by Kaye Draper
White frowned at me. "Should you be drinking that in your condition?"
I choked and wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. The demon not only knew I was pregnant somehow, but now he was going to pretend he was concerned for my welfare? My life just got weirder and weirder.
"I honestly meant no harm," the vampire said, ignoring White's outburst of care and protectiveness as if it was normal. "I just…had to leave my previous home rather suddenly."
White flexed his fingers, as if holding back a shift. Oh, fuck. If I saw him demon out, I was going to need therapy, I just knew it. I didn't know exactly what kind of demon he was. And I didn't want to know.
"Hunt a little carelessly, did we?" White said in that low, dangerous tone Oisin got sometimes…right before someone ended up dead. "I will not have some bloodsucker who can't keep his teeth to himself messing up my city."
The vampire brushed a hand through his silky blond hair, then stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. "Nah. I'm not a child." He glanced at me. "Sorry about the livestock, by the way. I gather the police had you look into that, if you're really some sort of supe investigator? I didn't want to be so greedy, but I was wounded when I got here and the bats reacted. And…better cows than people, yeah?"
I took another drink of whiskey.
"A wounded vampire comes slinking into my territory without permission, and you think I'm just going to let that slide?" White's deep, smoky voice was laced with that soft threat. He was pissed.
More whiskey.
"I ran afoul of a hunter," the vampire said tiredly, some of his smile drooping. "A rather indiscriminate jerk who thought my living was some sort of offense to him. Even though I abide by the rules." He fluttered those long lashes at White. "I heard a rumor about a sanctuary…."
A sanctuary? What kind of weird shit was White up to now? Not that I cared. I lifted the whiskey bottle for another swig.
The bottled was snatched out of my hand by an irate demon. He capped the bottle, tossed it back in my desk drawer, and slammed the drawer shut.
I rolled my eyes.
"So, the vampire you've been hunting is more of a sad puppy than a psychotic killer. I know this hurts, White, but maybe no concrete shoes today?"
The demon ignored me, spinning back to address the vampire. "You've been avoiding me. If you wanted sanctuary, you could have damned well come and asked, like tradition dictates. Instead, you made me chase you all over the countryside."
Orion was standing quietly in the corner. I glanced at him and saw his lips twitch with suppressed laughter. Yeah, seeing someone get the best of White was pretty awesome.
The vampire's chiseled lips curled up into an absolutely wicked smirk. "I…thought we were playing chase."
I frowned at them. White's eyes had gone completely blood red. That red tone was seeping into his skin again too. He pulled his suit jacket straight with a jerk and spun, fuming. The vampire just continued to smirk. He glanced at White's ass in his suit pants and winked at me. I made a gagging motion. Gross.
"You can stay for now," White warned the vampire. "But if you step one toe out of line, I will destroy you while you sleep. No humans get harmed. No supes show up drained. Come see me at my office and we will find some way for you to feed that is acceptable."
He opened my office door and waved the vampire through. "Now get the fuck out of my dear friend's establishment before I change my mind." He scowled as the vampire walked past. "And stay the fuck away from that girl. She's not your snack."
The vampire raised a brow, but didn't comment. He waved at me. "Thank Con for the coffee for me."
I sank down into my office chair as White closed the door behind the vampire.
I lifted a brow at him when he sat opposite me instead of leaving. "What? You found the vampire. Threatened him into submission. Shouldn't you be going now? Don't you have business interest to shake down or something? Concrete shoes to make?"
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were their usual black color. And his skin was once again normal colored. "I would love to go do something productive, Miss Lionheart," he said calmly. "However my assistant tells me I need to clear up a misunderstanding regarding our relationship first."
I glanced at Orion in surprise, then held up my hands. "What? No. I really don't care if you are fucking your secretary. That's really none of my business, dude."
White let out a long-suffering sigh. "I'm not fucking my secretary, Miss Lionheart. Gesa."
