Page 16 of Mated to the Human: Volume One

“I’m sorry.” Derek squeezed him gently.

Leaning back enough to see Derek’s face without leaving the safety of his arms, Hollis looked up at him. “Don’t apologize. I needed that, and having you there gave me the strength to go through with it.”

Derek kissed him, slow and deep, the way he seemed so fond of. When he pulled back, Hollis’s lips were buzzing, and his head was light. “How about we skip cooking and order a pizza? I bet we can find a new show to cuddle to.”

Hollis smiled. Mate lottery. He’d really won it. “That sounds perfect.”

* * *

Derek spent the next week on high alert, waiting for Neal, his sons, or some of the uniforms under Neal’s command to try something. Either to Hollis or himself or any of the other hellhounds.

He wasn’t as worried about the hounds or the clubhouse. There was around-the-clock security on the building, and the hounds could take care of themselves. But they all had family and other paranormal friends that weren’t adept at fighting off threats. And whatever Neal devised to throw at them, it would definitely be a fight.

With the gala coming up, Lenette was on the warpath making sure everyone behaved themselves and that every detail was taken care of. Derek hated to bring this kind of news to her, but he knew he had to. If Neal really wanted that list, he wouldn’t stop at threatening Hollis to get it.

Since he was picking Hollis up from work anyway, Derek actually parked the bike in the parking garage and went into the building. He made his way to Lenette’s office.

Her assistant, another vampire, looked up from his desk. “Can I help you?”

“I don’t have an appointment, but if you would tell Lenette that Derek needs to speak to her for just a minute, I’d appreciate it.”

The vampire narrowed his eyes but didn’t make another comment before typing away on the computer in front of him. He watched the screen and then looked back up at Derek. “You can go ahead in.”

“Thank you.”

The door to Lenette’s office was heavy, probably steel, and a matte black that seemed to suck up all the light in the room.

“Derek,” Lenette said as soon as he crossed the threshold. “This can’t be good.”

Derek chuckled. “That the way you greet everyone that comes to see you?” He didn’t know how old Lenette actually was, probably centuries, but she looked no more than thirty. Blonde hair pulled into a stylish, no-muss ponytail, perfectly tailored navy suit, and eyes that missed nothing, she sat behind her desk with a poise that spoke of old royalty.

“No, but you don’t ever come to see me. Is it your mate? Hollis has proven himself a hard worker in the week he’s been here and no trouble at all.”

Just the thought of Hollis brought a smile to his face that he should probably be embarrassed about. “Hollis is wonderful, and while he is, in part, why I’m here, it’s definitely not because we’re having trouble.” He leveled her with a serious gaze. “He’s mine.”

“Excellent.” Lenette smiled, too. “So, then what other trouble have you brought me?”

Derek settled himself into one of the leather chairs across from her desk. “Police Commissioner Riven. Hollis’s uncle.”

The smile vanished from Lenette’s face, and something much darker settled in her eyes. “Go on.”

Derek hung his head for a moment with a little shake. He should have known she would have had problems with the man before. “He wanted Hollis to get something for him. A list of all the paranormal citizens in Solston.”

She nodded. “I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s funny you should come in today.” She pointed at her computer monitor. “I’m drafting an email as we speak for an emergency meeting with the council, you, and the lead seer from the mages.”

“About Riven?”

She tilted her head. “About HAP.”

“HAP?” Derek asked, the word triggering something in his memory that he couldn’t quite place.

“A new hate group. Humans Against Paranormals. HAP. I’m guessing you’ve seen some of their graffiti around the city.”

“Yes. Last weekend. It was spray painted on the walls where they were holding the illegal fights.”

“I believe it’s the same people we’ve always dealt with, but there’s a rumor in some underground circles that they’ve recently become organized.”

“We’ve been hearing something like that, too, but not the name.” His eyes widened. “You think Riven is leading them? Responsible for this new organization?”

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