Ask the Oracle (14 page)

Overwhelmed, Gray stared at Dreo in silence, shock robbing him of his voice. It was

natural to want to know where you came from. Sadly, he had long ago had to come to grips

with the fact that his lineage would always be a mystery. He hadn’t had the luxury of such

curiosity. It had been more important for him to focus his energy on staying alive and sane.

Gray had closed the door on his past. He didn’t know how to handle the knowledge that that

door wasn’t closed as tightly as he’d assumed.

Dreo must have seen the indecision warring in his eyes. Grabbing a handful of Gray’s

shirt, Dreo dragged him into a tight embrace. His thick, muscled arms banded around Gray’s

smaller frame, not allowing for any distance between them.

Gray tensed, ready to throw off the oppressive hold and regain his freedom. However,

when the heavy weight settled around him, the need to flee didn’t take over. Instead,

warmth and comfort washed over him. The tension in his body eased as he found himself

sinking into the Demon’s soothing embrace.

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“I apologise, Oracle.” Dreo’s voice was surprisingly soft. “This is a discussion better

saved for a later day, when we have the time to give it the proper focus. For now, accept it as

an option tabled for further review, okay?”

Gray nodded his agreement into Dreo’s hard chest, without lifting his head. He was

becoming entirely too comfortable with this Demon, but there was nothing he could do to

stop it. Every minute he spent in the other man’s company increased the pull he felt towards

him. It was getting harder and harder to fight his attraction. Though he wasn’t prepared to

admit it, he knew it was pointless to deny the truth any longer—Andreo Demos was his

mate.

Gray was surprised when there was no fear or panic inspired by that knowledge. He’d

never thought of himself as someone who would settle down and do the whole happily-ever-

after thing. Now, it seemed that all he needed was a house with a white picket fence and two

point five kids, and he could be a candidate for All-American Family, Gay Edition. He bit

back a laugh at the image that burned into his brain. Dreo placed a chaste kiss on Gray’s

forehead. Lifting his chin, Gray hoped to entice Dreo into something a little less PG rated.

The Demon Lord stepped back, an amused grin tugging at his lips.

“While I would like nothing more than to take you back to my room to further

demonstrate the benefits of taking a lust Demon for a mate, we have a mission to complete.

The sooner we locate the murderer, the sooner I can have you tied to my bed with my cock

planted up inside your tight ass.”

Gray swallowed back a moan at the image Dreo’s words created in his head. He had no

problem visualising Dreo’s muscled body draped over his own, sweat slicking his skin as he

pumped his massive cock into Gray’s hole, stretching him wide. He could practically feel the

glorious, burning stretch of his asshole as it worked to accommodate his Demon’s member.

Feeling his cock start to respond, Gray knew he needed to get his mind out of the gutter

and back to the matter at hand. If he wanted any chance of making his fantasies a reality,

they needed to resolve the issue of who murdered the Lord of the Underworld, sooner rather

than later. Rolling his shoulders to relieve some of the tension building inside him, Gray

released a breath and took a few minutes to get his rampant libido under control. Lifting his

gaze, he acknowledged Dreo with a nod.

“Okay. What’s the plan?”

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77

“I would like your team to join up with my guards on this one,” Dreo responded,

authority ringing in his voice. “Whoever tampered with the room is still in the Underworld.

We’ve been on lockdown since the murder. No one in, no one out, with the exception of

myself, you and your men. If one of them can pick up a scent from the murderer or his

Oracle, we will have a distinct advantage. I don’t believe they would have constructed a

contingency plan based on the off chance that you would have Shifters as bodyguards. Since

a Demon’s scenting ability is barely greater than a human’s, I don’t think they would have

thought it necessary to attempt to hide theirs. I would like half of the men focused on that

task.”

“I’ll lead that team,” Maddox stated, stepping forward. “These are my men and I’ve got

the best nose of the bunch. If they’re still here, we’ll find them.”

When Dreo looked hesitant, Gray pushed forward. “Great! Now that we’ve got that

settled, what about the other half of the men?”

Dreo shot him a mild glare. “You, my mate, will be providing them with a list of all the

Oracles known to work with Demons who would have sufficient power to assist in this kind

of task. I agree with your earlier assessment—it will be much easier to draw out the Demon

involved if we are able to single out the Oracle. The remaining men will be using your list to

track down those Oracles to eliminate them as suspects, or to confirm their involvement.”

“And what will you being doing, while we are out tracking down your murderous

fiends?” Maddox had his arms crossed over his broad chest and a suspicious glare plastered

on his face.

“I have to go speak with the Council. They need to know what happened with Povell

and they’ll also want an update on our progress finding the murderer. It is never a good idea

to keep the Demon Council waiting.”

Worry drove Gray forward. “But Povell said they wanted to question you about your

involvement in Lucifer’s death. That sounds like they think you had something to do with

it.”

Dreo smiled. “Don’t worry about me. Yes, there are maybe a handful of Council

members who would like nothing better than to have me blamed for this. If I was found

guilty, they could strip me of my power and title and banish me to spend eternity in The

Pits.”

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Gray gasped in outrage, but Dreo covered Gray’s lips with his fingers before he could

voice his displeasure.

“They are in the minority, my mate. You forget that I am also a member of the Council.

I am both older and stronger than any of those who seek to bring me down. They are of little

concern to me.”

Gray watched him warily. “If you’re sure,” he muttered, still unconvinced.

