Not Quite Prey

by Kaye Draper

  He ruffled his feathers and puffed up his chest and I could almost hear the arrogant asshole insisting that wasn’t going to happen. That he was sovereign now. That he was in control. That he’d make a difference, blah, blah, blah. I glowered at him, that burning blackness of pain and anger slithering through my guts again. “You’ll fail. We’ll all die. But I’ll do what I can to prevent it for as long as possible.” Because I had fuckers to take down with me when we all went up in flames. But I kept that part to myself.

  He bent his head and bit me, pinching a big piece of my quad muscle between his short, serrated teeth. I growled at him. “Knock it off, asshole.” I shoved his big head, surprised that the soft, warm feathers didn’t burn my fingers. “I kill shit like you for a living, remember?”

  He pulled back, then flicked a wing at me, slapping me in the face with his long, trailing red and orange feathers. I jerked my head back and stood. “I swear I’m going to kick your ass as soon as you get me the information on Ahura. Dickhead.”

  He opened his mouth and breathed fire at my boots. I leapt away with a hiss. “I hate you so much.”

  A soft chuckle broke through my urge to pull my knives and I turned to find Jules watching me with a slight smile on his lips. “Welcome to the family, Viceroy Forrest,” he said in a calm, patient tone. “I will get all the necessary items in place for you to take your position. The sovereign had already drawn up orientation materials and ordered your uniform and weapons. You will be given quarters here at the mansion for times when the job requires your extended presence. Although, you are of course welcome to live here permanently, should you wish it.” He shrugged. “I know how independent your people can be. We wouldn’t want to presume.”

  I scoffed. “My people? You mean shifters? Cause those assholes couldn’t function independently if their lives depended on it.”

  He gave me a wry smile. “No. I meant hunters.” His eyes flashed with humor. “It would be a mistake, I think, to regard you as anything but an apex predator, Viceroy.”

  I snarled at him. He wasn’t wrong. But somehow, he made it feel like less of a compliment and more of a failing.

  “Well,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I hate to disappoint you, stuffy-ass, but I’ll be using that suite more than you think. I’ve got shit to do, and I can do it more efficiently from right here.” I turned my glare on the firebird who was watching us. “And I need to keep an eye on this asshole to make sure he follows through on our agreement.”

  That got me an eyeroll and a lazy stream of fire aimed in my direction. I ignored the heat and turned away. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  Chapter 12

  I opened my underwear drawer and stuffed a handful of boxers and sports bras into my duffel bag. Emerson watched me from the doorway with mournful brown eyes. “Sam, I know you’re hurting, but are you sure this is really what you want to do?”

  Fin snorted. He was sitting on the end of the bed, glaring at me. “Of course it’s what he wants to do. I don’t think he knows how to do anything but run away, do you saber tooth?”

  I ignored him them both.

  “You’ve both got keys, and the wards are set to let you in. Rent’s paid for three months. You might as well use the place, get out of the slums.” I zipped the duffel bag closed and slung the strap over my shoulder, turning to leave.

  Emerson blocked the door. “Sweetheart, it’s okay to feel.” He stepped forward to reach for me and I growled, ducking under his arm and darting around him to get out the damned door.

  “We’re not doing this,” I tossed over my shoulder. “It’s been fun. Enjoy your new house.”

  My chest ached as I forced myself to take long strides toward the apartment door.

  “Fuck you, Sam,” Fin called after me.

  I stopped, but didn’t turn around. I couldn’t bear to see the hurt on his face. Yeah. Fuck me. I really was a monster. But then, I’d never pretended to be anything else. “Take care of each other. I’ll see you around.”

  I flinched aside and the TV remote went smashing into the door by my face. A throw pillow bounced off my back, followed in rapid succession by everything that had been sitting on the end table in the living room. I did look back then, finding Fin red-faced and panting, his bright green eyes full of murderous rage. “Don’t you fucking do this!” he spat. “You fucking coward!”

  I bared my teeth at him. “That’s me.”

