by K. A Knight
I feel him look at me. “What do you mean?”
“What do I need to know about you? You’re a skinwalker hunting killers. Why? How long? And is Khalid your real name?” I start, and he chuckles.
“You ask a lot of questions for a woman who wanted to kill me yesterday.”
“Yes, well, seems like I’m stuck with you for a while, so I may as well learn about the person I might get murdered over,” I mutter as I change lanes and pull down the visor so I can see.
“Why? Going to tell me about you?” he replies.
I snort, and he nudges me with his shoulder. “Not likely.”
“It goes both ways.” He sighs. “If you want to know about me, then you have to tell me about you.”
I go silent then, since I’m not the sharing type. Especially with someone I plan on betraying by giving over to the council to save my own life. He may say he’s hunting only ‘monsters,’ but I know nothing about this skinwalker, and I can’t be too careful around him. Just because he has abs and kisses like a porn star—fuck, I got distracted.
“So you’re a shifter?” he inquires, and I ignore him. “No? What about your job with the council?” I purse my lips, and he sighs. “Your pussy?”
Smirking, I glance at him. “Which one?”
He grins at me as I look back at the road. “Fine, ask me something.”
“Why do you hate the council so much?” I query, even though I’m curious about many things. Like why he left that night at the club, and why he came back and found me. Why didn’t he kill me when he found out I worked for them?
“Honestly? I didn’t used to, but now I see what they are doing to this world.”
“Which is?” I prompt, glancing over at him to see him staring out of the window.
“Not their job. They were put in place to protect our people, but instead, thousands are being killed by hunters and their own kind. People are lost, left behind, and taken, and they just sit back and get richer and more powerful. So I took their job into my hands and became the judge, jury, and fucking executioner.” He looks at me when he says that, and I almost drool. Fuck, why is the idea of this guy hunting and killing people so attractive?
Worse yet, why do I want to do it with him?
To fight by his side again, to see the blood covering his body, to feel the rush of the kill and then take it out on him.
His eyes narrow like he knows my thoughts, and his lips tip up, making me look away before I say something stupid. He gave me the truth, and for some reason, I feel obliged to give him one. “I’m not just a tiger shifter, but don’t ask any more on that.”
I feel his gaze burning into my face, so I quickly ask another question. “Why didn’t you try to kill me? Why did you stalk me instead?”
“I was curious,” he murmurs.
“What about?” I press softly.
“Why you were working for them. You seemed…different. I was right,” he answers like it’s that simple. Fuck, he’s so wrong. I’m not different. I’m nothing but a killer and I still take their money, even though I know they are in the wrong a lot of the time.
But fuck his judgement and expectations. I did what I had to in order to survive, and he doesn’t get to make me feel bad about that.
“And to answer your earlier questions, yes, my name is really Khalid. You’re the first person I have given that name to in many years.”
“Why?”
“Easier if no one knows who I am. I’m just a forgotten relic. Who I am is not important, but what I do is,” he replies cryptically.
“Many years? How old are you?” I glance over again as I take a turn. “I don’t know much about skinwalkers, there aren’t exactly any left…well, apart from you.”
“Because they killed us,” he snarls, and then I hear him trying to control his anger. “They thought we were too powerful and couldn’t be trusted. From the fucking snakes themselves,” he spits and sighs. “I’m old, older than you can ever imagine. I’m the first skinwalker.”
“Bullshit,” I retort, and then pull over when I realise he’s being serious. “You…you are the first skinwalker?”
He nods, looking me over with tight lips, while I just blink at him. “You are really fucking old then, grandpa.” I laugh, and he rolls his eyes.
“Such a brat,” he mutters.
“And you said brothers, right? So they have to be just as powerful and old?” I deduce, and he laughs.
“You’re fucking smart. Yes, they are just as old. We are all powerful, the first ever seven monsters born into this world…we started it all.” He frowns. “Why am I telling you all of this?”
“I don’t know, but I won’t stop you.” I grin. “Anything else you want to share?”
For a split second, something passes over his face before it blanks. “We are almost there, another hour, max.”
I let him keep his secret, even though I want to push. It’s not like I’m freely giving away mine. I don’t even know why we’re sharing in the first place. We could both be dead before sunrise, or I could betray him… Yet I feel weirdly comfortable and turned on at the same time by this skinwalker. And him telling me his real name and no one else? Yeah, my heart fucking skips a beat at that, the cold melting for a moment.
I get back on the road, and about ten minutes later, he starts talking again. “So you’re a shifter, but you don’t have a pack?”
Screams fill my head before I push them back and grip the wheel tighter. “Not anymore,” is all I say.
The silence stretches on, and I can feel him wanting to ask more, but he refrains, and we drive the rest of the way in silence. If he’s right, if the council is doing something bad, will I really hand him over? Could I live with myself for that? And if so, have I been hunting good people all along?
Will I help him if the truth comes out and I don’t like it?
And if I do…what does that mean for us?
He kills monsters, killers… Will he kill me when he discovers I am both?
