Charming (A Seven World Novel) (6 page)

Prince removed his jacket and placed it over the back of the chair next to him. “Tell me, Vlad, what became of Alexei Kozlov?”

Instead of thinking for a moment with his gaze adrift as most men do when asked a question that requires them to reflect back a few hundred years, Vlad gave him a lopsided grin and sat back in his chair, flicking his near-empty glass away.

“I sometimes wish I hadn’t taken his offer. It would have been worth turning down his fortune to see you rot in a Russian Breed jail. It’s nothing like the air-conditioned rooms they have now. We served them gruel, if they were lucky. Wolves were tied to sleds in winter to get the men around, and inside the jails they were shackled and beaten. I felt no remorse for someone who gave up his freedom for yours. That showed me what a weak and stupid man he was.”

Prince quelled his anger, centering his eyes on Vlad, uncertain of what rare Mage gifts he might have—ones they often kept concealed. Some could sense emotions, others jumped long distances, and every Mage had at least one rare gift that could give them the advantage in a fight.

Prince leaned forward. “What happened to Alexei?”

Vlad sniffed indifferently. “Once we drove the Shifters out, we had all the power. But soon the humans who knew of our existence became afraid and rose up against us. We tried to get the situation under control, but they threatened to expose us to the public and drive us to extinction. I’m not afraid of humans; they’re weak. But the leaders didn’t think we could win a war without numbers. Guards were ordered to kill the prisoners before evacuating, but Alexei was one of six wolves given a temporary exception. They were to transport a general across the border and return, but when they did, they were short a man. Alexei had escaped.” Vlad rubbed the whiskers on his jaw.

“Why so disappointed? Alexei did nothing but make you a wealthy man.”

“He also paid off a general to set him free.”

Prince smiled with satisfaction, realizing Alex hadn’t given all his fortune to Vlad but had also hidden some. “Clever.”

“Stupid. He could have paid me off a long time ago to set him free. Instead, he chose to rot in jail like the cowardly mongrel he is.”

A sharp blade appeared at Vlad’s throat, and Kat gripped his jaw with her left arm. “You know what’s stupid? That some idiot Creator out there deemed you worthy of immortality. That makes about as much sense as tits on a bull.”

Prince’s lip twitched at her colorful expression.

Kat wrinkled her nose. “Clearly I’ve spent too much time down South,” she said to Prince, annoyed.

“Who’s your friend?” Vlad asked Prince, not showing any signs of intimidation even though he had a blade pressing at his jugular.

Prince considered how to answer, but Kat took the honors.

“I’m the firstborn daughter to Alexei Kozlov.” Rivulets of blood trickled down Vlad’s neck. “Now tell me where he is,” she growled, a cascade of her hair falling forward and concealing half his face.

“Do you think your little dagger frightens me?”

“How attached are you to your head, Dracula?”

Vlad scowled. “Don’t call me that. I’m
not
a Vampire.”

Prince pulled out the chair on his right and coaxed her to sit with a wave of his hand. Kat was seething with anger and had every right. In another lifetime, Prince would have challenged a man who insulted him or someone he respected. But these were different times where men didn’t settle disputes with swords. Killing an outlaw wouldn’t have been a crime so much as committing the act in a Breed establishment. Prince had to carefully choose his battles or else he risked losing his pack. Kat, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have anything to lose.

“Kat, have a seat.” Prince gave her an intense look, radiating alpha power in the resonance of his voice.

Reluctantly, she pulled the dagger away and tucked it back in the holster beneath her shirt. When Kat turned to sit, she stumbled on her shoelace and almost missed the chair. She quickly gripped the edge of the table and sat up straight, her eyes locked on Vlad.

“Where’s my father?”

Vlad picked up the wet napkin from beneath his glass and used it to wipe the blood droplets from his neck. “What makes you think I know where your father is?”

“Twenty years ago, you were my pet project. Because of your Russian name, I figured my father might have heard of you. As it turns out, I was right. On the night he asked to speak to me privately, he went missing. Didn’t just go missing, but someone ransacked his cabin in the process. Exactly what were you looking for?”

Vlad lifted his empty glass and tasted the last drops from the bottom. “You are mistaken.”

“Pussy.”

With lightning speed, Vlad rose up and slammed the glass to the floor. Prince stood up and flipped the table over when he saw blue light trickling from Vlad’s fingertips.

Before Vlad could put his energy-soaked hands on Kat, she shifted into her wolf. Her dense fur was the color of black velvet, her body built for speed. She circled behind Vlad and pounced onto his back, sinking her sharp canines into his fleshy neck.

