“Dude.”
Viktor looked up to see the shifter standing in the hallway, wearing a smug smile. Rafe Beaumont. Five months ago, Viktor had rescued the wolf after a demon attack. In a last-ditch effort to save him, the vampire had done the unthinkable, and fed the wolf his blood and that of a high priestess.
Foolish decision. He’d created a hybrid. Both beast and vampire, the wolf could shift and run free, but he’d need blood to survive. Rafe had remained in his care ever since.
“I’m busy,” Viktor grumbled.
“Whatcha doin’? Is this all part of the vampire 101 super-secret bat-flying handbook?” Rafe joked.
“Curiosity killed the cat,” Viktor replied flatly.
“Good thing I’m a wolf.”
“I don’t have time for your shit right now.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Rafe glanced to the bed and back to Viktor. “I see that.”
“Whatever it is, now is not the time,” he warned.
“Say, Vik. Is that a girl in your bed?” Rafe entered and sniffed, looking down to a bloodied heap of fabric lying on the floor. “Oh no, man. What did you do?”
“Nothing.” Viktor exhaled an audible breath.
Rafe studied the woman. “Is she naked?”
“None of your business. Get out.”
“Whatever’s going on, looks like it could have been worse.” Rafe shrugged.
“How exactly is that?”
“You’ve got a beautiful woman in your house. Obviously, something happened. Did you bite her? Hey, did you turn her? Then you’d have two kids. I’d have a sister.”
“Jesus, don’t even say that.” Viktor could barely handle the hybrid but was determined not to fail him. He refused to be like his sire.
“So, is she staying? Can we keep her?”
“No. No, we can’t keep her.” I’d like to, though. “I’ll return her tomorrow.”
“From where? Is she from a blood club?”
Viktor shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, no.”
“What did you do, Vik?” Rafe pinned him with a stare. “She’s from Miami?”
“Not exactly,” he hedged.
“She’s not a donor?”
“Nope.”
Rafe exhaled loudly, plowing his fingers through his unruly hair. “I thought you said you were going out. Like here. In Miami. The way you’re all dressed up…Jesus, I thought you were going to the opera or some shit.”
“I said I had an event. I did not say where,” Viktor hedged.
“Where did you get her?”
“San Diego.”
“California? What the…are you crazy? What were you doing?”
“It was an art exhibition. Impressionism.”
“Sorry, what?” Rafe shot him a look of astonishment. “You did not just say you skipped off to San Diego for an art show.”
“She was a person of interest,” Viktor commented blithely.
“A person of interest? Who the hell says that? No, don’t answer. I’ll tell you who says that. The FBI. PCAP. Last time I checked you weren’t either.”
“It’s nothing really. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. I met her once at a blood club. Here in Miami. She had a bit of a tussle with a vampire. I took care of it.”
“You’re just a regular hero, you know that? Better watch out, people might actually discover you’re not the asshole you pretend you are.”
“I’m not sure what overcame me.” Viktor sighed. “When I went to her friend’s home—”
“Wait up…you didn’t know her?”
“No, but I wanted to make sure she got home all right. She was looking for her friend. After I saved her at the club, I popped over to the address I was given by the maître d’. The apartment was empty. Ransacked. But there were needles in the bathroom. I scented a demon. So yeah, not cool. But while I was there, I stumbled upon her address, and voilà, I nipped off to San Diego.”
“You said you were meeting a friend at an event.” Rafe shook his head in disbelief.
“I was at an event. Long story short, I discovered she was a curator at an art museum. So, I donated a Monet for a fundraiser they were having. It’s a loaner of sorts.”
“Of course you have a Monet; because everyone does.”
“There’s something about her,” Viktor replied, ignoring Rafe. “I can’t put my finger on it just yet.”
“What about the blood? What happened?” He glanced to the clothes crumpled on the floor.
“There was a shooting last night during the event.”
“Trouble follows you everywhere.”
Viktor shot him a look of annoyance. “I prefer to think of myself as someone who can offer assistance.”
“Like a superhero? Does your cape have a big V on the back of it?”
“I just got off the phone with her boss,” Viktor continued, ignoring him. “Spoke to the SDPD too. It appears she was the only one who was injured.”
“And the perp?”
“He’s dead. He was human. Semiautomatic weapon. No one else was injured. Just our lovely curator there.”
“You shouldn’t get involved,” Rafe warned. “If her human friend went missing at a blood club, the police aren’t going to take it seriously. You know some of those places are sketch.”
“All true. But what the police don’t know is that I scented demons at her friend’s apartment.”
“Again, not your problem. Tell PCAP,” Rafe insisted. “They handle all the paranormal problems the police don’t.”
“But there is a problem now of my own doing. I healed her.” Viktor sighed, his gaze settling on Waverly, who gave a soft moan. “I tasted her.”
“And? So what? You’ve bitten men, women…anyone who wanted it. And a few who didn’t.” Rafe laughed and continued. “I’m not saying they didn’t deserve it.”
Viktor shook his head and shrugged.
“Why get involved with trouble?” Rafe asked. “It’s one thing to help a girl out in a bar. It’s another to go across the country to do it. I mean, come on, Vik. She’s just another human with human problems.”
“Perhaps.” Viktor recalled the taste of her blood, the energy that flowed between them as he held her in his arms, dancing. “She may be human, but there’s something else about her. I’m not sure what it is.”
“Dude. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you aren’t the kind of guy who loves to babysit. Call PCAP. Jake probably already knows if something is going on in San Diego. He’s an Alpha. He can help her.”
“I’m not handing the human over to a wolf. I found her. She’s my responsibility,” Viktor whispered, noting a slight change in her breathing pattern.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“You don’t need to worry about her. She’s my problem not yours. I have this.”
“Are you hungry?” Rafe changed the subject. “I ordered a donor. Do you want me to call one in for you?”
“Yes.” Viktor gave a hint of a smile as she stirred, rolling onto her side. “Please leave us.”