Dusti entered the store with Drantos on her heels. She spotted the visitor right away. He stood at the counter loudly arguing with a dark-haired VampLycan. It was easy to guess who was who since one of them was noticeably buff and big.
She took the time to snag a bottled water from the cooler before approaching them.
“I want to call the state troopers,” the out-of-towner complained. “You’re like legally required to let me have access to a phone.”
“Sir,” Lake shook his head, “I told you. The phone is down. It happens. Storms come through and we can go weeks before it’s fixed.”
“What’s going on?” Dusti stepped up next to the stranger.
“Do you have a cell phone?”
She shook her head. “No. Sorry. I don’t even think we get cell signals around here,” she lied. “Are you okay?”
“I saw something.”
She set the water down and held out her hand. “I’m Dusti. What’s your name?”
“Brad.” He shook her hand. “Do you live around here? Can I use your phone?”
“What did you see?”
“I don’t know. It was a big creature. I think it’s some kind of new wildlife. It’s really remote out here so it’s possible.”
She bit her lip and studied him. He seemed a little scared and excited at the same time. “Was it kind of hairy but not? Big body? Moved real fast?”
His eyes widened. “Yes!”
She grinned. “You saw George.”
“That wasn’t a man.”
“You’re right. It’s not. George is kind of a celebrity around here. He’s a bear with about the worst case of mange ever. Poor thing.” She turned and shook her head at Lake. “You’re at it again, I see. Messing with the tourists isn’t nice.”
She sighed and met Brad’s gaze. “It gets boring around here. Let me guess. He pretended he didn’t know what you saw? Or worse, told you that you didn’t see it at all?” She hoped she was close.
“Yeah,” Brad confirmed. “But that wasn’t a bear.”
“Trust me. It was George. He’s big and you can see parts of his skin. He doesn’t have much hair left. He looks really freaky like that. Someone even thought he was bigfoot once.” She chuckled, forcing her expression to hopefully look amused. “He was up on his hind legs and yeah, I thought that poor lady was going to have a heart attack.”
“It wasn’t a damn bear.”
She reached out and patted his arm. “Tell us what happened.”
“It was running through the woods. I almost wrecked my car when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. It was big and was all kinds of messed up with patches of dark fur.”
She nodded. “Yeah, that’s George. About two years ago he showed up in this area. He knocks over our trashcans and scares the crap out of people who see him while driving along the highway, since jerks toss out garbage from their windows. We call that littering but George thinks it’s like ringing a dinner bell. Everyone around here thinks it’s a riot when people like you come in after spotting him.” She shook her head again and pointed at Lake. “Shame on you. Letting this poor man get all freaked out over that mangy bear. I know you think it’s funny but look how upset he is!”
Lake raised both hands and backed up. “Um, sorry?”
Dusti sighed and turned her attention back to Brad. “To be fair, we don’t get cable this far out. There’s not a lot to amuse us. It would have made his day if you’d left here thinking you saw some monster and word spread. He’s always hoping some tourist will think he’s spotted bigfoot again and he’ll make a ton of money off all the morons who show up looking for a monster. He’s the only store and gas station within miles, if you haven’t noticed. He made bank the last time.”
She shot Lake another glare. “It isn’t happening. This man is too smart to fall for your shit.” She shifted her body to stare at Drantos. “This has got to stop. You heard Brad here. He almost wrecked his car! It’s time to put George down. It would be the humane thing to do. Someone is going to get hurt.”
She motioned him forward. “Brad, this is Drantos. He’s kind of the mayor. The town isn’t big enough to have an official one but he’s the man in charge.”
Drantos inclined his head. “Hello.”
“See what I’ve been saying? That messed-up bear is a menace. It’s not some tourist attraction. This man could have been hurt. I demand you put down that bear. He’s got the worst case of mange ever and I’m tired of him coming onto my property.”