I dropped my hands. "Oh. You're not? Because--"
"Oh, will you shut up for five fucking minutes?"
I snapped my mouth shut, surprised at his outburst. That vampire had really gotten to him. White never lost his temper. No matter how hard I tried to piss him off.
"What I meant," he said slowly. "Was the nature of our relationship, Miss Lionheart. You and me."
I rubbed my hands over my face. "No. You can't join my pride. Sorry. All full."
He put his elbows on the desk, put his face in his hands and…I don't know. Died a little bit, maybe? When he lifted his head, his face was a canvass of frustration and forbearance. "I don't want to fuck you, Gesa. For the love of the God's, I am talking about our…friendship."
I fidgeted in my chair and glanced at Orion, who was still doing the silent butler thing in the corner. I needed help here. "Is your boss sick? Do demons get sick? Maybe he has mad cow disease? Because his brain is rotting."
Orion pressed his lips together and smothered a cough.
White sighed. "It has been brought to my attention, my friend, that you know nothing of demon culture."
I shrugged. "No one does. Newsflash, asshole, you guys are even more rare than vampires, and today was the first time I've ever met one of those." I frowned. "I really did not expect them to be so…glowy. More goth, maybe? Less unicorn?"
White grumbled something about sexy corpses that I was not going to ask him to repeat. "What do you want, White?"
He sighed again. "I want you to understand demon culture. In our realm, everything—business, pleasure, work, relationships—is conducted through a rather intricate system of what you would call…bargains. Deals." He frowned at me. "It's a simple thing to understand, but I suppose a creature such as yourself would struggle with it."
I growled.
He smiled.
"We don't do favors," he said evenly. "We deal in trade."
I remembered all the times I'd gotten the better end of the deal when bargaining with White. Um.
"If a demon finds someone worthy of knowing, we may skew things in their favor," he said slowly. "To show our respect."
This was giving me a headache. "Do you mean…like when Con made baked goods for Orion and Orion found his fucking birth mom in return?"
White smiled like I'd just made teacher proud. He put a big hand over mine on the desk and squeezed, his dark energy creeping over mine. "Exactly. Everything in our world is about power. Things must always be equal. And if a bargain is uneven that is a sign of weakness. Unless you wish to show a person you are fond of them. We don't really have relationships with others in the way most do in this realm. It is…dangerous to trust others of our kind. As Orion can attest."
He glanced at his secretary and Orion nodded, expression grim, still not speaking.
"So," I said, rubbing my temple. "You are saying…?"
He took a deep breath, as if his next words were painful. "I really do consider you a…friend, Gesa. And for me that is…a very rare consideration."
I looked away, uncomfortable. "Fine. Whatever."
He smiled. "I'm glad we understand each other better. Perhaps I should listen to my assistant's advice more often."
Orion smiled.
I huffed.
"Okay, beautiful heart-to-heart. Can I go to sleep now?" I whined. Emoting was awful enough. Emoting with a weird demon? Barf.
He leaned back and regarded me with what was a more typical expression for him. As if he we
re trying to decide if I could be trusted or if I was a complete moron who maybe needed the concrete shoes. "Troya," he said finally.
I stared at him. "Troya. Are you finally going to tell me what the ever-loving fuck is up with that? Are you a pedophile? Cause our sparkly, budding friendship is not going to survive that."
He heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose like I was giving him a headache. "Orion, could you please ask Con for some tea?"
Orion gave me a sad look and slipped out to do his master's bidding—probably so White wouldn't be seen being…vulnerable.
"I am trusting you with something no one else besides Orion knows." Black eyes bored into mine.
I nodded. For whatever reason, I probably wasn't going to betray his trust. I was such a pushover.
"I had a lover once," he said, voice calm and even, showing no emotion. "She was given a choice between mortality and immortality. She chose…mortality. Over me."
I blinked at him, but didn't speak. The whiskey had worn off and I had a feeling it was about to get morose in here.
