by Kate Rudolph
But, the second realization came to him on the heels of the first: if they didn’t, it would be okay. He couldn’t hurt them anymore, and he was completely at Detyen mercy. His motivations didn’t matter. The Detyen race lived on, and they’d continue to flourish, especially now that they’d discovered their compatibility with humans.
Peyton slid an arm around him, having weaved and dodged her way through the crowd to find her way to his side, just where she belonged. “Ready to go home?” she asked, head tilted up and a smile on her face.
Dryce kissed her. He couldn’t go another moment without it. When he pulled away, he heard a few mutters from the people around them, but nothing mattered except the woman in his arms. “I’m ready,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
One Month Later
“Tell your stupid mate that if he doesn’t pick up his damn towels I’m going to throw all his clothes in the incinerator!” Ella pounded on the door of their bedroom, her tone harsh enough to say she meant business.
Peyton considered it an improvement. Ella had barely spoken to her or Dryce during the first week after he moved in. Now she glared and threatened, but she seemed to be warming up to the hulking Detyen presence in their life.
And Peyton was still shivering with the memory of what Dryce had done to her after leaving the towels on the floor that she wasn’t in the mood to chastise him. She cuddled up next to him, laying her head in the crook of his arm that seemed to be made for her. “Stupid mate, pick up your damn towels next time,” she murmured, all sleepy and sated. Really, it seemed unfair that so many people didn’t have mates. She’d never been more sexually or emotionally satisfied in her life.
Dryce let out a very male grunt, though he didn’t say anything. Of course, he took a few minutes to recover his ability to speak after making love, something she hadn’t realized immediately. Mostly because he drove her so crazy with lust that it took her almost as much time to recover her own wits.
Of course, whenever Ella suspected them of getting nasty (Ella’s words), she made a face like a disgusted teenager and fled to her room, as if she’d never taken someone else to bed before. But Peyton knew she’d sprung this change rather suddenly on her sister, so as long as they were making some kind of progress, she’d call it a win.
Things couldn’t have been going better with her and Dryce over the last month. Sure, there were hiccups, like when they’d run into one of his former lovers who seemed to think they might be up for a threesome and wouldn’t take no for an answer until Peyton threatened to call the cops. The reminder of his past wasn’t exactly welcome, but he’d never made Peyton feel anything less than wanted, and she was beginning to be thankful for all those past lovers.
After all, she was the one benefiting from all that practice. And damn, practice did make perfect when it came to Dryce and sex.
Work had been weird at first. People on the SDA base looked at her with awe when they realized who she was, and sometimes fear. Others had taken to calling her ‘teleporter girl’ which made her want to insist that she knew about way more than just teleporters. Dryce cautioned her to let it go. She’d saved the world, people were going to talk.
Thankfully her name hadn’t been leaked to the public at large, and since the story of Earth’s near miss still wasn’t widely known, she didn’t need to fear becoming as famous as General Remington Alvarez. And she hoped it stayed that way.
She’d gotten to know the human mates of the Detyen warriors over the past month, and a few of Quinn’s friends who were survivors that had been rescued by Sierra and her team. It was a big, convoluted group, but they’d accepted Peyton into their ranks without blinking an eye. And none of them called her teleporter girl.
“What are we doing today?” she asked. They both had the day off work, and she’d been showing Dryce as much of the city as she could manage, though it turned out, he’d explored plenty on his own. They each had their favorite places to share and were coming up with ideas for future vacations. They were building a life together, one idea at a time.
“Raze wants us all to meet at their place. Says he has an announcement.” Dryce idly played with her hair, neither of them making much effort to move.
Peyton had an inkling that she knew what that announcement was, but she kept her mouth shut. She hadn’t wanted to say anything, in case they were keeping it a secret for a reason, but if there was a little human/Detyen hybrid on the way, Peyton couldn’t wait to know more.
“Then I guess I have to shower again.” She grinned as she said it, pushing herself up and swinging her legs out of the bed.
Dryce tugged on her wrist until she sprawled over him so he could steal a kiss. “I could join you.” He offered with a wolfish grin.
Peyton rolled away and held up a hand to ward him off. “Then I’d need another shower and my sister is scandalized enough, you sex fiend.”
Dryce tipped his head back and laughed. “Everything I do, I do for my denya.”
Her heart flipped over and she bent down to kiss him again. “I love you.”
He stole another kiss before letting her go. “I love you, too. Now go get ready. Raze will go mad if we’re late.”
So Peyton did as she was told, ignoring Ella’s eyeroll as she took her second shower of that morning. Earth was safe, she had her mate with her, and annoying her little sister was just one of life’s tiny pleasures. Peyton couldn’t imagine anything better.
