“She’s staying with me until this is resolved,” I replied for her, almost laughing at Julia’s sharp look.
“And where is that?” Detective Mason asked.
“Is there a reason you need to know Gryph’s address?” Dylan asked, going into full lawyer mode.
“We’re trying to protect Miss Dupree,” Detective Hardy replied.
“Are you saying the police plan to assign round-the-clock guards for Julia?” Dylan pressed.
“We can’t justify that,” Detective Mason replied as he glared at Dylan.
“Is Julia suspected of a crime?” Dylan followed up.
“Of course not,” Detective Mason said with a huff.
“Then, she prefers to keep this information to herself at this time,” Dylan told them.
“Are you trying to prevent us from doing our job?” Detective Hardy demanded.
“We’ll be happy to provide any information you need to investigate the case,” Dylan assured him. “Did you have any other questions?”
“We’ll be in touch,” Detective Mason snapped before stalking off with Detective Mason at his side.
We said nothing as they stepped into the elevator.
“Assholes,” Julia muttered after the doors closed.
“You got that right, Sass,” I agreed.
The three lab techs stopped to regard us. Up to that point, all except Edgar had been pretending they couldn’t hear our conversation with the detectives.
“I’ve only worked with Detective Mason before, and he’s not usually that intense,” a female lab tech with short red hair and unnaturally purple eyes told us.
“I’ve worked with them both,” the other female, a short brunette with glasses too big for her face added. “This is pretty much how they’ve always acted around me.”
“Great,” Julia grumbled. “I had to get assigned the two biggest assholes on the police force.”
“Maybe we can get someone else assigned,” I suggested. “I can always call over there to put in the request and file a complaint.”
“Not likely,” Edgar added as he sprayed something around the box and stepped back. “That might work in some departments, but they don’t reassign cases at this one. The new captain says he’s tired of people thinking they can tell the police what to do. He was just recently promoted.”
“You’re going to end up in a lot of trouble if this gets back to the captain,” the redhead told him. “I swear, Edgar, it’s a miracle you haven’t already been fired for talking too much. I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately.”
“Who’s going to tell the captain?” Edgar asked. “You should probably know that Captain Mason is Detective Mason’s father.”
Nepotism played a big role in the preternatural police. There was no testing or extensive training. Shades were born into law enforcement families. Their rank had more to do with their family’s status than any special skills. In most cases, that wasn’t a problem. Shades born into law enforcement families were raised to be officers of the law. Unfortunately, not all families had high ethical standards. There were corrupt, and just plain lazy, families among the law enforcement community. It was next to impossible to get those shades removed from their position.
The tech set her glasses on Persephone’s desk, and her drab brown eyes glowed red as she stared at the box Edgar had just sprayed. A red mist swirled around it before sliding along the floor and beginning to take shape.
“What’s she doing?” I asked.
“It’s a demon tracking spell,” Dylan explained, looking somewhat awed.
Before the red mist could fully take form, it fell to the ground in a pile of red sand.
Edgar laughed at the efforts of the little demon who snatched up her glasses and glared at the pile of sand. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
“Oh, come on, Candara,” the redhead said as she slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Sometimes, people put spells in place to prevent others from tracking them. You’ve got to stop getting so upset when one of your spells doesn’t work.”
Edgar said nothing, just continued to smirk.
“Why didn’t the police stay while you did that?” I asked.
“I don’t trust shades, so I refuse to do it in front of them,” Candara explained.
“So, none of you are shades,” I asked. I’d guessed the females were something else, but Edgar’s lack of scent screamed shade to me.
“Edgar is, but he’s a tech, so it’s okay,” the redhead explained.
I had no idea what that meant, but I decided it wasn’t worth asking for an explanation.
“How much longer do we need to be here?” Allie asked.
“We’re just about done,” Edgar assured us.
Twenty minutes later, the techs had packed up all the evidence.
“This, I did not see coming,” I remarked as I looked around the office at the sea of multi-colored sand on the floor. After her initial spell had failed, Candara had tried three others with no success. The little demon had been muttering and cursing on her way out. It seemed she didn’t often fail.
“The cleaning crew is going to quit if we leave this all over the floor for them to deal with,” Julia grumbled.
An hour later, we’d filled every trash can with sand. The office would still need to be vacuumed, but Julia and Allie seemed to think it was good enough.
“Does this happen a lot with demons?” I asked as we all climbed into the elevator after Julia set the protection spell for the offices. “The thing with the sand,” I clarified.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Dylan replied.
“Neither have I,” Allie added. “I can’t stand those two detectives. They are rude and totally useless.”
“Those dickheads aren’t going to find out who did this,” I muttered.
“They don’t seem terribly interested in looking at anyone other than Julia’s exes. Actually, they didn’t seem very interested in even doing that,” Dylan stated. “I doubt they’ll even interview anyone.”
“Let’s try to think positive,” Allie chimed in. “It’s always possible the lab techs picked up some evidence that will help find the person involved.”
“Do you think it’s true what the lab tech said about not being able to get new detectives assigned to my case?” Julia asked.
