Al turned to Kai and looked into his brilliant blue eyes. They almost seemed to glow in the darkened alley.
“Are you hurt, lass?”
“Um…” Al was at a loss for words. Her mind couldn’t seem to reach her tongue.
“Answer me!” Kai growled at her. His voice sounded deeper and a bit rougher. “Are you hurt, lass?”
Al shook herself, the events of the last few days running through her head. She thought back to the attack in the cemetery, it was very much like this one. The men were all dressed in black just like the men who had tried to mug them.
“This wasn’t a random attack. Neither was the one at the cemetery, was it?” She asked. “The attack at the tattoo shop was these same men, wasn’t it? Why are they after us?”
“Alvena, I swear to god, if you do not answer my feckin’ question this instant…I’m…I’m…I’m going to bend you over my knee and spank that delectable arse of yours.” Kai practically bellowed.
“Hey! Don’t you dare yell at me, Kai Darrow. I’ve been attacked multiple times, have some weird connection to your damned tattoo, and can't sleep without dreaming about you! Nowhere in there does it say that you are my parent or that you own me. Don’t be making threats to me. You are going to fucking give me some fucking answers. Now!” Al yelled back at him.
Kai stared her down for a moment, “I’m going to take that as a no, you’re not hurt. As for your answers, we’ll talk back at the plantation. You lasses will be going back there with us.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you Neanderthals!” Nat screamed from her position in the alley. “Get your damn hands off of me.”
“You better stay still love; you might start something you don’t want to finish.” The blond man said to her.
Al heard several moans from the men in black that were apparently coming around. Kai took out his phone, a call connecting immediately, “Come get them. I want answers Dar.” He then looked at Al.
“Alvena, these men are after you and your friends. You are lucky that Malkum was able to find you when he did.” All three women sucked in shocked breaths.
She stopped a moment and really looked at the man in front of her. He stood there, his fists clenched and deep breaths expanding his chest. She looked into deep eyes of blue filled with fear, not anger.
“Please come back to the plantation where we can work to keep you safe.” Kai touched her cheek. “I promise, we’ll talk there.”
He held out his hand to her, once again, letting her make the choice. Al could tell that Kai was struggling, she wasn’t sure if it was to keep from following through with the spanking he had threatened or to throw her over his shoulder and carry her out of the alley. Either way, she thought she might like it. However, Al really wanted some answers, so she put her hand in Kai’s and let him lead her to the black F150 that was parked in front of The Ruby Slipper. Al glanced back and saw both Nat and Rogue coming with the other two men.
Kai helped her into the truck. She turned in the seat and watched her friends as they were helped into the back seat, each with a huge male between them and the door. It looked like a tight fit, but Nat sat ramrod straight and looked straight ahead. Rogue sat with a confused look on her face. Al turned back around in her seat and clicked her seatbelt closed around her. She watched out the window as the streets changed from the city, to the interstate, and then to the gravel road in the bayou.
*
Hours later, Al found herself laying in an abnormally large bed on the second floor of the plantation house. The bed was comfortable and even bigger than her king size at home. It must be a special made one for Kai. At just under seven feet tall, his feet would hang off of most mattresses. She hadn’t realized it was his room when he had escorted her in earlier; he hadn’t said a word about it either, just given her a t-shirt to wear to sleep in and left. He had gotten called away before she could ask any of the million questions running through her mind.
She could not sleep, between the unanswered questions and her worry for her friends. She wondered what was happening with Rogue and Nat; they had been taken to their own rooms when they had all arrived. When Al started to protest about them being split up, Nat shook her head no and went into the room Kai had shown her to and closed the door. Rogue had shrugged her shoulders and walked into her own. They had never gotten the answers that she had demanded and Kai had said he would give her.
