Page 58 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

Snarky sibling relationship? Check.

Titus shook his head. “Be that as it may, I feel like I should get to know Raine personally. Perhaps inside?”

I nodded, because it wasn’t like I could say no, right?

“Excellent. But first, let us tidy up.” Titus waved a hand, and black clad enforcers appeared out of the darkness. They picked up the body of the decapitated Not-Mormon, and another hustled the still alive one onto the street. I wondered if the guy would ever reappear somewhere or if he’d add to the pile of shallow graves in the woods. I kind of felt sad for him. Another one grabbed the head and moved in the direction of the road. None of them looked at me.

When my step was clean, they disappeared into the darkness again. So freaking weird.

Titus waved me forward, and X got to his feet. I didn’t miss the fact that he put himself at my back, and neither did Titus.

“You too, Executioner? The lure of this young vampire too much for even the deadliest of my Enforcers?”

“My Enforcers,” Lucius muttered under his breath, and Titus laughed.

“What’s yours is mine, and what's mine is mine. Isn’t that the saying, Brother?” I eyed Titus, and he truly was the most terrifying being I’d ever met. He felt so, so old. So powerful. He scared me even more than Alexander, and the Dragon had terrified me when I first met him.

But it was Nico who put a hand on Titus’ arm. “Not everything, Titus.”

His meaning was clear. I was not up for the offer, and I tried to judge the sanity of vampirekind’s supreme leader. But he didn’t have any of that craziness I associated with the vampires who had darkened my doorstep for the last few weeks. His eyes were calculating, and his power was shiver-inducing, but he wasn’t insane in the way that Lucius had been. I wondered what made him different?

That was a question for someone way more learned and philosophical than me. I got to my doorstep. “Sorry. I’m going to need a little blood to get you across the threshold. I had a, err, witch put a ward around the place.”

Titus nodded. “Smart. But that won’t be necessary.” Then he just strode on in like the ward meant nothing. He didn’t flinch or show any sign whatsoever. What the actual fuck?

I stared at X and he shrugged. “He’s old as dirt. Probably pissed all over the place and marked it as his territory when dinosaurs still roamed the earth,” he whispered, but not softly enough. Titus gave him a look that chilled me to my very bones. X though? Totally unaffected. The dude has no self-preservation skills whatsoever. Sure, he knelt, but I was beginning to think that X had allegiance to no one.

He guided me to a part of the room that was easily defensible and had clear access to the rear door.

Okay, so maybe he had allegiance to one person. To me. I grabbed his hand, halting him from taking a seat between me and Titus. “Hey, I didn’t miss what you said out there.” He’d told the scared vamp, hell he’d told the world, that he loved me. My heart thudded harder in my chest as I thought about it. “I love you too, you know that right?”

He grinned at me, making him look boyish standing, even against the tattooed darkness of his neck. “I never had any doubt. I’m pretty damn lovable.”

Lucius snorted, and X slid him a violent look. No one wanted to see that fight. “Oh hey, would anyone like some coffee? Or we have bagged type-O in the fridge if you’re hungry?” I offered Titus, who looked at me like I’d just offered him a four-course dinner of Spam.

Oh yeah, I’d forgotten briefly that Dark River was an anomaly.

“Thank you for your hospitality, but I am fine,” he said respectfully. “The world has been buzzing about you. First your making, then you are mated to the grandson of the Convocation Leader for the Shifters. Now you have enamored my brothers, arguably two of the most powerful vampires in the world.”

“Don’t forget the fact that she has the Alpha of the North West Shapeshifters and your best two former Enforcers. And the Sheriff of the world's only vegan vampire community,” X added completely unhelpfully.

I shot him a glare. “Thanks for the summary, X.”

Nico was also glaring at him. “We aren’t vegan.”

“Pacifist? No Fang Zone?”

Lucius snickered, and I squeezed the bridge of my nose. This was going badly.

Titus was smirking again. “Indeed, Executioner. Are you planning to start a coup for world domination, Raine Baxter?”

I couldn’t help it. I felt it welling in my chest and couldn’t keep it down. I honked out a surprised laugh. “Are you kidding me? I can’t even bake brownies. There is zero chance I could muster a damn hostile takeover.” I visibly shivered and Titus actually smiled.

Not gonna lie, and it was probably impolite to mention, but his fangs were huge. Like massive. I know it's not the size of the fang but the motion of the ocean, but dude. Those bad boys were like a walrus. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration.

Lucius frowned. “Stop staring at his fangs, Raine Baxter.”

X laughed. “Jealous, Crazytrousers?”

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