Drantos (VLG Series Book 1) (36 page)

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

She suddenly had another thought and halted him when he started to lead her to a group of people.

He turned his head. “What?”

“I’m mostly human. What does that mean for us? I can’t will my body to do that.”

He hesitated before answering. “You’d have to be ovulating…and accidental pregnancies
have
occurred with humans.”

She let that sink in.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he whispered.

She had a hundred questions but Drantos led her to more of his people. They looked wary at her approach but she tried to avoid looking as nervous as she felt. It was important that she make friends.

Drantos felt great pride. Dusti masked her fear well. He couldn’t smell it but he felt traces of it through their bond. She’d been introduced to almost everyone present. He knew his people were unsure of her but they were polite. When his mother entered the clearing with her group, loaded down with food, he took Dusti to Peva and went to help. He hated to leave her side but knew she’d be well looked after.

“How goes it?” His mother scanned the clearing until she spotted Dusti. The creases in her features eased. “She’s with Peva. Good.”

“We’re eating with them.”

“Did you fight Maku to make that happen?”

“No. Peva worked her mate magic.”

His mother laughed. “Ah. That always works. Now
you
have a mate who will be able to make you see reason too. It’s impossible to remain stubborn when the one you love expects compromise. You will want to give it to her.”

“You lead Dad around by his nose.”

She chuckled. “It’s not that body part I grab when I want him to follow me down any path.”

“I was trying to be polite.”

“Your manners have already improved. I like seeing this new side of you.”

Drantos scanned the area again and lowered his voice. “Thank you for backing me up with Dad. I know this can’t be easy for you either, as my mother.”

She leaned in closer and reached up, laying her hand on his shoulder. “She’s not the mate I would have chosen for you but that’s not our way. You felt something for this Dusti and the bond was there when you touched her. I’m grateful you found her and didn’t have to settle for something less. It happens and it’s always sad to see. That would have broken my heart. You deserve a true mate, and the love that goes with it.”

“Dad is worried that our children will be weak. I tried to tell him that won’t happen but I can tell he’s still apprehensive.”

She released him and waved her hand in the air, a gesture to state she wasn’t concerned. “Let them be healthy and give me lots of grandbabies. That’s all I ask. Your bloodlines are strong and she’s not fully human. I have faith it will be fine.”

“Thank you.”

“You do need to speak with her about how life here is different from the world she came from. One day your father will wish to hand over leadership to you. That means you’ll need her to stand strong at your side. I know you could handle it alone but the women prefer being dealt with by another woman.”

“They would hurt or even kill her if she fought one of our women.”

“She won’t have to do things my way. I’m more hands-on than other clan leaders’ mates. I enjoy a good fight. Teach her how to earn their respect and it will never come to violence.” She paused. “You said she’s more Vampire than Lycan?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a pity.”

“Why?”

“It’s possible that carrying your young enough times could activate the Lycan traits to emerge, if it were the stronger of the two. That would have meant she had a chance at shifting in the future.”

“She needs my blood sometimes.”

“Does she have fangs?”

“No.”

She suddenly grinned. “She could use her ability to drink blood as a weapon if she had them. It would weaken her opponents if she bit them, while making her stronger.”

“I never want my mate to have to do that.”

“We’ll discuss this later. It’s time to cook. Go to your Dusti and show our people your love for her, and hers for you. No one will dare go after her. They’d have to fight
you
.” She winked. “None in our clan are that stupid.”

He made it to Dusti’s side and was about to take a seat when motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Marna ran into the clearing, her eyes wide, and the youngster appeared afraid. She waved her arms, too out of breath to speak.

Drantos straightened and rushed at her. He was the first one to make it to the seven-year-old.

“What is it?”

She pointed toward town. “Trouble,” she panted.

He crouched, gently gripping her thin arms. “Calm and tell us what is going on.”

The girl caught her breath enough to speak. “A human stopped in town. He saw one of us running in shifted form and Lake wasn’t able to wipe his memory. The human wants to call the state troopers to report it and came to use the store phone. Lake is stalling him so he doesn’t go to another town to use theirs.”

More of his clan had surrounded them, including Dusti. He sensed her right behind him. His father growled low.

“Lake is one of our strongest with human minds. The human must be immune. We need to prevent him from telling anyone what he saw or others will come to investigate. Our clan will be at risk. I need to kill him.”

Dusti gasped. “What?”

Drantos released the girl, stood, and faced her. “There’s no choice, Dusti. My father is right. Lake is a first generation with strong Vampire traits. He would have erased the man’s memory and given him a new one if it were possible. We can’t allow this human to tell others what he saw. More of them would come.”

