Lola’s brow rose. “How did he”—she pointed at the small Damarian—“keep you”—now she pointed at Callon, motioning to his massive frame—“from coming to find me?”
“I bite him.” Otto snickered.
“You what?” Lola snapped.
“He doesn’t mean he already bit me,” Callon soothed, running his fingers down her spine. “He means if I’d tried to go see you, he would have bitten me.”
Lola’s eyes widened. “But your bite is, like, mega-poisonous.”
Otto nodded proudly.The little turd.
“That’s why I’m sitting down here eating, and not with you, alone, in our room.” Callon’s voice grew rougher with each word. “Lennsers are fast,” he explained. “He could bite me before I even realized he’d moved.”
“Otto!” Lola scolded. “Why would you do that?”
“Mistress need rest,” Otto said in his stilted way of talking. “Be alert with demon about.”
Callon’s chest rumbled with a growl. “That’s the only reason I didn’t call for backup to deal with this little troublemaker. Because he’s right. You have to have your wits about you with a demon.”
Lola walked over to Otto and pointed a finger at him. She stayed about a foot back, though she didn’tthinkhe’d bite her. “Do not ever threaten to bite my mate again. Not cool, lizard. Not. Cool.”
Otto’s legs kept swinging back and forth as he shrugged. “Otto protect what’s important to Katy. You and the Maddie important to her.”
“That’s really freaking sweet.” Some of her anger deflated. “Despite that, you can’t go around biting people.”
Callon’s arm wrapped around her from behind, and then he turned her so that her face was pressed to his chest. He pulled her snuggly against him. “Shhh, Female. I’m fine.”
Lola hugged him back just as tightly, the tension easing from her frame. “Wait,” she said suddenly. “What are you doing here? Weren’t you meeting with the Kingdom of Silk royals?”
Callon drew back enough to frame her face in his big hands. “You didn’t really think I’d let you confront dark magic without me, did you?” His jaw clenched, and his gaze was intense. “Especially not with some questionable demon as your guide. But wedidmeet with them. They weren’t exactly super hospitable. Which isn’t strange, but I still got a vibe that they’re hiding something. We couldn’t stick around any longer withoutit looking suspicious.” Callon ran a finger down her cheek. “But mostly I’m back because I don’t like being separated from you. Not even for a night.”
Warmth spread through Lola at his protectiveness, even as exasperation tugged her lips. “Callon, we’ve talked about this. I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Yes, you does,” Otto supplied, oh so helpfully.
“A-B conversation, Lizard.Cyour way out of it,” Lola said dryly.
Otto simply snickered.The cheeky twat.
Callon’s brows lowered stubbornly. “Tough. Where you go, I go. That’s the way it is for mates.”
Lola sighed, knowing further argument was pointless. And if she was honest, having Callon’s strength at her side brought a sense of security. She hadn’t fully processed how dangerous this new world could become. Still, her independence balked at being coddled.
“Fine,” she conceded grudgingly. “But you better pull your weight out there. No distracting heroics because you think I need rescuing.”
Callon grinned unrepentantly and kissed her forehead. “As my lady commands. Besides, I don’t think I’d have to do anything heroic with this one”—he motioned to Otto—“in tow.”
Before she could elbow Callon in retribution, running footsteps drew their attention. Maddie careened into the kitchen, excitement lighting her pretty features. Her smile grew even bigger when she saw Callon.
“Bane’s back, too,” her friend gushed, practically bouncing on her toes. “Isn’t that awesome? Now he and Callon can totally protect us from that demon creep while we save Katy and the other women.” She frowned thoughtfully. “Shame Roan came, too. He keeps making weird jokes about cats and glaring at Bane. I think his sense of humor is broken. If he ever had one.”
“He didn’t,” Callon offered.
Lola felt more of the weight that had been on her shoulders being lifted. “That’s great that they’re here. Considering you and I don’t have a freaking clue what we’re doing. Regardless of whether we like admitting that or not, it’s true.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Maddie muttered as she grabbed a muffin out of a bowl on the counter. “But Roan seriously knows how to rain on someone’s parade.”
“I bite him?”
