Chapter 7 – Draven
DRAVEN
Isit up and stretch, instantly aware of the smell of food. Rising, I dress quickly and go to the small kitchen to find Kage cooking about a dozen scrambled eggs. A massive pan of bacon has been cooked and rests on the counter.
Entering the kitchen, I immediately snag a piece of the crispy bacon. My stomach rumbles in pleasure as I devour it and reach for the next piece.
Kage looks back at me and glares. “Save some for the rest of us.”
I snag another piece. “Is it really smart to be cooking naked?”
Kage doesn’t respond. The bastard has always loved to be naked. He can cook boiling stew on a fire without blinking an eye, whereas my cock hurts at just the thought of having my package that close to a hot stove.
“Where’s Soren?” Kage asks.
I shrug. “Being Soren.”
He’s quiet for a long minute. “We all miss Harleen, but surely he knows we couldn’t just stay in a place we weren’t needed forever, just because her statue remained there?”
Of course Soren is still upset about that, which is just plain stupid. All gargoyles are loyal to a fault. So if Kage and I said goodbye to Harleen, it was because we knew she was gone forever. But Soren isn’t just loyal, he’s stubborn. It is just how he was. About everything.
And he doesn’t like change. Of any kind. New people. New places. He hated it all.
I speak around the bacon in my mouth. “It’s not just that. He’s also not happy about your little deal.”
Kage glances back at me, the long hair he refused to cut falling in his face. “But when it comes time to put our hard cocks in our mate, I bet he’ll be thanking me.”
I grunt and eat another piece of bacon. Kage knows me well.
I wasn’t happy about the deal either, or working with Hades, but the idea of a soft mate groaning beneath me is enough for me to be willing to take this risk.
I’m not sure Soren feels the same way. He wanted to work something out with the female gargoyles who had expressed interest in us.
They made sense to him. Being given a magical, perfect mate from a god? It wasn’t quite as logical for him.
But Kage and I were on the same page there. Watching a woman with her babies and mates staring at us didn’t turn me on. I didn’t want a woman for a few months, I wanted a woman forever. And that was one thing that sanctuary could never give us.
“Fuck those gargoyles who promised us the sanctuary would have lots of women.”
Kage pulls out three plates. “If I ever see them again, I’ll put a sword in their throats.”
I think back to the three gargoyles who had arrived at our mansion shortly after we’d awoken. I think back to the lovely woman they’d had with them… the one that had turned out to be a fucking monster… a damn harpy.
I was with Kage. If we saw them again, I’d make them pay.
Kage piles eggs onto each of our plates, then bacon. Going to a stool beside the counter, he sits down and tears into his food. I shake my head, grab a fork, and eat standing near him.
Silence stretches between us until we’re done, and then we both set our plates down and stare at one another.
“So you think Soren went out to start investigating?”
Kage shrugs. “Yeah. He wants to be finished here as quickly as possible.”
“I don’t blame him.”
Kage raises a brow. “There’s no place for us in this modern world.
No master of our lands. No one to obey. All of them have died and gone, leaving us behind.
And so, we have to make a life now. A life of our own.
And we can have one, a good one. All we have to do is find one monster.
One. And we’ll have everything we’ve ever wanted. ”
My pulse speeds up. The desire to tell him my secret bubbles inside of me for the millionth time.
But I can’t.
If Kage and Soren ever found out that it was my fault we lost everything, they’d never forgive me. In my mind, it was the only thing that could ever tear our Brotherhood apart. So it was the one thing I’d take to my grave.
No matter how the truth ate at me.
Taking a deep breath, I tell myself to calm down. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t even suspect, so I need to remain composed and give nothing away. The focus was our deal with the god and the monster we must catch, not the family I’d betrayed.
“I don’t care about the monster,” I say. We’ve killed monsters before. Dozens of the fuckers. We know strategy. We know how to track and hunt. “I don’t like the deal with the god. Gods are tricky bastards.”
“But he can’t renege on his word. Gods are bound to their promises in a way no other being is,” Kage says, like it solves all our issues.
“You really believe this is going to be simple? If it was simple, he wouldn’t have asked for our help.”
Kage shrugs. “Maybe he was lazy.”
“Or maybe this won’t be as easy as you think.”
We hear the key in the lock. A second later Soren comes in.
I’m almost surprised, yet again, by how different he looks than he used to.
His hair was cut, just like mine, but even shorter.
He wears casual, odd looking clothes. Just like I wear.
He’s even starting to walk and talk like a modern human.
I wonder if I’ve changed that much too.
“Morning,” he says.
Going to the kitchen, he grabs his plate of food and sits at one of the empty barstools.
“Find out anything useful?” I ask.
He swallows the bite of eggs in his mouth. “The hellhound apparently likes to attack a certain type of human.” He grabs a piece of bacon and starts munching.
“And what kind is that?” I feel unexpectedly irritated. Just tell us, so we can get this whole thing over with.
“Bad men who like to party at night with drugs and alcohol.”
I frown. “Why would a hellhound care who it attacks?”
Soren goes for more eggs. “I don’t know, but I’m thinking it must learn something about the men before it attacks.”
My thoughts start turning. “There can’t be many places in this town that cater to that kind of crowd.”
Both men look at me. Waiting.
I sigh, thinking of a place filled with nightlife that we briefly stayed at on our trip to this town. “We should go out at night and go to the places that are still open. We should try to find a place the hellhound can watch its victims without anyone noticing.”
Kage grunts. “It’s as good a start as any.”
“We also need to come up with what we’re going to tell the humans. I told Cerce we were here on business, but—“
“Whose Cerce?” I ask, staring at Soren.
A guarded look comes over his face. “Our neighbor.”
“Neighbor?” Kage asks, perking up. “What does she look like?”
“Trouble,” Soren says, frowning down at his eggs.
“Just my type.” Kage grins.
“No,” Soren continues. “We should stay away from her. I don’t like her. I just wanted to come up with a plan.”
My thoughts are turning. Since when does Soren call a woman trouble? She must have really gotten under his skin. A fact that intrigues me. I’ll have to meet this woman, but for now, we do need something to tell the humans.
“We’ll tell people that we are looking to invest in land, and that we thought the area outside of this town could work. It’ll explain why we might end up in the woods and why we’re so interested in the hellhound.”
“Good enough for me.” Kage rises. “So what now?”
“We cautiously ask people questions around town, then tonight we split up and see what we can find.”
Kage thankfully goes to dress and my mind continues to spin. Something feels off about this whole situation. But I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.
All I know is this… I don’t like it.
Please let me be wrong. Let this be simple and easy. One dead dog means a lifetime with a mate.
But even when I go to wash the dishes the uneasy feeling continues to linger over me.