“Have another one.” Kian handed Turner another martini.

“I thought that all you Scots drank was whiskey and beer.” Turner took the glass.

“It’s a wedding, so we have to pretend to be gentlemen.” He was pulling the crap out of his ass, but he had no choice. The sleeping tonic was sweet, and he had to mask the flavor.

By the third drink, Turner’s eyes started to droop.

Not knowing the exact dose that would knock the guy out, Kian had been careful with the quantities he’d kept mixing into Turner’s drinks.

Without the benefit of Bridget’s advice, he had to rely on what the human pharmacist had told him.

Last night, for the first time in his life, Kian had taken part in one of his mother’s schemes, and he had to concede that it had been fun. No wonder Annani enjoyed her little adventures so much.

Except, this time she’d done it for him, helping him sneak out in the middle of the night by casting a shroud around him and helping him take care of the security camera feeds from the parking garage. The guys in the control room had no idea he’d even been there.

After that, Kian had driven to the nearest twenty-four-hour pharmacy and gotten the stuff needed to knock Turner out.

Secrecy demanded that he went alone without his bodyguards, and it also precluded the use of his contacts and resources. It had been a humbling experience to realize how much he depended on others in his everyday life.

It had been a very long time since Kian had been completely on his own.

Not that playing the part of an anonymous customer had been difficult, or even dangerous. He’d thralled the human to believe he was an old man who had trouble sleeping at night and couldn’t swallow pills. She’d been very helpful when he’d told her that anything tasting like medicine made him gag and that he needed something that was either tasteless or sweet.

The hard part had been sneaking out and then back in. Annani had waited for him to return, casting her shroud again so he could fix the camera feeds from the garage and then get in bed without waking Syssi.

She was also waiting for him to bring Turner to her.

“One more.” He handed Turner another drink.

“What are we toasting this time?”

“Your health.”

“I thought we’d already drunk to that.”

“Your health is important, so it deserves another one.”

Turner accepted the drink, and then glanced at the immortals loading food onto their plates. “Shouldn’t we get in line?”

“Nah, I’m waiting for it to dwindle down. Besides, don’t you want to wait for Bridget to get back?”

“Yeah, you’re right, we should wait for them.”

The ladies had gone to change out of the saris they had worn for the ceremony, providing Kian with the perfect opportunity to take care of Turner.

But he was running out of time. Hopefully, the last dose was going to do the trick.

With a grimace, Turner finished the martini and put the glass on the makeshift bar they had erected for the ceremony.

“I don’t feel so good.” He wiped sweat from his forehead. “I need to sit down.”

Turner started walking toward the tables, then swayed and lost his balance.

Kian caught him. “I got you.” He wrapped his arm around the guy’s middle, propping him up.

Turner took two more shaky steps before collapsing. If not for Kian’s arm holding him up, he would’ve toppled to the ground.

About fucking time.

Kian hoisted the unconscious man over his shoulder and started walking briskly toward his house.

“What happened?” Anandur rushed to intercept.

“Too much to drink. I’m taking him to my house.”

Anandur reached for Turner. “I’ll take him, boss.”

“No, I got it.” Kian pretended to look around and then whispered, “I want to have a quiet smoke, and I don’t want Syssi to catch me. We promised each other to stay away from the stuff.”

Another load of crap he pulled out of his ass, but that was the first thing that popped into his head, perhaps because he really craved a smoke. Syssi didn’t mind. In fact, they still enjoyed smoking together from time to time.

“No problem, boss. Your secret is safe with me.” Anandur winked.

“And don’t tell Bridget about Turner either. She’s going to get mad at him for drinking too much. I’m going to splash some water on his face and then have him drink lots of coffee. Hopefully, it will be enough to revive him.”

Anandur saluted. “Got it.”

Annani opened the door as soon as Kian got there. “What took you so long?”

“I didn’t know how much he could take. I didn’t want to accidentally kill him. Not even your intervention would have helped him then.” He carried Turner to one of the guest rooms and laid him on the bed.

Annani followed. “Go guard the door.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Kian got out and leaned against the door from the other side, crossing his arms over his chest.

It was his mother’s show now, and she knew exactly what to do.

About thirty seconds later, she called him in. “It is done.”

“What now?”

“Now we wait. But not here.”

“Right. It would look suspicious if both of us hovered over him. I’m going to smoke outside. Do you want to join me?”

“I do not smoke.”

“Does the smell bother you?”

“It does not. I can sit outside with you.”

Their yard wasn’t much bigger than their penthouse terrace at the keep, and the lap pool was about the same size too. Okidu had his own little house in the back that he was now sharing with his brothers, Annani’s Odus, but none of them were there now or about to return any time soon. They were busy preparing food in the commercial kitchen and serving it.

Annani sat down in one of the rocking chairs. “It’s so nice out here. The air is fresh. My place is beautiful, but it is in an enclosed dome. No crickets, no night birds. No matter how well done, it is still artificial.”

“Would you like to move in here?” It would be a security nightmare, but if Annani were unhappy in Alaska, he would do his best to make it work.

“No, my dear son, but thank you for the offer. I like having my own place. If I move in with you, Sari would be offended. I would rather visit both of you from time to time.” She smirked. “Not too often, though. I know you can only handle me in small doses.”

“I love you, but you are not easy.”

“I know. That is why having my own place is good for everyone.”

Kian couldn't argue with that, nor did he want to. Annani ruled over her stronghold and let him rule his, mostly as he saw fit. The arrangement worked well for everyone.

“You’re welcome to visit as often as you like. I can’t promise to spend much time with you, but that shouldn’t stop you from coming. Syssi is always happy to see you, and so is Amanda. You can even schedule a few visits with some of your other family members.”

Annani smiled. “I will think about it. For now, I am more concerned with Bridget’s man. I hope that what we have done helped him.”

“I wish I knew what to expect. We don’t know how Turner’s body is going to react. What if he goes straight into transition? It will be hard to explain. I don’t think people will buy the story of your proximity to him affecting the change.”

Annani laughed. “No, I do not think that explanation will work. You will need to tell them that you bit him.”

“In secret?”

“Why not? You can say that you did not want to make a big fuss out of it. The opportunity presented itself, and you decided to take advantage of it. Turner was passed out so you could bite him without scaring him.”

Kian chuckled. “Turner is not easily scared. No one would believe that I was concerned about that.”

“How about him making you angry?”

Kian shook his head. “Not good either. But I can go with the no-fuss story. I did it to see if it worked and didn’t tell anyone not to raise their hopes.”

“That sounds very noble of you. I like it.”

Pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, Kian took one out and lit it. “How did I get my venom glands going, though? What was the catalyst?”

Annani rocked on her chair. “Did it ever happen to you just from getting angry?”

“I would have to get very angry for my fangs to elongate without provocation.”

“Well, you can say that you thought about extremely annoying things.”

“It’s weak, but no one can prove that it’s untrue.”