York (12 page)

Chapter
22

Standing at attention
just behind Skin Walker Dominant, Monroe StoneCrow, the rigid set of York’s large frame had little to do with his lack of nutrition, sleep, or a completed mating.  No, the strain was the result of the ruling Keeper sitting across the desk from StoneCrow.  The tension in the room was stifling.  York should have guessed things wouldn’t go well.

The meeting had been going so-so
, up until the point Eden StoneCrow had entered the room.  The human female was the Walker Domina. Monroe’s Angel.

She’d entered the room silently and was heading for her mate when the ruling Keeper
sprang to his feet.   The sheer, voracious desire in his eyes had Monroe snarling and every Walker Sentry rushing forward to protect their Domina.  What in the hell was it with these Keepers and females?  Thank the Gods, Fatal had left his men back in his suite, and had agreed to meet with the Dominant alone.

Monroe reached his
Angel first.  Without a single word, or ever having once looked back at their guest, Monroe’s hand collared Eden’s throat while his other arm snaked around her waist, pulling her into his hard body in a fiercely possessive display.  A slight smile hovered at Eden’s lips.  She knew what her mate was doing, he was showing the ruling Keeper that she was taken…
owned
.  To the shock of her feminine pride, the display was simultaneously flattering and arousing. 

Her lips tipped up at the corners, “Yes, my Dominant?”  

Monroe’s steely blue eyes were commanding.  “Return to our family and remain with them until our guests are gone.”

Eden lifted her hands and buried them in his
hair; she tiptoed and met him as his lips descended on hers.  The kiss was powerfully passionate, a display for the Keeper.  Monroe needed to brand her with his kiss, to show the ruling Keeper that she belonged to him and that even the slightest interest in her would not be tolerated. 

Monroe finally broke the kiss.  Eden’s harsh breathing matched his
own, and he found that he was hesitant to let her go.  Heat filled her eyes and seared into him.  He wanted her, but it’d have to wait.  First, he needed her away from Fatal.  Her proximity to the ruling Keeper was wreaking havoc on Monroe’s inner beasts who stirred restlessly with the conflicting need to get her far away from the fascinated Keeper and the urge to keep her close so that
he
could ensure her safety.

As if sensing his Dominant’s reluctance, King stepped forward.  “I’ll escort your
Angel to your children, Dominant.”  The title was rarely used by the Chief of Security, and Monroe knew King had used it to drive home to the Keeper that Monroe was in command and would be obeyed.

Monroe nodded without taking his eyes off
his Eden.  He handed her to King, silently telling his second-in-command to take care of his Domina.

Fatal
nonchalantly reclaimed his seat and spoke as Monroe continued to eye the closed door.  “Your Walkers respect you.  How did you come about it?”

“My position is granted,” Monroe growled, dragging his eyes
from the door to frown at Fatal.  “They understand I am the Dominant, and do not challenge my authority.”

Fatal smiled.  “It is not that way among us.  We fight each other for dominance.  I am the ruling Keeper because I am the strongest and most fierce.”

Monroe crossed back to his desk and took a seat.  He frowned, steepling his fingers to poke the tips of his two middle fingers into his bottom lip.  “If you wish civility, you must be civil.”

Fatal shrugged and eyed the room with disinterest.  “That sounds very boring.”

“You have more pressing issues than having your Keepers and their Soul Sentries entertained, Fatal.  You can’t continue to hide.  Living in the shadows isn’t necessary.  You need to create a community where you can exist in peace with each other.  Without it, you’ll never ensure the continuation of your species.”

That caught
Fatal’s attention.  His eyes slid back to Monroe’s.  “It is difficult for my kind to keep mates.  Our women are often reclaimed in battles for dominance.  Unlike your kind, we have no females of our own.  We are forced to take human females.  They are very weak, and do not like to be reclaimed.  They often object to being used to breed as well.”  He stood and crossed to the window that looked out over StoneCrow Estates.  “Perhaps you are right.  Perhaps if I too had a compound where we could form a hierarchy and,” his eyes shifted to the stone wall that surrounded the Estate, “keep our females locked in…”

“We do not force our
Angels, Fatal.”  Monroe tried to control his temper, and had to shake his head to stall Legion’s advancement on the ruling Keeper.  “The gate is there to keep others out, not to keep our Angels in.  They have as much say here as any Walker.  They are respected…
cherished
.”