"She chose humanity over me," he whispered, voice full of pain. "I've waited for her for so long. For her spirit to come back to me."
I didn't know what to say. "You think Troya is…?"
"My heart, reincarnated? Yes. I know she is. But she has no memory of that now."
I slumped. "That's…fuck, that sucks."
He gave me a wry smile. "Aptly put. But there's more."
I made a “keep going” gesture, even though I was pretty sure I didn't want to know. White had always had some sort of ulterior motive, a secret game he was playing. But I never thought it was on the scale of reincarnation and immortality.
"This town," he said, drumming his fingers on the desk. "I promised her, once, that I would show her humans and supernaturals could live together in peace. That is what I've been trying to build here. A place that is safe for everyone." He gave me a bitter grin. "I know you think my methods are at times…harsh. But believe me, it will be worth it. When we need this place most, we will be glad the rules are so firm, so black and white. What is the saying? One can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs?"
I thought back to the things he'd done. Killing humans because they were hunting defenseless shifters. Stopping that old man's heart because he had kept Kai as a slave. Helping me to hunt down and/or rescue any supe that needed it. He was in with the police department, all the charities, all the local avenues of control in the city. He even helped me build up my pride—a group of supes with good morals and strong connections to powerful supe clans that he could turn to for help with supe matters. At times he was terrible and cold, but…was it really all for a good reason?
"Why?" I said softly, feeling a creeping terror that I didn't quite understand. The magnitude of his manipulation was mind boggling.
"At first," he said evenly, "Troya. I wanted a safe place for her. I want…well I want many things regarding the girl, but I doubt any of them will come to fruition. If she can be safe in that cursed mortal skin of hers, that is all I can hope for."
He sighed. "But, as to the rest. Change is coming, Gesa. The supernatural community can only keep up this farce of half-truth for so long. We are going to be revealed, fully. And when that happens, it will not be the most…pleasant of times. We will need a sanctuary. One with iron-clad rules and the integrity to uphold them." His dark eyes were deep, endless pools. “The lost will not need democracies and councils. They will need a ruler with a strong hand to hold the reins.”
I didn't speak. Just took even breaths and let that all sink in. I wanted to call him an idiot. Tell him he was full of shit.
But…it felt right, somehow. Everything that had happened in the last year was building toward something, some big…shift. And my gryphon could sense the ring of truth in his words. Whatever Derek fucking White was, he could see the future in ways I couldn't really grasp. And he was using that knowledge to shape not only this city, but the clans. Through me and the others.
"What do you want from me?" I asked finally.
He met my eyes and his face was open. Free from the mask. "I want someone I can depend on when I need them. Someone I know will act with heart and valor, even when it is the absolute worst thing to do." He smiled a snarky smile at that. "I want…a friend. One I can count on when the rest of the world turns its back on us and tries to eradicate us. I want Troya to have the same, no matter what path her soul has chosen."
I took a deep breath, held it, then let it out in a loud whoosh. "You know, all I wanted was some food, a bath, and a fucking nap. That's all. And you give me this bullshit?"
He smiled fondly at me. "I'm sure you'll adapt, Miss Lionheart. It's what you do, after all."
I growled at him. But he wasn't wrong.
Chapter 15
I was sitting at my desk a week later, trying to figure out whether the new case Oswald had sent me was locusts or a pixie infestation, when my phone rang. For a minute there, I had the same stupid hope that sprang to life every time someone called or emailed. That maybe it was Kai.
Unfortunately, I hadn't heard from my lost sea monster. Hisashi insisted that he didn't think she was in danger. Halstad just looked at me like he doubted my sanity and asked if I had enjoyed getting tossed around like a football. Oisin reminded me that Kai was a fucking kraken, and thus able to fend for herself.
Con was with me, though. We both ate monumental quantities of his homemade ice cream and cookies while freaking out like a couple of heartsick teenagers.
