Chapter Nine

The next morning: community of ??ran?, 9:17 a.m.

"Huh?" Dev squinted across thekitchen table at Gábor. "Were you talking to me?"

"Jesus, what's your prob this morning, man?" Gábor slugged back the rest of his coffee. "You can't keep your mind on shit."

"Nothing's the matter," Dev tossed back. "I just didn't hear you." Which was a definite load of BS. He was distracted this morning, all twitchy and restless and tense. He didn't know what was wrong with him, just that the weirdness had been with him ever since last night's rescue, as if something was wrong, even though nothing could be.

Okay, so maybe his conscience had been a bit of a pain in the ass last night at Garwald's, yapping that he had put Gábor's life into unnecessary jeopardy. But he'd drowned out that voice with a half a bottle of Dewar's. And nothing could be wrong with the three new Dragons, either, right? He didn't hear any Om R?u alarms blaring. The women were safe and sound in ??ran? right now, probably at this very moment getting fed a special blend of truth and fiction to explain all the recent bizarre stuff that'd been going down. He had no reason to be—

"I said," Gábor repeated, holding his empty coffee mug in the air, "are we going on another mission topside today?"

Sedge crossed the kitchen and poured more coffee into Gábor's mug, then cuffed the man across the back of the head for not even being polite enough to ask.

Business as usual in the St?nescu kitchen now that it'd become a warrior hangout. Sedge was a sometimes-bachelor these days, since his wife, Kimberly, worked Monday through Thursday up top at a law firm in the city of San Diego. She spent those nights in a small apartment, and the rest of the time underground with Sedge.

It was a shocking new way of doing business in ??ran?, and had required Toni Parthen overruling Roth's squeamishness about movement in and out of the town. Toni had used logic as her weapon of choice, insisting that the community needed a lawyer to see to their ever-growing financial interests topside. But everyone knew Toni had mostly been doing Kimberly a solid. The high-powered attorney had been miserable with the utter lack of judicial excitement in the small town of ??ran?, and now Kimberly was happy. And a happy wife equaled a happy husband. A beaming Sedge had even hinted that Kimberly was finally considering having a baby. Which meant that Sedge would probably end up playing pop solo during the week.

Dev wryly watched the broad-shouldered blond warrior pull a cookie sheet of danishes out of the oven, a padded mitt on one hand and an apron wrapped around his waist. Yeah, he could totally see the Mixed-blood as a father, and a good one at that.

"So?" Gábor prompted, now looking like he wanted to give Dev a sharp jab in the face to snap him out of whatever was up with him.

What was up with him? "Why would we go topside again?" he asked, shrugging as a knock sounded at the door.

Gábor rolled his eyes. "The Om R?u will still be going after that fourth Dragon, won't they?"

"Actually, they won't," Thomal said, hobbling through the front door and into the kitchen on a pair of crutches. "Haven't you heard?"

Dev jerked his eyebrows up at the same moment Gábor did. Thomal…on crutches?

"What's this, Costache?" Sedge set a plate of danishes in the middle of the kitchen table. "Your heel's not better, yet?"

"Nah, I'm fine." Thomal danced out of his crutches, flashing a smile. "I just gotta fake wounded soldier for the newbies is all." He leaned the crutches against a wall, then sauntered over to the table with just the slightest limp and sat down.

"Oh, that's real fucking great." Gábor shot a look at Dev. "Just what we need is pretty boy getting all of the OMG sympathy from the chicks."

Choosing a danish, Thomal leaned back in his chair with a cocky grin. "You're the only one who's going to miss out on all the ‘poor babies,' Pavenic." He glanced at Dev. "Alex is going to use his FX skillies to put the bruise back on your face, brother. You need to see him before any of the newbies run into you."

Shit, that's right. He'd nearly forgotten all about the little present Videon had planted on his left cheek. It didn't even hurt anymore.

Gábor exhaled hard in disgust. "That's such bullshit. Just because I wasn't stupid enough to get hurt, doesn't mean—"

"What haven't we heard?" Sedge interrupted, coming back to the original point. Somebody, at least, was tracking the conversation.

Thomal's smile disappeared. "You know how Alex puts all of the Dragon women we know of in the computer so he can keep tabs on them?"

The idea was that if an opportunity arose to get ahold of a Dragon who'd said "no" the first time around, the community would be poised to pounce. Like the one who hadn't wanted to give up her dog. The second the mutt died, wham-o, re-negotiation time.

"Ashling Lafferty," Thomal went on, "that fourth woman meant for yesterday's exchange popped up in the police records a little while ago." Thomal tossed his half-eaten danish onto a napkin in front of him. "She was snatched last night—well, early morning topside time—coming out of some golf club."

