Page 31 of Accidental Blood Lust
I pound on the door, but there’s no answer.
“Fuck,” Jare mutters, and I grunt in agreement and reach for the doorknob.
It’s locked, but this isn’t the time for respecting anyone’s privacy, so I give the handle a rough jerk and the lock breaks with a crunching sound. I shove the door open and find the room empty. I march inside anyway, just to be sure, and Jare is right behind me.
“When did you see him last?” he demands, heading for the en suite bathroom and peeking his head inside. “Was he okay? Did something happen?”
I rub the back of my neck. How the fuck am I supposed to answer that? I can’t be honest with him, not right now when he’s already so upset, but I’m not sure I can bring myself to lie to Jareth either. We’ve never lied to each other, even when it’s hurt, even when a lie might have been preferable.
He stops in the middle of the room and closes his eyes, taking a slow, deep breath, then frowning.
“The energy in here is… strange. It’s heavy and charged and…” He swallows and a slight blush creeps into his cheeks before he opens his eyes without finishing that sentence out loud.
“We’ll find him,” I promise. “Come on, let’s go talk to Cassius. If Loch isn’t with him, he might know where he would go. Hell, he can’t even leave the underworld without one of us, and he knows that, so I can’t imagine he went far. Maybe he just needed to go for a walk and clear his head.”
“There was a very clear hourglass and a skull in my tea leaves, Rome, that means imminent danger and violence. He’s not just ‘out for a walk to clear his head.’”
My wolf thrashes and whines again, but I’m ready for it this time, keeping control of myself by balling my hands into fists and grinding my teeth together. “Talking to Cassius will be faster than rushing outside and looking under every rock for him. We need somewhere to start.”
“Fine,” he snaps, then waves for me to lead the way.
“Are you pissed at me?” I bristle.
“You were supposed to be keeping him safe. He’s been here a couple of days and he’s already missing and in danger. How could you have let that happen? And you’re being weird. It feels like you’re hiding something.”
“I’m not hiding what you think I am.” That’s the best answer I can give him right now. He sniffles and I stop and spin around to face him. Fuck it. I pull him into my arms, and a tiny bit of the tension inside me eases at the familiar feeling of his body melting against mine and his comforting scent surrounding me.
After kissing Lochlan andknowingthat he’s my mate, I’m expecting my reaction to Jareth to be different now, but it’s not. The ache of wanting him is the same as ever, the urge to bury my face in the crook of his neck and live in his scent is still there, and my cock still swells against his hip like it always has. I rub his back in slow, comforting circles until he stops sniffling and takes a few deep breaths.
“We’re going to find him, okay?” I promise him.
He nods against my shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go find Cas.”
ELEVEN
LOCHLAN
I don’t know where I am, but I know where I’m not. One minute I was in a regular bar and now I’m in some kind of dark forest. The trees are massive, with low hanging branches, almost willow like, but they’re black. Everything is black—the leaves, the bark, the grass and moss covering the ground. What the actual fuck?
“Where are we?”
Iswyn glances over his shoulder at me, his charming and alluring smile gone now. “My home.” He snaps his fingers and several glowing beings float down from a tree. Their bodies are almost translucent with no discernible legs or facial features. Just arms and bodies.
“Bring my guest some elixir.”
At Iswyn’s command, the beings flit off.
“Come along, vampire. We’ll get you situated.”
“You can help, right?”
“Of course. You made a wise decision to approach me. I am the most powerful in my district.”
That news settles my frayed nerves a bit. “I must have sensed that.”
“Yes.” He smiles again, but it’s tighter now.