Fatal spun and eyed Monroe evenly.  “Interesting.”

“Out of curiosity,” Monroe had to know, “how would a Keeper take a mate?”

“Just as you said,” Fatal shrugged nonchalantly.  “We
take
them.  Our seed is pounded into them, and they are marked.”

“Fuck!” Legion hissed at Monroe’s side, his hands balling into white-knuckled fists. 

Monroe felt the room tilt with the white-hot anger that seared through him.  He kept his eyes pinned on Fatal, his eyes transitioning to a matte black as he contacted King through the mist.
“Do NOT leave my family!  Contact all Sentries and get this place
secure
.  All females need to be rounded up and taken to the cells.  Lock them in.  I want every Walker on this fucking Estate guarding the cells!  You wait for back-up before moving my family.  Do it now!”

Monroe blinked
once, and his eyes returned to normal.  “Take?” he asked with a forced calm. “You mean force?”

Fatal’s
cheek twitched, but not in amusement.  His eyes remained impassive.  “Rape.  I know the term.”  He paced back to his seat and slowly reclaimed it.  “Keepers are a highly valued species.  We do not need to rape.  It is a woman’s honor to have a Keeper as her own.  They
all
eventually choose to stay.”

“Eventually?”

“As you said,” Fatal waved his hand around the room, “we haven’t been afforded the privilege of a community.  We’ve had to take what we’ve wanted and needed.”  He rolled his shoulders and relaxed back in his seat, “I must admit that I look forward to the change.”

Monroe leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his desk.
His eyes held the cold hard edge of determination. “Know now that the
taking
of any female in my domain will be considered a direct attack on me.  I suggest you make that practice your first change and inform your Keepers immediately.  Once a Walker female is claimed by one, she is
never
touched by another male again.  She isn’t shared.  She can’t be won by another in battle.”

Fatal
eyed the door.  “So you do not share your female’s body with the one you call King?”

“No!”  The word left Monroe on a snarl.  “She is
mine
!  I would
kill
any man who attempted to touch her.”

Fatal
didn’t blink.  “I’ll inform my Keepers.”  He slowly stood and stopped halfway out of his seat.  “How far does your domain reach?”

“From the Rocky Mountain Front to the eastern border of Montana.  To the North West, another Walker holds domain.  He shares the area with the Blackbird wolf pack.”

“To the south?” Fatal queried.

Monroe shrugged, “The wolves claim it as well, but don’t have the manpower to patrol the entire state.”

“What of your men?”

Monroe’s stare hardened.  “
My men
can be anywhere in the state with a speed that is unrivaled.”  He knew where Fatal was going, and as much as he hated to do it, he knew he’d need to have the Keepers remain close to monitor their activities.  “I’ll find you several locations in southern Montana.  You can choose which site you prefer.”

Fatal smiled and stood.  “Then I’ll leave you to it.”

Monroe gnashed his back teeth with the offer he had to make.  “You and your men are welcome to remain here until I can find you a suitable compound.”

Legion’s gaz
e sliced to Monroe.

Fatal’s smile turned sinister.  “I think we’ll explore the area.  I too am dominant, which means I know you.  I know that you’ll have me followed from the moment I leave until the moment you decide I’m not a threat.  I am not.  I promised your York that I’d protect his female.  I did.  I vowed to meet with you in peace.  I have.”

Monroe tipped his head.  “You stand a man of your word,” the corner of Monroe’s mouth tweaked but didn’t lift into a full smile.  “Rare to meet my equal.”

Fatal watched the Dominant for long moments before he dipped his head in response.  “Rare indeed.”

Monroe’s
icy gaze remained on Fatal as he spoke to Legion.  “Escort Mr. Ruler and his Keepers from the Estate.  Good day to you, Fatal.  I’ll be in touch.”

Fatal nodded and turned to precede Legion out the door.

