Furever Loyal

by Riley Storm

  Which apparently she has.

  “That’s a yes. So, what is it you need to talk about?”

  There didn’t seem any point in denying the truth to Danielle. “It’s him, yes,” Haley said. “I’m…I’m a little overwhelmed,” she admitted. “Things are moving quickly. Really quickly.”

  “Are you forcing them?” Danielle asked, her tone calming as she recognized that this wasn’t a call for sharing, but for help and advice.

  “No. That’s the scary part,” she admitted. “It just feels…natural. But there’s more. A lot more. Most of it I can’t tell you, because it’s not my place. But it’s complicated, Danielle.”

  “Dani.”

  “What?”

  “Just call me Dani, it’s fine.”

  “Thanks Dani,” Haley said, and she meant it. “I just don’t know what to do.”

  “Do you care about him?”

  Haley didn’t reply right away. An answer was ready instantly, but she took her time, thinking it over, analyzing it from every side to make sure it wasn’t a fake, that there wasn’t some sort of lie to it.

  “Yes,” she said at last. “I do. Which is what terrifies me, because I’ve only known him for a few days, and things are…complicated doesn’t even begin to explain it, Dani. Not even close. I can’t really say why, but there’s a lot of evidence that points at him being a criminal. I’ve been assigned by Kaelyn to try and prove his innocence.”

  “Isn’t that a job for the police?” Dani asked cautiously.

  “Like I said, it’s complicated,” she said with a slightly hysterical laugh. “I think we’re on the right trail for that, but it’s had us spending a lot of time together and we…we…” she couldn’t tell Dani, not yet.

  “You slept with him? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

  Haley sighed, relieved she hadn’t had to vocalize it. “Yes.”

  “Okay. Was it good?”

  Her face was burning, but Haley wasn’t about to exit the conversation now. She’d called for advice, and this was the only way she was going to get it. “Yes,” she answered. “Very.”

  “Does he treat you nice?”

  “Yes? Of course.”

  “And he obviously has money. He’s handsome. Does he make you laugh?”

  She smiled, then realized Dani couldn’t see it through the phone. “When he’s not teasing me.”

  Dani laughed. “Yup. He likes you too. Listen, I don’t know him, so I can’t tell you for certain one way or another if he’s a good guy or not. You’re going to have to go with your gut on that one. All I can tell you, Haley, is that if he treats you well, has his life together aside from whatever you two are looking into right now, he’s good in bed, and most importantly he makes you laugh… Well, where’s the problem?”

  Haley didn’t have an answer to that.

  “How do you feel when you’re around him?”

  “Safe. Comfortable. Warm. Nauseous. Nervous. All of the above.” Haley bit her lip just thinking about it.

  “Haley, you like the guy. A lot.”

  “I do?”

  “You do.” Danielle paused. “When was the last time you dated? Or even went on a date?”

  Haley mumbled her reply, too embarrassed to say it out loud.

  “Did you just say college?” Dani gasped. “Please tell me I misheard.”

  “Ummm.”

  “No wonder you’re terrified! You’re so out of shape. Oh, my goodness. Okay. Have you and he talked about this yet? Actually addressed that there are feelings between you two?”

  “How do you know he has feelings toward me?”

  “He slept with you, and he teases you and makes you laugh. He also protects you, doing all the little things you don’t really notice, but makes you feel safe anyway. Trust me, he likes you.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Haley, I’m a pro at this. I’ve had so many men like me before, I recognize the signs.” Dani’s voice dropped to a mutter. “It’s the next part I seem to have a problem with.”

  “Which part is that?”

  “Making them want to stay.”

  Haley winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

  “Don’t be! I’m so excited you called me to ask me about this. I’ve been trying to get you to open up for ages now. What finally changed? Why did you choose to come to me out of everyone?”

  “I…” she trailed off. The truth hurt to admit to herself, but to say it out loud made it real. Admitting it is a step toward fixing it. “I don’t have anyone else,” she heard herself say.

