Snared (Kaliya Sahni Book 2)

by K. N. Banet

  “I’m just messing with the two of you,” she said. “I’m feeling a little naughty.”

  “Because you haven’t been to a place like this in years,” Cassius said quietly. “I knew this was going to happen. Don’t let my lovely wife fool you. This is the real Sorcha. Everything else is the act, the show she puts on for the rest of the nobility. She likes to kick up her feet, even if she’s refined while she does.”

  “Well, it’s going to make for one hell of an evening,” I declared, grinning as another whiskey appeared in front of me. A martini appeared in front of Sorcha, a copy of her original order. She finished off her first one, delighted with her second. Raphael chugged his beer, and another appeared for him as well.

  Cassius narrowed his eyes on all of us.

  “Yes, apparently it will.” He didn’t seem excited, but there was resignation in his expression that meant he wasn’t going to try to stop it.

  3

  Chapter Three

  I was laughing as we stumbled out of The Jackalope together, Sorcha hanging on me as she tried to take off her heels and walk at the same time.

  “Oh, I haven’t had this much fun in years! Paden, please let us come back!” she called back, nearly pulling me down as she twisted.

  “You can come back,” Paden said nicely. “There weren’t any fights, so I guess you provide a calming effect on Kaliya, which is always a bonus.”

  I glared at him, then hiccupped. He chuckled, waving at me to keep walking. Cassius got the front door open for us before I sent Sorcha and me through the glass. Raphael grabbed my elbow as I let go of my new best friend and watched her fall into her husband’s chest.

  “You know how to party,” I declared, pointing at her.

  “Of course! I’m glad to see someone here knows how to have a good time with me.” She grinned mischievously. “We have to do a girls’ night one day. Just me and you.”

  “Have mercy on me,” Cassius whispered.

  I barked out a laugh and leaned back into the body helping me stay on my feet. It was so warm, and butterflies flew in my stomach as an arm wrapped around my waist. My fangs dropped.

  “Oh, what big teeth you have,” Sorcha teased, leaning in close. “I’ve never seen those. Open wider!”

  I did, letting her lean in close, but Cassius pulled her back before Sorcha could touch them.

  “We don’t touch those. They tend to kill people. Raphael, get Kaliya home,” he ordered the warm body holding me. I waved at Sorcha as her husband walked her to their car and followed the body pulling me away.

  “You know, Raphael, you don’t have to help me walk. I can do just fine.” I hiccupped again as he opened the BMW’s door.

  “I’m sure you can, but I wouldn’t be much of the gentleman my mother raised if I let you stumble into the concrete parking lot,” he retorted, smiling as our eyes met. It was such a wonderful smile. I didn’t see it very often. “I’m going to drive, okay? I only had a couple, and I’m feeling fine.”

  “Okay,” I said, climbing into the passenger’s seat. I wasn’t in any state to drive, and he was already covered on my insurance. I couldn’t find a reason to be upset.

  “Wait!” Cassius called, showing up a moment later beside Raphael, looking delicious. I bit my lip, wondering why I turned Sorcha down. I hadn’t had sex in a long time, and the alcohol was telling me I really needed to. Cassius leaving had actually been the last time I got any.

  “What’s up?” Raphael asked, turning to almost block my view of the fae lord I used to be with.

  “I forgot to mention it earlier. Sorcha and I are going to be in the fae lands hopefully for only a couple weeks, but it might be longer. If either of you needs me, just get to my house, and Leith should be able to find me.”

  “The fae lands?” I groaned. “But you just got back from your honeymoon. Why do they need you?”

  “I need to tour my estate. Sorcha and I have been putting it off, but we’ve been told under no circumstances can we continue to neglect that particular duty as a noble.” He sighed, looking around Raphael. “It won’t be impossible to find me.”

  “But it might take longer than two weeks,” I countered, my head thumping almost painfully as I got a little pissed off. “It could take months.”

