by Katie Reus
The boy finally looked at him and when he did, a light sheen of tears was in his eyes. Shit, shit, shit. “I do, but if you mate with Teresa, won’t you be related to Ana?”
Blinking, Ryan nodded slowly, trying to figure out why that would matter. “Sort of. Teresa and Ana are cousins.” They were all packmates anyway.
“And Ana’s basically Vivian’s mom. And you adopted me so you’re like my dad.”
Hell yeah, he was. Adopting Lucas was the best thing Ryan had ever done in his life. “Okay.”
“If you mate with Teresa, does that mean . . .” He cleared his throat nervously. “Does that mean I can’t mate with Vivian when we’re old enough?” The tears were gone, but the seriousness was there.
Ryan’s eyes widened. That’s what this was about? “You and Vivian will never be related by blood.” They weren’t even the same species so it wasn’t even an issue. “So if you want to mate with her and she wants to mate with you, then when you’re old enough, you can.” Good God, though, Ryan didn’t even want to think about Lucas growing up so fast.
“Oh.” The cub slid off the chair, his boots thumping loudly on the hardwood floor. “Okay then. I hope you mate with Teresa. I like her a lot.”
Relieved, Ryan followed suit and stood. “So why are you so sure you’re going to mate with Vivian?”
Lucas stared up at him as if he was stupid. “She’s my best friend and she already takes all my toys anyway. If we live together, we can keep all our stuff together.”
Ryan bit back a smile, but it was hard. “Have you told her of your intentions?”
Lucas snorted. “No way. You don’t tell a girl that.” He shook his head and ran out the front door, letting it slam behind him as he left.
Before Ryan had turned back to his coffee and laptops, the front door opened again. Jacob strode in, looking exhausted. Ryan knew he’d been out patrolling the property all night. All the warriors took shifts making sure the property stayed locked down. They’d had issues in the past few months, and with the hundreds of acres of land the pack owned, sometimes it was difficult to keep every square inch secure. Luckily, as shifters, they could typically scent intruders easily enough. He nodded at the pot of coffee. “There’s a full pot on, unless you’re crashing?”
Jacob scrubbed a hand over his face and looked at the pot before shaking his head. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. I need to snag a few hours of sleep. I’ve got a run planned later this afternoon.” The way he said it made all the hair on the back of Ryan’s neck stand up.
He tried to keep his wolf locked down, but he was agitated thinking of Jacob running with Teresa. “Run? With a female?”
Jacob’s eyes widened a fraction before he grinned. “Yep.”
Ryan resisted the urge to bare his teeth at his friend. “With who?”
“Why’s it matter, man?”
It mattered because not too long ago Jacob had planned to ask Teresa out. The other shifter had had every right to, but Ryan had seriously considered beating the shit out of his friend for even contemplating it. He’d settled for threatening his packmate’s manhood instead.
Jacob held up his hands in mock surrender and Ryan realized he’d started growling. Damn, he needed some more freaking sleep.
“It’s not Teresa, jackass. Though . . . you might want to think about speeding things up with her. That is, if you ever plan to make a move.”
Oh, he’d made a damn good move last night. And he planned to speed things up. First he needed to tell her a few things. If she still wanted him when she knew the truth about what he was, then there was nothing holding him back. Hell, at this point he didn’t know that he could hold back anyway. After the way she’d melted in his arms in this very cabin . . . “Wait a minute. Why do I need to speed anything up?”
Jacob shrugged and headed toward the stairs. “You’re not the only one interested in her.”
He started to go after his packmate to question him when two of his computers made dinging sounds almost simultaneously.
The same image remained static on two of his screens. As he pulled up a chair at the counter, the third pinged with the same picture. The male who had been talking to Natalia last night. She’d pointed him out to Ryan in the videos earlier. Ryan hadn’t even had a chance to tell his Alpha or anyone else. Now he was glad he hadn’t because the male’s name was Aldric Kazan.
