“It sounded like an elk, but there aren’t any around here that I’m aware of.”
Banyan, Urijah, and their parents appeared in the next few seconds. “Are you okay?” Banyan asked.
“We’re fine,” Brynna said as another cry came from close by.
“Stay here,” Uri instructed before he walked the direction the animal’s cry had come from. Banyan followed his mate, and everyone else remained rooted to the spot. Marcie and Lawrence had joined them.
“Have either of you seen an animal wandering around?” Brynna asked Marcie.
“I haven’t.”
Lawrence shook his head. “Neither have I, but that doesn’t mean one hasn’t been hanging around in the woods.”
Banyan returned, his face etched with worry. “It was a reindeer. It had been shot with an arrow, and Uri is following the blood trail backward to find the hunters. I want you all to go back inside while I go help him search.”
“I’m going with you,” Brynna insisted, but Banyan shook his head.
“No. Uri and I are impervious to weapons. You aren’t. Take everyone back to the house, and let Uri and I handle this.”
“Okay, but when you find the hunters, bring them to me. I want my turn at them.” Brynna fisted her hands and stalked away. Travis trailed after her, and everyone else followed. Once inside, Brynna paced the ballroom. “I can’t believe those fuckers. Reindeer are a protected species, and even if they weren’t, I don’t understand how anyone can shoot an animal for sport. I know it’s hypocritical to say that since I eat meat, but… Oh, gods. I’m going to become a vegetarian after this.”
Travis pulled Brynna into his arms and held her close. She curled her arms against his chest and buried her face in his neck. His fierce friend had the spirit of a warrior and the heart of an angel. He rubbed her back with one hand and cradled her head with the other while whispering soothing nonsense against her hair.
“I haven’t seen reindeer in years. I thought they’d all died out,” Halina, Uri’s mom, said.
Tabor reached for his mate’s hand. “They did disappear, right after the apocalypse. It’s why they’re considered extinct.”
Brynna pulled away from Travis and wiped her eyes. “I need a drink.” She walked to the bar where she grabbed a bottle of tequila, removed the cork, and took a large pull. “Fuck, that’s harsh.”
Marcie joined her and opened a container of sliced limes. She then pushed a saltshaker in front of Brynna. “This will help.” Instead of shaking the salt onto her hand, Brynna poured a hefty amount of liquor into a highball glass and squeezed a slice of lime into it. She downed the alcohol, then bit down on the used slice of lime. “Much better.”
Travis sat on a stool close to Brynna, offering silent support. His dad had taken him and Trevor hunting when they were younger, but neither he nor his brother had the heart to shoot any of the deer they’d been after. They had lucked out when their dad didn’t fault them for it or tell them they needed to “man up.” They both had learned how to handle guns, if nothing else. It was one of the reasons Trevor had been able to shoot Troy Quinn when the cop became unhinged several months ago.
“I wonder what’s taking them so long?” Freyda asked. She turned to Gautum, and he brushed a finger down her cheek. “Will you—”
“On it, love.” Gautum kissed Freyda’s forehead and took off out the back door.
“I can’t see other Gargoyles hunting the reindeer, so B and Uri shouldn’t have trouble finding humans.” Brynna fixed herself another glass of Lawrence’s rum concoction.
Travis stood and moved closer to Brynna. She was tossing back drinks faster than Lawrence could make them. He knew Gargoyles had a higher metabolism than humans, but he still worried about his friend. By the time the males returned to the manor, she should have been good and wasted, but Brynna didn’t seem any worse for the wear.
“B? Did you find the hunter?”
Banyan stepped up to the bar and poured two glasses of Scotch, handing one to Uri. “Yes. There were two of them. We tied them up and called the police. That’s what took so long. We had to figure out what to say so we didn’t give our shifter strength away considering both humans were armed, and we weren’t.”
“I wanted a shot at them,” Brynna said.
Banyan cupped Brynna’s face. “I know, but we don’t kill or maim humans. Not for being idiots. In the end, we decided it was best not to say anything at all. We didn’t want them to have any way of identifying us. We placed the animal with the hunters outside the property line and made an anonymous call.”
“Don’t you think the humans will tell the truth of how they were captured?” Brynna asked.
Urijah tossed back his drink. “They never saw us. Even if they are stupid enough to say how they were caught, it won’t matter. We were smart enough to use one of their phones to report them. There’s no way to trace the call back to us.”
“We’ve never needed to post signs before, but I think we need to think about doing just that if you’re going to turn this place into a hotel.” Banyan rubbed his eyes. “It wouldn’t be good for business to have hunters getting too close to the guests.”
“Do ya think this could happen again? I mean how many poachers are out there?” Freyda scowled. “This is supposed to be shifter territory.” She glanced at Travis. “Sorry. No offense.”
“None taken. I know I’m an outsider.”
Brynna grabbed a fresh drink and turned to him. “No, you aren’t. You’re family. Ours isn’t this elite town where humans aren’t welcome. It’s just somehow been kept off their radar with all the other cities who advertise as being tourist attractions. As for the hotel idea, there isn’t a Gargoyle network where I’ll advertise. Maybe this is a bad idea, and I need to just remodel the house to make it somewhere I’d want to stay.”
Travis wanted to take Brynna in his arms and comfort her, so that’s exactly what he did. He removed the drink from her hand and set it on the bar. “Come here,” he urged. Brynna curled into his chest, trapping her arms between them. Travis brushed her long hair with his hand and kissed her forehead. If he didn’t know better, he’d have sworn she purred. The rumble from her throat wasn’t a sigh; it was deeper.
“What a night. This was supposed to be fun,” Brynna muttered against his throat. Her warm breath did things to his body he didn’t want her aware of, so he angled his hips away from hers slightly.
“It was. I enjoyed dancing with you.” Travis enjoyed everything with Brynna. That was the problem.
“Yeah?” Brynna leaned back so she could look at him. Travis nodded, and she smiled. It wasn’t her usual, playful grin. It was full of something he could easily fool himself into thinking of as love. He knew Brynna cared for him but not the way he wanted.
“Travis,” Brynna whispered as her smile fell. She leaned in, and he licked his lips, waiting.
“We’re going to get out of here,” Tabor called out, breaking the moment. Brynna laughed and bounced her forehead on his shoulder a few times before pulling away. He knew how she felt. At least he thought he did. They kept getting interrupted.