Page 51 of Starved Until Sunset

“I lost them,” he said in a flat tone.

“Care to explain what that was all about?” Clarabell said, aiming her phone at him.

“Where did he take her?” Demetrius said, moving in front of Cody and taking a step toward Michael.

Cody grabbed his upper arm. “Careful, Demmy. He’s one, too.”

Demetrius stopped and glared at Michael. “Where’s he taken Zenona?”

“I don’t know,” Michael said, shaking his head. He looked distraught, but Demetrius knew it could very easily be an act. Though he’d never detected a malicious vibe from him, Demetrius couldn’t help remembering how friendly alpha werewolf Nicolae had been while helping him and Amelia plan the flowers for his and Cody’s wedding. Monsters lived to deceive.

“Come on, you expect us to believe that?” Cody said.

The doors banged open, startling all of them, even Michael. Lucia and Deputy Walsh entered, and they both looked angry. With her fierce gaze locked on Michael, Lucia strode right up to him and poked a finger in his chest.

“Where did he take her?”

“I don’t know. I swear to you, I don’t know.” Michael’s stricken expression looked genuine, but Demetrius tried to temper any empathy.

“Okay, okay,” Deputy Walsh said in a low, calm voice as she took Lucia by the arm and eased her away from Michael. “Let’s maybe not get right up in the face of the vampire medical examiner. Okay?”

“How about you tell us what you do know,” Clarabell said, still holding up her phone and apparently making a video of everything. “From the beginning. How do you and this Aldrik know each other?”

“That’s beside the point,” Lucia said. “Right now we need to find Zenona.”

“He could have taken her anywhere,” Michael said, sagging against a stainless steel table. He put a hand over his eyes and bowed his head. “I knew he’d moved into town here, but I’ve yet to uncover his dwelling.”

“His dwelling?” Demetrius said.

Michael looked up, his pale complexion—the reason for that was now clear—making his expression appear even more troubled than usual. “His lair, as he put it. Or nest as Zenona has been calling it.” A pained look crossed his face when he said her name. “We all need a place to rest during daylight hours. With dirt from our home country.”

“Which is where?” Clarabell asked.

“England,” Michael said. “A very small town in the north.”

“Explains the accent,” Cody said.

“From four hundred years ago,” Michael added.

“Fuck off,” Lucia snapped. “You’re not four hundred years old.”

Michael looked at her, then opened his mouth to reveal fangs. They all took a step back, and Demetrius saw Lucia drop her hand to her weapon. As if that would do them any good.

“How come I never noticed those before?” Cody said. “Your fangs?”

“We’ve learned to hide them over the years.” Michael smiled, and Demetrius could no longer see the fangs. “We’ve been forced to learn to blend in with humans as the world’s population has expanded.”

“Wolves in sheep’s clothing,” Deputy Walsh said. “Living next door and having us as a meal once the sun goes down.”

Michael winced and shook his head. “Not all of us. Not me, I assure you. Not any longer. But, yes, the majority of us do act that way.”

“Like Aldrik,” Clarabell said. “Your brother?”

“Brother by association only. We were both turned around the same time period by… “ He swallowed hard. “Another.”

Clarabell took a step closer to him, and Demetrius raised his hand instinctively, wanting to hold her back.

“Is he this father that Aldrik referred to?” Clarabell asked.