Kaliya Sahni: Volume One (Kaliya Sahni Volumes Book 1)

by K. N. Banet

  When I found myself near the open wall, his back was turned for a split second.

  I shifted back into human form behind him and grabbed a handful of his hair, yanking his head back. I struck hard and fast, sinking my fangs into his neck. I could have killed him in snake form, it would have been easier, but it wouldn’t have given me the same satisfaction.

  When I released him, I spun us around, so his back was to the night sky and the terrible drop. My fast acting venom was already doing its work as a red tear ran down his cheek.

  “That was for me,” I whispered.

  I shoved.

  Stepping closer to the edge, I watched his fall to the yard, scaring guards as his body landed right in front of them.

  “That was for Nakul,” I said, knowing no one would hear the words. They were for me.

  I walked out of the tower, feeling empty, knowing my job was done.

  31

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Another three hours passed by the time Raphael and I got back to Cassius’ mansion. Raphael had made several good points—my condo was a mess, my house wasn’t finished, Cassius’ mansion was the safest place to be—so I didn’t fight his request to return there.

  Part of me only said yes because it was a mansion, with all the creature comforts of one.

  Leith unlocked the door, then bid us a good night when he caught my mood. I needed to be alone, not because I was angry or upset, but because I just needed to be.

  I left Raphael to unload the BMW and went to take a long, hot shower. By the time I was out, I only felt marginally better. Knowing it would be impossible to sleep, I pulled on a t-shirt and sweats, then headed downstairs to the entertainment room Cassius had tucked away, where I could stream a movie and let it carry me away.

  I found a seat right in the middle of the room. It wasn’t a movie chair. Whoever had designed the room had made very deep couches, where people could essentially lie down and enjoy their films. I enjoyed the soft, plush fabric the moment I sat down and made myself comfortable among the pillows.

  I turned on something but didn’t really pay attention, some noir film, an old classic I was certain. Movies were cool, but they were never my thing. I was more fond of art and the written word. I loved to read stories, not watch them. Reading a book wasn’t a good idea tonight, though. It wouldn’t give me the mindless activity I needed.

  I didn’t know how long the movie had been playing when Raphael walked in, saw me, then took a seat next to me. He, not subtly, put an arm over me. I didn’t curl into him, though his heat made me want to, and my fangs demanded it.

  “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  “I just need some quiet time.” If he had been anyone else, I would have gotten snappy. He knew how the last day and a half had gone—thirty-six hours of violence and secrets that should have killed me somewhere along the way.

  I wasn’t in a bad mood. I was just drained.

  “Do you mind a little company?” His arm began to lift but dropped as I shook my head. “Everyone is asleep. Leith helped me unload, then made himself scarce. Terry wasn’t in the kitchen, so I made a quick bite to eat, then came looking for you.”

  “Quiet time,” I repeated softly. He said nothing else.

  The movie finished with the good guy and his clear morals winning and the bad guy, who was definitely evil, losing.

  “Nakul did evil things,” I whispered, staring at the screen as credits rolled. “But he wasn’t always evil. He was never really evil.”

  “You don’t need to explain, Kaliya.”

  “I do.” I needed to get this off my chest. I had to. “He was once a doting uncle. I loved my cousin. He was a good kid—a little older by a couple of years. My aunt was amazing. She and my mom were so…” I closed my eyes, letting the pain hit me, knowing there was no stopping it. “He was actually softer than my dad and brothers.

  “My dad was tough. He had to be, you know? He had two sons and a daughter. That’s a lot of children in a naga family. My brothers were grown, but they still lived with us, and they all protected me…all the time. I couldn’t go out, not even into walled-off land. They were that paranoid. But then Nakul, Rashmi, and Sanjit would come over, and they would loosen up my family. I would get to play outside while Nakul distracted my father and brothers. My mother and aunt would laugh as I snuck off, not telling anyone I was going to swim in our pond.”

