“Nothing worthwhile ever is. It will be fine.”

She wanted to believe him.

Drantos wanted to pull Dusti into his arms and carry her to bed. The instinct to protect her was strong. The clan could go to hell, but he knew that kind of thinking was what his father feared most. Dusti would have an easier time if she were accepted by everyone.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks.” He wanted her to know she was his main concern.

“These are the people you care about.”

“I love you. You’re my mate. You are always my priority.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I know you mean that. We’ll make this work. I wasn’t just blowing smoke up your father’s ass. I get that we’re in your world so I need to play nice with the natives.”

He laughed. She always amused him with the way she spoke. “They’ll get to know you and see how wonderful you are.”

She nodded. “I guess that means we should get ready and leave the house if I’m to be put on display.”

“Don’t look at it that way.” He could sense she was worried. “It’s just a new place. Deep down we’re basically the same as you.”

“Okay.”

“We are, Dusti. Don’t let the fact that we’re not human convince you otherwise. We have bad days and good. Dreams and disappointments. You love your sister the way we love our siblings.”

“I understand. It’s just going to take some time for me to adjust to the idea of living with a bunch of people who grow claws and fangs, but I will. I’m going to shower. Do you want to join me?”

He would make love to her and they’d never leave the house. He admitted as much. “I’ll go eat since you already did. It will be a quick trip out and then we’ll have the rest of the day to bond. We’ll go to the gathering later this afternoon. My shift won’t start until about ten tonight.”

“Got it. Horse and pony show first, then the good stuff. I like that plan. It’s like being rewarded after doing something that I know is going to be tough. Then we’ll face off against your entire clan at this dinner.”

Her words made his chest hurt. “I’m sorry this is difficult for you.” He meant it. He tried to put himself in her shoes. It would be drastically different for him if he attempted to join her world. He at least knew how hers worked. She hadn’t known his existed before he’d come into her life. “You’re very brave.”

She flashed him a grin that brightened her eyes. “It’s a good thing you’re seriously hot.”

He laughed. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“I’m counting on it. On that note, I’m going to shower.”

He watched her disappear into his room and his mood darkened. His parents were going to be a pain the ass. It would be simpler if Kraven were home. His brother had a way of finding solutions and dealing with their parents better than he ever could. He also was mating to Dusti’s sister. It would give their parents two targets to focus on instead of just him.

He strode over to the front door and twisted the bolts. That was one thing that would change, regardless of how anyone felt about it. He didn’t want everyone just walking into their home. A few minutes more and they would have been caught having sex on the couch. Father or not, he would have wanted to rip out the throat of any man who saw that much of Dusti.

He fixed a quick bowl of cereal, more than aware of the sound of running water down the hallway. He wanted to go to her. His dick throbbed. It wasn’t natural to refrain from sex while their mating bond still formed. Then again, the clan was on high alert thanks to Decker’s bullshit.

He might understand that he was needed, but that didn’t mean he didn’t regret it.

Em's EORD

Chapter Fifteen

Dusti knew the people in the town of Howl would be curious about her, and she had to admit she wasn’t immune to the feeling either. She peered at every face they passed and noticed how closely they studied her. Drantos clutched her hand tighter. She lifted her chin to give him a worried glance.

“Are they all VampLycans? The whole town?”

“At night, yes, with a few Lycans thrown in. During the day like now, not always. There’s a main highway just a few miles away. There’s a sign that leads people here but not a lot of them come. Tourists visit but we refused to build a motel. We want to keep humans from staying too long.”

“Why allow them at all?”

He brought her to a brief halt. “A lot of travelers need food and fuel in this remote area, and that earns us a little income. It also makes humans less suspicious of us. We’re just a boring, isolated place to them. We even have an auto repair shop for the unfortunate ones who break down. We do keep an apartment above the shop for the occasional overnight customer. There’s a guard posted to make certain they don’t wander too far. We can’t allow them to roam freely and possibly see one of us when it isn’t a good time.”

Transformed into beast-looking creatures, she thought, translating his meaning regarding what they didn’t want a human to see. “Are they going to be worried about me walking around?”

“No. Word has spread that you’re my mate. There’s no reason to fear anyone. This is your clan.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have come into town so soon. Your dad might have been wrong.”

“You need clothing and shoes. While we don’t have much to offer here from our small store, it could take a week or two for your stuff to arrive from California; and the same for any packages to arrive from online orders. They don’t even deliver them this far out. We have to drive to another town to pick up mail. That’s how we mainly buy things in this remote area of Alaska.”

“Wow. You don’t even get mail here?”

“Nope. We won’t allow a post office to be set up in our territory. Mail is federally regulated. That means scrutiny we don’t welcome. Post offices are run by humans and we don’t wish for any to live in our town. It’s just easier if another town handles mail, and for us to send some of our men to go pick it up.”

“I see. “ She wiggled her toes in the three pairs of socks he’d made her wear to protect her feet from the ground. “I’m okay though. I don’t want you blowing a lot of money on me. It’s not as if I’m going to be outside much. I won’t be very popular around her. It’s probably better if I stay indoors.”