  Emerson bent to put a hand on Fin’s shoulder. “Fin, don’t.” His eyes met mine and I was gutted. There were actual fucking tears shimmering in the soft, red-brown orbs. “You’re both just hurting. Sam, let’s talk about this, okay?”

  I shrugged. “There’s nothing to talk about, Em. I’ve got a job to do. Someone has to make sure the fuckers who killed Ahura pay for what they did.” There was also the way Theo’s being a fiend in a very public position made some instinct inside me suddenly desperate to make sure what happened to Ahura didn’t happen to him. But I couldn’t say that out loud. They wouldn’t understand. Or they would…and then I’d have to face that too, along with the blackness that was churning in my gut like shards of glass.

  I turned back toward the door. “You both know it’s not about you,” I said, getting angry when my voice decided to crack and wobble. I squared my shoulders and reached for the door handle. “I’m just a broken mongrel. I’m sorry you got involved with an asshole. Stay here. Leave the guild. Get normal jobs. And stay the fuck out of trouble.”

  Then I twisted the knob and yanked the door open, slipping out and slamming it behind me before I could give in to the stupid urge to turn around and beg them to forgive me. “Stupid,” I muttered as I clattered down the metal stairs to the garage. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Sure, it was comfortable here, with them. But it couldn’t last. And I had more important things to do. Like get revenge. Like help Theo to fucking destroy this damned city and everything it stood for.

  I didn’t have time for useless things like feelings.

  I tossed my duffel bag through the open window of the Jeep, then crossed the garage to gather up the cases and a second duffel that held the weapons I used the most often. I refused to glance upward toward the stairs. It wasn’t like I’d never see the morons again. I’d have to come back to get stuff again at some point. But maybe it’d be better for everyone involved if they did just get fed up with my shit and leave.

  They’d be safer without me, now that I had a title and was about to paint a target on my back. They’d sure as fuck be happier without my emotionally constipated presence in their lives. My hands shook as I slipped behind the wheel and pulled out of the garage. I took in a long, deep breath. I was a hunter. Not a fucking weak, squishy human. I got out and yanked the garage door closed, then slipped back behind the wheel, not looking back as I sped away.

  I was a fucking mess. I needed a purpose. And now I had one. Avenge Ahura and protect the fiend ruler of Westhold. Nothing else mattered.

  Chapter 13

  Emerson sank down into the armchair in Sam’s living room, feeling numb. All this time, he’d thought he would always be alone. He’d resigned himself to barely existing. Anything was an improvement over the life he’d had as a weak cur kid in a clan of ogres. He’d never even dreamed he’d be lucky enough to experience love, let alone have it returned. Ogres didn’t have mate bonds the way shifters did. So, he’d been shocked when he realized he could feel the mate bond forming between him and Sam. He’d been completely bowled over when Sam and Fin just welcomed him into their relationship like he belonged.

  And now, after having all that dangled before him like some kind of treasure that was finally within his reach—Sam was gone.

  A broken sound came from the leprechaun cur who sat on the floor across from him, his little legs stuck straight out and his head in his hands as he leaned his back against the couch. Emerson’s heart broke a little bit more. Fin was a good guy. He was also Emerson’s best friend and the first person who had bothered to s
ee him as anything more than a dumb, hulking brute.

  “She’ll come back,” Emerson found himself saying, even though he wasn’t sure he believed it. He had been damned lucky to have Sam in his life at all. Getting that lucky a second time didn’t seem too likely.

  Fin scrubbed his hands over his face and raked his fingers through his hair, tugging in frustration, as if he’d like to pull all his hair out by the roots. “It’s my fault,” he blurted, his green eyes wide and wild.

  Emerson leaned forward in his chair, bracing his elbows on his knees. “What? No, Fin. It’s not your fault. Sam just…you know she can’t deal with her feelings very well. And she’s really hurting.”

  The little leprechaun just shook his head, the muscles along his square jaw flexing as he clenched his teeth a few times before speaking. “No. Not that. The fiend. It’s my fault. I got her killed.”

  Emerson had trouble breathing for a minute. He laced his fingers together and pulled restlessly, making the knuckles pop. “You…did you turn her in, Fin?”

