Page 48 of Wolfgang

“No, they age into their adult bodies, then stop there. But I’ve heard it can mess with their head a bit. It’s like their brains develop with their inner beasties already inside. I think it usually leaves them at least half-feral. And sometimes there are other side effects, like mutism, or feeding from animals. And they can be really hard to control. But it’s hard to find people willing to put them down, for obvious reasons.”

Wolfe had never heard of a child vampire in the den. He caught Johann’s eye. “How do you know all that?”

Johann shrugged. “I just listened a lot, in the den.”

“And you saw one in Hyde Park?” Danny asked Jamie.

“Yeah, I recognized some of the streets. I’ve been here before, once or twice. My buddy Colin lives up here.”

Johann straightened up, eager. “My manager Colin?”

Jamie grinned at him. “You working at DBC, little guy?” At Johann’s enthusiastic nod, he laughed. “Rad. Colin’s chill. We grew up together. He’s a Tucson baby.”

“Super-duper chill,” Johann agreed. “Does he know you’re a vampire?”

“No.” Jamie frowned. “Why would he? Wait—does he knowyou’rea vampire?”

Wolfe pinched the bridge of his nose. “As lovely as this six degrees of separation is, if there is a child vampire here, it needs to be controlled. Likely, from the sound of it, eliminated.”

He felt a pulse of pure distress coming from Eric and looked down to see his mate frowning up at him. “We can’t kill a kid,” Eric protested.

“I could,” Wolfe said. And he would. From what Johann had told them, a child vampire was too unstable, too unpredictable, to be allowed. For the protection of the whole, to prevent exposure, it would need to be put down.

At Eric’s deepening frown, Wolfe tried to reassure him. “Darling, he’s already dead. Whoever turned him saw to that.”

But Eric was shaking his head, trying to slide out from under Wolfe’s hold. It was surprisingly painful, his rejection of Wolfe’s touch. It left Wolfe’s stomach feeling cramped in a way with which he was unfamiliar.

Danny cleared his throat. “We’ll figure something else out. We’ll come up with another option.”

Wolfe folded his hands in his lap, allowing Eric’s retreat, unsettled and uncomfortably on edge.

It was risky to wait. True, the child was starting with blood banks and hospitals, which pointed to a certain natural intelligence. But what if he moved on to people? What if he went too far and started draining Hyde Park’s citizens dry?

Then there would be all sorts of trouble, including the risk of exposure.

Exposure meant danger. For himself, for his mate.

It couldn’t be borne. He’d have to make plans of his own. But Wolfe was willing to let these other vampires talk in circles in the meantime.

Hopefully it would give Eric time to settle, to return to that soft, sweet state.

Time for him to return to Wolfe’s touch.

sixteen

Wolfe

Itquicklybecameclearno one had a feasible solution to the problem. “Find the kid” seemed to be the only consensus, but—as Johann oh so helpfully informed them—child vampires apparently did not yet have the distinctive vampire scent, at least not until they grew into their adult forms. Hence Soren’s inability to track another vampire in town. Yet another reason this brat was a loose cannon in need of being contained.

But of course Wolfe was a monster for saying so. It was the first time he’d truly felt Eric’s censure in their time together. There had been pouting, yes. Irritation. Anger, certainly. But this disbelief bordering on disgust was entirely new, allowing a sour tinge to work its way into their bond. Wolfe didn’t like it. It didn’t sit well in his stomach.

Soothe our mate, his beast urged.

We can’t right now, Wolfe countered. At least not like Wolfe wanted, with logical conversation and shared touch and Eric actually meeting his eye. There were too many spectators, including these two new strangers, one of whom wouldn’t stop glaring at Wolfe over his mate’s shoulder.

Wolfe shot the brute a mild look in acknowledgment of his ire. “You seem perturbed, Lucien. I believe I already apologized for accosting you.”

“You definitelydidn’t.” Lucien’s glare transformed into a sneer. Yes, he was most certainly French in origin.

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