Page 17 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

Alexander threw back his drink and poured himself another one. “Relax. I just wanted confirmation of the rumor. I know that Tex fell in love with you as a teenager. All his stories while growing up involve you.”

Judge was tense as he assessed Alexander as a threat. “How did you find out?”

“Trust me when I say there is very little that I do not know about. Very little.” He gave Judge a hard look and Judge’s jaw tensed. Well, that was interesting. “It is safe to say that if I know, all the other Convocation heads know. It won’t be long until everyone knows.” He looked between X, Judge and Nico. “You should be prepared for that.”

Tex frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”

Alexander smiled pleasantly at Tex. Indulgently even. “As you have probably noticed, Raine attracts attention. She will continue to do so, especially from older vampires with certain existential disorders.” He lifted his head and inhaled deeply. “Such as your twin. I can smell him out there in the woods. I bet he has approached you about becoming one of your lovers.”

I glared at Alexander. Way to out me, asshole. How he could possibly have known that was beyond me, but I didn’t doubt his omnipotence anymore. Both Judge and X were looking at me, something like betrayal on their faces. “I was going to tell you guys. I was waiting for Walker and Brody to come back so we could discuss it as a group. Nico will back me up here.”

Nico nodded. “It’s true.”

Yeah, so stick that in your snout and smoke it, Alexander. The dragon in question shook his head. “So many different species as Mates, Raine. One would almost think that you were The Collector.”

I raised my eyebrows. “The who now?”

Alexander waved a hand. “Someone on my watch list. A purveyor of shifter flesh who collects only rare shifters, at sales or by force. We have looked for him for decades but he is hard to catch.” He frowned and I could see the hard glint of the dragon in his expression. He looked at my mates, his eyes settling on Nico. “I do not envy you even a little. Dragons do not share.”

I rolled my eyes and stabbed a piece of steak, maintaining eye contact with Alexander the whole time. “You don’t say?” I purred.

He threw back his head and laughed. He downed another shot of Fireball and topped up my own shot glass. “You’ll do well for my progeny. But if you get him hurt, you will not like the results.”

Judge gripped his glass so hard it shattered. “No one loves Tex more than Raine. No one, not even me. She would burn down the world for him, and if you are indeed his grandfather, you will be happy that he has found that kind of Mate. He has her heart, and she has ours, and that means we will protect him as well.”

Both Nico and X lifted their glasses, nodding their agreement. The lump in my throat expanded as I held back all the emotions. I loved them so damn much.

“That’s all I need to know,” Alexander said, lifting his glass. “Now let's eat. I’m starved.”

The tension fled the room, but I reached beneath the table and held Tex’s hand. He squeezed it gently and I smiled. He fed me little bits off his plate, always unerringly knowing where my mouth was so he could press the morsel against my lips. Alexander told us he intended to bring a witch to the edge of town to perform the ancestor ritual to see if he and Tex were indeed related, though he didn’t trust the head of the witches within the Convocation.

Nico raised his eyebrows at me, and I sighed. Yeah, I knew what was coming, and hell, I agreed but I didn’t really like it. “Perhaps the Witch Miranda may be a good choice? She has connections with this town, Brody’s pack, with Raine.” He looked over at Judge and X. “She seems to hold a few of us in esteem so I trust her as much as I’d trust any witch with my blood.”

Alexander frowned. “I’ve heard of her, the prodigious witch.” I saw the moment he realized why she would hold Judge and X in such high esteem. “Ah yes, the Jury to the Judge and the Executioner. I see. Well, perhaps I will reach out to her. Thank you for the suggestion, Nico.”

The rest of the evening passed almost pleasantly, and eventually Alexander excused himself. “I have to leave for a week or so to attend to some business, but I will return before the moon wanes. Tex, would you mind showing me out?”

Tex stood, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

I watched them walk away, and from the back, I could see how they could be related. They swaggered the same. Maybe it was just a reptilian thing, but my gut said that perhaps Brody hadn’t been talking out of his ass when he’d said that Tex was related to Alexander after all. Perhaps some part of his Alpha recognized an underlying scent or something.

I guess we’d see, but whichever way it went, I could already tell that Alexander was fond of Tex. I didn’t know if that made things more complicated or not.

I looked at Judge and X. “I swear I was going to tell you.”

“I’m sure, Love.”

Judge sighed. “I trust you, Rainey Day. More than I trust Lucius, that’s for sure.”

Nico leaned back on his chair. “We should wait until Walker comes around to the idea she is a succubus and Brody comes back from the Packlands. This decision, although ultimately Raine’s, will affect us all.”

Well, no pressure or anything, right?

Chapter Nine

Iwas cleaning the dust off the books at The Immortal Cupcake the following morning when a chill made goosebumps race across my flesh. This was disturbing for two reasons; one, I didn’t feel the cold, so this biological reflex should no longer exist. Two; my grandmother used to say that it only happens when someone walked over your grave, and now that I was the Undead, this seemed a lot creepier than when my wrinkled old granny had said it.

I looked up and standing less than three feet away from me was a man that I hadn’t heard enter, hadn’t sensed at all other than the raised bumps on my arms. My hindbrain warning.

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