Roxanne smiled. “No point in cheating. I am only playing against myself.”
She nodded and headed to the Axion to make her call. Suulak was going to answer, but her mother would be near enough for him to bring the computer over.
Roxanne waited at the desk while the call went through, and she blinked slightly with a smile on her lips. “Hello, Suulak. I was just calling to check on my mom and give her the situation report.”
Suulak’s walnut-dark features were in a rueful smile. “Is it that time already.”
Roxanne could see Adele behind him, tidying up her shirt with a glow on her cheeks.
“I see Mom is looking a little flushed. I can call back tomorrow.”
He gave her a direct look, and he cleared his throat. “She was distracted and is delighted that you called.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
Her mother turned toward the laptop, and Roxanne communicated it to Suulak. He nodded and lifted her up, carrying her to her mother.
“Hiya, Mom. You are looking good.” Roxanne kept her smile polite. It took some doing. Her mom’s blouse buttons were on crooked.
“Thank you, baby. How are you doing? Any likely men on the horizon?”
“Well, they might be on the horizon, but I haven’t caught scent of them yet.” She paused.
Her mother spotted the hesitation. “What was that?”
“There was something, almost something. It was odd. I smelled it, and then, it disappeared. I am hoping that he shows up again.”
Her mother narrowed her eyes. “How many have you turned down?”
“Over a dozen. My beast just won’t get up or even stretch when they are around.”
Her mother growled. “You are too fussy.”
“No, I work around shifters and fey all day, every day. If my beast doesn’t want them around, she will make my life and senses difficult. It is up to me to keep her happy, and that sometimes means saying no.”
“You are being picky.”
Roxanne sighed. “I am being reasonable. If she doesn’t like my mate, I am not going to be very happy. I need to keep her content.”
Her mother stated, “Suulak says that his people often mix and mate with humans.”
Roxanne smiled. “Does your beast like him?”
“Yes.” Adele’s expression softened. “Is that a problem?”
“No, Mom. You can enjoy yourself and make friends with anyone you like. If your beast likes him, go for it. Are you enjoying the spark?”
Her mother blushed. “Is that what that is?”
“It is. Your magic and his colliding. It can be fun or terrifying if you aren’t expecting it, so enjoy it.”
“Do you feel this with your coworkers?”
“When I bump into the fey, yes.”
Her mother sighed and smiled. “No wonder you are fussy.”
Roxanne chuckled and nodded. “Good day to you, Mom. Don’t forget that I am calling the same time tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to.”
She raised her brows. “I thought you wanted me to. In fact, you insisted on it.”
“I have changed my mind. I am doing better. I am healthier than I have been for a long time, and I will not fade while you are gone. Okay?”
Roxanne grinned. “Okay. I will talk to you soon.”
She disconnected the call and sat back. The smile wouldn’t come off her face. Her mother had a boyfriend who was also a fey and a healthcare provider. He cooked, he cleaned, and all he asked in return was a cup of milk every day and some honey once a week. Eilonwy had made the arrangements for his supplies.
Roxanne chuckled and wondered if there would be a chance for her to find a brownie. She wasn’t really home enough to keep to the milk and honey offering, but she was guessing if she tried, she could work out something.
She was smiling as she passed Drak in the hall.
“How was your mom today?”
She nearly bit her lip. “Um, she has a lot of energy. She has more colour.”
The snickering wasn’t too far beneath the surface, but she tried to keep her face bland.
“It is a good thing you are a seeker because you do not have a face for deception.” Drak chuckled. “Have fun looking for your own path to colour.”
She grinned and nodded. “I will. At least I have one less thing to worry about.”
“Good. It is hard to focus on your own happiness while worried about someone else’s survival.” Drak gave her a kind smile. “Everyone deserves to focus on themselves when it comes to this.”
“When are you going to take the plunge?”
He smiled. “When she walks through my door. I will know her then, but in the meantime, I have hundreds of newcomers per year to shepherd through the Crossroads. It is a good life.”
She nodded and headed past him; it was time for a run before she returned to the bar. She had to sprint a few times per day, or she got anxious. It made her good at her job and a lousy houseguest.
She went upstairs and got into running gear before skipping down the steps and heading out to the shifter’s meadow.
She bent into a crouch, counted down, and then, she sprinted at full bore down the treeline and until she felt the burn in her limbs.
She ran until her mind was blank and her lungs were burning. Then, she clasped her side, turned, and walked back. The running was important. Her hound liked to run. She wasn’t up for shifting and sprinting around during the daytime. Standard animals such as dogs or hounds didn’t gain much respect in the shifter community. They were just too common. She was just too common.
If she hadn’t been getting signs of interest from both shifters and fey, she would think that her depressingly normal looks would be a point against her. That was not the case. They were using their senses and instincts to find mates, just like she was.
