“Why does he want to hurt us?”
Simple questions that any innocent would ask, but the answers were much more complicated. In the end, he decided to just tell her the truth. It made things much easier on him, besides she wasn’t so young she wouldn’t understand.
“He wants to kill the Kategans so he can gain control of the pack.” Her hands clenched around his shoulders. “What? The pack would never follow him, even if he could somehow become a lykaen and make them change loyalty.”
“Perfect logic, but then again you’re not insane, he is. He believes a lot of crazy ideas and has enough determination to start a war.”
“And hurt people,” she said softly.
Brayden nodded before he remembered she couldn’t see him. “Yes.”
“Why have you been so mean to me?”
Brayden faltered a step but righted the action quickly. “I haven’t been mean. I’ve been as I always am.”
She laughed softly. “I see. You’re just a mean old guy then.” Brayden didn’t know how to respond to that so he didn’t. As he stepped over a fallen tree, he spotted the Kategan land in the distance.
“We’re not far now.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything.
He could smell the burnt wood and smoke that covered the pack as he neared it. A heavy fog sat over the pack because of the humidity from the rain. He supposed it was metaphorical in a strange way. Damn, now he was thinking sappy thoughts.
“Thank you.”
He was silent for a long time. As they crossed over into Kategan land he said, “You’re welcome.”
Chapter 16
The black cloud finally lifted from the pack and streaks of brilliant sunlight flooded the landscape. Though, Dmetri thought, it wasn’t a particularly nice sight. Two of the homes were destroyed and now in the process of being rebuilt and the pack was agitated. Rightfully so, too.
Dmetri finished lugging some of the bigger pieces of debris into the big pile that’d be burned in a bonfire later. God, this was not what he’d expected when he came here. Helping the Kategans, okay, but now he was cleaning like a maid.
A look at the sun overhead told him it was about noon so he made his way to Christine’s house. He hadn’t had much time to be around her in the past few days with all the clean-up and rebuilding going on. He planned to rectify that today. The last time he saw her she’d been adamant about not being his and not moving in with him. While he loved a good challenge, he wished she’d agree already. He was growing impatient...and worried.
He made his way down Christine’s street. The narrow concrete walkway to her cabin was covered in black silt and ash. He stepped through it in his black loafers and knocked on the front door. A strange excitement filled him, made his heart feel heavy in his chest and beat faster than normal. If he wasn’t careful she might get under his skin. As soon as he thought it, he laughed.
Yeah, right.
The door swung open, and his smile turned into a grimace. The woman who answered was older than Christine with curly blonde hair that reeked of hairspray. The woman eyed him like he was a disgusting insect she wanted to squash.
“Yes?”
“Where’s Christine?”
She arched a thin eyebrow at his command then stood in the doorway blocking him. “She can’t see you. She’s busy.”
“Doing what?” He’d rather have his teeth pulled then have to ask these questions. Did none of these lykaens know who he was?
“I don’t see why that’s any business of yours, vampire.” He narrowed his eyes on the shrewd woman. “She’s mine that makes everything she does my business.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open in astonishment and then she tossed her bi-gheaded hair back and laughed.
“Yours? She’ll never be yours. And if you know what’s best for you you’ll stay away from her.”
“Are you threatening me?” he asked in a low voice.
She crossed her arms but didn’t back down. “Consider it what you will. Christine is my daughter and I will only see the best for her. Not a vampire.” She almost sneered when she said it.
He’d had enough of this. “Where is she? Christine,” he called out. No response came.
“As I said, she’s busy.”
Dmetri’s patience snapped like a piece of thread. His palm slammed against the front door sending it flying open. He stalked past the little woman and made his way through the house. She trailed after him in outrage.
“Christine!” When he found the house empty, he turned back around on her. “Where is she?” he asked slowly.
She must have seen the lethal intent in his eyes because she took a step back, eyes widening a fraction. “She’s taking care of Vanessa.”
Dmetri spun out of the cabin before she could mutter another word to him. He made his way to the spare cabin Vanessa was staying in since Brayden rescued her. When he reached it, he didn’t bother knocking but flung open the door.
Christine and Vanessa turned to him with wide stares.
“I was looking for you,” he growled.
The shock left her eyes and turned to laughter. “I’m honored, Dmetri.” Yeah, yeah, she should be. He closed the door and took a seat across the room in the only other available chair. Vanessa rested on a futon and looked as though she’d been in a war zone.
Christine applied some kind of salve over the girl’s eyes and lip where busted skin showed.
“All right, all done.” She put her supplies back in her brown satchel. “Who do you want to come and hang out with you? Rome, Darien, Vane, Vera?”
“No, no one right now. I’m just going to go to sleep for awhile.” They said their goodbyes and left the cabin.
“You look lovely.”
She turned to him and laughed. “I do not. My hair’s a mess, I have sticky ointment on my fingers, and my jeans are dirty.”
Dmetri looked at all the problems she just noted and realized he hadn’t noticed any of them.
“Still lovely.”
She blushed and rolled her eyes but he could see her eyes glittering at his words.
“I would like you to come with me.”
“Where?”
“Many places. My home, France, Russia, Venice. I could take you anywhere you wanted.” She gasped in surprise. He hadn’t even meant to say it though it was all true. “Just say you’re mine.”
She shook her head as if she had a bee stuck in her hair. He almost laughed...almost.
“All right then, I’ve made arrangements for us to have lunch together.” Her smile made his skin warmer, the day brighter. “Another date?”
“Of course, I like dating you.”
They walked in companionable silence to his guest cabin.
“Come in and have a seat.”
She sat down at the small dinner table and fiddled with the white tablecloth. “What are we having to eat?”
“You, my sweet, are having chicken Florentine and I’m having a glass of B.” She chuckled. “Sounds great.”
He made his way to the fridge, pulled out a casserole container, and started plating it.
“Did you make this yourself?”
“No, since I can’t stand to taste the food I’m sure what I’d make would taste horrible. I talked to Alison Kategan and had her make it for me. I hear she is quite the cook.” He set the plate in front of her and poured himself a glass of red liquid, thicker than wine.
It was an odd sight to see and she found herself surprised even though he’d just told her he’d be having some.
She didn’t hesitate to dig into the food. She finished chewing a big bite and said, “You’re right. This is amazing.”
He inclined his head to her before taking the seat across from her. Once again, his much larger body seemed to take up the entire space, yet he wasn’t a bodybuilder type that physically took up space. He just had a presence about him that spoke of power.