Page 21 of Claiming the Dhampir

Lorna crawled across the mattress and sat beside me, pulling the blankets around her naked body. I would’ve laughed at her modesty if I weren’t shocked by Damon’s sudden appearance and suggestion that Nathan was gone.

Damon growled and stomped across the room, stopping to kneel in front of Lorna. He drew in a deep breath, and his wings wrapped around both me and Lorna. Was he smelling us? Was he angry because I claimed my mate? No, he was asking about Nathan. If Damon was pissed, I’d know it. He slowly exhaled then looked directly at me.

“I left him at the base of the tower an hour ago,” Damon said. “Alyssa called me and said that Kenrid and Brance were arguing, and she feared it would turn violent. I was irritated at the request but not alarmed. Kenrid is more than capable of beating the impotent fool, but Nathan insisted that I go to Kenrid’s aid. He opened the elevator, and I left.”

Damon shifted his attention to Lorna. His anger slid into sadness. “I flew to the fae manor, but Kenrid was not there. None of the fae I questioned had seen him or Brance since the meeting yesterday.”

Tears shimmered in Lorna’s widening eyes. Why was Damon telling her this? It would only make her worry.

“And Alyssa?” I asked. I didn’t want to believe that the fae would lure Damon away, but it sure looked that way. What had they done to Kenrid? According to Nathan, they hadn’t hidden their contempt for his decision to leave them and the council, but they wouldn’t harm their prince … would they? Nathan had definitely pissed off the fae with his comments at the clan meeting.

“I couldn’t find her, either,” Damon replied. “I rushed back here, only to discover that Nathan is also missing.”

“No,” Lorna whispered, clutching the blanket to her chest. “Maybe Kenrid just went for a morning jog or something. Maybe he and Nathan went to town for donuts. Have you tried calling them?”

Damon reached out and trailed his thumb along her trembling lip. She’d already been crying because she felt like she wasn’t good enough for us. She’d probably blame herself if something bad happened to Kenrid or Nathan.

“Of course I did, little d’laej,” Damon said. “Both of their phones are going straight to voicemail.”

“Damn,” I muttered, pushing aside Damon’s wing and grabbing my clothes off the floor. “I’m going to get my best trackers. We’ll start at the garage downstairs and see if we pin down Nathan’s last location. We might get lucky and be able to tell who was with him.”

As soon as I was dressed, I faced Damon. He was still kneeling in front of Lorna. His enormous frame and wings hid her from me. I expected my wolf to be pissed about it, but he remained silent. Maybe because he realized we had bigger things to worry about than our jealousy. Or was he okay with my best friend caring for our mate?

“Do you know where to start looking for Kenrid?” I asked.

“Lorna can find Kenrid,” Damon replied, slowly rising to his feet.

When he stepped back, Lorna stood next to him with the blankets still wrapped around her. She narrowed her eyes at Damon, then seemed to remember something. She gasped.

“My mark,” she said. “I can find him through our bond?”

Damon nodded. “I tried already, but I could only feel you. Let’s get you dressed and find your mate.”

“No, let’s find him now!” she insisted, gripping his arm. “I just need to concentrate on our connection, right? Like we’d been practicing?”

Lorna squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips together. Her grip tightened on Damon’s arm, but he didn’t seem to notice. He just watched her mumble softly.

“I can’t,” she muttered, not opening her eyes. “Damon and Elliott are in the way.” She shook her head and jerked away from Damon. “No, no, no, no.”

She had to be talking to Mir, but she didn’t normally do it out loud. My need to touch her —reassure her—was overwhelming. I rushed to her side and wrapped my arms around her, but she pushed me away. My wolf whimpered, and I might have joined him.

“I can’t feel him. It’s just you two,” she said, her eyes snapping open. She looked at Damon, then me, then took another step away. Her tear-stained face broke my heart. “I should be able to feel him, right? Maybe I need to be alone for a just a minute. Maybe your aura or whatever is too strong and interfering with the signal.”

She darted to the bathroom and slammed the door. I couldn’t take my eyes from the barrier between us. She shut me out. We’d just had an amazing night together. She claimed me. She left her mark on my chest, then snuggled with me all night. And she pushed me away.

“They either have him in a warded room, or they took him to another realm,” Damon whispered. “I suspected it, but I’d hoped I was wrong. She should be able to feel him as easily as she feels us. Our presence wouldn’t interfere.”

I didn’t know which was worse, trying to find a warded room or finding which realm he was taken to. Either way, I didn’t want to see Lorna in pain. Losing a fated mate was supposed to be one of the worst pains in all the realms.

“How do we make it better, man?” I asked.

“Find Nathan,” Damon said. “Find Nathan and we’ll find Brance. The fae will tell us what they’ve done to Kenrid.”

I tore my gaze from the closed door and turned to my best friend. I immediately took a step back. Glowing runes covered his arms and torso, their bright red an eerie contrast on his dark scales. He glanced at me, and a shiver ran down my spine. Flames danced in his eyes and for the first time ever, I was afraid of him.

He was pissed the hell off—possibly literally. It was easy to forget that he was from the Underworld when he acted so civilized. He’d been angry when the wolfpack kidnapped Lorna, but they hadn’t been officially mated then. If something happened to her now, I wasn’t sure how he’d react. I’d never met a demon who was mated. If they acted anything like a wolf …

“They will regret their decision to steal those I’ve chosen to protect.” Damon’s voice carried an odd echo. “I need to prepare a place in the Underworld for my enemies. Task one of your wolves with protecting Lorna, then find Nathan. I’ll be back soon.”

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