"Get the fuck out, Rhyn!" Kris snapped. "And don't try to tell me that black cat wasn't you! You're one twisted-- "
"Kris!" Katie interjected, standing unsteadily. "It wasn't him. He was off fighting some demon that attacked me."
"You stay out of this!"
"No, Kris, I won't! You're too quick to blame everyone else! It's my fault Toby was wandering around without someone watching him, but really, Kris, who assigns a woman an Immortal kid that's not even her own and expects her to know what to do with it?"
"I'm up to here with your lip. Sit down and shut up, Katie!"
Rhyn was content to let them fight when he thought she was winning, like she normally did. He sensed Kris's agitation was increased by the ensnaring scent of Katie's blood, which was heavy in the air. At Kris's angry response, Rhyn shoved his brother out of his path.
"Talk to my mate like that again, brother, and I'll fuck up this castle and everyone in it before you can think of stopping me." He crossed to Katie and sat on the ottoman in front of her. She sat, dazed. Kris's gaze burned a hole in his back, but Rhyn ignored him. Instead, he focused hard on cleaning up her blood and bandaging her arm before the scent drove him too wild to control himself.
"I want you gone, Rhyn. Be out of here by nightfall," Kris said at last, his voice quiet and hard.
"You all won't live long if I go, Kris. The forest is full of demons out for Sasha's head, and the Dark One may be sending more of its creatures. At this point, I'm the only thing capable of standing between you and the monsters in the forest," Rhyn replied with calmness he didn't feel.
He felt Katie's gaze on him and looked up from the bandage, his eyes lingering on her face. Her surprise echoed what he felt from Kris. He was trying not to let the feel of Katie's skin heat his blood, but her nearness and direct gaze lit him afire.
A half-demon outcast didn't deserve anything so delicate or beautiful, but Death help him, he wanted her more than anything else in his life. He didn't even know yet if he could protect anyone's ass, except his own. He dropped his gaze to the bandage, and he finished it in a hurry. If he didn't leave soon, and she kept looking at him like that, he'd make love to her right there.