The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) (37 page)

“Sounds like fun.” She looked around the empty hall. “Where’s everyone at?”

“
Ronan and Marcela are in the front room entertaining the guests.
The Harem is in the lower levels, and most of the squads are out at
their houses. I figured everyone wanted to relax after the move and
didn’t want them to be bothered with having to play nice with people
they wouldn’t necessarily like.”

“That’s sweet of you.”

“It’s the least I could do,” he laughed. “It’s bad enough I have to do it.”

They came to stand at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer. They
peeked into the living room that boasted an archway crafted from
wood flown in from a fifteenth century farmhouse in England.

Seated on the various modern cream leather couches were Erma, Jillian, and eight other unknown Lycans. Alexis gave Kyran’s mother
and her Tepinok a nod before she focused her attention on the three
males that came to stand in front of her.

“Alexis, this is Liam, Mikko of the West Seattle pack, and his cousin
Justin, his Tepinok.” He gestured to the male furthest to the left, shortest
of the three gathered. “This is Luke, Guardian of the Shirikis. He lives out
in west
Texas
, but he never
writes, so I have
no idea where in
west Texas
.”

The Shiriki smiled at Kyran. “Maybe because the last thing I want
is a Tala knowing where I stay.”

“There’s not enough low and slow and barbecue sauce to make
you tender enough to eat,” Ronan said as he draped his arm over the Shiriki male’s shoulder.

Luke laughed. “Thank the gods for that.”

The males descended into playful banter like old friends before they
were joined by two females and a male. All of them shared a silent
exchange that said they were bonded deeply and trusted each other
beyond what some families did.

Kyran pulled himself out of the playful fray to turn his attention back to introductions.

“Hey, Linda, Stella, and Tyson, I apologize for my distraction.”

The male snorted and crossed his arms. Kyran arched his eyebrow
at him as if to warn him to curb his attitude, which apparently worked
because the Hafiz male unwound his arms and let them hang loosely at his sides.

Kyran motioned to the Shapa and began introducing them to her by their formal titles.

“Alexis, this is Rana Linda, Empress of the Shapas. She lives in
Tennessee.” He motioned next to the Bao. “This is Mychau Stella, Queen
of the Bao, who lives out in Florida, as does Asim Tyson, Defender of the Hafiz.” He nodded to the male.

Kyran had explained that not all Lycans were as socially organized
as the Talas and Alesers, most mirroring their animal cousins in regards
to their social structures. Alexis gave them all a respectful nod of
acknowledgment but kept her hands to herself. She glanced around
those that had gathered to see a couple sitting in the rear of the room.
The male Aleser regarded the room with barely-leashed disdain, while
the female, in all her fully-realized pregnant glory, appeared bored
beyond compare. Kyran caught the trail of her sight and muttered
something about regal pains in the asses.

“Come on. I
’
ll introduce you to him and we can come back over
here.”

She giggled and followed him through the small crowd.

“Alexis, this is Tor Derrick and Zalika Anise.”

Alexis frowned at the title of the female. Zalika was a title reserved
for the mates of Alakes, the kings of the smaller prides under the Tor, who
ruled them all. If the female was here with the Tor, Alexis thought she
warranted a title more important than that of a Zalika. The question must
have showed on her face because Kyran hid a laugh behind a cough.

“They aren’t married.”

The female seemed to smother a scowl and shrink into herself, which
made Alexis dislike the male.

“Oh.” Alexis turned her attention to the female. “If there is anything
you need Zalika Anise, feel free to ask.” She gave Derricka disdainful nod.
“
Tor,” she said before spinning on her heel and leaving them in favor
of the company of the more boisterous group at the center of the room.

RONAN GLANCED ACROSS
the span of dark brown leather to his
soon to be sister-in-law as she marveled at one of Disney
’
s classics. Kid
friendly movie night was something he started when they recovered from the shock of her being pregnant.

As uncle, he took his job seriously of immersing his niece or nephew
with all the things childhood is made of, but movies would be the
cornerstone of his mission. Being that Alexis didn’t have a normal
childhood, he felt it was only right to start with her. She was grossly behind the curve of childhood entertainment.

He started her off easy with various renditions of classic fairy tales
and intriguing her with the less happy versions from the Brothers Grimm
.
Now they were indulging in all things Disney, today
’
s pick being
The Lion King
.

“Oh, great.” She crossed her arms and sighed at the screen. “I’m going to have that freaking song stuck in my head.”

He laughed. “Try not to offend anyone singing it around the house.”

Ronan laughed harder as a grimace lanced her face.

“You want me to, don
’
t you? That
’
s why we
’
re watching this today of
all days.”

“No. I like this movie.”

She surveyed the basement theater as if she were searching for
their Aleser guests.

“Relax, Alexis. They aren’t allowed down here.”

He heard a whispered exhale as she focused on the movie again, her features relaxing into child-like awe.

It was about time that she was able to relax, to truly enjoy some
mental peace. Watching Kyran run around stressed out about his pregnant
mate
’
s near constant agitation at her plight in life irritated Ronan to no
end. He hated being irritated. So he did what he could to alleviate their
joint misery with one of his own cures. Besides, he had problems of
his own that weren’t getting solved anytime soon.

