Chapter 17 Dorian
After dropping Katarina off in her room, I felt the need to let the wolf free to run the grounds.
We were both satisfied with how everything went last night and this morning.
It was a little strange because wolves tended to find one mate and protect them against all others.
But there was something different about being with Katarina—almost as if she was the glue that would bond the three of us together.
No, that didn’t really make sense. Maybe more like she was the last puzzle piece that Aiden and I needed to feel whole.
And we just happened to share that piece.
Whatever the reason, I was content to play my role in satisfying Katarina the same way she satisfied me.
Bounding down the stairway, I jogged out the front door and immediately shifted into the wolf.
He stretched and howled, kicking off my ripped sweats and sprinting at a full run around the side of the house.
We were often of one mind when I shifted, but today our connection felt…
different. More. Like there was only one brain and we wanted the exact same thing.
We felt more powerful and more alive than ever.
Running around the perimeter of the grounds gave us the freedom to simply enjoy the smells and the fresh air.
As though the aroma of the city had intensified, we could tease out every scent of the local restaurants, the tourists, and even the telltale odor that permeated from the cemeteries. Everything was enhanced.
Is this what a mate bond did for shifters?
It had been a long time since I was a part of a pack, but I remember my members talking about how a mating bond changed them.
However, I sensed that this bond between me and Katarina and now Aiden…
this bond had more power behind it than the magical ties a mating pair of shifters shared.
I couldn’t explain the why or how of it, I just knew that my life was forever changed.
We caught the scent of Roman nearby, so we changed course and let our noses lead us to him.
I shouldn’t have been surprised to find him in his favorite spot under the giant live oak tree next to the memorial garden.
He’d installed a small patio area made with brick pavers and added four lounge chairs with sunshades so he could sit comfortably in the southern Louisiana heat.
The memorial garden was here when Roman purchased the abbey.
There were no bodies in the ground, as far as we knew, but someone had decided to honor those who passed in their own way.
The stone markers ranged from flat granite slabs to small boulders and even a few gravestones.
Many of them were crumbling with age, but Roman made a point of maintaining the garden the best we could out of respect.
My wolf trotted out of the treeline and we yipped at Roman. The vampire didn’t flinch, surely having heard us coming his way minutes earlier. He slowly turned to look at me, a small smile on his face as he set the book he was reading in his lap and lifted his sunglasses.
“Out for a run?”
I stretched back on my hind legs and asked the animal inside to give me control.
Surprisingly, he didn’t argue like he usually did, and a few seconds later, I was standing on two feet again.
Pushing my arms out to the side, I flexed my muscles and rolled my neck, feeling invincible. “Ah,” I breathed. “What a great day.”
Roman chuckled and then tossed a towel in my direction. “Want to cover that thing up?”
I smiled and caught the fabric mid-air. Looking down at my naked body and remembering how much activity this “thing” had endured in the past twelve hours, I wiggled my brows at Roman. “Do you really want me to cover up this perfection?”
Roman groaned and placed his sunglasses back on his head. Dropping his gaze back to his book, he rubbed his nose several times. “You smell like her.”
I wrapped the oversized towel around my waist like a sarong and sat in the chair next to him.
Once I wiggled into a comfortable position, I sighed and closed my eyes.
Flashes of Katarina’s beautiful body filled my visions—her plump breasts bouncing in my face, her lips forming a perfect “O” when she came, her mouth on my dick taking all of me in.
“Seriously?” Roman grumbled. “Can you please control your thoughts? Your hormones are burning my nose.”
I adjusted my growing erection and did my best to force it to go away. “Sorry, but I can’t help it.”
Roman kept his head in his book but I knew he wasn’t reading. “You slept with her.”
“We did.”
“We?”
I didn’t miss the growl lining the edges of Roman’s voice. “Aiden and me. It just kind of happened.” My skin tingled under Roman’s glare, but I avoided making eye contact with him. I didn’t want him sucking out the details from my memories.
“And you feel okay?” he finally asked.
“I feel wonderful.”
Roman closed the large book with a clap and swung his legs around so he could face my chair. I didn’t move but I’d be lying if I said I was a little intimidated by the way he scrutinized me. “Tell me about it.”
I rolled my head to the left to look at him. “No, Roman. That shit is private and—”
“Not the details, Dorian,” he cut me off. “Tell me about why you feel wonderful.”
