The sound of Brownie’s combat boots hitting the floor with every angry step reverberated from the marble walls. He heard Yuri’s name as he neared the sitting room. His feet froze. He would liketo claim he wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but he was. In fact, he was a hell of a spy. Brownie held his breath and strained his superior hearing.
“I’m just worried about my wolf.”
“He’ll be fine.” Lucifer didn’t sound bored by the conversation exactly. It was more like they’d had this discussion a million times.
“I really think it’s time to say something. You didn’t see his face. It was almost like he hated me—like I’m keeping him from freedom. He doesn’t understand why he feels the way he does. This isn’t fair to him.”
Lucifer sighed. “Come here.” A moment passed before Lucifer spoke again. “Do you really want to say something and then watch him choose this life out of obligation?”
“That’s not how it feels and you know it.”
Lucifer’s voice muffled, as if he spoke against Riku’s skin. “In this case, I very much fear that’s exactly how it feels. You’ve seen and heard all the same things as I have. Some things can’t be rushed.”
Brownie didn’t understand. Did they worry Yuri only stayed here out of a sense of duty? Yuri loved Riku. That was why he stayed. And if they were freely speaking of him, where in the fuck was he? He wasn’t in his room. Yuri wasn’t with them. Brownie closed his eyes and focused. His mind hunted thefamiliar sensation of Yuri’s soul. As a hellhound, he had the unique ability to find any soul anywhere. If they had a jail break, his kind would be sent to retrieve the damned. Yuri’s soul was particularly bright. Maybe that was why Brownie was such a moth to his flame.
Behind closed lids, he swore he smelled the fresh grass. He felt the wind on his skin. A vision of tall weeds swaying against the edge of the night sky filled his mind. The wind blowing the tall blades from side to side was almost hypnotic. A sense of euphoria overcame him—like he had been drugged or… had lost a lot of blood. That was a feeling he knew too well.
Brownie’s eyes shot open. Yuri was in trouble. He was obviously in a field on his stomach somewhere, catching glimpses of the stars while goddess knew what happened to him. Had he been attacked? Did he lie there waiting to be found and rescued? He didn’t understand.
Brownie marched through the living room, heading straight for Lucifer’s bedroom. “I’m going to get Yuri.”
Riku and Lucifer barely looked his way from their spot, cuddled on the couch. “Okay.”
Honestly, he found their lack of argument a bit strange but he didn’t turn down a gift. He was scared for anyone who tried stopping him right now. Brownie easily leapt through the mirror, landing inside Frost’s home. His gaze immediately shot to where Yuri’s backpack stayed. It was gone. The air left his lungs in a whoosh. There was a real chance Yuri might havedecided to move along. He still didn’t know what Lucifer and Riku had been talking about. Yuri really might have decided to leave him. He needed to apologize about last night. Even if Yuri chose not to return, he needed to at least beg Yuri not to hate him for that kiss. He shouldn’t have attacked the guy like that. Yuri was a wolf of honor. Brownie had a duty to ensure that Yuri be respected at all times. He was fucking furious with himself and all the desires he couldn’t control. Brownie was better than that, though. He would make this right.
Brownie stepped outside into the night air. Before he could close his eyes and follow his senses, his head whipped toward the vampire standing guard outside the door. He didn’t think. Brownie pounced, taking the vampire to the ground. He felt the way the guy tried to move through time and space to escape Brownie’s hold, but there was no escaping a hellhound. No creature but Lucifer was above him. Everyone had the possibility of ending up in Hell. That meant he had been given the ability to overpower any beast.
Confusion crossed the vamp’s features. More vampires appeared, shouting as they attempted to pry Brownie from his prey. He barely noticed their efforts.
“You smell like his blood.” He lowered his head and inhaled, trying to determine if it was internal or external. Fuck. The scent pumped through his veins. “You drank his blood.” The growl that coated each word should have terrified the man beneath him.
Instead, he looked slightly amused. “Oh. There you are.”
He had no idea what that meant. “You have two seconds to tell me if that blood was freely given.”
Unexpectedly, a vision filled his head. The vamp’s fangs were buried in Yuri’s vein, his mouth on Yuri’s neck. He felt Yuri’s indifference to the bite. Yuri merely felt like he did a favor for a friend.
Brownie pushed to his feet and towed the vampire up along with him. “I had to check.”
“What in the fuck are you doing?” The yelled question finally penetrated his focus on the vampire with Yuri’s blood. He glanced over his shoulder at the irate vampire and then chose to ignore him. “Your friend is more upset than you are. You should look into that…” One eyebrow lifted as it occurred to him he didn’t even know the guy’s name.
“Fen. My friend is a warrior. It’s in his blood to protect. Nae worry about me. I might’ve reacted the same if I smelled my mate's blood on another man. Not that I have a mate.”
Brownie blinked, and then blinked again. He thought to say Yuri wasn’t his mate, but the words refused to cross his lips.
The laughter swimming in Fen’s eyes deepened. “Oh.”
He kept saying that while silently laughing at Brownie. It was kind of pissing him off. Luckily for Fen, he bowed out of the conversation.
“I wasn’t aware you didn’t know. That’s a little awkward for me. You should go find Yuri. He said the wilderness called to him and headed up the mountain.”
Brownie dipped his chin. He refused to admit or deny anything. When he was out from beneath their stares and the threat of a horde of vamps, he would mull over his predicament. “Thank you. I’ll have no trouble tracking him.” He didn’t wait to chat. Brownie ran for the woods. He was every bit as fast in human form as he was in hound mode. Still, he didn’t move as quickly as he could. Mate? Fen’s words kept bouncing off the walls of his brain. It couldn’t be true. As a guardian wolf, Yuri likely outranked him. That thought froze Brownie’s feet to the ground. That title absolutely ranked Yuri above him. He shouldn’t be able to hear Yuri’s thoughts. Brownie was so used to being the top dog, which gave him the ability to penetrate the mind of any lesser beings, it never occurred to him to question why he could hear Yuri. But Yuri wasn’t a lesser. Even if being guardian put him on the same level as Brownie, he would need Yuri’s permission to hear his thoughts. From their very first encounter, they had spoken mentally.
Brownie bent at the waist and sucked air. It wasn’t enough. He went down on his haunches. Holy shit. Yuri was his mate. Not only was Yuri his mate, Lucifer and Riku knew it. That was what they had discussed. Riku had wanted to tell them. Lucifer had not, for fear Brownie would feel duty-bound to claim Yuri. He wasn’t wrong. The sense of responsibility overwhelmed him to the point of bringing him to his knees. His mate was out there, unclaimed. Celeste had told him he would be blessed beyond his wildest dreams. He hadn’t known. This was so much bigger than he dared to dream. Holy fuck. He had to get to his mate.His mate. Brownie sat. His ass simply hit the ground without his consent. He had a mate… the most beautiful mate he had ever seen. Did Yuri know? Had he felt rejected last night? Was that why he left? Brownie couldn’t breathe. For once, he didn’t know where to go from here.
Chapter Three
Fromhisspotonhis stomach in the tall grass, and with his eyes turned up toward the moon, the sky swayed between the weeds. He felt slightly high from Fen taking his blood. It was possible Fen had taken too much without either of them noticing. It was kind of nice, though. He felt like he floated on a cloud. Maybe Yuri should take up drinking. Of course, he would likely burn through the alcohol too quickly to enjoy it. This, too, would pass faster than any human could endure. For now, he enjoyed thinking about anything other than Brownie.