  “It sounds like it was a nice life,” Raphael whispered.

  “It was sometimes…most of the time. Whoever killed them broke him. My uncle did evil things, but he wasn’t evil. He was just broken.”

  “Kaliya, what’s wrong?”

  “I should hate him, but I pity him. I should feel terrible for helping him because he did evil things, but I don’t regret it. He was already so broken from losing his family. So, so broken,” I whispered, knowing all too well. “He didn’t deserve what Eliphas did to him or let be done to him.”

  “No, he didn’t,” Raphael agreed.

  “And I don’t think he should walk free, but…” I tried to find the words.

  “No one deserves to be violated,” Raphael said carefully. “I think you’re walking the tightrope as best you can, Kaliya. I see it. I’m sure the Tribunal does, and I’m sure your people will. What was it you said on that phone call? You’re a leader of the nagas and have to protect your own at any cost. You’re their Executioner, and you have to uphold the Law. From where I sit, I can see the split responsibilities, and I think you did your best. Nakul doesn’t need to walk free, but he can be held under house arrest with his own people. That should appease both your loyalties, and you shouldn’t feel guilty. You’ve done your best.”

  “Thanks,” I croaked. Now I did lean into him. He understood. He got it.

  He picked up the remote and chose the next movie.

  This one was also a blur to me—until the leads kissed. Sitting beside Raphael, my head on his shoulder and chest, my mouth watered, and my fangs dropped down. He shifted a little, moving his legs, and his breathing picked up.

  The leads had sex later in the movie. I had a feeling Raphael hadn’t been expecting this, either. He cleared his throat, somewhat uncomfortably, as he tried to move his legs again to hide an obvious erection. As he got more comfortable, I sank into him more. Our bodies began to tangle, his arm under my head, one of mine thrown across his abdomen. I stretched, and one of my legs went over his, falling between them. After another shift, I was half draped over him, enjoying his blazing body heat; just what I needed. He started to rub my back, and I started to draw circles on his abdomen.

  When I went lower, teasing the edge of his shorts, his breath hitched, and the pressure of his hand grew. His mouth touched the top of my head, and I teased further, grinding against him ever so subtly. The small growl that came from him was erotic, giving me shivers down my spine.

  I knew what I was doing. I was looking for something to ease the empty feeling I sometimes got after a job ended—something to ease the loneliness brought on by my place in the world.

  And it was working as his erection grew just under where my hand played at the edge of his shorts. Raphael was a good man, and just lying beside him made me want him. Biology, my own attraction, it didn’t matter the reason—I wanted him.

  Two people silently leading each other through the same dance. We both wanted. I knew neither of us considered it the right time, but here we were, having opened up about things over the last day and a half, we spent four months avoiding.

  We’re adults. Why not? I don’t have to bite him. He just has to know...

  “I don’t kiss, and I’ve never had sex sober,” I said suddenly.

  “You don’t kiss at all?”

  I looked up and tilted my head as I opened my mouth, showing my fangs. Showing him my fangs was easy. What surprised me was how he didn’t ask about the second half of the statement. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant thought.

  “Oh, yeah. I can imagine a heavy makeout session doe
sn’t go well when someone accidentally punctures their tongue on one of those.” He was trying to be humorous, but I saw the heat in his eyes. He still wanted me, even with the very dangerous fangs. “Um, one is dripping. Isn’t that a…”

  You know what it does to me. Make your decision, Raphael. It’s the perfect plan. I don’t need alcohol if I just accept that my body has given me a way out.

  I watched him consider it. Slowly, he reached out and pushed up my chin, closing my mouth.

  “Swallow,” he whispered. I did, and the effect started slowly, a warmth spreading from my gut.

  He turned onto his side, coming out from under me, causing me to sink into the soft couch. His hand trailed up my side as we stared at each other, his warm chocolate eyes soft in the dim light of the screen.

  “Are you sure?” he asked softly.

