by Katie Reus
“I’m going to stay and wait for her. I’ll let Bo know you guys have left,” Jason said, his voice casual, but Keelin wasn’t fooled. She was pretty certain the male was interested in Nyx.
“I’ll make sure Keelin gets back to the mansion safely,” Bran said before she could respond.
She dug her elbow into his stomach, not that it would do anything considering how built the male was, but she didn’t like him just taking over. She also didn’t feel like arguing with him in front of the others so she simply nodded. “We’ll meet you back there soon.”
Hopefully they could figure out what was going on and who was after her. She’d just started making friends and carving out a new life and didn’t want to leave it all behind. In fact, she refused to. Now that she had a taste of freedom she would fight tooth and nail to keep it.
Chapter 6
Finn leaned back in his office chair and rubbed a hand over his face. The male looked exhausted after listening to everything Keelin and Bran told him. If the Alpha wanted her to leave his territory, she wouldn’t blame him, but she hoped he didn’t. “Low tier hunter demons,” he muttered. “I’ve never heard of that.”
“Bo seems like he’s willing to be open with information,” Keelin said quietly.
Nodding, Finn didn’t respond and Keelin figured he wasn’t going to trust the half-demon to be his only source of information.
“I’ll reach out to Justus,” Lyra said from her perch on the edge of his desk. The Alpha’s vampire mate was a couple inches taller than Keelin and blonde as well. She was much younger though at roughly ninety years old.
Still, she seemed light-years older than Keelin, her knowledge of the world clearly more vast. Unlike Keelin, she hadn’t been sheltered.
“Who’s Justus?” Bran asked.
Lyra shifted a fraction against the desk, glancing back at her mate before answering. “A male from my former coven. He was a Roman general so he’s been around a long time. He might know something or know someone who does.”
“Until we know more about what the demons wanted or who sent them, I’ve increased patrols around the city.” Finn looked at Keelin as he spoke. “Just be smart when going to work. I’m not going to check up on you, but tell someone where you’re going to be at all times. You should do that anyway. We all do here. It’s the pack way.”
“Okay.” Keelin had no problem with that. She’d been doing it since she’d started staying here anyway. She liked the pack sense of responsibility for each other. It was exactly like her clan, they all watched out for one another. It was more or less a shifter thing.
Finn looked at Bran then and they seemed to have a silent conversation for a few long moments until finally they both sort of nodded and Finn spoke again. “You must be tired so I’ll let you get Bran settled in. I’ve set him up in the room next to yours.”
Keelin’s first instinct was to say no but the Alpha had been so kind to her and her brother—something she’d never forget. For the way the male had taken care of Drake, Keelin would always be in his debt. And Finn looked so tired right now that she wasn’t going to bitch about anything. Even if it rankled her that he’d placed Bran in the room next to hers. Well room wasn’t really the right word, more like small apartment. All the rooms in the mansion were ridiculously spacious. “Thanks, I will.”
Once they were out in the hall, which was thankfully empty, Bran said, “I should just stay in your room after what happened.”
Snorting, she shot him an incredulous look and continued toward the end of the hall. “You’d like that.”
“I would. So would you.” He dropped his voice an octave, the sensuousness of it not lost on her. And he was so smug looking.
She couldn’t deny that she’d love sharing a room with him, but she wouldn’t tonight. They needed to lay out some ground rules and more than that, she needed to steel herself for the incendiary attraction between them. “I’m not going to deny that I want you, but if we…” she quickly searched for the right phrase, “…hook up, then that doesn’t mean you have some claim on me.”
Something in his demeanor shifted in that moment and she wasn’t sure what it was. She motioned that they should turn left at the end of the hall.
“If we hook up?” he asked, his voice completely neutral.
“Well…” She knew he wanted her so why was he asking. Had she used the wrong phrase? No, she’d heard her cousins and other clan members use it before. It usually meant to engage in a sexual relationship.
Biting her bottom lip, she turned away from him and smiled politely at a male warrior who passed them in the hall. He gave Bran a curious look before nodding at her and continuing past them. When she looked back at Bran he was scowling. “What’s that look?”
His green eyes flashed in annoyance. “Nothing. So, if implies you’re thinking about it.”
Sighing, she stopped in front of a wooden door. “This is you. And yes, I would like to…” She trailed off when another male turned into their hallway at the other end. “Can we talk in your room?” she asked quietly, not wanting everyone in her business. She’d learned early on that it was almost impossible to keep secrets here, but that didn’t mean she planned to broadcast this conversation.
Bran opened the door wordlessly and ushered her in, his hand at the small of her back. He flipped on the light to reveal a masculine-looking room with big, wooden furniture. There weren’t any personal items and the art on the walls were all black and white prints of wolves or the moon at various stages. Very fitting. Two doors were halfway open, one to a bathroom and another an Asian inspired sliding door to what looked like a walk-in closet. A suitcase and a duffel bag sat on a bench at the end of the king-sized bed.
“Do you want to sit?” Bran asked, looking oddly nervous as he motioned to a chaise near one of the oversized windows.
