Page 48 of Bonded Through Bite

“Ha. Maybe I just didn’t want to be left out,” Santiago grumbles.

“San.” Rafael sounds exasperated.

“I ran into the pack on your land.”

“What?” Rafael hisses.

I’d like to know more about that too. What pack? What lands? And not to put too fine a point on it, where the fuck is this place exactly? So far, all I know is that it has a cellar, kitchen, and magnificent gardens.

Santiago keeps stroking my hair while he replies. “The alpha changed as soon as we met. They were coming here to meet with you. I convinced them that this is not a good time.”

“Why would they come here?” Now Rafael sounds agitated and I have an urge to comfort him.

I also want to know more and I have a feeling they might not speak as freely if they realize I’m still awake, so I don’t do a damn thing. Are they talking about wolf shifters? Or werewolves? I think I remember Thea saying there was a difference.

“He refused to say.”

“Damn wolves. This is not good,” Rafael huffs.

“I agree, hence my interruption. They want you to set up a meeting on neutral ground if you are not willing to meet them here.”

“Not on pack land?”

“No. The alpha was quite adamant on that.”

Rafael mutters under his breath. “Why now? We have kept to our treaties and agreements. The borders have been solidified for hundreds of years. Why are they seeking a meeting now?” Then he clears his throat a bit. “Did you gather anything else from them?”

“No, but I haven’t met this pack. I wouldn’t know the scent differences even if there had been any,” he replies, frowning. “I don’t like them sniffing around with Samantha here.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“We should move her,” Santiago says.

“Move her? Where?”

I echo those questions in my mind. Why would a pack of wolves be a cause for such alarm? Thea always spoke rather fondly of shifters. At least compared to vampires.

“One of my safe houses,” Santiago replies and I have to work to keep my expression calm and blank. He has safe houses?

Rafael laughs, but it’s not a happy sound. I’ve heard him laugh for real and this is not it. “You just want her on your turf. There is nothing wrong with this house. I’ll take care of the wolves.”

“It’s not that,” Santiago whispers so quietly that I have to strain to hear him. “I just want her to be safe.”

“San. It’s all right. We’ll be just fine in here. If we are not, then we’ll take a look at other options, okay? Yanking her around every time we perceive a threat is not giving her the stability she needs. She’s only days old, even if she doesn’t act like it.”

“Fine, fine,” he grumbles.

Yeah, I need them to explain this age thing to me at some point. How long is this newly turned crazy stage going to last?

“Are you still all right with me drinking from you?” Rafael asks and my ears perk up. He sounds cautious, wary even. And I think I sense something akin to resistance in the… bond? Is that the right word? The weird thing I sense between us from time to time.

“Yes, I am,” Santiago says after a while, but he doesn’t sound fully certain either. I almost feel bad eavesdropping.

“She said my blood was more filling,” Rafael says.

Did I say that? I certainly felt that. But why is he trying to convince Santiago if he doesn’t want to drink from him? I almost open my mouth to ask when he continues.

“She’s bonding to you.”