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Caden tried not to feel frustrated. He knew that Quinten was an important man, with a pack and business that needed his attention, but Caden wanted it too, wanted his human to look at him. To see him.
To touch him.
He held back a grumble and followed him and Dare to the SUV. He supposed he should be grateful Quinten and Dare were staying, too, and not just dropping him off and then heading into the city without him. That would have sucked.
As soon as they were well out of the way, the helicopter took off again. They were almost to the vehicle when the driver stepped out.
Caden’s head snapped up.
That was no shifter. He paused, inhaling deeply. The other two kept walking toward the man, and as soon as Caden placed the scent, he darted forward, terrified. He planted himself firmly between Quinten and the fucking vampire standing there grinning at them.
He bared his teeth and snarled, crouching defensively. He’d never met a vampire before, though he had heard in his travels that there were a handful left over in Europe after the hunters had done their best to eradicate them all.
The stories about them had survived though, being passed down through packs. Vampires couldn’t be trusted, it was said. They could go into bloodlust completely unprovoked and drain and kill anyone near them.
Even though he’d never seen one before, that had to be what the man was. He radiated power in a way that was different than shifters, and there was an earthy scent to him that raised Caden’s hackles, an ingrained instinct that hadn’t died out.
He was dangerous, that was for sure, but he was also movie-star good-looking with a chiseled jaw, bright blue eyes, and dark hair that was swept back from his face in a way that looked effortless but probably took him an hour.
He eyed Caden like he was an amusing bug that he was considering stomping on. “Well, hello there.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, covering the faded words on his T-shirt. Caden didn’t think the fact that he was wearing a shirt that said Bite me was all that clever or amusing, but maybe vampires were psychopaths by nature.
“Caden.” Quinten put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
Caden relaxed despite his better judgment. It was hard for him and his jaguar to stay on edge when Quinten was touching them like that though.
“I’d like you to meet Nero.”
Caden glanced back at Quinten and then toward the vampire. “He’s with you?” he asked carefully.
“He’s with me.” There was an edge of humor in Quentin’s voice, though his scent stayed fairly mild.
“I’ve never met one of your kind before.” Caden straightened out of his aggressive stance.
Nero’s face flickered, his scent becoming overwhelming with pain and sadness. “There aren’t many of us left to meet.” A moment later, his boyish smile returned, and he glanced at Quinten. “We all set?”
Quinten nodded, and they all loaded into the SUV.
Caden was sitting in the back with Quinten, but he was once again glued to his phone, thumbs typing quickly. Nero and Dare sat in the front, Nero chattering at the silent wolf as they went bumping out of the forest onto a dirt road.
“I can’t believe you went into the belly of the beast without me,” Nero said sulkily, glancing around the inside of the car.
Dare just grunted, and Quinten smirked a little.
So Caden asked, “What does that mean?”
Nero met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “You went into Kincaid Pack territory. Not just that, but into his home, and you lived to tell about it.”
Caden glanced sharply at Quinten. “Were we in danger?”
He knew he had been unconscious when they got there and that people had been rude, trying to convince him to stay and talking badly about Quinten, but he hadn’t gotten the impression they were in real danger.
Quinten tilted one of his hands back and forth. “You weren’t. Dare and I might have been.”
“Might have been?” Nero repeated with a snort. “I’m pretty sure Kincaid would’ve taken the opportunity to wipe you off the map if there weren’t so many damn witnesses around.”
Quinten shrugged and went back to his phone. Caden looked at him for a while. Why had Quinten risked going there if it was so dangerous? He didn’t even know Caden.