“Ah! Get it off!” he shouted, crashing to the floor.

Prince stepped on Vlad’s right hand to keep him from harming Kat’s wolf, although he had no control over the other arm. “You dare attack a female?” he roared.

Vlad grimaced. “That’s no female; that’s the devil incarnate.” He grunted through clenched teeth. “I see savagery is still the way of the Shifter.”

A few people nearby stood up but chose not to intervene since it hadn’t escalated.

However, if Kat’s wolf took off Vlad’s head, then the bar might erupt in chaos. She wasn’t going to shift back on her own, so Prince decided to force her.

He removed his jacket and knelt down, placing his hand on her wolf’s neck. “
Shift
.”

In a fluid movement, the wolf gracefully changed to human form. Despite the fact that a beautiful woman was naked in the middle of a club, the Shifters went back to their drinks, chuckling about the scuffle. It was the other Breeds that looked on with lust in their eyes. Kat’s wavy black hair spread down her back like a mane, although not quite long enough to cover the dip of her spine and the round curve of her backside.

“Dammit, Charming. I told you I’m
shy!
”

A flannel shirt flew out of nowhere and landed on her back. “Put that on, sugar. Unless you want to start a war in here,” the hairy-chested man said. He sat back down, his beer gut hanging over the top of his tight jeans.

Still straddling the bleeding Mage, Kat slipped into the flannel shirt and buttoned it up. “If you
ever
come at me like that again, Count Chocula, you’ll be lucky to walk away with two testicles.” She smacked him on the back of the head and stood up, straightening her long shirt.

Despite shifting, the holster for her dagger remained strapped to her body. It was customized to also fit her wolf, so it hadn’t come off during the shift.

Vlad sat up, gripping the back of his bloody neck. “You’re a crazy bitch if you think I’m going to tell you anything.”

Kat finished slipping on her sneakers and started to reach into her shirt, but it was buttoned up and far too long. She knitted her brows and looked down, undoing the top buttons so she could retrieve something from her harness beneath. “I’m also a bounty hunter, and I’m taking you in.”

Vlad lunged at her with his hands out, and Kat’s eyes went wide when she pulled her hand out with a set of cuffs, which fell to the floor. Prince lunged between them and took the brunt of the hit, a powerful surge of energy slamming into his chest. It tightened every muscle in his body, and he fell backward with Kat beneath him.

She groaned weakly. “I hate it when they do that,” she mumbled. “Charming?”

Prince cursed under his breath when he saw Vlad flash out of sight. “Yes?”

“Normally I wouldn’t complain about a hot guy with a ponytail lying on top of me while I’m half-naked, but I’m suffocating.”

He forced himself up, rolling off Kat as every muscle in his body screamed back to life. Her plaid shirt was long enough to cover her womanhood, but as Prince looked down at Kat lying at his feet, wearing only her sneakers and another man’s shirt, all he could think about was kissing her.

“Don’t ever do that again.”
Kat stewed in the driver’s seat of her car, irritated that Prince had made her shift in front of everyone. “My wolf had everything under control. She knows better than to kill the man I’m after. Well, except for that one time in Memphis. But he had it coming.”

“Have you forgotten it’s against the rules to shift in a bar?” he asked, rolling his window halfway down. The air blew in, but his hair was so tightly bound that it didn’t move.

Unlike hers, which swirled around the car like silken whips.

“What are they going to do, blacklist me? It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been kicked out of a bar, and it sure won’t be the last. If you had spent less time worrying about rules, we’d have Vlad in the trunk of my car where he belongs.”

“He won’t get far,” Prince said matter-of-factly, wiping at something on his trousers.

Kat didn’t like opportunities to slide by, and she glowered. “What makes you so sure he won’t skip town?”

“If he made a sudden trip to Austin, then it’s for a reason. Men like him don’t hide; they conspire. He’s less concerned about getting caught than you think.”

Kat hit the steering wheel with her fist. “Dammit! I
had
him. It’s taken me twenty years to catch up with this guy, and I let him slip through my fingers. This isn’t just a job, Charming.”

“We’ll find him.”

“Not if he goes into hiding.”

When Prince rolled up his window, the quiet hum of the road beneath the tires became soothing.

Prince gently touched her arm. “I meant your father.”

Her lip trembled, and she briefly looked out her window so he wouldn’t notice. That’s when she spotted Nadia’s car pulling into the parking garage of her complex.

Swell
.

