Page 11 of The Hunt of Night

“Me?”

“What were you doing on the Kenner compound with her last night?” Raiden asks, pushing to his feet. His shoulders roll back, his ego inflated by the height difference between him and Cassian since the latter is sitting.

Sometimes I can forgive Raiden for being a vampire. It wasn’t his choice to be what he is, but in moments like this, when he uses classic vampire moves to flex his perceived superiority around him, it pisses me off.

“That’s none of your business,” Cassian bites, hands balling into fists on his lap. When no one turns away, he sighs. “She wanted to see her mother.”

“She spoke with her?” I blurt in surprise, and he shakes his head.

“No.”

“So what then?” Raiden pushes, and to my surprise, Cassian gives in.

“She just wanted to see her.”

“She wanted to see her mother, who is apparently a wolf?” Kryll clarifies, and my gut twists, but before I can sink in my worry for Addi, I’m fixated on the way Cassian’s shoulders sag and he dips his head.

“I noticed the lack of ears last night, but we hadn’t put two and two together yet,” he admits, making my chest clench.

“She’s a half-breed,” I murmur, and Cassian’s gaze whips to me.

“Don’t call her that.” His jaw is clenched, anger vibrating in his eyes.

“I didn’t.”

“Just. Don’t.”

“She’s a fae wolf. There’s nothing wrong with that,” I reiterate, and he rises to his feet.

“I didn’t say there was.”

I lift my hands in surrender, but it does nothing to calm him.

“I’m sorry.” My words aren’t much more than a whisper, but he must sense the truth in them because he, thankfully, takes a backward step.

Kryll clears his throat, taking a step toward the irritated wolf as I run my hands over my knees. “Did she say how she was feeling?” he asks, and Cassian shakes his head.

“All she said was how mad she was at Fangs over here.”

“Will you stop calling me that?” Raiden grumbles, tugging at his hair. His distress is clear. Who would have thought it was because Addi was mad at him? It’s half amusing, half concerning. Because I lied about something, and I get the feeling that doesn’t put me in her good graces either.

“What do we do now?” I ask, wetting my dry lips as Kryll sighs.

“We give her space. Only a little, but we need to figure out how we push back on this. We all know that’s not going to be the end of the trouble. But before all of that, we need it to be clear that we don’t keep fucking secrets like this again,” he states, eyes swirling, and I nod.

“How much space?” Raiden asks, eyebrows bunched in a mixture of dismay and anger.

“That’s what you’re focused on?”

He shrugs like there’s nothing else to be concerned about, and it takes more than I care to admit to keep my snicker at bay.

“She gets until morning,” Cassian decides, and no one disagrees.

“I can work with that,” Raiden relents, making me scoff, despite my best efforts.

“Let’s hopeshecan.”

6

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