  Dani inhaled audibly, but otherwise didn’t miss a beat. “Well, you’ve got me! Is there anything else you want to ask?”

  Haley thought about it. “Yeah. Actually, there is one more thing.”

  “What? What is it?” Haley could all but imagine Dani leaning in closer as she spoke.

  “What the hell do I do now?”

  32

  Kincaid was prepared for a hot reception as he arrived back at Ursidae Manor. The drive had been mostly uneventful. Twice he’d had to stop and hit Krawll again to ensure he stayed unconscious, but that wasn’t really an inconvenience at all. He’d relished the pain he was inflicting on the other shifter.

  To his surprise though, nobody intercepted him at the gate or during the drive up. He’d expected the guards to materialize, yank him from the car and throw him under arrest, but nothing happened. He wondered if Kirell had chosen his side and was making it clear to any who saw that he was aligned with Kincaid and the Queen. That was a risky play for a newfound Title Holder, but if that’s what was happening, he owed the man a drink.

  The closer he could get to the Throne Room without being intercepted, the better his chances of presenting his case in front of someone who would listen. The only gauntlet he would have to run now would be Kvoss and his men once they received word of his arrival. If he could just get near the Throne Room, the Queen’s Guard would hear his arrival and hopefully intervene.

  “Shit,” he muttered as the trees gave way to the manicured lawns out front of the House, revealing the main entryway.

  The road came to a fork and he went left toward it. The road looped around itself in a circle, both the road and the gardens in the center covered in a massive awning, stone pillars combining with wooden beams and slightly tinted glass roof to create a welcoming environment.

  And all of it was ruined by the six men standing out front, lining the stairs, waiting for him. They were Kvoss’ men and they all seemed ready for action. Kincaid slowed the SUV, contemplating his actions. He couldn’t take all six of them, nor could he outrun them. Not if he was trying to carry Krawll as well.

  Fortunately, he had a backup plan.

  The SUV came to a half in front of the giant stone staircase that led up into the manor, and the men came down toward him. One stood in front of the vehicle and one behind, while the other four blocked entry into the building itself.

  “Wake up,” Kincaid snarled, reaching into the back seat and punching Krawll in the kidneys.

  The badly-beaten shifter groaned and came around. “What?”

  Kincaid shoved the barrel of the semi-automatic pistol into his face. “Wake up, or you’re going to get a face full of uranium dust.”

  “I’m awake!” Krawll mumbled around the cold metal pressed into his mouth. “I’m awake!”

  “Good. Get out the driver’s side. Slowly.”

  They exited the car.

  “Stay back!” Kincaid shouted, putting the barrel to the back of Krawll’s head.

  He kept a few inches between the gun and skull, so that his quarry would never know precisely where the weapon was. This was his ace in the hole. Only the Queen’s Guard carried the special uranium-bullet firing pistols on a regular basis. Kincaid was banking on none of Kvoss’ men having one.

  If they did, he was screwed and this was over now, but judging by the way they were acting, none of them had come armed. He thanked his lucky stars that the Q
ueen was on his side. She’d had one of her guard stash it in the SUV, just in case. Kincaid had hoped not to need it, but now it was going to save his life, it seemed.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kvoss roared as he came out the front doors.

  “Clearing my name. Now get out of my way or I’ll drop you right where you stand,” Kincaid threatened coldly, pushing Krawll forward and up the first stairs.

  “You wouldn’t dare,” Kvoss sneered.

  Kincaid gave Krawll a hard shove, whipped the pistol around and fired a shot that whizzed past Kvoss’ left ear, then quickly shoved the muzzle into Krawll’s back and forced him up the stairs before anyone else could react.

  “Try me,” he snarled as the Assassin and his six men backed away, preceding him down the Grand Hallway as he made his way toward the Throne Room.

  “If I must,” Kvoss snapped. “All of you together. We shall take him at once.”

  Now that’s just not fair!

  There was no point in complaining. It was the best strategy they had. Kincaid couldn’t take down seven of them before they reached him. But he could try.

