Fallen Prey: A Fallen Cross Legion Novel (The Fallen Cross Legion Book 1)

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Fallen Prey: A Fallen Cross Legion Novel (The Fallen Cross Legion Book 1) Page 11

by Aliya DalRae


  She wandered around and peeked her head into the nearest room, a bedroom. Massive turned legs supported a giant-sized bed with dark mahogany head and footboards. The duvet was simple but elegant, and the nightstands matched the bed, the dresser and the chest of drawers. A flat screen TV took up the space above the dresser where normal people would have hung a mirror, and that warmed her heart. This Vampire had no idea how gorgeous he was.

  Speaking of Harrier, he’d disappeared into the en suite bathroom when she’d come in to inspect his boudoir. The door opened and she was disappointed when he joined her fully dressed.

  “Bathroom’s in here,” he said, and she walked over to check it out. Like everything else in his suite, the colors were neutral, but the marble countertops and stone floor were elegant if understated. A multi-headed shower loomed behind thick glass blocks, but the real gem was the whirlpool bath tub sitting on a raised platform. It was about the size of an Olympic swimming pool, the only thing in the entire apartment that screamed of decadence.

  “Wow,” Kythryn said, spinning around with her arms out to indicate the entire room. “All of this, just for you?”

  Harrier lifted a shoulder and smiled. “I’m a big guy.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen you naked.” Kythryn winked at him, trying to keep the moment light, but her brain almost hemorrhaged at the thought of swimming around in that huge tub with Harrier. But wait, there was more. After a hot and foamy soak in all those bubbles they could retire to Harrier’s bedroom and snuggle under that big cushy duvet. There she would get herself all kinds of wrapped up in that big, naked Vampire.

  Kythryn swallowed, suddenly aware that she was the only one still naked. She checked her lust before she embarrassed herself, but it might have been too late. She followed Harrier’s gaze and looked down. Yep. Her nipples were hard. Shit.

  Harrier coughed and said, “I’m going to find you some proper clothes. In the meantime, help yourself to anything I have. Shirts are in the top drawer there, sweats the next down.” He indicated the chest of drawers, then left her to it.

  She returned to the living room after donning a t-shirt that hung to her knees. A brand-new pack of boot laces provided her with a belt to tie around her waist, and she felt practically presentable.

  “You hungry?” Harrier asked as she curled up in one of the reading chairs.

  She laughed. “Why are you always trying to feed me?”

  Harrier grinned, an honest expression that she didn’t think she’d ever seen on him before. Sure, he had that mysterious smile he often used around her, but this was a more mischievous look, and it suited him.

  “You too skinny,” he said in a funny accent. “No can pull plow.”

  Kythryn burst out laughing. “You did not just compare me to a nineteenth-century mail-order bride!”

  Harrier shrugged, but he seemed happy to her. Certainly, more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. He chattered on about what kind of food he had on hand, mentioned a main kitchen if there was something she wanted that wasn’t here, and offered for her to make herself at home.

  She joined him in the kitchen and opened the fridge to check things out for herself. What the hell was that in those bags? It looked like… “Is that blood?”

  Harrier’s good mood melted away as quickly and mysteriously as it had appeared. “I’m Vampire,” he growled. “What did you expect?”

  “It’s fine, I just…”

  “Make yourself at home,” he repeated, and she felt the invisible wall raise between them again. “I have to go tell my Warlord that we have a guest.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  H arrier had to get out of there. It was hard enough seeing her naked, but strangely enough, it was even more difficult to see her dressed in his t-shirt. The craziest thing of all was that it had felt right. That’s where he screwed up. He’d let his guard down, lowered that protective barrier that he’d erected as a child. The one that kept people like Kythryn from breaking his heart.

  Everything had been fine until she looked in the fridge. How could he have forgotten about the blood? Hell, how had he let himself forget how different they were? It was bad enough that they weren’t the same kind of Shifter, laughable even when you considered their respective animals. But once again, his mixed blood was the issue. Shifters cross-mated all the time. If their humans were okay with it, and their animals didn’t freak out, no problem. They didn’t have the purity prejudices the Vampires did.

