Riley climbed from his truck, stuffing the keys in his pocket, and then walked around back to the horse trailer, opening the gate and backing Warrior out. There was no way he was living here without a horse to ride.
He saw some of the wood elves coming out of their huts, staring at him curiously. Riley watched as one of them approached him, the guy’s hands tucked behind his back. He instantly went on alert.
“Let me see your hands, elf.” It wasn’t a request, and Riley growled the words out menacingly. He had to establish from the beginning who was in charge here.
The man splayed his hands in front of his body, but glared at Riley. “Elven, not elf. Do I look three feet tall to you? An elf is a short little creature, which I most certainly am not. You may refer to us as fey if you wish. We are both, but not elf!”
This man was asking to get knocked on his ass and Riley hadn’t even been there five damn minutes. The hostility coming off of the guy could have been cut with a knife as Riley walked Warrior over to the closest tree and tied him off.
“Who is in charge here?” He wanted to know who thought they were in charge. He was given a job to do, and Riley was going to try his damnedest to get it done. He just prayed like hell that Ahm found a replacement soon. He could tell this wasn’t going to be a picnic.
“I am.” The man sneered the words. “Who are you, and why are you unloading in my village?”
His village?
“Ahm sent me.”
The little shit grew quiet, his eyes raking over Riley like he was the scum on the bottom of the man’s bare foot. “He’s not one of our elders. He doesn’t have a right to ask you to come here. He isn’t even a wood elven. He’s shadow.”
And the politics begin.
Riley opened his mouth to give the elven man a piece of his mind when he heard small squeals coming from the back of his truck. Walking away from the elven, Riley stopped when he reached the tailgate and listened closely.
“Hush, Bacon, before you get us caught.”
Riley grabbed the edge of the tarp and pulled it up, groaning when he saw Sterling lying between his luggage bags, Bacon tucked tightly in his arms. “What are you doing here, Sterling?”
Sterling gasped and looked around the bed of the truck. “This isn’t my bed.”
“No shit,” Riley snapped as he released the tarp and slapped his hands on his hips. It kept him from trying to strangle Sterling. “I told you to stay with my family, Sterling. I have no idea how these elves are going to act.”
“Elven,” the elven man standing close by corrected Riley. “And why would we harm a human? He hasn’t done anything to offend us. It was your father’s mate who killed our leader. How dare Ahm send the killer’s family to guide us!”
Riley moved closer to Sterling, ready to protect his mate if this guy tried anything. He was pretty sure he could take the man down, but he was one bear, and there were plenty of elves.
“If you harm my mate, you won’t live long enough to regret it,” Riley threatened.
“Whoa,” Sterling said as he pushed from the bed of the truck, holding Bacon close. “I’m your mate, and you didn’t tell me?”
Sterling sounded pissed off, and Riley was not in the mood to deal with an irate elven and a pissed-off mate at the same time. “We’ll discuss this later, Sterling.”
“Oh, buddy, you better believe we will.” Sterling turned toward the elven, the angry lines on his face softening. “I’m Sterling. Who are you?”
“I am called Iam.”
“You are…what?” Sterling asked, looking confused as hell.
“No, I-A-M.”
“Oh.” Sterling blinked a few times at the man, and Riley knew his mate still didn’t understand. The look was adorable, even though Riley was pissed at his mate. The man just couldn’t seem to stop putting himself in harm’s way. The idea of tying Sterling up came to mind, but Riley had a feeling the man would somehow find a way out of his bindings.
The dark-blond human was going to be Riley’s downfall.
“Do you have a bathroom?” Sterling asked as he quickly glanced around. “That was a long trip.”
“Over there.” Iam pointed to an outhouse.
Sterling shoved Bacon into Riley’s arms and then took off across the village. Riley growled and went after his mate. He didn’t like Sterling so far away from him when he didn’t know if these men were hostile or not. And from the way Iam was acting, he was beginning to think he would have to shove Sterling in his front pocket to keep the man safe.
Sterling was holding a small bottle of blue stuff between his lips and rubbing his hands together furiously as he stepped out of the outhouse. Riley arched an eyebrow at the guy. Sterling rolled his eyes, finished rubbing his hands together, and then shoved the little bottle into his pants.