“No thank you.” She just wanted to get this conversation over with, to lay things out between them so they were both on the same page. “How long are you planning to stay in town?” she asked, motioning to the bags.
He lifted those broad shoulders. “As long as it takes.”
“You’re here for a job of some kind?” Because he hadn’t been exactly clear on that point.
“Yes.” He wasn’t lying, but it annoyed her that he wasn’t giving her more information.
She pursed her lips together. “Well, what kind?”
He sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze on her intense. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
Keelin remained where she was closer to the door, liking the small separation between them. “Fair enough.”
“Why are you fighting a mating? I thought all females…” He trailed off, getting that uncomfortable expression again. One she couldn’t quite read.
She leaned against the door, wrapping her arms around herself. “You think just because I’m a female I should want to get mated? Like what, I’ve been dreaming of this day my whole life?” Like humans she’d read about who dreamed of big weddings. No thank you.
“Well, maybe. The mated females in my clan are all happy.”
“And none of them had any issues or drama with their mates before they were mated?”
He snorted. “I didn’t say that.”
“Exactly. Look, my parents…” Who she so did not want to think about right now, but couldn’t get them off her mind as she worried about when or if they’d officially risen from their Protective Hibernation, “…kept me more than a little sheltered.” Translation: smothered. “I’ve never had any fantasies about mating. All my dreams were about freedom and now I’ve gotten a taste of it, I love it. This new world is great and while I would like to experiment with you—”
He lifted a sardonic eyebrow. “Experiment?”
Her cheeks flushed, but she continued. “I want to lay out some ground rules. Basically, just one. No mating will be in our future.”
“I demand more than that. For the duration of our…arrangement,” he said the word as if it offended h
im, “you will be intimate with me and me alone.” A low growl rumbled from him, the sound deadly.
She understood the sentiment. The thought of him with another female made her inner dragon flare to life, ready to slice him to ribbons. “Deal. And you will only be with me.”
He snorted, as if that was a given. The sound pleased her far more than it should.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do or where to go or who I can talk to,” she continued.
Bran rose from the bed, all sleek lines and deadly grace as he approached her. “I don’t want to chain you down, Keelin. I just want to get to know you. Take you on a fucking date.”
“Really?” So many of her clan members were familiar with dating and it was something she wanted to try. “I’ve never been on a date.”
“Me neither.”
There was no acidic scent to his words indicating a lie, but it was hard to believe. “Truly?”
“The females I’ve been with… Ah, never mind,” he muttered.
Yeah, she so didn’t want to go there either. She might not want to be mated, but she didn’t need to hear about his history. “Then we will go on a date.”
“Are you asking or ordering?” he asked, amusement in his voice.
“I believe I’m ordering,” she said in her best, haughty princess voice, hoping he understood she was teasing. The thought of bossing this sexy, dominating male around was oddly arousing, even if it was an illusion. Bran would never let any female tell him what to do. But if they were going to get to know one another, she needed a male who she could relax around.
To her surprise, he grinned, the action softening his entire face so that he didn’t look like an intimidating Alpha, but a sweet male who just wanted to take her on a date. “You’re sexy when you boss me around,” he murmured, crossing the last couple feet between them.
He was sexy all the time, she thought, but didn’t say it aloud. She was certain a male like him didn’t need his ego stroked any more. Taking her by surprise again, he placed both of his big hands on the door next to her head and leaned down.
She dropped her arms and immediately moved her hands to his chest. She tangled her fingers in his shirt. Without thinking, she pushed up from the door, stepping into the protection of his body. Her eyes grew heavy-lidded as she inhaled that dark winter scent of his.
When he leaned down, running his nose along her jaw and up to her ear, she shuddered, her nipples growing painfully tight at just that bare contact. Her experience was so paltry and she wasn’t sure what, if anything, she should do next.
“I love your scent,” he murmured, his deep voice soothing to all her senses even as her heart rate kicked up.
She started to slide her hands up his chest when he sighed and stepped back. His dragon was in his gaze as he watched her. “Go out on a date with me tomorrow—tonight.”
It was well after midnight so they were in the early morning hours of a new day. She started to say yes when she remembered that Rhea had promised to train her that evening. “I can’t, but I’m free tomorrow.”
Jaw clenched tight, he nodded and stepped back fully from her. “I’ll plan something for us.”
She wanted to touch him again, to run her fingers, mouth and tongue all over that hard body. Now that they’d laid things out and he understood she wasn’t looking for a mate they were free to enjoy each other. But she wasn’t quite that brave. Not yet. Making the first move was hard and she knew she should probably just shove her shyness aside but couldn’t make herself do it. In fact, her inner dragon refused to let her make the first move. Instead of doing what she craved, she reached for the doorknob behind her and tugged it open. “Okay, I’ll see you soon then.”
He just nodded, but the energy pumping off him was fierce and a little overwhelming. She knew if she stayed any longer she’d do something she’d regret so she stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind her.
