“We don’t know how long we’ll live. There wasn’t an expiration placed on our lives since we are expected to be killed in battle. They didn’t want their warriors getting old before they met their final fate on the battlefield.”
“The more I hear about these guys, the more I hate them.” Her phone rang. “It’s Ava. Hey, what’s up,” she answered her phone with a laugh. “I’m not home yet so you’ll have to wait for the good stuff. Store, shopping? You’re not serious? You are serious. I’m good with that see you in a few.” She hung up laughing.
“Ava and Locke are going to the big box store she hates with a passion to buy dishes of all things. They’ve invited us to go along. I said yes, sorry I didn’t ask you first.”
He made a right at the corner heading towards the store. “I would have said yes. We all know how much she doesn’t like that place. She told us one night when things calmed down for us. Do you like shopping?”
“Not really, it wastes a lot of energy. Since I’ve been with you that energy waste is less than ten percent and shrinking.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
She watched him wondering what a relationship between them would be like. Her last attempt at anything serious was in her early twenties when she realized that wrestling her mental gifts, still working hard with her mom, and a man didn’t all work together. She couldn’t give up the mental BS that followed her, and she refused to give up the one person who stood by her side her whole life. That meant the man had to go. The fact that she walked away told her it wasn’t serious on her part. Shortly after that, she found out she wasn’t the only one he was trying to get with.
Now her mother was taken care of. The mental BS was as good as it was going to get. This should be the perfect time if she didn’t factor in an alien life form that wanted to take her over. Sounded like the devil incarnate to her.
Chapter Eleven
There was too much merchandise in one place along with too many people, but she could endure it for a few hours with her friend, hopefully, friends.
“You have that ‘I’d rather be dead’ look on your face,” Keva teased Ava as she and Kayden walked over to them.
“I don’t think it’s that bad but close.” They both laughed walking off with the guys following them. “Alright, you’ve eaten two meals at the house. You know they are in desperate need of plates.”
“They need it all, plates, bowls, forks, and spoons. Heck, they could use more pots and pans. Guys, I think you both need a cart,” Keva called over her shoulder.
They groaned and broke off to get one.
“What about these?” Keva held up some forks.
Mira shook her head. “These guys don’t play when they eat. I’m all for something attractive but it needs to be strong enough first.”
“I see your point. I like these.” She held up a set of silverware but looked at the price. “Do these things clean up after themselves?”
“We wish,” Mira laughed as she tested them for durability. “Good eye these will work.” They took several boxes and stuck them in one of the carts.
They walked around the store on a mission filling both carts until they finally took a seat in one of the small stand’s they had for people to get a drink and let their feet rest.
“Shopping is harder than I thought it would be,” Kayden looked at the carts.
“Enzo told me about shopping. I was expecting this.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t have a lot of time to spend with them before we left following you.”
“When this is done, maybe we can close the house down for a week or two and go visit the others,” there was a look of longing in Tristan’s eyes.
“You want to come back?”
“This is our home now and we’re a family within a family.”
Kayden nodded it was a good way to put it. He gave Keva a smile.
His smiles made Keva’s heart beat faster. She was thinking about his heart. The beat wasn’t the same as a human heart, but it lulled her to sleep last night faster and sweeter than any lullaby she’d ever heard. She sipped her strawberry lemonade slowly wanting to slow down time. What would happen when he dropped her off? Would this be the last time she saw him? Didn’t sleeping in his bed while lying on his chest mean anything to him? How could he drop her off like she was trash? Just like a man or male in his case.
“Keva I’m feeling some tension from you,” Ava said matter-of-factly.
Keva looked up and sighed, she was doing it again, projecting. It was something she started doing when she was a kid. Too many people looked at her with that look that said you’re nothing and neither is your mother. It was because they struggled for a while. No one ever asked why they struggled or if they could help, they just gave her that judgy look. She wasn’t a psychic and didn’t know what they were thinking so she added her own mental commentary to their looks. Kayden didn’t deserve that the others did, but he didn’t.
“I went to that place where all bad thoughts live, sorry it was a detour I could have skipped. We need to pay for this stuff and get the car packed.” The end was coming whether she liked it or not.
An hour later they had both cars packed. Keva never did find out what they were giving away. That’s the only reason the lines could be that long so early in the morning. Mentally she prepared herself to say goodbye when Kayden pulled over next to a park about a block from her building.
There was a huge grassy area that people used for cookouts or frisbee or just to roll down the side of the hill in the grass. That rolling in the grass thing hurt, she knew because she tried. There’s also the itch that came with rolling in the grass. It just looked so darn cute on television. Bucket list- roll down the hillside in the grass- check. In the center was a playground to let the kids have fun and off to one side was a basketball court. This was a great place to come with a date or with a family.
She turned to look at him when he parked.
“Have you ever come here? It’s a nice place.”
