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He was so focused on this that only when Demos shook his arm did he realize the sound of Grayson’s heart was very, very near. His eyelids popped open. Grayson was just five feet away. A look of concern was on his face. He had seen Lawson’s behavior. He had read Ryder’s discomfort. And he had come to help.

That was not something he thought that Grayson did easily or lightly. He knew that much about the young man. He didn’t stick his head up. He didn’t get involved. Except for very certain people like that man Sam. And now, evidently, him. But there was something a little fragile in Grayson’s approach as if wasn’t sure what he expected Ryder to do, but he was going to act anyway.

Ryder didn’t know whether he wanted to scream, cry or vomit. He did none of these things. Instead he stared at Grayson stupidly.

“Hey, Ryder. Hey, Demos,” Grayson said with an easy tip of his head at both Vampires. And then he met Lawson’s steely gaze. He didn’t back down or back away. Even though Lawson had likely fifty pounds of muscle on him at least and, not to mention, he was a Vampire while Grayson was human. “Who's your friend here?”

“Who am I?” Lawson put one of those meaty hands against his chest. A smile was on his lips as if he couldn’t quite believe this boy was interrogating him.

“Yeah. We all know one another. But I don’t know you,” Grayson stated simply with a challenging stare.

Demos met Ryder’s gaze. His Blood Brother, too, looked like he was torn between doing something rash to save Grayson from Lawson’s certain wrath or laughing hysterically at how their best laid plans had just imploded in front of their eyes.

“You do?” Lawson’s gaze flickered to Demos and then Ryder before focusing on Grayson. “Well, you must be the student that these two picked up.”

“Something like that,” Grayson answered.

While Lawson’s arms were crossed over his chest in a defensive pose, Grayson’s were loose at his sides. Ready for whatever was to come, Ryder realized.

Oh, dear gods, he thinks he’s going to need to fight Lawson for me, Ryder thought.

That had him snapping out of the paralysis that had gripped him. He stepped between Lawson and Grayson. He put his hands on Grayson’s upper arms so that he could control where the young man went next.

“Grayson, why don’t we go talk over there?”

“Uhm, okay, but--”

“No, buts. Let’s go.”

Ryder firmly pushed Grayson towards the Weryn Palace, underneath the trees, but hopefully out of sight and earshot. Demos had grabbed Lawson’s arm and kept their Master in place, even though Lawson’s eyes tracked them.

“I thought you were going to mix with the students,” Grayson said firmly even as he relished taking in Grayson’s tall, lithe form.

My boy… mine...

“Yeah, I did. I mean I tracked one already. She wasn’t lying about where she was going though. Ended up saving a cat in a tree.” Grayson smiled at the memory of this and Ryder wished he had been there to see what exactly had caused that smile. Yet then Grayson was focused back on him, eyes sharp. “But forget that. Who is that guy?”

Grayson tipped his head back towards Lawson with an angry press of lips.

“That guy is Demos’ and my… Master,” Ryder answered with a reluctance he could not hide.

He had meant to keep Grayson far away from Lawson, but instead Grayson had charged right over. Yet Grayson’s reaction to Lawson hadn’t been fear, but aggression. And even now his expression didn’t match what Ryder had thought it would be.

Grayson stared at him blankly for long moments before he said, “You’ve got to be kidding!”

And in that moment, Ryder felt more ashamed than he had ever felt though he was not sure why. One should be proud of one’s Master, one’s Sire, one’s Dark Father. But he wasn’t. And now he wished that Lawson and Grayson had never met for far different reasons than he’d had before.

“You’ve made a judgment about him after a few words?” Ryder protested.

“It wasn’t just a few words. It was how you froze up and looked ready to kill him a few times. He can’t be your Master!” Grayson argued.

Ryder swallowed. “He is.”

“But that’s not at all what…” Grayon stopped as he seemed to read something in Ryder’s posture and expression. He chewed his inner cheek. “I thought that Masters were… I don’t know… not that. Loving? Something… I don’t know. Sounds stupid.”

“Lawson is older. He’s one of the Children of a War Vampire… Vampires are not like that now,” Ryder found himself explaining.

Grayson’s forehead bunched. “Yeah, okay, but you told me that the Weryn don’t want things to change. That you want things to be like what you had. But you’re saying that loving Masters aren’t… aren’t what you had… have?”