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“Sorry,” I say to no one in particular.
“You don’t need to be sorry,” Jules tells me while Legend gives my hand a comforting squeeze.
Silence lingers. The alleyway is too shadowed to see any of the guards’ faces, but I can feel them watching me.
Unable to take the silence any longer, I ask, “So, how do we get to your home? Do we have to, like, walk or something?”
Jules slips his fingers through mine. Since Legend is still holding my other hand, I feel sort of uneasy, yet extremely safe, which literally makes no sense.
“We are. But don’t worry; it’s not very far.” Jules gives a pause. “I think I need to warn you that all of my guards and myself will be shifting.”
My grip on their hands strengthens. “Why?”
Jules reaches out to brush away a few lingering tears on my cheeks. “Because, in order to get to our kingdom, we have to go through a field covered with whispering dream daisies, which is basically like a sleeping drug for every paranormal creature out there. And the only way we can get through the field without falling asleep is in our wolf form.”
“Why would you build your kingdom near a place like that?” I ask, apprehensive about the idea of falling asleep around a bunch of werewolves.
“Because it keeps paranormals out.” He gently tugs on my hand, pulling me toward him and causing me to lose my grip on Legend’s hand. “I can tell you’re afraid of us, but I promise nothing will happen to you. These guards took an unbinding oath to protect me.”
“To protectyou,” I stress. I wish I wasn’t so afraid. Wish I could forget that day. Wish. Wish. Wish.I wish I wasn’t so broken.“Not me.”
His other hand settles on my waist. “If any harm comes to you, then harm comes to me. I promise you that no harm will come to you.”
“All right,” I utter, hoping I’m not making a huge mistake. “But, what about Legend?”
His fingers twitch on my hips. “What about him?”
“Can he come with me?” I glance over my shoulder at my vampire friend. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t,” he says. “I’m cool with hanging with wolves for a bit. I will have to return to my lair sometime, though, to grab some shit. But I can ride with you through the field first and then do that.”
“Ride through the field …?” I return my attention back to Jules. “Wait, I don’t have to, like, ride on a wolf or anything, do I?”
“What, that doesn’t sound like fun?” Jules teases.
“Not really,” I say. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Jules replies with a hint of nervous amusement. “We actually don’t prefer to be rode unless we’re having sex.”
Someone snickers. A snicker that sounds an awful lot like Shade’s.
My cheeks practically smolder with heat. Thankfully, the alley is too dark for anyone to see. At least, I think so.
Wait, do werewolves have night vision?
“We should get going.” Jules tilts his head up to glance at the sky. “I want to get you home before sunrise to avoid causing a scene. I’ll have Legend take you to the field while we shift. It’s on the other side of this building. There’s a sleigh near the far east corner. Get inside it and wait for us to come. Don’t go anywhere else, okay?”
“We’re taking a sleigh?” I get all giddy like a little kid. “A sleigh like Santa’s?”
“Who’s Santa?” Jules wonders curiously.
“A big, old, fat dude with a beard who supposedly travels around the world in one night, dropping off toys for all the good kids, and gives coal to the bad ones,” Legend replies. “Honestly, I never really understood how that worked, since humans don’t have magic. Plus, why doesn’t anyone get creeped out that an old dude is shimmying down their chimney in the middle of the night, yet Lake’s next-door neighbor freaks the hell out when I sneak into her place to borrow some milk because Lake forgot to go grocery shopping again?”
I can’t help giggling. “Santa isn’t actually real, you doofus. It’s just a story that parents tell their kids to try to get them to behave.”
“Why don’t they just bribe them with toys?” Legend asks, astounded. “That seems much more reasonable than telling them it’s okay that a large, old dude sneaks into the house through the chimney.”
We’ve had a similar conversation before about the Easter bunny, which actually freaked him out more.
