by Kaye Draper
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, yeah. It’s perfectly natural for a mother to drown her own kid. Sure. We’ll go with that.”
Baghinder slammed a hand on the table, the noise so loud that even the whispers and quiet laughter around me stopped. “If the crone wants to stay in the forest, she needs to continue to pay for the cost of her decisions.” He bared his long, sharp canines at me. “The thing she pulled out of the river has cost me the lives of my pack. In all your human ideas of fairness, what price would you put on the lives of young shifters who would have grown up to become strong, functioning members of our community?”
My fingers twitched, wanting to reach for my knives. I’d love nothing more than to drive a blade right through the bastard’s non-existent heart. He thought it was a stupid thing to try to save the life of a newborn baby. But when his precious fucking shifters died for trying to rape or kill me, that was a fucking tragedy.
“It’s not my fault your shifters were too stupid to know the strength of their prey,” I sneered. I did pull one of my knives then, flipping it around end-to-end in my fingertips, making it look like I was simply playing with the blade to make a point. In reality, I wanted the weapon in my hand. I could feel the hostility aimed at me. It was nothing new. But eventually, one day, it would come to a head. “Besides,” I drawled, as if I wasn’t vibrating with rage and remembered trauma. “Thanks to me, the pack has a reputation with the humans. Having one of your pack become one of the association’s strongest fiend hunters is probably the only reason they haven’t sent out a contingent to wipe you assholes out yet.”
Okay, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration. Yeah, I was pretty well-known. And it probably did give them some protection. But the real reason the association hadn’t just sent out a prophylactic raid to wipe out the monsters living in their backyard was that they had enough actual people killers to focus on, and the pack kept strictly to their little forest.
Baghinder raised an eyebrow at me. “If you are so good at what you do, little cur, then paying the hag’s rent will be easy for you.”
I flipped the knife, end-over-end, the metal blade glinting in the low light cast by the fire and the few small windows in the lodge. My eyes narrowed and I bared my own small, unimpressive fangs. “Maybe. Or maybe I’ll decide that I’d rather lead a raid on the forest one day.”
Growling erupted around the room, as the other shifters took offense to my threat. Baghinder just narrowed his eyes at me, unimpressed. “And where would your dear old Josie go then? Would she live among the humans? They would never accept a full fiend into their midst with open arms. And she would wither and die without her connection to the pack lands.”
I shrugged, as if I didn’t care. “You said it yourself, Baggy. She’s old. She won’t live forever. Have you ever thought about what will happen when I don’t have a reason to bow and scrape to you?”
Flip the knife. Catch it. My eyes stayed glued to Baghinder, but I was on constant alert for any movement from the shifters in my periphery. This was a stupid, dangerous game. If they decided to, they could kill me in seconds. I might be a great hunter, and a bad ass at surviving, but one weak cur who couldn’t even shift against a room full of full fiends? Not good odds.
The memory of multiple pairs of inhumanly strong hands holding me down tried to rise up and overwhelm me, but I forced it away, keeping my focus on the alpha asshole.
“Want us to beat the attitude out of this runty thing, alpha?” one of the shifters around me said, his voice full of anticipation.
I didn’t look away from the alpha. “Go ahead. But if I’m dead, who’s gonna pay your extortion money?” Not to mention, he knew as well as I did that it would cost him a few more of his precious shifters. Cause I’d lose, but I’d take at least few of these fuckers with me to the afterlife.
Baghinder leaned back with a sigh and a dismissive wave. “Leave it,” he commanded lazily. “You can’t expect a human-cross to have the sense to keep her mouth shut. It would be like punishing a kitten.”
I grinned at him, making sure to bare all the teeth I had. “You’re not getting more money out of us.”
He stood, coming to loom over me, not caring that I still held a spelled knife meant for killing his kind. A big hand gripped my face, his claws digging into my cheeks and jaw. “One day, you will outlive your usefulness, kitten.”
