Chapter 34

Nimbus saved me from having to deal with Davin’s attitude directly. He trotted over to the werewolf, and by his jaunty walk accented by the wag in his tail, I could tell he was feeling mischievous.

He mimed lifting his leg on Davin. The werewolf growled at Nimbus then went back to glaring at Bridger.

Not about to be ignored, Nimbus, aimed and fired…

Davin yelped as the warm stream coated his leg. “What the fuck, dog!”

Having got the werewolf’s attention, Nimbus crouched in front of us and growled, the sound reverberating through my chest as if a much larger animal had made the noise. His hackles were up, practically doubling his size with how long his fluffy coat was, and the number of teeth he showed was impressive.

The werewolf growled back, a sound that didn’t normally come out of a human throat. He still managed to make it sound intimidating, but Nimbus didn’t back down.

A shift in the shadows caught my attention, and I glanced over to my side. Oliver leaned against one of the walls, arms crossed but not interfering. Taking my cue from the shade, I waited and let Nimbus cow the werewolf. I had no doubt the cloud dog would win this confrontation, though I pulled on my magic in case I was wrong. If Davin even attempted to hurt my dog, he’d learn I had a whole level of crazy he’d never even come close to seeing.

The eye contact went on for a small eternity, and I could feel something going on between the two of them. As if they were pushing on each other with a magic I could barely sense.

Finally, Nimbus took a step forward, snarling.

Davin finally backed down. He didn’t exactly submit, but he turned his head and relaxed his shoulders.

Nimbus stopped his growl, smoothed his hackles, and sat, wagging his fluffy tail.

I took a breath, and so did Bridger. When I checked, Oliver was gone.

“I was just coming to check on you. I see you’re doing fine.”

I raised my eyebrows, deliberately mimicking the eye contact Nimbus had used on Davin.

The werewolf tightened his jaw. “Right. So. You’re okay?”

I took that as him backing off even more. “I’m fine, Davin. Do you want to come in? Rinse off your pants?”

Maybe I should have left the last bit off. A flash of anger passed across Davin’s features before he schooled them into neutrality.

“I’ll swing by my house,” he muttered.

“I’m glad you came over to check on me.” I stepped away from Bridger and came out into the hallway within touching distance of Davin.

The werewolf took a deep breath. “I apologize for my behavior. As Nimbus has rightly pointed out, it was uncalled for. We have clearly discussed this exact situation and said it was okay. I was simply surprised. The mark was unexpected.” His voice was stiff, but not grudging.

“To be fair, Davin, we didn’t expect it either. My magic apparently had a mind of its own.”

Davin tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “Both of you are coming to the meeting?” Though he phrased it as a question, it wasn’t, and we all knew it.

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. The five of us.”

Nimbus grumbled.

“Six,” Davin amended. “Need to have that conversation that keeps getting interrupted.”

“We do. I just hope we don’t get attacked tonight so we can actually have it.”

That pulled a chuckle from Davin’s lips. “Yes. Agreed.” He took another deep breath and his energy settled completely. “Again, I apologize.” He held out his hand to me, and I took it. Then he offered his hand to Bridger. The hunter took it after a slight hesitation.

“Accepted,” Bridger replied.

Davin left. As soon as the werewolf was out of the building, Oliver stepped out of the shadows, laughing his ass off.

“It does a person good to see the werewolf get his tail pulled now and again,” Oliver managed to get out between laughs. He wiped at his eye as if brushing away a tear.

Nimbus grumbled at Oliver.

“Of course, Nimbus. It was warranted.” He rubbed the dog’s fluffy ears.

“How can you understand what he’s saying?”

Oliver shrugged. “It’s not so much that I understand the words he’s using as much as the intent. He apologized for peeing inside. Even if it was on someone who deserved it.” He gave Nimbus another scratch. “And I apologize for eavesdropping, though I also believe it was warranted.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “No worries.”

“How did you mark Bridger? That’s quite astounding.”

“Um, I don’t know. It was something with my magic. It just offered it.”

“Excellent. Mark me.”

This widened my eyes. “Um.”

“Only if you want it. But I do.”

I glanced at Bridger. He nodded encouragement.

After a quick look up and down the hallway, I stepped back into my apartment and gestured for Oliver to join us.

The shade followed, and we ended up back in my small dining area staring awkwardly at each other.

Nimbus nudged my leg, and I cleared my throat.

“So, uh, I was kissing Bridger.” I blushed, wringing my hands.

Oliver took my hands in his and soothed away the tension. “Yes, that is good. Mates should kiss. Then what?”

“Well, my magic reacted to him.” As if summoned by my statement, my magic rose and tingled across my skin where Oliver touched me. “Yeah, kind of like that. And then Bridger just, well, accepted it.”

Oliver stepped close, one hand going to my cheek and the other sliding up my arm. My breath came short, and my heart sped as the heat from his body warmed me and the magic tingled through me. He looked deeply into my eyes, and I was caught by the intensity in his gaze and the absolute yearning to be marked.

“I accept,” he murmured before pressing his lips to mine.

I returned his kiss, parting my lips and opening my heart. The magic rolled between us, melding us together as our lips danced. Though I was expecting it this time, the snap of connection between us still dropped Oliver and me to our knees.

