She and Mama Daphne were on Riley’s side of the table, while Wolfe and Eric sat across from them. Riley would have preferred they all convene on the covered porch—it was less claustrophobic when he could see the forest around them—but Wolfe had been wary about “prying eyes and ears.”
Like Riley had said. Uber paranoid.
“Yourson”—Wolfe stressed the word almost sarcastically, as if he hadn’t been the one to basically facilitate Riley’s pseudoadoption in the first place—“is an anomaly. And anomalies gain attention. You believe it to be a coincidence that they’ve set up here? At your doorstep?”
A twinge of guilt hit Riley, deep in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t considered that if something shady was going on, it was probably his fault. Had he really drawn attention to himself? He’d tried to be so careful. He’d been forest-bound for almost a full decade, for fuck’s sake.
He looked around the table helplessly. “How would they even know about me?”
Mama Daphne spoke up, her tone gentle as could be. “There’s one human witness who wasn’t ever compelled to secrecy.”
Immediately, Riley knew who she was referring to. His eyes burned. “My mo— My, um, human mom?”
It had taken almost a full year for Riley to tell Mama Sybil and Mama Daphne what had happened between him and his mother—the bite and the terror and the anger—but eventually he’d let them know, afraid if he’d kept it to himself any longer the aching wound inside of him would fester. And he’d been young, and still so scared, and he’d wanted a little comfort.
Like Seth, they’d reassured him that he hadn’t been at fault,that his mother couldn’t have been expected to know how to manage his transformation. But the memory was still painful, and now it had come back to haunt him in a whole new way.
“It’s possible she told the authorities about what happened on your return.” Mama Daphne placed her hand over his, squeezing gently. “It would have been in an effort to find you, darling. No doubt she regretted very deeply driving you away.”
Riley swallowed hard, willing his eyes to stay dry. He wouldn’t cry in front of Wolfe. Hewouldn’t.
He wished Seth were here. If Seth were with them, there would be something delicious on the table to go with Wolfe’s snobby wine, and he’d be right there, on Riley’s other side, giving him strength without even trying. He wouldn’t put up with any of Wolfe’s little digs either.
Tomorrow, Riley reminded himself and his voice both.We’ll see him tomorrow.
“What are we supposed to do, then?” Riley asked. “Knock on their door and ask if they’re planning to do any evil research on innocent vampire children, current or former?”
Wolfe shrugged one shoulder. “If needs must. In the meantime, a bit of casual reconnaissance.” He narrowed his eyes at Riley as he toyed with the stem of his wineglass. “You’re aware that if you’d turned your mate already, we’d have one more ally in the area.”
Riley stiffened. He knew he was being baited—they had an entire den in Colorado at their disposal, if Wolfe really needed it—but he couldn’t help his reaction. “Seth doesn’t need to be a vampire to be an ally.”
“To be a useful one, surely.”
A low growl left Riley’s throat, and Eric spoke up quickly. “Hey, Riles, have you gotten any comics from Colin recently? I’d love to see them.”
Wolfe tutted, sliding a look at his mate that was so hotlypossessive it made Riley want to gag. “Tenderhearted,” Wolfe murmured fondly.
Eric shrugged, although there was a new flush on his cheeks. “Colin’s art is cool, and he hardly ever shares.”
It was blatant misdirection, and Eric wasn’t even pretending to be subtle. But it was also an olive branch to get Riley out of the room, so he took it. He nodded to Eric, and they left the table and went upstairs to Riley’s room.
“Your mate’s a pain in the ass,” Riley told him as soon as they were inside.
“Yeah,” Eric agreed easily. “But he wants us all to be safe.”
“He wants you andhimto be safe,” Riley corrected before heading over to his bookcase and pulling out Colin’s latest comic.
“For him and me to be safe, everyone has to be. So it works out.” Eric grinned down at the cover of the comic Riley had handed him, which had a fictionalized and much cooler version of vampire Riley on it, all black eyes and bulging black veins. One day—whenever he finally decided to release them to the public—Colin was going to be famous for those things.
Riley collapsed back onto his bed, holding himself up with his elbows. He let Eric rifle through the first few pages before he couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Why’d you forgive him so easily? I’ve heard the story of how you were turned.”
If Eric was surprised by the question, he didn’t show it. He didn’t even glance up from the comic. “Because I needed him.”
Riley thought of Seth, bright and charming and open with everyone. He thought of Seth’s full life, how he’d already made a place for himself inside their insular little town within a month. He sighed. “I don’t think Seth needs me.”
Eric made a vague, noncommittal noise. “You might be surprised. I was a successful doctor and reputed man-whore. No one would have thought I needed someone like Wolfe. But I did.”He ran a finger over the panels of the comic with a distant look in his eye. “I really, really did.”
“And he needed you back?” Riley asked. He knew it was true—he saw the way Wolfe looked at Eric, the rare and out-of-character affection he gave his mate—but it was still hard to fathom Wolfe reallyneedingsomebody.
