Enthralled: Tainted Book Four

14. Rare and Delicate

Josef

Angelo del Vecchio brought his adopted son, Konstantin, and a young wolf shifter named Grey Myers over to my house for a visit in the late afternoon.

He wanted to pow-wow with Titus and me about what was going on in the Dark World, and since we also would have liked the answer to that, we ushered the trio inside and settled in the living room.

"This is my second in command, Titus Wray," I introduced him to Kon and Grey. "Among many other things, he organizes my protection detail, oversees our patrol units and training regimes, and leads the high-stakes missions."

As they chatted and shook hands, I studied the two boys.

About my height and build, Grey was a soft-spoken, calm young man with nearly black brown hair, gentle blue eyes, and a mid-level amount of Moon power that allowed him to read a person's character like a book, although I was fairly sure he'd internalized the talent so well that he wasn't even aware he had it. Angelo said the alphas of Five Fangs had inducted Grey as the first member of their developing ambassador corps, which I thought would be good for the kid, who already had all the soft skills for the role and only seemed to lack self-confidence.

Kon, on the other hand, was just what I expected a half-druk to be. Bigger and burlier than me and Angelo, he had a tall, tank-like build similar to Titus' and was confident enough in himself and his abilities to not be arrogant or feel the need to prove himself, which was a pleasant change. It would have been easy to mistake him for Angelo's biological son solely on how he carried himself, not to mention his light Italian accent. Kon's hair was light brown hair and his eyes dark brown, however, while Angelo had dirty blond hair and gray-green eyes. Much like Kerry Harker, Kon radiated a scary amount of power, and I hoped I got to meet his thunder dragon half, Chime Karma, before they left the city.

Also like Harker, Kon was also in a filthy temper over a girl, only Kon was fuming because he sensed his mate here and couldn't find her. He told us that, every time he trailed her scent, it ended in a dead end.

"You sure it's your mate and not something else?" Titus cut his eyes over to me, a sign he wanted my opinion.

"A neph mated to a shifter isn't unheard of," I said with a shrug. "Doesn't happen often, but it did happen."

"I'm sure it's my mate I'm scenting," Kon grumbled, "but I cannot understand why she would be hiding from me. Is she playing hard to get? Or is she teasing me?"

"I think it's more likely that she's just going about her day. She's obviously one of the classes that can teleport," I replied, holding back a smile at his petulance. I could understand where he was coming from even if I didn't know what the mate bond felt like, but it was still amusing to see this ultra-powerful man pouting.

"What classes can teleport?" Grey asked with bright interest in his eyes, showing his eagerness to learn about our world.

"Messenger and Watcher," Titus answered before I could, "although there are charms and side skills and other ways to 'port without having the power to do so."

"Will Kerry Harker be joining us?" Angelo asked. "He has some people with him that Kon hasn't met yet."

"No, he's got something else going on today," I said.

"I liked that guy," Kon smirked. "Chime Karma would have enjoyed going a round or two with him."

"I'd like to see that," snorted Titus. "He's powerful as hell and on a hair trigger twenty-four seven. Worse than you, Gelo."

As he and Angelo went back and forth, Grey confined in me that he found Harker intimidating.

"You have to give Kerry some leeway," I said. "He isn't functioning too well right now."