I glanced at my phone screen. Not Kai. But I did have questions for Oswald anyway, so I answered. "I'm not taking care of a pixie infestation on my own," I said immediately. "Those fuckers bite. And the dust itches for days."
The banshee huffed. "I'll get you some warded bags and you can bring them to me for tagging. Have your mage make an anti-itch spell. Use your tiny little bird brain, Lionheart."
I growled.
"I didn't call about the damned pixies anyway," Oswald groused. He sounded even more uptight and harried than usual. "I'm calling about all the damned water types you dumped on me. How the hell am I supposed to get papers and placements in the community for all these weirdos at the same time? Lake Superior is big, Gesa, but I have shit to do other than sit at my desk filing 'witness protection' paperwork."
I pulled the phone away from my ear as his voice rose to banshee levels. "Calm the fuck down, Oswald," I shouted at the phone. "Eagle ears here, asshole."
He tamped down the voice, but he was still stressed out. "Gryphon. I'm about to send this mess right back to your doorstep."
I was so confused. "Witness protection" was the term we used when a supe had to relocate. Standard procedure was to check in with the supernatural authority in the area, and in some cases, they needed new identities. "I thought White took care of all the paperwork and whatnot for the sirens. And you already got the merman squared away. So what the hell are you squawking about?"
He seethed. "Don't play dumb, gryphon. Just so far this week I've had two selkies, a kelpie, five water sprites, and a whole damned pod of dolphin shifters show up. And they all tell me your kraken sent them!"
I was so engrossed in the conversation that I didn't really register who was in the room with me when the office door creaked open. I thought it was just Con come to bring me more goodies to fuel my damned stress eating. I startled when strong, slender fingers wrapped around the phone and took it from my stunned grasp.
"Hello, officer," Kai purred. "Thank you so much for all of your assistance. Gesa has to go now." She hung up on the spluttering banshee.
"About time you showed up," I huffed. "And where the hell have you been?"
She stood there in a floral print dress with a sweater pulled over it—dressed in layers like she'd started out somewhere warm and ended up in Michigan—her long black waves loose and shiny, her dark blue eyes full of mischief, as if nothing at all had happened since I'd seen her last.
She gav
e me a wry smile and pushed my desk chair back away from the desk, sliding into my lap and getting comfortable. I wrapped my arms around her soft curves and tried not to purr. Finally, my damned pride was all under the same roof again.
"I'm sorry it took so long," she said with a wry twist to her soft lips. "My kraken was a tad pissed off when the siren's spell broke. I…lost myself for a while there."
I growled. "Beating their asses wasn't good enough. I should have gutted those damned fish bitches."
Kai patted my arm, where it rested around her waist. "Don't worry about it, gryphon. I'm glad you left me a snack. Kraken rage leaves one quite hungry."
I gaped at her. "You…ate them?"
She lifted one shoulder in a careless half-shrug. "Just the self-proclaimed queen. She was asking for it."
I let my forehead drop against her shoulder, not sure if I should be laughing or barfing.
Everyone probably assumed one of the magic-wielding men in my pride was the most dangerous one among us. They were dead wrong. Kai's sense of what was right and wrong was…well, about what you'd expect from an ancient sea monster.
I squeezed her tighter, lifting my head for the thorough kiss she pressed to my lips.
"How is everyone?" Kai said when she was done leaving me breathless. "I vaguely recall…a boat?"
I sighed. "Your kraken ass tried to kill us all. But we survived." Shaking my head, I couldn't help but add, "you fucking threw me, Kai. It was like one of those dumb B movies where the monster destroys the whole town."
Her eyes went wide and she reached down to put a hand on my stomach. "Oh, Gods. Is the baby okay?"
I just stared at her. "The baby?"
She smirked. "Oh, sorry. Is that still a secret?"
"You know?" I said, no knowing what to feel.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not blind, Gesa. You'd have to be so stupid not to see the signs. I knew you weren't ready to talk about it though."
I huffed. "The others didn't know until I told them."