Page 22 of Only Human in Strangeville

Davin ran his finger along my cheek and wiped away a tear.

“And why is a shade after me? And what is going on?”

Katsuro smiled, and this time the emotion reached his eyes. “It says a lot about you, Hannah, that your first thought is how you care for the creature you’ve rescued. As to the rest, we’ll do our best to explain. This is not how I had hoped to spend the evening, but I feel you need this information.”

“First off, Davin is a werewolf.” Katsuro smirked at the man sitting next to me, who growled softly in response.

I was grateful I hadn’t picked up my drink yet because they would have been performing the Heimlich after that statement.

“And I am a vampire.”

“Right—” I gasped, trying to catch a breath.

“And no, we do not normally tell a human we’ve just met any of this. You would not have been chosen by a nimbus if you weren’t worthy of this information. Please do not share it.”

“Gah.” I cleared my throat and tried again. “You’re serious?”

Katsuro inclined his head. Damn, but the man was elegance incarnate.

“So, is like, Clare from the bookstore some sort of gnome because…”

Davin laughed. “Clare is actually human, though I can see why you might think so. She is psychic though.”

“Well, that explains how she knew what I was going to ask before I even opened my mouth.” I was managing to not panic or hyperventilate, but only barely, and only because I’d already faced terrible men and these two men were clearly not evil.

“Beechworth is a sanctuary of sorts for those of us who wish for a relatively peaceful existence. For the most part, we werewolves and vampires maintain our boundaries and keep those within as safe as we possibly can from outside influences that might try to bring danger to our small town.”

“Davin said things were relatively peaceful here.”

Katsuro nodded and Davin tightened his arm around my shoulders, probably meaning to offer comfort.

“And then I show up and throw everything into chaos.”

“Arguably, Nimbus did that,” Katsuro said. “Your friend is magical and rare, and they are often captured and sold. When you found him, how was he secured to the lamppost?”

“A golden lead that somehow got lost at the vet clinic. I wasn’t worried about it, though. I didn’t like it.”

“Yes, that is one method of capturing them. How he ended up tied to a lamppost, well, that may be something we will never know. You rescued him and I’m sure the people who captured him would like to recover him. We must devise a plan to keep you and Nimbus safe until he comes fully into his powers, and then they will not be able to contain him, and he will no longer be useful. The magic they use to contain these creatures keeps them young and undeveloped. Once he grows to adulthood, he will be safe.”

“How long will that take?”

“They grow quickly. A few months to a year,” Katsuro explained. “I do not know much more, and I only know this much because I’ve done a bit of research since I met him.”

I took a deep breath, absurdly grateful that whatever was going on, it wasn’t related to my past. Though, how it could have been, I had no idea. The people I’d put behind bars were human. Well, I assumed they were, anyway.

“Okay, can we back up to the part where the supernatural is real and you two are a werewolf and a vampire, because that’s nuts.” I held up my hand at Katsuro’s look of protest. “The whole thing is nuts, but, clearly, I have to try to believe all this. I think I met the other shade in town, too.”

“Yes, it’s likely you caught his interest.” A bit of heat entered Katsuro’s expression as he locked eyes with me. “You have certainly caught mine.”

I licked my lips and tried not to react to the intensity in his gaze, but my heart was racing again and not from fear this time. Hell, I should be afraid. He’d literally told me I was on the menu, but if he wanted to hurt me, I felt we’d be having a different conversation, or I’d already be lunch. Or dinner, or whatever.

“Not too many single women in town?” I tried to deflect.

Katsuro smiled. “No. Not many we’d be interested in, either.”

I laughed nervously. “Um, did Jaz tell you about what happened earlier, too?”

“She did.” Katsuro leaned back, taking some of the pressure off me.

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