“I am,” Dreo answered confidently. “I will be back soon. In the meantime, with both

Maddox and I occupied with other things, I am assigning Balen as your personal guard until

we return.” He motioned to the blond Demon, who gave a cocky nod in response. Dreo

shook his head in amusement. “Sometimes I forget that he is almost as old as I am. Balen and

a few of his men will be with you until Maddox or I return. Until that time, you are to follow

his orders and keep yourself out of trouble. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Dad,” Gray laughed.

“If you’re thinking of trying to keep Gray out of trouble, you might want to try a

padded room. Anything short of that and you’re just hoping for the best.” Of course Maddox

chose that moment to swagger over. He put an arm around Gray’s shoulder and gave him a

good squeeze.

Gasping for breath, Gray gave him an elbow to the ribs followed by a hard pinch to his

inner arm. Maddox shrieked like a little girl and bounded away from him with an arm

wrapped protectively around his ribs. Gray scowled at his friend. “That’s what you get,

douche bag. Never forget, smaller doesn’t equal weaker.”

Maddox rolled his eyes while still nursing his abused ribs. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he

muttered petulantly. “I got it, already. Really, though. Did you have to pinch me so hard?”

“You call yourself a Shifter?” Gray teased. “You’re such a baby.”

“But you’ve got those boney little fingers,” Maddox whined pitifully.

“If you two are done,” Dreo interjected, putting an end to their fun. He turned his

attention back to Gray with a serious expression. “Balen has orders to bring you back to my

suite when you are done going through the list of possible Oracle suspects. I want you to stay

there until I return. My rooms have enchantments preventing uninvited ‘guests’. I would feel

better knowing you were there, safe.”

“What if you need my help catching the murderers?

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“Your lone duty in this is to
See
. The others have been trained to handle these types of

people. I see no point in having you out chasing down murderers where you might become

damaged or upset. Leave the more hands on work to them.”

There was silence for a moment before Gray and his guards burst out laughing. Dreo’s

face darkened, his confusion clear, as the Shifters practically rolled on the floor. Maddox had

tears running down his face and was clutching his gut as he tried to get himself back under

control.

“Yes,” he wheezed, trying to catch his breath, “we would hate to upset Gray’s delicate

sensibilities.” The statement brought on a new round of laughter, which had Dreo shaking

his head in bewilderment.

“I don’t understand. Where is the joke?” Dreo demanded, irritation seeping into in his

voice.

Maddox wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. “When Stephen discovered Gray and

realised what he was, he knew he would need protection. He contacted my father and

arranged to have him come and stay with the Pack. He’s spent the last eight years living

with, and being trained by, Shifters.” He chuckled. “Gray is no docile lamb. He might be

small, but he’s scrappy. The only reason he needs to have a protection team is for when he is

Seeing
, or if he has a job that calls for some extra muscle.”

Dreo glanced over at Gray who was wearing a smug, if not slightly annoyed,

expression. “Well, well, well, Oracle. You have hidden facets. I am glad you are able to

protect yourself, but that still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t see any reason to needlessly

put you in danger when we have a group of well-trained professionals who are perfectly

capable to taking care of the problem.”

Gray glared at him, mouth ajar, ready to dispute his logic. Unfortunately, as he stared

into a set of fiery eyes, he couldn’t think of a single argument. “Fine,” he muttered, gritting

his teeth. Moving away, he addressed Maddox and his team. “If you guys need me when you

get back, I’ll be in Dreo’s room,
resting
.” Turning on his heel, Gray brushed past Dreo,

heading for the door with his team of Demon guards trailing behind him. Reaching for the

knob, he paused, turning his attention back to his Demon. “I’ll see you soon?”

The smile that bloomed on Dreo’s face could have lit the room. “Yes, Oracle. Very

soon.”

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80

* * * *

Dreo had been gone for hours by the time Gray heard movement outside the suite. He

and Balen had spent the time huddled around Balen’s laptop, sorting through all the

information they could find to narrow down the list of possible Oracle suspects. Balen

provided the names and it was Gray’s job to recount as much about them as he could. He

told them everything he remembered, but with all Oracles’ propensity to keep to themselves,

there wasn’t a lot Gray could tell him. The only information he could really provide was the

strength of their gift and their stance on Oracle-Demon relations.

A smile bloomed on Gray’s face when he heard the sound of voices from outside the

suite. Jumping up, he knocked his chair on its side in his haste to get to the door. Rushing

across the room, Gray flipped the lock and jerked open the door. He was ready to give his

mate a piece of his mind for keeping him waiting and worried for so long, without a word.

He pulled back in surprise when he realised that the man behind the door, while good

looking, was definitely not his mate. The stranger’s pale blond hair was so light it was almost

white and his grey eyes would have been beautiful if not for the sour expression marring his

angular face. Whoever he was, he had to be someone important because he was travelling

with his own protective detail. A group of four heavily muscled guards stood around him,

armed to the teeth and looking lethal. Surprisingly, none of them looked very happy about

being there. It made Gray wonder about the man. If he couldn’t even inspire loyalty in his

own guards, what did that say for him as a person?

Lost in his own thoughts, it took him a minute to register that the man was speaking to

him. By that time, Balen was up from his seat and standing protectively at his side.

Something about his face put Gray instantly on guard. It was clear from Balen’s expression

that he didn’t trust their new visitor.