  “I won’t let them keep me that long, not with Raphael’s mysteries still darkening our doorsteps. Just stay out of trouble, will you?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  He nodded once and left again, jogging away to his car. Raphael shut me in and walked to the driver’s side, adjusting the seat when he sat down.

  “You were looking at him like a piece of meat,” he said softly as we pulled out of the parking lot. “Sure you’re over him?”

  “Yes.” I looked at his profile, illuminated by the streetlights and dash. He had such a strong jaw. The alcohol and my own biological urges told me I wanted to nibble on it. His pretty chocolate eyes were shadowed.

  “Okay,” he said simply and sharply.

  “What?” I snorted. “My personal life isn’t your business. If I had said yes to Sorcha, it wouldn’t have been your business.”

  “You’re right,” he said, turning to get us on the right road toward home.

  I felt stung and went quiet.

  I want it to be your business.

  I shouldn’t have drunk so much. I’m beginning to think like a fool.

  Fucking biology.

  He pulled into the parking garage of my building and turned off the engine, sighing.

  “Let’s get you upstairs.”

  I managed to get the door open and walk out on my own, but he had to catch me before I fell into someone else’s car, then closed my door and locked it. He kept his arm around my waist all the way to the elevator and hit the button for my floor.

  “This is how you always drink, isn’t it?” he asked softly, keeping me on my feet.

  “No.” I leaned into him, unable to resist a drunk woman's urge to anchor myself to something solid, usually an attractive man. “Sorcha really got me going, then I couldn’t bring myself to stop. It was fun hanging out with her. She’s fun.”

  “She’s something,” he mumbled. I wanted to glare at him, but then I felt him chuckle. “She knew how to embarrass every one of us at that table. And, uh, the bartender, Henley. He’s a werewolf, right?”

  “Yup. Paden is fae. Deacon is fae, too. Everyone who works there is supernatural.” I turned to push my face into his shoulder, closing my eyes at the same time. The world stopped spinning for a second. “Sorry she teased you.”

  “It was, uh, fine,” he said, obviously uncomfortable again. I looked up, blinking a couple of times to try to clear my vision, but I still saw four of him.

  “You’re allowed, you know. To…go date, or whatever. No one can stop you. Probably not a good idea to date human girls, but…” I shrugged. “You don’t need to stay single because of the shit going on.”

  “I’m not staying single because of that,” he whispered, looking down at me. “Not completely.”

  “I would fuck you, no strings attached,” I said, sighing as I put my head back on his shoulder. Wouldn’t that be the dream? Fucking him but not mating him. Not needing to worry about any of the other shit. Feeling those hot…

  Then I realized what I’d said, and that I had said it out loud.

  The elevator dinged for my floor as I pulled away from him, horror going through me. He tried to catch me as I stumbled back through the open door. Luckily, I didn’t plant my ass on the tile and was able to make it to my door. I fumbled, looking for my keys, frustrated when I remembered he had them.

  He seemed calm as he reached around me and unlocked my condo, even twisting the handle to push it open before I could bring myself to move.

  “Good night, Kaliya,” he whispered as I finally started walking inside. I didn’t stop, keeping my feet moving until I made it to my bedroom and locked the door.

  My back hit the door as my buzz quickly disappeared, and rea
son came back to me.

  I just said that. I can’t fucking believe I just said that. Out loud. What is wrong with me?

  New rule, no drinking around Raphael. Obviously, I have no self-control and can’t be trusted. I still barely fucking know the man, damn it. What is wrong with me?

  I stripped and walked into my bathroom, washing my face with the coldest water I could get, then slammed my hand on the counter in frustration.

  “Damn it!” I snapped. “He can’t…”

  I had made a promise to myself that Raphael couldn’t know about the naga biology I was dealing with. He could never know he was a potential mate. If no one else knew, he certainly couldn’t.

  I can play this off. Drunk, living with an attractive man, of course I would hit on him once, and I feel terrible. I’ll apologize to him tomorrow. He doesn’t need to know it’s not just that. He never has to know.

