“There are more human runaway kids than there are supernatural. She finds the work fulfilling.”

A brief feeling of curiosity filled me along with the squeeze of something else that constricted my chest. Perhaps Miranda and the Fire Wolf’s arrangement went beyond casual business. “So she works with other humans in the human world?”

“She does.”

“Is she the only vamp in her organization?”

He inclined his head again.

I frowned. I’d never heard of such a thing. Most vamps were notoriously selfish and fixated on sex, and they usually lived in the supernatural community in nests with other vamps, but I’d met a few who were different. Perhaps Miranda was one of them.

And the Fire Wolf did have a point about his arrangement with Miranda. Human children needed more help than our kind did. The supernatural community always rounded up any supe kids that had runaway. Childhood was difficult enough, but add to that the budding powers that usually emerged around puberty for supernatural species, and you had a very volatile situation in which our kind could be easily outed. All it would take was one wayward pre-teen wolf shifter to go all furry on his first full moon to have the entire human population up in arms and ready to hunt us down.

Still . . . why was the Fire Wolf helping runaway human kids in Portland, Oregon?

He growled. “You’re not going to let this go until I tell you, are you?”

I shook my head.

He muttered under his breath, something about a damn stubborn woman, before sighing heavily. “I have a base set up here in this alleyway, so I come back here a lot, which means that I’ve gotten to know the locals that live in the area, and I’m familiar with what happens around here. You got a taste of the normal activities tonight. So, a few years ago, I decided enough was enough. One thing led to another, and Miranda and I started working together. I find the kids. She takes them off the street. They get the opportunity to have a better life. There. Are you happy?”

My jaw dropped. The Fire Wolf—the menace of society—rescued homeless kids in his spare time.

“So Miranda really doesn’t feed from them?”

He scowled. “No. I’d stake her if she did that, but she never would. She wasn’t lying. She’s a vegetarian who only drinks animal blood.”

I nibbled my lower lip. I’d heard about some vamps denying their true nature and only drinking from animals. It took an incredible amount of self-control, as it went against everything regarding vampiric nature. But if what he said was true, if he wasn’t lying about what he and Miranda were really doing, it was quite . . . admirable.

Huh.

He glowered. “Pick your jaw up and follow me, or have you forgotten that your sister is still missing?”

His comment was like a giant slap, knocking the shock right out of me.

“This way.”

I stumbled after him as he led me deeper into the alley. It got darker and darker the farther we went, the little light from the streetlight vanishing behind us like a snuffed-out candle.

“Why are you letting me follow you now?” I asked, and then cursed when I tripped over a rock on the ground. “I thought you wanted to keep whatever you’re doing back here a secret.”

“You know enough now that it doesn’t really matter. And besides, we don’t need any more setbacks tonight. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

I kept my mouth shut but then his footsteps abruptly vanished. “Fire Wolf?” I was about to ask him where he’d gone when I collided with his warm back and his delicious cedar scent flooded my nose. “Oh, sorry.” I retreated a step.

“The door’s here. You can’t see it, so you’ll have to hold onto me.”

The alleyway was so black that I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. “Where are you?”

“Here.” His warm hand slipped over mine, and a storm of nerves fired up my arm. His warmth, his scent, the feel of his palm’s hard callouses pressing against my skin—it was like sensory overload in the most intoxicating way.

He tugged me forward, and I kept my lips pressed tightly together. Since my brain had joined my vagina in a complete and utter lack of self-control, I figured it was best not to say anything and keep my lips sealed.

I blindly followed the Fire Wolf as he led me forward. Just as I lifted my foot to take another step, a thick coating of magic descended over me. The magic rubbed against my skin, hot and smooth, like taking a bath in melted butter. I nearly sighed from the tantalizing feel of it.

A low chuckle came from in front of me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the Fire Wolf had known how I’d responded to the warded area we’d just stepped through.

When the sensation of swimming through silky heat vanished, I blinked.

“Where are we?”

We stood in a small room surrounded by brick walls. Several doors were on the far side of the room. A couch and chair, along with a large flat-screen TV, sat in the corner. Beside that were a fridge and a tiny kitchen that reminded me of the ones I’d had in studio apartments. In the other far corner was a curtained off area. I had no idea what was hidden behind it, but just to the left of it was what I assumed was a closet since it had double doors. Beside that was a large bed.

I finished appraising the small studio apartment, my eyebrows rising. “Is this your home?”

“No. It’s a base.”

I cocked my head. “Like a man cave?”

His lips twitched. “Something like that.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised that you brought me here. What if I told your enemies where they could find you?” I waggled my eyebrows.

But despite my teasing tone, his expression went blank, all openness disappearing from his features. I immediately missed the way he’d been only a second before.

“Would you tell them?” he asked, his gaze unwavering.

“No,” I replied immediately, and I meant it.

An amused glint in his eyes broke through his stony exterior. “I know. If you had considered telling anyone, the wards wouldn’t have let you in.”

My eyes bulged that he’d been messing with me. I snickered. “Ha ha, very funny. So, if they hadn’t let me in, what would have happened? I’d have walked into a brick wall, while you disappeared through it?”

“No. The walls would have trapped you within them, holding onto you until you died from asphyxiation. It would have been a slow and painful death.”

Pulses of fire stoked in his irises, and I laughed nervously. While I liked to think that he was kidding, a part of me wondered if he was. He’d killed three half-demons less than a few hours ago and didn’t seem to feel even slightly guilty about it. So yeah, I didn’t put it past him to place deadly wards on his man cave.

“And you know this because that’s happened to others you’ve brought in here?”

He grunted. “No. I don’t bring people here. The only reason you’re here is to keep you out of trouble while I finish what I was doing.”

“Oh.” A strange rush of pleasure surged through me. So he didn’t allow others into his base, but he’d let me inside.

But then I internally smacked myself. Tala, the dude was hired to find your sister and nothing more. He doesn’t actually give two shits about you.

The Fire Wolf gestured toward his leather couch that looked big enough to comfortably seat three linebackers. “This’ll take a few minutes. You can stand where you are or sit on the couch, but don’t interrupt me.”

Before I could reply, he strode toward the curtained-off area in the corner and disappeared behind the thick drape.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 10

I sat on the couch, continually eyeing the curtain the Fire Wolf had disappeared behind. He’d lit candles, I knew that much, since I could scent their subtle vanilla fragrance and their slight glow outlined his frame through the curtain. But beyond that, I couldn’t see anything. My curiosity grew. What is he doing back there?