There it was again. Her freaking scent was taunting him. It was so much worse considering she’d been in their apartment all night-letting her scent touch everything. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Between Dimitri’s intense fuck-me eyes and her fuck-me smell, he was going to die.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Rutley was pulled out of his seriously stressful thoughts when he realized Kia was standing right in front of him. She was staring up at him with wide Bambi eyes, and her perfect plump lips were forming a pout of worry. Jesus Christ, was she trying to kill him?
“I’m fine,” he blinked, his breath hitching in his throat. “I’m still trying to wake up. I usually have coffee by now but the pot’s not exactly working at the moment.”
“Ah, so you’re one of those types,” She grinned, her hands falling to rest against her curvy hips. “Gotta have that coffee, don’t ya?”
“As a matter of fact, he does.” Dimitri glowered as he stepped into the kitchen. He was still shirtless, but he’d at least put on some jogging pants. They fit snugly against his hips, not leaving much to the imagination. God damn, someone was trying to kill Rutley for sure now.
“Oh, hi!” Kia chimed as she whirled around to face Dimitri. She put on a bright smile, showing all her teeth as she twirled a lock of bright purple hair around her finger. “Thank you so much for letting me crash here last night. Chivalry isn’t dead yet, is it?”
Rutley snorted softly, rolling his eyes. She had no idea the trouble he’d gone through just to get Dimitri to let her stay. Dimitri didn’t do it because he felt the need to rescue damsels in distress. He did it because Rutley had gotten exceptionally good at giving ‘puppy eyes’.
“Don’t sweat it.” Dimitri mumbled as he started roaming the cabinets. The muscles in his back danced beneath his skin, causing Rutley’s eyes to bulge out of their sockets. He’d seen Dimitri shirtless hundreds of times. This wasn’t any different, right? Of course it wasn’t. Why did he suddenly feel like a teenage boy who’d just seen his first pair of tits?
“Where’s the fucking PB&J?” Dimitri asked as he turned around to stare at Rutley.
“We don’t seem to have any,” Rutley frowned. “Trust me. I already looked for it.”
“Oh, no PB&J?” Kia frowned. “That bites. Do you guys want to get breakfast with me?”
Both males turned to stare at her as if she was out of her mind.
“You do realize there’s about a foot of snow out there, right?” Dimitri asked. “Kadenburg is basically out of service until this shit clears up. The only open place you’ll find is the hospital.”
She chewed her lower lip, rocking back and forth on her heels. She didn’t seem to be bothered by Dimitri’s glares or the contempt laced in his voice. Rutley was a little fascinated by that. Either she had really tough skin, or she simply didn’t care. He wasn’t sure which one it was yet.
“Well then let’s go to the hospital,” she nodded. “I’m sure they have PB&J-and coffee.”
“I’m not going to the hospital just for a sandwich,” Dimitri rolled his eyes. He reached into a small box on the counter, pulling out a snack cake. “I’ll do just fine with this. Thanks.”
“Oh my gosh, is that an Oatmeal pie?” Kia asked with wide eyes.
Dimitri glanced at the cake in his hand before staring at her. He lifted a brow, “Yes…..”
“I love Oatmeal pies.” Kia sighed.
A total of five seconds ticked by before Dimitri grunted.
“Would you like to have an Oatmeal pie?” Dimitri asked flatly.
“Oh, thank you. How very sweet.” Kia batted her eyelashes, and damn it, Rutley felt his rock hard length twitching within the confines of his jeans. Was there anything this girl did that wouldn’t turn him on? It wasn’t easy having both of them in the room with him at the same time.
The she-wolf and the ‘hottie with the red hair’ would surely be the demise of Rutley Holter.
Eleven
He’d never touched a cigarette in his entire life, yet as soon as his parents pulled up outside, Lorcan was immediately asking for one. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to deal with what his mate had just told him. How was he supposed to comfort her? How was he supposed to accept the words she spoke in their bedroom? It was so far-fetched….yet anything was possible in the world of ursithropes.
“Where is she?” Mrs. Bamey asked as she trudged through the snow, making her way towards the steps.
