By the Horns (24 page)

Fuck. Their retreat stung. It had taken everything in Kassian to convince Ox not to charge Zhao. They—the
Kongsi
—had agreed not to engage their enemy alone. The last time, when Sheng and Lucy had fought Zhao, they’d nearly lost. So, as much as running to the Matchmaker with his tail between his legs made him feel like a pussy, it was the right decision.

Nat had been with him. If he’d fought Zhao, she might have been hurt. It was a risk Kassian refused to take.

That had been close. If the bastard wanted to, he could have crushed them like ants. For whatever reason, he’d let them go. Kassian didn’t bother trying to contemplate that one.

Getting into Zhao’s twisted mind wasn’t an experience he’d like to try. Better to report to the others and let them figure out this mess.

During her ride, Nat filled him in on her conversation with Mei…and the blue vaccine. He longed to trust Mei and Snake but, after what just happened, Kassian had to place his head above his heart.

Traitors slithered everywhere.

He centered his focus on getting Nat to safety…and on what he’d have to do next—a discussion with the Matchmaker that would fuck everything up. He’d witnessed too much today to not give his input. Nat wasn’t safe with Snake, not when Zhao clearly retained some degree of power over the spirit.

He’d finally gotten his proof, but it didn’t bring him the sense of relief he’d believed it would. Maybe because, deep down, he’d been hoping he’d be the one proven wrong. That if Nat retained the Snake, she might also stay…with him.

Once they reached the Matchmaker’s, Nat slid off and he uncloaked Ox. He inhaled a deep breath. She was going to hate his bloody guts after his next actions.

The modern, glass-paneled office tower housed an array of services—from specialized dentistry to laser hair removal. Hell, it was like the Matchmaker’s own makeover services strung together in one building.

He faked a smile and offered Nat his hand. She accepted. The knife of betrayal inched into his chest. He forced his grin wider. “After you.” He followed her through the rotating doors and nodded toward the attendant at the lobby desk. She waved them to pass through security—a metal scanner and two bulky guards.

They rode the elevator to the top floor. An apprentice greeted them as the elevator doors dinged open. He didn’t recognize her or most of the ones who’d held the position before her. The Matchmaker had a tendency to replace her assistants every few months because that was how often they screwed up. According to the boss lady, at least.

Plush crimson carpets padded their footsteps and the tang of incense filled his nostrils as the spritely apprentice led them down the hall. Usually, the jasmine scent calmed him. Today, it stung his nose and scratched down his throat.

After this meeting, he’d never find peace ever again.

They paused in front of a dark hardwood door and the apprentice rapped her knuckles against the lacquered wood.

“Enter,” the Matchmaker’s lyrical voice called.

Kassian wrenched open the door. After shuffling inside, he inclined his head. “Matchmaker.”

“Ox, Snake.” She glanced up from the stack of papers on her antique desk. “You’re back early.” She raised one finely shaped brow and no doubt scrutinized them for signs of failure.

“We have, ah, news.” He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck.

“Proceed.” She set aside the papers and pinned her full attention on them. Her red-nailed hands rested on top of each other on her desk.

“Well, for one, Price isn’t your problem. Zhao is. We ran into him.”

She regarded him without speaking, giving him the impression this wasn’t news…to her.

Fuck.

“Mei gave Zhao the ship routes.” Nat cut in. “They pay our smugglers off and dump the vaccine in the Strait of Malacca. Mei also manufactures a different strain for Zhao.”

The Matchmaker opened a drawer on her desk and withdrew a vial of bluish liquid.

Nat tilted her head. “The blue vaccine? You knew about this?”

“I had my suspicions, but I required the two of you to follow the trail and ensure this was the sole explanation.”

She’d sent them on a wild goose chase? To double check facts when she had the bloody vial in her hands? Inhaling and exhaling slowly, he grappled for control. He could’ve better expended his efforts, true, but he didn’t regret the time he’d spent with Nat.

“You met Zhao.” She addressed Nat. “Tell me precisely what happened.”

