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Donovan already knew. I read it on his face. The thought caused his fangs to lengthen though. When he spoke, they were large in his mouth. “Yes, the lieutenant mentioned it. I’ve already upped Evan’s security. Trent is hiring some extra guards for the boys and Z, too. Bris has strict orders to take over the body if Dev does something stupid. I’m on it, Kelsey. If anything happens…”

My response was instantaneous. “The kids are my highest priority. I’ll do what it takes.”

Donovan nodded slowly, and I watched him calm down. “I appreciate that, Kelsey. Know that Dev and I will sacrifice anything for our wife and children. Now, we should get to the dining room table. Think about what I said. Don’t give up on Marcus. You just fought for yourself, and you won. Now fight for him. He needs it. And try to keep your pants on this time.”

“I make no promises.” I would be seeing Sloane. My pants tended to dissolve around him.

The king followed me out the door, and we joined my new family for dinner.

Chapter Fifteen

Dinner was delicious, but my heart wasn’t in it. All around me this new family I found myself in laughed and joked. The king sat at one end of the table. There was no plate piled high in front of him, but he sat there, Evangeline on his lap. He was content to cut her food into tiny squares. The little girl leaned back against her father and chewed happily. Lee and Rhys argued about which video games were best. Quinn had a long discussion with my uncle on the new high-definition television he’d bought. The women talked about new clothes and their kids. Liv joined in, telling stories about her job and what teaching high school supernaturals was like.

I was quiet.

I wondered if I would ever feel like I belonged somewhere. I’d felt like I belonged with Gray, but that was a lie. I’d felt like I belonged with Marcus, but I’d screwed that up as well. I found my eyes moving over to the side table where I’d stashed the picture of my dad inside my purse. He was a lone wolf. How much of that instinct to be alone was written into my DNA? Would I always push away the people who cared about me?

 Lisa placed a piece of chocolate cake in front of me. The icing looked rich and dark. If Marcus had been beside me, his eyes would have filled with anticipation. He loved chocolate. His sweet tooth would have caused me to get overweight if I didn’t have that trusty werewolf metabolism. His hand would already be on the fork. He would hold it to my mouth and tease my lips with it until I took a bite. We would enjoy the flavor, the taste so much sweeter because I knew he shared it with me.

How long would it take before the bond between us was broken? Would mere distance mean he couldn’t feel my moods or taste what I tasted? Would I feel the same way about Hugo that I felt about Marcus? I doubted it. I hoped Hugo’s mistress didn’t hate me.

“Kelsey?” I was pulled out of my morbid thoughts by Liv calling to me. “Are you all right? Where did Marcus go?”

“He needed to pack.” My answer was short and I couldn’t look her in the eye. It was the same talk we always had. I fucked up and someone who could have been good for me was gone. “He’s going back to Italy in the morning.”

The table went quiet. I hated the way they stared at me. So much flipping sympathy. I couldn’t stand it. I smiled. It was totally fake. I wanted the attention off me. I brazenly used my four-year-old cousin to deflect attention. “So Court, what did Santa bring you this year?”

Christmas had been about four weeks before. I’d enjoyed an Italian Christmas with Marcus. Christmas dinner had been nine courses.

Courtney’s brown eyes were huge, and there was no mistaking her terror. “I don’t wike Santa Cwaus. I don’t wike his wong bweawd.” She shook her head vigorously.

“It’s all right, cupcake.” Zack patted his daughter on the back. “Santa is never coming again. Remember Uncle Daniel killed Santa Claus.”

My mouth dropped open. “You killed Santa? Dude, that’s rude.”

Donovan shook his head. “Turns out he was a demon. The old folklore on the guy was right. He was some bad shit. He liked to catch kids in his beard and pull them in and…”

He let me figure out the last part for myself.

“That was when Dan decided to seriously start looking for a sheriff,” Quinn offered. “If you’d been around, you could have sent Saint Nick to his eternal damnation. Dan had to do it. The boys sulked for a month.”

“Then fake Santa brought us new bikes,” Rhys piped up with his eternal smile.