Being respectful of his culture
’
s mindset towards sex meant that he
bathed nightly in an aura of merciless want. Sharing a bed with Marcela
didn’t help him sleep peacefully either. Instead, he needed to sleep
in an icy bath just to stave off the misery of desire that came with her
presence. Yet he couldn
’
t imagine her sleeping anywhere else. The
thought of being away from her any longer than was necessary kept
him suffering in silence. Every. Night. Until their wedding day, which
was somewhere in the very near future if it was up to him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ronan watched Alexis. She may say that she dreaded the idea of motherhood, but her body betrayed her. Her hand rubbed absentmindedly at her stomach as she picked at a
bowl of orange slices. When the credits rolled, she looked over at him
and caught him watching her.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He turned off the entertainment system and rose from the
couch. “Ready to go upstairs?”

“I guess. I’m hungry.”

“I gave you three oranges.”

“I want meat, not fruit.”

“Oh,” he said with a laugh. “
Then let
’
s go. I think Trinity made roast
today.”

Ronan followed as Alexis made eager, but waddling, headway
towards the kitchen on the main floor.

***

Kyran watched as Alexis danced happily around the kitchen,
dodging swipes of a spoon from an irritated Trinity while she snuck pieces of roast from a platter.

“Dammit, stop that, Alexis,” Trinity said after another gentle swin
g of her spoon.

She turned back to the pot of noodles she was stirring for a pasta
salad. Alexis snuck another hunk of meat before she scurried to the
other side of the kitchen’s island with a laugh.

“If you weren’t such a good cook, I’d leave it alone. Besides, I’m pregnant.”

“You better be glad I made three of those.”

“See, what are you complaining about?”

Trinity rolled her eyes and went back to her prized brick oven,
turning the bread she had made from scratch.

Alexis had a point. She shouldn
’
t be such a good cook, but how
Trinity had pulled Kyran aside and told him specifically what she wanted
in “her” kitchen said just how much she wouldn
’
t mind fending off the
packs overly eager hands as they shoveled food into their mouths.

Kyran smiled at the woman he already considered his wife as she
moved happily around the room, swaying to some unseen beat. The
n she started humming, and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

“I’m gonna be a mighty king…”

A chorus of laughter and a short growl brought Alexis to a stop.
Kyran
shot Derrick
a look that made him hold his tongue at the perceived
insult.

“Oh shit,” she whirled until Ronan was squirming playfully under
her glare. “You had me watch that on purpose.”

“No, I didn’t,” Ronan said before he glanced at Derrick
’
s irritated
gaze and laughed. “It was worth it though.”

A muscle ticked in Derrick
’
s jaw as he watched her expectantly.
She raised a delicate eyebrow at him before she turned back to look
at Trinity.

“Can we eat soon? I’m hungry.”

Trinity laughed. “You ate
half of this roast
, and you still want more?”

Alexis shrugged. “It’s a small roast.”

“Go call everyone to the table. It’ll be done in a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

Alexis left the room to call those in the main house to meal. The
majority of the pack would be eating previously prepped meals in their
respective houses. They got to avoid the pomp and stance of visiting
leaders, but they also missed out on Trinity
’
s cooking, having to “
suffer
” eating one of the other talented cook’s meals.

Kyran went to lean on the island where Trinity started piling platters
to be taken to the large formal dining room. When all the platters were
filled, she directed everyone to grab one and take it to the table.

Everyone complied without question, except Derrick. He raked
Kyran with a look of disdain while the others left.

“Not much of a Mikko to let the cook command you in your own home.”

Kyran shrugged. “I like to eat.” He picked up two platters, since
Derrick obviously couldn’t be bothered. “Besides, I’m not so weak that
I need to beat my cook into submission to prove my dominance. You may need to do that, but I’m leader enough not to have to bother.”

With that, Kyran followed everyone to the dining room.

***

Dinner was eaten without much animosity, everyone being polite
as they could. Everyone except Derrick, who opted to make sporadic
comments that could easily be taken as insults if the listener bothered
to care. Most at the table ignored him, choosing to punish him by
dismissal from the general conversation, though they did try and engage
Anise in the conversation.

The female wouldn’t speak though, at least not more than a few
muted words. She kept her responses short, engaging little enough to that eventually they got the point and moved on to converse with each
other, leaving Derrick and Anise to their own devices.

The guests retired to the living room while Kyran and a few other
s
helped Trinity take the dishes back to the kitchen. A few of the Harem
came to the kitchen to help, shooing out their leader.

Kyran and Alexis joined the others in the living room, grabbing
a sofa for themselves and joining the lighthearted conversation of Liam
,
Justin, and Luke. A knock sounded at the front door, and Ronan extracted
himself from Marcela to answer it.

Everyone jumped when a loud crack exploded, and the sounds of
fighting started.

Kyran pushed his way to the foyer, crossing his arms and pursing
his lips into a thin line.

He shook his head. “What now?”

The pile on the floor came to a standstill with Ronan on his stomach
, his arm pulled tight across his back.

“You cheated, bastard,” Ronan said through clenched teeth.

“Fair fights have refs. Tap out.”

“Do I look like I would tap out for you, cat?”

Another crack sounded as Ronan jerked back and rammed his head
into the male on his back. Ronan exhaled a strained grunt, but the male
’
s
grip on his arm remained firm.