Beside him, Nat stiffened. “He offered me a position among his ranks. I refused.”

The Matchmaker’s glittering eyes narrowed. “That is all?”

Kassian steeled his resolve and stepped forward. “He almost stole Snake from her. Zhao has power over the spirit. He called to Snake and it heeled like a fucking dog.”

“I controlled the situation.” Nat’s words were hard and the glare she sent him was ice-cold.

“Barely.” He clarified for the Matchmaker.

“Interesting. What are you suggesting, Kassian?”

“I recommend we find another host for Snake.”

Time slowed to a tortuous pace. The clock on the wall ticked the seconds by. An insect buzzed overhead. His blood slugged through his veins. Beside him, Nat didn’t even breathe.

He swallowed hard. “Let Lucy remove Snake and stick it into an enchanted object. It’s too dangerous for anyone to host.”

Nat might as well have been frozen in a block of ice. She didn’t utter a sound; she didn’t move a muscle.

Is she going to faint?
He twisted to scan her. She wasn’t a block of ice.

She was a fucking volcano on the verge of erupting. Her clamped fists quaked with the force of the furious tremors blasting through her body. He wouldn’t have been surprised if fumes of steam seeped from her ears and nostrils.

Her skin flushed a darker shade of red and, as she glowered at the carpeted floor, he was glad she didn’t peg her lethal glare on him.

“You may be right, Kassian.” The Matchmaker linked her fingers. “Natalie, I realize how upsetting this is for you, but we must consider the greater cause. Zhao is not a foe to contend with. I hoped Snake would bond with you and its loyalty would connect back to the Tiger, yet it seems as long as Zhao lives, Snake will obey him. For this reason, I must agree with Kassian.” She cleared her throat and rearranged the already precisely stacked papers. “Lucy and Sheng are at Kek Lok Si, but I will ask them to join us in the morning. We will do this together.”

“But…” The pained break in Nat’s whispered plea shot like an arrow into Kassian’s heart.

The Matchmaker waved her hand. “You are dismissed. You may board in the rooms on the third floor. Report back at nine a.m.”

Chapter 21

Nat couldn’t breathe for the whirlwind of emotions crashing through her. Failure. Disappointment. Unworthiness. And anger. Oh yes, the serpent of fury slithered through her body, coiling around her gut and digging deep.

Kassian’s words carried a venom she’d never believed him capable of.

It was all a ruse. Everything. Even those times he’d promised her their connection was real.

Damn him and damn his Chosen posse. They decided to kick her out of the club? Fine. But not yet. Oh, not yet.

She’d never failed a mission and refused to accept this dismissal. Zhao had tried to control Snake, but that was all. He’d
tried
. He hadn’t succeeded.

She spun on her heel and marched out of the Matchmaker’s office. The woman’s apprentice handed her a keycard. She stormed into one of the elevators. At the third floor, she strode down the hall toward her room.

“Nat. Wait.” Kassian’s voice boomed and echoed behind her. She contemplated giving him the cold shoulder, but that would be letting him off far too easily.

She whirled around. “
You
.” She snapped out the word. “You set me up to fail.”

His eyes widened and he stepped forward. “No, Nat. I didn’t.”

She clenched her hands at her sides and shot him a glare, daring him to move closer. “Oh, yeah? How come you insisted we follow Mei? Huh? You must have suspected Zhao would be close by. You’ve hoped I would fail from the second you discovered Snake was meant for me. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was your method of getting revenge.”

“Revenge? Why the fuck would I seek revenge against you?”

She crossed her arms. “Your male ego couldn’t handle my rejection.”

He snorted. “Wow. You must think pretty highly of yourself. You left. I got over it. End of story.”

“Is it?” She waved a hand at their surroundings. “You were a hot mess after I rejected you. Then Sheng came along and pieced you back together. Gave you something amazing. You were furious when they decided to give me a spirit too.”

A tic worked his jaw. “Oh, yeah? Why the fuck would that be?”

