The Kattalakis lycanthropes were huddled in a corner … but he felt the same thing that Styxx did.
Out of place. Out of time and sync.
End of the day, no one here would notice if they left. They’d done their duty. Put in their appearances. Bought the right presents.
Yeah …
Styxx might share blood with Acheron, but they weren’t really family. And Urian wasn’t anything to any of them. A barnacle to Acheron and babysitter for Simi didn’t really count.
Urian set his beer aside. “I’m ready if you are.”
“Brother, I was ready as soon as the ceremony ended.”
Snorting, Urian inclined his head and transported them back to Styxx’s apartment.
Styxx let out a long sigh and immediately began peeling off his tux. “Thank the gods.”
He resembled that remark. Urian pulled his tie off and opened his collar, then decided to just use his powers and change it out for a black T-shirt and jeans.
Styxx snorted. “I envy you those powers.”
“Yeah, they can be handy.”
Awkward silence filled the room. “Well,” Urian finally said to break it. “Guess I’ll head back, unless you need something?”
Styxx shook his head. “All good.”
Urian didn’t leave, though. He paused to ask the one question that had been bothering him. “Have you tried to date while you’ve been here?”
Styxx let out a light laugh. “I had perfection. Anything else would be settling.”
“Yeah, but the loneliness …”
“Is hard. But you never know how strong you can be until you have no other choice.” Styxx clapped him on the shoulder. “That’smypath, Uri. You’re not me. If you’re lonely, go find a beautiful woman. You deserve to be loved.”
“What if you’re right?”
“What if I’m wrong?”
Urian laughed.
Styxx jerked his chin toward the door. “Go on, Urian. Find your happiness. Or at least a good drink.”
“All right. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Styxx inclined his head to him. “Take care.”
But as Urian left, he had a bad, bad feeling that he might not see Styxx again.
That was utter foolishness. He’d just about convinced himself of that when he reached Sanctuary in New Orleans and teleported into the third floor, which was reserved for such activities. Because the club was owned by a family of Were-Hunter bears, they took a lot of precautions when it came to catering to their “special” clientele.
Of all the limanis located throughout the world, none was more famous or legendary than Sanctuary. The Peltier bears had seen to that. Its reputation for fairness and hospitality set it apart.
Urian came here because he knew his father had a spy among their happy family.
He just didn’t know who. Sadly, neither did Davyn. They’d both been trying to find out, and that had been one piece of trivia that kept eluding them.
Since the staff tonight would be minimal, Urian thought that maybe he might get a better handle on who to look for. So with a nod to the guard on the “landing pad,” he headed for the stairs so that he could walk to the bottom floor and not spook any humans in the bar and grill.