KHALID
“Turn right,” I tell her, and she does, driving down the dirt track. I have only been here once or twice when I was much younger and the world was a different place. Now, the cities have grown around it, and the mountain where the Librarian resides has been forgotten, overgrown, so much so, we have to stop at the end of a blocked trail. The rocky outcropping blocks us on either side with large trees stretching above us and casting us into shadow, obscuring the last rays of the descending sun.
She turns off the engine, the lights shining into the nearly overrun path before us. “If you have brought me out here to kill me” —she turns her head and narrows her eyes, and seeing the single black one that matches mine makes me grin— “know that I have at least eight weapons on me, and I will gut you before you can even move.”
“What if I came out here to fuck you into oblivion?” I tease, unable to help myself.
Her eyebrow arches, and a slow, sure smile crawls over her lips. “Then I have eight weapons we can use to make that happen,” she offers before she climbs out of the car, leaving me staring after her, open-mouthed. A groan escapes my lips as my cock jerks at the thought of her using her weapons on me, at the pain and blood.
Fuck.
Stop thinking.
I’m trying to keep my mate safe and out of my life, not get her further into it by making her my fucking wicked dominatrix. Unplugging my seat belt, I slip out after her and shut the door to find her waiting at the path. Her one eye flashes to yellow and almost glows in the dark, probably allowing her to see—the perks of being a shifter. Luckily, my night vision is good also, something I’ve mastered over the years spent hunting in the dark. She locks her car and starts to walk into the forest, so I quickly hurry after her.
The Librarian doesn’t like supes around him, but you never know who could have moved in—ferals, strays, fucking fae, hell, even a dragon. My mate may be a badass but she can still get hurt, and that won’t be happening on my watch. Not ever. The onl
y time she will be hurt is from my hands being wrapped around her throat as I pound into her.
Following behind her, I watch her ass as she easily manoeuvres around the rocks and fallen trees and upturned roots. Fuck, she has a perfect ass. Peachy as hell and round… Shit. Now I’m just thinking about her naked. I could barely control myself when she dropped that blanket. All her perfect curves were on display, her high, huge breasts with pink-tipped nipples begging for my mouth. Her tight, tucked in waist was covered in a few scars, which only made me harder. And she had a small triangle of brown hair that concealed her pussy from me, the sweet scent of her desire reaching me and causing my blood to boil. She is perfect. Too fucking perfect.
I didn’t even want to touch her, to stain her with the darkness in my soul, yet I couldn’t resist. If those men hadn’t broken in, I would have taken her right then and there. Buried my face and cock in that tight little cunt until she was fighting me for a different reason. Shit. I reach down and adjust my hard cock, imagining those nails buried in my back as I fuck her, the blood running from the puncture marks as I drive into her over and over—
“I can practically hear your thoughts,” Remi mutters in front of me, and she flashes me a look over her shoulder. “Look at my ass any harder, and you will fall over.”
“It’s an ass to fall for,” I tease as I speed up and practically walk behind her, my breath wafting over the base of her neck. “Especially in the way I was just thinking about it.”
I can’t help myself anymore. No matter what I tell myself about staying away, about walking away… I was strong enough to do it once, but am I again? Especially after eating those lips, feeling the force of her violence and strength, and seeing my mate in all her glory? Could I really leave? But if I didn’t, would she kill me?
Betray me?
Remi doesn’t strike me as the loving, relationship type, yet I have hope. A dark little tendril of it winds around my soul and heart, telling me it’s worth a shot.
“All right, stalker, no need to walk so close,” she retorts.
“No?” I murmur. “But then I can brush against you while you walk.”
“What a weird thing to say.” She laughs. “You are this super old face god, and that’s the best line you have? You must be rusty.”
“Worked on you, didn’t it? I almost got in your pants at least twice now.” I grin.
She turns and presses her finger into my chest to stop me. Smirking, I look down at the tiny digit. How can someone so small be so strong? Well, I guess she’s tall for humans, just not as tall as me.
“Almost being the important word there, buddy,” she snaps, glaring. “Now, where the fuck are we going?”
“My friend’s place.” I grab her hand and lift it, ignoring her snarl as I drop a kiss on the back before twining my fingers with hers and turning her so we can walk. “Well, friend might be a stretch—”
“Yes, I’m betting you don’t have many of them,” she interrupts, tugging on her hand to free it, but I just hold it tighter as I lead her through the forest.
“He’s the historian of our races. The Librarian, as they call him, holds all prophecies, history, and futures. Race lines and studies, everything. If anyone knows of a way to stop the council, it will be him and his books.”
“And you’ve met him before?” She sighs, giving up trying to get her hand loose.
“Once or twice, mainly when the new laws for the council were put into place so many, many years ago,” I answer. I sense she wants to ask more, but just then, we break through the foliage and the Librarian’s home becomes visible.
She gasps. “Holy fucking shit, this dude has a goddamn castle.”
I turn to see her gaping as she stares at the medieval castle with turrets, and yep, even a moat around it. He might be a librarian, but he sure as shit is paranoid. He even has a magically infused fence around the property at the front with ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs and ones that say, ‘Trespassers will be killed and eaten by the werewolf.’ The building itself is dark black and covered in overgrown vines, which is not surprising considering he’s a hermit. It reminds me of my childhood and my brothers, which only sends a pang of loss through me. I wonder if they are doing better than me. Do they have mates? Have they found them? Did they mess up their chance as badly as I did?