She scowled. “You can’t just kill someone. He might have a wife and kids. I’m sure he has family.”

“We need to be safe.”

“She’s human,” someone muttered. “She’s siding with them.”

Drantos snarled, glaring at the men around them to identify the source. He found him and flashed fangs. The man stepped back, sulking out of his sight. Drantos looked back at Dusti.

“This is our home. Our children play here. Hunters will come. We’ve seen this happen before. In nineteen seventy-one someone reported seeing one of us and thought it was a bigfoot. A bunch of drunken hunters trespassed on that clan’s territory for months. Four VampLycans were shot, one nearly died. And the world is easier to share stories with now. All those humans came from one town. Imagine what would happen if they used the internet. They could come from all over the world. We can’t allow this human to tell others. Do you understand?”

“I do.”

“It’s a law to protect our secrets from the world for a reason.”

Dusti nodded. “I get it. Let me take a crack at him though.”

“You can’t wipe his mind.”

“I don’t need to. Just let me talk to him. If I can’t spin this, he’s all yours. I get it.”

“You can’t tell him the truth.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” She peered up at him in a way that tugged at his chest. “Please let me talk to this guy. I think I know how to handle this mess.”

“He saw one of us.”

“I know. Take me to this guy. I have a plan.”

“What is it?”

“I need to find out what he saw and get a look at him first.” She reached out and gripped his hand. “Let me at least try.”

“Let’s see what she can do,” his mother stated loud and clear.

Drantos was stunned when he looked at his mom. “What?”

“She’s human. She might know better how to deal with one. No one wishes to kill today.” His mom crossed her arms over her chest. “The last thing we need is for someone to go missing in our area. That would cause us problems too. Let’s see what your mate can do, Drantos.”

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this was going to be a disaster. He turned his gaze to his father.

He nodded, looking equally grim. “We can still kill him afterward. Let her try. There’s no harm in that.”

Shit.
He grasped Dusti’s hand and tugged her toward town. “Let’s go.”

She had to almost run to keep up with him. He should have felt guilt but didn’t. He was angry. His father followed but the rest of the clan hung back.

“What are you doing?”

She didn’t answer so he glanced at her, using their link instead.

Did you hear me? What are you doing?

Trying to save a man’s life.

He saw too much. We must protect the clan. You should have said nothing. Now they might question your loyalty to our people for your own. You’re one of us now, Dusti.

That doesn’t mean I have to agree to murder without at least trying to prevent it.

Anger came through the bond from her. He felt some himself.
Damn! This is a disaster about to happen.

I heard that
. She shot him a dirty look.

Chapter Seventeen

Dusti entered the store with Drantos on her heels. She spotted the visitor right away. He stood at the counter loudly arguing with a dark-haired VampLycan. It was easy to guess who was who since one of them was noticeably buff and big.

She took the time to snag a bottled water from the cooler before approaching them.

“I want to call the state troopers,” the out-of-towner complained. “You’re like legally required to let me have access to a phone.”

“Sir,” Lake shook his head, “I told you. The phone is down. It happens. Storms come through and we can go weeks before it’s fixed.”

“What’s going on?” Dusti stepped up next to the stranger.

“Do you have a cell phone?”

She shook her head. “No. Sorry. I don’t even think we get cell signals around here,” she lied. “Are you okay?”

“I saw something.”

She set the water down and held out her hand. “I’m Dusti. What’s your name?”

“Brad.” He shook her hand. “Do you live around here? Can I use your phone?”

“What did you see?”

“I don’t know. It was a big creature. I think it’s some kind of new wildlife. It’s really remote out here so it’s possible.”

She bit her lip and studied him. He seemed a little scared and excited at the same time. “Was it kind of hairy but not? Big body? Moved real fast?”

His eyes widened. “Yes!”

She grinned. “You saw George.”

“That wasn’t a man.”

“You’re right. It’s not. George is kind of a celebrity around here. He’s a bear with about the worst case of mange ever. Poor thing.” She turned and shook her head at Lake. “You’re at it again, I see. Messing with the tourists isn’t nice.”

She sighed and met Brad’s gaze. “It gets boring around here. Let me guess. He pretended he didn’t know what you saw? Or worse, told you that you didn’t see it at all?” She hoped she was close.

“Yeah,” Brad confirmed. “But that wasn’t a bear.”

“Trust me. It was George. He’s big and you can see parts of his skin. He doesn’t have much hair left. He looks really freaky like that. Someone even thought he was bigfoot once.” She chuckled, forcing her expression to hopefully look amused. “He was up on his hind legs and yeah, I thought that poor lady was going to have a heart attack.”

“It wasn’t a damn bear.”

She reached out and patted his arm. “Tell us what happened.”