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More from Kate Rudolph & Starr Huntress
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Ruthless
Heartless
Faultless
Also by Kate Rudolph
Sci-Fi Romance
Snowed in with the Alien Beast
Crashed
Mated on the Moon
Red and the Wolf
Mated to the Alien
Ruwen
Tyral
Stoan
Cyborg
Krayter
Kayleb
Detyen Warriors
Soulless
Ruthless
Heartless
Faultless
Endless
Paranormal Romance
Marked
Bear in Mind
Alpha’s Mercy
Gemma’s Mate
The Mate Bundle
The Alpha Heist
Entangled with the Thief
In the Alpha’s Bed
Find more by Kate Rudolph at www.katerudolph.net
About Kate Rudolph
Kate Rudolph is an ex-derby girl who lives in Indiana. She loves writing about kick butt heroines and the steamy heroes who love them. She's been devouring romance novels since she was too young to be reading them and had to hide her books so no one would take them away. She couldn't imagine a better job in this world than writing romances and sharing them with her fellow readers.
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Preview: The Alpha Heist
Chapter One
The job went tits up sometime after Mel grabbed the flash drive from the vault. And vault was a highly overrated term for that sorry excuse for an executive safe. This whole thing should have been much harder. From what she could tell, the company was run by a bunch of scientists without a thought in their heads for real security.
All the better for her.
Even better still, the laughable security made it a one man – or woman—job. More money for her, and fewer people liable to fuck something up. Just as she liked it. While she was sprinting down the final corridor of the building, she didn’t let herself think about how Krista and Bob might have made it a bit easier for her. She was perfectly capable of working alone, and had been for a while.
The barking of the dogs preceded the clomping footsteps of the security guards. Mel could outrun the guards, no problem. The dogs were another issue. She hoped they didn’t catch up. She had sharper fangs and much nastier claws, but violence against the innocent had never been her go to. She’d do it if necessary, but the animals didn’t deserve it.
What the hell had tripped that damn alarm?
She slammed through the double doors, barely feeling the impact before she sprinted through the parking lot, the only light coming from the feeble streetlights. Mel would have been kicking herself if she could spare the energy. Her car was nearly a mile away. There was no reason she should have needed to sprint the distance. She was sure she hadn’t tripped any alarms.
And yet here she was, running her ass off to flee the scene.
But, fine, she’d do it. The only other choice was to be captured by idiot humans and their pets. Or to kill them all. Neither option appealed, so the sprint it was. She cleared the parking lot and made it to the grass of the small woodland bordering the office. This park claimed to integrate itself seamlessly into nature to provide a healthier habitat for the employees. Mel had yet to see a corporate building successfully blend in with nature, and this research facility was no different.
Crickets chirped and nocturnal creatures dove for cover as she passed them. They would have done so if she were just a regular person, but adding to their confusion was her scent which must have scared them all the more. The half-moon hung high overhead, giving her more than enough dappled light to navigate through the copse of trees.
While she could see clearly, the security guards couldn't. She could still hear them, but their running had slowed. And so had the dogs. Good.
After she ran a few more yards silence engulfed her. The woods looked the same, but all sound vanished. Mel looked behind her and saw the faintest shimmering of the air. She lifted up her hand slowly and pushed out. The air resisted.
A ward.
She could have pushed all the way through; this wasn’t meant to keep her prisoner. But her curiosity got the better of her. “Show yourself, witch.” She let the menace lace her voice. It wasn’t quite a snarl.
A woman stepped out of the shadows. “Is that really how you’re going to address me, Mellie?” She looked somewhere around forty, though Mel had never learned her exact age. Anyone with magic could cast a glamor and appear however old they wanted. Looks meant nothing when a person might be thirty or three hundred. The woman wore black pants and a dark gray top, all the better to fit in so late at night. Her only jewelry was a pair of simple diamond earrings nearly obscured by dark brown hair that hung past her shoulders.
And now some things fell into place. “Hello, Tina. Did you trip the alarm?” She was surprised at her own scorn, she’d long been used to Tina’s antics.
Tina laughed, a full-throated affair that would have echoed through the woods if not for the ward. “Perhaps you’re just getting sloppy.”
Mel bit back the reply she desperately wanted to make. “If I’m sloppy, then why are you offering me a job?”
Tina put a hand to her chest and her mouth dropped open - she looked the picture of innocence. “I’m hurt, my dear. Perhaps I just wanted to talk.”
“In the middle of a forest with guards chasing me?” Mel leaned back against one of the sturdy oaks, acquiescing. “Fine Let’s talk.”