Letting out a jagged breath, she hurried to her room on shaky legs. Throwing herself at Bran would be a mistake, maybe that’s why her inner dragon had held her back. She might want the male desperately, but with an Alpha male she knew she needed to keep some boundaries between them. To make it clear that she could take him or leave him. That she was completely in control.
Even if that was the furthest thing from the truth.
* * *
It took all of Bran’s control not to chase after Keelin like some trained puppy. Instead of doing what he wanted, he pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket and called his former boss.
August McGuire picked up on the second ring despite the early hour. “Yeah?”
“That shit you wanted me to look into… Does it involve demons?”
“Why?”
“Answer the damn question.”
The male was quiet for a long moment. August was a Kodiak bear shifter hybrid, though no one knew what his other shifter half was or how old the male was. And Bran didn’t want to know. He had enough secrets and knowing any more about his former black ops boss wasn’t something he wanted to add to his knowledge base. There was a rustling on the other end then the sound of a door shutting. Finally August spoke. “Couple weeks ago one of my guys got a call from a contact. A dragon was found dead a couple towns from where you are now.”
Bran’s back straightened. “You’re just telling me this now?”
“Why the hell do you think I sent you?”
Bran had assumed it was because August had known he was headed to Biloxi and wanted a favor. The male hadn’t said a word about a dead dragon. “You don’t have anyone else?”
“No dragons on my team at the moment.”
Okay, that made sense. “What kind of dragon was it?”
“Moana. I’ve got official confirmation from someone in their clan, but the coloring’s right anyway so we would’ve known.”
“It was in dragon form?” Bran didn’t bother keeping the disbelief out of his voice. It was hard to take down a dragon in animal form. Usually that only happened by another dragon and when it did, the victor dragon just burned the other one to ashes. There’d be no body left to find.
“Yeah. Female. One of my guys says that it looks as if she was being tortured in human form and her animal took over despite being confined to a space too small to accommodate her animal. Cage must have been spelled or something so she couldn’t break it, but she still shifted, breaking a lot of bones. Not sure where she was tortured, but it wasn’t where she was found.”
Bran shoved back the annoyance inside him at the lack of information sharing even as he contemplated the new info. Moving a dragon while in dragon form was damn hard. Especially unseen. So if someone had moved the body from where she’d been originally tortured, that was…interesting. “You’re such an untrusting bastard,” he finally muttered.
If August had told Bran all this earlier it would have made a difference. Instead August had made it sound like he just needed a small favor.
“I wanted to see what you could find without any information from me. This isn’t the first dragon to go missing. I wanted your ears on the ground.”
Closing his eyes, Bran rubbed his temple and sat back on the edge of the bed. He shouldn’t be surprised by his former boss, but it still pissed him off. The male had often sent him on missions with only half the information. It was like a test, probably to see if Bran was still on his game. “You’re going to send me every scrap of info you have on whatever it is you want to investigate and you’re going to tell me the final objective. I’ve got a lot of shit I’m dealing with, I’m in another Alpha’s territory, and I’m doing you a fucking favor. I will not do this mission blind. You don’t like it, find someone else.” Because if this involved Keelin, even remotely, he needed to know everything in order to keep her safe.
August let out a loud, sharp burst of laughter. “I’ve missed you, Devlin. The objective is to figure out what the fuck is going on. A few dragons in the area have gone missing, all Moana. There were some strange carvings
on the dead female so I’ll email you the pictures. No one on my team knows and nowhere in any database can we find the origin of the symbols so I don’t know if demons are involved. I don’t know shit at this point. You’re not the only one dealing with a shitstorm of stuff. This dragon thing is low on my radar but I know how quickly things turn around so I wanted someone I trusted on it before things escalated.”
“Work that bad?”
The male grunted. “Same old politics. I’ll probably retire next year.”
Bran snorted. August had been saying that for as long as he’d known him. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“So why are you asking about demons?”
He ignored the question. “Send me what you’ve got and I’ll see if I can get someone to nail down the origin of the symbols. Do you have a list of where the dragons went missing from, any other info about them?” Because dragons were so damn secretive he knew his old boss might not have that kind of info just yet.
“I’m working on it. You know any of the Moana clan?”
“No, but I’ll reach out to their Alpha.” From what Bran had heard their Alpha was a female and a good leader.
“Keep me updated.” August disconnected before Bran could respond, not that it surprised him.
Tossing the phone onto the bed beside him, he laid back against the comforter for a moment and covered his face with his arm. Finding out about missing dragons was not a simple fucking favor. August had made it sound like there were some strange supernatural happenings going on in Biloxi and that was it. Just a quick little investigation, nothing more. Considering strange and supernatural tended to mix together like rum and coke, it wasn’t all that odd. He didn’t want to worry about anything else but courting Keelin, but if his own kind were missing… No way in hell was he letting that go unchecked.
* * *
Naram leaned back against the booth in Bo Broussard’s establishment. It was potentially foolish to be here, but he wanted to know more about the male who owned it. Naram wasn’t a demon, but he’d found demons could be very useful.