She exhaled and inhaled, her head came up with a snap. There it was again. That scent was there. She couldn’t place where she recognized it from, but her beast was on all fours with her tail wagging.
There was someone in the Crossroads that matched her beast, and she was in the middle of a field as far away as she could get. She started to jog back toward the small settlement and tried to guess how long it would take to grab a shower and get dressed again.
“Screw it. I am going to find him first.”
She jogged back to town, sweaty and covered with grass and flecks of grain. She may as well introduce herself as she actually was. No sense hiding what she truly looked like ninety percent of the time.
The Crossroads was about finding her mate, not deceiving him. She kept repeating that as males on the street started to look her way. Her tank top was covered in sweat and sticking to her, the sports bra gave plenty of support but didn’t do anything for her bust. Her leggings simply outlined her completely. There wasn’t much that she was hiding.
The scent she was tracking got stronger, and she focused in on the person producing it. When she entered the Crossed Star, she closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, adjusting to the dimmer interior.
Her gaze scanned the room, and her nose pinpointed the scent. It was a male at the rear of the building, and he was talking to a few females. She stalked toward him, and as she approached, he turned.
She stopped in her tracks. The scent was familiar for a reason, and she didn’t care that her beast was up on her hind legs and baying wildly. “Moriven. Aw, fuck.”
He stepped toward her and bowed low, smiling as he straightened. “Do you greet all suitors like that?”
She turned on her heel and headed out of the bar. If he had come all this way to mock her, she was not going to give him a chance.
Chapter Three
Moriven looked at the bartender and asked for confirmation. “Roxanne was just here, right?”
“Yes. She left. I am guessing that you two have a history?” The pixie smiled.
“We do. Sort of. We wor
k together.” He grimaced. Their rivalry was all his doing. At first, he had been miffed to be outdone by a young shifter, and by the time he had realized how capable she was, sides had been chosen amongst their coworkers, and that had a few side effects when it came to her working with members of his team.
She stopped working with teams and was almost exclusively on recon and acquisition. No one was better at finding their prey than Roxanne.
He looked at the bartender. “What do I do now?”
“She comes in here in the mornings and evenings, sits right there, and plays solitaire. You are best off getting in line to court her then.”
He frowned. “A line?”
“You don’t think she was waiting here for you? I am getting the idea that she doesn’t like you or what you represent. If you are going to try and court her, find out what she is interested in and use it as a connection to speak with her. You need a point of commonality. You had better work quickly. There are at least four fey here who are already looking into finding that point of commonality.”
He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck.
He felt a hand on his arm, and he turned. One of the women he had been speaking too gestured to the direction Roxanne had gone. “Is that the girl you were looking for?”
He nodded. “Yes. That is the one.”
The other woman smiled slyly. “She didn’t seem happy to see you.”
“No. You have an accurate assessment of the situation.” He smiled politely.
“Don’t you think you should approach a more appreciative audience?” The sly woman wrapped her hand around his forearm.
He extricated himself carefully. “I need to speak with her before I attempt to pursue any intimate connection.”
The woman shrugged. “If I am free when you return, we might be able to negotiate something.”
He nodded and inclined his head again, slowly backing away from the two ladies who had been asking him to describe Roxanne so that they could help him find her. They weren’t familiar with her, which was odd considering that the bartender said she was in twice a day.
The pixie stood near his side of the bar, and she whispered, “Against policy but the Axion.”
He smiled and headed off to the castle. Halfway to the hotel, he paused, turned around, and headed to the café. If he was going to try and make peace with the black hound of the guild, he was going to need an offering.
* * * *
Roxanne spent more time than she normally would scrubbing herself. Moriven. Why had he been the one to set off her beast?
She growled and finished rinsing off in the spray, turning off the shower with a near-savage twist.
She dried off and then wrapped herself in the robe that she removed from the bathroom door.
Roxanne paced back and forth, trying to calm down. It was difficult considering her beast was chortling and snuffling around, looking for her mate. She knew he was here now, and she was wagging her tail happily.
Roxanne sat on her bed and buried her head in her hands. Moriven. Why did it have to be him?
Since the first week’s stats had come out after her debut as a seeker, he had been on her case. Well, Moriven had never confronted her, but his hunter team taunted her, bullied her, and generally made her life a misery when she had to work with them. She still got the job done, but they made it far harder than it had to be.
They were all over a hundred years old, but each member of his hunter team had treated her like she was an airhead who was getting lucky at capturing her targets, and they were doing her favours by assisting her. They were paid, just like she was, they got performance bonuses, just like she did. They got better performance bonuses with her than with Moriven, but they were fey, and she was a base shifter. There was nothing in her bloodline to elevate her to be worthy of their appreciation. Fuck them.