“Fake Santa was better.” Lee finished off his cake. “But, hey, the Easter Bunny is still out there somewhere. Kelsey can kill that.”

“Good to know.” I wasn’t looking forward to that job. “Do I want to know what the Easter Bunny does to small children?”

Donovan shook his head firmly. “No, you do not. Ever seen Monty Python? ’Cause someone on that show has met the little fucker, let me tell you.”

Courtney gave me a rundown of all the things that scared her. It was an impressive list. Ice cream trucks, trains, hairless cats, clowns, the color orange, string beans…the list went on. After a while she got tired of talking to adults and wandered off to play with Evan.

I was listening intently to stories about my father when there was a knock at the door. Lisa got up to answer it. I glanced at my uncle, who sniffed the air and then completely ignored whoever it was. It seemed a good hint that whoever was at the door wasn’t a threat.

“Are you really going to kill the Easter Bunny?” Liv leaned forward. She had a hand on my arm and I could tell she was happily plastered. I was going to have so much fun with her tomorrow. Of course, there was still tonight. I wondered where Casey was.

“Yeah.” I was much more cheerful. No one was looking at me like the lovelorn idiot. “And probably the tooth faery, too. Tell me something, Livvie. Do you think Casey is somewhere strumming his sad guitar, making up songs about how much he loves you?”

She flushed. It made me giggle.

“I was helping out.” She frowned. I knew my BFF. She was thinking about him. She was thinking about the egghead, wannabe-skater-turned-pacifist vampire.

“Seriously?” I didn’t have to say anything more. We had a shorthand, Liv and I.

She rolled her eyes like I was talking crazy. “No.”

That no sounded an awful lot like a maybe to me.

“Dev,” Lisa said, walking into the dining room. “Two of your bouncers are here. They said there’s some trouble in the club.”

The faery pushed back his chair with a sigh. “A club owner’s work is never done.” He leaned over and kissed his wife. “I’ll be back.” The king started to push back his chair, and Dev sent him a questioning look. “Stay here, Dan. I can handle the club.”

I was watching Lisa. I didn’t like the tight look in her eyes. Her jaw was rigid. She didn’t look like a woman who’d greeted some welcome guests. Then there was the fact that she followed Dev out of the dining room rather than sitting back down. Something didn’t feel right, and I’ve learned to follow my instincts.

I didn’t have all the resources I needed on my own, but then I had a whole family around me. I turned to my uncle. “Do you smell anything odd?”

Zack breathed the air deeply. The king stared at Zack while the queen immediately stood and started counting children. The minute I asked the question, she went into protection mode. I kind of took it as a compliment. The queen knew when it was time to circle the wagons. Lee was still at the table, but Rhys had wandered off. Evangeline had toddled back into the dining room, but I couldn’t see Courtney.

Zack didn’t look terribly concerned. “It’s Ray and Walter. They’re bouncers. Huh. That’s weird. Are they wearing perfume? I smell something sweet.”

Something was wrong. Trent had mentioned a sweet smell on Alan. It couldn’t be a coincidence. I figured the scent came out in the sweat. I stood calmly, pushing my chair back. Donovan stood as well.

I shook my head his way, an indication for him to stay put. “I’ll handle it. You take care of the people in here.”

“What’s going on?” Zack stood up beside me. “My wife is out there.”

My uncle is a badass, but he’s not an alpha.

“Follow me.” I made my voice deep and commanding. There was no doubt in my tone. I walked and he followed. The king nodded to me. Zoey clutched Evangeline as I strode toward the door. Rhys walked in and was surprised to find himself quickly in his mother’s hold. Lee stood.

“Don’t you even think about it.” Lee’s eyes widened at his vampire father’s stern tone, but he quickly sat back down.

I felt confident that I didn’t have a bunch of hangers-on. I didn’t insist on my uncle staying behind. His wife was out there. A thought occurred to me. Lisa hadn’t even tried to warn anyone, though now I could see she knew something was wrong. Only one thing could have bought her compliance. “Zack, is Courtney out there?”

