Keri Arthur - Bound to Shadows

So he needed a home. It'd be nice if I could find him another vampire…

The thought stalled and I grinned.

I knew the perfect person.

To say Sal was surprised to find me standing on her doorstep would be the understatement of the year. She and I had a whole lot to do with each other on a professional level—she'd taken over my position as Jack's main assistant, and generally handled a good percentage of my calls—but we weren't friends, and weren't ever likely to be.

"Riley," she said, her normally sultry tones decidedly frosty. "I'm on vacation. From you, and from the Directorate."

"I know. I just thought you might be able to help out a friend," I said, the little dog still half-hidden under my jacket.

Her gaze narrowed. "And why would you think I'd be interested in helping out one of your friends?"

"Because his master's just been killed, and I don't really want to dump him in a shelter." I pulled the little dog out from under cover and offered him to her. "His previous owner was a vamp, so he has no fear of us non-humans . "

A point he proceeded to prove with his ecstatic tail wagging and happy little panting. Obviously, it was just Kye he had a problem with.

"God, he's darling," Sal all but purred as she plucked him from my arms and snuggled him against her. Then her gaze narrowed. "What's the catch?"

"Nothing. I just figured he deserved a good home, and I knew you liked dogs."

"Thanks," she said, then added tartly. "But don't think you can start dumping any old stray you're feeling sorry for on my doorstep. I'm not a half-way house for the abandoned."

"Got it," I said, knowing that if I ever did turn up with another stray, Sal wouldn't turn him away. She might be a hard-headed bitch when she was dealing with me, but when it came to real dogs she was the biggest softie around. And that made her a good person in my books—even if I'd never tell her.

"Glad we're clear about that," Sal said, tossing her caramel colored hair out of her eyes. "Now go away."

I grinned and left. No one was home when I got there, but I knew both Rhoan and Liander would be back for dinner so I left them a note to wake me and went to bed.

It seemed that no sooner had I hit the pillow when something hard was hitting me upside the head. I opened a bleary eye and found myself staring at a shoe. A rather grimy and sweat drenched running shoe, to be precise.

"I know that smell and I do not appreciate it sitting on my pillow," I muttered, swatting the shoe off my bed. "Go away and leave me alone."

"You're the one that wanted to be woken for dinner," Rhoan said, his voice gratingly cheerful. "Liander's just about to serve."

"What time is it?" I tried glaring at the clock, but it was facing the window rather than me and I didn't have the energy to reach out and grab it.

"It's six-thirty," he said, suddenly appearing in my vision as he bent down to retrieve his shoe. He was wearing old sweat pants that clung to his lean, muscular legs and a blue muscle shirt that was darkened with sweat. My nose twitched, drawing in the familiar scent of him, feeling the security of it wrap around me like an old, but much-loved blanket. All wolves needed their pack, but for too many years Rhoan and I had only had each other. And while we now had Liander and Quinn sharing our lives, we'd been alone for so long that I really didn't think we could ever live apart.

Which was why Liander now lived in our apartment, why Quinn was spending more and more time here, and why we were seriously considering getting a bigger place. With the four of us, it was getting a little cramped.

"You're not showering before you eat?" I mumbled, dragging my pillow closer in a last ditch effort to retain some threads of sleepiness. I didn't want to get up. I felt like crap. Dreams had disturbed my sleep, and it felt like I hadn't got any rest at all.

The bed bounced as Rhoan plopped his sweaty self down. "Liander likes the odor of hard work, so no, not just yet. Did you write up your report for Jack?"

My eyes flew open and I groaned. "God, no. Totally forgot about it."

"Which would explain the irate phone call we got a few minutes go. I don't think you're his favorite guardian right at this moment."

"Am I ever?" I muttered, and dragged myself upright. Every muscle in my body protested the movement. Anyone would think I'd gone twelve rounds in the boxing ring or had a night of rough and tumble sex.

"You look like shit," Rhoan said, eying me with a frown. "What happened last night?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary and certainly nothing strenuous." I rubbed a hand across gritty eyes. "I just feel drained and tired."

"How long were you asleep?"

"Nearly six hours."

"Maybe you're coming down with something." His gaze went to my neck, although if he was looking for bite marks, there were none to be found. I healed extraordinarily quickly these days. "Quinn's not taking too much blood again, is he?"

"Quinn's still substituting synth blood for mine a couple of days a week, so no, he's not taking too much." I yawned. "Maybe I just need coffee and food."

"Maybe." Rhoan pushed to his feet. "We've got roast lamb tonight."

Roast lamb was my one of my favorites, and it was usually something we saved for special occasions, simply because the price was so high these days. "What are we celebrating?"

"Nothing," he said, his eyes twinkling as he all but danced out the door.

I scrambled out of bed and threw on some clothes. Something was going on, and I needed to find out what. Liander was setting side plates down on the table, but he glanced up as I walked in, a smile he couldn't quite control dancing about his lips.

"Okay," I said, glancing from one to the other. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing," Liander said. His hair was plain silver today—no garish highlights, no glitter. It sharpened his features and made his silver eyes glow. "And everything. Sit down for dinner."

He disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving me with my oddly euphoric brother. It had me stumped, because it had to be something big for them to be reacting this way, and yet there was only one thing that I knew of that could make Liander this happy. Only it was the one thing I'd thought my brother would never, ever do.

I met his gaze and said, "Don't tell me you've finally agreed to fully commit to the man?"

A loud snort echoed from the kitchen. Rhoan merely grinned.

"Then what the hell are you two so giddy about?" Another reason hit me, and my stomach dropped. "God, you haven't bought a place of your own, have you?"

Some of his happiness faded. "You don't really think we'd do that to you, do you?"

I took a deep breath to calm the hammering of my heart. "No."

"Good, because we wouldn't. Ever. And don't expect that you and Quinn can get away from us, either. We're pack now, whether he likes it or not."

"This whole pack equation doesn't come easily to a vampire," came Quinn's dry comment, "but I am slowly getting used to the idea."

My heart leapt at the sound of his softly lilting tones, and I swung around. He was standing in the doorway, one hand on the door knob and a smile twitching his oh-so-kissable lips. His gaze met mine and, as ever, I felt myself getting lost in those gloriously dark depths. Kye might be what my wolf had hungered for, but this man—this vampire—was everything else. He was my night and my day and my heart, and I didn't want to lose him.

But that possibility was a malignancy that lingered in the background of everything we did, everything we planned.

Because of Kye.

Because none of us knew whether the pull my wolf felt for her soul mate would in the long run be stronger than the pull I felt for Quinn.