Lady of the Night (Downworlder Series, #3)

Chapter Five: Of Caves and Dragons

I moved through the trees as quietly as I could. I was confused and agitated. My beast didn't want to leave the city, he wanted to be near that female, Quinta. The gold dusted female draped in expensive fabrics that smelled of roses and jasmine. She'd looked like she had stepped out of the pages of some kind of fairytale. A fucking princess if I ever saw one. I had expected her to go straight to the water works when I had hijacked the limo and held her date at gunpoint. Except she had surprised me by maintaining a calm and graceful demeanor. Well, until that bastard had thrown her under the bus.

My beast gnashed his teeth at the thought. It had taken everything in me to not shoot him then and there. Any male willing to sacrifice a female wasn't worth the precious air he breathed. I had expected her to be terrified of the thought of being handed over to me but instead her anger had flared brightly and she had shown the pendejo just how much one did not want to fuck with her.

She had been elegance and grace as she wielded her blade and I had been nearly struck dumb. I had never had a female elicit such a response from me or my beast but she had stopped us in our tracks. Right until the male had slapped her. I had felt a searing burn of rage before she returned the action as if barely fazed by his hit.

I shook my head. She was strong, beautiful, elegant, and everything my abuela had told me that I needed to look out for. Her cigar would dangle from her lips and she wag her finger at me, telling me to guard my heart until such a female came along. Told me that the rest of the women would only be in it for the wrong reasons but when my alma gemala came along that she would be everything I needed in this life and the next. I wanted to feel cynical about it, to scoff at the ramblings of an old woman who smoked too many cigars, drank too much tequila, and played too many cards but my abuela had never once steered me wrong.

Not to mention I had felt something as I had looked at the golden warrior who had Conrad at her mercy. It was like something had shifted inside of me, like something had clicked and I had never wanted a female more. My beast had been growling at me, urging me to take her away, to drape her in finery and take care of her in our den. It was fucking confusing.

The well made cabin came into view and I shook the thoughts away. I was confused and the only person I had I could turn to was Sutton. I figured I had helped her enough over the years that she could return the favour, even just to give me some advice. I slipped around back to where I knew the easiest access window was. The Russian twins knew how to style a cabin but their choice in bedroom windows was shit. I understood that the cabin was far enough into the woods that no one would ever travel to it but still. Protection was protection.

I used an empty marks card to pop the latch on the window and slid it open. It didn't take much to quietly enter the cabin. I could hear Sutton close by, more than likely in the kitchen and I moved easily through the simple floor plan. I had already scoped out the cabin before they had moved in. I needed to know what the layout was so I could better protect Sutton if I needed too.

I came into the kitchen and Sutton was putting away some dishes. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest as I watched her. She was relaxed, it was nice to see. She had finally gotten out from underneath Octavia's thumb and it suited her. When we had left Haven, I had known she would survive. She was soft but she had an edge to her that let me know she was stronger than she had looked. I had wanted to foster that in her, to teach her to stand on her own two feet and not rely on anyone else. I had succeeded for the most part.

"Hey, princess." I said it loudly and she jumped with a small screech, whirling around quickly. I smirked at that, she always gave me the best reactions when I snuck up on her.