“Inside,” Lorcan replied, lighting the cigarette and taking a long drag. He immediately regretted that. He instantly began to cough, earning a chuckle from his father as he held the cigarette back out to him. “She’s trying to take a hot bath to relax.”
“A hot bath?!” Mrs. Bamey wailed as she turned to stare at him from the top of the steps. “Lorcan, there’s no power anywhere. She’s going to freeze to death.”
“No, she’s not,” Lorcan frowned as he took the steps two at a time, stomping his boots against the wooden flooring to remove the excess snow. “I put a heater in there with her. She’s fine. I wouldn’t let my future wife freeze.”
“Your mother knows that, Lorcan. She’s just on edge,” Mr. Bamey frowned as he joined them on the porch. He had the cigarette Lorcan had previously been smoking between his lips, staring back and forth between his wife and son. “Everybody’s a little on edge.”
“I’m catching onto that.” Lorcan muttered with a frown.
“What’s going on, Lorcan?” His mother asked as her brown eyes gazed at him, full of concern. “You can talk to us, you know.”
“I know,” Lorcan nodded. “But not out here. We need to go inside where it’s warmer.”
“I’m not opposed to that.” Mr. Bamey nodded as he opened the front door and stepped inside. Lorcan and his mother followed behind the older male, welcoming the warmth that embraced them as the door swung shut.
Mrs. Bamey made herself comfortable on the couch with Mr. Bamey at her side, while Lorcan opted to sit down in the recliner across from them.
“I need to know what’s happening to her. She says she saw Liam in her dreams. She says he showed her things about her father and Aunt Natalie. She says..” He lowered his voice. “She saw Urseth himself.”
“What?” Mrs. Bamey gasped. “I mean…Liam?” She asked. “And Urseth?”
Lorcan nodded, “And she said that Liam needed to show her memories she had to understand. He said it’s what Urseth wants.”
“Oh, heavens,” Mrs. Bamey clutched her chest. Her face paled significantly as she turned her head to stare at her husband. “She is a delegate!”
“A what?” Lorcan frowned. How did his parents and Presley know the term, but he didn’t? Wouldn’t that be a part of his vocabulary? He’d known about his heritage a hell of a lot longer than Presley. That just didn’t make sense.
“A delegate,” Mr. Bamey echoed. “They are messengers of Urseth. Ursithropes who are specifically chosen to carry out tasks. They represent Urseth here on earth, and they share his will with the rest of us.”
Lorcan stared at his father in disbelief, “So you’re telling me Presley is one of his messengers?”
“Oh yes,” Mrs. Bamey nodded eagerly. “It is such an honor to be given, and I am not at all surprised.”
“What do you mean?” Lorcan frowned. “I mean…I knew she was special. She can feel others’ emotions and-”
“She’s an empath! Like Louisa!” Mrs. Bamey nearly squealed in excitement. “Oh, good Urseth, she is so gifted. Who could’ve ever imagined she would take after her father and Natty!”
“Wait, what?” Lorcan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Pierce and Natalie Carroll were just like Presley? How had he never known any of this? Why was he just now hearing about a freaking delegate in the first place? Somebody had a lot of explaining to do…..
“Yes,” Mrs. Bamey stated sadly. “Pierce and Natalie were two of Urseth’s delegates, and we all had high hopes that Breslin Connor would carry through with hi
s word of the truce. We were so certain…..he could be persuaded by Pierce.”
“But instead the fucker killed him.” Lorcan mumbled.
“Lorcan Charles Bamey!” His mother snapped angrily. Lorcan actually winced. It was very rare for his mom to toss in the middle name. “I better never hear that word leave your mouth again. I do not care how old you get, I will bend you over my knee and blister your rear, do you hear me?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Lorcan replied apologetically.
“What’s going on?” Presley asked in a soft voice as she entered the living room.
Lorcan turned his head in her direction, taking note of the soft pink robe she was hugging around her body. Her damp curls were still clinging to her face as her green eyes drifted from one person to another.
“Presley, you shouldn’t let your wet hair be exposed to cold air right now,” Mrs. Bamey stated worriedly as she stood from the couch and hurried towards her. “Come here, dear. Sit down.”
