“I’ll take your word for it.”
The golden boy was going to have to live within three-tenths of a mile from me until we could get things moved. I tossed what was left of my coffee on the ground and whistled for Hades and Seph. They approached me for direction, but my mind went completely blank when Sebastian Keye emerged from the town car.
Keye was lean. Compact. Barely taller than the woman with him after he stretched to his full height. His hair was shoulder length, sleek, and silver like moonlight.
He wore a Henley over low-slung jeans with a wide leather belt and unlaced combat boots. He had one lean muscled arm wrapped around his waist. The other hung loosely by his side. He glanced around the clearing, letting his gaze drift until it landed on Hades and Persephone. As if it was a scene in the show, Hades and Persephone stilled warily and watched him in return. He’d probably been told not to make eye contact with my hybrids, but he ignored the advice as they sized one another up.
Strangely enough, Hades and Seph didn’t seem to mind.
Neither issued a warning growl, and eventually Keye looked away. He slipped on a completely unnecessary pair of mirrored aviator shades, put in a set of AirPods, and—for all intents and purposes—disappeared behind a wall of sensory deprivation.
How very like a real-world wolf.
Sebastian Keye had learned to hide in plain sight.
Had he grown up in Hollywood where people lived and died by appearances? Where they bought and sold humans like commodities for entertainment, for sport, and for sex?
Had he learned that beauty like his was a magnet for predators?
Had he learned the hard way as most beautiful creatures did?
I see you, little wolf.
If Keye wisely kept a half-mile distance between himself and the world, if he employed the chatty PA, the shades, the AirPods, and the attitude—all of which said don’t fuck with me—it meant he was smarter than most.
I saw Keye’s demand for privacy as self-preservation.
If he needed to keep a distance between his trailer and the rest of the cast and crew because he didn’t feel safe, I couldn’t fault him for it any more than I could blame Seph for growling at Gina Kelleher when she’d loomed over Seph’s head.
After a brief conversation with Keyes’s PA, Deacon apparently worked things out to their mutual satisfaction. He returned and gave me a thumbs up.
“I have people on their way to move you as we speak. They’ll be there when you get there.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh God. I forgot.” He keyed the mic on his headset and spoke quickly. “Unless you want your arm ripped off by an irate German shepherd, stay out of the motor home. Got it?”
He winced at the reply. “They figured that out.”
“Was anyone hurt?” I waited anxiously for the answer.
He shook his head. “She just barked and scared the hell out of them.”
“Good girl.” I grinned. “Show me where I’m moving.”
“Sure.” Deacon opened a map of the area on his tablet and showed me where I’d need to park my RV from then on. “Thanks for understanding, Stone. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.”
“It’s fine. We can handle it.” It was fine with me if my move helped the boy with the moonlight hair feel safe.
“Get some rest.” Deacon waved as he went back to help his actor get things from the car.
“You too.” Despite being up for most of the night, I knew I would be the only one getting any rack time. Deacon still had to play ringmaster for this circus. His days were long and chaotic. He wouldn’t be guaranteed any rest until the location shoot was over.
I turned back to Hades and Seph.
“Did the bad lady scare you? I’m sorry.”
I had roasted chicken in my pouch—Hades’s favorite. I let him get a whiff of it and then told him what I expected him to do.
“Crate, Hades.” As soon as I unlatched the pen’s gate, Hades leaped into the back of my van and dove into his crate. Of the two, Hades was the more solitary. He liked his crate. It soothed him to den when he was anxious.
Persephone could be a bit more capricious. She had lots of energy and an inexhaustible prey drive. The way she was eyeing the goings on around Keye made me take a second look behind me to see what held her attention.
As we watched, the PA bounced, literally, toward the trunk of the town car. She seemed to be lecturing Deacon about something as she and the driver put the actor’s luggage into the golf cart set aside for their use. I caught a few of her words, “Mr. Keye expects,” and “Mr. Keye requires,” and Deacon’s mumbled apology, “Complete misunderstanding,” and “unexpected early arrival…”
A low growl started in Persephone’s throat.
I put myself in Seph’s head. There was nothing more alarming than the car itself, spewing a cloud of mist and exhaust into the predawn air. No animals that I saw. Nothing dangerous to my dogs besides the ordinary danger humans represented.
Then I caught sight of the woman’s boots, which were oversized, furry, and had pompoms that bobbled with each step she took as she wrestled with the actor’s bags. The girl wore leggings, an oversized slouchy sweater, and those thick, furry boots. They made her look like a mutant Clydesdale.
I couldn’t fault Persephone for staring if people dressed like lure-course rabbits.
“Knock it off, Persephone.” I gave the fence a pat to get Persephone’s attention back on me. “C’mon. Eyes.” She reluctantly glanced up. “Crate.”
With a huff, she leaped into the van. To teach me a lesson, she took her stinking time turning around and around, but she finally settled inside her crate.
“Good girl.” I gave her some chicken before closing and latching her inside. The two wolfdogs had very different personalities, but they worked well together as a bonded pair. They were remarkably bombproof for some of the more wolfy looking hybrids, but I didn’t take anything for granted. I couldn’t if I wanted to avoid trouble.
The PA with the boots had no idea how much Seph wanted her for a chew toy. Maybe it was time for another crash course on how to work around the animals on set. There were several Huskies working alongside the actors this season as well as my hybrids and some really amazing corvids—both ravens and crows. Before the shoot, the animal handlers gave the actors a heads up, but their PAs could use some training with regard to the animals as well.
Keye settled into the golf cart with his things as his PA got behind the wheel. Deacon waved and they sped off with a noise like an excited sewing machine.
I got our things together, my mind still on the young actor.
He’d shown up early, and as far as I could tell, he’d only asked for a small, likely unexceptional, concession.
Surely no one considered that diva-like?
As an incorrigible observer of human behavior, Sebastian Keye reminded me of the wolves and hybrids I’d pledged my future to protect.
If he really was a troublemaker, I wondered what else he had in store.
Chapter Two
Bast
“Here you go.” Molly opened the door to the stuffy motorhome and switched on the lights. “Let me get these windows open so you have fresh air and sunlight.”