She smelled something. She smelled something good. Roxanne lifted her head and moved to the door. Slow-cooked pork ribs with a nice smoky barbeque sauce. There was the scent of heavily buttered and creamed baked potato, and some grilled vegetables that had been removed from the grill fifteen seconds too late. She also knew who was carrying it.
Roxanne opened her door, and she stared at Moriven. “Why are you here?”
He extended his hands toward her, and the scent of ribs and baked potato got stronger. “I have come to bring you a peace offering.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“Because I heard that you were here and took leave immediately.” He looked at her like he was saying something significant.
He offered her the food again. She gripped the container and stepped aside. “Come in.”
When he was inside, she eased the door shut with her foot.
“How did you figure out that I was here?”
He sighed. “I asked, and someone told me.”
“Of course. It was a woman, right?”
To her amazement, his cheeks darkened. “Perhaps.”
“Right. Women just give you anything you ask for.”
Moriven looked at her. “Not all of them.”
She took the box of food to her table and opened it, smiling at the confirmation of what her senses told her was within. Her hound was large with black fur, and many associated it with sulkiness or depression. Her dog was just black.
“If you are interested in me because I have said no to you, that is not a good foundation for anything.” She sat and began to eat.
Moriven blinked. “That is not why I came after you.”
She raised her brow and stripped the meat from the bone of the first rib with precision. “Why, then?”
“I can’t think of my world without you in it. I track your wins and your injuries. I was devastated to learn why you had gone on leave. No one needs that kind of sorrow at so young an age.”
She found the fork in the box and stabbed at the fully loaded potato. “You came after me because of pity?”
“No. I know grief. My parents faded over a century ago. It still hurts.”
“Faded. They passed on?”
“Together.”
“That is sweet. I am glad my mother stayed when my father died, but since she is headed to her own end in a fairly short time, I have to face that as well.” Of course, now she is banging a brownie in her living room... but that doesn’t matter. I am glad she is enjoying herself.
He blinked. “She survived without him? I didn’t know that shifters did that.”
“They do if they have juvenile children, and if they were joined before the balance ceremony became an option. My mom wasn’t going to leave me until I could take care of myself. When I became an adult, I began taking care of her.”
“If she is ill, why are you here?” He sat in the chair across from her.
She didn’t even snort. “She wants me to find someone before she dies. She doesn’t want me to be alone.”
Moriven cocked his head. “Is this a way to torment me?”
She paused while she swallowed the bite of potato. “Um. No. You were not mentioned. You were not even considered. My mom asked me, my cousin said she could arrange it, and the next thing I knew, I was packed and on my way here.”
She nibbled at the corn before wolfing it down.
“Why are you so hungry?” He frowned. “I knew you would want to eat after your run, but you have devoured that.”
She grimaced. “Have you seen the other women here? There is barely room for me in the dress, let alone my stomach if I eat like I normally do and don’t burn it off.”
“You are barely a whisper.”
Roxanne snorted. “I am mostly muscle, and I know it. It turns off a lot of guys.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Three of them have told me so since I arrived two days ago.” She sat back and closed the box of bones and potato skin.
“What about the others?”
“Oh, they were definitely digging the fit look.” Sh
e wrinkled her nose.
“So, why aren’t you pleased with that? It seems to be what you want.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you here again?”
Moriven got up and paced, looking at her over his shoulder. “I am here to court you.”
She was wiping her mouth with a napkin from the place setting, and she paused. “Court me? You have been sending your flunkies to insult and assault me for years. What do you possibly think you could offer me?”
He opened his mouth and paused. “Assaulted you? I found out about the insults recently, but I have never heard about any assault.”
Roxanne carefully wiped her hands, and she smiled tightly. “Haver would hardly have mentioned that he and Simorel held me down when I was nineteen and got familiar with my form. By the time I came out of my shock and my beast attacked, they were laughing and congratulating each other.”
Moriven blurred in front of her eyes, and then, he settled. “No. I did not know about that.”
“I didn’t understand the ramifications of what had happened until I was finally able to get close to a man I was interested in. The panic attack was unpleasant, but I sought therapy, and I got over it to the point where I could date without pulling a blade on my date.”
He thudded back into the chair. “I didn’t know.”
“I am getting that inkling. I always thought that you put them up to it. The way they were laughing, I thought that they were going to rush to you with the news immediately.”
His hand on the table was in a fist. “No. They did not. I don’t know what they thought they were doing, but I will have a frank discussion with them when I am back in the human world.”
“It isn’t necessary. I can once again bear the touch of another human being, so I am doing well. I will stay here until my beast finds another being to go nuts over, and then, I will go home and prove to my mom that I am not going to die alone.” She smiled tightly. “If you were not responsible for the harassment, there is no reason to worry about it.”
“What they did could get them struck from the king’s service and shunned from the court.”
She quirked her lips. “Shunned?”
Hunt and Seek Page 2