  Krawll flew forward with a shout, struck from behind by Kincaid with all his might. The flailing shifter collided with two of the guards. The pistol came around with a buzz saw noise as it spewed rounds. Two more shifters went down howling in agony as their skin literally dissolved from the uranium dust, the hollow-point bullets exploding on impact.

  Throwing himself to the side, he avoided a decapitation swing from one of Kvoss’ lackeys. He rolled into a crouch at the foot of another. The gun went off and two bullets took out the legs. The shifter went backward, rebounded off the wall and then fell on top of Kincaid as the man writhed in pain.

  Grunting, he tried to extricate himself, but Kvoss was there, yanking the gun from his hand and sending it spinning down the hallway. Kincaid slipped out from under the still writhing shifter a split second before Kvoss’ foot occupied the space his head had been in, connecting instead with the ribs of his man.

  Scrambling to his feet, Kincaid faced off against the remaining guards. It was now four on one. Still not great odds.

  Okay, terrible odds.

  Nearby, Krawll was picking himself up, dusting himself off with a grin—a grin that faded as his eyes focused on something farther down the Grand Hallway. Kincaid turned to look, and he couldn’t help himself. He smiled broadly.

  “You’re fucked now,” he said, still smiling.

  Exiting the Throne Room at the far end of the Hallway was the Queen and half a dozen of her guards, all of whom were armed with uranium-infused weapons, both ranged and close quarters and all of whom were pointing them at the commotion ahead of them.

  “Stand down,” Kaelyn commanded as she strode forward. “What in the hell is going on here?”

  “This traitor is trying to break in!” Kvoss spat, pointing at Kincaid.

  “I drove up to the main entrance you log-head. Think for once in your life. Use your brain, if you still can.”

  “Enough.” Kaelyn’s voice sliced between the two of them. “Kincaid, explain yourself. Why did you break out? Why are you back?”

  “I broke out because I was innocent. Because I was being framed,” he said, staring daggers at Kvoss.

  “Where is your proof?” the Queen asked imperiously. “You must have proof.”

  “It’s right there,” he snarled, pointing at Krawll. “This traitor was paid off by House Canis to kill me during his Challenge to my nomination. Afterward, when all my accounts were shut down, the money that Canis transferred in would be exposed, and I would be branded as a traitor. If I had to guess, Krawll and his ilk would accuse me of being the leader of the coup as well, though I doubt they’d thought that far ahead yet.”

  Kaelyn turned to Krawll and gestured. Two of her warriors closed swiftly. One held a rifle aimed at his heart, the other swiftly drawing a sword and holding it inches from his throat. Even from that distance, the uranium-edged blade caused the skin to ripple and turn black.

  “Is this true?” Kaelyn hissed, barely able to speak because of her fury.

  Krawll tried to resist, to stay silent, but as the blade came nearer his throat and the skin began to part, his resistance caved. “Yes,” he said, slumping. “It’s true.”

  Inhaling deeply at his vindication, Kincaid stood a little straighter, his shoulders no longer burdened by false accusations against his loyalty. “Tell them where I found you,” he snarled. “How I caught you red handed in a meeting with Laurent Canis.”

  The name of High House Canis’ Reaver caused a stir of surprise from everyone but Kaelyn and Krawll. The Queen just stared darkly, and Kincaid smiled to himself. It was over now, he had the proof he needed, and a dozen witnesses who had heard it all. He was free.

  Until Krawll began to laugh.

  “Caught me? You didn’t catch me,” he sneered. “That meeting was planned. We needed to draw you out of whatever hidey hole you disappeared into after you escaped from here. It was obvious your only lead was the restaurant, so we decided to meet there, where you could see us.”

  Kincaid’s blood was going cold. “Why would you voluntarily give yourself up? Expose yourself like this?”

  “Admittedly, I expected you to go after Laurent.” Krawll frowned. “That’s what I was told would happen. That I would be able to escape successfully.”