“First time, we either stayed in the large community we built for ourselves that was hidden from human eyes or at the house we live in now.”
“Shifters,” it was said with a certainty she was far from feeling.
“Yes, we like our privacy. I stopped to ask you something.”
“Okay,” her throat was tight. She wouldn’t tell anyone about them, not that anyone would believe her.
They sat in silence for several minutes.
“I want to see you again.”
She opened her mouth to tell him it was okay that he wasn’t interested until his words caught up with her ears.
“You want to see me again? Of course, you do, I’m awesome.”
“You are. You’re also beautiful, intelligent, and sweet. You’re easy to talk to, get along well with others, and you make my heart skip beats.” He lowered his eyes and waited to see what she would say.
“You really mean all that?”
“I do.”
It was official; she didn’t care about what the people in her old neighborhood would say about falling for a male this quickly. Forget the magazines that would probably ask for her woman card back. Kayden was the first male she never wanted to walk away from. In her book that made him someone special.
Keva waited patiently for Kayden to look at her. He lowered his head his shoulders slumped. Projecting, that’s what it looked like to her. She waited in this one thing she could hold out longer than him. This was important, and he needed to be willing to hear what she had to say.
When his head lifted and met her eyes, she gave him her brightest it’s going to be okay smile.
“I don’t date often. In the past, I was too busy taking care of my mom and myself. When I made enough money, I could retire comfortably after meeting both mine and mom’s needs, I kept working. I didn’t ever want to face the trials I grew up with.” She stopped to look at him, her hand moving to cover his. “That was my decision and I don’t regret it. This is also my
decision I’d like to spend more time with you. If you’re interested, we could date. I’m interested in you, and I’d like more than certain things.”
If his eyes got any brighter, the sun was going to stop shining in a fit of jealousy.
“I’m interested in you for more than certain things.”
She relaxed back in the seat. She liked their code word for sex it felt intimate like only they knew what they were talking about. A smile curved her lips. The block went past much faster than she liked.
“Do you want to come upstairs?” His car was packed, and he needed to get back to the house, but maybe.
“I’d like that.” Finding a parking spot on the street was always hard. He ended parking two blocks away, but the walk had them laughing as they teased and talked about what was happening around them.
Keva didn’t stumble until she got off the elevator. Kayden caught her sweeping her into a hug.
“Something's not right. My energy is going crazy it’s battling inside my head ready to fight to protect me.”
“Has this happened before?”
“Someone thought trying to rape me was a good idea,” her eyes burned bright. “It wasn’t.”
“What happened to him?”
“They let him go, not enough proof. Also, he looked like he was in a fight and came out the loser.”
“No justice.”
“I’m not a psychic, but there is a yell that highlights evil. It’s the righteous cry of those that have been hurt. He raped, battered, and tortured a lot of women.” Her light brown eyes blazed turning black with her fury. “He got what he deserved.”
Kayden didn’t ask any more questions. He had taken out more than one person who got what they deserved.
“Let’s walk towards your door. Tell me if the feeling gets stronger.”
“I think whatever it is, is coming from my apartment.” She handed him the key. He placed her on the wall beside the door before he opened it.
“Either you’re a lousy housekeeper or someone trashed your apartment.”
She tried to get in her place running into Kayden’s back.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come in here. The Shadows may have a trap set up for you. Tell me what you want, I’ll get it.”
She nodded unable to come to terms with the fact that someone trashed her home. This wasn’t the place she loved or even where she planned to spend the rest of her life, but it was her little slice of heaven. Her sanctuary for right now and someone had violated that. They walked in like they had the right and rifled through her things throwing them around like they were worthless trash.
Her hands went around her arms as she rocked from side to side. There was no need to ask who did this, the Shadow left his signature as surely as if he had put it on a piece of paper. Kayden took her in his arms holding her tight keeping her from floating away like she was in a drug-induced high.
“Do not cross the threshold.” He went to check out the rest of the apartment.
When he came back, there was a fire in his eyes. “There isn’t a lot that can be salvaged. You’ll have to buy new clothes and hire someone to clean out this apartment. Do you know what you want to keep?”
“I do.” The things that meant the most to her weren’t sitting out.
He picked up his phone and made a short call. “I need you.”
“How will they know where to find you?”
“Trust me, they’ll find me.”
Fifteen minutes later two males walked in they were obviously Kur’ik with two women she never saw before.
“Keva this is Declyn, our general. His mate Safire our queen, Enzo his right-hand male, and Deja his mate and well now his other right-hand woman.”
They greeted her with a round of hellos before looking into her apartment.
“I hate when the enemy tries to intimidate you in this way,” Safire told her.
“I agree,” Deja added her voice. “What did you lose?”
“She lost almost everything.”
“And now we have a reason to go shopping. Where shall we drop her off at?” Deja hummed rubbing her hands together.
“The house.”