Chapter 23

York stood in the kitchen at Apex.  The room looked like a culinary bomb had exploded.  He’d spent the night at
StoneCrow and wasn’t able to get back to Apex until the following night.  Recon on the Keepers showed they had spread out and were scouring the area.  Uncertain what it was they were seeking; Monroe assigned several teams to ghost the Keepers.  Luckily, York had been dismissed from duty.  Now, standing in the kitchen, he almost believed he’d rather hunt a Keeper than ever have to follow a recipe again.

He’d remembered his Sky saying back in the Philippines that once she was
home, she wanted a salad, lasagna, and a cold beer.  The salad and beer were child’s play, but the lasagna? Not so much.  York wasn’t much of a cook.  Hell, he was no parts of a cook, but he’d made the effort for Sky to prove to her that he could provide for his Angel’s needs.  He hadn’t anticipated Shane and James taking up seats in the kitchen to watch him fumble through an impromptu cooking show.

“So let me get this right,” James teased.  “You just got in off
assignment, and your first order of business was cooking a homemade meal for Shy’s sister?”

“
My
Angel
,” he growled and then hid a wince.  He was acting possessive and impatient and hideously stupid.  If the smirk on James’ face was anything to go by, then his fellow Walker recognized it as well.

“Knock it off, James!” he growled in frustration.

James’ smile only widened.  “What, bro?” He looked giddily from York to Shane then back.

“I’m not Conn, boys,” York began. “She’s my
Angel.  I’m not hiding from it or running from it.  And I’m certainly not some foolhardy elitist who will denounce her because she’s not a Walker.  She’s exactly what I want, and I’ll do anything I can to make her happy.”

James eyed the room
. “Including destroying the kitchen.”

Shane
chuckled, earning him a frown from York.

“Why are you here?” York growled.  “Aren’t you two supposed to b
e upstairs watching over my Angel?”

James pushed up from his chair.  “Yeah.  We just came down to make her something to eat.  We didn’t know you were already on it.”

Shane stood too.  “We’ll go tell her dinner’ll be up shortly.” 

When York’s head snapped up James held up his hands.  “Don’t worry, bro.  We won’t tell her about your surprise.”

The duo exited and left York to finish Sky’s dinner.

***

Sky was relaxed in front of the fire as Shane and James regaled her with stories of missions past.  They were good
guys, and she’d gained an easy comfort in their presence.  The younger one, James, was a bit of flirt, but she didn’t mind.  It was a little flattering really, but she knew it’d come to a screeching halt once York returned. 
York
.  The day and half without him had been hard.  She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to rely on him and…well, appreciate his company until it was gone.  Sleeping in his room hadn’t helped.  His bed smelled like him, all wild with a crisp bite of Montana winter.  She very much looked forward to his return.  Realizing she’s stopped listening to a particularly zealous story, she pulled her thoughts from York and smiled brightly.  “What?”

“Yeah,” James
continued. “York challenged Leto for Shy, but Monroe wouldn’t have it!”

All the blood drained
from Sky’s face, and her heart stopped as the room suddenly tilted violently.  Somewhere in the distance she heard James’ startled tone, “Hey!  You alright?”

He wanted Shy!
  Tears blinded her as pain and betrayal clogged her throat. 
He lied! 
He was just like every other man! 
He preferred Shy and is settling for me!

Sky
blinked, and tears slid down her cheeks.  Her eyes began to refocus, and she heard Shane’s voice boom, “What in the fuck did you do to her?” 

Blindly, she
got to her feet and headed for the door as confusion laced James’ tone.  “What?   Nothing!  I-I…
nothing.
  We were just talking about Shy and Leto.”

“Sk
y, wait!”

She didn’t. 
Instead, she jerked the door open and stepped out in the hall.

“Damn it, James!”

“What, bro?   I don’t know what I did.  Shit!  Grab her, Shane!”

The instant t
he hand clamped on her bicep, Sky spun and punched upward.  Shane hadn’t expected it, and for once being short paid off when she connected with his throat.  He hit the floor in a heap, gasping for breath as Sky spun and ran down the hall.  Behind her she heard James curse, “Shit, bro!  Sky, wait!”