Dusti patted Brad’s arm again, making eye contact. “The crazy-ass bear also loves to roll in the mud when he gets hot. Thank goodness you didn’t see him after that. He looks like the creature from the black lagoon or something. It scared the shit out me too, and I already knew it was George since he did it right in front of my cabin by the river. I’m just glad I came in here when I did, or Lake really would have had you going.”
Brad’s face turned a little red and she could see he was pissed. “It’s really just a bear?”
She nodded. “Yep. He’s one screwed-up looking bear, to be fair. He’s scarred up pretty bad too. I think he hit every branch of the ugly tree he must have fallen out of.”
“Fuck you, man.” Brad jerked out of her hold, glaring at Lake. “You’re an asshole.”
“Sorry.” Lake didn’t sound it.
Brad looked down at Dusti. “Thanks for telling me the truth.”
“You’re welcome. And I’m going to make sure that George is euthanized so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. It’s better for that poor bear too. He’s got the worst skin condition I’ve ever seen on an animal. It’s probably painful. I’m going to ride the mayor until it happens. I promise.”
“Thank you.” Brad flipped Lake off. “Up yours, man.” He spun away from the counter, giving Drantos a nasty look next. “Listen to her. That shit’s not funny and I would have sued this town if I’d wrecked my car. You know that damn bear is a hazard. I’m never coming back to this shithole again.”
He stormed out and left tread marks when he pulled out of the parking lot to drive away.
Dusti smiled at Drantos. “See? You didn’t have to kill him.”
“I can’t believe he bought that.” Drantos scowled.
“It’s human nature.” Dusti shrugged. “It was a believable excuse for something he saw that he couldn’t explain. Add in the fact that he thought we were trying to make him look foolish and we have a winner. Now he won’t be talking about a monster. He’ll be saying the people in this town are assholes and to avoid this place at all costs. Problem solved and nobody died.”
Drantos closed the distance between them and grinned. “I see.”
“I don’t,” Lake grumbled.
Dusti turned her head, smiling at him. “Sorry I made you the bad guy, but do you really care that Brad is mad? He’s gone and won’t be back.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have to clean up blood.”
That killed her humor. He seemed serious. “That’s always a plus.” She looked up at Drantos. “Is he kidding?”
He nodded.
She blew out a relieved sigh.
“He would have snapped his neck. That doesn’t make a mess.”
“You could have left off that second part,” she pointed out.
Drantos chuckled. “I’d never lie to you.”
“Fantastic.”
“You’re going to ride me, huh?” Drantos’s hands slid down her back and cupped her ass. “I look forward to it.”
She reached back and yanked his hands off her butt. “Behave. You don’t want to shock poor Lake here.”
“It wouldn’t,” the clerk announced. “I’d have something interesting to watch, but it could be off-putting to any humans who come in. They might be offended to see you both naked and going at it.”
Dusti rolled her eyes. “We’re out of here, on that note.”
“You sure?” Drantos deepened his voice. “I could carry you into the back.” He shot a dirty look at the other VampLycan. “You’re not going to see my mate naked. I’d have to kill you.”
They strolled out of the store hand in hand but stopped as soon as they reached the line of trees. A large group of VampLycans waited in the shadows. Velder stepped forward.
“We watched the human drive away.” He kept his focus on Drantos. “What happened?”
“Apparently, we have a mutant bear with severe mange and are attempting to fool humans into thinking they’ve seen a monster to bring in business by drawing more tourists. She verbally chastised Lake in front of the human for scaring him and not just telling him the ‘truth’.” Drantos shook his head. “The human bought her story, and he’s pissed. He swore to never return and said that he’d have sued our town if he’d damaged his car. Dusti promised him we’d euthanize the bear before someone got hurt.” He paused. “She made me the mayor, too.”
Velder’s lips twitched but he didn’t smile. He lowered his gaze to Dusti. “Very smart.”
“Thank you.”
