Love Me to Death (Underveil, #1)(59)

“Here’s to crazy cat ladies,” Elena said, raising her glass.

Nikolai clinked his glass to hers. “And tables.”

Aleksi and Darvaak exchanged confused looks, shrugged, then joined the toast while Nik enjoyed watching Elena flush the most arousing shade of red.



Elena had never noticed how many tables were in Stefan’s condo before. Dining table, end tables, occasional tables…the coffee table. It was like she was under an I-spy-a-table spell of some kind, and invariably, every time she glanced at one, Nik was watching her. Then, he’d grin like crazy, and her face would get hot.

“Shall we?” Stefan said, holding out his hand.

“Shall we what?” She set her wine on the bar.

“Teleport to your home to talk to Zana.”

Aleksi placed her wineglass next to Elena’s. “I have to go buy some things and get back to the fortress before the guard gets antsy.” She touched her brother on the cheek. “I wish you luck, Niki.” Her gaze shifted briefly to Elena, then back to him. “Keep her safe. Keep us all safe. Especially yourself.”

He pulled her into his arms. “Give Mother my regards.”

She nodded, stepped away, then chanted some foreign words. Before a tear could breach the rim of her eye, she disappeared.

“Heaven help her if Fydor discovers her treachery,” Stefan said.

“Heaven help Fydor if he harms either her or my mother,” Nik replied.

Stefan clasped his upper arm. “You are doing the right thing. Going in there now would jeopardize any hope at all of stopping this war. You have to focus on keeping Elena out of his reach and yourself alive until you have a clear picture of the entire situation.”

Nik nodded, pain clear in his face. And then Elena understood. Love was love, whatever his species chose to call it. This man was as capable of love as any human.

He took a deep, shuddering breath. “Let’s go.”



Elena’s house looked just as it had when she left it: drab and out of date. Stefan was the first outsider other than Nikolai to set foot in it. The few men she had dated always met her out somewhere. She flipped on the living room light. “So you’re sure Fydor’s goons aren’t going to come busting in here again?”

“Not likely. They can’t track me though the dagger anymore.”

“This is your father’s house?” Stefan asked, walking to the fireplace to look at framed photos on the mantle.

“Yeah. I plan to fix it up, but haven’t gotten around to it.” More like with the bills and student loans, she couldn’t afford to on her researcher’s salary, but a time-folding Daddy Warbucks would never understand that.

Stefan gave Nik a pointed look, the meaning of which flew right over Elena’s head.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Stefan responded, picking up a photo of Elena’s mother. “It’s just not what I’d expected.”

She put her hands on her hips. “What did you expect? Coffins and vats of blood?”

Nik coughed and Stefan laughed outright. “No. I expected a palace, or at least a mansion. Your father was one of the wealthiest men on this planet…next to me, of course.” He gestured to the faded navy blue velour sofa and love seat. “This makes no sense at all.”

“Maybe he wanted his daughter to have a normal life if she turned out to be human like her mother,” Nik said, sitting on the sofa.

“The mother did survive undetected a long time. Perhaps that was it. Hide in plain sight.” Stefan put the photo back on the mantle. “So you mentioned your Aunt Uza lives next door?”

“Yeah. Ordinarily, I’d call before going over, but I don’t have a house phone, and I haven’t seen my cell since the hospital. She won’t pick up if I use yours. She’s anti-stranger.” She strode to the kitchen and the two men followed. “I hate to do this in the middle of the night, but I guess we’ll just go on over, though she’s always asks me not to do that.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Stefan’s droll tone made her chuckle.

Over the low fence, she noticed that cats seemed to come out from under every bush as the three of them neared the gate connecting her yard with Aunt Uza’s. They’d always greeted her with ankle rubs, mewling, and purrs before. This time, they eyed her in silence from a distance, eyes glowing in the security light from her porch that shone into Uza’s yard.

She pulled up on the latch and opened the gate. The cats tensed. It wasn’t until Nikolai followed her into Uza’s yard that they crouched and began to growl.

“Maybe we should wait over in Elena’s yard,” Stefan suggested, backing up several steps.

“They’re only cat shifters,” Nikolai said. “We can take them.”

The closest cat growled low in its throat and then made an eerie howling sound. Two cats closest to the porch of the house slunk over and flanked him. Elena nearly screamed when they stretched and contorted, human skin visible in swatches between openings that popped in the fur.

Stefan grabbed Nikolai’s shoulder. “There are ways other than violence. Let Elena make contact. We are strangers.”

Nik shook him off as if he’d been shocked. “Fine.”

She looked from the now half human/half cats in front of her to the street and back. Holy shit. The neighbors would call the cops for sure. Thank God it was nighttime.