She quickened her pace.

James’ volume increased the further she got.  “Please don’t leave, York’ll fucking kill me!  Jesus, Shane! 
Breathe
!”

She made it to the stairs and raced down, barely holding her emotions in check. 
Numbness had settled in her heart, and was slowly blossoming to encompass her entire body.  She had to get away before she lost it, because she
was
going to lose it.

No, no, no, no! 
She chanted with each step. 
Not again.  Not fucking second best again!

Reaching the front doors, she shoved them open and rushed out into the snow.  She sucked in one long
, agonized breath.  She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath until her starved lungs finally filled.  When the great breath left her though, it was on a sob.  She slammed to her knees, uncaring of the snow that covered the ground or the arctic temperature.  Covering her face, she sobbed loudly as the agony wracked her body.  How could she have done this?  How had she been so stupid as to let down her guard again?!  She knew what came from trusting men…
pain!

Only moments passed
before she realized she needed to leave.  York would come looking for her once James relayed what had happened.  She didn’t want to talk to York.  She didn’t want to fucking see
him
ever again.  Planting her hands in the snow, she ignored the sharp sting of the cold as she pushed to her feet where she wobbled.  Red-rimmed eyes scoured her surroundings.  She needed a way out of here.

Her head jerked
around when she heard the crunch of snow.  A willowy figure stepped out of the shadow and blew a puff of cigarette smoke straight at her.  The dark-haired woman let her even darker eyes rove up and down Sky.  Her expression was blank as she held her cigarette in a hand near her mouth while the other arm wrapped around her waist to hold the other up.  She took another drag off her cigarette and licked her lips before slowly exhaling the smoke and finally stating quietly, “I’m Sam.”

Sky didn’t reply.

Sam snorted and eased her cigarette back between her lips, taking another long draw before exhaling just as slowly.  She eyed Sky, studying her before she reached into her jacket pocket.  “Here.”  She tossed a set of keys at Sky, and they jangled when Sky instinctively caught them.  “The black Dodge in the garage is mine.  She’s got navigation.  Take her and run, but don’t scratch her.  She’s all I’ve got.  Leave her where you end up.  I’ll find her.”

Relief and gratitude flooded Sky
, but she didn’t trust herself to speak.

Sam took another slow drag and her brows hiked
.  “Run, Little Red, before the big bad wolf finds you.”

Not sure if she hated the woman or not, Sky gave an appreciative nod of her head before she turned and stalked toward the garage.

***

Watching the obviously distraught woman go, Sam tilted her head and wondered what could have possibly happened to warrant such an emotional breakdown.  She tensed when a hand slid over her shoulder.

“Whatcha doin’ out here?”

She rolled her eyes before taking one last drag of her cigarette and plastering on a false smile, tossing her cig into the snow.  Turning
, she laced her arms around the Walker’s neck, stroking a polished nail over his halo.  “Just coming back inside.”  She pressed her body into his, smashing her breasts against his chest.  He was the perfect target.  Too full of himself and infatuated with pussy to pay any real attention to the threat a woman could be.  Sam licked her lips seductively. “Well, you drug me to this God-forsaken outpost you call home.”  She thought dirty thoughts, inciting her body to cream knowing the Walker would scent her desire and mistake it for a reaction to him. 
Fool! 

When he licked his
lips, she knew she had him.  “Take me to your room and get me warm.”

He smiled
, and she felt guilt singe her.  He was extremely attractive, but not her type in the least. 
He’s a means to an end
, she reminded herself. 
Don’t get all fucking soft now, Sam! You’ve gotta get this done.  Odium won’t tolerate any more failures.

“How about we take a warm bath?”
His sultry tone was seductive, and she could see how other women would be drawn to him.  Not her.

Leaning forward
, she pressed her lips to his ear knowing all too well how to seal the deal.  She whispered innocently, “But I’m already wet.”

Pulling back, he lifted her into his arms and stalked toward the front doors. 

Stroking a hand through his hair she sighed, knowing what came next.  “I have a feeling you’re going to make this a night I’ll never forget, Remy McCabe.”

He smiled wickedly, “No, Sam.  You won’t.”