Page 40 of Vampire Visions

“Can we get one problem addressed at a time?” I begged. “Please?”

“Yes, yes,” Papi supplied. “Vampires first. We get it.” He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. His shoulders hunched a bit before he met my eyes with a concerned gaze. “We may have to help you out more than we thought. I haven’t spoken to Nate in a few days. I don’t know where he’s run off to now, but he was frantic when we last spoke.”

“What happened?” Jack asked as he entered from the opposite side of the dining room. “The rest of the guys are staying outside.” He whispered into my mind, taking the seat to my left.

Dad shrugged his broad shoulders and flopped into the chair closest to him, closing his eyes in defeat. “We don’t know. We both still feel him through our bond, but it’s distant. It feels watered down to me. Like Amelia’s did when she first went missing. It’s just enough to know he’s alive, but not enough to find him.”

“He made it into the fae realm,” I acknowledged with absolute certainty. Papi and Dad both nodded in agreement, their faces filled with solemn resolve. I stared at the pattern of the wood tabletop, trying to work all the angles out. I had so many pieces, but they weren’t enough. I felt like I was trying to put together a thousand piece puzzle with three quarters of the pieces missing. I just couldn’t make it fit. No matter how hard I pushed the curving edges together, they were never right.

“Now,” Papi began, breaking the silence that had settled over us. “Tell us everything we’re missing from your problems, little demons. We need to know it all.”

“And none of that shit that Lucy taught either of you.” Dad eyed Jack and me with a no-nonsense look. “My wolf is in no mood for your wordsmithing, cubs.”

His wolf. I wanted to laugh, but I knew better. My wolf raged under the surface of my skin, sensing the Supreme Alpha’s emotions so close to us and unable to help. She was protective and possessive over the people she cared for. My demon was calm, ever in control, until the breaking point. With the three demons around me, she settled lazily in the back of my mind.

I slid my eyes to Stone, and then to Jack on my other side. I didn’t know where to begin, but a week ago seemed to be the go-to point. So, like a true King, I rolled my shoulders back, lifted my chin, and flung myself off the metaphorical high-dive. The more I dove into the information we had, the more vibrant the pieces became to me.

Like a mosaic art project, I let the broken pieces come together naturally. Leaving the gaps, instead of forcing everything to bend to my will, I found a new perspective. An organic picture began to take root, and I knew… the maelstrom of information was just beginning, but it would all line up imperfectly in the end.

17

Briggs

Friday Night

The seven of us sat, patiently waiting, while Sloane and Jack fucked off… playing with hair stuff or doing makeup. I didn’t know what they were doing, but they were taking for-fucking-ever. “Seriously,” I growled. “What the fuck is taking them so long?”

The grim reaper sitting at my left laughed. “They're always like this when they get ready together. They’ll be done in a few minutes, or you can try to haul them out, if you’d like.”

I heard Jack cackle from down the hall. Sloane’s mumbled words were too quiet for me to hear clearly, but I swear I heard dicks and fucking males somewhere in their conversation. I stood from the couch, slowing my movements so I wouldn’t look like I was in a hurry. But damn. They’d been back there for two hours. “Good luck,” Grim called to my retreating back. Bastard. He could come help me.

“Are you ready or not?” I asked when I got to Sloane’s bedroom door. It was propped open, exposing the purple and black bedding, riddled with clothes. She hadn’t even packed that much. I scrubbed a hand down my face in annoyance.

Her giggle rolled through the door on the other side of the room. “Just a second!” she called out.

“You said that two hours ago,” I reminded her gruffly.

“Oh.” She was silent for all of ten seconds before she walked out of the bathroom. She was a total knockout in her black leather shorts and… was that a bra or some sort of shirt? I blinked a few times at her, and she smirked at me. “What I meant to say earlier was seven thousand, three hundred, and forty-seven seconds,” she deadpanned.

I cocked my head to the right. “What the fuck does that mean!?” I threw my hands up in confusion.

“It’s a little over two hours,” Jack clarified with a grin as he popped his head around the bathroom door.

I growled at them. “Smartasses.”

“Sexy asses,” Jack sang. “And we still have four minutes, so shoo.” All I saw was his hand come around the side of the door and make a go away motion, then he cackled again.

Sloane laughed at me when I continued to stand in the doorway with my arms crossed over my chest. “I’m done, Jack, and so are you. Stop staring at yourself in the mirror and let’s go.”

She flicked her wrist and the bathroom lights cut off. I heard a muttered, “Bitch,” before Jack stalked out and into the hallway, pouting. They acted so much like siblings sometimes that I forgot they weren’t. From what York had told me, Jack had moved in with the Kings when he was a kid. He and Sloane were best friends, and they’d grown up side-by-side, the same way I had with my brother.

Before I could finish my thoughts, Sloane scrambled up my back. “What are you doing?” I questioned curiously. Her legs wrapped around my waist, bare skin smooth and one foot locked to the opposite ankle.

I felt her lips brush against the shell of my ear. Her whispered words holding a sinful proposition. “Take me into the living room, Wolf, or we can stay in this room.” I groaned, leaning my head forward and rubbing a line from between my eyes to my hairline with my middle finger.

I honestly wanted to slam the door to her room and stay in here all night with her. I could think of several things to keep us busy, but instead I asked, “Are you drunk already?”

I felt her throw her head back as she chortled. “No,” she answered in disbelief. “I mean, I pregamed while I was getting ready, but now I just want to blow off some steam.”