Jayce Kazan’s brother.
Holy shit. Ryan hadn’t even realized the enforcer had any relatives. Much less one with such an interesting record. He’d never been prosecuted for any crimes, but according to the human databases, he was a person of interest in a few unsolved vampire murders. He was also in the shifter database, but there wasn’t much information associated with him. Just a name and a note that he was Jayce’s brother.
Ryan immediately texted Connor with a 911, asking his Alpha to get to the cabin. As he set his phone down, the front door opened. When he turned and saw Jayce there, he immediately closed all three laptops. In hindsight he realized how stupid that was. He should have just changed screens. Too late to do anything about it now.
The way the cabin was set up, the living room and kitchen were all joined into one big area with little separation.
Jayce glanced at the living room area, then strode toward Ryan, his expression curious. “You all right?”
“Yeah. You?”
Jayce watched him with those eerie gray eyes, as if trying to get him to confess to something. Hell, maybe the deadly enforcer was. As a warrior, Ryan could hold his own against most, but he knew Jayce hadn’t earned his reputation for being lethal without being able to back it up. Finally he spoke. “Find out anything usable from the videos?”
Ryan shrugged. Without giving a yes or no, he wouldn’t put off that metallic stench associated with lies. There were always ways around answering things you didn’t want to. “Where’s Kat?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Busy. I don’t know what you’re holding back, but . . .” Jayce trailed off and headed to the living room. He flipped on the flat-screen television so Ryan followed and stood next to him as he found a national news channel.
Connor and Liam strolled in as Jayce grunted at the screen. “You guys need to see this.”
A female reporter came on screen talking about how the following story wasn’t suitable for minors and might offend some viewers. Most of the image was blurred out, but a man had been beheaded and his naked body nailed up onto a billboard in Winston-Salem.
Ryan frowned as he listened to the reporter talk in circles, basically saying nothing as she talked about how police weren’t releasing any details except the victim’s name. Ned Hartwig.
Suspected drug dealer—whose laptop Ryan had in his possession thanks to Jayce stealing it from him.
“You do that?” Connor asked Jayce wryly, not exactly joking.
Jayce snorted. “The last time I saw him he was terrified of his dealer. More terrified of him than me. I’m guessing his dealer did that.”
“Nice warning,” Liam muttered.
That was exactly what it was. When supernatural beings killed, they knew how to dispose of a body. Displaying the human’s body like that was a warning to all others by whoever Hartwig had worked for. You fuck with him, you end up dead. If only they knew who that someone was.
“We need to follow up with more of his contacts,” Jayce muttered, more to himself than the others as he muted the television.
Ryan nodded in agreement, then motioned toward his closed laptops. “I might have another lead.” He shot Jayce a quick look before he focused on his Alpha. “Last night a male at the club made Natalia nervous as she was arriving. She told me about it on the drive back to the ranch. His picture was among the ones I ran through the facial recognition software programs.”
Connor’s dark eyebrows raised. “And?”
“And I just got a
hit.” Sighing, he flipped open the closest laptop.
As the other three males stared at the screen, reading the name and other information next to the male’s picture, Connor and Jayce let out curses at the same time.
* * *
Aiden slid out of bed as quietly as possible and was surprised when Larissa didn’t stir. She’d fallen asleep hard this time. Clearly she needed it and he had to check in. He grabbed his phone and the battery and headed downstairs.
Once he’d checked the place again to make sure everything was secure and that he didn’t scent any intruders, he slid the battery into his phone and called his Alpha. As he sat on the long couch in the living room, Connor picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, you guys doing okay?” he asked immediately.
Aiden liked that he asked about both of them. He knew his Alpha was fair and gave everyone a chance, but he was still worried about the dynamics of bringing a vamp onto the ranch. “We’re good. Holed up in an unused cabin at the Sugar Mountain resort. As soon as she wakes up though, we’re heading out and I’m buying disposable phones for both of us. I’ll call you from mine.”