  “This is the only thing I’ve been sure of in weeks. If you leave me with my venom coursing through my veins, I’ll kill you the moment I can walk.”

  He nodded, chuckling. “There’s the Kaliya I know.”

  He ducked down, and a thigh went between my legs as he half rolled over me. His mouth found my neck, and I let my head go back as he kissed a hot line from under my jaw to the collar of my loose tee. From the bottom, he pulled the shirt up and wrapped his hand around to my lower back as his erection pressed against my thigh.

  Then the fire really began to spread. It had been ages since I purposely or accidentally ingested my own venom, decades at least. I had forgotten just how potent it could be.

  I clawed at his shirt, and he obliged, pulling away to his knees, his thigh still pressed between my legs. While his shirt came off, revealing his beautiful, scarred body, I threw my own aside, revealing I hadn’t bothered to put on a bra. I hadn’t been expecting to hang out with anyone tonight after getting back.

  Moving to the side, he yanked my sweatpants off. His eyes went black, and the growl that came from him was that of a satisfied man.

  I hadn’t worn any underwear, either.

  Reaching out, I tugged on his shorts, telling him they needed to go as well. When his eyes met mine, they were full of hot passion, even if they were one solid color.

  The shorts flew across the room, and he was back between my legs in record time. He worshiped my body in kisses—my neck, my breasts, my stomach. He wedged himself between my legs and blew my mind with each stroke of his tongue and the dexterous way he used his fingers.

  I was panting by the time he came back up. The smart man gently grabbed my jaw and turned my head, protecting himself from my fangs as I moaned and screamed my way through that first orgasm. He buried his face in my hair and pushed in slowly.

  There was no talking—not a single word, including each other’s names. We spoke through the sighs and moans we made as our worlds merged into only each other. The fire in my veins fueled me to go on for ages. His lust for me, something I hadn’t realized was strong, fueled him to match me. That second orgasm was like a bomb going off.

  The strong muscles of his back were memorized by my fingers, more specifically, my nails. The curves of my body were memorized by his hands and mouth. We played with each other’s bodies for hours, long past the rising of the sun.

  By the time Raphael carried me back to my room, I felt less hollow. I was still exhausted, but I felt infinitely better. And when he put me in the bed, completely wrung out of every bit of energy I had?

  He joined me.

  32

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  One week later

  I jumped out of my BMW and left it parked at the sidewalk to go into the small coffee shop, finding the person I was looking for immediately. He and I didn’t meet in his territory, that was my rule. I tried to avoid Pack business and structures because they could be a violent bunch, and I never wanted to get dragged into it.

  “How is he?” I asked immediately.

  “Aren’t you going to sit down and order a coffee?” Wagner asked, frowning at me.

  “No, I just want to know how he is. I’m feeling a little invested in him, and for a week now, you’ve been avoiding my calls or telling me you were too busy. Now I have several things to do in one day. Tell me how Wesley is doing.” I didn’t have time for him to flex and show up the way Alphas loved to do. He had strung me along for a week, refusing to give me news.

  He sighed. “Sit. It’s…drawing attention for you to just stand there. You stand out. You should dye your hair.”

  “You don’t think I dye it white?” I sat down slowly, knowing he was right.

  “I would be able to smell the bleach, and you can’t get the color you have unnaturally. Not well, at least.” Wagner gave me a hard stare. “Now, order a drink. You know better than to make a scene, Kaliya.”

  “Just tell me what I want to know, and this conversation would already be over.”

  He growled softly. “You realize everyone here still knows I’m the Phoenix Alpha, right? My identity isn’t a secret like yours. The public was already scared of us, and now you want me to talk about Wesley, who exposed our entire Last Change problem to the world.”

  “Wagner.” I put a lot of warning in those words. “I don’t care about your PR problems.”

  “He’s…not fine, but not worse, either,” Wagner finally said, throwing his hands in the air. There was something amusing about frustrated Alphas who didn’t get their way. “He’s unable to control himself. We’re giving him time to see if he can bring himself back down.”

