Page 78 of Blood and Trouble

“At max,” I said, glancing back at Ava. “Figure out how to kick the Earl’s ass, and when I get back, you can tell me all about it.”

She nodded and stepped away, bringing her back in contact with Poe’s chest. I took one last moment to memorize the sight of them like this, thoroughly debauched and waiting for me, before going back to the bathroom to take that shower.

It started like any other ride. I used the same bike I’d borrowed to take Ava to the pub, and followed the pack toward the edge of their territory. Thurjin had the road here, but he’d have been an idiot not to use me. I took sweep for the first leg. Last bike, eyes on our six, the cargo riding center where anyone who wanted it would have to come through five of us to get it.

Last night was amazing, and leaving them took an act of will I wasn’t sure I really had. But maybe it was good to put some distance between us for clarity. Even if I was a selfish prick, it couldn’t go on like this. I’d married Ava in a drunken haze right before her transition, and despite one conversation the next morning, the annulment hadn’t come up again. It didn’t seem like she was in a rush, and I didn’t know if I was either. Still, that thirty-day deadline loomed large up ahead, and eventually, we’d have to deal with it.

And Poe…I didn’t know what the fuck was going on there. I wanted him, but I smelled his bonding scent anytime he was around Ava, even the first time they’d met. She seemed to like him, too. Their wolves had played the entire night of the full moon, and even if she’d let me wrap myself around her the next morning when we made that nest in the living room, they’d gravitated toward each other in sleep.

As much as I cared about both of them, nothing had changed. I didn’t want anything permanent. I didn’t want a mate. I couldn’t stand the fallout, the probability of it ending in tragedy like my folks or worse…with me going rabid and losing my damned mind. Nor could I stand by and watch as they mated other people…or each other. The thought of it sent hot pokers under my skin, rolling something rotten through my veins that made me want to sink my teeth into someone’s throat and rip it out. But I couldn’t have both of them, especially if I couldn’t give them what they needed. Mating bonds only worked between pairs. Everyone knew that.

About two hours into the drive, we stopped to refuel and take a piss break. I leaned against the back of my bike while Thurjin and Magnus chatted to each other in Danish. If they weren’t talking in English, I figured it was none of my business, so I scrolled on my phone and stretched my legs while we waited for the rest of the group to finish their business.

Something caught in the corner of my eye, and I looked at the empty field next to the gas station. It was overgrown with weeds about waist-high, but my wolf raised his hackles and perked his ears in the back of my mind. The sickly stench of decay drifted toward me, watering my eyes, making me want to retch.

Only one thing in the world reeked as terribly as this. Vampires.

“Hey,” I said, interrupting the other Bastards. “You smell that?”

Thurjin glanced at me before looking at the field and taking a deep inhale.

“Fuck,” Magnus said. He moved to stand next to me and unclipped his pistol. I grabbed mine and held it in front of me, preparing for something to jump out at us. The weeds rustled, and heavy footsteps echoed closer. My pulse pounded in my ears.

“Vampires?” Thurjin asked, now on my other side.

“Has to be,” I said. “They might have followed us out of Copenhagen.”

The other Bastards caught on to the situation, coming up behind us, prepared to fight whatever piece of shit showed itself.

Just as I got to the edge of the field, a giant brown blur leaped from the grass and nearly pummeled me.

“Fucking hell!” I almost squeezed the trigger on my gun before I realized it was a deer. Just a fucking deer with several deep red gashes down its flank, almost like something bigger had taken its claws to the poor thing. It limped past us and galloped to the other side of the gas station before disappearing into the grass.

Thurjin heaved a deep sigh, and Magnus put his hands on his head.

“I nearly shit myself,” he said. “Fucking need to change my pants.”

As the animal moved on, the vampire stench followed, leaving a trail of disgusting aroma in its wake. The other guys clapped each other on the shoulders and went back to their bikes, but I stared after it.

“All good, brother?” Thurjin asked.

I swallowed and nodded, but my wolf still bared its teeth. Only one thing could have made those claw marks…which meant they were close. I gazed back out into the field and took a deep inhale, trying to see if there were any more, but I didn’t get anything else. Was something on our tail? Was something fucking with us? Or was this all a ruse so we’d be looking one direction when they hit us from another?

“Did you see the wounds on its side?” I grimaced. “They smelled like vampire.”

“Could have been a few days old,” Thurjin replied.

“I doubt it. Why would vampires be out this far away from the city?”

“Hunting? Scouting?” Thurjin shrugged. “I didn’t sense anything before now.”

“Come on,” Bas shouted. “We’ve got to get back on the road if we’re going to meet the contact on time.”

I climbed on the bike and kicked it to life, checking the field one last time before we took off. We’d been careful. We’d know if we were being followed. The human didn’t see anything, but my wolf wouldn’t let it go.

We met the contact and completed the exchange without further incident, but by the time it was over, the sun had set, and most of the guys were exhausted. We stopped at a motel for the night, and per protocol, everyone had to share a room. I’d gotten bunked with Bas, which was fine. I would have preferred to be on my own, but I understood. The threat level was high, especially after the deer, and I was an outsider.

“Most of the brothers are going to the pub next door. You in?” Bas asked after I got out of the shower. “Just one drink?”