Page 53 of Call of the Blood

“Everly told Declan that he needs to stay inside or with a supernatural for protection. Fair, considering where this kill happened and how it happened only adds to the danger. He must have told his werewolf during the day what you passed along to him, Everly. She must have told other werewolves. It reached Callahan. He reached out to me. I confirmed that my people investigated something unrelated to Declan in his area, but that’s all.”

“Oh…” I groaned.

“He’s invited both of you to a pack event that is currently happening. That will give you a chance to discuss with him Declan’s safety, considering Declan works for one of the pack’s businesses. You should both go. The party ends at one a.m. or something…” She looked for something, probably a note. “Yes. Two a.m. is last call, and everyone is expected to leave by three. Plenty of time for you both to make an appearance. I’m not saying you have to go, but you were invited, and it skips the need for an official appointment. Stopping by for a party is not unheard of.”

“Random night to have a party,” I said, shaking my head.

“The pack has a party at least once a week,” Maria said, laughing. “It would be stranger if there wasn’t one on any given week. They are a pack animal. They need bonding. They like eating together. They enjoy any reason to get together. I believe this is the weekly pack birthday celebration for anyone who had a birthday, but that could be tomorrow. Who knows? If you intend to go, he said you have his number and to give him a call to declare that so he can whisper it to the guarding werewolves to allow you in without trouble.”

“We’ll go, but not for long. I want to see if I can pick up that vampire’s trail from last night,” Alexius said.

“You can drop me off,” I said, looking up at him. We were still in bed, and he was hovering over me, the phone resting on my chest.

“And leave you with a large portion of the pack by yourself?” His face hardened. “Absolutely not. I need to at least make an appearance with you so they understand.” He looked at the phone. “Is that all, Maria?”

“That’s everything in front of me right now⁠—”

Alexius hung up on her, then tossed his phone away from us. Before I thought to react, he snatched my jaw, tilting my head back enough for him to give a deeply possessive kiss. He pulled away as he let go of my jaw and ran his hand around the back of my neck. I reached up, and he grabbed that hand with his free one. My other was pinned between us.

“We should get moving if we’re going to make our appearance and talk to Callahan,” I reminded.

“I wish I was also on vacation,” he murmured, leaning down to nip my collarbone. “So I could just enjoy this all night. I shouldn’t have taken any work for Maria. I thought keeping busy with that would help me with you…” His eyes met mine again. “And now all I want is time to be right here. To enjoy what’s mine.”

“Yeah,” I said breathlessly. He was very good at seducing me, whether he was doing it intentionally or not. Then I really processed what he said. “Yours?” We hadn’t really discussed labels or anything.

“Is that a problem?” he asked softly. “Because I intend to make sure the werewolves know it. They should know that if they bother you, they are bothering my lover.”

“Lover?” My heart was struggling, both from the lack of my nightly feeding and thanks to Alexius.

“I don’t like modern terms. Boyfriend, girlfriend. They feel immature on my tongue.” He frowned. “Is it the title or the presumption this is something… not casual that is bothering you?”

“Not bothered. Surprised. I didn’t think… I didn’t think you would want to consider us anything but physical.”

“Lover is the best term for what I believe we have. Are you okay with people thinking you’re mine?” He moved back up, his lips grazing mine as he spoke. “Or knowing it’s the truth?”

“As long as it works the other way, too,” I replied, having to be true to myself. I wasn’t a plaything. If I was his, he was mine. No touching by other people.

“Then we have an agreement. I have zero need for other people. In fact, normally that sort of attention annoys me.”

He proceeded not to let me out of the bed for an hour.

It took us another hour to call Callahan and get out of the house.

“You’re not going to have time to do the tracking you want thanks to that,” I told him as he drove too fast to the party.

“I was already going to be hours behind the schedule I wanted. Taking an extra hour doesn’t change anything at this point.” He reached out and took my hand from my lap, rubbing my palm with his thumb. “And I probably won’t be back by sunrise. I’ll make sure to tell you I’ve found a secure place. I probably won’t sleep just for safety, and I know I can reach out to Maria’s people if I need assistance.”

“They could take the chance to betray you,” I said, not liking the idea of him alone like that.

“You are being paranoid, thanks to the ancients at Isaiah’s. And in that scenario, it was a good place to be paranoid. However, the daytime humans of Maria’s nest will just provide assistance if I need it. I’ve been working with them lightly this entire time.”

Jealousy rose up in me.

“I wish you would let me help,” I said, huffing.

“You are on vacation,” he reminded me. “We are doing this to make your vacation more secure. Then I will get back to work and try to keep it away from you and your brother.”

“Fine.”