  The crack in his heart just seemed to widen a little more. Fin was his best friend. He was a good guy. But he had been so mad about Sam spending time with Ahura. What would Emerson do if Fin had turned her in?

  The leprechaun snorted. “What? No. I’m not that much of an ass. But I might as well have.” He turned those tortured green eyes on Emerson again, and his lips twisted in self-loathing. “I used my luck magic. When her and Sam went on the job together. You guys have said it often enough, haven’t you? Luck magic is tricky. It’s unpredictable. It can have unwanted side effects.” He tugged at his hair again, looking away. “I got cocky though. Nothing really bad has ever happened. So, I brushed off all the warnings. Thought I was too good for shit to stick to me, didn’t I?”

  Emerson rubbed a hand over the back of his neck to ease the tension that was building there. “What did you ask for? When you cast your spell?”

  Fin lifted his gaze to the ceiling, then closed his eyes. “I don’t remember my exact wording. I wished for the job to be successful for them. For Sam to be powerful and strong. For Ahura to make a difference for the fiends.”

  His eyes opened and he shuddered. “Don’t you see, Em? I sent Sam away to work with the politician, in a powerful position. And Ahura? Who knows what her death will mean, now that Sam’s bent on revenge? I bet it will make some kind of fucking ‘difference,’ now won’t it?”

  It felt like all the air had been sucked out of Emerson’s lungs. He wanted to tell Fin how stupid that was. How it couldn’t possibly be his fault.

  Except…that was exactly why people cautioned against magic that had to do with luck or fate. You might get the outcome you asked for. But you never knew how you’d get it or what kind of events would lead to that outcome.

  “What do we do now?” Fin said, his voice cracking.

  Emerson drew in a deep breath. “We wait for Sam to come home.”

  Emerald eyes met Emerson’s gaze, and Fin shook his head. “And when he doesn’t come back?”

  Emerson stood and went to kneel by the smaller man, giving his shoulder a squeeze, feeling a resolve settling into him like he never had before. Emerson wasn’t a fighter. He hated violence and confrontation. But there were some things worth fighting for. “First, you find a way to forgive yourself. Then we go get our mate and bring her back.”

  Chapter 14

  I slipped into my new viceroy role with terrifying ease. I didn’t have to think. I didn’t have to feel. All I had to do was stand by Theo’s side, look menacing when needed, and give him my blunt opinion when asked. Given the permanent scowl that was etched on my face these days, the burning pit of rage and pain inside me, and my impatience with absolutely everything, that wasn’t hard.

  What was hard was being patient. All the phone calls and meetings, the double talk and insinuations, and the gentle prodding around the edges of things that was Theo at work. I wanted to go to the police station, bust down the door, and rain down vengeance in the form of bullets, claws, and teeth. But Theo held me back.

  “Have patience, Sam,” he told me, once he was back in human form and looking as harmless and human as ever. And fuck if seeing him back to being all vulnerable didn’t scare the shit out of me. “I promise you, I’ll do everything I can to make it right, but we have to do this my way.” He gave me a grim smile. “When we’re out in the wasteland you’re in charge. But here, I’m the boss, remember?”

  I had fumed at the delays, at the lack of any tangible action. The irritating asshole had just waited for me to stop pacing, his bright blue eyes steady on mine. There wasn’t a single whiff of magic left in his average human body, but the confidence he exuded did something to me. It managed to temporarily calm the angry cat inside me. “There’s an official coming from Golding this week. I need you to go out and ensure they make it to Westhold without coming across any predators—fiend or otherwise.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him and refused to take the bait and ask him what he meant by “otherwise” and who the hell had been gunning for him all this time. I knew what he was doing. It was a diversion. A distraction from my obsession with revenge. “I hate you.”

  He had smiled at me then, the expression transforming his ordinary face into something more. “Go hunt, hunter. Burn off some of that restless energy. I promise, I’ll have something for you when you get back.”

  I rolled my eyes at his assessment of my situation, and the promise in his voice—even though I knew he was serious. “Fine. But it’d better be good.”