When he let go of her arm, she immediately felt his absence. Maybe it was because he was the only person who’d ever shown compassion for the pain of losing her father. Even Nadia had never offered a hug—she’d simply shut down, deciding they’d been abandoned by
both
parents. Kat had no one else to turn to, no one to offer her a consoling touch or a kind word. Worst of all, she was too embarrassed—too proud—to ask Prince to continue touching her a little longer.

She parked the car near a large pear tree, the dull glow of a streetlamp illuminating the hood. Her Mustang was bright yellow with a black racing stripe down the center. People made jokes about it, but when Kat was on the run in a crowded parking lot, she didn’t have any problem distinguishing her vehicle from the rest.

“I can’t believe I left my pants at the bar.”

They had been in such a rush to leave that she’d not only left her clothes behind, but Prince had left his suit jacket draped over the back of his chair, which was probably toppled over.

“I’m sure your sister will offer something that will fit,” he suggested, a smile ghosting his lips.

Kat all but snarled at him. “I’m sure you find that really amusing since we’re identical, but there’s no way in Hades I’m putting on one of her white pantsuits to chase outlaws. Aside from that, I can bet you she’s not about to lend me anything. I guess I’ll have to continue this investigation pantless.”

When his eyes dragged down to her bare legs, it sent an unexpected lick of heat through her body.

His tongue swiped his bottom lip, and he dodged her gaze. “Would nothing of hers meet your approval?”

She pulled the keys out of the ignition and played with the silver ring. “I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl. I like cozy, and nothing that woman owns is cozy. All she has in her den of iniquity are outfits that are tight, white, and full of buttons, straps, or laces. I don’t expect you to understand this because first off, you’re a man. Secondly, you dress like a billionaire on his way to a yacht to get laid by the peanut butter heiress.”

Prince burst out laughing and shielded his eyes. His unfettered emotions were an attractive quality, but he rarely let out a spontaneous laugh, and she was curious why he seemed embarrassed by it.

“You have a unique way of speaking, Kat. I don’t think I could tire of listening to you.”

“I can’t tell whether you’re joking or serious, but let’s just say that most men can only handle me in small doses.”

She got out of the car and slammed the door, heading toward Nadia’s urban apartments. As they moved through the main door, Prince not only held it open for her but placed the flat of his hand on her back and kept pace with her. He was courteous, and that was a big deal given most men didn’t bother with all the civilities with a bounty hunter.

Get it together, Kat
, she thought to herself.
Getting cozy with your sister’s boyfriend? Not cool
.

Yet during the elevator ride up, Kat kept stealing glimpses of her Charming. When he loosened his grey tie and rolled up his sleeves, her eyes gobbled up the strong cords of muscle along his forearms. He wasn’t pale either; it looked like the sun had kissed his skin in worship. Beneath all those layers of Armani was an alpha who took care of his body. Maybe these newfound feelings were from exhaustion after a long day that had ended with her naked on the back of an outlaw, or maybe it was that extra slice of pizza she’d had earlier, but visions of Prince lifting her off the ground and kissing her hard infiltrated her thoughts. Especially given she wasn’t wearing pants, let alone panties, and all it would take was unfastening his zipper and…

The elevator bell chimed and the doors opened.

Nadia was standing in front of them with a piece of paper between two fingers. “Did you show my guest a good time?” she asked Kat. Then her eyes journeyed downward and noticed the lack of clothing. “Never mind. Up to your usual mischief.” She pivoted around, her heels clicking on the hard floor as she made her way inside the apartment.

Kat followed behind and took a deep breath, still smelling the remnants of pizza, which overpowered the quail. She pulled a can of soda from the vegetable drawer in the fridge, her hiding spot for fizzy drinks since Nadia never looked down there. After cracking it open and sucking off the foam, she went into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

Prince lingered in the lit hall to Kat’s left, speaking privately with Nadia. Kat watched the subtle nuances of their body language, wondering what they were whispering about.

When Nadia stepped closer to him and brushed her hand down his arm, Kat bit the edge of her soda can. Nadia could choose from any man she wanted, and yet she wanted none of them. Kat didn’t bother with the chase since most men weren’t going to warm up to mating with a bounty hunter anyhow.

Men were sexually attracted to Kat, and that was about as far as it went. Most couldn’t relate to a woman who had a knife strapped to her chest, and few cared what she had to say. It wasn’t so bad. After they slipped out in the middle of the night, Kat could finally have the bed to herself and kick off the covers. It meant she didn’t have to wake up early and cook someone breakfast, because she liked sleeping in and nibbling on leftovers from the night before. It meant not having to hear someone complain that she worked too much.