When you’re never expecting to find that one person who was made for you, you stop caring what people think, and instead, do everything for yourself.
“I have a castle,” I grumble when I see her admiration. She glances over at me.
“Wait, really?”
“Fuck yeah, wanna see it?” I smirk, and her eyes narrow suspiciously. “I have one of them right here in my pants.” She goes to punch me, so I catch her fist and back her into a tree, grinning down at her as I press my body against hers. “Just teasing, amore, don’t get all stabby. I do have a castle. I’ll show you one day, and you can hunt me around it to your heart’s content.”
“Shut up.” She tries to push me away, and I lean closer, ghosting my lips over hers.
“If—when you catch me, you promise to fuck me like you hate me?” I whisper.
“I do hate you,” she replies, her lips moving against mine.
“Try telling your body that,” I point out as I step back, letting her see she was leaning into me and free the whole time. I laugh as she throws a knife, ducking it before wandering up to the gate, leaving her to follow.
The gate itself has a lock on it, but I easily break it and toss it away before pushing it open and walking in like I own the place. I see his cameras turn and lock on me, the bright LED lights flashing to let me know they are recording.
“This place is spooky, I love it,” she whispers, and when I look back, she’s stroking a blade at her side.
“No stabbing him, we need him,” I remind her, just as the sound of chains unlocking reaches us. The front door swings open, and standing in all his naked glory is the Librarian.
“I wasn’t expecting company,” he snaps as he looks at us.
“You just walk around naked all the time?” I sigh.
“My castle. If I want to walk around dressed as the fucking Easter Bunny, I will. I’m guessing you’re here for a reason, better fucking come in,” he snarls and storms back inside.
“I like him,” Remi comments as I wrap an arm around her shoulders.
“You would, amore. He’s grumpy and insane… Matches you perfectly.” I get a punch to the dick for that one.
He has finally put something on. It’s a navy silk robe with flowers across it, but it’s better than nothing. I do catch Remi checking out his chest, and when he’s leading us to the library, I lean and warn her if she gets any ideas, I’ll kill him.
She rolls her eyes at me, and I want to give her ass a spanking for her sass, but I leave it this once, not wanting him to see me with my girl. We wander down the pitch-black corridor. The fucker doesn’t even have electricity in this part of the castle. He’s holding a fucking candelabra in his hands and wearing his silk robe like some kind of divorced widower who killed his rich ex.
I know the path, even though I haven’t been here for a while, so I walk beside my girl until we reach the large, spelled double doors. Not even the council is supposed to come here. This is a neutral area meant for records and history. The Librarian is never supposed to take sides or involve himself, and when he turns, I can see he’s struggling with that.
To let me in, he’s breaking his code.
“If I allow you in here, are you going to stir up shit?” he asks, his bright blue eyes locking me in place. His long blond hair is now to his waist and plaited in a Viking style. His face is square, but has more wrinkles than when I last saw him. No one knows who the Librarian really is, or I should say what he really is. He was here before us and will be here after us. Many believe he is an entity of the gods, of the Fates…and some think he is a god himself.
I asked him once, but he just laughed and walked away. The cocky fucker.
<
br /> “Probably.” Remi grins, and his eyebrows rise as he booms out a deep laugh.
“I like her. Fuck it, fine. I don’t like those council bastards anyway. Always on my back, do this, do that… Like I have nothing else to do,” he snipes as he turns to the doors.
“You don’t have anything else to do,” I tease.
He turns to me with a narrow-eyed look. “Boy, don’t test me. I still have hobbies like everyone else.”
“Hobbies? Like what?” Remi asks curiously.
“I like to knit. I’ve also gotten really into watching crime and serial killer TV shows.” He shrugs, and she grins wider.
“I think we just became besties.” She nods seriously. “Okay, Book Daddy, let’s do this.”
“Book Daddy?” he repeats and looks at me. “Yes, I like that better than the Librarian. Call me that from now on.”
“I’m not calling you Book Daddy,” I snap, and he sighs as he pushes open the door.
“These gods, so serious all the time. It’s not the end of the world yet, face changer, so lighten up,” he mutters as he walks inside. As soon as he does, he snaps his fingers and we hear the whoosh as all the candles and lights flicker on around the room, illuminating the hundreds of rows of bookcases, from floor to ceiling, with old wooden ladders placed on each. It spreads out in a spiral from the middle, where a circle for the Librarian is placed. It’s an area for him to write and work with one chair just for him, to discourage visitors I would guess. Again, there is a reason he’s a hermit, like not wearing clothes.
I ignore the ‘not yet’ comment. He’s been saying the world will end for a millennium. Remi follows us to the table and turns on the spot, her eyes lighting up. “Now this here, Book Daddy, is how you get bitches. You bring them to a big ole library and get them wet with the scent of books and fuck them right here.” She nods and eyes him. “I bow to your skills.”
He grins, starting to look her over, so I step in his path and cross my arms. “Look at her once more, and I will rip you to pieces and scatter you across these books, understand?”
