Sleeper_Google, page 20
part #3 of Hunter Series
I don’t know that afraid was the right word. It seemed to me that it had been equal parts fear and pure wonder as Nemcox had stared at Lee.
“How could he be more? I suppose he has some faery genes. Males cannot be companions, but he could potentially have some of his father’s Green Man powers.” Marcus reached out, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Merlin has absolutely nothing to fear from a human child, and that is what Lee is. The demon is trying to trick you. Let’s go to the king and discuss this. He’ll know what to do. He’ll call Myrddin and solve all of this quickly.”
My heart raced. “No. I’ll handle it all myself.” Had I made a terrible mistake in telling Marcus the truth? Casey had told me the queen reported Donovan had an irrational love for the wizard. For Merlin…
“Is Merlin also known as Satanspawn?” That was what Casey had called him.
Marcus chuckled. “It’s nothing for you to worry about. He’s the product of a human woman and an incubus. That forms the demon part of his soul, hence the ridiculous nickname.”
Beware the spawn.
That was what Gray had told me. I hadn’t realized what it meant, but now I had a big old bet.
“Marcus, you have to promise me you won’t talk to Donovan.”
His brows rose. “Why would I do that?”
“Because I’m asking you to. Because this matters to me and I have to have the time to figure out what’s best.”
“Which is precisely why we should talk to His Majesty,” Marcus insisted.
“No.” I was getting desperate. If Donovan went to the wizard, there would be nothing I could do. “Please. I need time to figure a few things out. I can’t have the king going to the wizard. If you’re wrong and he’s not lying, then my father could die.”
A hand soothed down my arm. “Hush, bella. You have my word. I’ll be silent for now, but you have to know I’ll do anything to stop you from signing that contract.”
And I had to do anything to save my father.
The doors to the elevator opened. I turned, terrified of what could happen next.
Gray was on one side of the elevator, his horns out. He seemed to grow larger than normal when he took his demon form. His shirt was ripped and bloody and it looked like he’d gotten bitten in several places.
There was a big gray wolf on the other side of the elevator. He looked like he’d taken a beating, too. His fur was matted with blood, but I couldn’t see any open wounds.
How was I supposed to handle this? Two men were twice the anxiety and definitely double the trouble. I’d basically had sex with both of them in the past twenty-four hours and my first instinct was one I’d refined at junior high dances—I thought about running away and crying in the bathroom. They wouldn’t come after me in the girls’ room. I could hide out there forever. Liv could bring me food and I could sleep there. It would be a quiet life.
Trent growled, the fur on his back standing up straight.
Gray turned as though preparing to square off again. I could see the claws on his hand. They were razor sharp. “Why don’t we see if all that king’s blood in your system can keep you alive when I pluck your heart out of your chest and piss on it.”
Marcus chuckled behind me as though this was all terribly amusing. “It’s at times like this that you must ask yourself an important question.”
I could think of a few. What the hell was I thinking falling for two men when I couldn’t handle one? Could I live happily alone in a rain forest? Why not give lesbianism a real shot? “What’s that?”
“What would Zoey do? It’s really the only way to go, bella.” Marcus stepped back.
What would Zoey do? Well, the queen sure as hell wouldn’t spend her time crying in the bathroom. The Queen of all Vampire would show the boys who the boss was.
So I could run and allow them to be drama queens, or I could take control of my damn scene.
“Grayson Sloane, you are not going to urinate on Trent’s heart.” I moved in between them, giving them both my sternest look. “Trent, you are not going to rip out his throat. Yeah, I know what that growl meant, buddy. You will both behave.”
Gray’s eyes bore into mine. They were dark as night, his pupils drowning out all the white. “Or what, Kelsey mine? Or am I even able to call you that now? Tell me something. Were you trying to enjoy yourself before you’re forced into monogamy? Perhaps my brother has the right idea. Perhaps only a contract will keep you faithful.”
Trent growled again.