Al’s mind continued to race. She tossed and turned, every movement wafting Kai’s smoky sweet tobacco smell around her. It was coming from the t-shirt he had given her, as well as, the pillow under her cheek. The smell lured her into thoughts of the man and reminded her of her dream that seemed to have happened so long ago. Damn him for giving her his bed to sleep in. There is no way I’m getting any sleep here.
She tossed a bit more, her body demanding a relief that wouldn’t be granted by sleep. All she wanted was for Kai to be in this huge bed with her. To feel his arms around her, to have his hands on her body, that was all that entered her restless mind. Since relief wouldn’t be coming soon, Al got out of the bed. She searched the drawers of the dresser along one of the walls. Pulling out drawers that contained various items of clothing: socks, underwear – her fingers hovered over the contents of that drawer, before she slammed it shut – shirts, shorts, and pants. She pulled out a pair of fleece pants, planning to wear them to the kitchen where she hoped to find some tea or hot chocolate that she could make. However, when she unfolded them and held them up to her, they were huge. There was no way she was going to be able to walk in them. She glanced down at herself. The t-shirt covered the naughty bits, but she felt exposed with nothing else on. She opened the drawer that had held shirts. She took out a long sleeved flannel and pulled it on. It fell a bit longer than the t-shirt. Well, this will have to do.
Al wasn’t sure if they were prisoners here or what, so she quietly opened the door to the hallway, which she found empty. She stopped and listened, the only noise a few creaks and groans from the settling of the old house. When no one yelled or came at her, she turned and headed for the stairs.
At the bottom she turned down the hallway for the kitchen, but was distracted by the moonlight glinting through the windows in the sitting room. Wandering into the room, Al stopped at a huge picture window on the far wall. She sucked in a breath at the beauty of the moonlight flooding the trees and glinting off the bayou surrounding them. It was gorgeous.
Al jumped as a floorboard creaked behind her. She jerked around to find Kai standing in the doorway to the room. She couldn’t make out his expression, the moonlight barely reaching him from the window. They stood there for a few minutes, just looking at each other in the moonlight. A wind picked up outside making the house groan, as if it were barely holding on to its place in the world. Al decided to go back to her room and began to move to leave. Kai held up his hand to stop her and took a step forward, but stopped before moving too far. He looked at her, took a deep breath, and nodded his head like he had come to a decision. Kai moved once again, heading for Al by the window. He stopped a hair’s breadth away from her, his breath harsh on her face. She looked up into his blue eyes. She felt like she was drowning, and looked away to find some equilibrium, her eyes falling on Kai’s arm.
“Can I see your tattoo again?” Al asked and before she could stop herself, she continued. “I’d still really like to have one like it. I’m not sure why, but the dragon just calls to me.”
Kai turned his arm towards her and began to push up his sleeve, when Al stopped his hand and pushed it up on her own. She felt Kai shiver under her fingertips. Her eyes were on his arm, her fingers tracing the black lines of the design.
“Do these tattoos have a special meaning to you and the other guys?” Al asked.
“Aye.” He breathed.
“Why did you choose the dragon?”
“You could say he chose me.” Kai responded.
“What about this small symbol here that looks like feathers sticking up?”
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“It means Leader.” She continued to move her finger.
“And this one, the two arrows crossed?”
“Friendship.”
“And the, I don’t know, bumps with a wave?”
“Weather. It’s rain clouds for storms and lightning and a cyclone for wind.”
Weather?
Al rubbed her fingers back and forth over the three smaller symbols that had been incorporated into the larger design. Leader. Friendship. Weather. What did those three words mean to Kai?
You could say that those are the three words that describe my life. Al thought. But, in my case it’s led by others, few friendships, and a stormy life.
She looked up at Kai, “That might be what the symbols mean, but what do they mean to you, Kai?”
He reached up and placed one large hand on each side of her face. He held her still and gazed deep into her eyes.
“Right now Alvena, I don’t know what my own name is. All I know is that I want to kiss you more than I want to breathe.” His thumbs rubbed back and forth across her cheekbones, before one dipped down to her lips. He traced her mouth, his eyes never leaving her face.
