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“Decide what?” Everyone around me falls silent. “Someone needs to tell me what is going on or I am going to start making decisions blind.”
“Scarlet,” Kyson says softly and I level him with a glare. Shaking his head he starts to explain. “Jagters are our enemies. They are human but not weak. They were born with additional abilities, strength, speed, agility. They hunt us and they are here, in our area, threatening the life we have built.”
“And what are your responsibilities?”
“I am in charge of security essentially,” he says, looking at Aziel instead of me. “But with our bond being so new, I’m not sure I will be able to focus on what needs to be done to stop this incursion.”
I nod, allowing his words to work their way through my mind. I think of everything he has said to me, all the promises he has made, and the man I think he is.
“Is there anyone else that can do what Kyson does?” I ask Aziel.
“No. No one is as efficient as he is.” I don’t want to think of what exactly he is so efficient at so I simply continue my course.
“Will he be able to live with himself if someone gets hurt and he didn’t do all he could?”
“No.” Aziel is blunt and honest.
“Then he will do whatever needs to be done.” I can feel the anger and frustration rolling off the age-old vampire beside me. Facing him, I smile. “I won’t have us start whatever you call this by you putting anyone at risk. If you want to keep me safe, you need to keep us all safe.”
Kyson growls in the back of his throat before kissing me, hard. “Fine. I’ll lead the incursion team once we find the Jagters.”
“Thank you,” Aziel says. “I think that’s all we need to deal with for now. Sunrise is in just over an hour so let’s all get settled for the night.”
“Wait!” I jump up as people start to move away. Everyone stops to stare at me, including Kyson. “Who does that belong to?” I ask, pointing at the leopard lounging on a different couch.
“Why?” a tall blonde man asks.
I grin. “Because I want to touch it.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kyson
Cat Lover
I cannot remember the last time I snorted with laughter. It’s been so long I don’t recognize the sound when it rips from my mouth at Scarlet’s words. I suppose I never needed to worry about her reaction to Elfde, then.
Scarlet turns to face me again, an astonished look on her beautiful face, one hand still clutching her half-finished drink. “Did you just snort?”
Someone snickers from the other side of the sofa. Payne. I choose to ignore him and push to my feet, lifting a hand to the small of Scarlet’s back. “That is an introduction we should make before we settle in.” I turn my gaze outward, to the blonde man nearly opposite us. “Do you mind?”
Aaron shrugs and unfolds from his seat. “Somewhere quieter,” is all he says as he turns to leave the room. Even I barely hear the soft click he emits a moment later, but Elfde is up on her feet and loping after him immediately.
“I’m confused,” Scarlet says. I can sense her disappointment, so I slip my arm all the way around her and encourage her to walk with me.
“The leopard is something like our house guardian,” I say, and I wish I had prepared this speech because that sounds idiotic. But it sounded worse the first time Aaron presented the thought, and I console myself with that. “She doesn’t sleep when we do, so she keeps us and our territory protected when we can’t. As a result, she helps protect our consorts—like you and Lisette—if we might be away.”
Scarlet takes a long sip of her drink, licks her lips, and says, “I can’t decide if that’s cool or insane. You have a specially trained leopard?”
“And she needs to be introduced to you, somewhere she can learn your scent and be taught to associate it to me.” I pause. “Although Aaron’s still working on that part.”
“Do I have to do anything weird?” Scarlet asks as we step into another smaller room.
I flash her a grin. “You’re the one who wanted to pet a leopard she’d never met.”
Scarlet blinks at me and her face burns briefly. “That’s true.” She finishes up her drink and finally looks around. We’re in a room essentially alone with a man she doesn’t know and a large, staring feline. Before I can make the offer, she presses her empty glass into my chest and says, “Hold this.”
I take the glass and unlock my grip of her waist as she steps forward, her heightened heart rate betraying her excited nerves. My thumb runs across the condensation on the curve above the stem without thought and I look across the room. “Go ahead.” The man is dedicated to his work, but not so much that I worry he’ll do anything threatening.
