Page 54 of Fangs for the Memories
Martás eyes flick to me.
“I’m sorry, I know I should have paid more attention since you revealed yourselves to the world, but…I was busy,” I finish lamely.
“The vault is the reason we revealed ourselves to the world, the human world,” Ferenc says, earning him a sharp growl from his mother. “She needs to know,” he growls. “Grace is my mate, and that’s the one thing the vault has given to us.”
Martá drops her hands into her lap, defeated.
“The vault is a portal to the underworld. For eons, our kind, werewolves, vampires, gargoyles, ogres, dragons, even demons on the surface, were aware of it. We welcomed the ability to be able to use it as a way of escape, from humans, from each other. But then it began to rise.”
“It?”
“The ancient evil, known as Ördög, or Satan.”
“Satan came out of the vault?”
“Ördög is not one single entity. It is a collection of evil which, if it got into the world, would bring about the end of days.”
“Oh, so nothing major then.” I give Ferenc a sharp look.
“The vault had to be closed, but humans had to be warned as not all of Ördög has been returned. Collectively, the Monster Council felt it was better to reveal our existence and deal with it than allow the evil to roam unchecked.”
“What happened to it?” I ask, my mind boggled, not only by the existence of evil but of aMonster Council. “The parts of Ördög which were still in the world.”
“The gargoyles did a great job of finding most of it, but not all,” Ferenc says. “Enough we could go back to doing what we all did.”
“Criminal activities?” I point out.
“Only criminal for humans.” Ferenc shrugs, unconcerned.
“So, for werewolves, anything goes?”
He hitches up a lip, revealing a sharp fang in a wicked smile which goes straight to my lady parts.
“As you put it,” he says, in his delicious rasping accent, “anything goes, kedves.”
I want to bristle, but knowing he’s screwing over someone like Mark, it goes some way to making me feel less concerned about Ferenc’s business.
“So,” Martá says brightly, “when are you having the claiming ceremony?”
“Mother!” Ferenc rumbles deep in his chest, brow furrowed in exasperation.
“What’s a claiming ceremony?” I ask innocently.
Grace
Ithought she was never going to leave. But when Ferenc finally gets Martá out the door, even though she’s still talking ten to the dozen, the apartment building seems strangely silent.
“You have tobiteme?” I fire at him.
“It is how werewolves claim each other.” He rubs at the back of his neck. “It binds us together for life. But with fated mates, it has more significance.”
I’m still reeling from the information about the vault and the fact werewolves have a ceremony which is a bit like marriage but takes place in the nude, consummated in front of the pack under a full moon, and involves biting.
“Like turning me into a werewolf…” I glare at Ferenc.
“In your case, you would receive werewolf powers. Some of my speed and strength.”
“Additional body hair?”