“Sounds good. How’s she adjusting to everything?”
“Considering she was put in stasis the year color TVs came out, Stalin died, and our kind was still living in secrecy, I’d say pretty damn good.”
Connor let out a low chuckle. “I can’t even imagine waking up in this technology-filled world overnight.”
“No shit.” Aiden was impressed by how well Larissa was taking everything in stride.
“Listen, I don’t like leaving you out in the cold like this. If you think she’s safe and she’s not being tracked anymore, bring her to the ranch. We can protect her.”
Aiden’s throat tightened for a moment at the gesture. “I appreciate it, but with the cubs . . . I just can’t take the chance until we know more. I’m not worried about her, but whoever is after her.” He wanted that clear. Larissa would never be a threat to his pack.
Connor let out a small sigh of what sounded a lot like relief. “I agree—I just hate you not being able to come home. If you’re not coming back here, what are you planning?”
“Finding the witch who released Larissa from stasis.”
“Good. Brianna and Angelo just returned. I’m sending them to meet you. Just give me the address whenever you’re settled somewhere.” He spoke with the confidence of an Alpha and had clearly been ready for Aiden’s answer.
Normally he had no problem following his Alpha’s orders. But Aiden didn’t want to share Larissa with anyone for even a moment, his wolf acting more dominant than usual. But Connor was right. Whatever the hell was going on, they’d need backup if they came up against the witch. She was an unknown and Aiden hated that. “The witch’s name is Magda and she’s got ties to Larissa’s former coven. Supposedly.” The female had told Larissa that her ancestors owed hers a debt. There might have been some truth in the woman’s words.
“Noted. We’ll go back to that, but I’ve got some other interesting news.” The way he said “interesting” set off alarm bells in Aiden’s head. “Jayce apparently has a brother and he was at the club last night. He was talking to Natalia. This might have nothing to do with the blood dealing, but we’re looking into him. I’m going to text you a picture. Show it to Larissa, see if she knows him.”
He’d already known Jayce had a brother because Kat mentioned it during a conversation. Aiden hadn’t thought it had been a secret, but hadn’t seen the need to tell anyone about it. “Will do. Listen, uh, has Ryan attempted to look into Larissa yet?” Because he had no doubt his packmate would have done just that as soon as Connor ordered.
“You didn’t give me her last name.”
“Would that really stop you or him?” It wasn’t exactly a question.
“No. But the answer is no. I was giving you a day to come to me. Who is she?”
Aiden rubbed a hand over his face and let his head fall back against the couch. God knew he needed his pack’s help with this. Larissa didn’t know shit about what had happened to her family other than what that witch had told her so the assumption was everything she’d been told was a lie. Aiden didn’t run in vampire circles and after her supposed death—and after he’d searched in vain in the hopes he was wrong—he’d headed to the United States and roamed aimlessly for years until joining up with Connor’s band of warriors. Somehow he didn’t think Google was going to give him or Larissa what she needed to know about her family.
“She took her mother’s family name, which is Danesti.” Aiden waited to see if Connor would know the line.
A short pause. “That sounds familiar.”
It should. It had been one of the royal lines of the House of Basarab. The Danesti line had been in constant contest with the Draculesti line for the throne of Wallachia. Which technically didn’t exist anymore, but was part of the country of Romania. Connor wouldn’t give a shit about the history and Aiden didn’t care to enlighten him. None of that was important now. “The Danesti line was eventually absorbed by the Draculesti line. Larissa took her mother’s name so it wouldn’t die out. But her father is Vlad Dracul. The third.”
A longer pause. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Oh yeah, he would have heard of that name. “No.”
“Larissa’s father was Vlad Dracul? Vlad Tepes? Vlad the fucking Impaler?”
Tepes translated meant “the Impaler,” something Connor clearly knew. “Yeah.”