  Unless, of course, a Shifter fell for a Vampire. Harrier knew firsthand how that kind of relationship worked out. Ask his father, the man who had protected him from a cold and vindictive mother. A man whose ashes lay in a distant grave, dead, Harrier was certain, from the machinations of the woman he had loved.

  It was best he leave well enough alone. Why drag that poor girl into a situation that would force her to choose between Harrier and her family? Her Clowder. His father had chosen, and he’d died for the folly of it.

  The one thing Harrier knew was that he cared for the little cat, more than he wanted to admit. And because he cared, when this mess was over, he was going to let her go.

  After checking Mason’s office and the infirmary, Harrier finally tracked the Warlord down in the War Room. Apparently, a lot of shit had been happening while Harrier’d been off playing baby sitter, and an official meeting was in full swing.

  Conversation stopped dead when he walked into the room, all eyes locked on him. He hated to be the center of attention, and this was exactly why.

  Mason recovered himself first. “Aren’t you supposed to be at a cabin out in the middle of nowhere right now?”

  Harrier shook his head. “Change of plans, boss. Long story short, the ferals found us. They nearly had Kitty…”

  “Kitty?”

  “Kythryn. I managed to grab her and fly her here. This was the safest place I knew to bring her.”

  “You flew?”

  “I—yes sir. I shifted, picked her out of the midst of about ten ferals and flew her out.”

  General mumbling and multiple exchanged glances around the table had Harrier’s attention.

  “You say there were ten ferals?” Mason asked.

  “Yeah, at least.”

  From the far end of the table, Nox swore. “How the hell many does he have now?”

  Harrier stared at Nox. “What did I miss?”

  Mason answered. “Nox and Martin were attacked by upwards of thirty ferals tonight. Maybe more.”

  “Fuck me.”

  “Got that right,” Viper said.

  “Their numbers are down by nineteen now—”

  “Twenty,” Nox said, and Harrier wondered about the haunted look in the male’s eyes.

  “Twenty,” Mason amended with a nod to Nox. “But with this news, it’s hard to say how many he has waiting in the wings.”

  Harrier paced the length of the room until Mason caught his eye and nodded at an empty chair. Harrier sat, but couldn’t keep his heel from bouncing on the floor. “So, we’re back to square one.” And Kitty was still in danger.

  “Not exactly,” Nox said. “I had a friend in Maxx’s ranks.”

  “Had?”

  Nox gave Harrier an unblinking stare before continuing. “Before he died, Mouse told me where they are holing up. Problem is, it must have been in code or something because no one seems to know what it means.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said they were at the fur farm. Mean anything to you?” Nox looked at him hopefully, as did the rest of the Warriors seated at the table. Unfortunately, Harrier had nothing.

  “He said the girl would know, but Jessica hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about.” That from Raven. “We figured she more than anyone would have heard of it, having lived here most of her life, but nada.”

  “Nor does Rachel or Phire,” Mason added.

  Ice slid down Harrier’s spine as he thought of another local girl, currently curled up in one of his reading chairs. “Kythryn’s lived
here her entire life as well.”

  All eyes were on him again, and he nearly regretted having spoken. Still, if they were ever going to get to the bottom of this, if Kitty were ever to be safe, they had to ask.

  “How fortunate that she is now in residence,” Mason said. “Get her, Harrier. We’re happy to wait.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  K ythryn stood in the kitchen reading the label on one of the bags of blood. The way Harrier had acted, you’d have thought she’d caught him with a kilo of coke. It surprised her, was all, that they kept blood in the fridge like soda or beer. She’d always assumed they bounced around town when they got thirsty, maybe nabbed a homeless person on the way home from work.

  Whatever she’d said, she would have to clear it up. The look on his face was nothing short of mortified, and she wouldn’t let him think she was judging. That simply wasn’t her way.

