Nikulas Kreek hung up the newly installed phone in his brother's kitchen and set the cordless handset back in its cradle. Unable to contain his excitement, he flashed over to the office where he found his brother gazing out the floor-to-ceiling window at the pre-dawn Seattle skyline. A line of concern briefly crossed his brow to find him there.
It was never a good sign when he got too lost in his head like this.
Ever since they'd rescued him from Leeha's little shop of horrors where he'd spent the past seven years being starved of blood and beaten to within an inch of his immortal life, he'd been struggling to readjust back to his life as Master vampire of their colony. There were still many days when he would fluctuate between sane and not-so-sane, sometimes so badly at times that Keira, his mate, would be the only one who could bring him back to them. Anyone else who had the balls to get near him at those times would be taking their life into their own hands. Only his mate was safe when he was like that, for his instincts wouldn't allow him to hurt her.
He really hoped this wasn't one of those times, because Keira was currently on a coffee run with her sister, Emma.
Hoping for the best, he called out casually, "Hey, bro!"
Nik worried for a moment that he wasn't going to get a response. But then his older brother clasped his hands behind his back and turned to him, a haunted shadow passing over his face before he schooled his features and raised his brows in silent question.
Nik let out a breath of relief and stepped into the room. "Aiden just called." He grinned thinking of his best friend. "I knew he'd manage to get himself away from that bitch, Leeha. He always does. And get this. He's in fucking China."
"China? How did he end up there?" Luukas asked as he strolled back over to his desk and took a seat behind it.
"Don't know. Says he woke up there, and has no recollection of how he got there. And, he said he woke up in a shipping container full of grain."
Luukas nodded. "Makes sense. The grain would protect him from any sunlight that managed to make its way inside." His expression became thoughtful. "We ship grain from Seattle to Dalian, but if he'd made it back to Seattle, why in the world would he send himself off to China?"
Nik shrugged. "Who the fuck knows with Aiden?"
The front door opened, and Keira and her sister Emma, Nik's mate, came giggling into the apartment, each with a cup of fancy coffee in hand.
Although they had the same hazel eyes, that was pretty much where the resemblance between them ended. Whereas Keira was small and curvy with long, dark hair, Emma was slightly taller and more athletically slim, her shoulder length, strawberry-blonde, wavy tresses enabling Nik to spot her a mile away.
Emma gave him a dazzling smile when she spotted them. "Look! We made lattes!" she told him, holding up her cup.
"You're gonna be awake all day now," he scolded her teasingly. "Instead of in bed where you should be, keeping me warm." A glance at the clock behind her had him scowling. "The coffee shop isn't even open yet." He narrowed his eyes. "How exactly did you manage to get those lattes?"
Her smile faltered a bit. "Um, well, Keira thought I should work on my lock spell...to open locks..."
"But don't worry!" Keira broke in. "We're going to go back later this morning and pay for them."
Luukas stood up so fast his chair went toppling over onto the floor. The air turned icy cold as he strode out of the office towards the girls.
Nik watched in amazement as Keira just smiled at him sweetly, love and protectiveness shining from her eyes. His brother's behavior didn't faze her anymore.
Not that it ever had, from what he'd heard.
"NO," Luukas told her forcefully. "You cannot go back out. It's nearly dawn. If something happened..." His breath hitched and he struggled to continue. "If something happened...I wouldn't be able to get to you."
She closed the distance between them, allowing him to wrap her tightly in his arms. His relief to have her against him, where she was safe, was so obvious it was nearly palpable.
"It's ok, don't freak, we left money on the counter. I'm not going anywhere," she reassured him. "We just like to rile up Nikulas."
Nik struck a casual pose, his hands low on his jean-clad hips. "I'm not riled."
Emma scoffed at him. "This from the male who tried to turn himself into a bonfire when I went outside for just a teeny minute."
"And got kidnapped by werewolves in the middle of the day," he added. "Who then sent you right into the arms of Leeha's wannabe zombie vamps, who were attacking you when I finally got there." He paled just thinking about it.
She waved her hand in the air, blowing off those minor details. "The wolves didn't know those things were there. They were just playing a joke on you."
"Yeah, so not funny."
"But I'm fine."
He narrowed his eyes at her, but there was really no sense in arguing, when they could be doing things that were so much more fun.
"Come on, woman," he growled at her. "Let's go back to our place, so I can punish you for scaring me like that. And if you're nice to me, I might tell you who just called here." He took her gently by the arm and started heading towards the door. "See you tonight, Luuk. 'Night, Keira."
Emma waved at her sister and brother-in-law happily as he smacked the minx on her hot little ass to get her out the door and into his bed where she belonged.