Surprising him, Connor let out a loud laugh. “Man, I bet her family just loved that she mated with a shifter.”
A weight on Aiden’s chest lifted at his Alpha’s reaction. “You have no idea.” He’d always thought their reaction was asinine considering the way her parents had mated. Two opposing vampires from warring covens that had had regular assassination attempts on the other for the better part of two centuries. They’d been like Romeo and Juliet of the vampire world and had been deeply in love. But their daughter fall in love with a shifter? Hell fucking no.
“Are her parents really dead?” Connor asked.
“Maybe. Magda told her they were, but she’s not exactly a reliable source. I just don’t know.” Once he’d moved to the States and gone roaming he’d lost contact completely with his old life. It wasn’t like he had any damn vamp contacts anyway.
“All right. I’ll put Ryan on that too.”
“Ask Teresa to help him. She’s good with computers.” His words were light.
“You’re an ass,” Connor said on a chuckle.
“I just wish Ryan would save us the fucking headache and mate with her already. He’s been such a dick the past couple months.” Aiden loved his packmate and understood why Ryan was so edgy. Constantly being near the female you wanted and not being able to have her was stressful. Except Ryan could have her. He was just too much of a dumbass to stake his claim.
“No kidding. Hold on. . . . Kat, damn it. . . .”
“Aiden?” Kat’s breathless voice came over the line. He could hear Connor grumbling in the background.
“What’s up?”
“How are you? How’s your mate? Is this the vampire you said you screwed things up with? I thought she was dead. What’s going on? And why haven’t you called me?”
Aiden smiled even though he didn’t have time to get into a long conversation with Kat. Since he’d turned Kat into a shifter, he was considered her maker and they had a tight, unbreakable bond—much to the annoyance of her mate. Jayce didn’t care that there had never been a spark of attraction between Kat and Aiden, he was just alpha and didn’t like his female being so friendly with Aiden. He didn’t care though. Hell, even if he hadn’t turned her, he would have adored her anyway. She was strong, funny, smart, and a good friend.
“Honey, I don’t have time to get into all that now, but I promise I’ll fill you in as soon as I can.”
/> She snorted loudly. “The pack gossip doesn’t have time?”
“Connor will fill you in, but I’ve got to go.” He needed to get back to Larissa so they could get out of the cabin, find new phones and transportation. Because very soon they’d be hunting down Magda and getting some answers.
“Aiden—”
“Kat, I’ve gotta go.” He ended the call even though he hated hanging up on her. He’d been on the phone long enough as it was. After taking the battery out of his phone he stood.
When he turned toward the doorway he found Larissa standing there with a furious expression on her face. Shit, he hadn’t even heard her come downstairs. She was definitely getting stronger.
Her hands were balled into fists and her eyes spat sparks at him. “Who the hell is Kat and why are you calling her honey?”
Chapter 11
Larissa stared at Aiden, feeling betrayed, but more than anything she was raging pissed. Her claws pricked her palms, but she didn’t even wince. The powerful sense of jealousy hummed through her, making her body go icy-cold. She hated that Aiden’s simple endearment to another female made her crazy.
Aiden watched her carefully, his mouth curving into a half smile. As if he thought this was funny.
“Is my question amusing?” she bit out. She wanted to wipe that look right off his face.
Taking a tentative, almost cautious step forward, he held up his hands as if he were surrendering. “No, but I like seeing you jealous.”
He liked this? Oh yes, she really wanted to punch him. She took a deep breath and tried to contain this insane feeling. Before she’d exhaled, Aiden crossed the few feet to her and settled his big hands on her hips. As if he thought he had every right to.
Though her first instinct was to lash out, she decided to let him talk first. She didn’t pull back from him, but she also didn’t touch him. She didn’t trust herself not to claw him to shreds. Crossing her arms over her chest, she said, “Explain why you used an endearment on another female. Is she your lover?”