“I think he believes it’s true,” I replied. “I’m still going to make some calls. With the captain being Mason’s father, it may not do any good.”
“Why don’t you let me handle that?” Dylan suggested. “I’ll call as Julia’s lawyer to put some pressure on them. If that doesn’t work, I can see if we can get help from the Council of Witches.”
I nodded. “Just keep me updated on what’s going on,” I told him.
“Are you okay?” Julia asked, her hand settling on my bare forearm.
My wolf pressed closer to the surface. I was so on edge after what had happened and the effort I was putting into controlling myself around Julia that I couldn’t manage more than a curt nod at first.
“Gryph,” she coaxed. “You’re scaring me.”
Those words cut through the haze of anger, frustration, and fear. “I’m fine, Sass,” I assured her. “It’s just a werewolf thing.”
Thankfully, she accepted my answer because I wasn’t sure I could do much more talking. I still had no clear plan for how to find the person threatening my witch, but when I found him, he was a dead man.
Chapter 22
Julia
Gryph’s tension hadn’t let up since the police left. I’d noticed the flashes of yellow swirling in his eyes, and there was no missing the way he growled out every word to the detectives. Since I also had a lot on my mind, I decided to let him focus on driving during the ride home. I’d offered to drive, worried Gryph’s temper was running too high for him to focus on the road, but he’d grumbled something about the spell on the car making it impossible for anyone else to drive.
When we finally made it bac
k to his house, it was late, and several of his neighbors were out enjoying the night air. It was a strange sight. While I knew vampires only came out at night, I’d never considered that their children only came out at night, as well. Vampires were born human and converted in an elaborate ceremony that involved killing them around their eighteenth birthday. They tended to stick to their own kind because, without the right genetics, the change wasn’t possible. Despite what one saw in movies, not just anyone could become a vampire.
Vampires never lost their youthful appearance. They all looked around fifteen or sixteen years old. Even a two-hundred-year-old vampire looked like a teen. It limited where they could go for social interaction. Most clubs and bars owned by members of the preternatural community wouldn’t allow them in since they also served human patrons. They didn’t want humans to think they served minors.
As for the children, they had very little contact with anyone outside the vampire community until after the change. I imagined the isolation from others made it less likely one would decide they didn’t want to become a vampire. Their parents also couldn’t go out during the daytime, which made it harder to interact with others. At eleven at night, there were children running around in the streets, riding bikes, and playing. They all eyed us warily as Gryph drove to his house at the end of the court. Before Gryph could close his garage door, a male vampire walked in. He had on brightly colored board shorts and a tank top, looking much like he was heading to the beach.
“Hey there, Gryph!” he called out.
Gryph relaxed as he faced the vampire. “How are you tonight, Ray?”
“Doing fine,” Ray replied with a toothy grin that revealed his fangs. “I was about to fire up the grill to make something for the kids. Why don’t you and your lady friend come over? I’ve got burgers, so you don’t have to eat hot dogs with the kids.”
“Ray makes a good burger,” Gryph said in a gruff tone. “You must be hungry. It’s been at least seven hours since you had anything to eat.”
I suddenly felt bad about not ordering dinner at the office. Werewolves had an extremely high metabolism rate, and I hadn’t even considered that he’d need to eat again. I found myself wondering why I suddenly considered it my responsibility to make sure Gryph ate. He was a grown man who was perfectly capable of ordering his own food if he was hungry.
“Sure,” I replied with a bright smile. “That sounds great. Let me just change first. I’m probably a little overdressed for a barbeque.” I gestured to my black pencil skirt and blue blouse.
“You’re welcome to change into your swimsuit if you’d like to use the pool,” Ray began. “I have to warn you that it’ll be full of noisy kids.”
“I didn’t bring my suit, but thank you for the offer,” I told him, wondering how many vampires hosted barbeques and pool parties. That’s what happens when a group becomes too secretive; everyone makes guesses on how they live.
“That’s too bad,” Ray remarked. “If you happen to pick one up, feel free to use the pool any time. Just keep it down during the day so the kids don’t wake up. I’ll see the two of you soon.”
Gryph gave him a curt nod. “We’ll be right over.”
“Great!” Ray replied.
After he exited the garage, Gryph closed the door, and we headed into the house to get ready. “Are all the vampires here like Ray?” I asked.
“I’ve only met the ones who go over to Ray’s house and a few other neighbors,” he replied. “So far, they’re nothing like I’d expected.”
“I guess they have to be good at faking it to get humans to live here and be food for them,” I added.
“You don’t like vampires very much, do you?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted. “I realize that may seem unfair, considering I’ve known very few vampires, but most of my experiences have been bad. They all seem manipulative and cold unless they want something.”
“Just give them a chance,” Gryph coaxed.
“I’ll try,” I agreed, even though I seriously doubted I’d like them.
Chapter 23
Julia
Gryph’s neighbors were all friendly and genuine. They didn’t seem to be faking it to try to get anything from me. It also seemed the humans were more than just food; they were part of the community.