Presley was confused as the older female guided her to the couch.
“Did something happen?” Presley asked as her eyes met Lorcan’s.
“Oh, no, sweetheart,” Mrs. Bamey cooed gently before she pushed the golden haired beauty down onto the couch beside of Mr. Bamey. “We just wanted to come check on you; make sure you’re surviving the power outage.”
“Don’t lie to her,” Mr. Bamey grunted as his gaze settled on Presley’s face. “We’re here because Lorcan had a lot of questions.”
“Questions?” Presley frowned. Again she found Lorcan’s gaze as her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth.
Crap. Now she’s going to be mad at me, Lorcan thought as he offered her an apologetic smile.
“Yes. He told us about your dream,” Mrs. Bamey responded as she remained standing, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not trying to pry or anything, sweetheart, but it would help if you could tell me exactly what happened in that dream.”
——————————-
Louisa hated feeling awkward, but what was she supposed to do when her cousin decided to leave a nearly frozen sheriff’s deputy in her care? She didn’t know how to help the poor girl, and she definitely couldn’t handle the fifty different emotions wafting off the female’s body. She was confused, angry, sad, scared, lonely, and so many other things that Louisa couldn’t be sure which was which at this point.
“Here you go,” Louisa said in a gentle tone as she offered a steaming cup of tea to her. “I had to boil the water on top of the kerosene heater. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s fine,” Sammy replied as she accepted the cup of tea. “When I went camping with my dad, we always did things like that. It’s not really any different.”
Louisa settled down in the chair across from Sammy, huddling beneath a blanket as she smiled, “You spent a lot of time with your father?”
“Yeah,” Sammy nodded, sipping at the tea. She licked her lips, sighing. “We were really close.”
“That is nice,” Louisa smiled sadly. She missed her father so much. She missed everyone, but she missed him most of all. “Do you have any siblings?”
“No,” Sammy shook her head. “I don’t have anybody else.”
Her response was so sharp and bitter. It took Louisa by surprise. She definitely did not want to step on the female’s toes. Beau seemed pretty determined to take care of her, so if Sammy told her cousin she’d asked too many questions…..
“I am sorry. It is not my business.” Louisa said quickly.
Sammy quirked a brow at Louisa, tilting her head in confusion.
“What? No. You’re fine. I don’t mind to talk about it. My parents died a few years ago. I don’t have any cousins or anything and my grandparents died when I was way younger. It’s not a big deal, okay?”
“Okay.” Louisa blushed and dropped her gaze to her cup of tea. The power had to come back on soon, right? And then they could at least drown the awkward silence out with some TV.
“So, how long have you and your brother lived here?” Sammy asked after several beats.
“Oh, he’s not my brother,” Louisa smiled. “He’s my cousin, and we’ve only been here a short while.”
“How do you like it so far?”
“I think Kadenburg is lovely. I’ve made some great friends. I believe I could live out the rest of my life here and be happy.”
“Really?” Sammy stared at her like she was insane. “Why? It’s such a small town. There’s nothing to do here. I’ve only been here for a few years but I can’t wait to get out.”
“Why did you move here?” Louisa asked curiously.
She watched as Sammy dropped her gaze to the cup, opting to take another sip rather than answer her. She was nervous, and Louisa realized that perhaps this was not a conversation to have either. Great Urseth, she needed to learn not to open her big mouth at all.
“I’m sorry,” Louisa frowned. “I do not think it is so bad here. In fact, I find most things to be quite wonderful about Kadenburg. It’s sort of magical in a way. Beautiful,” She smiled. “There really are some amazing people here.”
Oh my Urseth, am I fawning over Greg? Is that what I meant by that last statement?
No, no. She could not think of Greg like that. It could not happen-no way, Jose. Never. Their near-kiss had to be forgotten and quickly. Yet, her heart was hammering in her chest as the heat rushed into her cheeks. Greg had tried to kiss her. It meant he liked her, right?
“You okay over there?” Sammy asked.
“Huh? Oh, yes,” Louisa laughed nervously. “I am fine. I was just daydreaming I suppose.”
