Page 38 of Hound

I ran. I picked up speed as everything hazed around me—as the feelings kept swallowing me until I crashed onto familiar cool skin. Hands gripped my shoulders and pulled me forward, my body meeting a lean figure.

“Lorenzo!” A faint, powdery scent covered the damp air around us.

“Christopher.”

Arms wrapped around my shoulders and tightened. “Bloody hell, are you well?”

I snickered, my vision slowly coming back. “What do you think?”

He didn’t respond. Instead we settled into a comforting silence until my surroundings came into focus. The darkness was gone, alongside the crushing feelings. A stale aftertaste settled in my tongue as I pulled away and met the cave’s bumpy wall, my body sliding until I sat on the ground. Christopher followed and took a seat beside me. Slender fingers caressed my thigh softly.

“How’d you know where?—”

He cut me off. “I felt you.”

That wasn’t the response I was expecting. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not entirely sure myself, but the only explanation I can offer is. . .” He turned to me, sincerity lining his expression. “I harbor this sixth sense when it comes to you. I can sense you without qualms even as you harbor no presence. It’s a sensation like no other.”

“Really?”

“I wish I could give you a more concrete answer, Lorenzo, but it’s the only truth I possess.”

“I know.” I rested my head on his shoulder, the coolness emanating from his skin easing me. “I also have it with you.”

It rooted itself into me before I could pinpoint it. It had existed the first night we met and continued to grow with every meeting. The moment we fed from each other, it exploded into an instinct that called to the beast and me.

Addiction didn’t cover it anymore.

“Generally, it’s a sudden pull that I let dictate me. But this time, it was a sharp pain that hijacked my being into a haste-like state.” His heartbeat was at a normal pace, but as he spoke, it amplified. “What’s occurred?”

No one knew of my blood relation to Nina. Since the CEG didn’t require more than immediate family members to be on file for guardians, we opted to keep it between us and Lace. He was the only one who needed to know since he was the one who helped us.

“My cousin, Katerina, is missing.”

“Ms. Eli?” I leveled to look at him. There, in his gaze, a shimmer coated his eyes. “That explains why she seemed so familiar.”

I grinned. “That better be a compliment.”

“Let’s say it is,” he responded, his tone mocking, but it suddenly dimmed. “Is she also like you?”

I hadn’t moved, but my body froze. “No, she’s not.” The air stilled as my words cemented. No, Nina wasn’t like me. Thankfully, she never will be because of her medication.

“She shares many attributes that are like you,” he noted.

“Like what? Our good looks?”

He shook his head, but amusement bounced off his words as he said, “More like her directness. She’s quite outspoken, though not to your extent.”

“What did she do?”

He recounted a day when they received a sudden visit from one of the Vampire Regal Families. She’d stumbled onto the scene when she wasn’t supposed to. I could imagine her face faltering the moment she was called over. She was professional, but at times, careless.

Laughter rolled off me. “She did learn a lot from me. I’m not surprised she stands her ground with pompous vampires.”

“Pompous vampires that extended an invitation to her and other guardians to the Christmas Ball.” He scooted back, hesitation lining his expression. “An invitation I would like to extend to you, Lorenzo.”

Parties weren’t my thing unless a mission required it. And even then, it was an in-and-out situation. This wouldn’t be quick.

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