“I’ve been wanting a chance to see Ven,” Deja hugged and kissed Enzo before going to wait at the elevator.
“Be careful,” Safire whispered to her mate.
“Are you crazy, mate? I haven’t had any action for a while.”
“You get hurt and you won’t see any action for a while,” she smacked his arm and moved to the elevator.
“That woman knows how to take the fun out of everything,” Declyn said just loud enough so Safire could hear him. He was met with her laughter.
“Shouldn’t I stay, I mean it’s my apartment?”
“There could be more than one trap in there waiting for you. I’ll grab everything you told me. Text or call if you think of something else. This is the only way to keep you safe.”
Her feet dragged as she walked to the elevator.
“Hi,” she said again feeling slightly out of her depth with people she didn’t know. “Thanks for coming, I’m not sure why he called you.”
“That’s easy,” Deja told her as they got on the elevators. “We know how to kill when needed.”
Chapter Twelve
Keva was laughing so hard that she lifted her hand wiping tears from her eyes. Safire and Deja had kept her happy as they shopped and told her stories about Ven and the rest of the Kur’iks. What really caught her attention was when they each told her how they met their mates. They didn’t say anything concrete but somehow the idea that Kayden could be her mate was implanted. Now it wouldn’t go away no matter how many times it was uprooted.
The laughter stopped when Deja finally stopped in front of Kayden’s house. Everything that happened to bring her to this point flooded back in like a dam that burst after too much rain.
“It’s all real. There’s something called the Shadows that are out to take over my body or kill me. Six on one hand, a half dozen on the other.” She held up her hands making a balancing the scale move.
“It’s all real,” Safire told her.
“Gee thanks Fire.” Their laughter broke the tension.
“You can win, it won’t be easy or without risk. I almost lost everything, there’s also no guarantee,” Deja told her.
“Deja’s right but she’s wrong too. There is one guarantee, that Shadow won’t stop looking for you until you or it is dead.”
Strangely enough, that was more comforting than it should have been. Destiney was coming her way, no matter what she did. She could fight which was her normal way of handling things or flight the less common way. Either way, it would find her, there would be a battle. This she could handle it was what happened after the battle win or lose that bothered her. She wasn’t ready for the consequences.
“Keva do you trust us?” Safire turned to look at her.
That was a lot to ask after one day of shopping. Still, the answer was yes. There was something that drew her to them. It felt like kinship or a sisterhood that had more to do with them besides they were both beautiful black women and fabulously plus size. What drew her went deeper than that like her soul acknowledged them and whatever difference they hid on the inside. Ahh, thoughts like this should only come with a potent glass of alcohol.
“Yes, God help me if I’m wrong, but I do trust you.”
“Give us your hand,” Deja held hers out.
The minute Keva offered her hand both Deja and Fire as she liked to be called took it.
“Technically we can’t help,” Deja told her. “This isn’t our fight and though we offered we were turned down.”
“I get it, they need to do this on their own. After all, they’ve each been through. It’s their proof they are more than they were told, or whatever goes on in the male head. Don’t get me started,” Fire laughed shaking her head.
“They didn’t say anything about giving you a gift. Since Fire oversees all the wome
n. Honestly, she’s in charge of the men too, but they still try to pretend that Declyn’s the only one they must listen too. She can transfer you a gift. We’re a little different back at the compound, but we put our heads and hearts together and came up with a small token of our love.” When Deja stopped talking, they closed their eyes. Not knowing what to do Keva joined in.
Warmth, then fire shot up her linked hand consuming her body. She twisted and turned trying to get away as a silent scream blocked her vocal cords and made the darkness behind her eyes as bright as the pits of hell lit by unholy fire. When the fire retreated, she dropped in the backseat panting.
Her heart raced and every pore of her body let out sweat as if whatever impurities that littered her mortal shell were now burned away. Inside her chest was a tightness that didn’t keep her from breathing. She knew without understanding that this was the gift they gave her. There were no instructions or knowledge of when to use it. With so many unknowns she was still thankful, it may mean the difference between life and death.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” they told her.
“Alright enough stalling my baby boy is in there. I haven’t seen him in forever.”
“It’s been a little over a year,” Fire rolled her eyes at her best friend. “This is like he went to college.”
“What do you know? Wait till you have children that grow up and leave home.” She jumped out and slammed the door.
“Have I mentioned that Deja has a flair for the dramatic?” Fire got out the SUV more sedately.
“Hurry,” Deja called from the porch.
Keva got down and joined them, opening the door to the house. Everyone was sitting in the living room along with Declyn and Enzo.
“My baby!” Deja was running across the room and Ven was walking quickly to meet her. They met in the middle of the room hugging as Ven lifted his mother and twirled her around. “I missed you Ven. Are they taking good care of you? Are you eating? You look like you lost weight.”
The Wolf & The Pretender Page 7