“I know the feeling,” Sammy admitted with a smile. She was actually quite pretty when she smiled. “I used to be such a big day dreamer. I was a big fan of Fantasy and Lore, you know? I was always lost in another world when I should’ve been paying attention in school.”
“Daydreaming is not always bad,” Louisa said in a smaller voice. “I often like to daydream. It gives us the ability to go back to happier times.”
“Mhm.” Was Sammy’s simple reply as they both fell silent.
Louisa sensed Sammy’s sadness, and it was overwhelming. Something bad had happened to her, too. She chewed her bottom lip, daring to gaze at the other female again. Sammy’s bottom lip was quivering gently as she attempted to take another sip of her tea. What demons did she have?
A light knock sounded on the door, causing both of them to jump. Damn it. Louisa needed to learn to be more focused on their surroundings than this. Beau had entrusted her to keep Sammy safe, though she was certain the female had no issue with protecting herself, and here she was off in La-La land while someone was knocking on the door!
She knew it was not a wolf…well, sort of. Beau had told her what happened outside before leaving, and she knew she was supposed to be on the lookout for lycans. This was definitely a lycan-but only partially. She couldn’t hide the smile sliding over her lips as she pushed herself up from the chair and hurried to the front door.
She eagerly unbolted the lock before pulling the door open and allowed her eyes to land on Greg’s handsome, sad face.
“Greg?” She asked, reaching out for his arm. Why wasn’t he wearing a coat in this weather? She tugged him inside, noting how stiffly he moved as his boots hit against the floor of the apartment. “Greg, what’s wrong? What are you doing out here without a coat on?”
“I didn’t need it,” Greg mumbled as he turned around to stare down at her. “I don’t really get cold anymore.”
True. She could feel how warm he was just by touching him. Despite the fact his nose was red and his cheeks were rosy, he didn’t feel like he’d lost any body heat.
“I hope you don’t mind me stopping by,” Greg continued as he stared down at her. “I didn’t want to go home just yet, and I figured I should check on you and Beau anyway since the power still seems to be out everywhere.”
“Everywhere?” Louisa’s eyes widened. “I thought it was just out on our block.
”
“Shoot, no,” Greg chuckled softly as he stomped his boots against the welcome mat, ridding himself of the excess snow before he stepped out of the way so Louisa could close the door. “It’s out all over town. I don’t know how long it’s going to take them to fix it.”
“That must’ve been some storm,” Louisa frowned as she guided him into the living room. “Greg, this is Sammy. Sammy, this is Greg.”
“Nice to meet you.” Sammy nodded from her place on the couch.
“Likewise, Ma’am.” Greg replied with a small bow of his head. His eyes searched the room before landing on Louisa again. The way he gazed at her always made her stomach feel funny. She knew it was wrong, but there was a part of her that liked when he stared at her like that. She also didn’t mind the emotions he gave off. He was nervous-about seeing her. Though there was another emotion, too…..
“Do you want some tea?” Louisa offered as she moved towards the kitchen. “I just made some.” She said a little louder so he could hear her.
“I’d love some.” Greg said. He was right behind her and it startled her. Louisa gasped and whirled about, nearly crashing into his hard chest.
“Oh, Urseth!” She yelped, tilting her head back to look at him. “I didn’t know you were in here.” She laughed nervously.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Greg smiled gently. It was a tired smile though. He seemed very tired, and a little lost. Something was bothering him.
“You didn’t,” Louisa promised as she wandered to the counter and grabbed the steaming teapot. “So, why were you out and about in the first place?”
“I needed to get away from the house for a bit. My mom was trying to help…I know that…but I just had to get out. The wolf,” he lowered his voice significantly as he spoke to her. “He’s restless. He fights with me all the time. If that’s not bad enough….the bear is right in on it. I feel like I’ve got split personalities most of the time. I don’t know how to please both of them.”
“I see,” Louisa frowned, turning back to him with a fresh cup of tea in hand. “I can’t imagine what that’s like for you, Greg. I’m sorry you have to go through it. I wish I knew how to help.”
The Siege of Kadenburg Page 9