Page 6 of Devil May Hunt (The Devils of Vitality #8)

He felt like he’d fallen off a five-hundred-story building, hit the ground, been run over by a hover car—twice—and then rolled off into a ditch filled with acid.

Brennon groaned and forced his body into an upright position, rubbing his eyes to remove the dried gunk that had sealed his eyelids shut.

“Gross.” Also, what the hell?

The first thing that came into view as soon as he was able to pry his eyes open were his bruise-covered thighs. And the marks didn’t stop there. He was covered in them. Purple and blue splotches, hickies, teeth marks…

He was in a room with cream-colored walls and sitting on silk sheets.

When he stood, he wobbled and a sharp pain shot through him, starting at his ass.

He stumbled, catching himself on the end of the bed before he could fall.

The motion dislodged a memory of the other night. He’d followed Rin at The Dive.

No, not Rin. Sila.

There were no signs of his clothes, but Brennon spotted a pair of gray sweatpants on the dresser by the door.

All the way on the other side of the room.

“Fuck me.” He’d ask what he’d done to deserve this, but he sort of already knew. “That’s the last time I drink that much. I swear, I’m done with this pity party nonsense.”

It took him ages, but eventually he managed to hobble his way to the dresser. Another ten minutes later, struggling to pull the pants on, and he needed to stop for a breather. His multi-slate was on the dresser as well, but there weren’t any signs of the rest of his belongings.

There was no one else in the hotel room, from what he could tell. The living and kitchen areas were empty when he made his way out of the bedroom, but he didn’t bother sticking around to wait for whoever he’d slept with to return.

Brennon ground his teeth in annoyance as he used the wall to help hold him up in the hallway, waiting until he’d made it to the elevator at the end to dial Sila’s number. He’d just stepped inside and hit the button for the lobby when his best friend’s brother answered.

“Yes?” Sila sounded bored.

“Bastard.”

“Hello to you, too, Bren. This call is unexpected.”

“It shouldn’t be. What the hell happened last night?”

“How should I know?”

Brennon pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled to calm himself down. It wasn’t Sila’s fault. He shouldn’t take it out on him. “I was way too drunk. I can’t remember anything.”

“I wasn’t with you last night, so I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to,” Sila said.

“What do you mean? I know it was you at The Dive.”

“Well, sure.”

“So—”

“Oh,” he interrupted. “Do you think that was last night?”

Brennon felt a sick feeling in his stomach.

“It’s been three days since then.”

“What?” No way. He twisted his wrist and clicked on the calendar app on his multi-slate, mouth dropping open when he saw Sila was telling the truth. “What the hell!”

“I’d heard an alpha rut could last that long, but I figured since you’re a Vital, the two of you would finish rather quickly. Interesting.” There was a pause, and then, “Actually, wait. That’s not entirely true, is it?”

“What’s not true?” Admittedly, he was struggling to keep up.

He still felt like roadkill, and the shock from learning he’d lost three whole days wasn’t helping.

The doors to the elevator dinged and he got out, forcing himself to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other so he didn’t topple over and make a fool of himself.

He recognized the Cardinal Hotel now that he was in the lobby, the bright pops of red and polished gold accents giving it away before he passed the check-in counters with the hotel name scrawled on the wall.

While he’d never stayed there before, he’d attended a few events over the years.

As the Cree’s only son, he was called to step in when his parents were otherwise engaged.

The hotel was one of the most popular for visiting dignitaries, and since it was around noon, the place was packed with people coming and going.

It would be so embarrassing if he fell here, in front of all of these people.

“Your great-grandmother was an alpha, wasn’t she?” Sila replied.

Brennon had completely forgotten. He’d never met that set of grandparents, since they’d died in an accident before his birth. His mom never talked about them, had once told him it was too depressing, and the past was better forgotten.

“That wouldn’t make a difference, though,” Sila continued, and it was hard to tell if he was talking to himself or messing with him.

“Even if you have a distant relative from Synastry, your genetics are too diluted to matter in this instance. It’s not like you could present with a second sex or anything. ”

There’d never been a fear of that because Sila was correct. It was impossible. His grandmother had married a Vital man and they’d had his mother, who’d been born without a proclivity. That meant there’d been less than one percent chance they’d give birth to a child who developed a second sex.