“It was running through the woods. I almost wrecked my car when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. It was big and was all kinds of messed up with patches of dark fur.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s George. About two years ago he showed up in this area. He knocks over our trashcans and scares the crap out of people who see him while driving along the highway, since jerks toss out garbage from their windows. We call that littering but George thinks it’s like ringing a dinner bell. Everyone around here thinks it’s a riot when people like you come in after spotting him.” She shook her head again and pointed at Lake. “Shame on you. Letting this poor man get all freaked out over that mangy bear. I know you think it’s funny but look how upset he is!”

Lake raised both hands and backed up. “Um, sorry?”

Dusti sighed and turned her attention back to Brad. “To be fair, we don’t get cable this far out. There’s not a lot to amuse us. It would have made his day if you’d left here thinking you saw some monster and word spread. He’s always hoping some tourist will think he’s spotted bigfoot again and he’ll make a ton of money off all the morons who show up looking for a monster. He’s the only store and gas station within miles, if you haven’t noticed. He made bank the last time.”

She shot Lake another glare. “It isn’t happening. This man is too smart to fall for your shit.” She shifted her body to stare at Drantos. “This has
got
to stop. You heard Brad here. He almost wrecked his car! It’s time to put George down. It would be the humane thing to do. Someone is going to get hurt.”

She motioned him forward. “Brad, this is Drantos. He’s kind of the mayor. The town isn’t big enough to have an official one but he’s the man in charge.”

Drantos inclined his head. “Hello.”

“See what I’ve been saying? That messed-up bear is a menace. It’s not some tourist attraction. This man could have been hurt. I
demand
you put down that bear. He’s got the worst case of mange ever and I’m tired of him coming onto my property.”

Dusti patted Brad’s arm again, making eye contact. “The crazy-ass bear also loves to roll in the mud when he gets hot. Thank goodness you didn’t see him after that. He looks like the creature from the black lagoon or something. It scared the shit out me too, and I already knew it was George since he did it right in front of my cabin by the river. I’m just glad I came in here when I did, or Lake really would have had you going.”

Brad’s face turned a little red and she could see he was pissed. “It’s really just a bear?”

She nodded. “Yep. He’s one screwed-up looking bear, to be fair. He’s scarred up pretty bad too. I think he hit every branch of the ugly tree he must have fallen out of.”

“Fuck you, man.” Brad jerked out of her hold, glaring at Lake. “You’re an asshole.”

“Sorry.” Lake didn’t sound it.

Brad looked down at Dusti. “Thanks for telling me the truth.”

“You’re welcome. And I’m going to make sure that George is euthanized so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. It’s better for that poor bear too. He’s got the worst skin condition I’ve ever seen on an animal. It’s probably painful. I’m going to ride the mayor until it happens. I promise.”

“Thank you.” Brad flipped Lake off. “Up yours, man.” He spun away from the counter, giving Drantos a nasty look next. “Listen to her. That shit’s not funny and I would have sued this town if I’d wrecked my car. You know that damn bear is a hazard. I’m never coming back to this shithole again.”

He stormed out and left tread marks when he pulled out of the parking lot to drive away.

Dusti smiled at Drantos. “See? You didn’t have to kill him.”

“I can’t believe he bought that.” Drantos scowled.

“It’s human nature.” Dusti shrugged. “It was a believable excuse for something he saw that he couldn’t explain. Add in the fact that he thought we were trying to make him look foolish and we have a winner. Now he won’t be talking about a monster. He’ll be saying the people in this town are assholes and to avoid this place at all costs. Problem solved and nobody died.”

Drantos closed the distance between them and grinned. “I see.”

“I don’t,” Lake grumbled.

Dusti turned her head, smiling at him. “Sorry I made you the bad guy, but do you really care that Brad is mad? He’s gone and won’t be back.”

He shook his head. “I don’t have to clean up blood.”

That killed her humor. He seemed serious. “That’s always a plus.” She looked up at Drantos. “Is he kidding?”

He nodded.

She blew out a relieved sigh.

“He would have snapped his neck. That doesn’t make a mess.”

“You could have left off that second part,” she pointed out.

Drantos chuckled. “I’d never lie to you.”

“Fantastic.”

“You’re going to
ride me
, huh?” Drantos’s hands slid down her back and cupped her ass. “I look forward to it.”

She reached back and yanked his hands off her butt. “Behave. You don’t want to shock poor Lake here.”

“It wouldn’t,” the clerk announced. “I’d have something interesting to watch, but it could be off-putting to any humans who come in. They might be offended to see you both naked and going at it.”

Dusti rolled her eyes. “We’re out of here, on that note.”

