Luther
I held Jade against me, her breath warm on my chest, her leg slung lazily over mine as if she’d always belonged there. A curious sensation, being this lucky. She’d said it earlier with that righteous little huff, “Maybe you’re luckier than you think, Luther,” as if I needed reminding. Yet here I was, a seven-century-old vampire, staring at the faint, shimmering mark curling across my ribs like spilled moonlight. My soulmate mark. Proof that the universe, ridiculous as it was, had finally done me a favor.
Dawn was still a some time away. I intended to wake her when it arrived: slowly, indulgently, with kisses that trailed lower than her throat and a breakfast worthy of worship. She’d probably want to rush to the library afterward, mortals and their enthusiasm, but I wouldn’t complain. Much.
A flutter of wings brushed the quiet. Belfry slipped through the cracked window and hung from the curtain rod, vest gleaming faintly in the dim light, and his gold chain sitting proudly around his tiny throat; freshly polished, if I wasn’t mistaken.Well,he chirped telepathically, sounding incredibly smug,looks like somebody enjoyed themselves. So did I, by the way.
“That,” I murmured, careful not to wake Jade, “is too much information, even from you.” He did not need to comment on Jade in my bed, temptingly naked and oh-so-bound to me through the mark along her ribs, identical to mine. He might be a bat, but I was feeling mighty territorial right now. Not tomention the fact that, whatever he got up to with his friends—goat or otherwise—I really didn’t want to know.
He preened, wings spreading, ears twitching, and then his claws went to his vest to straighten it over his tiny body. My sharp eyes picked out a grass stain on the hem, but I refrained from mentioning it. The last thing I needed was a half-hour-long quest for the exact right new outfit and a discussion of washing detergents.I’m just saying, this is excellent progress,Belfry said,oblivious to his less-than-perfect outfit.
I ignored him and instead let my thoughts drift to lace and silk, some of which I had already ordered for her. A private indulgence I could not wait to get my hands on, particularly when she was wearing it. I had arranged for special overnight delivery, so hopefully, it would arrive before she woke up, ready to replace the ugly white cotton I’d shredded last night. I eyed the scraps lying across the carpet like snowflakes or flower petals, with satisfaction. Only the best for my Jade; she would soon discover that.
The bat had settled down to nap, and I was planning to do the same. Darkness was still deep and mysterious, with only a hint of a moon peering through the clouds. It was that time of night when all was quiet and even the animals had settled down—no hooting owl, no flittering moths or fireflies, and no bats. Perhaps, with the mating bond buzzing through my veins, and Jade safely in my arms, I could finally rest.
Of course, that’s when my phone buzzed. Suppressing a growl, I eased out from beneath Jade’s warmth and slid off the bed without disturbing so much as a sheet. My skin prickled at the loss of her, but I padded silently across the bedroom and into theliving space, passing my bookshelf. My fingers skimmed along familiar spines, but my mind remained full of Jade. Her scent, her laugh, most of all the way her temper flared like struck flint: irritating and intoxicating.
I answered the phone with the enthusiasm of a man chewing gravel. “What.” It wasn’t even a question, just a monotone demand. If this wasn’t an absolute emergency, I was going to strangle the person on the other end of the line. It was only the recent danger that had lurked around town, along with Thorne’s warnings and ward, that had made me answer in the first place.
Jackson’s voice was loud, clear, and full of a cheer I couldn’t muster when I had a feeling I was about to be pulled away from my pleasant morning plans. Jackson would not call unless he had a good reason; he knew I had Jade with me. He even knew she was my mate, my honest-to-god soulmate. He would not interrupt unless it was big. “Good morning to you too, sunshine.”
“It’s not morning yet,” I pointed out, my gaze going to the drawn curtains that kept out the dark of night. The street lanterns had stopped working about twelve years ago, and since most of us had night vision anyway, nobody had bothered to get them fixed. Perhaps I’d see to that sometime next week, Jade didn’t have the luxury of night-adapted eyes. The cracked sidewalk, too, what if she tripped and broke her ankle? It would take Arden at least fifteen minutes to get here to heal her.
“Close enough,” Jackson coughed, but all hint of cheer and laughter had vanished from his tone. He sounded deadly serious now, grim, even. “I’ve got a situation over here, and I need some backup,” he said. That was normally our deal: my speed mademe an excellent addition to any search party, and like most vampires, my innate ability to heal rapidly made me a dangerous adversary. But most impressive—and probably what he was after—was my ability to intuitively find anything.
“No.” I kept my voice low. “Find someone else.” There was no way I was leaving Jade alone the morning after we’d mated. I had things to explain, many things, not least of which were the moonlight curls that now permanently decorated her ribs and mine. She’d freak out and think she was imagining things or, worse, that I did not care and was willing to toss her aside after one night of delicious passion.
“Already tried. You’re the last one who hasn’t hung up on me,” Jackson answered, resigned. That was the downside of living in a town this quiet: everyone was very focused on their privacy. Some of our long-living residents hadn’t left their houses in years, depending solely on my food deliveries to survive. Others might roam the woods, but they had long ago forgotten how to talk, and some of us were just grumpy old bastards by now.
