More quiet words from the entryway, “Theron, I need you at Alaric’s. He’s gone berserker. There’s a woman here too.” A silent pause. “And where’s Cass?” More silence. “Okay, call him…just in case.”
The front door opened and closed again. Another voice, a confident male voice, like melted silver rolling in water. “Really, asshole? You didn’t trust me to see this coming? Fuck, you hung up already.” Another quiet moment. “Yeah, it’s me. I’ll take care of this. Go eat your damn pizza.” Another pause and a snort. “Don’t lie to me, Dad. That shit stopped working when I had my first vision of you stealing the last piece of my birthday cake. So fuck off.”
“Cass, can you handle this?” the first guy asked.
“Alaric is already handling it. Give him a little more credit. It’s been a hundred years since he last went berserk. He’s learned a little more by now…and he’s met his mate. The berserker smelled it, even when he couldn’t normally. He won’t kill her. Although an interesting fact is that the berserker even knew about the scent factor. That hasn’t come up until recently for our people.”
A hum. “That means he’s been watching.”
“Correct.” Far too chipper. “And a little scary.”
“Wait. Wait. His mate?” he backtracked.
I blinked in confusion and peered up into the Alaric-creature’s swirling blood-red eyes. He still wasn’t moving, though sweat was beginning to drip down his temples. One tiny bead hung on the edge of his jaw.
Drip.
It fell to his shoulder…and steamed away.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
I wouldn’t wrestle the knife from him.
Those rolling muscles were bad news.
The second voice…Cass muttered, “Pick your jaw up, dipshit. Can’t you see a trend is happening? You’ll be next, Wolfe. Just wait and see.”
“Fuck that!” Wolfe, the first man, growled. “I’m going to take a vacation. A long ass vacation away from any females.”
Cass snorted. “No, you won’t.”
A long, too long, pause. “You’re probably right.”
“I know I’m right. Just like I’m right that Ms. Peyton is going to fall on her ass from exhaustion if we don’t go take care of this.” Two shadows appeared at the end of the hallway, one waving his arm at us. “See what I mean? She’s looking quite faint, don’t you think?”
Wolfe chuckled quietly. “Quit being an ass.”
“But it’s so much fun.”
“Anyway! How do you want to handle this?”
In broken spurts, the Alaric-creature hissed, “Knock…me…out…”
My shoulders tensed with each word.
The shadow waved his arm again. “I told you. Alaric is handling it perfectly fine.” A white light appeared in his outstretched hand, a ball rotating in circles and growing bigger. “He even told us how to do it.”
The white light grew brighter. And brighter.
So brilliant that I moved one hand to shade my eyes.
Boom.
I grunted as a heavy ass Alaric-creature flew into my body. Down and down we fell, our limbs intertwined as his blood-red eyes closed. I screeched, trying not to touch his flesh. But the man was already unconscious before we hit the floor.
My head banged on the hardwood, even bouncing once. The world tilted on its side, and my brown eyes rolled into the back of my head, black spots darkening my vision. It was naptime.