If I was stuck down in Hell with Gray, we were going to make a few things plain between us. I pointed a finger Trent’s way because I was so going to be the one to handle this. “Don’t you even try. You sit. Marcus, I need a few minutes alone with these two.”
Marcus tipped his head, the hint of a smile playing on his lips as he backed away. “Of course, bella. I will go and see if Lord Sloane needs anything. Don’t keep us waiting too long.”
He walked away and I was left with my two bloody suitors. I pointed to the conference room where we might have some semblance of privacy. The doors were thick and warded to keep prying supernatural ears out.
Gray strode in, not bothering to look back at me. He hadn’t much looked at me at all after he’d stared his fill the first time. He didn’t try to touch me either. Months we’d been apart and this was what I got.
Trent sat and stared at me, his wolfy eyes narrow.
I shook my head. “I’m not apologizing to you. I’m not the one who got into a fight. Do I even want to know what happened to your pants?”
He growled again, a low sound that let me know if he wanted to he could go find them right now. He chose something different. Naturally—and yes, I see the pun there—he simply stood up and became his gorgeous man self. He put his hands on his muscled hips. “I wasn’t trying to start a damn fight, Kelsey. He attacked me.”
Gray turned, his back to the windows that showed a lovely view of downtown Dallas. “And I would have killed you, too. Let’s see how strong you are when you’re not high off of the king’s blood.”
Trent started to growl and then his expression collapsed into one of pure confusion. He paced the floor, one hand running over his hair. “What the fuck was that, Sloane? I thought we had a deal. How exactly did you think I was going to be able to calm her down? Did you honestly think her wolf is going to be satisfied with some handholding and girl talk? Did you expect I could ease her rage with some ice cream and a couple of rom coms? If it was that simple, you should have brought Liv into this.”
I needed to take control. And to stop looking between them and wondering how the hell I’d managed to get myself in this position between two gorgeous men. “First off, sexist much? Talking about one’s relationships is healthy and not contained to one gender. Which is precisely why I don’t do girl talk. I drink tequila and sleep with the wrong people when I’m emotionally upset because I am not healthy and don’t you forget it. Second. What the fuck is this plan of Gray’s?”
“I put a plan in place to protect you when I’m gone,” Gray said between clenched fangs. “The operative words being when I’m gone. Trent here decided that because I needed to use his body to help you last night that he’s welcome to take what he wants. I’m going to explain the situation to him. And then I’ll find another damn wolf to take his place.”
I watched as Trent’s hands shifted slightly, claws popping out of his fingers. “You try to put another wolf in her bed and you’ll have a dead wolf on your hands. I’ll send you to Hell early, demon.”
I noticed a couple of people who worked for the Council walking by. Beth, a witch from accounting, was almost immediately on her cell phone. Gossip. At least it was still daylight and most of the vamps were tucked away or I might have had a bigger audience.
Again, this was a time to ask what Zoey would do. She might show her boobs and bring her men together in a magical ménage that would bring harmony to the world. But then I sometimes thought light and joy probably shot out of her nipples like at a Katy Perry concert.
I did not have her spectacular boobs, so I was going to have to rely on what I did well.
Sarcasm and not giving a shit.
I sank down into one of the conference chairs and sat back, putting my booted feet right on that sucker that likely had been built by artisans from the Faery plane and cost Quinn a bundle. “Hey, if you two are going to fight again, at least make it interesting for me. Sloane, ditch the clothes and let’s oil you two up.”
Trent’s eyes rolled, but Gray stopped for a moment as though trying to wrap his head around what I was saying. “Why would we oil up?”
Trent shook his head and moved toward the big closet where I was sure the business guys kept their extra pens and stuff. Apparently they also kept extra pairs of sweatpants. Trent pulled out a gray sweatsuit with the Ether logo on it and got dressed while he spoke. “She wants us to wrestle naked and oiled up, and she’s probably going to sell tickets because she’s a little pervert.”