His nose was in the air. He went stark white. “Oh god, Kelsey. She is out there and she’s scared. So is Lisa.”

I put my hand on the door. It made sense. Courtney and Lisa made good hostages. Devinshea Quinn was out of his element. I thought about the entryway, going over it in my mind. There were no plants in that part of the apartment. Even as I had the thought, I nearly tripped over a thin green vine snaking its way toward the dining room door. It was an ivy coming from one of the back rooms, I supposed. I picked up the pace. I wasn’t sure what Quinn was planning, but I had to get my little cousin and my uncle’s wife out of there before he did it.

“You stay calm.” I put my mouth up to my uncle’s ear. Whatever those bouncers were, they had good hearing. “When I open the door, take care of Courtney and then Lisa. I’ll handle the crazed drug addicts. What are they, anyway?”

He pointed to his own chest. Werewolves. They would be strong and fast. They could change forms quickly, and then they would be even stronger and faster. I felt my uncle press something in my hand. A small, semiautomatic pistol shone in the dim light. I flicked the safety off. Zack pulled another gun from an ankle holster. I wondered briefly how many weapons my uncle usually wore to family dinners. His face was tense, his eyes dark. He was ready to change if he needed to.

The thin green vine slithered past me like a snake seeking prey. It easily fit under the door. I decided it was time to give Quinn a helpful distraction. I kicked the door open. I was pleased when it came off its hinges instead of merely swinging. I’m much stronger when the adrenaline is flowing.

It was definitely flowing then, and it mixed with rage when I saw the fucker had my niece in midair, with his claws around her throat. She dangled there. Her sneakers with Dora the Explorer kicked, trying desperately to find balance. Tears streamed from her brown eyes. I was betting Courtney had some new things she was afraid of.

Zack growled behind me.

“Please, Zack.” Lisa shook as she watched the big wolf dangle her baby.

The entryway was large for a condo. The upper floors of the building were for the royal family and close friends. Like the rooms I’d been given, this one was more mansion than tight apartment. The entryway was grand. It gave Ray and Walter breathing space. The werewolf who held my niece was short and stocky. His claws were out, but they hadn’t penetrated her skin. Yet.

“Drop that fucking gun right now, girl.” The other wolf seemed to be in charge. He had a gun pointed at Dev Quinn’s head. He was tall and thickly built. His claws were out as well. He wasn’t being careful with Quinn. The minute the door opened, he’d wrapped his claws around the faery’s throat, and there was blood dripping down Quinn’s skin, staining the perfect white of his dress shirt.

“I think I’d rather keep it.” I aimed at the big guy’s head.

“You’ll drop the gun, bitch, or I’ll tear his throat out.”

To Quinn’s credit, he barely showed the strain of having someone’s claws buried in his throat and a gun at his head.

I shrugged. Behind me, Zack had already dropped his gun. He was at his wife’s side. Both watched their daughter. I realized that this was my show for now. I hoped they trusted me to run it. I caught sight of the glossy vine. It crept close to the floorboard. Quinn stayed calm. His concentration was obviously on getting that vine where it needed to go.

“I don’t like him, so feel free.” I gave the bastard my most arrogant smile.

“Thanks, Kelsey.” Quinn sounded sullen. He winked though, letting me know he was on to my game.

He needed some time and a lot of chaos. I was willing to provide both.

“What the hell is it the two of you want?” I figured it would be nice to know if they were simply buckets of crazy or had an actual mission planned.

“We want the king,” Big Were said.

Quinn rolled his eyes. “These idiots think that if they can kill Daniel, they’ll get all the free drugs they can handle. They used Courtney to force Lisa to get me. Now they want to use me to get to Daniel.”

“They’re going to kill the king?” That was the dumbest plan I’d heard. Donovan could handle them with one hand tied behind his back. The only reason he’d struggled with Alan was he was trying to keep the shifter alive.

The drugs were warping their brains. I’d have to ask Henri if reasoning skills were being impacted as well as impulses. Part of me wanted to go get the king. The king could kill these idiots in no time flat, but this was my job. I was the
Nex Apparatus
, and I didn’t pawn off my work.