We pulled up to the curb across from Doran’s place and I waved a hand at the empty lot with the scrub brush and garbage floating through it. To the humans, it was nothing but a run down piece of property without even a house. A lone cactus grew on it, looking extremely forlorn. Pitiful. “Perfect example of using the veil to hide yourself.”
“So he’s on the other side of the veil?” Liam frowned out the window, his eyes narrowed.
I shook my head. “No. Not exactly. More like it’s a mirror reflection of the veil he’s using to cover himself up. His home isn’t truly on the other side of the veil, and it isn’t an entrance. Just a ruse to keep the humans at bay. It works pretty well too, by the looks of things.”
Liam gave a slow nod. “Like being able to see the doorways that are hidden that lead through the veil. They aren’t on the other side, just a reflection? Is that how creatures that are as big as Blaz and this Roc go undetected, by using the veil to hide?”
“You got it, wolf boy.” I slid out of the truck, and the sharp winter wind bit at my face. Before I’d crossed the street, Liam had caught up with me. But Dox … I turned around. The ogre sat in the truck, staring straight ahead.
“What’s with him?” Liam grumbled.
“I don’t know. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. Hell, we’ve got a long enough drive, we’ll need something to talk about.” Oh, boy, not looking forward to that. If Dox was all wound up about going into ogre territory, I should probably have been shitting my pants. Dox was the most mellow, laid back guy I’d known, human or supernatural. For him to be high strung was making my skin itch.
“He’ll tell us when he’s ready,” I said softly.
A laugh wrapped around us. “Don’t count on it, Rylee.”
Liam took a step and put himself just in front of me, a low growl escaping his lips, vibrating through him and into me. Yeah, the whole alpha thing was really going to have to be addressed soon or we were going to have problems. He had to let me do my job, regardless of how he felt about protecting me.
I did not need to add ‘talk with Liam about not being such a pushy alpha’ to my list of things to do. I stepped sideways so I could see Doran. And then I understood why Liam was pissed and I felt like a shit for thinking he was overreacting.
Doran wore an ankle-length wolf pelt that was fully intact, the wolf’s head sitting on top of his. Grey fur dusted with red highlights here and there; it was a beautiful coat, but no doubt he wore it for a reason. As in he wanted to piss off Liam. And it was working.
“What the hell, Doran?” I shook my head at him. “You ask me to come here, and then you pull this shit?”
He grinned widely at me, flashing his fangs. “Whatever do you mean? It’s cold out; I thought I’d wear something toasty and warm. You of all people should know how warm it is to be wrapped up with a wolf.” He gave me a long slow wink and blew a kiss at Liam.
Yeah, welcome back, Doran. Whatever help he’d been, whatever changes I’d thought I’d seen in him, this was the Doran I’d first met. The shit disturber.
Liam vibrated beside me. “You blood-sucking piece of shit. You might have helped in the past, but we don’t need your scrawny ass.”#p#分页标题#e#
Liam grabbed my arm and started to drag me back toward the jeep. I knew what Doran was up to, and I shouldn’t have been surprised that it was working. Liam just wasn’t used to this sort of manipulation. To be fair, the Daywalker had a talent for sure, and he could get me riled up with the best of them. “Liam, let me go.”
He kept dragging me. Damn Doran for this, for forcing this issue. I pried Liam’s fingers off my arm and jerked away from him. “I said, let me go!”
Eyes narrowing, Liam glared at me. Yeah, here we go, revert to past tendencies in three, two, one.
I lifted my hands in the air in mock surrender. “Go sit with Dox, I’ll deal with Doran because apparently you are going to get sucked into his stupid games.”
His face twisted up in a snarl. “Are you … dismissing me?”
Short and sweet. “Yes.” I turned my back on him and walked toward an openly gloating Doran.
Watching her walk away from him … damn, it took everything he had not to grab her and throw her into the truck. Doran wasn’t a physical threat to Rylee. No, that wasn’t the problem.
What bothered his wolf was that Doran liked Rylee. The smell the Daywalker gave off wasn’t quite lust, but close. Like a strong affection that could be more than what it was. And it reminded him of Faris. Which pissed him off and made controlling his wolf very, very hard.