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Elliot waved to him, banging on his highchair tray. “Buda-fly!”

“That’s right, that’s my little butterfly. She’s growing in here.”

“Like Izzy?”

“That’s right, just like Izzy.”

Elliot smiled, then came to hug him, ear to his belly. “Halloooooo.”

That had both him and Cosmo laughing. Well, until Elliot started having a conversation.

“Uh-huh. No, deys rode away wit Unc Orrie.”

His eyes went wide.Do you hear that, brother?

Cosmo nodded, shaking the pan.He used to talk to Izzy. He’s a baby whisperer.

“Unc Orrie is a uni-uni-unicorn! No. You’s budafly. Cuncle says. Bud. Da. Fly.”

Goodness, that was adorable. He chuckled softly. “Orion should be home very soon, guys. Very soon indeed.”

And if he wasn’t, Cullen was going to bite all three of them.

His teeth were way sharper than Orion’s.

Way.

ChapterSixteen

The humidity hit Orion first, then the way that the light seemed to be filtered through layers of trees and fog.

He shifted as quickly as he could, knowing that his human form was, while not normal, less remarkable than his horsey self.

They stood there, the three of them, getting their bearings.

“We’ll be looking for somewhere underground, but it can’t be natural. If it was natural, the fae could have found him and fetched him home.” Hawk pushed his sunglasses up on his forehead, those eyes just flashing. “Corbin? This is your specialty.”

“Right on. Vampires smell like moldy citrus—it’s unmistakable.”

He glanced at Corbin, a little shocked. “Seriously? Is that why Cullen only brings a couple of fruits in from your mom’s at a time?”

“Bingo.” Corbin winked at him. “We hate that smell.”

“I bet. And it was all in your house when you first moved in, huh?”

“Vampires are a scourge,” Hawk spat.

“Right. Okay. Corbin?” Orion didn’t want to get Hawk worked up any more than he was. That would be bad, because the big guy might just go off the rails.

“Right. Bloodhound mode. Got it. You know, I could get a dog. A hound. That could be part of the repertoire. I could teach it to track vampires.”

“But what would happen if it bayed?” Orion pointed out. “Then they would know you were coming.”

“True—”

“One finds it difficult to believe either of you ever rescued anyone,” Hawk said.

“Harsh.” Orion rubbed his chest as if that had hurt.