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Which of course lasted until the sun came up. The band was safely back on the tour bus, I had a happy couple looking dreamily at each other on my couch, and there wasn’t enough green tea in the world for the meetings that had materialized into our schedule.
“I know we’re all exhausted from last night, but it’s best if we all sit in on this meeting.” I paced through the living room. I’d changed into my purple satin PJ set, because there was only so long a fairy dragmother could wear a catsuit, especially in the midst of a crisis.
When working on a reality show, it was easy to blow things out of proportion. I’d come to expect it. This was not one of those times. Lars’s brother running through the forest on a homicidal rampage could only be classified as a full-blown crisis. I was in awe of how calm Lars had stayed, even in the face of those hunters.
Which probably meant that Leif’s behavior was no surprise, and we all needed to buckle up for whatever was coming next.
“What do you think the network will say?” Hannah asked.
“Had we not had the confrontation with the hunters last night, I believe they would’ve been willing to buy the video and bury it,” I said. “At least until we finished the episode. But now tempers will be at an all-time high, and we might be too late.”
Lars shook his head. “Burying it is the worst thing we could do. That was definitely Leif in those videos. If he’s killed one hunter, he’s killed many. Or that will be his plan until someone stops him.”
“I admire how calm and levelheaded you’ve stayed through this. You barely batted an eyelash when confronted with an angry mob accusing you of the unthinkable.” I’d been ready to shift, and I’d barely made it backstage in time to take some refocusing breaths and stay in my role as fairy dragmother.
We already had enough of a public relations nightmare on our hands.
Hannah turned toward Lars. Her face lit up with energy I had no idea how she’d channeled. “What should we do to stop him?”
“We should probably have that question answered before we start the call.” Things often got out of hand quickly when shooting a shifter reality show, but outside humans were rarely involved. Funny how they had suddenly become the most dangerous wild card, especially when we had a homicidal beast on our hands.
Leif we could deal with. The ancient former king was headstrong, and his philosophies bordered on the barbaric, but we had a common language. Shifter justice. Humans were completely unpredictable and had a tendency not to act in their own best interests.
“The reason I can stay calm is because this isn’t new behavior. My brother has always operated as if he’d never have to face the consequences of his own actions. For a long time that was true. He had a whole court of creatures who did that for him. And I was their leader.” A low, guttural growl resonated in Lars’s throat. “So this is my fault.”
“No, it’s not.” Hannah squeezed his hand. “Things were different back then, and you made the best decisions you could at the time. Your brother has to be a pretty smart guy to have been king. So if we explain how things have changed—”
“He’ll never believe it.” Lars shook his head sadly. “Even if he does, it will only motivate him further into mayhem. And he’s got ways he can retaliate, too.”
“Has he threatened you?” I asked.
“Not exactly. He thinks it’s hilarious that I’ve fallen for a human, and he’s threatened to resurrect Tanyth.”
Hannah gasped.
“Is that what you want?” she asked softly. “I know how much she meant to you. That’s she’s your true mate.”
“Would I give anything to see her again? Yes. And I do, every day I see you.” Lars put his finger under Hannah’s chin. “I think she got sick and tired of seeing me by myself and sent you to me. I see her in you, Hannah. If she was a modern human, I don’t think she’d be very different.”
Hannah wiped a tear away from her cheek. “I don’t want to stand in your way if you could have her back.”
He leaned in and kissed her, wiping away the rest of the tears with his thumb. “Tanyth wasn’t well when she died. Looking back, she’d been sick for a long time. My brother and the wolves have come back like they were on the day they left this dimension. And they’d both been struck down by the same curse. Tanyth’s time here was done, and I wouldn’t want to prolong her suffering for my own selfishness.”
“You’re a good man,” Hannah said.
Lars shook his head. “No, I’m not. It’s my own complacency that allowed this to happen. Now I have to put a stop to it. All of it.”
“Do you have any ideas on how to do that? Because this meeting is about to start, and I have a feeling they’ll expect a fully formed plan from us.”
“I have to confront my brother. I doubt he’ll listen. Things will get worse before we get him to stop. The human casualties will get the attention, but the real problem is what he’s got planned with Armand. They’ve come up with a dangerous way to resurrect the beasts from our time.”
“With the blood,” I said.
Hannah’s mouth formed an O. “Why haven’t I heard about any of this until now?”
“Because I wanted you to have a great night last night.” He sighed. “And he’s daring me to take action. Which I will, but it won’t be what he wants.”
“I did have a great night.” She was up off the couch and pacing. “I loved watching you at the show, soaking it all in. That’s my world. It can be gritty, unpredictable, and a little loud. Which I don’t think is much different than your world. I don’t want you to feel like you have to shield me from bad things, Lars. I want to stand by your side as you fight. So tell me what Armand and Leif plan to do with this blood, and we’ll come up with a way to stop them.”
