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“I want you to call in reinforcements. I can handle Banner, hell, even Cian and Odhran, but all those wolves will be trigger-happy.” I scrubbed a hand over my jaw and stared at the floor, thinking of the next steps.
There was no way to postpone this. I’d keep Kayla here where she’d be safe, keep a few of my soldiers to stand guard. I felt sick at the thought of leaving her, and every single part of me went against it. It was like trying to breathe underwater, unable to stop yourself from doing the act because your lungs burned and your body desperately needed oxygen. But still, you fought it; still, you thrashed against it.
Fuck.
“It’ll take them a couple of hours to get here. If the wolves want to finish this, then fine, we’ll fucking finish this. I’ll make some calls for transportation, protection, and make sure it’s all set up.” I leveled a hard stare at James. “But after you make the calls, James, I need you to do something.”
He nodded slowly. “Of course.”
James had been rubbing me the wrong way lately, which wasn’t unusual for males in the Otherworld. All of us were alpha deep down, the need for dominance ingrained in each of our cells. So there were always those who tried to go against the grain, to assert their need for more power.
And I was pretty sure that’s what the fuck was going on with James. Harmless in itself, but an irritation I didn’t need, especially right now, so shutting that shit down ASAP and putting James in his place had to be done.
I leveled him with a glare and took a step closer. Bear, who’d been silent up until now, made a deep sound of warning in the back of his throat but otherwise stayed by the fireplace. “Take the underground tunnels and get the fuck out of my house and learn your place, yeah?”
21
Kayla
An entire day and had night passed since I sat beside Adryan for dinner and let him tell me the craziest shit I’d ever heard. I stayed in my designated room, not trusting myself around him, and more than a little freaked out by the revelations he’d told me.
I was living in a fantasy world apparently.
Adryan had come by once and surprisingly gave me a cell phone. But only after he made sure to tell me the phone was untraceable, reminding me I didn’t know where we were at, and then ended that spiel with how he was the “most powerful fucking vampire,” so calling the police was laughable.
But I wasn’t stupid, and I did want to be safe. And that was here with Adryan. So after I’d taken the phone and promptly asked him to leave, then added a little cold shoulder his way so I could try to grasp all of this, he left me alone.
The only other people who had come by were those who clearly worked for Adryan, their white and black designated staff attire giving them away.
And then there was Bear, my silent companion, who would sit at the end of the bed and huff out exasperated breaths every once in a while as he tracked me with his knowing, dark eyes.
I didn’t realize how much I’d come to enjoy the massive dog’s presence, but I found myself reaching out and scratching behind his ear, or stroking my hand over his boxy head every time I passed him.
And they hadn’t taken “no” for an answer, clearly didn’t give two shits about my personal space. A young woman had come by to clean up the room, make the bed, and drop off clothing and personal items.
As in my clothing and personal items. Someone had gone to my home and raided my closet and dresser, brought my shampoo and condition over, hell, even my toothbrush and razor.
And then an older woman had come by three times with a tray of food. So although I wanted to be alone and stayed in the room to mope and stew and just, hell, think—which I felt like, given my situation, a little temper tantrum was understandable—there always seemed to be someone stopping by with something.
I wanted to hate Adryan, but it was becoming really hard when he was making sure I was taken care of, when he was bringing me my personal items to clearly make me feel more at home.
So I’d used that cell and called the only person who would give a shit where I was if I came up missing. Sasha. After fabricating a story about needing to get away, assuring her that I was fine, just bogged down with “life stuff,” and feeling like she didn’t believe me but also didn’t press, I was now leaving the confines of the bedroom and exploring.
Because the truth was staying in that bedroom all day trying to come to terms with everything had helped, but then again, it also hadn’t. Because when your only company is your own thoughts, you tend to keep going around and around in circles.
But I guess I had come to terms, because what were my other options?
For the last twenty minutes, I’d stayed on the upper level, being nosy as hell but disappointed that a lot of the doors were locked. Other than bedrooms, bathrooms, and an office that looked like it hadn’t ever been used, the upper level didn’t offer much of a reprieve from my thoughts.
I found myself walking down the circling staircase, my hand sliding seamlessly on the polished banister. The warm, glittering lights from the chandelier hanging in the center of the foyer cast the prettiest glow across the grand area. If I could push away all the crazy shit, I could really appreciate the architecture of this place.
I was a quarter of the way down the stairs when I heard the muted sound of heavy footsteps coming closer. I slowed before coming to a stop when a large man came out from the side hallway, the area where I knew Adryan’s study was.
He headed straight for the doors, his big body moving as if he had purpose. He was large but not as massive or broad as Adryan. I had a feeling my vampire was a breed all his own.
My vampire?
His head was down, and even from his side profile, I could see he was wearing a scowl. It was clear he was lost in thought, not noticing anything around him but whatever was currently on his mind.
