“Question. What was with all the flowers?” I ask, picking up my shot.
Feargus huffs through his nose. “I was supposed to be doing a wedding until those little fuckers decided to pay a visit. Flowers are probably all dead now.”
I exchange looks with Caspian. “Err, a little,” I say, lifting the glass to my lips.
Before any of us can take a sip, the door swings open and two men stumble into the pub. Their thick scents are distinct and yet unfamiliar at the same time. They’re definitely some kind of shifter, I’m just not sure what. The tallest male barely peers at the guys: his dark eyes latch on to me like a predator catching sight of its prey.
Caspian visibly tenses at my side, his shoulder brushing mine as he clenches his shot of alcohol. I tense, too, and slide my hand over the dagger clipped to my hip. The tension in the pub is so thick I could cut it in half with the tip of the blade.
“Well, whaddya know?” The shifter stumbles towards the bar, his friend following behind him. Even the male’s accent is strange. He’s not a local, that’s for sure. “Heard there were some… some demon hunters in town.” He yanks out the stool beside me and leans against it, his eyes greedily drinking me in. “Didn’t think she’d be so damn fffffucking hot!”
“Can’t you fucking read, Matteo?” Feargus grumbles, clenching the bottle of whisky in his big paw of a hand. “We’re closed. Now unless you want this smashed over your head again, get the fuck out of my pub. I barred you last week for being a sleazy old bastard, now get going. Beat it.”
“You know something? I really like this Feargus guy,” I whisper to Caspian, sliding him a grin, but he doesn’t move or take his eyes off ‘Matteo’. If looks could kill, the drunk patron would be dead thanks to my partner.
Matteo ignores the warning and turns to me with a disgusting smile on his face. “What’s your name, bellissima?”
He reaches out a foul-smelling hand and strokes the side of my face. My skin crawls at the contact, and I yank back, seconds away from cutting his hand off.
Before I can do that, however, Caspian punches him in the face.
The male slams against the floor like a ton of bricks, and then a thick silence stretches around the room.
Caspian breaks it when he stands from the stool, brushes a hand down his torso, and says calmly, “I believe the owner said he was closed, asshole.”
I almost burst out laughing at his awesome comeback.
Caspian turns his searing glare onto the other male, who stumbles out of the pub, the door slamming behind him. As much as I love how Caspian handled the situation, I lean down to check Matteo for a pulse, relieved to find he’s only unconscious. I mean, we can’t go around killing civilians on duty, especially not on our first day. I doubt that’s the best way to go about reaching the top of the leader board.
“He’s out cold,” I say, my tone filled with humour as well as amazement. I straighten and playfully nudge Caspian on the shoulder. “Daaang, son. Now that was pretty neat.”
And hot. So fucking hot.
Caspian shrugs, but he can’t hide the grin from creeping onto his face. “Are you really in Scotland if you don’t get into a bar fight?”
Feargus laughs and glides an extra shot of whisky across the bar to him. “Then I’ll be the first to welcome you to Scotland, Ghostbuster.”
Ghostbuster is definitely not the name I thought I’d be called when I joined the Demon Hunting Trials, but it is so much better than half-breed.
Chapter 10
Lilith Thornblood
“That’s better. You look perfect now,” Dove says, clapping her hands in a way that reminds me of Aurelia.
Even though it’s painful to think about her, I briefly wonder what my best friend has been told about me back in Caeli. I doubt she knows I’m alive let alone on the run. The Caeli pack hates scandal and drama, which telling the pack the truth about me would cause.
No, I can just imagine them telling her and everyone at the academy that my family and I were traitors. I think she is the only wolf who will miss me from my pack. I never had an actual home there, I know that, but it’s hardly like I have a home anywhere right now.
I clear my throat and glance in the mirror, away from the book on demons I was reading in my lap. Dove has curled all my dark-red hair which bounces around my shoulders, and she has woven in black glittering flowers into a sort of crown around the top of my head. I’m not one for seeming pretty but I smile at her anyway for her effort. I didn’t have a chance to say no when she burst in here earlier or explain I’d happily turn up at the celebration party in what I’ve worn all day.
“Thank you,” I tell her.
“It’s what best friends are for!”
That forces me to think of Aurelia once more, and my stomach clenches a little. I haven’t known Dove for more than a few days, and the best friend title can’t be given to her that easily. Hell, I don’t think anyone will ever take that crown from Aurelia.
“Are you sure I can’t convince you to wear a dress?”
I snort. “Nope. I’m going to stick with these tight clothes. I kind of like them.”
“Yeah, to be fair they suit you,” she replies, placing her hands on her short black dress that makes her appear amazing. “Right. Let’s go.”
I follow her out of my room and come to a stop when I almost bump into Caspian. He shakes his head before he slowly looks me up and down with clear interest. Dove might as well not be here. He