Tina tossed her hair back behind her shoulders and planted her hands on her waist. “The Scarlet Emerald.”
If Mel had been holding anything she would have dropped it. As it was, she barely kept her expression neutral. “What makes you think I'm not insulted by that suggestion?” The Scarlet Emerald was legendary among shapeshifters.
Tina scoffed. “Please, you’d do anything if the price is right.”
That little remark made Mel want to turn this whole thing down flat. Who the hell did Tina think she was? Some two-bit thief who couldn’t cut it as a witch. Not a powerful one, anyway. But Mel wasn't ready to burn that bridge. Not now. “There are maybe – maybe – three people who could pull it off. And this is all off the top of my head.” She held up a finger, “Cyn got nicked by vampires two years ago, she’s out for the count. Ice Queen wouldn’t even try it. That leaves me. And once I’m discovered, there will be a bounty on my head big enough to buy Kansas. Not interested.”
“Are you afraid of that kitty cat?” Disdain dripped from the older woman’s voice. “Torres, despite his castle, couldn’t keep you out if he tried.”
Lucio Torres, alpha of a small clan of cats, was the current owner of the Scarlet Emerald. Everyone knew that. Without research, Mel didn’t know much more. Obviously he could take anything in a fight, and his security had to be top notch. But she could beat it.
Though she wasn’t going to. That mark had a death sentence attached.
“You don’t even want to know the price?” Tina quirked a brow. With a flash of her hands, she dangled a pure diamond suspended on a platinum pendent. “For your trouble.”
Unconsciously Mel reached for it, heart pounding. But Tina snatched it away again. “Is that Ava’s?” Mel asked. Hate bubbled in her throat and she could feel her claws tear beneath her skin, ready to rip out at the right moment.
Tina smiled, “Yes. Scry worthy.”
Taking the job would be suicide. She’d get herself, and probably her team, killed. “What’s the timeline?” She was just getting the facts, no obligation.
“Three weeks.”
Double suicide. She’d have no time to prepare before she had to pull it off. “Just let me hold the gem for a minute.”
Tina tossed it, and Mel easily plucked it from the air. It was a long slender diamond, set in platinum that twisted around the top. The chain was long enough to wear between a woman’s breasts and the gem was nearly clear. Mel curled her hand around it. She could picture Ava wearing it, a drop of blood clinging to the tip.
The diamond gave her hand a little resistance. Mel let it go and watched it zoom back to Tina, who said “tell Krista I said hi.” She smiled and left, not waiting for Mel to confirm that she’d take the job.
They’d both known she would the minute she touched the stone.
There were worse ways to die.
Chapter Two
One Week Later
Eagle Creek, Colorado had two dingy motels and one restaurant that Mel felt safe enough eating at. It wasn’t the clientele she was concerned about - it was the food. And she’d been known to eat her kills bloody when she ran as a cat. But a woman in human skin had to have some standards. Krista and Bob were already at their table. It was the one in the furthest corner, on the opposite side of the room from both the bar and the bathroom.
The Eagle Creek Bar and Grille – the second E, of course, made the place classy – was a small affair. Perhaps tw
enty tables and a sturdy bar fitted with a dozen stools. It could accommodate the residents of the town just fine, but the campers who tromped through on their way up into the mountains would probably not see the charm. Mel didn’t see it herself either, but it was better than microwaved ramen from the gas station.
At seven on a Tuesday night the place was crowded. All but one table were full and the waitresses all bustled around, serving drinks and slinging food like nobody’s business. From the back and forth with the customers, all of those waitresses had worked here for some time and many of the customers were regulars. In a town this size, they’d have to be.
The gruff man behind the bar was a shapeshifter, probably a cat. And if Mel had to guess, so was the family of four at the table closest to the window. But both children were pre-shift. Almost no shapeshifters were hit by the change until they were well into their teens. But the parents weren’t mates. Not if the father’s eyes glued to her own chest were any indication.
Everyone else was human. She could tell by looking. With the perfume she wore, it was impossible to distinguish by scent. A handicap, but worth it since it would make it difficult for the pack here to tell that she was a shapeshifter. Cash register at the front, safe probably kept in back, maybe bolted to the floor if they were smart. She could clear them out of a few grand in minutes, but it wasn’t worth it. Not when they’d be in town for weeks and had plenty of cash to burn.
She saw Krista huff impatiently, her arms crossing in front of her. The woman embodied the word pixie. Barely five feet tall with short, spiky brown hair and skin that practically glowed bronze, she looked like some sort of punk forest nymph. And knowing exactly how hard she could punch, Mel knew she’d never tell the woman that.