His hand slid down to grip my throat and he pushed, driving me backward and slamming me against the wall, holding me pinned like a mouse as he leaned in to whisper in my ear, out of the hearing of most of the shifters around us. “You might have that tiny dick, but I’m sure I could find a few holes to fill before I let the others rip you apart.” He squeezed, and my vision went spotty around the edges. “Remember your place, cur. Or I’ll be forced to give you a stronger reminder.”
I leaned into him, bowing my back to bring my body flush to his, pressing the knife to the soft spot just below his sternum. “Fuck. You.” I managed to push out past my constricted throat.
He just grinned. “Keep that fight in you,” he said, curling his claws inward to prick my skin, sending blood trickling down my neck and into the collar of my shirt. “It will make breaking you so much more entertaining.”
I moved, weight shifting, muscle memory keeping me going even as my brain struggled for oxygen. A shift of weight, bend my knees slightly—an upward thrust and I’d have him gutted before his shifters tore me apart.
He knew what was about to happen. He might snap my neck before I managed to eviscerate him. Maybe. Apparently, it wasn’t a gamble he wanted to take today. His grip loosened and he stepped away, giving me his back in a show of confidence and dominance. “Get out, cur. The new rent goes into effect at the beginning of the month.”
I drew in air and hissed at him. But the truth was, there really wasn’t much I could do unless I wanted to die today. And that wouldn’t help Josie. They really would cull her, if I wasn’t around to bleed for money.
I made a show of wiping my knife off on my pantleg, as if just touching the alpha had contaminated my weapon. “We’ll see,” I muttered darkly. This had to fucking stop. I paced to the exit with my head held high and my spine straight, just daring any of these other fuckers to test me.
The minute I got Josie to give up her damned dependence on the pack, I was going to burn this place to the ground.
Chapter 5
So…my talk with the alpha of the shifter forest went about as well as I’d anticipated. Several shifters had followed me out of the lodge to punish me for my disrespect. They would be out of commission for a day or two while they healed. I’d suffered a split lip, a black eye, and a broken wrist—all of which healed as I made my way back into town. Alpha Baghinder had applauded my “attempt at proving you are more than a weak human, or a useless cur,” but hadn’t changed his stance on the increased extortion money. If anything, I had the sinking feeling I’d just made his sick interest in me even worse.
The thick-set, beadle-browed man had peered at me from the lodge steps with frosty blue eyes the same shade as my own—the color of most of the saber tooth cat shifters in the pack. “No matter how much you try to prove yourself, you will always be a weakling, Samantha. A runt.” His deep, grating laugh voice had carried across the clearing where most of the shifter’s cabins were clustered. “We tolerate you and the old woman only out of what your human masters call charity. Someday, you will show appreciation.”
I lifted a middle finger in salute as I reminded him that charity didn’t include extortion money and threats.
And now…here I was, on my way to the association to drum up some high-paying hunts. I hadn’t told Fin and Emerson what I was up to yet. This was my problem, so there was no need to ask them to put themselves in danger. Besides, I’d hunted dragons alone before. Not my cleanest or most enjoyable hunt, but I’d done it. I was sure I could drum up something that wouldn’t do more than maul me a little.
Fucking hospitals and their price gouging. Fucking pac
k and their control over my damned life. Fucking cursed genetics.
I was pretty sure most humans didn’t have to deal with this shit. They got things like affordable basic healthcare and rights. The rest of us just had to muck along as best we could and hope we didn’t get killed—either by humans or by our own kind.
I was still moping like a dumbass when someone stepped right into my path. I shifted to the right on the sidewalk, trying to move around them, then to the left. Finally, I snapped out of my moping to see who the fuck was wanting their ass kicked. I snapped my mouth closed when I met a pair of blood red eyes.
“You know,” Ahura said, one hand on her leather-clad hip. “You’re going to get yourself killed if you zone out like that on a hunt. Gotta keep an eye on your environment at all times, kitty cat.”
I rolled my eyes. “What do you want, Ahura?”
She grinned. “Who says I want anything? Maybe I just saw you walking down the street and wanted to say hello?” Then she waggled her eyebrows. “Or maybe I want another desperation fuck. You look pissy today, and last time was fun.”