  He just squeezed my shoulder, a wry smile quirking one corner of his mouth. “You have my word, Viceroy.” There was a thud from out in the hall and he arched a brow at me as he pulled his hand away. “If you leave tomorrow, that should give you enough time to intercept the envoy. In the meantime…maybe you could take care of that.”

  I huffed a laugh. “Didn’t know what you were getting into when you agreed to my conditions, did you?”

  “I was a fire-breathing prehistoric bird at the time.” He shrugged, heading to his desk and the pile of paperwork that waited for him there. “It’s worth it to have you on my side.” He glanced up from his seat behind the desk, his blue eyes flashing as they met mine. “I’d put up with just about anything to have you with me, Sam.”

  I rolled my eyes and turned to leave, not pointing out that he was an idiot if he thought I was worth that much trouble.

  Out in the hallway, I found Jules directing the hired help as they carried suitcases and random piles of useless shit toward the back of the mansion, taking the shortcut to get out back. Josie stood in the middle of it all, squinting at everyone and grumbling about rich, entitled, pushy human assholes. Theo had her forcibly removed from her cabin this morning.

  She rounded on me, jabbing an accusing knobby-knuckled finger in my direction. “You did this! I knew it! Samantha Forrest, you’re a disgrace to shifter kind. You should be ashamed of yourself, working for a smarmy human politician, forcing me out of my home!”

  I closed the space between us in the fruitless hope that she would stop yelling. We were in the middle of the sovereign’s mansion. The guards and hired help were well-trained and polite as fuck, but a few of them were still staring, shooting glances at the crazy old lady and the freak cur having a shouting match in public. The guards stationed unobtrusively around the place were giving us the stink eye as they wondered if they were going to have to shoot someone. And I hated being the center of attention. “Calm your wrinkly old ass down,” I told Josie, crossing my arms over my chest. “Your leg is still healing, you’re blind as a fucking bat, and I want you close. Shut up and let me take care of you for once.”

  She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. Huffing, she turned and shuffled along behind her departing belongings, her back ramrod straight, nose in the air, and a death grip on her walker. “You’ve gone soft, Samantha.”

  I sighed. “Shut up and keep walking.”

  I don’t know how he made it hap
pen so fast, but Theo had erected a small “cabin” on the mansion grounds almost overnight. It was far enough away from the main house that Josie would feel like she had some privacy, and it was surrounded by mature trees. I had been afraid I’d never be able to get Josie used to living in the urban-feeling cannery. But at least here she should feel a little more in touch with nature.

  And I knew she’d warm up to the staff and having anything she wanted right at her fingertips real damned fast, once she was done complaining.

  We ate dinner together in her new cabin. It was uncomfortable and stilted, and I had trouble keeping my mind on the here and now. I wanted to hunt. I needed to move. I wanted to kill something, to feel the hot pumping blood gushing over my fingers. Theo was right—I needed to get some of this restless, angry energy out or I was going to take it out on a passing maid or something.

  The chilling thought crossed my mind that I might be going feral. It happened sometimes. Curs just up and lost their grip on humanity under stress. I’d put enough of them down. Maybe it was my turn now.

  Once I had Josie tucked into her new home, napping in a cushy recliner with her hoard of second-hand things all around her, I returned to the mansion to prowl around. I tracked Jules down and got more information about the convoy from Golding and their expected route. Then I made my way upstairs past the guest wing and to the area that was reserved for the few permanent residents of the mansion who weren’t family but were important enough to be kept close at hand.

  I passed Jules’s room and headed toward the end of the hall where my own ridiculously cushy quarters were. The door before mine opened and I stopped suddenly to avoid colliding with its occupant. Angel raised a silver brow at me in surprise when I almost ran him down. Then he relaxed, his posture melting into something seductive as he closed his door and leaned against it to regard me, the flowing fabric of his loose linen shirt and pants clinging to his perfect body. “Going somewhere in a hurry?” he asked, his gold eyes traveling over me in a slow drag, taking in my soft, snug long-sleeved t-shirt and supple leather pants. “I have to say, I agree wholeheartedly with your new uniform.”