Trembling, he held me tightly, and this time I saw the shine of tears on his cheeks. After a moment, Bridger kneeled next to us. He put a hand on each of our shoulders. The connection between all of us hummed with energy and sparked when Nimbus pushed his way into the middle, so he was touching everyone.

“See,” Bridger whispered. “More powerful.”

I shivered as I nodded. “I don’t even know what to do with it all.”

Nimbus grumbled, and this time I understood that he meant he would help.

“Thanks, buddy.” I buried my fingers in his ruff.

“Okay, we should get over to the coffee shop. The sun will be down soon.” Bridger stood, breaking the intense connection between the four of us.

Reluctantly, Oliver stood then held out a hand for me.

I let him help me rise, legs a little wobbly after all the emotion and magic.

“Yeah, we should.” I rubbed my hands together, again. Nervous at how Katsuro would react to all of this. I knew Nimbus could take a werewolf, but a centuries-old vampire? That might be a different story.

***

The others, including quite a few vampires and werewolves, Mayor Henrietta Clifton—who was one of Davin’s wolves, and Clare were already gathered when we made it over to the coffee shop. We’d gone to the back room, though there were guards watching all the exits.

That Katsuro merely gave Oliver, Bridger, and me an appraising look made me think that Davin had to have warned him. That helped my nerves some, and I focused on our current task, which was sorting out what to do about Vito’s threat to the town.

We talked for hours without coming up with a real plan. However, I got the impression from my link with Oliver that he expected we’d form a specific plan once everyone left. The people we’d invited into the room were trusted, but then, we’d been betrayed before by someone who had been trusted. There were a lot of good ideas and intel thrown around and everyone agreed it was time to take the fight to Vito. We just had to figure out when, where, and how.

Finally, Katsuro stood. “Thank you all for coming,” he began. “We have much to discuss and you have all given us valuable insight. Rest assured, our goal is to safeguard our community, and as it is now clear we must deal with Vito and his gang to do this, they will be dealt with. Not only were humans suffering at his hands, but our people have as well. He has made a direct attack against our own, and now he will pay.”

That got a quiet cheer from the crowd.

“Be careful, watch your backs, and travel in groups. If you see anything, even if you believe you can handle it yourself, call for backup. We must know what is going on in our community and we want you to be safe. The time to strike against our enemies will be soon.”

This was a clear dismissal, and everyone but my four men, Nimbus, and Clare left.

I moved from the chair I’d occupied in the back of the room to the far more comfortable couch. I could have taken it at any point, but I’d been happy to sit in the back. Bridger came with me, and I sensed the first hint of nervousness from him when he glanced at Katsuro. The vampire still hadn’t reacted to my marking the others yet.

“It seems we have several things to discuss,” Katsuro said once we’d settled into a smaller group.

Clare spoke up. “I’ll leave you here in a moment. I simply wanted to congratulate Hannah on discovering another power. It is wise for you to be joined.” She squeezed my shoulder, before casting a look at both Davin and Katsuro. “However you manage it.” Then she left.

I expected that she was referring to me marking Oliver and Bridger, as opposed to accepting Davin’s and Katsuro’s.

The vampire was quiet for a moment before he nodded. “Clare is always wise. How did you do it?”

It was easier to talk about this time since Katsuro didn’t seem upset, merely curious. Though I suspected he was not someone to play poker with.

“Bridger and I were talking about all of us and how we should at least consider the possibility of being together. So, like, you know, we were talking about going on a few dates and seeing how it went.”

“I wanted to kiss her, at least once, in case I was killed. I am the most likely to end up dead in the fight since I’m only human.” Bridger shrugged. “Her magic acted up and I accepted it. We ended up with some sort of bond or mate mark or something. You obviously know a lot more about those sorts of things than I do.”

“And after I discovered it,” Oliver said. “I wanted this as well. Hannah was kind enough to oblige.”

“Very interesting.” Katsuro leaned forward, brushing his fingers along my jaw.

The magic tingled faintly, rising at his touch. He pulled his hand away in surprise. “This didn’t happen the last time I touched you.”

“I have no idea, Katsuro. It just happened.”

Nimbus grumbled.

“He believes it is simply time,” Oliver supplied.

“I will accept your mark if you accept mine,” Katsuro said after a moment.

That shocked the hell out of me. Also, it seemed fair. Was I ready for that? Well, I’d gone there with Bridger and Oliver. It seemed that maybe I should with the vampire, too.

“Okay,” I agreed.

“Bridger, I offer you my mark as well. It will give you added protection and lend you some healing properties.”

The hunter raised his eyebrows. “Let me think about it.”

Katsuro nodded sagely. Then we all looked at Davin.

“I need to reflect,” he answered. “The mate bond is common among wolves, but this”—he gestured at the rest of us—“is not, and I must consider my pack.”

“Absolutely,” I agreed. “So…” I returned my attention to Katsuro. “When?”

The vampire’s smile was predatory. “Tonight, sunshine. After we finish making our plan of attack.”

A shiver ran down my spine at his expression. He was the ultimate predator, and I was his prey, and he didn’t want me to forget it. At the same time, I remembered how considerate he was of me, and how much he cared. Yes, I was his prey, but he was also my mate. He didn’t want to consume me. He wanted to complete our bonds and strengthen us for the coming conflict.

And he wanted my blood. So, there was that.