Chapter 8 Kojo #2
I open my mouth to explain, but Kade is already finishing her thought.
“And then there are the simple stubborn ones like yourself.”
The growl rips from my throat, low and vicious, vibrating through the thin walls of the motel room.
My Ridge calcifies along my back, the spikes hardening and lifting through the slit in my shirt, each one clicking into place as the bone locks upright.
Kendra gasps and presses back into the headboard again, her gaze fixed on my back, witnessing the transformation with alarm.
“Careful.” Aiden sits forward in his chair, tension visible in the set of his shoulders. “He is very sensitive about Kendra.”
Kade grins at her, completely unbothered by my display.
She has survived things far worse than my Ridge, and we both know it.
“See? Your mate is a bit sensitive when it comes to you.” The grin vanishes and her voice goes flat, all pretense of warmth abandoned.
“If you don’t agree to come with me, he will follow you wherever you go.
Kojo is possibly the last of his clan. I can’t find the others.
You are queen of the Bouda now.” She pauses, letting that sink in.
“He will watch over you. Guard you. Kill for you, and I’m not cleaning up bodies all over Detroit so you can feel independent. ”
Kendra hisses at her, a sharp exhale through her teeth that carries more defiance than fear, and my Ridge responds instantly. The spikes retract, settling back into dense fur, responding to her irritation.
Interesting, my Bouda observes. The vampire said something disrespectful to our queen and our Ridge deactivated because our queen hissed at the threat.
She did not even realize she gave a command, and our body obeyed it anyway.
Also, for the record, I still despise Kade.
She teleports into rooms without permission, she calls us hyena when she wants to start a fight, and she smells like old blood and bad decisions.
The only useful thing about her is the truck.
“I took care of your car.” Kade moves on. “And that clerk is still alive. The men who tried to rob you are in police custody. They won’t be hurting anyone else.”
I straighten in my chair, my muscles tensing. “I will go to this station and deal with them myself.”
“Oh, no the fuck you won’t.” Kade turns on me, one finger raised in warning.
I growl at her, low in my chest, and she holds my gaze without blinking. We stand like that for a moment, neither of us willing to look away first, two predators establishing boundaries.
“Okay, stop.” Kendra’s voice cuts through our standoff. “Just stop. Everybody stop.”
I turn to her immediately. The confusion on her face has deepened into something rawer, her brows pulled together, lips pressed tight with exhaustion. She looks tired, fatigue that sleep alone cannot cure.
I plan to remedy that once we reach Wintermoon. Open land, clean air, warm homes with walls thick enough to block the wind. I will stand guard while she rests, for as long as she needs. The plans form in my mind. I will build her comfort, safety, a place where she can lower her defenses.
“What about my clothes?” she asks, her voice smaller than before.
Kade fans her off, the gesture dismissive. “You are a daughter of Wintermoon now. You’re rich. That is not something you need to worry about.”
My mate blinks. The tension in her shoulders loosens by a fraction, barely visible to anyone who is not watching for it, but I notice. I smile, pleased that at least this concern can be lifted from her.
“But if there’s something precious to you in your apartment,” Kade adds, her voice softening, “you can let me know and I’ll get it for you.”
Kendra shakes her head. “No.”
She does not hesitate. There is no grief behind the word, just a clean cut from whatever she is leaving behind, and that tells me more about her life in Detroit than anything else she has said tonight. She carries nothing she cannot bear to lose.
“So it’s settled.” Kade claps her hands once, the sound sharp and final.
She narrow her eyes and points a finger at me. “Now, you caused a stir when you threw that car into the gas station. You better hope…”
The power dies.
Every bulb in the room goes dark at once. Television, mini fridge, the hallway light visible through the crack beneath the door. All of it, gone. The building drops into absolute darkness, and for three seconds nothing exists except Kendra’s breathing and the wind outside the window.
My Ridge spikes instantly, every blade calcifying and locking upright with an audible click. My pupils dilate and the dark peels back, shapes sharpening as my night vision activates. I am between the bed and the door before Kendra draws her next breath, my body moving on pure instinct.
Poachers, my Bouda’s voice goes flat.
Kade throws her hands up in exasperation. “Aw, shit. Come on, man. I just want to get one shifter to Wintermoon safely.” She drops her hands and tilts her head toward the ceiling. “Mother Fate, you are always on the bullshit.”
Kendra jumps out of bed, bare feet hitting the carpet. “What’s happening?”
Kade rolls her neck and cracks her knuckles, one by one. Her fangs extend, longer than she showed Kendra earlier, and her blue eyes brighten until they cast faint light in the darkness.
“Looks like we’re going to have to fight our way out of here.”