and think for a minute. He wasn’t a shifter, so he wasn’t a hundred percent sure what sort of instincts Paulie was talking about. “When I met Arvyn, held him close and told him about sensing Ra?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?” Paulie raised his hands in a “what the fuck” gesture. “Honestly, you two need a quick paranormal 101 refresher. What do we do when we think something’s wrong?”
“Fight it or fix the problem,” Arvyn said quietly. “At least that’s what I’ve always done.”
“Ten points.” Paulie pointed at Arvyn. “What about you?” He pointed the same finger at Kirill, who felt that was slightly disrespectful from a shifter so young, but he wasn’t about to say so.
“I’m quick to act on instinct when me or my coven feel threatened,” Kirill conceded. “But vampires are not naturally instinctive creatures, especially as we get older. Often times, because we’ve seen so much… it pays to act with caution and diplomacy unless we’re being directly attacked.”
“And how’s that working for you, both in your coven and with Ra?”
“Paulie,” Arvyn broke in gently. “Kirill’s not a shifter. If he had problems in his coven, they were likely covered up by the sort of posturing Kirill was explaining to me before Cass dragged us off to meet you. I’ve already told Kirill that I’ll be able to scent if anything’s wrong at the coven when we get there. Vampires can’t scent deceit or discern scents that shouldn’t be there.”
“I get that, I do.” Paulie nodded. “But I’m making a point here you don’t seem to be getting, Kirill. You need to start tapping into your true self – your inner self – and stop being governed by the trappings of your position and culture. I saw the connections between you, Arvyn and Ra. I knew what you could be together. But now Ra’s locked himself up in his realm and you’re walking into a truly dangerous situation without him.”
“Wes and I were planning on going with them, unless you objected,” Cass said quickly, surprising Kirill. “Having two shifters and a demon on his side should help.”
“That would, as a rule. But, fortunately it might not be necessary. Thanks to your stupidity with Ra and total lack of knowledge about what’s going on under your nose, Kirill, my mate has decided to take matters into his own hands.” Paulie looked around quickly and then leaned over further in his chair. “I think you’d better come to the computer room. The only reason why Zeus isn’t here, is because he’s gone to knock some sense into Ra, and then I think they were going to pay your coven a visit.”
“They’re not allowed to interfere in mortal affairs.” Kirill jumped to his feet. “Cass, please. I need to get back there, now.”
“Paulie wants you in the computer room. You need to go with Paulie to the computer room.” Cass folded his arms across his chest.
“Don’t you see, they’ll get into trouble with the Fates. I don’t want to lose my beloved, and I’m damn sure Paulie would have a complete breakdown if Zeus was taken from him.” Kirill’s heart was racing so fast he was seeing black spots in front of his eyes.
“You do have some weird ideas about the Fates.” Paulie shook his head. “Seriously, get with the times. The Fates do not break up a mating. And I never said Zeus and Ra were going to interfere in anything. I said they were going to visit your coven.” He winked. “After all, Ra has to ensure the accommodations are suitable for a god, don’t you think?”
Kirill looked over at Arvyn, who looked worried too, but the wolf managed a shrug. “I guess we’d better go and see what’s on those computer screens,” his beloved said quietly as he held out his hand. Kirill took it – his mind still fretting over the possible ramifications of having two ancient gods visiting the members of his coven. Most of them would be delighted at the honor, but then Kirill thought of Yakov and his stomach churned. Gripping Arvyn’s hand firmly, Kirill appreciated the quiet strength his wolfen beloved offered.
Chapter Twelve
“I can’t believe you talked me into this.” Ra shook out his robes and checked his headdress was straight, he and his guards still cloaked from mortal eyes. “I thought I’d come up with some classic ideas in my time…”
“You want to make an impression on your mates, don’t you?” Zeus fussed with the cuff of his