“May I kiss you Alvena?”
Al’s brain was mush, every nerve ending was aflame. On fire with the want for Kai to do just what he said he wanted to do. She wanted him to kiss her so much that her body quaked and her heart hurt.
“Alvena, I feel you quivering. Do you want it as much as I do? Please say aye. I need to know what your kisses taste like.”
All she could do was nod her head.
A smile spread across his face. She expected him to dive right in and take the kiss from her, but instead he explored her face with his fingers and eyes.
“You are so beautiful, lass.” Kai said right before he lightly brushed his lips against her forehead, her eyelids, her nose. Al felt full of sensation, her systems on overload. Kai leaned away again so he could look her in the eyes. He searched them until he seemed to find what he was looking for and leaned forward to place his lips against her own. A chaste kiss, then another, and another. Al was shaking with the need for this man to take what he needed, what he wanted. She wanted to taste him as much as he seemed to want to taste her. When he came in for another brush of lips, she had had enough of waiting for him to make his move. She darted out her tongue and swiped it along the seam of his lips before he had moved out of her range. A groan vibrated from Kai’s chest. His fingertips pressed into her jawline. They both seemed to stop breathing, then on an exhale, Kai finally dived in. His tongue plunging between her lips as she gasped. His taste masculine, it burst over her tongue as it glided against his. Taken over by passion, the kiss seemed to last forever, and just when Kai’s hand began to drift down her arm heading for other places. Malkum came through the door from the hallway.
“There you are Kai, sorry to bother you, but Dar needs to speak with you.”
Al’s breathing was fast and harsh. Kai stood for a moment, his forehead resting against hers.
“Kai, it’s important.”
“I heard you Malkum. Just give me a moment and I’ll be there.” Kai said from his position. Malkum left the room as quietly as he had entered.
Kai sighed.
“Alvena, I’d better go see what news Dar has, get your sleep and we’ll sit down together, all of us, and discuss what we have found out about the attacks in the morning. Is that okay with you lass?” Kai asked.
Al nodded. She didn’t think she was capable of much else. Once Kai had left the room, she stood completely still for about five seconds, then she practically ran to the bedroom where she was supposed to sleep. She got into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. She snuggled down and proceeded to lay awake, reliving that kiss. Wondering what it meant. Hopefully the morning would bring answers, because she knew that the night wasn’t going to bring sleep.
Chapter 12
Kai stood outside the office door. His body was raging. His insides were on fire, his skin too tight, and his dragon guardian was making his displeasure known. He could still feel Alvena pressed against him, her taste was still on his lips. If Malkum hadn’t interrupted them, he didn’t know how far he would have gone. He knew how far he wanted to go, but was pretty sure that Alvena would regret it once she heard everything tomorrow. He knew that his mate needed to have all of the information, so that she could make her own decision. It just might kill him, but it would always be her choice.
Taking a final deep breath, he shook out his limbs, relaxing his muscles and entered the office. Malkum sat on the edge of the desk and handed Kai the cordless phone.
“Dar.”
“Kai.”
“Please tell me you have something.”
“It’s not good news, but we did get one this time that actually knew something.”
“And…” Kai said impatiently.
“We have some answers, but not nearly enough. From the information that these men have, it appears that a Dásreach hired them.”
“Shite. Do you have a name?”
“No. Only one of the men had ever met the man who hired them and he is currently out of contact. The others receive their instructions by phone. We have the man’s phone and will wait to see if he receives another call. Maybe we can trace the call." Dar answered.
“But, what makes you think a Dásreach is behind this?” Kai asked.
“Because the hired men have a list of Dásreach tattoo shops across the U.S. They have been staking them out and reporting any women who show interest in certain tattoos. The Dásreach Warrior Marks.”
