Footsteps hurried away, but I only had eyes for the cool gray of his. One by one, everyone gave us privacy with suspicious speed, and then, we were alone.
He smiled, warm, full of a possessive confidence that made my belly twist with heat in response. It wasn’t fair; it really wasn’t. It was safer, easier when I thought he didn’t like me. Knowing how far from the truth that was, it was daunting, a little terrifying. If I didn’t protest this “mating” business, I’d find myself falling off a cliff, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to fall. “But I asked,” he said softly. “I told you there was no going back, my darling mate. You are mine now, and I am yours. That is how the bond works.”
“I...” I searched for my usual sharp retort, but my thoughts tangled. These were feelings too big and too life-altering to make right after an attack so terrifying it could have been part of a horror movie. “That was a heat-of-the-moment question!” I pointed out. “How was I supposed to know how serious it was?”
He stood, lifting me effortlessly into his arms, and I felt like I was floating. “No,” he said firmly, his eyes growing stern when he saw the rebellious expression on my face. “Enough. This was enough upheaval for one day. You rest first, and then we’ll talk.” I sighed, surrendering as he carried me up the stairs into the main library. My head rested against his shoulder, his scent grounding me. For the first time since arriving in Hillcrest Hollow, I truly relaxed. Fine, he had a point, and I rather liked how protective he was acting now. I felt cared for, safe.
The stairs led us back into the main library, and I was surprised to discover bright daylight streaming in through the windows. It wasn’t even afternoon yet, but it felt like hours had passed, it felt like it should have been night. This place looked normal now, familiar. Lowering my eyes to my wrist, I admired the bracelet. “Would it have protected me from… that?” I asked quietly.
There was nobody but us in here too, and I was grateful that everyone was thoughtful enough to recognize when the conversation had turned private. Normally, I would have been better at filtering that until the moment was right; I blamed my reactivity on the heat of the moment and the fear that still clung to my skin. That thing, it was terrifying, and I was so damn lucky it hadn’t been after me.
“I don’t know,” Luther admitted, with a bleakness that did not help to ease my nerves. He sat in a chair by the main table, settling me securely in his lap, arms wrapped tight. Only then did I feel how shaken he was, how carefully he held me, like I might vanish if he loosened his grip.
“What was it?” I asked, even though I sensed that he would rather not talk about this. There was something in his gaze that told me he might tell me to wait again, until after I’d rested. My expression grew firm. No, I wanted to know. I needed to know this right now. He’d already turned my world on its head with his talking bat, his vampirism, and this supposed eternal mating bond.
“There was a prison here once, in Hillcrest Hollow,” he said quietly after a short hesitation, but I also saw the begrudging respect appear. “It supposedly held something ancient and evil. We didn’t know what it was, only that it was sealed away. We think it escaped last summer. Slowly, it’s begun to stir trouble. We only recently learned its name.” He met my eyes, and I saw in them the worry and the apology. He hated that, by being here with him, I’d gotten involved in this. “We think it’s called a Galamut.”
I straightened as much as I could in his arms, resolve firming my spine. Finally, something to grab hold of in this rapidly spinning, irrevocably changed world. “Then we need to research this thing, find out how we can get rid of it. Lucky for you, that’s one of my specialties.”
He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Sure, that seems like a good plan for tomorrow,” he said, kissing me softly. “Today, you rest up and I’ll take care of you.” I wouldn’t say no to that, and I was definitely not going to take off the bracelet. If I’d known it wasn’t just an extravagant gift but protection, I wouldn’t have been so stubborn about it.
He carried me through the back door of the library, across the yard, into the General Store, and up to his apartment. He didn’t put me down until we reached his bed. “I am going to pamper you,” he murmured. “Spoil you terribly. But first…” His gaze heated. “I must know if you wore the lingerie I’ve been picturing all morning.”
I smiled, all too willing to let him distract me for a little while. “Well, come and find out…” I drawled.
Chapter 24
Jade
The hidden library smelled like dust, old vellum, and faint ozone, the lingering trace of magic that had soaked into the stones long before I ever arrived in Hillcrest Hollow. I sat hunched at a table, an old trestle one they’d somehow hauled down here for me. A ruined folio lay in front of me, its spine split, pages warped and blackened as if something had tried to erase it from existence rather than simply destroy it. Which, judging by the past week, was exactly what had happened.
I brushed my fingers carefully along a page fragment as I worked to retrieve words from the page with what tools I had available. It wasn’t enough. Once pristine, this book was now damaged beyond my ability to fully repair. That would require magic, which I didn’t have, sadly. The work I could do to preserve what remained was slow. Painfully slow. It required the kind of meticulous patience that usually soothed me, but today, my thoughts kept wandering.