Ray’s house had a huge yard. His daughters and about ten other children were enjoying the pool while the adults sat around chatting and listening to country music. I was alone with Gryph in the gazebo, watching what might have seemed perfectly normal if it weren’t for the humans donating blood to the vampires at the event.
Gryph was still tense, but after four burgers, he seemed less irritable. Our conversation so far had been pleasant but fairly mundane.
“Why are you in such a foul mood, Gryph,” Lauren, Ray’s wife, asked as she joined us in the gazebo.
“I’m not in a bad mood,” Gryph assured her.
“You’ve hardly eaten a thing,” she pointed out. “Something is definitely bothering you.”
“My wolf is just giving me some troubles tonight,” he replied with a forced smile. “It’s a struggle.”
“Then you should eat more,” Lauren told him. “I read that werewolves need more food when their wolf is on edge.”
“Is that true?” I asked Gryph.
His response was a grunt.
“Do you really think grunts and head gestures are acceptable answers?” I asked. “Since we left the office, that’s pretty much what you’ve been doing.”
“I’ve done more than grunt,” he argued.
“You’ve barely spoken to me,” I told him. “You’re acting off. I’m beginning to wonder if you’re mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you, Sass,” he said on a sigh. “My wolf is tense about the danger to you, and I’m having trouble controlling that side of me.”
“What danger?” Ray asked as he joined us, handing Gryph another plate.
“There’ve been some threats to Julia,” Gryph replied as he took the plate from Ray and set it on his lap so he could eat.
If it weren’t for Gryph’s strange mood, I might have been amused by the way these two vampires were coddling him. That, I hadn’t seen coming.
“Now, I can see why you’re so worked up,” Ray told him, looking somber. “We’ll be glad to help you look out for your mate. We can even have the humans who work during the day keep an eye out for anything suspicious.”
“I’m not his mate,” I insisted.
Gryph’s eyes turned completely yellow as he stared at me. “Not now, Sass,” he growled. His voice was so deep, it sent vibrations along my skin.
My eyes widened as I watched Gryph. I’d never seen him look more like a deadly predator. Seeing his wolf so close to the surface, I wanted to reach out and touch him, even knowing it was a bad idea. Some part of me knew touching Gryph would strip away his tenuous control. My hands were fisted in my lap in an attempt to keep from reaching out to him.
“You should go for a run,” Lauren suggested.
“We can keep Julia company while you’re gone,” Ray added.
“I don’t know,” Gryph hedged, and I suddenly realized he needed a run as much as he’d needed the food. To protect me, Gryph was denying his own needs. He was also sticking around because of my discomfort around vampires. I was making his tension worse by denying his claim on me. Even though I wasn’t about to suddenly accept being Gryph’s mate just to make him feel better, I could try to be more understanding. I didn’t have to announce I wasn’t his mate to everyone who assumed I was.
“Go for a run,” I coaxed.
When Gryph’s eyes locked with mine, I could see his doubt. While his wolf wanted to run, I could tell even the wolf wasn’t comfortable with the idea of leaving me alone.
On impulse, I leaned in to kiss his cheek. It was meant to offer comfort and reassurance, yet the gesture ended up feeling incredibly intimate.
Before I could move back, Gryph pulled me closer to breathe in my scent.
A shudder ran through his body. “Are you sure you’ll be okay, Sass? I don’t want to leave you here if you aren’t comfortable with it.”
“Do you trust Ray and Lauren to keep me safe while you’re gone?” I asked.
“I trust them and you,” he assured me, before reluctantly releasing me. “The man in me knows you don’t need me here constantly to keep you safe, but the wolf isn’t that logical. He wants to hunt down and kill any threat to you. He wants to . . .” Gryph’s voice trailed off, and he looked away.
I opened my mouth to ask what he’d been about to say, but he quickly stood and turned his back to me. “I’ll be back in about an hour.”
On those words, he left me at the undead cookout. Once Gryph was gone, several of the other vampires made their introductions. I could only assume Gryph’s tense mood had put them all on edge. I’d never expected to say I had vampire friends, but I ended up making several that night. There was no denying they were just as elitist as I’d always suspected, but they were no worse than witches.
Chapter 24
Gryph
When I was in wolf form, the world was simpler. Racing through the brush, I felt alive and free. It had taken some time to learn to run with only three legs. My balance had been off, and I’d been slow. At first, I’d believed I’d never experience the joy and freedom of running through the woods again. With the light of the crescent moon bathing my fur, I felt invigorated. If anyone were to see me, they’d never believe I was a regular wolf. Aside from the fact that there were no wolves in this area, I was over two-hundred pounds in wolf form with a shiny coat of black fur. My brother had often told me I looked more like a hellhound than a werewolf.
Thoughts of my brother made me stop to howl at the moon. It had been a very long time since we’d been close, not since long before I’d been banished from the pack. Still, my wolf often felt the loss. My recent talk with Julia had brought the memories of my brother to the surface. While we were one in many ways, the wolf and man were two souls who inhabited the same body. We’d always been together, so we functioned as one most of the time, but the wolf felt ties stronger than the man. It was when I was in wolf form that the empty ache caused by being rejected by my mate was the strongest.
Seductively Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 3) Page 10