  Now it was Kincaid’s turn to laugh. “They set you up. You idiot. That was Laurent’s way of cutting ties with you, and you walked right into it. What an idiot.”

  Krawll shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. You’re still missing something important. Which I believe makes you the idiot.”

  “Like what?” Kincaid snapped, glaring at Krawll while the others just listened, soaking in all of the details of the plot as it was exposed to them.

  “When our plan was first hatched, to strike back at you for what you did, we could only hurt you. Now, however, you are vulnerable. Remember, we expected you to come to the restaurant. We had the entire area under surveillance. Do you really think we would miss your pretty little accountant friend when she—”

  Whatever else Krawll was going to say was lost as Kincaid leaped at him.

  “Where is she?” he roared, slamming into the traitor and taking him to the ground. He hammered a fist into Krawll’s chest, then picked his head up off the ground and slammed it back. “Tell me where she is!”

  Strong hands slipped around his flailing arms and yanked him upright as two of the Queen’s Guard pulled him free. Kincaid continued to struggle, but it was useless, they had him dead to rights.

  “Let me go!” he roared. “I will tear this city apart building by building if I have to. Every piece of Canis will be ground to dust until I find her. The entire House will burn! If you so much as touched a hair on my mate I will lay waste to you, Laurent and anyone involved.”

  Kaelyn stepped into his view, but Kincaid was only seeing red. He continued to struggle, and white fur spread along his arms as he worked himself into a fury, the change starting to overtake him.

  “Pull yourself together,” she commanded.

  When he didn’t, she slapped him across the face. Hard.

  Kincaid fell to the ground, chest heaving as he supported himself on all fours.

  “Are you quite done?” the Queen of High House Ursa asked, tired.

  Kincaid shook his head, not in answer, but to clear his thoughts and allow him to regain control. Slowly, reluctantly, the bone-white fur sank into his skin as he reversed the start of the change and stood upright.

  “I have to find her,” he said hoarsely with barely-recovered breath.

  “If you go after Laurent Canis, you will start a war between our Houses,” Kaelyn told him. “A war we are currently in no position to win, thanks to people like him.” She stabbed a finger at Krawll.

  “He has my mate.”

  It was the second time Kincaid had used that word to describe Haley, and the wonder was no less. He’d
known there was a connection between them, but not until he’d realized she was in mortal danger and he simply reacted without thinking had the true nature of it been revealed to him.

  Now he cursed himself for being blind and not noticing it before, but there was little to be done about that. Now he must go to the safehouse and hope she was still there, that the Canim hadn’t been able to locate her, or perhaps that the defenses would hold out until he arrived.

  “You will go and see if that is true,” Kaelyn said. “I will get what we need from this traitor. If we have enough to see Laurent stripped of his power, then he’s all yours. Until then, can I trust you not to act against Canis?”

  “Yes,” he said, gritting out his answer, supremely unhappy about it, but realizing that the Queen was trying to help him.

  Killing Laurent would bring him momentary satisfaction, but it would mean they would have to go on the run. His mate would always be in mortal danger from his enemies, and that was something Kincaid simply couldn’t live with. His job was to protect her, and if that meant trying to solve this diplomatically first so that both his mate and his House could emerge unscathed, then he would do that.

  “Promise me,” Kaelyn demanded.

  Kincaid stiffened, staring straight ahead, unseeing. “I promise.”

  I promise, if it fails, I will wreak unholy terror upon Laurent, Melanie, and anyone who intervenes. That is my word to you, Haley.

  I’m coming for you.

  33

  She’d talked to Dani for a long time, but eventually, she’d had to let her friend go.

  Friend.

  It was an odd word to her, something that had gone unused for so long in her life that it had felt strange to apply it in any context related to her own life. She had two friends now, though they were vastly different. Danielle was her friend, a person she could trust and open up to.

  Kincaid was more than a friend. Just how much more, she didn’t know, but definitely more. She’d eventually come to the conclusion, with Dani’s advice, that she wouldn’t actually know more until she was able to sit down with him and talk about it.