Addict (Hunter #2)(82)

“Of course not,” I replied. Marcus wasn’t a prophet. “Why? Have you had another one?”

Gray wasn’t a prophet either. He couldn’t truly control his powers. A true prophet was an extremely rare thing.

He shook his head. “No, baby. Just the one. But I believe it, more now than ever.”

I felt my eyebrows come together. It wasn’t attractive. It gave me a deep crease in my forehead, but I couldn’t help it. “I haven’t given you any reason to, Sloane. I’m committed to Marcus.”

“Two weeks ago, I would have sworn you would never speak to me again. But you did. I would have bet my life that you wouldn’t work with me again. But you are. And I definitely knew you would never walk into my bedroom again. Here you are, Kelsey.”

“I don’t have to stay.”

Gray sat up. He chuckled to himself. “It’s easy to forget how prickly you can be. I suppose I put you on a pedestal the last few months. It’s good to see your stubborn side again.”

I wasn’t aware I had another side besides the stubborn one. “Sloane, if you spend one more minute on our non-relationship, I’ll call Marcus and he’ll come get me. He’s sitting with his phone in hand praying I’ll make that call.”

Gray held his hands up in defeat. “Understood. On to business then. So Vorenus doesn’t want you anywhere near the duke. Any new reasons?”

“We got attacked last night.”

Gray sat up straight. The playful look in his eyes was completely gone, and the Texas Ranger was back in the building. “They attacked at Ether?”

“They attacked in my uncle’s home. They were bouncers from the club.”

Gray ran a hand through his hair. “That’s one of the most secure buildings in the city. Winter has spread the drug a lot farther than I thought. This is bad, Kelsey. Are they dead? Did they manage to hurt anyone?”

“My niece got the scare of a lifetime, but otherwise Quinn and I took care of them. I killed my guy, but Quinn’s lived. Henri scanned his brain. It’s the same thing as the first victim. The frontal lobe is damaged. We can’t give him vamp blood. His own werewolf healing power isn’t fixing the problem, so Sharpe wants to try something.”

“Demon blood.” Gray was sharp as a tack. His eyes glanced down at my arm. “I know it was a different issue, but it worked on you.”

“Better than you think, Sloane.” I quickly gave him a rundown of my ability to change. He stared at the arm with an odd smile on his face. “Zack thinks it’ll go back to normal. I mean, if you consider having a wolf claw pop out of a perfectly human hand normal.”

“Can I see it?”

“No,” I said crossly. I didn’t want to see it again. I certainly didn’t want my ex-honey to see my freaky demon arm. “I’m not even sure I can do it again. It took the king’s influence to make it go back to normal.”

Gray nodded, but his disappointment was an almost tangible thing. “Okay. Tell the king I’ll donate for the cause. I might only be a half blood, but I’m royalty. My blood is strong. The doctor is probably on the right track. Brimstone is supposed to weaken wolves and shifters. The duke would have made certain the vamps couldn’t use their own blood to save themselves. But he would want an out if things go bad. He’s walking a fine line. He can’t break the contracts with the vampires.”

“Master, I have the clothing you ordered for my mistress.” I turned to see Syl standing in the doorway. He carried a small bag that couldn’t possibly contain too much clothing. He was roughly a foot shorter than me, and he hadn’t bothered with a glamour. His red skin stood out against the pure white of his shirt. He was dressed in a shirt and tie and crisply pressed black slacks. He was every inch the proper butler, if one excused the red skin, small horns, and goat feet poking out of his slacks.

“Hello, Syl.” It came out as a low growl. I wasn’t trying to be friendly. Syl was the * demon who fed me fertility drugs. Syl might call Gray master, but he definitely answered to Gray’s dad.

The demon bowed from his waist. His dark eyes seemed ageless in his slightly wrinkled head. “My mistress. It is an honor to behold you once more. You grace the home with your presence.”

“I am not…”

Gray stopped me. “Don’t bother, Kelsey. He’s my familiar. He’s connected to me. He’s seen the vision. You won’t convince him you aren’t his mistress. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve tried to rid myself of him? He always comes back.”

The demon got on his knees. “I know I displeased my mistress. I am prepared if she wishes to beat me.”

“I’m not going to beat you.”

Gray shrugged. “It wouldn’t do any good anyway. He likes it.”

“Oh, but I promise to cry and wail if my mistress needs it.”

I walked over and pulled the bag out of Syl’s hands. He cast his eyes down as I stood over him.

“I am here to serve my true mistress.” He leaned over and before I knew it, his lips pressed to my feet. I jumped back and nearly fell on my ass. Gray was there to catch me.

“Syl.” Matthew’s voice was deeper than I had heard it before.

I saw Syl shake slightly. The small demon might be willing to take a beating from me, but I could see he was afraid of Gray’s brother.