I groaned. "Okay. Great. You wait right here, and I’ll get back to you.” I went to move around her, and she reached out, linking her arm through mine and walking with me.
“I didn’t know you’d be here. But I was planning to come see you about a job later.” She tilted her head and gave me a mischievous look. “What do you say, hunter?”
I scoffed. “Didn’t you just take home a huge paycheck from the job we did for Theo?”
She shrugged. “A girl’s got needs. And causes to support. Besides, keeping my privacy gets pricey sometimes.” She slanted a look my way and repeated my question right back at me. “So, why are you headed to the association? I thought you just took home a huge paycheck from the job we did for Theo?”
I sighed, steering us around a street vendor who was yelling about how great his corndogs were. Probably just ground up rat dipped in sawdust meant to imitate cornmeal. But what did I know? “I had a few unexpected expenses come up,” I told the fiend at my side. “So I need to grab a couple of contracts.”
She tugged on my arm, pulling me to a halt with her superior strength. I remembered the night I’d found out she was really a full-fledged fiend in disguise, and fought back a shiver at the memory of her shiny black, bug-like skin, alien features, and glowing red eyes. Not all fiends were mindless, bloodthirsty monsters. But unlike with curs, the decent ones were the rare exception. “Stop,” she said, pulling me toward a bench on the sidewalk that was—surprisingly—free of bums. “Look, I have a job to do and I could use your help. I’m being paid by an anonymous patron, and I’ll split the take with you.”
I narrowed my eyes at her as I joined her on the bench. “Anonymous patron? What the hell are you caught up in now?” When I’d first met her, she’d been working as an unsanctioned killer, after all.
She grinned, her sharp, white teeth startling against her night-dark skin. “Don’t worry, Saber tooth Softie, it’s for a legitimate cause this time.”
She slipped a long arm around my shoulders and leaned in to nuzzle my neck, giving me goosebumps as she used the excuse to whisper in my ear. “Underground relief run. We need to grab a supply shipment and reroute it to the underground to feed the families there. Some rich chick is funding it all.”
I tilted my head back and looked to the sky in frustration. Sure, it was a good cause, feeding and supplying the sane, non-killer fiends and curs who had been driven into hiding to keep out of sight of the humans because of how they looked. But it was also dangerous. Maybe more dangerous than hunting dragons. If we got caught, we could be fined, jailed, or worse.
Ahura used my distraction to lick the side of my neck, from my collar bone to up to my ear. “Mmm…tasty.”
I turned my head to glare at her. "Now you’re going to eat me? After all the times you had me alone and vulnerable?” I waved a hand to encompass the milling humanity around us. “I’m pretty sure someone will notice the bloodbath.”
She just chuckled. “Hmm…maybe some other time, then.” Leaning back, she ran her slender fingers through my hair. “So, what about it, pretty kitty? Come do a job with me? I promise it will pay way more than anything the association has to offer. Plus, you’ll be helping our kind. They need all the help they can get.”
I rubbed a hand over my face, knowing I was going to regret every bit of this. But I couldn’t deny, I kind of wished Josie was at the mercy of the underground, rather than the fucking shifters. If it would help someone else like her to stay safe, then it was worth it. Besides, I did need the money. “Fine. Just…come by later tonight and we’ll hash out the details.”
She nodded. “Sounds good. I have some things to arrange. I’ll see you around eight?”
I shrugged. “Fine.”
Then the svelte, sexy monster stood and sauntered off into the crowd of oblivious humans and curs around us.
How she managed to blend in, I’d never understand. But it was a good thing she did. Because if they ever saw her true form, most of these morons would shit their pants.
Pushing my hair back out of my face, I stood and headed home. Since I didn’t have to go drum up work at the association, I might as well get my gear ready. And figure out how I was going to handle Fin and Em. Because they were not going to be happy that I planned to go off without them.
Chapter 6
I wasn’t wrong.
