“That’s going to make it difficult for me to fit in then,” Arvyn said with a chuckle. “I think I have about two hundred bucks to my name and some change. My clothes are bought in stores, chosen for comfort and durability, and the only thing I spend serious money on is my boots, purely and simply because I do a lot of walking. Many people find me too intimidating or weird looking to pick up when I’m hitchhiking.”
Kirill growled into his throat, and Arvyn wasn’t sure if he was upset at the idea of Arvyn hitchhiking, or his comments about not fitting into Kirill’s coven. But he didn’t get a chance to ask, as Cass was suddenly there beside them, grabbing their arms and dragging them apart.
“You can have your heart to heart later,” the demon snapped. “You do not keep the mate of Zeus waiting.”
/~/~/~/~/
Kirill knew he’d worried Arvyn with his apparent one eighty on his feelings about his coven, but with every inhale he took of the clean mountain air, Kirill could feel the rightness of the way he was thinking in his soul. This is a home a god and a wolf could enjoy, and by the fates, maybe one where I could finally relax too?
It had never been easy for Kirill to keep his position. Yes, he started his coven, and yes, he had the money, power, and status to keep it too. His age was a huge factor in his position, in that he was at least three hundred years older than anyone else in his coven. But even before meeting Arvyn, it’d never been easy for him to keep up the cool and aristocratic façade needed to keep the members of his coven in line.
But this wasn’t something he could discuss with Arvyn, not when a thin young man was watching him with icy eyes. “You upset my friend Ra,” the young man said bluntly.
This time Kirill had no qualms of how to greet an important person. “You must be Paulie, mate of Zeus,” he said with a brief bow. “Upsetting our third was never my intention. Unfortunately, due to Ra living on another realm, apologizing and even groveling is nigh impossible.”
“The bowing might stroke Zeus’s ego, but it does nothing for mine.” Paulie waved at a couple of chairs set around a huge outdoor fireplace that was glowing warmly. “Sit, sit, so I can get this issue worked out once and for all, and then we can eat.”
Kirill took the seat furthest from the fire, allowing his beloved to take the closer spot. If it was also a way of blocking Paulie from Arvyn, hopefully his proud alpha wouldn’t notice. “You have a very beautiful home,” he said once he’d sat down.
“It suits us.” Paulie leaned forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees, Cass and Wes standing on either side of his chair. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I’m sorry,” Kirill tilted his head slightly. “Are we still talking about my snapping at Ra? Believe me, that was unintentional. I just couldn’t stand the thought of him disappearing when we’d only just met him and said the first thing that came into my head.”
“I’m referring to the crap in your coven, but yes, Ra too. When was the last time you acted on your instincts?”
Kirill had to stop and think for a minute. He wasn’t a shifter, so he wasn’t a hundred percent sure what sort of instincts Paulie was talking about. “When I met Arvyn, held him close and told him about sensing Ra?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?” Paulie raised his hands in a “what the fuck” gesture. “Honestly, you two need a quick paranormal 101 refresher. What do we do when we think something’s wrong?”
“Fight it or fix the problem,” Arvyn said quietly. “At least that’s what I’ve always done.”
“Ten points.” Paulie pointed at Arvyn. “What about you?” He pointed the same finger at Kirill, who felt that was slightly disrespectful from a shifter so young, but he wasn’t about to say so.
“I’m quick to act on instinct when me or my coven feel threatened,” Kirill conceded. “But vampires are not naturally instinctive creatures, especially as we get older. Often times, because we’ve seen so much… it pays to act with caution and diplomacy unless we’re being directly attacked.”
“And how’s that working for you, both in your coven and with Ra?”
“Paulie,” Arvyn broke in gently. “Kirill’s not a shifter. If he had problems in his coven, they were likely covered up by the sort of posturing Kirill was explaining to me before Cass dragged us off to meet you. I’ve already told Kirill that I’ll be able to scent if anything’s wrong at the coven when we get there. Vampires can’t scent deceit or discern scents that shouldn’t be there.”
“I get that, I do.” Paulie nodded. “But I’m making a point here you don’t seem to be getting, Kirill. You need to start tapping into your true self – your inner self – and stop being governed by the trappings of your position and culture. I saw the connections between you, Arvyn and Ra. I knew what you could be together. But now Ra’s locked himself up in his realm and you’re walking into a truly dangerous situation without him.”
“Wes and I were planning on going with them, unless you objected,” Cass said quickly, surprising Kirill. “Having two shifters and a demon on his side should help.”
“That would, as a rule. But, fortunately it might not be necessary. Thanks to your stupidity with Ra and total lack of knowledge about what’s going on under your nose, Kirill, my mate has decided to take matters into his own hands.” Paulie looked around quickly and then leaned over further in his chair. “I think you’d better come to the computer room. The only reason why Zeus isn’t here, is because he’s gone to knock some sense into Ra, and then I think they were going to pay your coven a visit.”
“They’re not allowed to interfere in mortal affairs.” Kirill jumped to his feet. “Cass, please. I need to get back there, now.”
“Paulie wants you in the computer room. You need to go with Paulie to the computer room.” Cass folded his arms across his chest.
“Don’t you see, they’ll get into trouble with the Fates. I don’t want to lose my beloved, and I’m damn sure Paulie would have a complete breakdown if Zeus was taken from him.” Kirill’s heart was racing so fast he was seeing black spots in front of his eyes.
“You do have some weird ideas about the Fates.” Paulie shook his head. “Seriously, get with the times. The Fates do not break up a mating. And I never said Zeus and Ra were going to interfere in anything. I said they were going to visit your coven.” He winked. “After all, Ra has to ensure the accommodations are suitable for a god, don’t you think?”
Kirill looked over at Arvyn, who looked worried too, but the wolf managed a shrug. “I guess we’d better go and see what’s on those computer screens,” his beloved said quietly as he held out his hand. Kirill took it – his mind still fretting over the possible ramifications of having two ancient gods visiting the members of his coven. Most of them would be delighted at the honor, but then Kirill thought of Yakov and his stomach churned. Gripping Arvyn’s hand firmly, Kirill appreciated the quiet strength his wolfen beloved offered.
Chapter Twelve
“I can’t believe you talked me into this.” Ra shook out his robes and checked his headdress was straight, he and his guards still cloaked from mortal eyes. “I thought I’d come up with some classic ideas in my time…”