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“No. I was at a prelim interview for the Omega Centre. They were supposed to do an assessment, but the accident happened before the physical started. After that, I was put into care, and after the group home lady dosed me, I was sick for weeks. When I came out of it, I was tattooed, and the next day, I was sedated and stuffed in a trunk.”
She ate a roasted cashew and looked over the nearly empty dishes. She asked politely, “What do you do?”
He shrugged. “A bit of the family business. We have a shared home outside of town, and that is where Rigor is going to be living.” He smiled. “And Ursa as well. We all have homes on the same property, about two acres apart.”
“Oh, are you with your father’s family?”
“Oh, no. My mother’s family have been vintners for centuries. When her parents arrived here, they started a winery, and that is where I grew up. We are on my mother’s family land, not related to Lady Fen, though she does use some of our vintages at her restaurant and family functions. Considerate of her.”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t strike me as considerate.”
He smiled as Ming paused in the middle of the clearing and stared at her.
Ming muttered, “You had better not insult her within hearing of the family.”
“She had better not insult me within hearing of my friends.”
Thanatos smiled. “From what I have heard, she tried it at the wedding after you left, and your friend Rhymbia verbally took her down, and none of Fen’s alphas defended her. She apologized.”
“Dang, I hope someone recorded that.”
He smiled. “I think I can get a hold of an audio copy of my grandmother apologizing.”
She propped her chin on her fist and purred, “Oh, you say the sweetest things. Talk dirty to me.”
His skin darkened, and his eyes narrowed. “Teasing is not a good idea.”
She blinked. “Oh. Sorry. I chat like that with my friends all the time.”
“Female friends?”
“Yeah. Al Renner doesn’t go out much.” She smiled. “Plus, I occasionally volunteer to go clubbing and rope in predators.”
He sat back with a thud. “You act as bait?”
“Oh, sure. I can do cute and helpless with the best of them. Why? Want to chase me down a dark alley?”
Thanatos’s eyes glowed black.
She leaned forward. “What the hell was that?”
“Keep flirting and find out.” He smiled.
She blinked. “Right. It seems Lady Fen and Olyna made a bunch of weird alphas.”
He grinned, and his pointed canines were showing. “Thank you, but my mother’s family had a lot to do with it as well. Legend has it that our family is descended from Greek gods.”
She blinked. “Oh. Right. Well, why not?”
He smiled. “All members of my mother’s family are named for the gods.”
“Cool. I don’t even know what my actual last name is. Renner is what my parents raised me as, but there isn’t any record of it on the continent, so I am guessing it might not have been our actual name.” She shrugged. “I have been trying to find out where we came from, but in another way, I can’t bear looking.” She sighed. “Now that the others are settled, I suppose I am next to figure things out.”
He leaned back. “I would offer my help, but it would involve a lot more in-depth querying.”
She crossed her arms and leaned back. “See, you just made that sound dirty.”
His black gaze twinkled. “I am getting the hang of it.”