“You sure?” Drantos deepened his voice. “I could carry you into the back.” He shot a dirty look at the other VampLycan. “You’re not going to see my mate naked. I’d have to kill you.”

They strolled out of the store hand in hand but stopped as soon as they reached the line of trees. A large group of VampLycans waited in the shadows. Velder stepped forward.

“We watched the human drive away.” He kept his focus on Drantos. “What happened?”

“Apparently, we have a mutant bear with severe mange and are attempting to fool humans into thinking they’ve seen a monster to bring in business by drawing more tourists. She verbally chastised Lake in front of the human for scaring him and not just telling him the ‘truth’.” Drantos shook his head. “The human bought her story, and he’s pissed. He swore to never return and said that he’d have sued our town if he’d damaged his car. Dusti promised him we’d euthanize the bear before someone got hurt.” He paused. “She made me the mayor, too.”

Velder’s lips twitched but he didn’t smile. He lowered his gaze to Dusti. “Very smart.”

“Thank you.”

She glanced at the faces around her. They weren’t glaring at her with suspicion anymore. Some seemed amused, others impressed. She gripped Drantos’s hand a little tighter.

They look a bit surprised that I pulled that off
, she thought at him.

They underestimated you. So did I.

Humans are good at bullshitting other humans. It’s a gift
.

He smirked.
I’ll remember that.

I didn’t mean I’d bullshit you. You’re in my head. That would be tough to do.

Don’t ever try. Mates don’t lie to each other.

Good.

Velder turned, motioning everyone back toward the clearing. “The food will be ready soon.”

Drantos returned Dusti to Peva. “I need to feel the mood of everyone.”

“What does that mean?” Dusti frowned.

“To see how they feel about what you just did,” Peva explained, reaching over and patting her leg. “Drantos will one day lead our people. It’s important that everyone feels secure that he didn’t mate someone who will weaken our clan.”

Dusti hated politics. “Fantastic.”

“It will be fine,” Drantos assured her. “Sit here and I’ll be back soon.”

She watched him join a group of men talking around one of the fire pits. Peva patted her leg again and Dusti turned her head, holding her gaze.

“It would have been easier if you hadn’t mated someone so highly ranked in the clan, but it isn’t a matter of choice when it comes to mates. Drantos chose you.”

“I am so out of my element.”

“You’re doing well. It’s always difficult when a woman mates someone from another clan. I was lucky to find mine here. Most don’t. They have to attempt to fit in with strangers and adjust to their ways. I’m impressed how you’re handling everything, Dusti. You should be proud.”

“Because I’m not crying and hiding under Drantos’s bed?”

Peva laughed. “Yes.”

“I was tempted to but I don’t want him to regret loving me.” She scanned the clearing and watched the man she loved laugh with a new group. He fit in with his clan. Those were his neighbors and friends, people he cared about.

“It will work out. I see the way you look at him.”

“He’s everything to me. I’d always dreamed about finding someone like him.” Dusti paused. “Well, not like him exactly, since I never knew about this world, but you know what I mean.”

“I do. Your love is strong and so is his.”

“I’m still freaked out about the mind-reading thing.” She studied Peva. “How do you handle that?”

“You learn control. It’s difficult at first. I once hurt Maku’s feelings when I thought too hard about his feet.”

“What about them?”

“Look at my mate’s feet. They are huge!” Peva laughed. “We were newly mated and I was watching him sleep. He woke to overhear my thoughts as I studied his body. He’s perfect except his feet are too large. He took that to his heart. I felt bad. And I once caught him thinking about my cooking. He had a lover once who made better deer stew than I can. He thought about contacting her to get the recipe and wondered if I’d be upset if he gave it to me. I was. He shares my bed so he can deal with eating my bad stew.”

Dusti chuckled. “Damn straight.”

Peva grew somber. “I don’t want him to speak to any woman he bedded before me. It makes me jealous. He’s the only lover I’ve had. I used to wonder if I pleased him enough in bed. I didn’t have the experience those women had.”

“I totally understand that. Drantos isn’t the first guy I’ve slept with but I got the feeling he had a lot of lovers.”

“I still feel jealousy because I hate the thought of someone once touching Maku, but I learned that nothing compares to a mate, Dusti. It’s why I don’t track down Maku’s past lovers and kill them. I’m the one he loves. He didn’t have a bond with them. You mentioned reading minds. Your bond is in place. You know what I mean. You feel what he does and he feels what you do.
Nothing
compares to that.”

“That’s true.”

“If ever a woman from Drantos’s past approaches you to throw it in your face that she was once his lover, don’t allow it to hurt you. Feel pity. They are jealous that you are his mate and not them.”