She glanced at the faces around her. They weren’t glaring at her with suspicion anymore. Some seemed amused, others impressed. She gripped Drantos’s hand a little tighter.
They look a bit surprised that I pulled that off, she thought at him.
They underestimated you. So did I.
Humans are good at bullshitting other humans. It’s a gift.
He smirked. I’ll remember that.
I didn’t mean I’d bullshit you. You’re in my head. That would be tough to do.
Don’t ever try. Mates don’t lie to each other.
Good.
Velder turned, motioning everyone back toward the clearing. “The food will be ready soon.”
Drantos returned Dusti to Peva. “I need to feel the mood of everyone.”
“What does that mean?” Dusti frowned.
“To see how they feel about what you just did,” Peva explained, reaching over and patting her leg. “Drantos will one day lead our people. It’s important that everyone feels secure that he didn’t mate someone who will weaken our clan.”
Dusti hated politics. “Fantastic.”
“It will be fine,” Drantos assured her. “Sit here and I’ll be back soon.”
She watched him join a group of men talking around one of the fire pits. Peva patted her leg again and Dusti turned her head, holding her gaze.
“It would have been easier if you hadn’t mated someone so highly ranked in the clan, but it isn’t a matter of choice when it comes to mates. Drantos chose you.”
“I am so out of my element.”
“You’re doing well. It’s always difficult when a woman mates someone from another clan. I was lucky to find mine here. Most don’t. They have to attempt to fit in with strangers and adjust to their ways. I’m impressed how you’re handling everything, Dusti. You should be proud.”
“Because I’m not crying and hiding under Drantos’s bed?”
Peva laughed. “Yes.”
“I was tempted to but I don’t want him to regret loving me.” She scanned the clearing and watched the man she loved laugh with a new group. He fit in with his clan. Those were his neighbors and friends, people he cared about.
“It will work out. I see the way you look at him.”
“He’s everything to me. I’d always dreamed about finding someone like him.” Dusti paused. “Well, not like him exactly, since I never knew about this world, but you know what I mean.”
“I do. Your love is strong and so is his.”
“I’m still freaked out about the mind-reading thing.” She studied Peva. “How do you handle that?”
“You learn control. It’s difficult at first. I once hurt Maku’s feelings when I thought too hard about his feet.”
“What about them?”
“Look at my mate’s feet. They are huge!” Peva laughed. “We were newly mated and I was watching him sleep. He woke to overhear my thoughts as I studied his body. He’s perfect except his feet are too large. He took that to his heart. I felt bad. And I once caught him thinking about my cooking. He had a lover once who made better deer stew than I can. He thought about contacting her to get the recipe and wondered if I’d be upset if he gave it to me. I was. He shares my bed so he can deal with eating my bad stew.”
Dusti chuckled. “Damn straight.”
Peva grew somber. “I don’t want him to speak to any woman he bedded before me. It makes me jealous. He’s the only lover I’ve had. I used to wonder if I pleased him enough in bed. I didn’t have the experience those women had.”
“I totally understand that. Drantos isn’t the first guy I’ve slept with but I got the feeling he had a lot of lovers.”
“I still feel jealousy because I hate the thought of someone once touching Maku, but I learned that nothing compares to a mate, Dusti. It’s why I don’t track down Maku’s past lovers and kill them. I’m the one he loves. He didn’t have a bond with them. You mentioned reading minds. Your bond is in place. You know what I mean. You feel what he does and he feels what you do. Nothing compares to that.”
“That’s true.”
“If ever a woman from Drantos’s past approaches you to throw it in your face that she was once his lover, don’t allow it to hurt you. Feel pity. They are jealous that you are his mate and not them.”
“It’s already happened. Yonda gave me the impression her and Drantos were dating, and that he cheated on her with me. I was pissed at him and that’s how the whole rejection thing happened. I said I didn’t want to go home with him. I thought he was a cheater.”