He softened that with a wink, but he was wrong about that. “I’m not a pervert. I’m thrifty. I’m about to lose my billionaire sugar daddy and mama needs some cash for beer.”
Gray stared at me while Trent shook his head.
“I didn’t mean to fight with him, Kelsey,” Trent said, perfectly calm now. “We seem to have reached a point of misunderstanding in our agreement.” He winced a little. “And I know I need to explain that to you better than I have.”
“He was supposed to take care of you after I descend,” Gray explained tightly. “And that is all you need to know.”
“Jesus,” Trent said under his breath. “And I thought I was difficult.” He turned back to Gray. “Buddy, if this is going to work, you can’t say things that are going to make her want to take your balls off. Do you plan on descending without your balls? You want to leave them up here on the Earth plane as a souvenir for the rest of us?”
Trent seemed to know me better than Gray, but then when I honestly thought about it, Gray and my relationship had been brief. We hadn’t spent more than a week or so together before we’d been torn apart the first time. Then I’d been in Italy and he’d been walking the Earth plane.
Trent and I had been friends a lot longer. Trent didn’t see me as some princess on a pedestal. Trent knew I liked burgers and beer and was capable of taking a dude’s balls if he pissed me off enough.
Was it possible that he actually cared about me?
“I wasn’t trying to make her angry with me,” Gray said, visibly calming. “I’ve only ever been interested in protecting her.”
“Is it protecting me or possessing me?” I had to ask the question.
Gray shook his head. “Don’t even start in on that. I gave you up to Marcus when you needed him. When you needed me and I couldn’t physically be with you, I allowed Trent to host me.”
“With a sword in my gut,” Trent complained.
Gray shook his head. “Can you leave us alone for a few moments? This should be a private discussion between me and my…between me and Kelsey.”
“Absolutely not.” Trent sank into one of the chairs, making himself comfy. “I’m part of this and I’m not going away. If this is going to work, we don’t have secrets.”
I held up a hand. “If this is going to work, I need to know what this is.”
Gray placed his hands palms down on the table, looming over both of us. “This is a means to protect you after I descend. I’ve done an enormous amount of research into Hunters and how your kind functions. If not completely bonded to an academic who also has an affinity with wolves, the Hunter usually dies young. She becomes unstable and must be put down.”
Yeah, story of my life. The sad truth was in the beginning I’d kind of accepted that would be my fate. It seemed fitting and honestly, life kind of sucked. Then I met Gray and Marcus. Then I moved into this place and found some meaning. I helped people. I did good.
And you know what? I fucking like beer and burgers and a good rom com, and I liked hanging with Trent.
I had to accept that at some point, I decided I want to live.
“All right, so the problem with Marcus and myself is that he doesn’t have this affinity for wolves? That seems weird because he’s popular among the wolf packs.” Especially in Italy. They loved him there, which was odd since vamps and wolves usually were wary of each other.
“It’s not the same,” Gray explained. “The wolves in Italy see Marcus as a patron of sorts. He’s been good to them and the wolves trust him in a way they don’t trust other vampires, but that’s not what I mean by affinity. The king has an affinity for wolves. He can call them, which is precisely why so many distrust him. If it weren’t for Quinn and the queen performing their fertility rituals, they likely would never have joined the king’s Council.”
I was assuming by “call,” Gray didn’t mean on a cell phone. “Are you telling me Donovan can control wolves?”
“He never uses the power,” Trent insisted and for the first time since we’d started this conference, he looked less than comfortable. “He’s never once used it on me.”
“No, you play the king’s puppet because you like to,” Gray shot back.
I was getting sick of his new attitude. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, get your ass out of here.”
He put out a hand and seemed to try to calm himself. “I’m sorry. Being near my father, it can be unsettling. When he transported me, he went through the Hell plane. I’m afraid I felt more of that than I would like.”
His hand went to his side and I wondered. In some ways Gray was as two-natured as I or Trent were. Although in Trent’s case, he had been born fully integrated with the wolf inside him. He didn’t question or try to quell his instincts the way Gray and I did.