I sighed, already knowing that I’d wind up going, but I tried anyway. “What about Gregory, Ísarr, or Mikael?” I didn’t bother to list Arden; he’d only come if the emergency related to injuries and little else. I only named the Ice Dragon because, of late, his mate had actually made him more social. They were even talking of restoring one of the empty properties on Main Street to set up as a store for his artwork and his mate’s knitted crafts.
“Gregory isn’t answering his phone. There are lights glowing in his maze…” Jackson said. That probably meant the Minotaur was playing games with his human between the hedges. There was no disturbing a Minotaur in a mating rut, no wonder he wasout. Jackson didn’t even bother to make excuses for the other two; Ísarr was too new at leaving his cabin for this kind of thing, and Mikael wasn’t home—he was visiting family in Norway. That I should have remembered before I’d thrown out his name. “It’s Peters’s goats,” the sheriff pressed. “They’re missing.”
“They go missing every week. They enjoy chaos,” I said with a growl. That’s why Belfry enjoyed spending time with them so much. I half suspected he was responsible for at least some of their more bizarre escapes, wouldn’t put it past him. “Missing goats is not an emergency.” This was what this was all about? I was definitely going to strangle Jackson.
“This time is different.” His tone sharpened, and a chill shot down my spine. “Just get out here,” he snarled. The call ended before I could argue again. All his lion instincts had come through in that last demand, and even someone like me was itching to obey. I stood there naked, irritated, and deeply resentful of the universe’s timing.
Belfry fluttered from the bedroom and landed on the side table, atop my antique samovar.Duty calls?he asked, blatantly ignoring the sharp look I gave him as his claws scratched against the heavily decorated and fragile curlicues at the top.
“Yes.” I strode back to the bedroom, dressed, then stood watching Jade sleep for one selfish moment. “I’ll be back before she wakes, hopefully. When the package arrives, put it on the pillow with this.” I scribbled a note, folded it, and set it beside her. I gave him a look that conveyed how important this was, and he puffed out his chest and settled on his favorite perch in the corner, a jewelry stand he’d insisted I buy, solid gold, for him to hang from.
Romantic. Soft. Who even are you?He teased, but only mildly, because I could see he’d taken the task seriously. He wasn’t on the top perch, the one he preferred to sleep from, but lower, closer to the bed so he could keep watch.
“An idiot, apparently,” I said as I finished lacing my boots with sharp tugs on the laces. “Take care of her,” I warned him, and then I felt compelled to repeat my instructions on the arriving gifts and the note.
Jade had slept through all of this, sprawled on her belly, arm over the spot I’d vacated, as if even in sleep she were searching for me. Her brown hair lay in artful wisps about her face and cascaded over her shoulders, the curve of her ribs with the new mark visible where the sheets had slipped. I bent down to pull them over her so she wouldn’t get cold.
“If she sees the mark, and she will,” I murmured, knowing that Belfry would hear me with his sharp ears, “you’ll have to explain it to her if I’m not back yet.” I turned slowly, the weight of that knowledge sinking in. Jackson couldn’t have known mating marks would appear this fast, but I still resented him for pulling me away when she needed me to be there.
Belfry’s eyes were huge as he peered at Jade from where he dangled from his ostentatious jewelry stand–turned–sleeping perch.You want me to…He gulped, horrified, but then, with much more confidence, added:You can trust me. I will take care of it, of her.I left before my resolve could weaken.
Mr. Peters’s farm was quiet when I arrived, too quiet. The pasture was empty, the usual bleating absent, and the forest beyond loomed like a dark tide. Either not just a few, but all ofhis precious goats had run off, or he’d locked the rest up in the red-painted barn, covered by grapevines, to the left of the small, verdant pasture surrounded by river-stone walls rather than fences.
I expected Peters to be drunk, pants optional, holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a scandalous magazine in the other, as per tradition. Instead, he stood stone-cold sober beside his woodshed, shotgun tucked in the crook of one arm. His goat-like eyes were sharp and grim, glowing golden in the dark.
Kai and Ted, in massive wolf forms, flanked him on either side, their hackles raised. Overhead, Jackson’s griffin wings cut across the sky, while Drew circled in gargoyle form, his bulk blotting the clouds. Chardum, looking irritated, golden, and very much like a dragon forced into human skin, stood off to the side with his arms crossed. He was the last man I expected to see here, but if Jackson had called in the golden dragon, this really was serious. For the first time, irritation gave way to a wave of unease.
Jackson landed, lion paws digging deep into the rich earth of Mr. Peters’s front yard. His tufted tail flicked behind him in agitation, and the sharp eagle beak and eyes pierced me with a fierce warning. Then he shifted, a spark, a burst of golden light that I had always envied. A shifter changing was one of the purest kinds of magic, and one I could never achieve. When Jackson reformed into his human shape, he was dressed in his crisp uniform, down to the weapons belt cinching his hips—an impressive shifter trick only a few could manage. Kai, for example, couldn’t; Ted only sometimes; but Grandma Lizzie was never seen without a missing stitch.