That thing people say about redheads having bad tempers? Fin was proving it. But I wasn’t far behind. Ahura’s throaty laugh carried from the living room, where she was terrorizing Emerson, out to the kitchen, where Fin was currently standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, his face as red as his hair and his green eyes narrowed. “It’s fucking stupid, Sam, and you know it!”
I opened the fridge and got out a beer. Gods. The leprechaun made me want to drink myself into oblivion. It hadn’t been the best fucking day to begin with. Arguing with Fin about my life choices wasn’t making it any better.
“It’s an easy job, Fin,” I said, twisting the top off my beer and taking a swig. “Risky? Sure. But it’ll be quick and easy, and I need the damned money. So I don’t see what the hell your problem is.”
Fin snarled at me, tugging a hand through his red curls and making them stand up like he was demented. He opened his mouth, but his eyes narrowed further, and he clamped his lips shut when Ahura sauntered into the kitchen.
I ignored my moronic leprechaun and arched a brow at Ahura. She stretched, all lush curves and danger, then sighed and glanced between us. “Hey, little guy,” she said, her full lips stretching into a smirk when she saw Fin’s color. “Still mad Sam’s going off without you?”
He flung out an arm, pointing at her in accusation. “You get him killed or thrown in jail and I swear on all that is unholy, I will fucking blow your brains out!”
She just huffed a soft laugh and came over to throw an arm around my waist and pull me into a sideways hug, her soft curves pressing against my skinny frame. Then she made an “X” motion over her chest. “I cross my heart and swear to die. I will not let Sam get killed or incarcerated.” She slid an evil look my way, then shrugged and glanced at Fin. “He’ll be safer with me than he is with a couple of curs anyway.”
Then she winked, slapped me on the ass, and sauntered to the door. “See you tomorrow morning, cutie.”
I rolled my eyes as she left. What an asshole.
Fin spluttered and I turned to look at him again. Em had come to join us, and his big, red-brown eyes were full of confusion and concern.
“Did she….” Fin marched over to me and glared up, demanding. “Did she just fucking imply she’s not a cur?”
I shrugged like it was no big deal, even though I was surprised. Ahura trusted Fin and Em enough to let them in on her secret. That was a big fucking deal. “Seems that way, doesn’t it?” I said with a smirk.
Fin punched me in the thigh. Hard. I mean, sure, it was really th
e only good place to hit from that height—and I was glad he hadn’t gone for the junk. Still, it fucking hurt. “Ouch. What the hell was that for, you little asshole?”
He pulled back his arm to do it again and I danced aside, letting out a growl. “Knock it off, you little garden gnome, or I’ll punt you across the fucking room!”
Emerson snorted a laugh at that, but Fin was not amused. “A fiend, Sam? A fucking fiend?”
I took another drink of my beer and went to lean against the wall next to Emerson. I wasn’t hiding by the ogre for protection from the little leprechaun, really. “Yes, Fin. She’s a fiend. So what?”
The redhead followed me, then paced back across the room to kick the counter. Then he rounded on me again. “You fucked a fiend, Sam! And you let her into our guild. And now you’re going to go do this job with her and risk your damned life for the monsters!”
I glared at him, slamming my beer down on the counter beside me and crossing my arms over my chest. “Are you even listening to yourself right now, you hypocrite? Yeah, she’s a fiend. So fucking what? You’re a cur. We all are. We’re part fiend!”
Fin shook his head in frustration. “You hunt them, Sam. You don’t fucking stick your dick in them! That thing is a monster. We’ve all got a little trace of humanity in us. But a full fiend? She only pretending to be anything but a monster.”
I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. “She isn’t out there killing. Those are the ones I hunt, Fin.”
He snorted in exasperation. “That’s exactly what she was doing when we met her—working with unsanctioned killers to hunt people.”
I shook my head, unable to wrap my head around his reaction. There was no way Fin was this much of a speciest prick. He’d never been Ahura’s biggest fan, even when he thought she was a cur. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is this…because she’s a woman, Fin? Are you…you’re fucking jealous, aren’t you?”
