Page 34 of Hunted By Darkness

Nodding, I watched Tometi do the same thing to Salvator that he’d done to Silas, sniffing him and scowling. My lips slid up because the way he smelled him was all animal. “Seems so. And there’s something else.”

“We can touch her,” Tometi said before I got the chance.

Salvator’s voice was a wild sound leaving his chest. “They can touch you?!”

Silas stiffened and shot a look at me. “They can touch you?!”

“Nice going, Tome. You’ve riled both of them up with one fucking sentence.” Despite his chastising words, Ryker was more than a little amused. He was outright hysterical.

Fucking fantastic.

A sigh escaped my mouth as footsteps echoed down the staircase. “What’s going on?”

“Now you’re awake,” I complained, rubbing my temple. “Okay, everyone sit down and shut up. This is easier if I don’t have you all barking at me.”

I hadn’t expected them to listen, but all three men took seats. Ryker and Tometi stood next to me, one on each side. I wanted to test a theory, so I was glad they had.

After waiting for everyone to stop glaring or mumbling, mostly Silas and Salvator, I told Lev everything that had happened up to that point. His pretty green eyes searched for the figures unseen, but he listened quietly. Which was more than I could say for the other two. They both made little noises of discontent all throughout the retelling. After nearly ten minutes of explaining what I’d woken up to, Lev was finally caught up.

Ryker snickered and leaned in. “You have your hands full, don’t you, pretty girl?”

“No thanks to you,” I grumbled, throwing the smiley wolf a glare.

Salvator sneered Ryker’s direction. “You said you could touch them. What do you mean?”

Without waiting for me, Ryker threw an arm around my shoulders and his body solidified. The three in front of me all reacted in a different way. Lev was surprised. Silas was ready to tear Ryker to pieces, possibly with his bare hands. But Salvator was the show stopper. I didn’t think someone like him could gape in shock like he’d seen a ghost.

Then again, he had.

“Well, this is fun,” Ryker said, laughing. “Guess they can see us when we touch you.”

“Oi, take your arm off her, mutt, or I’ll take it off for you,” Silas warned, standing and unsheathing his weapon. “With my sword.”

“I liked him better when he couldn’t see or hear me,” Ryker whispered, his wolfish laugh tickling my ear. “He’s a bit much, isn’t he?”

Couldn’t argue with him there.

Tometi hummed and pressed a kind hand to my shoulder, appearing in front of the already stunned three. His giant form towered over everyone, taking him nearly to the ceiling, close to nine or so feet above us.

Okay, so I might’ve underestimated his height a bit. It’d been harder to discern when I was barely awake and in shock. Seeing him next to Silas, who was one of the largest brutes I knew, made it plenty clear that the word giant was the only way to describe the bear.

Silas blinked, his eyes darting over, then up, up,up. Next to Tometi, we were all tragically small. The mountain of a man was heads above everyone else, his muscles bulging, the mere size of him casting a large shadow.

“Let Nika explain,” he commanded in a voice so low and firm it could’ve been summoned from the deepest parts of the After. “You’ve talked over her this entire time. It’s unbecoming of men claiming to care about her.”

I’d forgotten how little Tometi minced words when he’d had enough. It was nice to have someone notice, though. Normally I handled it, but I was still trying to wrap my own head around everything.

Silas stared at the giant, his sword still out. “Who is this massive troll, little rebel, and why is it touching you?!”

“I’m a bear,” Tometi said for the second time, a feat all on its own. “Trolls were eradicated—”

“Yeah, yeah, Tometi. We all know. I think what my big friend here means to say is that we’re all shocked and confused, so let’s all take a breath, okay? Let her finish, and then we can all argue about it.” Ryker beamed a smile, happy with himself.

Lev laughed and patted Silas’s arm. “He’s right. Maybe once we have all the details, it’ll make more sense.”

“Or not,” Silas grumbled, but reclaimed his seat. “My threat still stands, mutt. You’ve made your point, yeah?”

“Aye, aye, Sparkles,” came Ryker’s saucy quip.

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