Page 46 of Death and Donuts

“And he runs Blur along with his men, meaning they’re all werewolves too?”

I responded with another cautious nod.

“And Anchor, the man you mentioned Vena is interested in, works there?”

Understanding settled with heavy sickness in my stomach.

“He does. He’s really, really nice and perfect for Vena.”

Mrs. Hunter smiled. “With her wild nature, she needs a strong, protective man who can keep up with her. We’ll talk more about this later. Let’s eat before this delicious food gets cold.”

I ate in silence with the rest. My thoughts strayed to Cross and Shepard as I nibbled. The mountain was huge. How long would it take them to search every inch? Even though they were fast, traversing the staircases had to be tiring.

Indri rang the bell again and snapped me from my thoughts. The king stood with dry, red-rimmed eyes to bid us good night. He flagged his personal guard to go with him.

The Hunters stood, prepared to be escorted by another guard to their room, but not before Mrs. Hunter pulled me into a hug. “Stay safe.”

“You, too.”

When they were gone, Indri waved for me to follow her.

“How long does it take to get around this mountain?” I asked.

“With all the tunnels, mines, living and storage areas, it could take a dwarf a few days to navigate. Perhaps a wolf and a vampire could do it in a day.”

Indri led me down a golden hallway and opened the door to a large room painted white with more gold details. A large sapphire-encrusted mirror was prominently displayed above a vanity.

“The sapphire room will be yours for as long as you stay. Your bag is already inside. The ensuite bathroom is stocked with necessities if you’ve forgotten anything. However, if you do need anything else, there is a rope bell near the bed. Someone will come as soon as they can.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” I said. “I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.”

She gave a small nod. “Me, too.”

Indri closed the door on her way out, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Alone, I checked the time on my phone and saw we had been in the mountain for hours already. The summer sun had set an hour ago, not that I could tell since the mountain didn’t come with windows.

Grabbing my pajamas from my bag, I went to the modern bathroom for a hot shower to relieve the ache in my legs.

Steam curled in the room as the water heated before drifting toward a vent in the ceiling. I stepped under the spray and let the water melt away my tension. My thoughts circled around what we’d learned and what I was supposed to tell Vena.

Although the king hadn’t taken my phone, I hesitated to send an update until Shepard and Cross found Adriel.

Cleaned and rinsed, I shut off the water and toweled dry. A huge yawn popped my jaw as I slipped on my pajama tank top and shorts. I checked the door to my bedroom to make sure it was locked then shuffled toward the bed.

Just as I was about to pull back the covers, a chill stole through me that had nothing to do with the room temperature and everything to do with a tingling sense that someone was watching me.

Slowly, I turned around to find the room was empty. Yet the feeling was still there.

I reached over to pull the rope bell when a loud crash filled the room.

Startled, I whirled to face a leanly muscled man who stood below where the vent cover used to be. He was naked except for a familiar diamond collar.

Adriel.

My heart seized then went into overdrive.

His dark eyes turned darker as he sniffed the air.

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