Chapter 21 Kendra #2
Deep chocolate skin, the same burning gold eyes.
Black locs fall past his shoulders, adorned with beads that clink when he moves.
His ears are pointed at the tips, visible through the locs, and when he smiles I see fangs.
He’s naked for about a second before he snaps his fingers and a black tunic with matching slacks appears over his body.
He clasps his hands behind his back and walks toward us, bare feet on the wet ground, and I notice he doesn’t leave footprints.
I look between Zaki and Kojo. “What kind of Bouda is that?”
“It is not a Bouda,” Kojo says, and Zaki finishes for him.
“This is King Amir. The father of all shifters.”
“Like a god?”
“Like a father. We worship the Goddess Mother Fate. He was born of our Goddess.” She tells me.
He reaches us and I just stare with my mouth hanging open.
“Hello,” I manage, and Kojo bows his head immediately. When I look to Zaki, she doesn’t bow. Amir bows his head to her first and she returns it with a quiet “Majesty”.
I start to tip my head and Zaki’s palm slams into my forehead, pushing it back. “What the hell are you doing?” I snap, slapping her arm away.
“You do not bow to men. You are a queen.”
Amir smiles at me and bows his head. “You have a new matriarch,” he says, then looks to Kojo. “She is lovely.” Kojo bows his head. Amir looks back to me. “I am known by this land as King Amir, but I prefer Amir.” He turns those gold eyes on Kojo. “Is it Alemayehu, or is it Kojo now?”
“Kojo.” He answers, and Amir studies him for a moment too long, his head tilting slightly.
“Kade tells me Aiden found you scavenging through a dumpster in East Africa, spent years smuggling you across a continent, and now here you are mated and standing on Wintermoon soil.” He says this while examining the torn fabric of Kojo’s shirt where the ridge has come through, running a finger along the edge of the rip like he’s assessing the damage.
“Your matriarch would’ve been proud of you, Kojo. ”
Kojo stiffens but he bows his head. I want to tell Amir that’s a hell of a thing to say to someone who just lost everything, but something about how he said it keeps me quiet.
“What are you doing here? Where’s Kade?” I ask instead.
“Kade and Leah are covering for Andrew while he settles into his mate bond. They will return soon.” He steps back from Kojo and clasps his hands behind his back again, his gold eyes moving between the three of us. “It has been a very long time since I have spent time with the Bouda.”
Zaki goes rigid and the words come out like she’s been holding them for weeks. “You let my people die.”
“No, I did not, Zaki.” His voice is firm but not unkind.
He doesn’t step back from her when she squares up to him, just holds his ground with his hands still clasped behind him.
“Kade, Damon, Leah, and Selene approached your matriarch many times. She refused to migrate despite our warnings. Radical activity was escalating and your matriarch chose to stay.”
Zaki hisses at him, but he doesn’t stop.
“What is happening is bigger than you will understand right now,” he continues, and I watch his ears twitch once at the tips, the only sign that Zaki’s anger registers on him at all.
“I am working to prevent a war, and with my efforts I ask you to meet me halfway.”
I stiffen at those words. The eggs on the table this morning. Zaki telling me she’s meeting me halfway. And now Amir using the same words.
“I will never force you to be here,” Amir says. “Wintermoon is not a cage. It is a safe haven. But you have to be willing to change to be here.”
“I do not understand why I had to lose everything,” Zaki says, her voice cracking. Her ridge spikes once and falls, and her hands ball into fists at her sides.
“But you did not, Zaki.” His face softens and he reaches out, placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinches but doesn’t pull away. “You still have life. And you still have a chance to start anew.”
I reach out and grab Zaki’s hand. She looks down at our fingers, then at me.
“I’m so sorry, Zaki.” I squeeze her fingers.
She sighs and the smile she gives me doesn’t reach her eyes, but she doesn’t pull her hand away.
“I will be your guide for the time being,” Amir says, withdrawing his hand from Zaki’s shoulder and tucking it behind his back. “You would not mind, would you?”
“No,” Kojo says. “We would not mind, Amir.”
Amir smiles. “Now, what is on the agenda for today?”
“My mate wants to travel the land,” Kojo says. “Explore Wintermoon.”
Amir looks at me. “Of course. This is your home now.” He studies me for a moment. “And how do you plan to get where you are going?”
“I’m fine with walking.”
He smiles, snaps his fingers, and a key fob appears in his palm. “They will not ride with you,” he explains, nodding at Kojo and Zaki. “The Bouda are deeply rooted in their culture. They prefer travel by foot.”