We were an odd lot when I thought about it. All three of us had feet planted in both worlds, but only Trent was comfortable with it. Only Trent had grown up understanding what his second nature meant.
Only Trent knew how to completely calm my wolf. He did it through touch and patience, and a nice bit of alpha-male dominance.
Gray seemed to be trying to force himself to chill. I knew how hard that could be sometimes, but Gray also had a switch that was a little bit like mine.
I stood up and moved to him. His hand was over the spot where his dragon lay inked into his skin. I wasn’t planning on making a big deal out of this. I didn’t want another boy fight unless I got them naked and oiled up, so I decided Gray could talk through this particular exercise. “So wolves like me tend to go crazy because we can’t bond to anyone but an academic who can call wolves. Is that what you’re saying? I’m going to need you to pull up your shirt.”
We would get back to the whole part where Donovan could potentially make my new honey his bitch. I wasn’t letting that go, but it seemed like we had other things to concentrate on for now.
Gray looked down at me. “Pull up my shirt?”
“So she can lay hands on your dragon,” Trent supplied. He nodded toward me. “I think that’s a good idea. He’s obviously in need of comfort.”
“Comfort?” Gray asked, but he did pull his shirt from his slacks.
I slid my hand over his skin and immediately felt the warmth of the dragon responding to me.
Gray gasped and his eyes closed. “Comfort. I’d forgotten.”
“See, wolves never forget. Touch is healing. Touch is comfort,” Trent said.
“Did you have to touch her clitoris?” But Gray didn’t move and his eyes didn’t come open.
Trent chuckled. “Absolutely. Her wolf requires a firm hand, my brother.” He sobered a bit. “She was upset. I don’t think her wolf likes the idea of being caged on the Hell plane. You understand how poorly that would go?”
Yes, there it was. Anxiety spiked through my system at the thought of never walking the Earth plane again, never feeling the moon pull at my soul. I didn’t change the way a normal wolf would, but I ran on full moons. I ran like the wind and it eased my soul. I wouldn’t have that on the Hell plane. I would have nothing.
Gray’s hand eased over mine as though holding me to the dragon. “I will never allow that to happen to you, Kelsey mine. And yes, Trent, I can feel it in her right now. It’s welling up inside like a noxious poison. Still, I never meant… I didn’t think you would take her until I was gone. I thought she would be mine for a while longer.”
I took a deep breath and let my head rest against Gray’s back. I could feel him calming and his words had meant something to me. I loved this man. I wasn’t sure why, but he was my soul’s mate. I’d tried to fight it, but it never worked. No matter how much I’d cared about Marcus, my heart had always been Gray’s.
And yet I wanted Trent to move in behind me, his hands going over my skin and giving me the same comfort I was giving to Gray. I wanted to be between these two men in a way I’d never considered before that day in the winter when all things had been possible. When I’d seen what we could become if we worked together.
“It doesn’t have to be like that.” Trent was watching us intently.
“And how would you know?” Gray asked.
“Because I see it every single day,” Trent replied quietly. “Because I’ve been around a family like this for years and they make it work.”
Gray shook his head and broke our connection. He moved away from me. “No. That wasn’t my plan at all. Look, there’s no happy ménage at the end of this for us. I’m going to Hell. There’s no happy anything for me.”
“He has to let you out,” I argued. “You’re a dark prophet. You have to be allowed to roam the Earth plane as well.”
“Do I? I’m sure as long as I’m willing to prophesize for my father, I’ll be allowed some access to the Earth plane, but have you thought about what that means, Kelsey? I would be helping my father. My father’s job is to torture souls, to ensure that Lucifer makes his monthly quota, so to speak. He also would like very much to widen his influence on this plane. Did you honestly believe I would do that? Do you think I’m going to be a good little demon and help hurt others so I can maybe make it back here once a month and go on a date with you?”
