Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter 4)

Chris even possessed Erik's temperament and bearing. They could be the same man.

And what if his child turned Daimon one day? Could he hunt and kill his own son or daughter?

The thought made him cold inside. It terrified him.

Wulf didn't know what to do. He needed advice. Someone who could help him sort through this. Picking up his phone, he called Talon.

No one answered.

Cursing, he only knew of one other person who might help. Acheron.

The Atlantean answered on the first ring. "What happened?"

He scoffed at Ash's cynicism. "No 'hi, Wulf, how's it going'?"

"I know you, Viking. You only call whenever there's a problem. So what's up? You have trouble hooking up with Cassandra?"

"I'm going to be a father."

Total silence answered him. It was nice to know the news stunned Ash as much as it had stunned him.

"Well, I guess the answer to my question is a big no, huh?" Ash asked finally. He paused again before asking. "Are you okay?"

"So you're not surprised at the fact that I made a woman pregnant?"

"No. I knew you could."

Wulf's jaw went slack as rage gripped him tightly. Ash had known all this time? "You know, that information could have been vital to me, Ash. Damn you for not telling me this before now."

"What would it have changed had I told you? You would have spent the last twelve centuries paranoid of ever touching a woman for fear of making her pregnant and then her not remembering you as the father. You've had enough on you as it is. I didn't see the point in adding that too."

Wulf was still angry. "What if I made someone else pregnant?"

"You haven't."

"How do you know?"

"Believe me, I do. Had you ever made anyone pregnant, I would have told you. I'm not so big an ass as to withhold something that important."

Yeah, right. If Ash would withhold this, then there was no telling what other vital things the Atlantean had failed to mention. "And I'm supposed to trust you now after you've just admitted lying to me?"

"You know, I think you've been talking to Talon too much. Suddenly you two sound like the same person. Yes, Wulf, you can trust me. And I never lied to you. I just omitted a few facts."

Wulf didn't say anything in response. But he would love to have Ash in front of him long enough to beat the hell out of him for this.

"So how's Cassandra dealing with her pregnancy?" Ash asked.

Wulf went cold. There were times when Ash was truly spooky. "How did you know Cassandra was the mother?"

"I know lots of things when I apply myself."

"Then perhaps you should learn to share some of these details, especially when they involve other people's lives."

Ash sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'm not happy with the way all this went down any more than you are. But sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see one day, little brother. I promise."

Wulf ground his teeth. "I really hate it when you play Oracle."

"I know. All of you do. But what can I say? It's my job to annoy you."

"I think you should find a new occupation."

"Why? I happen to enjoy the one I have." But something in Ash's voice told Wulf the Atlantean was lying about that too.

So Wulf decided on a change of venue. "Since you don't want to give me anything helpful, let me change the subject for a minute. Do you happen to know one of Artemis's handmaidens named Katra? She's here and she claims to be on our side. She says she's been protecting Cassandra for five years, but I'm not sure if I should trust her or not."

"I don't know the handmaidens by name, but I can ask Artemis about it."

For some bizarre reason that actually made him feel better. Ash wasn't completely omniscient after all. "Okay. Just let me know immediately if she's not friendly."

"I will definitely do that."

Wulf moved to hang up.

"By the way," Ash said as soon as he pulled the phone away.

Wulf replaced it to his ear. "What?"

"Congrats on the baby."

Wulf snorted at that. "Thanks. Maybe."

Cassandra wandered around the huge house. It was like walking through a museum. There were Old Norse artifacts everywhere. Not to mention oil paintings she'd never seen before by famous artists that she was sure were authentic.

There was one in particular outside her room by Jan van Eyck, of a dark-haired man and his wife. In some ways it reminded her of the famous Arnolfini portrait, but the couple in this one looked entirely different. The blond woman was dressed in vibrant red and the man in navy.

"It's the wedding portrait for two of my descendants."

She jumped at the deep sound of Wulf's voice behind her. She hadn't heard him approach. "It's beautiful. Did you commission it?"

He nodded and indicated the woman in the picture. "Isabella was quite an admirer of van Eyck's work so I thought it would be a perfect wedding present for them. She was the eldest daughter of another Squire family who had been sent to marry my Squire Leif. Chris is descended from their third daughter."

"Wow," she breathed, impressed. "All my life, I have struggled to find out something about my heritage and lineage, and here you are, a walking textbook for Chris. Does he have any idea how lucky he is?"

He shrugged. "I've learned that at his age, most people aren't interested in their past. Only their future. He'll want to know as he gets older."

"I don't know," she said, thinking of the way Chris's eyes lit up whenever he tried to teach her Old English. "I think he knows a lot more about it than you realize. He's a star student in class. You should listen to him go. When we were studying, he seemed to know just about everything about your culture."

Wulf's features softened, turning him into the gentler man she'd seen in her dreams. "So he does listen."

"Yes, he does." Cassandra started for her room. "Well, it's getting late and it's been a really long night. I was going to go to sleep."

Wulf took her hand and pulled her to a stop. "I came to get you."

"Why?"

He stared at her intently. "Since you're now pregnant with my baby, I don't want you to sleep up here where I can't get to you, should you need protection. I know I told you you could come and go in the daylight, but I'd rather you didn't. The Daimons have human helpers just as we do. It would be too easy for one of them to get to you."

Her first reaction was to tell him to stuff it, but something in her refrained. "Are you ordering me?"

"No," he said quietly. "I'm asking you. For your safety and for the baby's."

She smiled at that and at the edge in his voice that told her he wasn't accustomed to asking anyone for anything. She'd heard him bark enough orders at Chris to know Wulf and free will weren't exactly synonymous.

"Okay," she said, giving him a small smile, "but only because you asked me."

His features relaxed. Good grief, the man was gorgeous when he looked like that. "Is there anything you need from your apartment? I can send someone after it."

"Clothes would be nice. Makeup and a toothbrush even more so."