thrilled to be able to help. “Honeymoon. It’s what newlyweds do in this time period. They spend a week or so off on their own. It’s their version of bonding time.”
Bonding time was what vampires had with their companions. Not that we’d had either a honeymoon or bonding time, but then when I married Danny I hadn’t exactly been aware I was doing it. Even my marriage to Dev had been something of a surprise, and it had come with a full-on public proof of sexual compatibility ceremony.
Myrddin nodded. “Ah. The couple, or threesome in this case, wants to spend time together alone. I take it this is why the young wolf is running about without his parents. Does he know he’s supposed to wear clothes? I was told this is a cultural norm in this period, despite the choices of some women.”
Like I said, he was a judgey asshole who didn’t appreciate miniskirts and tank tops.
Fenrir was the young werewolf Kelsey, Gray, and Trent adopted recently. He was a young wolf king, the werewolf equivalent of Daniel’s vampire king. He was stronger, faster, bigger than other wolves. He would one day lead them all as the alpha, but for now he was a nine-year-old boy who didn’t like pants but did adore Lee. They’d been fast friends, and in the weeks since he’d come to live here at Council headquarters, that friendship had deepened. We were watching over Fen while his parents enjoyed a couple of weeks in a tropical paradise.
Or would have if Devinshea had made it back to the penthouse the night before. “She’s already on her way.”
Zack stood up. “I need to go meet her. I’ve got to tell her Marcus is missing, too. I’m not sure how she’s going to handle that.”
The vampire Marcus Vorenus and Kelsey had a relationship that went pretty deep. He’d been her trainer and her lover before she’d settled into her power and realized she was deeply in love with Gray and Trent. She still had a place in her heart for Marcus. I did, too. Daniel wouldn’t be alive and king without the support of Marcus.
See, there’s a mentor. I didn’t get why Danny needed Myrddin when he’d had Marcus. Marcus had taught him everything he needed to know about how to navigate vampire politics, and Dev had taught him how to be a king. Myrddin had been needed to fix Danny’s heart at one point, but as far as I could see the old dude should go back into retirement.
Zack went off to greet his niece and hopefully to fully apologize for interrupting what should have been a nice morning.
“When the hell did Marcus go missing?” Neil sat back, obviously shocked by how his day was going. “He seemed fine at the wedding. I didn’t see him at the reception, but I wasn’t surprised. I mean, Kelsey dumped him not so long ago and she’s already married two other dudes.”
“She didn’t dump him.” It was far more complex than that. “She and Marcus are good. I was so busy I didn’t notice he wasn’t at the reception.”
I had been the hostess of that wedding and the reception that followed, and it had been important to me that the whole thing went smoothly. Kelsey was kind of the opposite of a bridezilla, so I filled in. I had to put together an elegant wedding honoring the traditions of half demons, mutant werewolf human hybrids, and werewolves who’d grown up in weird cults and just wanted everything to be normal. It wasn’t easy. And there were vegans there, too.
“I find it interesting that we’re missing those particular two members of the community. The academic and Devinshea have had trouble before, haven’t they?” Myrddin sat back in his chair, his hands coming up and forming a temple in front of his chest. I liked to think of it as his thinking face. His thinking face always brought about my worrying face.
How would he know Dev and Marcus had trouble in the past? Who had he been talking to? He’d only been here with us for a few weeks, but he was already very knowledgeable about my family, and that didn’t sit well with me. “Marcus and Dev get along fine.”
A single brow rose over Myrddin’s eyes. “Oh, really?”
Daniel reached over and slid a hand across mine. “You know they haven’t always gotten along, and that’s mostly Dev’s fault. Come on, baby. We have to consider every possibility. I know Dev wouldn’t