After a day of securing the campground, Ivar finished scouting the area beyond the river and made his way back toward a firepit near the cabins. His brothers, all of them except for Quade, sat around it. He took an empty seat, easily catching the beer Garrett tossed to him out of a dented cooler covered in bumper stickers. He popped the top and drank down several swallows. “Area is secure,” he said, when he’d cooled his throat.
Adare kicked out his feet toward the fire, letting them get close enough that the rubber on the bottom of his boots started melting. He pulled them back slightly. “The Kurjans won’t look for us here.”
Ivar took another drink, appreciating the full moon shining down. It was nice to have a cloudless night for a change, and it certainly helped when keeping an eye out for the enemy. “I didn’t think they’d search the middle of town.”
Ronan crumpled his beer can and tossed it in a garbage bag set up yards away. “Logan? I should give you a warning before your mate finds out. Just received word that the Kurjans blew up our entire building. Well, to be more accurate, they set fire to every floor and shattered the windows.”
“Ah, damn it.” Logan’s head went back, and he shut his eyes. “Mercy is gonna be so pissed. She believed we’d make a fortune from rent.”
Chuckles erupted around Ivar, and he tried to find amusement in Logan’s comment, but it just wasn’t in him. Had joy been in him before? He vaguely remembered it. And he had thought Promise was amusing on a few occasions. Perhaps humor was coming back to him. Or maybe it was just Dr. Promise Williams. He felt more in her presence than he had for centuries, even before going through so many hells. It was too bad he couldn’t explore that attraction. “Where is your mate, Logan?”
“Talking with Faith and Grace,” Logan said, his overlarge body sprawled in his chair. “She’ll be out here when they go to check on Promise. You know, you’re gonna need to teach her to shield her mind because she’ll want to get close and interview beings who can teleport.”
“Or I could teach her,” Garrett offered, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Spots danced across Ivar’s vision. “No. I’ll teach her.” He clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt and then forced himself to relax.
“So it’s like that, is it?” Ronan asked, turning away and barely masking a laugh with a lame cough.
“No.” Ivar crossed his arms. His ears started to burn, and he growled.
Garrett tossed his beer can in the garbage and reached into the cooler for a purple drink. “Sorry, Ivar. Just messing with you.”
Ivar glanced at the drink. “Grape?”
Garrett shrugged. “Yeah. Damn things are addictive. I stole a couple from my uncle Dage last month, and before I knew it, I wanted a grape energy drink every morning.”
“I hope you get fat,” Ivar returned, losing his tension. He’d forgotten how friends liked to banter; it was a skill he needed to work on. Maybe at some point, he’d actually feel amusement. It was possible. “I’ll teach Missy what she needs to know.”
“Missy?” Adare asked, turning his head.
Ivar’s back straightened. “Yeah. It’s a nickname. But I’m the only one who gets to call her that,” he hastened to say. It was special and just for him. He didn’t want to analyze why that mattered.
Garrett snorted and took a deep drink. “In all seriousness. My aunt Amber, who’s mated to Kane, can shield from a demon mind attack and could do so even when she was human. We’ve studied her ability but can’t really explain it. She might be able to help you with…Promise.”
Ivar stretched out in the chair but kept away from the fire. He’d been burned enough in this life. “I haven’t told her that demons can attack minds.” He hadn’t wanted to scare her any more than he already had. Oh, she’d kept calm and collected, asking tons of questions. But behind each query was fear. He couldn’t blame her. “I figured since her mind was already being attacked, I’d skip that part of her introduction to our world.”
“Seems fair,” Benny agreed, which meant the plan was probably crazy. He rubbed his flat belly, his gaze on the dancing flames of the fire. “We don’t do this enough. Just us hanging out and not talking about the world ending.” He rubbed his