“Are you sure it’s Dásreach Warrior Marks? There could be some other reason for the tattoo shops…”
Dar interrupted, “They described the tattoos, the animals and the small symbols, and how they were in special binders at all of the shops. They don’t know what it means, just that if a woman showed interest in those types of tattoos they were to take care of the woman.”
“What do you mean take care of the woman?”
“They’ve killed them, Kai.”
“Fuck!” Kai cursed. “Those could have been Dásreach mates.”
“Yes. And, their most recent orders have been to take out your mate and her friends.”
“But they hadn’t been to the tattoo shop when they were first attacked.”
“I know. The man couldn’t tell me why that was. He just knew that they had received orders to take them out at all costs. I double checked, Kai, he gave me names and locations of women they had already taken care of. The facts checked out. A few of them had even received tattoos from the shops before they were killed, so they were easier to connect to the Dásreach. I don’t know what the game is Kai, but this is serious. Women have already died and from the sounds of it, like you guessed, they may have been Dásreach mates.”
“Do you have numbers? Do you know how many of them have been killed?” Kai demanded.
“The man that we interrogated gave us 20 names, but he had only been with the group for a year and said that some of the men he worked with had been with the group for much longer.”
Kai paced the office, the cordless in his hand and curses coming out of his mouth. Shite! The Thirteen.
“Dar, how many of these women were possible mates for the Thirteen?” Oh, Great Spirit. Please. Please don’t let it be that my brothers have lost their mates before they have even found them.
“I’ve been able to verify that five of the women on the list we were given had asked about one of the Thirteen’s tattoos. Three of them went on to get other tattoos and the other two had appointments to come back in for a consultation. Kai, we’ve never heard of these women. Why have we never heard of these women?” Kai could hear the frustration and anger in Dar’s voice.
“Dar, I don’t know, but you need to continue to dig. We need more answers and we need them yesterday. I can’t believe we’ve not known about this … this… traitor. Why would a Dásreach want to do this to another of his people? To take someone’s
mate away from them has to be the worst act of disloyalty to everything that each Dásreach makes an oath to uphold.” Kai felt his dragon guardian rising to the top of his skin. He wanted Kai to shift and take out the enemy. Unfortunately, the enemy was in hiding as of yet and they didn’t know who he was.
“I’m looking into possible banished and rogue Dásreach, those that would have a grudge against our men. As soon as I have something I will let you know.”
“Don’t take too long, Dar. We have to stop this. Women are dying because of our race. It is up to us to stop it.” Kai ordered.
“I’m on it.” Dar replied. “I need to get back to my computer and resources at the house. We’re going to have to decide who to send out to check in personally with these shops, I know we can get more information in person. I’ve already talked to Malkum about sending someone.” Dar was quiet for a moment. “Damn it, Kai, who do we trust?”
Kai thought a minute, “Our brothers, the Council, and those Dásreach that we work with and know. When it comes to our mates, that’s the only option.”
“Agreed.” Dar sighed and the line clicked and went dead.
Kai stood for a few minutes, the cordless clenched in his fist.
“Malkum, you’ve already discussed all of this with Dar, right?” Kai asked, knowing that the two Enforcers would have already talked tactics.
“Oui.” Malkum answered coldly.
“Where do we go from here?” Kai mumbled to himself. Malkum stood quietly knowing that his leader needed to analyze and digest what he had just learned. “The women are in danger as long as they are not mated to us.”
Their mates wouldn’t be able to really protect themselves until they completed the mating ceremony and made their own oaths. Once the oaths were completed, the women would be able to shift. Normal humans would be no match for a mate who could shift. He stopped in the middle of pacing, which he hadn’t even realized he had been doing. He looked at Malkum.
“I refuse to lose her.” Malkum nodded at Kai’s words.
“Tomorrow morning, you, Charlie, and I will tell the lasses everything. They have got to understand and agree to be our mates. It’s the only way for them to be truly safe.” Kai said.
Finding the Dragon (Dásreach Council Book 1) Page 13