  I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing the resolve in my own face.

  Tomorrow, I could fix this.

  First, I had to sleep and sober up.

  I was up later than normal, groaning as I groped to hit my alarm. My room wasn’t cold, so I was able to roll out of bed without feeling too sluggish and made my way into my bathroom, looking for a bottle of painkillers I normally kept on hand.

  As I took two, I thought about the night before.

  It’s been years since I got that drunk. What the hell was I thinking?

  Needless to say, it was going to be a night I would remember for a long time and a cautionary tale about why I slowed down my drinking habits years ago. It had been shortly after Cassius walked out, leaving behind our unhealthy relationship. I knew I had needed the wakeup call.

  Throwing on clean clothes, I walked into the living room, smelling breakfast even though it was three in the afternoon. I walked quietly into the kitchen, but he knew I was coming. Raphael looked up the moment after I entered even though I hadn’t made a sound.

  “Sorry about last night,” I said, tapping my hand on the counter anxiously. “I was drunk—”

  “I get it. It’s fine,” he said, looking back down at the eggs he was making. “But…” he sighed and shook his head. “Never mind.”

  “Okay. I just don’t want things to be awkward. You still have to live with me for eight more months, and I didn’t want you to think I was actually trying to jump you or something.” I wasn’t sure where to go from there. If he was cool, I should have been cool, but for some reason, I wasn’t. I wasn’t cool in the slightest, which really annoyed me.

  “Do you want bacon?” he asked softly, looking over at me again.

  “No thanks,” I said with a snap he didn’t deserve, regretting it immediately.

  “What?” he demanded, his chocolate eyes narrowing.

  “Nothing.” I walked around him to get to the fridge and pulled out a breakfast shake. I hoped it would settle my stomach without needing to eat anything more. Before I could bring myself to leave the kitchen, I turned to him and tried to speak without hostility, keeping myself from being aggressive. “What were you going to say?”

  “Nothing,” he answered, keeping his eyes on his food.

  “Don’t bullshit me. I came out here and apologized, but you’re obviously holding something back.” I wished there wasn’t a little bit of desperation in that, but Raphael was so good at keeping himself locked off from me, and it was driving me up the wall. I finally had the chance to hear what he was thinking, and I knew I wasn’t going to.

  “It’s nothing,” he repeated, no anger in his words, but there was a definite feeling he wanted me to drop it. “You propositioned me last night, then you freaked out. You were drunk. I get it. It happens. No harm, no foul. What else I was thinking is my business.”

  “Fine.” I turned and walked out again, opening the shake. Going to the patio, I fell into a seat, soaking up the heat of the sun. In the winter, it didn’t get much warmer than the sixties, but it was better than nothing.

  I wanted to be angrier than I had any right to be. He was allowed his own thoughts, but the immature part of me wanted to get a little saw, open up his head, and figure out what he was thinking, going directly to the source.

  I hate this. I hate that I even fucking care. I hate biology.

  I stared at my view from the wraparound rooftop patio and sighed heavily.

  4

  Chapter FOUR

  “I’m going to the gym,” I called out after the sun went down. I had spent the entire day reading on my patio to avoid Raphael, my biological urges, and the frustration that came from both.

  “Okay.”

  I knew he was in the living room, reading printouts about species he probably found on the database. I printed out dozens of them, anything I thought he might run into. He spent at least four to five nights a week reading through them over and over, but I had no idea how much he was learning. He didn’t ask me many questions, and I knew better than to pry.

  I stomped into the gym and got to work, hoping physical exhaustion would chase away the remainder of the hangover and my attitude.

  Never in my life have I ever bitten my tongue so fucking much, yet he’s got me biting my tongue and toning myself down every fucking second of the day.

  I was halfway through my planned three-hour workout when my phone rang. I slammed the stop button on the treadmill, hissing as it interrupted the music I had been listening to. The caller ID showed a private number with no other information for me to glean. Whoever was calling could have been anyone, and that pissed me off more.