So much had changed during the past week, and I felt like a different person because of it. The morning after the attack on the library and me, my luggage had just appeared in Luther’s bedroom. I wasn’t sure if it was Luther’s doing or if Gwen had brought my things over. The result was that I was now living with a vampire and his bat familiar, and… well, the thought made my mouth curve despite myself.
Living with Luther was both strange and lovely, and disorienting in the best possible way. He cooked like a five-star chef with agrudge against mediocrity, every meal a small masterpiece. I’d learned not to ask too many questions about the deep red liquid he drank with dinner, especially since he never pressured me to comment on his fangs, his impossible speed, or the centuries of history lurking behind his icy gray eyes.
If anything, those things made me feel safer. Which said a lot about how thoroughly Hillcrest Hollow had rewired my sense of normal. Vampires were just part of life, and so was a griffin sheriff, and, as it turns out, an alpha wolf for a mayor. The repair shop was run by more wolves, and a lovely lynx-shifter lady often hung out there. That soft-spoken guy with the healing hands? Turns out he was a troll who lived by a bridge and actually demanded toll if you crossed it. That’s also who supplied Luther with delicious salmon, I’d discovered.
The town itself had rallied in ways that still made me smile and feel all warm inside. As if it were normal to come together and help like that, they hadn’t even wanted to hear my thanks. The sheriff and some of the townsfolk, led by Gwen, had tackled all the physical repair work. They replaced floorboards, repaired shelves, and replastered and repainted the walls.
Then the less mundane part of the restoration work had started: magical protections were to be layered over the building and used to reinforce the hidden library beneath it—first by Thorne, a surly, dark-haired man with eyes like storm clouds and a personality to match. He’d grunted his way through installing wards, barely acknowledging anyone.
Then came the second layer, which had been much more interesting to watch. These were applied by a Native American man with golden, dragon-bright eyes, who spoke in a deeprumble and smiled like he knew secrets the rest of us could only guess at. His magic had settled into the bones of the building like a promise. Now, the hidden library felt guarded. Protected. Too bad the books hadn’t been afforded the same mercy.
Well,Belfry said into my mind, his voice dramatic as ever,this is dreadfully dull compared to goat-watching.I snorted softly and glanced from my work to where he’d settled down for a nap earlier that morning. He hung upside down from a nearby shelf, his tiny silk vest pristine, gold chain glinting even in the low light.
“You’re just mad Mr. Peters locked them up,” I said to him. He’d been grumpy when he followed me here, too little sleep, but he insisted anyway, telling me there was no way he’d leave my side when I needed his protection. Both he and Luther were like that, truthfully: hovering a little, as if they feared that creature could come back for another round. I didn’t think so, and I had better protection than a tiny bat anyway. There was a guard by the stairs, watching quietly when Luther wasn’t keeping me company himself.
He shouldn’t have done that,Belfry huffed.Those goats are a hoot. Now I’m deprived because everyone is worried about being eaten.I heard a dejected ruffling of his wings, and though I’d refocused my attention on the manuscript I was trying to restore and preserve, I still knew he was adjusting his vest.
Lifting my gaze from the ancient vellum, I glanced at the darkened doorway, where silence pressed heavy. “Given the mutilated corpses turning up in the woods, I’d say it’s a reasonable concern.” A very reasonable one, apparently—the poor old satyr had already lost several of his herd, and he wasin all states. The sheriff was warning everyone not to go near the farm, as they might find themselves on the wrong end of a shotgun barrel.
Yes, yes,Belfry said.Very tragic. Very alarming. Still, the goats were charming, fun. This isn’t fun, Jade.He flicked a wing toward the damaged and torn manuscript in front of me, like it had personally offended him. I curled an arm protectively around it, but he didn’t move. So I adjusted my white gloves and continued my work.
A presence shifted near the door, so subtle I might’ve missed it, if I hadn’t been hyperaware all week. Drew, the deputy assigned to guard me, stepped back as another figure approached. I knew instantly who it was from the way my heart sped up eagerly and warmth settled in the pit of my stomach. The links of gold and jade clinked together delicately around my wrist.
Luther. Relief washed through me, warm and instinctive. He crossed the room with that effortless grace of his, setting a small crate of supplies beside me before cupping my face and kissing me in that deep, slow, familiar way I was beginning to get used to. We had not talked about the mating mark or our future, and I was content, for now, to let it rest.