“They had me tested as a baby.” Brennon made it outside and hailed the first cab he saw, trying not to notice the stares he got. He’d been so worried about falling, he’d forgotten he was half naked and barefoot. “I’m completely Vital. I lack the organs needed to present.”

Things like scent glands, and—

He gave the cab driver the Academy’s address and then pursed his lips.

There was another fuzzy memory, something about slick and omegas and how he wasn’t getting wet down there.

“Hold on. You passed me off to an alpha stranger?!” Brennon bowed his head when the driver jumped at his sudden anger.

“Did you just register that?” Sila snorted at him. “You agreed to giving it a try, and considering how long you’ve been with him, clearly things went well. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck.”

“No, I mean about my brother. Are you still tortured over thoughts of him?”

Brennon scowled. “That’s not how it works, Sila.”

“Sure it does.”

No, it really didn’t, but then again… “It didn’t hurt any,” he confessed. “But now the rest of me is in serious pain.”

“Everything comes with a price.”

“Why’d you do that anyway? How do you know that alpha?”

“I don’t,” Sila said.

“Wait, so he really was a stranger? Dude! What if something bad had happened to me?”

“You’re an Academy Cadet. You can take care of yourself.”

“Not when I’m that drunk!”

“You’re fine, aren’t you? And he wasn’t completely a stranger. I’d met him before.”

“When?”

“When he hit on Bay Delmar.”

“…Did you just use me to distract the competition?” The cab stopped outside his dorm building and Brennon paid with his device and then slowly got out. The sudden movement proved too much for him though, so he dropped down on a nearby bench to wait it out before attempting to head inside.

“I had a feeling you found out about Bay.”

“Relax, I won’t tell anyone you’re dating your professor.”

“To be clear, your alpha was never competition. No one could come between me and Professor Delmar.”

“To be clear,” he sneered back, “he’s not my—” A prickling sensation cut him short, and his body went on the defensive before he could understand why. Not a minute later, a black hovercar drove up, parking directly in front of the bench.

The door opened, and a large man got out.

He was tall, probably three or so inches taller than Brennon, with broad shoulders and blond hair that’d been styled in a textured crop.

He was dressed in a deep chocolate three-piece suit with navy pinstripes, and currently glaring daggers Brennon’s way from piercing gold eyes.

He looked sexy as all hell.

And familiar.

Like, uncomfortably so.

“Um, about this alpha,” his voice dropped to a whisper as the imposing blond man rounded his car, heading straight for him, “what’d he look like again?”

“We have the same hair color,” Sila said. “That’s why I thought he might be a good choice to help you get over my—”

“Any chance you’re near the Academy, because I think I could use some hel—” Brennon instantly stopped talking the second the blond was stopped before him.

He had to tip his head all the way back just to make eye contact, and that forced his tender ass to shift uncomfortably, but he swallowed the pained sound that threatened to spill out, instincts telling him showing any signs of weakness would be a mistake.

“Bren?” Sila’s voice came through the earbud, but he didn’t sound all that concerned. “If you’re not going to say anything else, I have to get to class.”

“Wait—” The sound of the call ending clicked in his ear, and Brennon inwardly cursed.

Golden eyes glanced down at his multi-slate screen and then back to his. “Is there a reason you’re out here?”

Brennon shivered at the sound of that silky voice, even though it was clear the blond was pissed off for some reason. “Yeah, I wanted to sit for a second. Anyway, can I help you with something?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Playing dumb?”

“I’m guessing you’re the guy, right? The one I just…” he curled a finger in the air, “you know.”

“You guess?”

“I was pretty wasted. I don’t really remember much.

” Brennon wanted to stand and leave, but the guy was standing close enough to him that if he did, he’d end up walking right into him.

This was awkward and he just wanted to be in his room.

Maybe soak in the tub for a bit before crawling into bed and sleeping for a week.

He’d already missed his morning class, and there was no way he was in a good enough state to do drills later with his Active. Better just to take another sick day and try again tomorrow.

If he could move any better then.

He had his doubts.

“What’d you do to me anyway?” He pressed a hand against his narrow back to try to alleviate some of the ache. “Fuck me with a battering ram?”

“You took my cock,” he replied in a clipped tone.

“That was a joke, but okay. Look, I don’t know what you’re doing here, but if you’re looking for the main office, it’s that way.” He pointed to the left.

“I’m here for you.”

He frowned. “Why?”