  “The compulsion spell might still be driving him to find me,” I said softly. “Have you called Monica?”

  He growled, this time a little louder than necessary.

  “She’s going to charge me. I’m not in the mood to give more money to the witches.” His words were still hushed. No one would hear us in our tucked-away booth in the back of the café, and no one could get a good picture of us from where we were.

  “So? Someone needs to reverse the spell on him or let him…” I gave him my best glare. “Get it done, Alpha Wagner. For him, for you, for me. Call her today.” I stood up and walked out, letting the human whispers follow me. They all probably wanted to know who just chewed out the popular and respected Alpha of the city. He was the one who wanted a public space, probably to keep me from getting too rowdy.

  He just learned that didn’t work with me.

  I got back into my BMW and drove back to my condo. We had the window fixed and moved back in as if nothing had happened. The lawyer I kept on retainer kept anyone from asking too many questions and had the local police suppress my address to keep it from leaking to the press in relation to the Wesley portion of the incident. He’d been caught on security cameras, so the werewolves had to talk to the human police forces. I was certain the United States government also got involved. They had an entire agency to handle these things. Once humans got involved, I generally got out. It wasn’t my business anymore. I didn’t do the human-involved stuff, being one of the species they didn’t know about.

  Walking through the kitchen, noting that Raphael wasn’t there, I headed to my office. He was probably in the gym. I gave him a lot more free rein now. He had earned it over the breakout.

  Sitting down at my desk, I found his note and was glad to see I was right. He had gone down to the gym and would be back up in two hours. That gave me time to make the next phone call of the day.

  Adhar picked up on video after two rings.

  “It’s good to see you, Kaliya.”

  “Did he make it there okay?” I asked softly. Phoenix to New Delhi for Nakul had been a twenty-six-and-a-half-hour flight with two connections. I flew him privately, splitting the cost with Adhar, but it was still long because of refueling stops. He was escorted by two witches from Monica’s coven, keeping him under, who would come back in a few days once Nakul was awake and knew what had happened to him. Adhar’s job—along with some of the other male nagas to back him up—was to keep Nakul from hurting anyone…forever. His sentence was changed to house
arrest, and the Tribunal had quietly agreed to not publicize the naga’s absence from the prison.

  “He and the witches arrived at the temporary home only a couple of hours ago. We’re going to be here only one night, then the witches will leave. Nakul is going to live with me.”

  “That’s good,” I said, nodding. “Thank you for doing this.”

  “Thank you for deciding to trust me again. And…” He looked like he had to swallow a bitter pill. “Good work in Phoenix. You did us proud.”

  “Thanks.” I hadn’t been expecting that. Normally, Adhar yelled at me every chance he got.

  “If not for you, someone would have killed him, and—”

  “It would have been their right and duty,” I reminded him. “Don’t kid yourself. He’s dangerous, Adhar, but…maybe one day, he’ll be okay. He’ll never be free, but maybe okay.”

  “I understand. Now, I must leave you. The witches were hoping to start when you called.”

  “Good luck to you and them.” I hung up.

  Taking one long deep breath, I sank back into my chair, then released a slow sigh. I knew what was next, I just needed Raphael to get back from the gym.

  Once he was back, we didn’t talk much until we were back in my BMW.

  “Did he really think after everything, a text saying he was back was going to be good enough?” Raphael asked, smiling a little.

  “Apparently,” I muttered, shaking my head. No one ever said Cassius was the smartest man. He had sent it the night before, and I had told him to go to hell, leaving him wondering why.

  The devil himself answered his door, and I immediately grabbed his shirt.

  “Did you fucking hear what went down while you were gone, asshole?” I snapped at him. Cassius had no fight in him, though. He gave me a tired look.

  “I heard about it after I sent the text. I’m sorry. Sorcha and I didn’t have a good trip either, which is why we’re back early.”