“I…um…well, I spent the last twelve hours buried in a woman. So, there’s that.”
Roman sighed and set his sunglasses back on top of his head. “Not the sex part, you idiot. The energy exchanges. Did it happen?”
I wiggled my brows at him. “We exchanged a lot.”
“You’re a child.” Roman tapped the top of the book with his finger, deep in thought. “Pasha’s been doing some research. On Grim.”
“Grim? Why does he care about her dog?”
Roman gave me a look like I should know better than to ask such a stupid question. “Do you really think he’s a regular dog?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought much about him.”
“Well, you should.” He opened the book and I noticed for the first time that it was really old and dusty. “Ever hear of Hellhounds?”
“Sure,” I huffed.
“They’re made by demons and gifted by demons and—"
“Wait,” I interrupted, suddenly feeling like I needed more coffee before having this conversation. “You think Grim was made by a demon?”
He nodded. “Possibly.”
“And a demon gifted him to Katarina?”
“Yes.”
I sat up and rubbed my forehead. “Like a demon demon? Those things that aren’t supposed to interfere up here as per the pact they made like a million years ago?”
“They aren’t allowed to interfere directly,” Roman agreed. “But they always find a way.”
“Kind of like the leprechauns,” I muttered, remembering stories Aiden told us about the fae over the years.
“What?” Roman snapped. “No, not a leprechaun. Jesus, Dorian, stay focused.”
“I am. You’re telling me that a demon in Hell sent Grim to Katarina as a gift?”
“That’s our working theory, yes.”
I shook my head. “And why would there be a demon protecting Katarina?”
“I haven’t figured that part out yet,” Roman admitted.
“Is she a demon?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Does she know what Grim really is?”
He shrugged.
“Dude,” I sighed. “Isn’t there a saying about the simplest explanation usually being the right one?”
“Occam’s Razor,” he quickly said.
I rolled my eyes at him. Of course, he knew the name. “Then Occam’s Razor this shit. Katarina is just a human with a really cool, and possibly supernatural, dog. That’s it.”
“Really?” He leaned forward and pointed at me. “Then why does your wolf think he found his mate?”
“Stay out of my head!”
“And why is your wolf okay with sharing her?” he continued.
I opened my mouth to yell at him again, but found I had nothing to say. I didn’t know why my animal would share his mate with Aiden. It certainly wasn’t typical. In fact, I was pretty sure it never happened in wolf packs or within any shifter society.
“I have a theory about that too,” Roman added when he saw my response.
“Of course, you do,” I grumbled.
He laughed and tossed the giant tome at me. I barely caught it before he started lecturing me again. “You should read chapter twenty-one.”
“Nah. I’ll pass.”
He grimaced. “There was a reason the coven led us to Katarina.”
“And I told you what I think that is. Murielle is testing you.” When I did a little reconnaissance yesterday at Roman’s request, I followed Ramona and another one of Murielle’s witches, looking for any sign that they were interested in locating Katarina.
“They didn’t make a single attempt to find her.
No one visited her apartment, and no one filed any kind of report.
” Anger flared in my chest at the realization that no one cared what happened to my mate who’d been stuck working for the coven for years.
Roman cleared his throat. “What you’re feeling right now? That is more than just a mate bond.”
“You’re giving me a headache.”
Roman stood and lowered his sunglasses again. He was wearing dress pants and a button-down long-sleeved shirt to avoid having too much sun on his skin. “There is more to Katarina than we know. I suspect even Murielle wasn’t entirely aware of what she might be.”
“Which is?” I asked with sarcasm dripping from my voice.
Roman suddenly tensed, his head snapping around to the woods behind us. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” I asked a second before Roman grunted and fell to the ground.
I jumped to my feet and looked down at the wooden stake protruding from his chest. He was still alive, but barely. “What the fuck?”
My wolf surged to the surface, readying us both for an attack. I screamed as my bones broke and reformed and my jaw elongated to accommodate the wolf’s muzzle. I screamed because I was ready to fight and kill anyone who invaded our territory.
But before my beast could take power, a searing pain ripped through my skin.
Like being electrocuted, my muscles spazzed so fast I couldn’t control them.
My mouth hung open in a silent scream as the shifting stopped and the agony continued to paralyze my body.
And when I crashed to the ground next to Roman’s still figure, the pain only intensified until I slipped into unconsciousness.
I never got a look at who had attacked us.