Page 66 of Shifter Fated (Royal Mates 2)

Chapter Twenty

Elias

“It’s been too long,” I said, looking over at Xander. I was leaning against the hearse and stood up, ready to move.

He took his eyes off the door for a moment to look at me. I could see the anger and fear in his expression. We gave Skylar time, but this was too much.

“We go in,” he said.

I started walking up the street without waiting for the wolf to agree. We could see the building from where we’d parked, but we hadn’t gone too close for fear of tipping off David.

Skylar could handle herself around my brother, and I was certain she was right about him not wanting to hurt her. It wasn’t like him to catch and release. He had something else in mind and I needed to find out what that was.

We’d never seen eye to eye. David didn’t trust me but he wasn’t in the council meetings. He didn’t know the things I’d heard. Even if he had, would he believe it? We had similar interests. We both wanted those portals open. Only I was looking for diplomatic solutions and he wanted flashier and faster.

Whatever he wanted with Skylar, it wasn’t good.

All of my plans had fallen apart since I’d met Skylar. I’d been here for vengeance and to return to my home with my chin held high. I thought we had a shot at organizing with the vampire queen to get those portals open. Now, I was wondering if I’d been played from the start.

Clara might be alive. And the queen had something to do with the stone. David was involved in the whole mess.

Then there was Skylar.

None of the other things seemed quite as important as keeping her safe. If Clara was alive, I’d find her and I’d save her. But vengeance wasn’t worth putting Skylar at risk. If Clara was already dead, I couldn’t change that. If she was alive, I knew Skylar would be by my side hunting her down. And given the fact that she literally hunted fugitives for a living, she was my best shot at finding Clara.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do with my newfound shifting priorities. It wasn’t like me and it was a little disturbing to feel like the values and ideas you’d held for centuries weren’t as set in stone as you once thought.

“We’re not alone,” Xander said.

I stopped walking and looked toward the mortuary. I could feel it too. The presence of another demon. Strike that, it was a pair of demons.

“It’s David’s hounds,” I said. “At least we know David’s still around. He keeps those assholes with him at all times.”

“What’s the plan?” Xander asked.

I knew what he meant. He wasn’t asking if we should fight them, he wanted to know if we should use lethal force. I balled my hands into fists and glanced over my shoulder at the shifter. Xander was an alpha and I knew he was a strong fighter. I was pretty sure I’d never seen him at his full strength yet.

“We need David’s help,” I said.

“So we try not to kill them,” Xander said.

“It’ll make things go smoother. I’m not sure my brother is capable of caring for anyone, but he’s been running around with those two assholes since we were kids. They’re the closest thing he has to friends.”

“I get it,” Xander said. “Families sure complicate things, don’t they?”

“You have no idea,” I said.

“Look, about Skylar,” Xander said.

“I don’t want to talk about Skylar with you,” I said. “You have your time with her, I’ll have mine. There’s no reason for us to be friends or for us to share anything regarding her.”

“I like that,” he agreed.

A twig snapped and I turned to see both hounds walking toward us. They’d been hiding in the shadows near the mortuary. I frowned. That was part of why I’d never trusted them. Hellhounds could almost become the shadows themselves. Slipping through them, blending in without any warning. Aside from being able to sense them, I’d have no other way of knowing they were near.

There were a few other kinds of demons who could do that. And some who could become shadows themselves. But hellhounds were the most deadly. They shifted into beasts and blended in with men. While they didn’t have any powers of coercion, they were brute strength.

I had to hand it to my brother, he’d chosen the ideal pair of friends. They were the perfect bodyguards. Loyal to a fault, strong, and unable to feel empathy. If he told them to kill us, we were in for a hell of a fight.

---