Sedge plunked his hands on his hips and scowled. "You mean in broad daylight?"

Thomal glanced away. "Yeah."

"Hell," Gábor mumbled.

Dev lowered his eyes to the table, subsiding into silence like the other three men, the quiet between them weighted with regret. As Varcolac, they had many strengths to be proud of; they were stronger, faster, and better-looking by far than regular humans. They had more finely honed senses, accelerated healing abilities, and life spans that were twice as long. Focus on these, and they could feel great about who they were, even temporarily forgetting the part about the rest of the world thinking of them as monsters. Times like this, though, when one of their weaknesses meant that they hadn't been able to help a woman who'd needed it, was not one of their proud moments.

The front door opened and closed. "Hey, guys."

Sedge's head popped up, his eyes instantly lighting. "Kimberly! What're you doing home midweek?"

Gábor slouched back in his chair. "Already got fired from Bite-me, DickMunch, and Suck-it?"

"My firm is Bitterman, Zanhunch, and Pickett." Sedge's wife set her briefcase by the door. "And do you ever plan on getting laid?"

Gábor laced his hands behind his head and made his thick biceps dance. "I have my charms."

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Toni called me down last minute to negotiate with the three new women you guys brought in." She crossed to Sedge and pecked him on the lips. "Glad you're still in one piece, husband. I saw what was left of your van.'

Sedge tsked that away. "A stroll in the tulips, Berly Baby. So, hey…?" He slipped an arm around Kimberly's waist and pulled her close, his gaze turning slumberous. "How much time you got before you have to head back up?" The lawyer was dressed in a tweed skirt and blazer, her blonde hair cut in a professional bob, but she might as well have been displaying her yummy parts in a genie costume by the way Sedge was looking at her now.

Dev turned his eyes to the ceiling. This might be a good time to leave. He was bunched up enough in life without watching these two get cozy.

"I have a cocktail meeting with some clients in an hour," Kimberly answered, her voice turning sultry, "but I could—"

"All right, all right," Gábor butted in. "Before Sedge takes the early morning train into Beaver Junction, maybe Mrs. St?nescu could tell us how the negotiation went."

Kimberly stepped back from her husband while Sedge shot Gábor a miffed look. "We presented your three damsels the same contract as the others: commit to work in the community for one year and walk away with a half-million-dollar paycheck."

It'd been Toni and Alex Parthen's idea to throw beaucoup money at potential Dragon women to get them into the community. A brilliant plan, actually. He only wished their wealthy community had thought of it a long time ago and saved them all the guilt of their previous method of obtaining Dragons, which had been by, er, kidnapping them.

Besides being an awesome lure, the colossal sum was offered as compensation for the hardships the newbies would face: of residing in a cave, the hope being that over time they'd grow to love the community and not care; of living away from family and friends, since regular movement in and out of ??ran? wouldn't be allowed for security reasons; and of being put in danger. The community had been up-front with the newbies about the community's nasty neighbors, leaving out the part about them being a demon race called Om R?u.

The newbies had been hired under the guise of "support staff for a research institute," when, in fact, whatever occupational skill a newbie brought with her was only a side benefit. Nobody in the community needed help doing tasks they'd been managing just fine for years. What was needed were Dragon women committed to staying in ??ran? long enough for the single males to win them over. After that, the women would be informed that they'd been charmed by a group of vampires, the hope once again being that they'd be too enamored at that point to care.

Dev shifted forward in his seat. "So did any of the three accept?" he asked Kimberly, his gut clenching with the question. If the mega-biscuit had refused, the chances of him seeing her again were slim to none.

"Kendra Mawbry didn't." Kimberly shook her head, her lips drawing tight. "Considering what happened to her, she just…wasn't open to a new adventure. Toni warned her that she'd still be in danger topside, now that she's been marked for kidnapping by our quote research competitors. Kendra agreed to go live with her mom for a while."

They all sat in grim silence for a moment.

Thomal spun his danish on the napkin, his eyes shuttered. "And Hadley?" He was trying to pull off casual, but didn't quite manage it.

"Hadley Wickstrum accepted. There was a glitch with Marissa Bonaventure's contract, however."

Dev's heart nearly fell out of his chest. "Was there?" His attempt at casual probably failed, too; hard to pull off laid-back through a jaw that'd just locked up.

Kimberly tucked some hair behind her ear. "As a part of her deal, Marissa insisted that she be allowed to return topside five months from now for a three-day chef seminar. She was quite adamant about it. I guess some of the best chefs in the world will be teaching there, and she had to practically promise her firstborn to get a spot."

Shit and hell. That could definitely be a deal-breaker for Roth. The man was a stickler about only allowing the Travelers and the warriors in and out of ??ran? regularly, and as a necessity only. Kimberly, too, but then the community owed her, seeing as they'd royally screwed up her life five years ago by abducting her. "Did the Council agree?"

