His golden eyes locked on mine, and it was as if he could see every secret.
Or smell it.
“What would a Vampire want with a Mage?”
I chuckled and dusted off my hands. “What would a Mage want with a Vampire? Some things you can’t explain.”
“In my time, they would cast out anyone for interbreeding. It’s unnatural.”
“Unnatural? Look at us. We have fangs and run at light speed. Breed has no place to call anything unnatural when it’s the core of who we are. We go against the natural order of things. We stop aging, we heal, we can pass knowledge down to kids through our DNA. We’re the monsters that humans make up stories about, so you’re not exactly in a position to decide which monsters should and shouldn’t hook up.”
His eyes hooded, and he smiled lazily. “You must be a Learner. The newly made ones always have different ideas. That will change in time. You’ll see.”
“Maybe you’re the one who’ll change.”
“Humans die with age. Old ideals die with them. Immortals live for centuries or even longer. People respect their elders and listen to them. No matter their initial beliefs, Breed will separate naturally and find comfort with their own kind.”
“Someday you might feel differently about that.”
“Intruder!” Claude growled. Not loud enough to scare the kids or wake Viktor, but it had Matteo and me on our feet. Shepherd, on the other hand, had nodded off in less than two minutes and was snoring.
I passed the fire and stood at the entrance. “What do you see?”
He lifted his long arm and pointed. “It’s not what I see, it’s what I smell.”
Matteo stepped close and drew in a breath. He walked out a few more paces until the smoke didn’t interfere with his senses.
“It’s not a lion,” he announced.
“How can you tell?” Claude shook his head. “Animal scents mingle.”
Matteo turned on his heel. “Because I know every scent in these woods, city boy.”
Claude dipped his chin, and a growl rumbled low in his throat.
