Page 99 of Castor

Jasper sighed. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” He pinched my cheek before strutting toward the dance floor.

I tipped my glass back and downed half of it in a single gulp. The blood was smooth going down, and it caused warmth to flood my system, almost putting me in a kind of stoned state. I felt more relaxed.

“Hey, feather boy.”

“Hey, mutt.” I focused on Sterling. He leaned against the bar, his large body facing me. “If you’ve come for a rematch, sorry to say I’m not in the mood.”

“I heard the demons rode your ass pretty good.”

“News spreads fast, I see.” I took another drink.

“A lot of us are talkin’ about it. Werewolves, vamps, Fae, and the like.” Sterling leaned closer. He smelled like spiced whisky. “We all have shit to deal with. Hunters are constantly after Konnar and his kind. Shit, they stay on our asses too. Humans destroy what they don’t understand. It’s always been like that.”

“Is this your way of trying to convince me to step aside and let the demons do what they want?”

“Nah. You’re too stubborn to ever listen to me. But I just wonder why you bother. Maybe humans deserve it.”

The stench of burning bodies was singed into my brain. The screams of children were too. “No one deserves that. You weren’t around during the first war. You didn’t see the shit Lucifer and his army did.”

Sterling shrugged. “It’s a cruel world out there. You gotta be tough if you want to survive in it.” He motioned to Michael, and the bartender slid a beer to him. He took a long pull from the bottle before studying me. “You and your family fight for people who would try to kill you if they knew who you really were. Maybe it’s time to stop playing hero and let nature take its course.”

Someone like Sterling would never understand, and there was little point in trying to explain it to him.

“Here.” I took off the ring I’d won from our last race and handed it to him. “That belongs to you.”

“Like hell it does. Take your pity and shove it up your ass. Even though it pissed me off at the time, you won that ring fair and square.”

“And now I’m giving it back to you.”

“Whatever.” He slid it on his finger. “Keep in mind what I said, feather boy. You had a close call on that island from the sound of it. I’d hate to come in here one day and hear that you got your ugly, redheaded ass killed.”

With his beer in hand, he pushed away from the bar and approached a group of wolves gathered beside the lounge area. Two males fucked on one of the couches—a vampire and a faerie—and Evelyn, the female Bellamy sometimes screwed, had her teeth sunk into a human man’s neck. His eyes rolled back as she straddled his waist and took his cock inside of her.

“It’s not wise to spend so much time at the club,”Alastair told me.“We need to remain vigilant right now. You’re an easy target by yourself.”

“I’m not by myself. Raiden is with me.”I surveyed the room.“Somewhere.”

“Castor…”

“I’m fine, Al.”I finished off my beer and slammed the bottle down on the bar.“We almost died like two weeks ago, and I lost my destined mate to a frosty-haired douchey ice prince. Let me have a little bit of fucking fun, okay?”

“Drinking yourself stupid is considered fun for you?”

“Get out of my head. You’re ruining my buzz.”

“I know you’re still upset about what Lazarus said to you.”Alastair’s tone came through softer.“Not that you asked for my opinion, but I’m giving it anyway. You’re allowed to love your father but hate his actions. None of us think badly of you for it.”

“Do you still love Lucifer?”

Silence.

Alastair pried into our business but rarely shared his own shit. The only reason any of us knew about his past was because of the telepathic connection we had. Over the years, he’d learned to put a lock on most of those thoughts, but occasionally, a few still slipped through.

I looked at Michael, who was drying freshly washed glasses. “Close my tab. I think I’m gonna head out.”

“Sure thing.”

The conversation with Alastair had sobered me up. I wanted to go home and sleep for the next hundred years. And, with luck, I wouldn’t dream.