She tilted her head. “I wasn’t a damsel in distress, waiting to be rescued. It kills you I wasn’t pining for you all these years.”

Kassian stood as solid as a concrete wall, but his eyes… They flashed with vulnerability. Had she struck the right note?

Slowly, he shook his head. “That’s not what this is about. Not at all. Not everything is about you. Other people place the greater good ahead of themselves.”

Ouch.
What the hell did he presume she tried to do? “Oh, and I bet if they told you to give up Ox, you’d hand the spirit over, right? Greater good?”

“I would, yeah.” He gave a curt nod, but she didn’t buy his sincerity.

Even so, this argument had stalled. He was too stubborn to notice anything but the goal he’d always kept in mind—keeping her from Snake. She wouldn’t go down without a fight. Not before she finished what she’d set out to do.

She uncrossed her arms and stared at him. Right. They would remove Snake from her. It was only a matter of time. She could use that bit of time to her advantage if she threw on one more mask… Sighing, she brushed past him toward the room the Matchmaker’s apprentice had assigned her.

“Where are you going?”

“To bed. It’s been a long day.” Exhaustion coated her voice. “This isn’t over, Kassian. Tomorrow, I’m going to argue my case and I’m going to win.”

There. She’d set the bait and now she had to wait for him to take it.

Footsteps thudded behind her. Kassian followed. Perfect.

She had to be careful not to overplay the part, but also to be convincing enough that he’d leave her alone for the rest of the night. The yawn she stifled at the door to her room wasn’t fake. She
was
tired. Too bad she wouldn’t get any rest tonight.

“Good night, Kassian. We’ll talk in the morning.” She sighed, signaling the end of this discussion, then jammed her keycard into the lock, twisted the knob, and headed inside. Closing the door behind her, she leaned back against the wood.

Arguing her case tomorrow wouldn’t help. The Matchmaker never changed her mind. Nat would have to give up Snake. That was a fact.

Just not tomorrow.

Nat padded to the open window. She steeled her resolve and let the images of Mali and her mother flood through her. Hosting the Snake gave her the power to make something right. The power she’d lacked last time. She never should have confronted her father three years ago, but she’d learned her lesson, and she was no longer the weak Natalie she’d once been.

Chosen weren’t supposed to use their spirit animals for personal vengeance. Neither were Lotus permitted to pursue their own agendas. Yet, an evil tainted this world and she refused to rest until she stopped it. Until she restored the
yin
and
yang
balance her father had inverted.

Any price would be worth that. Even her soul.

Nat stuck one foot on the window ledge and hauled her body up. Braced in the window’s frame, she stared out at the streetlight-lit city. Dusk had fallen and the darkness would provide her good cover.

A knock at her door jolted her. What the hell? She grumbled and hopped down, striding to the door. Snake detected Ox on the other side.

Dammit, Kassian.

***

Kassian raked his hands through his hair. It gutted him that Nat believed he’d set her up. In truth, he
had
hoped she would fail. Seeing Snake’s response to Zhao today… Kassian’s reins had snapped. Nat had come so close to being hurt. Or worse.

He’d marched to her room, unsure of what to say or why he suffered the driving urge to speak at all. As she opened the door and stared at him, his parched throat allowed no words to pass.

His body knew what to declare, though.

Fragile. Precious. A reminder of everything he’d fought for. He rushed forward and captured the nape of her neck, bringing his mouth down upon hers. She tensed, but melted for an instant before becoming rigid again.

He forced her lips open and tangled his tongue with hers. She lashed out and bit his lip. He fisted his hand in her hair and shoved her back against the door, banging it into the wall. His other hand wrapped around her waist and bore the brunt of the force, his knuckles bruising but, hell, he didn’t care.

He shoved one thigh between Nat’s legs and pinned her while his hand eased down her body to squeeze her plush ass.

She let out a throaty moan, driving his need higher. His cock thickened against the front of his pants. He wanted this—
her
—so badly, his desire seared the air in his lungs.