“I contacted the feline nation, and they’re experiencing the same problem. Somebody has gotten to the vials, and we don’t know how far back the tampering goes. We’ll have to immunize everybody again just to make sure. In the meantime, my people aren’t protected, and the virus is still out there.”
Kane swallowed. “You’re right. The only smart thing to do is to inoculate everyone again. Test the vials, find the good ones, and use them. I’ll step up production of more vials in our labs to send to you.” The ticking clock on his back just increased in speed. At some point, the Kurjans would figure out how to make the virus mutate and go airborne. It was merely a matter of time. He needed a cure before that happened. A cure for all beings. He’d find one, after he got his brother back.
Terrent tugged on his ripped T-shirt. “We need to come up with some sort of plan for who’s doing this.” He glanced at his watch. “Also, the demons have increased the bounty on Maggie’s head. You need to send the little wolf to a new location—everyone knows she’s at your headquarters.”
Dage exhaled. “Any idea why the demons want her?”
Terrent focused back on the camera. “No. No clue. But I do believe the lass is in danger.”
Kane frowned. Something was off there. Was Terrent lying? It was incredibly rare for the wolf to lapse into the brogue since it had been centuries since he’d lived in Scotland. Maggie was a little wolf shifter who had been captured by the Kurjans and infected with the virus, resulting in amnesia. She had no clue who she was and had sought refuge with the vampires. Why would Terrent lie about her?
Terrent tapped an ear communicator that had been hidden and then nodded. “Okay.” The smile he flashed held way too much amusement. “Hilde Freebird would like to speak with you.”
The screen went black. Two seconds later, a woman sitting in a hospital bed and covered by a hand-sewn quilt squinted black eyes at them. Curly blond hair had been pinned up on her head, and pale, smooth skin covered delicate features. She looked to be about forty years old. Living on the farm had been good to her. “You the king?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dage gentled his voice.
Fire flashed in her dark eyes. “You keep your grubby, vampire hands off my granddaughter—got it?”
Dage bit his lip. “Yes, ma’am. I won’t touch her.”
“Humph.” Pale hands clutched into the quilt. “I know you vampires—not a one of you can keep it in your pants. One of you seduces my sweet Amber, and I’ll behead you myself.”
Heat started to climb into Kane’s face. “Maybe you should’ve told sweet Amber about her gifts . . . about immortal creatures.”
Dark eyelashes fluttered as Hilde turned her attention to him. “Which one are you?”
“I’m Kane.”
“Ah.” A small smile pursed her fine lips. “The smart one. Good. Make sure you explain this carefully to your brothers; my granddaughter will not be messing with demons. The second I’m healthy to go, we’re going. Understand?”
No. But arguing with a lady sitting in a hospital bed seemed like a bad idea. “We’ll keep her safe, Ms. Freebird. I promise.” Kane donned his most charming smile.
“Don’t even think of bewitching me, dumbass. I’ve known plenty of vampires in my day. You’re all full of charm. And don’t think for a second I’m unaware of how often you mate to gain the gifts of enhanced females. You even think of having a vampire mate Amber, and you’ll regret it. My powers go a lot further than just destroying demons.”
Kane coughed twice. Okay, so he’d considered mating Amber. Shit. He was still considering the possibility.
Dage nodded. “It was nice to meet you, Ms. Freebird, and I hope you feel better soon. We have to go now.” He hit the button on the wall, and Hilde disappeared.
Thank God.
“Fuck.” Kane shook his hands out to stop the adrenaline ripping through his veins. “Why can’t anything go as fucking planned?”
Dage headed straight for the bar set in the corner to pour two scotches. “Any more word on the internal struggles of the demons?”
“No. Apparently whatever was going on has been handled. The demon nation is strong enough to deal with us now.” Kane rubbed his chin. “I wish we had found out what type of insurgence was happening.”
Dage returned and shoved a full glass in Kane’s hand. “Sit down.”
Kane tipped back his head and downed the liquid before sitting in a thick leather chair, his boots settling on the neutral Persian rug. Warmth coated his throat to land in his belly. “This had better be fake leather.”
Dage sat in a matching chair, facing him. “You’ve never given a shit about leather before.”
“I give a shit now.” Kane met his brother’s stare evenly, irritation clawing down his spine.
“That is a faux-leather chair.” The king took a small swallow of the smooth drink. “What’s up your ass?”
Who the hell knew? “We’re the most powerful race on earth, and you’d think we could sit our butts on something other than pure leather. How hard is that for you to understand?” Kane’s fingers curled over in the absurd need to hit something. Was he turning into Talen or what?
Dage’s smile lacked any semblance of humor. “Do I need to handle you?”
“Handle me?” Heat burned inside Kane’s head so fast, so hard, he was shocked steam didn’t flow with his words. “I fucking handle you, king. That’s my job.”
“Is it, now?” Anybody remotely familiar with the king would recognize the soft tone of voice as something to run the hell away from.
Kane was beyond running. “Yes. From day one, I’m your fucking advisor. Your sense of logic in a violent world. You wouldn’t know how to handle me.” The words spewed out too fast for him to stop, even while he knew he was being unfair. Horribly unfair to a guy who’d never wanted to lead—never wanted to be king.
“She is a beautiful woman.” The king took another drink.
Kane stopped cold. His mind blanked. “What?”
“Amber. She’s stunning and has the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen. Very pretty girl.”
Taking a deep breath, Kane sat back in the chair. His mind clicked to life. “I was rallying about the unfairness of life and how I have to be logical when Talen gets to just hit things. Could we get back to that?”
Dage shrugged. “That’s boring. And your lot in life isn’t why you’re acting like you have a stick shoved up your ass.”
If Kane had the energy, he would hit his brother. Right now, the world on his shoulders was holding him down. “I offered to mate her.”
Coughing, Dage wiped liquid off his chin. “You did what?”
Kane shrugged. “I mean, before we, well, you know— I offered to mate her. To get her abilities so she wouldn’t have to use them. So she’d get mine. You know how I can shield all emotion, as well as throw emotion out in rare occasions.”
Dage set his glass on the polished oak table. “That’s a very logical reason to mate a woman, Kane.”
“Exactly.” Thank God somebody understood. “She refused, saying she wants love and all that crap. But our mating really was a good idea.”
“So after she refused, why sleep with her?” Dage’s silver eyes narrowed.
Why, indeed? Kane brought his glass to his mouth, frowning when he realized the crystal was empty. “Well, we’d just rowed across a freezing lake, and I needed to warm her up.” The reason even sounded lame to him. He flashed a smile. “And like you said, she’s stunning.”
“You like her.”
“Sure. She’s smart, sexy, and dedicated to what she believes in. She said she’d help us save Jase.” What wasn’t to like? Her idealistic view of the world was silly, but not unlikeable. “I still think mating her is a good idea.”