“So that explains it. I wondered why you’d hurt him that way. You think like a human does. Yonda wanted Drantos to settle with her. They were just lovers but without a bond. Do you understand? He was free to bed anyone he wished and so was she. As a matter of fact, she visits another clan regularly to see one of their males. It isn’t to say hello. She spends the night there and returns the next day still carrying his scent. She wants a mate and keeps a few men in her bed in the hopes one will agree. It would have been different if they’d agreed to share a home. Then it’s implied they are off-limits to others. That they’re testing to see if they’re compatible enough to have a lasting relationship. Drantos never allowed women into his home.”
“I get that now.”
“Good. Feel pity for Yonda. Drantos is quite a catch for a VampLycan. He has high standing as the next leader when his father steps down and he’s an honorable man. His looks don’t hurt either. The women consider him quite handsome.” Peva chuckled. “So I hear. I see him like family. He and some of the others were really good to me when I lost my brother. They stepped up and kind of adopted me as their little sister.”
“I’m sorry about your brother.”
She nodded, her expression growing somber. “We’re hard to kill but not impossible. It happens sometimes. Not near as much as it does in the human world. Their bodies are more fragile than ours and they don’t have the ability to heal as fast.”
Dusti wanted to ask how it happened but didn’t want to be rude. Peva seemed to guess at her thoughts.
“He was an enforcer and not mated yet. He hadn’t found the woman who was his. Our kind polices those who aren’t human. We hear of a problem and sometimes our enforcers are sent to handle the trouble. Well, there was a rash of disappearances in Anchorage. It was making the human news. A few bodies were eventually discovered and they’d all been drained of blood. The human authorities believed it was a serial killer but we suspected it was a nest of rogue Vampires. Those are the ones that break the laws and put us all at risk. It’s one thing to feed off humans, but they aren’t allowed to kill. It draws attention.
“Rener offered to go hunt the Vampires down and take them out. He was always so proud. He refused to take another enforcer with him, felt he could handle it alone. We lost contact with him so two more enforcers were sent to find him.” She paused. “The nest was larger than expected. There were over fifty of them and they’d boasted about killing a VampLycan to other nests that weren’t rogue.”
“I really am sorry, Peva.”
“Drantos and his cousin Redson were the ones who went after my brother. They annihilated that nest and avenged him. I consider them family and I became their little sister. Kraven’s too. I’m just closer to Drantos and Redson than him.” She paused. “Nests aren’t usually that large. They keep their numbers lower to avoid detection, but they were all crazy Vamps who apparently didn’t care if humans discovered what they were.”
“I admit I’m a little freaked-out now that I know Vampires really exist. I wonder if I’ve ever met one but didn’t know it.”
She shrugged. “It’s possible. You’re lucky a Vamp didn’t decide to make a meal out of you. They probably would have tasted your blood and known you weren’t fully human. You wouldn’t have woken up in your bed the next day with your memory wiped. They would have killed you. They fear VampLycans. We’re their enemies. It would have been a great bragging right for a Vamp to kill one of ours.”
Dusti shuddered.
“That’s why we live in clans. It’s safer in numbers.”
She thought of her hairy neighbor. “What about Werewolves? Would they have killed me if they knew what my mother was?”
Peva looked thoughtful. “It depends on the pack. We’re friendly with some. They’ve actually called us to request an enforcer help them if they have human or Vampire trouble. Some just fear us and want to avoid our kind at all costs. They worry we’ll take over their packs. It would be easy for one of our men to kill their alphas in a fight. They admire strength but they want full-blooded Lycans to lead them, not mixed breeds. They know our history.”
“What about it? I don’t understand.”
“The one time Vampires and Lycans aligned together, they created VampLycans. Most of those Lycan women who gave birth to our kind were mentally controlled and tricked into conceiving by Vampires. We inherited that ability. Some are afraid history would be repeated. It’s why Lycans hate Vampires and they don’t get along. They fight sometimes over territories and we step in when we’re asked to try to keep the peace.”
