Kari shuddered. She couldn't think of a worse type of hell than living with a group of bull-headed men. Avery was different; he was more like her. In their condo, household items went back to the places they belonged. Surfaces gleamed; clothes were put in hampers and washed regularly. Even their food was organized in the refrigerator. She couldn't imagine living with a group of rough-around-the-edges alpha males. She swallowed hard. "When do we leave?"
Law smiled. "How soon can you be packed?"
"What do you mean, we have to go?" Avery asked, a panicked look on his face. He had just returned home from the library. Kari rose from the couch and wrapped her arms around him, cuddling him close.
"It is just for a little while. Law says is not safe for us to be out on our own. So we are heading to Noctem Falls. Think of it as a vacation. I have always wanted to show you the vampire city."
Avery raised his head from her shoulder, a skeptical look on his face. "One, you never take vacations. Two, I thought you hated snobby vampires, especially those in the vampire city."
Kari grimaced, she should've known better than to try and sugarcoat this. "Okay, I admit heading there was not my first choice, but if Law says it is dangerous, then it is. Our only other option is moving in with a bunch of Neanderthals, and I do not think either one of us would enjoy it." She gave him a final squeeze and stepped back. With her mind racing around in circles, she began to pace back and forth in their living room. "From what I understand, Prince Magnus is providing housing, and we will be on the market level. There are vendor market stands, wares for sale, food stalls, you name it."
Avery looked down at the floor and scuffed one toe over the other. "Will they like me?" he asked.
Kari straightened her back. "Of course they will, and if they do not, they can deal with me."
Avery looked up, a soft smile on his lips. "They wouldn't want to do that."
Kari winked. "Of course not, but they do not know that yet, do they?"
Avery giggled. "So when do we leave?" he asked.
Kari looked over where three of her suitcases waited.
Avery's eyes rounded. "That soon?"
She nodded. "I took your suitcases out of storage and placed them on your bed. Go ahead and pack." She sighed. "To be honest, I do not know how long we will be there. So take anything you think you may need for a while."
Avery nodded. "Okay Kari." He dropped a kiss on her cheek and immediately headed toward his room.
Kari walked over to the large window and looked down at the picturesque scene their bustling small downtown offered. It wasn't Chicago--hell, it was barely a city--but it was small and quiet, and she loved it.
When she and Avery were house hunting, they had both fallen in love with the location. So they decided to buy two condos in the old brick building in the center of town and had them completely renovated into a huge single condo just for her and Avery. The window overlooked the town square where she could watch people coming and going. It was getting dark, and the streetlights were turning on one by one.
It was still early spring, and the sun was just now starting to stay in the sky longer and longer each day. With an overcast like this, it still felt like the deepest part of winter. She reached up and rubbed her temples.
"It is just a vacation," she whispered to herself. "We will go, and I will show Avery the city. Things will calm down and we will come home. It is just a vacation."
CHAPTER TWO
Declan held out one hand to fend off the hissing male vampire; with the other, he held back a snarling wolf shifter. He wondered how his day had come to this. His morning had been great. He woke up, got in a good run, ate a huge breakfast, teased Adriel, and was lucky enough to be assigned to Level Six patrol for the day. So how had he ended up between two angry males, looking like he was trying to referee a couple of velociraptors?
"Gerald, you need to calm down," Declan ordered, squaring off to the vampire. Gerald DuBois hissed. "I will when he gives me back my mate!" Gerald tried to reach past Declan, and Declan batted his hand away. Behind him, he heard a snarl.
"She is not your mate!"
Declan looked back at the wolf. "How do you know that?" he asked.
Yellow canine eyes met his. "Because she's mine." The wolf turned back to stare at Gerald. "I'm Peter Hernandez," he said, not taking his eyes off the angry vampire.
Fuck me, Declan thought. He turned to face Gerald. "Okay, Gerald, the wolf here says she is his mate; what do you have to say about that?"
Gerald shook his head. "I have been with her for over five hundred years. Our families arranged our mating. We have a son together; she is mine!"