His smug attitude made me want to slap him, and I wasn't about to judge Isaac because his species had its fair share of issues. There were dangerous wolves too, but Diana and Hope meant everything to me.
“I spoke to Diana and Kaleem this morning,” Killian said when he returned, a glass of water in hand. “They’re doing great.”
“Thank you,” I said while accepting the water. “And that’s good. It took me forever to convince them to take this trip.”
“I know,” he said while sitting down. “Kaleem certainly needed it. I don’t even remember the last time he left the pack.”
I nodded in agreement, drank my water, and then placed the cup on the side table beside my chair. "So," I drawled. "I was told you wanted to speak to me."
Killian nodded while sitting on the edge of his seat. While Kaleem and Dorian were equally reserved men, Killian was friendly, open, opinionated, and a great guy to be around. Right now, though, there was a rigid set to his features, and I knew something was wrong.
“So, I’ve learned that you have a vampire acquaintance,” he began to say. "Now, let me just say you're a grown woman, and it's none of my business who you speak or spend your time with, but…"
"How did you hear about this?" I asked, and he sat back.
"Dorian," Killian answered, and I shook my head. "But… but others have smelt the vampire's scent on you. I only learned of the vampire's presence in town through Dorian before anyone else could say."
"Wolves have a keen sense of smell, and for a Hunter like Dorian, he smelt it on you the night he saw you at the restaurant. He's freshly back and just wanted to know if vampires live in town." He brushed a hand against his chin. "When I said I didn't know of that, he understandably became concerned."
"Understandably," I grumbled. "And stop speaking so formally. We're not at one of your government meetings," I laughed. "Damn."
He laughed as well, and I took a breath. "I ran into Isaac that night, and I mean literally. We bumped into each other outside the supermarket because he wanted to know if he could buy blood. I told him he couldn’t and to check the town over."
"He's tamed," I told Killian. "And not just passing through town, he said he'll be staying for a while, but he doesn't seem like a threat."
“I get you," Killian replied. "Being tamed means he has rights just like the rest of us, but Kaleem left me in charge of the pack, and I have to take note of everything that's going on. A vampire moving to town will make a few people nervous."
"Dorian being one of them," I grumbled, and Killian chuckled.
"Especially him," he said, and I picked up my glass of water to finish it off.
"Did you really have to send him this morning, though?" I asked. "You knew exactly what you were doing."
“I swear he volunteered,” Killian said hastily with his hands up. “But I hope you’re cool with me questioning you like this. I just want you to be safe.”
I smiled and nodded. "Thanks, and honestly, I get it. All I can say, so far is, Isaac seems like an okay guy. I mean, I only ran into the guy twice, but he seems cool."
“Twice?” Killian asked, and I nodded.
"Yeah, I saw him again this morning during my jog. Then Dorian showed up, so you can imagine how that went."
Killian frowned. “Tell me Dorian didn’t do anything stupid?”
"No," I answered. "He only stared at Isaac, and Isaac stared back. All that damn testosterone triggered my sinuses, too. Men.”
Killian howled with laughter, and so did I. Killian's approach I liked and could understand. Dorian, however, wanted someone to kick him in the nuts. Like Killian, I understood Dorian's concern but showing that concern needed work.
It didn't matter, though. I wanted nothing to do with him if this was the man he now was.
"What happened to him?" I asked and frowned because the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.
My lips parted to retract my question, but Killian answered before I could speak.
"He retired early," he said and placed both hands on the arm of the chair. "Dorian's many things and impressive is certainly one of them. He's had so much success, but things turned really bad." I frowned at that, and Killian kept speaking. "He became a team leader a few years back. He's caught and killed some of the most dangerous dark creatures, but his last mission went sideways."
“What do you mean?” I questioned. “He got hurt?”
"Not him," Killian replied, and his brows furrowed. "A human girl on his team was killed." My eyes widened, and Killian rubbed at his temple. "I don't know the details, but they found a vampire nest, an untamed nest, and she was killed during the raid. I think she was someone he was fond of, and he just retired."