They drove in silence for a while before Johnathan parked on the street in front of Speed of Night Gamer Café. “Enjoy the rest of your date. I will return to get you both in a few hours,” the demon butler said while questioning Lasci with a look over his shoulder. “Thanks for the ride again,” Amorous said, following Purity onto the sidewalk. He was about to shut the van door, but Lasci’s hand suddenly grabbed around the edge of it, “Hold on, I’m getting out,” he said in a deep annoyed voice. Johnathan snickered, “I take it we aren’t heading to the office then?” Slamming the door shut, Lasci snapped, “Bingo,” and turned to face both Purity and Amorous, “I think I’d rather play a game or two.” Johnathan chuckled, “Oh boy,” before driving off in the van just as Purity was about to call after him. Turning back to Lasci, she scowled, “You’re doing this on purpose,” and then snapped, “We are on a date, and you are acting like a fifth wheel!” Lasci grinned before laughing in response,
Looking at Purity while calling Pru, Lasci knew he had to be careful what he said. He had yet to talk to her about the situation with the vampire. She didn’t know that Bastian would be a temporary guest at The House of Stray for a little while. “Hey, you called?” Pru responded to Lasci, “Yes,” before explaining the forwarded email regarding the shaman's confession to him, “It’s legit. The vampire wasn’t lying, but rather quite truthful.” Pru went on to say he had the video and audio analyzed, and there was no coercion with the man's words. “Shit, so there’s no way around it,” Lasci told Pru. “Sorry, brother, I’m as uneasy about this as you. We can’t take a chance that what the older man said isn’t true, so Bastian will be moving in tonight. I have already contacted him, and he seemed expectant, like he knew I would call. I don’t trust him, Lasci, but we don’t have a choice.” Lasci swore and glanced over at Purity. She had at least let go of the seat belt and sat now staring out
He could sense she was struggling to keep her composure, “It’s okay if you can’t handle it. I’m not human, so I don’t know how humans handle things.” Lasci found himself taking a note from Pru’s book. His beta always kept a cool head when dealing with situations like this. “I’m fine, Lasci. I’m NOT a child,” Purity yelled slightly in response, “Besides, there’s a good chance that this whole thing is a waste of everyone’s time.” Lasci shook his head at her conclusion, “It’s not, and it won't be. I found out last night there’s more to it. Do you remember the guy in the garden?” He knew the vampire had also visited her in her dreams, so she was fully aware of who he was. Purity nodded casually, but he saw her cheeks suddenly flush before she turned around, “Yes, the stranger. So he’s the vampire?” Lasci scoffed at her choice of words as he felt anger and possessiveness take over, “Stranger, huh? That stranger is about to become a temporary guest in my home. But, unfortunately,
Lasci stared at Bastian with dislike when he walked into the kitchen. “Yes, my pack, my house, remember you are a guest here. I don’t tolerate bullshit from my brothers, so I won’t tolerate it from you either, King or not,” Lasci threateningly responded. Bastian grinned at him innocently in return before responding, “My apologies. I was only formally introducing myself to the young lady.” They both stood there, making everyone uncomfortable while quiet tension filled the room. Johnathan’s sudden light cough broke the heavy air of silence, “Might I suggest that we save the beef because we are having seafood for dinner? Now, I am unsure of what to make for the, um, guest. We have plenty of raw steaks if you prefer?” Lasci had turned to look at Purity’s face the moment Johnathan mentioned raw steaks for Bastian and swore he caught the look of disgust. This made him feel amused and hopeful that the vampire’s need for blood may gross her out and, in turn, create distance between t
Johnathan slipped with the knife while banging the cutting board before he sighed and turned to answer her shaking his head, “No, I do not. Well, not to visit. I can go back when I’m charged with handling something pertaining to the Stray family, but other than that, I have no love lost for that place.” Again Purity responded, “Oh,” before sipping a glass of water. She watched Johnathan turn back around and decided to probe further, though she knew she was being a little too nosey, “So why, then?” “Why what, dear?” “Why don’t you want to visit home, without it being some job to do or whatever? I mean, I read Hell was an awful place and all, but if you’re a demon, isn’t that normal? Wouldn’t you want to go back home? Don’t you have a family or something?” Silence filled the stark white kitchen before Johnathan finally burst out laughing and turned back to look at her, “Well, that is truly a first for me! You are asking if I have parents? My dear, you are charmingly oblivious. To a
Heading downstairs, he ran into Amorous coming out of the kitchen hallway with Johnathan and Purity coming from the great room, followed by Pru and Bastian. “What’s going on?” Pru asked, looking at Amorous and Lasci. “Has anyone seen Libidi?” Everyone shook their head no before Pru said, “He hasn’t been back since he left earlier, I believe.” Lasci nodded, already knowing that fact. A wet wolf smell was just as bad as a damp dog smell, if not worse. “Johnathan, can you help Amorous keep an eye on Tener? The lazy idiot pushed his wolf too hard, and they both will suffer from it now,” Lasci asked Johnathan. The butler nodded before heading upstairs. Lasci turned to Pru, “You come with me, I’ll head to the front of the house toward the garage, and I want you to search the woods behind the garden for Libidi. We have a trespasser again,” he said pointedly, looking at Bastian, “and I don’t want Libidi caught unaware.” Pru nodded and kicked off his house shoes before heading toward t
Lasci could tell Bastian was about to attack the young female wolf, “Stop, Bastian. I won’t let my brother’s life end because of your lack of foresight. She could have done it by now if she was going to harm him. Back off for a moment.” The female wolf didn’t realize that Lasci and Pru had come upon them because she tightened her grip as she turned to get more threatening words and whimpers of fear from Libidi. “Stupid bitch! I’ll kill you! My brothers are here, and you're dead, hear me? FUCKING DEAD!” The female didn’t respond, but her hair stood on end as she eyed Lasci and then Pru. Bastian vaporized next to Lasci’s wolf, “Don’t blame me if your brother is turned into a muted ball of fluff.” Lasci rolled his eyes and started to step cautiously toward the female, “Release my brother. The odds aren’t in your favor. So why have you been circling my territory without announcing your presence?” The female wolf narrowed her golden eyes at him and spoke, it took some time as she tri
“Fahla, and yours is Bastian?” He nodded, “For short. And no, I am not bound but choose to be here.” “I didn’t ask and don’t care to be honest. It’s none of my business why a vampire would be chilling out with a pack of wolves. But let me ask you, what’s his name because he sure and the hell sucked at introductions.” “Lasci, for short,” Bastian responded, watching Fahla throw herself to the ground and laugh with her paws in the air. “Lassie, like the collie critter with Timmy?” Bastian smiled, “Yes, exactly like that.” After they both stopped mocking him, Fahla asked, “So if I show up at their door, what do you think the odds are I’d be digging my own grave? Bastian thought for a moment and then answered, “As good as any, I believe.” Fahla smiled and said, “Good, I could always use a workout.” She darted into the woods suddenly, leaving Bastian there to shake his head in amusement before he turned into a mist that blended with the steamy fog coming up from the ground. *** W