“How do you do that?”
“One of our enforcers will order that nest to leave the area. If they refuse, it’s the last thing they do. We can’t compel them to leave by messing with their minds. That’s an ability we get from them. They’re immune.”
“What kind of human problems do packs have? I’m curious,” Dusti admitted.
Peva’s smile returned. “They’re shifters. It gets annoying when poachers invade their territory and start shooting at them in wolf form. Some have died that way. An enforcer can hunt the humans down and have a little mind chat with them.”
“Mind chat?”
“You know; tell them they no longer want to hunt in that area and suggest there’s nothing to shoot. They go into their minds and place commands.”
“Can one VampLycan mind-control another?”
She hesitated. “They’d have to be pretty weak for it to work. You’ve got a lot of human blood. Are you worried someone might mess with you? It’s possible but Drantos would hand them their asses big time if they did. He’s feeding you his blood. That will make you stronger.”
“He froze me.”
Peva arched her eyebrows.
“You know, his eyes got all glowy and I couldn’t move.”
“Were you able to think?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “That’s good. It’s very rare for a human to be immune but you aren’t a full-blood. If you had been, you wouldn’t be aware of anything he’d done unless he ordered you to remember. You wouldn’t have been able to think unless he allowed it. You would have effectively gone to sleep and woken up with whatever suggestions or commands he’d put there, believing them one hundred percent.”
“I’m back.” Drantos took a seat next to Dusti and leaned in, kissing her cheek.
“How goes it with everyone? Are they accepting your mate?” Peva lowered her voice. “Or do I have to take a stroll around to do a little public relations?”
Drantos chuckled. “They want to make her our ambassador for humans we can’t mind wipe. She can handle any of them who become a problem.”
Dusti grinned. “Awesome. I have a place in the clan. I’ll become the official bullshitter.”
Drantos gripped her hand, pleased. “It’s going to work out, Dusti.”
“I have faith since I have you.”
He picked up some of her thoughts. The bond between them strengthened every hour that passed. She’d eventually learn to mute them enough to stop broadcasting but for the moment, he knew she worried about her sister.
He pressed his mouth closer to her ear. “She’s going to be okay. Kraven won’t allow anyone or anything to hurt her.”
I just wish they were here with us.
They will be as soon as it’s safe.
Bat’s not going to take any of this well. What if she tries to run away from your brother? She’ll believe he’s as nuts as I thought you were.
Drantos frowned. He’ll track her down if she gets away from him. I have faith that he’ll find a way to prevent that from happening a second time if there’s a first. He’s a good fighter, Dusti. He’s smart. He knows how to avoid detection.
Bat doesn’t. She’s loud and draws attention.
Drantos chuckled.
“What are you two thinking to each other?” Peva let her presence be known. “You both suddenly look so grim.”
“She’s worried about her sister.” He kept his gaze on Dusti as he answered. “I’m assuring her that Kraven will keep her safe.”
“He’s right, Dusti. Kraven is what you would consider one tough hombre. He’ll protect her.”
Drantos nodded. “You’ll see her soon.”
“Food is ready,” Maku yelled.
“I’m so hungry!” Peva rushed to her mate.
Drantos got up and pulled Dusti to her feet. “Have some fun. You saved a life today. I’m really proud of you.”
“Thank you.”
“It will be fine.”
“I hope so.”
He led her to the banquet setup and they filled their plates. His thoughts drifted to their siblings too. He wished he knew his brother’s plan. It was possible that Kraven had Bat hidden somewhere in VampLycan territory, maybe even his den. Drantos silently promised to check it out later after he took Dusti home.
Otherwise, Kraven would have likely taken her far from the area. There were a lot of remote areas in Alaska that two people could get lost in.
“I’m about to eat elk. My life has drastically changed.”
He smiled at Dusti. She was adjusting to her new life surprisingly well. He was so proud and grateful that he’d found his mate.