"Yep." Kimberly smiled. "Marissa's here to stay. Luken and his boys are going to build her a brand new restaurant tomorrow, right at the cut-off into the Water Cliffs. She's thrilled."

Dev released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, a huge weight lifting off him. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Shooting a look at Thomal, he bobbed his eyebrows. "Marissa."

Thomal nodded, his blue eyes brightening. "And Hadley."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Gábor held up a hand, his elbow jammed onto the tabletop. "Wait just a damned minute here. What makes you two bottom-feeders think you have dibs on those chicks?"

Thomal gave Gábor a hard look. "They're the ones we saved, assfuck."

"That doesn't mean dick, and you know it."

"Leave it, Pavenic," Dev ground out.

"No," Gábor shot back. "Especially not with Marissa, bro. I got a look at her in the hallway this morning, all cleaned up and wearing a T-shirt that showed off a pair of ta-tas that just about knocked me on my—"

Dev's chair went crashing to the floor as he'd launched himself to his feet, fury burning in his eyes, his hands jacked into fists at his sides.

Gábor was instantly standing, too, facing off with Dev across the table.

A leonine growl rumbled out of Dev, his eyes scorching holes through the backs of his sockets.

"All right, gentlemen," Sedge interjected in a calm tone. "Let's take this down a notch."

"Do not make a move on Marissa," Dev snarled at Gábor. "You got that?"

"You'll excuse my fuck you, Nichita, but you're not my boss about the girls. You got that?!"

"Shit." Sedge exhaled. "This is exactly why there's always been mate-choices for the Dragons. 'Cause look what happens among the unmated males when you make it a free-for-all."

Thomal picked up his danish and took a bite, shifting his attention back and forth between his two combative friends.

Gábor's bull skull tattoo writhed as his biceps flexed and released. "All of you can kiss my ass. I'm going for whoever I want to go for." He narrowed his dark brown eyes on Dev. "And if you're too pussy to handle the competition, Nichita, that's your problem, not mine."

Dev's vision hazed an enraged color of red. A jealousy unlike anything he'd ever known tore his belly and smashed his chest, sending his fangs punching down from his gums so fast, he nicked his own tongue.

Gábor's eyes ignited, the brown color turning to molten amber as his retinas lit from behind in the way of a seriously riled-up Pure-bred. "You unsheathing on me, Devid?" he asked with deathlike intensity.

Biting off a curse, Sedge tucked Kimberly behind him.

"Yo, Dev." Thomal's intense gaze tracked over him. "What's up with you, brother?"

"He's been acting weird all morning," Gábor clipped out.

Thomal shot Gábor a killing glare. "Do you think maybe you could keep your trap shut for two fucking seconds, Pavenic?" Thomal looked at Dev again.

Dev met his friend's gaze mutely, the hard pounding of his heart filling his ears, blood roaring up into his head. A strange dizziness overcame him, and he tightened the muscles in his legs, concentrating on balancing his weight on his feet. Christ, he wasn't just acting weird, he was weird. "I'm not sure." He worked his jaw in a circle. "In the van last night, I got a huge whiff of Marissa's scent, and now… It feels like she's already in here." He stabbed a forefinger at his temple.

The men in the kitchen raised their brows in silent understanding.

Ask any married Varcolac, and he'd admit to having recognized the scent of his mate instantly. Oh, the drive for sex might've led the man astray temporarily, like Luken having had an eye for Beth's perky little ass until Southern belle Maggie had come along, and then, wham, his interest had zeroed in on her and only her. Or Sedge, who hadn't even been listed as one of Kimberly's mate-choices, but he'd broken every rule and, wham, taken her anyway. Women had been strictly prohibited to Jacken, but being around Toni had just about driven the tightly disciplined man insane, and Dev himself had let a case of horniness convince him that he'd wanted her. But now, wham, he'd met and smelled this woman, Marissa, and every cell in his body was tangled up and screaming for her, making him… Shit, that's what his problem was this morning; this was the something wrong that he hadn't been able to put his finger on. His Varcolac instincts were already homed in on Marissa, claiming her as his, so being apart from her felt about the same as being separated from a limb.

Gábor's brows and mouth lowered in a frown. "You better not be screwing around with me over something like this, Nichita."

"I'm not." Dev leveled a look at the warrior. "You need to back off, Gábor." If the man made any move on Marissa or, God forbid, touched her, Dev would tear into him with all the finesse of Norman Bates with a Tasmanian devil shoved up his ass. He wouldn't be able to stop himself. And that would be a damned shame. "I'm asking you to back down."

Gábor exhaled coarsely. "You could've asked nicely."