“You seemed to think your coven members would basically steal what wasn’t nailed down.” Arvyn was peering in doorways too, although neither of Kirill’s mates went out of his sight. “It looks like they haven’t touched anything at all.”
Kirill strode over to his office and took a quick look inside. His computer still stood on the desk, where it’d always been, and his collection of original art drawings done on commission by Charles Schulz were still hanging in their frames on the wall behind his desk. But… Kirill frowned at the coffee mug left on his desk. Crossing the room, he touched the outside of the cup. It was still warm. “There’s someone still here,” he snarled, as he sprinted past his mates and heading up the stairs, taking two at a time. The doors to his private suite were closed, the handle refusing to turn when Kirill tried to open it.
“Some asshole’s tried to lock me out!” Stepping back, Kirill kicked at the door, splintering it off its hinges, before running into his rooms. It was immediately obvious someone had been staying there. Three of Kirill’s bespoke suit jackets were thrown over his window seat as if they were rags. There were empty pizza boxes and discarded coffee mugs strewn across the coffee table, spilling onto the floor.
“This is your private space?” Arvyn was at his shoulder, his eyes flashing wolf. “I can smell someone else’s scent in here. Did you have someone else living with you?”
“Not like that, never like that.” No matter how angry he was, Kirill would never let his beloved wolf get the wrong idea. Arvyn was just as possessive as he was. “I’m the only one who’s slept in my bed, and the only one who lives in these quarters.”
“I never had you pegged as a pizza lover.” Ra looked more amused than angry. “And I haven’t known you to be such an untidy person around the house. If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you’d have to have been on your best behavior since the three of us got together. Shall I clean up?” He lifted his hand.
Kirill shook his head. “This wasn’t me. I would never allow my living spaces to be so disgusting… and my suits.”
“An intruder then. Hmm… listen.” Arvyn held up a finger. “There’s someone else in here. I can hear their heartbeat getting faster and faster. You might as well come out.” He added in a louder voice. “It’ll be worse for you if we have to drag you out from under that fancy bed.”
“They’re in my room – where I slept?” Kirill wanted to see for himself, but Arvyn held him back.
“You’ve had enough stresses this morning, babe. The last thing you need is to go ferreting under a bed. Allow me.”
/~/~/~/~/
Arvyn stripped off and shifted in record time, his huge wolf form pausing only long enough so Kirill and Ra could scratch behind his ears. He did love a good scratch. Then, his nose full of an unfamiliar scent, Arvyn bounded into the master bedroom, immediately sinking down on his front shoulders, peering under the bed.
The scent of fear suddenly spiked as two eyes peered back at him.
“Get away.” A skinny pale arm waved in front of his nose. “Dirty creature. Get out of here. Go. Scat.”
Arvyn woofed, because he could, and because whoever was under the bed had clearly never come across a wolf shifter before and was terrified of him. He settled right down on his haunches, so his belly was on the carpet and poked his nose under the bed.
The man, and it was a man, albeit a small and skinny one, screamed. “I’m going to get eaten. He’s going to eat me.”
Arvyn wagged his tail. This was fun. He edged a bit closer, not that he could get right under the bed. He was far too big to do that. But he could see something the guy under the bed couldn’t. Kirill’s shiny boots on the other side of the bed.
Reaching under with his paw, and scraping the carpet, Arvyn woofed again. The sound would have been loud for anyone with delicate ears, but the man under the bed screamed again, scuttling out the other side, and straight into Kirill’s hands.
“Who the hell are you?”
Arvyn stood up, just in time to see Kirill shaking the man like an errant puppy.
“You shouldn’t be here,” the man blathered on. “I work for the vampire council. There’s… there’s… Help.” The man saw Arvyn and clambered into Kirill’s arms like his life depended on it. “He’s… that… that thing was going to eat me. Shoot him.”
Arvyn grinned widely showing off his lovely clean teeth. No blood here.
“I think you’ll find this beautiful wolf has more right to be here than you do.” Ra had come through, leaning on Arvyn’s furry shoulder, still amused. The only one who wasn’t having fun was Kirill. “And I believe the master of this coven, and owner of this land, the buildings, and the room you’ve been taking liberties with, asked you a question. Who the hell are you?”
“You’re Prince Kirill?” The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed hard, looking Kirill up and down. “Six-hundred-year-old vampire… has a god and a wolf shifter as beloveds.” He seemed to be talking to himself. “He shouldn’t be here. Tired. Stressed. Deceived. He should be on the godly realm dressed in a robe, being fanned by nubile slave girls.”
“Excuse me?” Kirill shook him again for good measure, and Arvyn could understand why. The intruder was clearly rattled if he was talking to himself. “How about, instead of blithering to yourself you answer my questions. Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my house?”
“I’m Doblin, Peter Doblin.” Doblin raised his chin. “Personal assistant to the captain of the vampire guards, and as for what I’m doing here, I would’ve thought that was perfectly obvious. I’m looking after the place for you.”
“Looking after the place?” Arvyn watched as Kirill scanned the room. The bedroom was as bad as the sitting room. Clothes strewn everywhere, DVD’s out of their cases, spread across the bottom of the bed, more pizza boxes and on the bedside table a half-empty bottle of lube was spilling it’s contents onto the dusty veneer of the bedside cabinet. “Did your brief include going through all my things?”
“Well, er… no, not exactly.” Doblin squirmed to get down, but Kirill wasn’t letting him. “But the job came up in a hurry, and I didn’t have time to get my stuff so I could stay here. I was sure you wouldn’t mind.”
Lying. Arvyn snarled, knowing Kirill would have heard him.
“Try again.” Kirill shook Doblin hard enough his teeth rattled, before dropping him on the floor. “My darling beloved can smell your lies. Start telling the truth or I’ll use my thrall on you.”
“Fine. Gods, you old farts are all the same.” Doblin got off the floor and peeled a piece of pizza box off the leg of his sweatpants. “Mine. Mine. Mine. You’ve got all this stuff, and you don’t share…”
“Excuse me,” Ra said quietly, with far more politeness than Arvyn thought was warranted in the situation. “You said yourself you’re not a member of Kirill’s coven, you work for the vampire council. Why should Kirill owe you anything at all?”
“Because.” Doblin flung his arms wide. “Look at what he walked away from. I can’t handle it anymore. I’m closing down the coven. I’m tired.” His whinging voice was nothing like Kirill’s and Arvyn growled, lifting his lip. “Why shouldn’t I enjoy myself for a while, have a wee vacation at the master’s expense? It’s not like anyone would notice, or they wouldn’t have done if you hadn’t come bursting in like you own the place.”