Page 127 of Taming His Vampire Mate

“Aiden,” Dante said reproachfully. “We do need to leave, but we’re not going to be dicks about it.” He met Thierry’s gaze dead-on, then added, “I’m sure. The hiker’s ghost is long gone, but there’s enough residual energy where he was killed to show me where the creature came from. Aiden and I followed the trail. It came from there.”

He pointed to a jagged crevice between two massive evergreens about sixty feet ahead. It barely looked big enough for a snake to crawl through, let alone one of the creatures Thierry and I had seen in our dreamscape.

“And you approached it and had… a vision?” Thierry asked, frowning.

Dante shrugged. “Something like that. Not a vision, exactly. More of a feeling. It’s hard to explain.”

“I’m sure it is,” Thierry said, sounding unconvinced.

“C’mon,” Aiden muttered, giving Dante a dark look. “If we want to be trolled, we’ll just put up another video.”

“Most of our audience doesn’t troll us,” Dante said with a grin. “And definitely. We shot some great footage of—”

He broke off, caught my gaze, and blanched.

“The ski lodge,” Aiden finished for him.

“Crescent Springs better not end up on the internet,” I warned.

“Nothing by name,” Aiden assured me—too quickly. Then he gave Thierry a hard look. “We might have a YouTube channel dedicated to the paranormal, but Dante’s the real deal. He’s really a psychic. If he says he felt something, you can take it to the bank.”

“I’m more of a sensitive,” Dante corrected. “If we’re getting technical.”

“You guys are…” Thierry stared at them. “What? YouTube influencers?”

“We used to be bartenders. Then we started making content about paranormal stuff happening in the Pacific Northwest. It sort of took off.”

“Now we’re spooky content creators,” Aiden put in, trading a warm look with Dante and grinning. “And everyone in our audience thinks I’m a vampire.”

“Gee, imagine that,” Thierry said, lips pursed. “Well, if this is the spot, we’ll stake it out. Thank you.” The last part sounded grudging, and I couldn’t help smiling. Thierry added, “Did you happen to sense this creature’s intentions?”

Dante’s grin vanished. “Yeah, I did.”

“And?”

“It’s hungry,” he said tightly. “Very hungry.”

* * *

Aiden and Dante left shortly before nightfall. The backup Nathaniel sent—nine vampires and three witches, includingPoppy and Simone—had already arrived.

“Shouldn’t the entire pack be here?” Thierry demanded as twilight thickened into darkness. He gestured at the bleed Dante had discovered. “We’re the ones standing on a time bomb.”

“There are other bleeds, too. This is just one place it could emerge from,” Reed replied. Then he frowned at my mate. “What are you still doing here?”

“They don’t teach manners in the mountains, apparently,” Thierry shot back.

“No, I’m grateful. You brought back my friend,” Reed said quickly, giving me a hard look before turning back to Thierry. “I just don’t understand—why would a vampire care about our problems?”

“You know why,” I cut in, before Thierry could.

“I’m just having a hard time processing it, is all.” Reed gave me a rueful smile, shaking his head. “It must be true, because he hasn’t left your side. But he just seems so docile.”

“He is standing right here,” Thierry said, annoyance flashing through the bond. “And I assure you, I am emphatically notdocile.”

Reed snorted.

You’ll have to forgive him,I whispered to Thierry through the bond.He hasn’t processed that a vampire could be a hero.