  A knock at the door made her jump and the bag of blood fell to the floor. By some miracle, it didn’t break. That’s all she needed was someone walking in to find her mopping up a puddle of O negative on her first day there.

  She picked up the bag and put it back where she got it, then went to answer the door. The knock sounded again, and she hesitated, her hand on the knob. “Who is it?” she asked, not recognizing the timidity in her own voice.

  “Kythryn, it’s me, Rachel. Harrier said you might be in need of some clothes?”

  Ah, the sister. Kythryn opened things up to find the other woman standing with her arms full of all kinds of something to wear.

  “Can I help?” Kythryn asked. She didn’t wait for an answer, but grabbed an armful of stuff to lighten Rachel’s load.

  “Thanks for that,” Rachel said as she waltzed in, going straight to the sofa to dump her load, so to speak. Her Scottish accent was thicker than Harrier’s, and it had an air of sophistication, much like the female herself.

  “I knew you were small, but I wasn’t sure if you were ‘my small clothes’ small or ‘Phire’s big clothes’ small. Phire is my niece, and she has excellent taste in fashion. Hopefully, you’ll find something of hers that will fit.”

  Rachel turned from the pile of wearables and took her first real look at Kythryn. She scanned her from head to toe and back again, taking in Harrier’s shirt and all the nothing underneath it, and Kythryn squirmed under the scrutiny. She could only imagine what was going through the female’s mind. Of course, that would have been Kythryn’s first thought as well, but wishful thinking got a girl nowhere.

  “I had to shift and this big owl saved me from a bunch of ferals hell bent on killing me. Anyway, this was all I could find,” she said, feeling awkward and compelled to explain. “I appreciate you helping me out,” she added, but Rachel just kept looking at her, those perfect lips pursed together as she came to her own conclusions.

  “Anyway, it’ll be good to have something decent to cover my ass. I’m real grateful for this.” Kythryn held a pair of jeans up to her waist, and they looked like they might fit all right. Based on the name on the label and the studs on the pockets she was going to take a wild guess. “Phire’s?” she asked, wondering why anybody would name their kid “Fear.” There had to be a story behind that one, for sure.

  Rachel shook her head like she was trying to clear away some god-awful image and plastered on a smile. “Yes, they are. How’d you guess?”

  Kythryn shrugged. She’d liked this lady well enough the first time they’d talked, back when they were all trying to get Kythryn to open her brain up for Nox to explore. She seemed real nice back then. Now she seemed a little judgy, and Kythryn found herself picking through the pile of clothes just for something to do with her hands.

  She selected a shirt she liked well enough, and excused herself into the bathroom to change. When she came out Rachel had her back turned and was whisper-shouting into the phone.

  “For how long?” she was saying. Then, “She’ll need her own suite. I don’t think her staying with Harrier is a good idea.” Another pause. “Trust me on this one, Mason. My brother has issues enough to last a lifetime. He doesn’t need to be getting mixed up with someone of another race.”

  Kythryn, having heard all she wanted, quietly backed into the bathroom and closed the door. It wasn’t like she and Harrier were shacking up or anything. They weren’t even friends, really, recent encounters notwithstanding. For Rachel to be making comments like this, well, forget insulting. It was just plain hurtful.

  She’d heard stories about how Vampires could get downright uppity when it came to choosing their mates. What with Harrier being a half breed, though, she was surprised to hear his own sister talking about Kythryn like she was pond scum.

  Her feelings for Harrier aside, it was a kind of prejudice she’d never encountered. Hearing it now, however, made things crystal clear. Even if the big Vampire came around to her way of thinking, there was no way they could ever be together. She’d seen these two around each other and they were thick as thieves. If his sister said Kythryn was no good, who was Harrier to argue? Her guess was, he probably wouldn’t.

  Kythryn sat down on the edge of that fancy bath tub. All thoughts of getting naked with the guy who had stolen her heart disappeared, washed down the proverbial drain as if they never existed. When the first tear fell, it left a wet circle on the fancy borrowed jeans she now wore. Kythryn wasn’t one to feel sorry for herself. Too much bad had happened in her short life for her to let shit like this get her down. Still, she allowed herself a couple more tears to scrub the idea of what-could-have-been out of her system.