  “Kaliya Sahni speaking. Who’s this?” I demanded, leaning on the front of the treadmill, wondering who was dumb enough to call me. The Tribunal, my bosses, had made it a point to leave me alone since the Sinclair and Mygi incident that left me living with Raphael. I actively avoided the vampires in Phoenix because their Mistress was furious with me and would be for a long time. I didn’t talk much with the local werewolf pack or anyone else, so I was left annoyed and confused by the sudden unknown caller.

  “It’s Tarak, from the prison,” a smooth, accented voice answered. “I called my contact with the Tribunal to get your number.”

  I sighed. Tarak was one of the head honchos of the prison down in the Sonoran Desert. Specifically, he was one of the three Wardens, and even more specifically, he was the werewolf Alpha who kept the other furry moon-cursed in line. He was a beautiful and very dangerous Apache who had been a werewolf longer than I had even been alive. He was a werewolf before the War even started. My little slice of desert had more ancient werewolves than any other place in the world. Most wolves just didn’t live that long.

  If he was calling me, he wanted something.

  “Is there trouble?” I asked, getting off the treadmill as I realized my night was probably ruined.

  “Actually, no. We’re late on a Tribunal review. They’ve told me, in no uncertain terms, you need to get here and get it done. They left it to me to call you.”

  “Oh, are you fucking serious?” I asked, snappy as I jumped off the treadmill. “Is it really time for a review?”

  “They want one, and they’re going to have it. They’re my bosses as much as yours, so yes, it’s time for a review. I’m going to need you to do a walkthrough and verify we’re doing everything they want.” Tarak didn’t sound pleased, either, but he had a point. The Tribunal called the shots.

  “How late are we with this?” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d walked through the prison just to have a look. It wasn’t recently, which meant we probably were behind, but I wanted to verify. Half the time, I forgot it was even a duty I had.

  “The last time we sent in a report about the status of my prison was six years ago,” he answered. “You’ve visited since, but for…other duties. Technically, we’re nearly a year late.”

  “Damn it, I knew I should have written those visits up. This is by far the stupidest duty I have. Fucking hate this stupid paperwork shit.”

  “I also find it foolish. I can easi
ly write reports with the other Wardens, but they really want someone to walk through who reports closer to them. Is Cassius in town again? I heard he was, but I was told to reach out to you, not him.” Tarak sounded disappointed. I couldn’t blame him. Cassius was better at this than I ever was. My region never had a permanently stationed investigator aside from Cassius, and he had bolted from my region when we ended our terribly thought-out relationship.

  “He has moved back to Arizona with his wife, Lady Sorcha,” I answered, leaning on the wall of the gym. I looked out for anyone, but I knew the gym didn’t have audio surveillance, so I was comfortable talking as long as I was alone. “But they were just called back to the fae lands. If they haven’t left yet, they will soon. The timing of this sucks, Tarak. I have someone under my protection right now.”

  “I heard, but you know how people get when I need to call them in from other regions,” he said almost kindly. “They wouldn’t even know what to do. You and Cassius have handled this for a long time, so no one else has had to.”

  “I’m going to have to bring him,” I said, running a hand over my sweaty hair, pulled back in a ponytail. “I’m not allowed to leave him alone for very long, and a trip to the prison generally takes a long time.”

  “I can up security for your visit if that worries you, but I would rather you bring him here than piss off our bosses. Callahan made it clear he didn’t appreciate the ‘air of laziness’ the prison gave from its lateness with reports. Dian and Eliphas also got phone calls, chewing them out. I think Hasan is making the Tribunal clean house,” Tarak mumbled, a little bitter. “That fucking werecat. Comes back and stirs up shit.”

  “I barely know him. Only met him the once and really don’t want to meet him again,” I said, ignoring Tarak’s tone. I also recognized the names of the fae Warden and the witch Warden. Between the three of them, they had what felt like a small army of Tribunal guards who could handle anything. They had two types of magic and a pack of wolves.