Page 35 of Accidental Blood Lust
“Well, you did anyway.”
I turn my back to wallow in my pity.
“Jare, come on.”
Before we can continue the conversation, the room fills with a bunch of men, all in different states of dress given the hour.
There’s the dragon and his demon mate; the vampire, of course; a gargoyle; and… Oh, another mage. A powerful one.
Roman conducts quick introductions, but my eyes are still stuck on the mage. His aura mixes with the gargoyle’s, indicating that they’re mated. Interesting. I didn’t know mages could have fated mates. That would mean Roman is right and there’s no way we could simply choose each other if fate has other plans.
Ugh, why am I even thinking about this? I need to focus on finding Lochlan, the other half of my heart. Even if I’m still notsure I can ever forgive him or take him back, I can’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to him.
“You,” Rune says. “It was your magic.”
“Uh, what?” I ask.
“When these assholes attacked me with all those illusions to get Mac back last year,” he says.
“You can tell?” the dragon asks.
Rune nods. “The illusions had such a distinct scent. Very impressive, mage.”
“Awkward,” I mutter.
“Bygones.” Rune smiles. “Why have we all been rudely awakened in the middle of the night?”
“Not all of us were sleeping.” Drax waggles his eyebrows at his dragon mate.
“Eww.” Cassius scrunches his nose up.
“We need help,” Roman says. “We’ve lost Lochlan, but he must be down here somewhere. Any ideas? Splitting up and searching the endless grounds doesn’t seem like a good use of time.”
I feel Rune’s gaze on me, and when I turn toward him, I’m hit with a wave of his power. Okay, wow. This guy is something else.
“We can do it,” he says. “Jareth and me. Come. Let’s go to my workroom.”
If I could find him on my own, I would have, but maybe Rune knows how we can combine forces. Before we make it to the room though, a large demon appears in the hallway, blocking our path.
“Pets,” he says. “There is trouble.” His vivid aqua eyes fix on me. “And a stranger. Why do we always have unannounced guests lately? Most unusual.”
“He’s my guest,” Roman says, protectively holding my hand. “But we’re leaving soon.”
“What is the matter?” the demon asks. “I sense it.”
“Everything is fine, Auri,” Cassius says. “Just hanging out.”
Seconds later, a huge black dog with three heads comes loping down the hall, tongues hanging out and tail wagging. He pounces on Auri then happily bounces around to all the guys. They have a hellhound?
“Down, Grim,” the dragon says as the dog licks his face with multiple tongues.
Eww.
“Do not lie to me, pet.” Auri strokes Cassius’s hair, which seems to annoy the vampire as he swats the demon’s hand away.
“We sort of, uh, lost Lochlan,” Roman admits. “And Jareth here had a vision that he might be in trouble. So, we’re just looking for him.”
I brace myself for the demon to become enraged, ready to toss a protective shield over Roman and myself, if necessary, but he throws his head back with laughter instead.