  When Rachel knocked on the door and called out all friendly-like, Kythryn pulled herself together.

  “You okay in there? Did the jeans fit?”

  She rubbed her hands across her eyes and sniffed as she straightened her back. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s all good.”

  “I have to go,” Rachel said. “I’m going to leave the rest here for you to look through. I’ll have one of the staff run out for undergarments if you like.”

  Kythryn opened the door and faced the woman, all traces of her previous grief erased by a washcloth she’d run under cold water. “Please don’t bother,” she said with forced cheer. “I probably won’t be here that long anyway. Besides, I’m sure one of my guards would be happy to bring my things from the cabin.”

  “Oh, okay. That sounds great.” Rachel was studying her again, but this time Kythryn steeled herself to the scrutiny. “I’m sure Harrier will be back soon. Try and relax a bit until we get things sorted out.”

  When Rachel hesitated at the door, Kythryn smiled her sweetest smile. Anyone who knew her called it her “fuck off” smile, because she only used it on folks she wanted to see the back of.

  “Please,” she said, letting the expression stretch to her eyes. “Don’t let me keep you. I’m gonna be just fine.”

  Chapter Forty

  W hen Harrier reached his suite to retrieve Kitty for Mason, she was wearing a cute pair of jeans and a little shirt that fit her in all the right places. He recognized the clothes as something his niece might wear. He also noticed that Kythryn wore nothing underneath it.

  “Hey,” he said, trying to ignore the memory of her throwing her naked body up against his. “Some shit went down earlier tonight, and we got some information.”

  “Good,” Kitty said, otherwise ignoring him as she strolled to the window and peeked out the heavy curtains.

  Harrier scratched his jaw. Granted, he’d left in a bit of a snit before, but he thought she’d be more excited about finding the guys who were trying to kill her. “We think you might be able to help us out,” he said, and she turned to face him.

  Kitty shrugged. “Sure. Whatever.”

  Harrier was in the dog house for sure, or cat house, maybe. No, that wasn’t right either. “Look, Kitty. I’m sorry about how I left you earlier. I wasn’t prepared to talk about our differences like that.”

  Kythryn looked up at him, those big eyes of hers hiding something despite the sof
tness of her gaze.

  “No,” she said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been snooping through your stuff. I’m a cat. We’re nosy like that. Not that it’s anything you need to get used to. I was just curious, was all. You said you had some questions?”

  “Mason does,” Harrier said, his eyes narrowed as she passed him on the way to the door. Snarky Kythryn was a pain in his ass. Quiet Kythryn made him nervous as hell, but this Kythryn? She scared him worse than the others combined. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d worked out how to handle the other two. However, he had no idea how to deal with this sad, distant creature.

  She was out in the hall waiting for him, neither impatient nor irritated that he hadn’t joined her yet. She simply stood there, staring down the corridor, her face a blank canvas, devoid of emotion.

  He joined her in the hall, shut the door behind him. Something had happened between the time he’d left her and now. Once the meeting was over, he was going to have a talk with his sister. He couldn’t imagine Rachel saying anything to hurt Kitty, couldn’t imagine anyone penetrating the tough outer armor that little cat wore. But something was bothering her, and it wasn’t the blood.

  They continued to the War Room, neither saying a word beyond his occasional “turn here” or “we’re taking the elevator.”

  Whatever had happened, a chasm had grown between them in the course of an hour. Harrier felt the tiny bit of protective ice that had melted away from his heart recrystallize into an arctic frost.

  Chapter Forty-One

  K ythryn sat in a fancy leather conference chair that nearly swallowed her whole. Her chin had all but rested on the table before Harrier adjusted the thing, bringing her up to a respectable level. Her feet dangled, but at least she could see the rest of the people sitting around the giant oak table.

 

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