“I know.” I take the key fob and pocket it.
He snaps again and a sleek black SUV appears on the road. Zaki looks at it, unimpressed. “I still do not see a problem with the wagon.”
Amir walks me to the driver’s side and opens the door. Kojo and Zaki nod when I glance back at them, and I climb in. Amir closes the door once I’m seated, and when I look over at the passenger seat he’s already there, adjusting the air vent away from his face.
“How the hell did you...”
“My apologies. I am not much of a driver, and teleporting you would upset your Bouda.” He gestures at the ignition. “Go on. Start the engine.”
I pull my seatbelt on, start the SUV, and ease onto the road. In the rearview mirror, Kojo and Zaki break into a full sprint behind us, bare feet throwing up mud, matching the vehicle’s speed without effort.
He turns in the seat to face me, studying my profile while I drive. “You are very calm for a human who just watched a Bouda shift.”
“I’m not calm. I’m processing.”
“Interesting.” He taps a finger on his knee, considering me. “And the mate bond, how are you handling it? Is he treating you well? Feeding you? Is Zaki behaving?”
“Are you always this nosy?”
“Yes.” He doesn’t hesitate or apologize for it, just folds his hands in his lap and waits for my answer.
“He’s treating me fine. Zaki cooked for me this morning, which I’m know is a big deal. And the mate bond is...” I pause, not sure how much I want to share with a creature I just met. “It’s a lot.”
He nods, satisfied with that, and turns back to face the road. “If you aren’t a Bouda,” I say, watching them run in the mirror, “what are you?”
“I am a mix of beasts, but I was born a warlock.” That explains the magic, I think, and he must read it on my face because he nods before I can say it out loud.
“You will get used to Wintermoon quickly. The human women always adapt better.” He pauses and his gold eyes flick to the rearview mirror, watching Kojo and Zaki run. “But Kojo and Zaki will need more time.”
I nod, watching them in the mirror. “Why couldn’t you save them? Their village.”
He looks out the window. His hands unclasp in his lap and he presses one palm flat against his thigh.
“I tried more than you will know. Not every supernatural wants to come to Wintermoon. Some are bound by their culture, by beliefs older than this territory, and I will not force them. But I cannot protect those who refuse protection, and when the consequences arrive, I carry that weight.” He’s quiet for a moment, watching the trees pass.
“Every village I could not save stays with me.”
I keep my speed slow. Ten minutes of driving and the market comes into view, alive with activity, stalls open, people moving between them.
“Finally,” I breathe. “Something other than the cabin.”
I pull into a parking spot and cut the engine. The driver’s side door opens and Amir is already standing there. Before I can react, Kojo appears and lifts me out of the vehicle, setting me on my feet.
Zaki approaches, barely winded. “I still do not see a problem with the wagon.”
Amir gestures toward the market. “Feel free to explore. You will find me at the spa.” He points to a low structure at the edge of the marketplace. “It was designed by the Lunas of Wintermoon for the women of the community.”
“Women only?”
“Yes, with the exception of myself.” He smiles, unbothered.
Zaki steps forward. “I am searching for the seamstress Jackie.”
“Follow me,” Amir says with a smile, then pauses and looks at me, then at Kojo, then back at me. “You have not completed the mate bond.”
I feel the heat rush to my face. “How does everyone keep knowing that?”
“You should not make him wait too long. Bouda males who are denied their mate become difficult.” He glances at Kojo, who has gone rigid beside me, his ridge lifting an inch before he presses it flat. “More difficult than usual.”
He turns back to me. “Our community runs on a barter system. You are a daughter of Wintermoon now. Announce that you are of the Bouda and they will see that you get whatever you need.”
He leads Zaki away. I close the car door and double check the key fob my pocket out of habit.
I grab Kojo’s hand. He squeezes it, his eyes scanning the crowd, his ridge rippling beneath his shirt. He’s in the middle of more supernaturals than he’s probably ever seen and he doesn’t know what to do with the safety of it.
“You can be yourself here,” I tell him. “You don’t have to hide. Everyone here is just like you.”
He smiles at me and nods, and I pull him into the market. He lets me lead, and after a few stalls his grip loosens. His shoulders drop. His ridge lies flat. He’s just walking, bare feet on wet ground, and nobody flinches when they look at him. I don’t say anything about it.
But something Amir said sits with me as we walk. Meeting halfway. Zaki with her eggs this morning. Amir with his warnings that went unheard. And me, standing between two cultures, trying to figure out how much of myself I’m willing to bend.