But it also meant being lonely at night. Sometimes she’d lie in bed, thinking how nice it would be to curl up with someone. Not just anyone, but a man she could actually hold a conversation with. Eventually Kat would roll over and start thinking about her next case, because dwelling on a life she couldn’t have was poisonous. All that “grass is greener” thinking gets people into trouble. It was why her mother had left, and Kat didn’t want to become a woman who was never satisfied with her life.

Prince and Nadia continued speaking in low voices, and Kat admired his casual stance. His pants had a stain, his shirt was wrinkled, sleeves rolled up, tie loose, and yet he carried himself like a man to be reckoned with. Nadia leaned forward in a way that signaled she was going for some tongue action. Kat looked away and slurped on her soda, wishing she could teleport herself to a five-star hotel where they had room service. When the murmurs quieted and she heard the sound of lips touching, she stole a quick glance.

Prince kissed Nadia’s cheek near the corner of her mouth, but Nadia was a shark when it came to making out. Now that she smelled blood in the water, she was going to circle her prey until she got what she wanted. Nadia was a first-date kisser because she said that a man’s tongue revealed what kind of lover he was.

It didn’t look like she was getting the scoop on Prince’s prowess in bed tonight. Kat smiled wide in victory.

When Prince glanced over his right shoulder and looked right at her, she almost dropped her soda.

“Good night, Kat. It was a memorable evening.”

“Cheers,” she said, holding up her drink in the dark room.

Memorable,
she pondered
. Not enchanting, and definitely not exciting. Well, I’ll never see
him
again
. Which was a shame. Vlad was going to be impossible to hunt down now that she’d scared him away from his regular hangout. Prince knew Vlad and could probably help, but guys like him didn’t like to get mixed up in dangerous drama like this. Especially with a girl like Kat. The worst part? She actually liked his company.

Maybe too much.

Nadia locked the door and joined Kat in the living room, kicking off her heels and running her hands through her silky blond hair. “Should I be concerned you weren’t wearing pants with my date?”

“Why do you hate me?”

Nadia sat down to Kat’s left, her voice weary. “I don’t hate you, Katarina. I just don’t understand you.”

Kat could sense the hurt in her voice, and it had to do with why they were so different. “Papa spent more time with me, but not because he loved me more. He just didn’t know what to do with a little girl who loved tea parties and dresses. He liked to hunt, fish, and shoot guns.”

“And you did those things to please him?” She twisted her hair back and clasped her hands behind her head.

“No. I wouldn’t do something I don’t enjoy. This is just who I am. Plus, I never really liked tea. Only your invisible friends were allowed to sit at the table.”

“My friends aren’t invisible anymore, and I have a life. One you seem to disrupt every chance you get. I don’t mind the visits, darling, but you have too much chaos in your suitcase. There are other jobs. I could find you something here if you want to live close to me.”

“I like what I do,” Kat said, hiding her annoyance. “Someone has to put away the bad guys so you don’t have to look over your shoulder as often.”

“How long will you be staying this time?”

“Until I find Papa.”

Nadia sighed and lowered her arms. “That again. He’s gone, Katarina. Like our mother.”

“She left us. Someone
took
Papa. And… well, Prince wants to help me.” Kat innocently sipped her soda.

“Oh, no he isn’t!” Nadia burst out, quickly turning to face Kat. “You’re very clever at talking people into things, but Prince is a high-ranking Packmaster in this territory, if not the highest. You could jeopardize his standing with the Council if he gets into trouble.”

Kat set her can of soda on the floor and sat up. “Don’t you see? He’s the only one who can help. He knew our father, and he knows this guy. Papa didn’t have many close friends that I know about, and I get the feeling these two were tight.”

“I won’t have it,” Nadia continued, standing up and pacing the floor. “This is where I draw the line.”

Kat swung her legs onto the sofa and crossed them at the ankle. “No need to get your panties in a bunch. After tonight, he probably won’t come within a five-mile radius of me. I pulled a knife, shifted in a bar, ruined his suit… the usual.”

“
Charming
.”

That roused a subtle smile on Kat’s face when she thought of how the word “charming” held a different meaning now. It was her pet name for Prince, and Kat was fond of nicknames.

“So, how long have you two been seeing each other?”

Nadia reached behind her curio and switched on the light so she could admire the figurines. Each one had its place, and Kat knew this because she’d once rearranged them to see if Nadia would notice.

“This was our first date.”

Kat grimaced. “Oops. I’m sorry. Hopefully I didn’t scare him off. I thought you two were a thing.”

“We’ll see,” she replied with an air of confidence. “He has all the right qualifications, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to join a pack for any man, even a Packmaster.”