Free Avet, Danica - Ain't No Bull [The Veil 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Danica Avet Page A

just crowded together before her rage. “Do you?”
    They still didn’t answer, which is probably what saved their lives. She sent a column of fire out the living room window and into a snowdrift. It melted instantly, leaving a bare spot in the ground. It also bled off some of her anger so that when she turned back to her incompetent siblings, she was somewhat calm.
    “You find that Amazon and either kill her, or find someone who can kill her. Then bring that minotaur to me. I want him here yesterday, sisters!” she shouted, letting the ring of fire puff out of existence.
    Avyn’s sisters scrambled from the room with little whimpers of fear and one even coughed pathetically. Once she was alone, she slumped in her chair, her ladylike posture long forgotten. She would be lucky if she survived passing this news along to her lover. There was a good chance he’d kill her flat-out, but of course he did like to torture. She’d helped him do enough of that over the centuries to know his techniques by heart. Yes, she was in a lot of trouble all because one wide-assed Amazon didn’t know how to keep her nose out of other people’s business.
    Tapping her fingers on the arms of her chair, she stared into space, plotting. If she left this in her sisters’ hands, they’d only screw up again. They might all be from the same, devilishly intelligent father, but unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for their mothers. For the most part, they’d all been starry-eyed bimbos without a single thought in their heads. Traits they’d passed down to some of their daughters. Not Avyn though, no way. She knew just how crafty those Amazons were. No, she needed a backup plan in case her sisters missed again.
    Avyn couldn’t afford for them to miss again. Their window of opportunity was very small on this mission and Ormond wouldn’t hesitate to throw her to the wolves if it fit in with his plan. She shuddered. She needed some help and she knew just where to get it.

    * * * *

    Izzy helped Grant clean the kitchen even though it wasn’t her usual habit. Back at home, the men cleaned everything while the women trained and protected. She just couldn’t resist the chance to chat with him and find out more about him.
    “I have twelve sisters,” he said as he scrubbed a pan. “I’m actually the youngest of our herd, so they all think they own me. Their mothers, too.”
    That explained so much. “What about your mom? Is she this protective of her other children?”
    “I’m her only child. She was one of the first swans in the harem, but it took her a long time to conceive.” He let the water out of the sink and set to scrubbing it with a single-mindedness Izzy found amazing. Who knew cleaning sinks could be so interesting? “Dad hadn’t bonded with any of the others in the harem until I was conceived. After I transitioned, my stepmoms all moved away to join other herds since Dad couldn’t mate with them anymore. So now, the family is all Mom has since her friends left.”
    Izzy mused over Grant’s words. Bella had every right to be protective of her child. Great, now she felt like shit and she’d have to apologize to the heifer. She snorted.
    “How many swans does your dad have in his harem?” She knew they kept harems, she knew Grant would, and for some reason that really pissed her off.
    He paused to scratch the side of his nose. “He had five including Ma, but like I said she’s the only one left. He said he didn’t need more than that.” He shrugged and went back to scrubbing the sink. “My sisters and mom have been trying to get me to start my own harem for the last thirty years, but I wasn’t ready for that.”
    Shit, he was speaking in past tense. Izzy carefully stepped away and put the dishes in the cabinet. She didn’t want to think of him romancing some heifer, and she sure as shit didn’t want him imaging her as part of his herd. Amazons did not share well. At all. She wiped a hand over her face and shook her