“Nothing.” Inali shrugged. “Your pack has nothing, and I haven’t met this female, who fell out of a blue light, to pass judgment. The idea of feeding another useless mouth doesn’t appeal to me though.” The Payami alpha turned his back on him.
If Sorin weren’t chained, Inali wouldn’t ever have let his defenses down in front of him. “The Goddess might have sent her and—”
“The Goddess abandoned us long ago when the vampires took over our people and our lands. If she did send this creature, then it’s best we just send her right back.”
“If you don’t believe then just let us go.”
“I plan to eventually, Sorin. But first I need to make an example of you. Maybe in a few days…” He glanced over his shoulder. “I have some females and males who wouldn’t mind taking some entertainment from you first. I believe your father was fond of such activities.”
Sorin watched Ahote stiffen at the mention of the crimes his father had committed. “I’d apologize for my father’s actions if I knew it would ease anyone’s pain but I know first hand that words do little to heal.” Even though his feet couldn’t touch the ground well, he tried to straighten with some dignity. “I am not my father. Nor will I ever be.”
Chapter Four
Before Susan could explain anything about dimensions and gateways, the door to Kele’s chamber crashed open, and Susan jumped to the balls of her feet, prepared—to what, fight? Was she nuts?
A female blocked the entrance, her muscular physique hinting at enough strength to twist Susan into a pretzel without breaking a sweat. The newcomer flung her black hair over her shoulder.
Rising with grace, Kele straightened her dress before addressing the intruder. “Mother.”
“Daughter, I heard you’ve brought home a stray along with the Apisi alpha.” The female’s stare drilled into Susan, her sneer far from welcoming.
Susan’s breath caught in her throat. Black, soulless eyes ate her gaze. Her fingers clutched the lapels of her jacket as she pulled it closed. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants and offered her hand. “I’m Dr. Susan Barlow.”
The female shifter narrowed her eyes, nostrils flaring.
Susan withdrew her untouched hand, then hid it behind her back and glanced at Kele. Maybe she should have sniffed her mother instead? She wished someone would give her the Dummies Guide to Shifter Society and a little time to study it.
Kele’s mother crossed the room in two great strides and swung her arm.
Susan did her best impression of a statue. She didn’t budge as the impact of the slap swerved her head to the side and dragged her gaze from mother to daughter. Both of them were flushed with emotion yet at opposite poles of the color spectrum—one dark as an oncoming storm and the other pale as the moonlight.
The back of Susan’s heel caught the edge of the cushion and she landed hard on her back.
The bitter flavor of blood swept over her taste buds. “What the hell?” She rubbed her jaw and glared daggers at the crazy woman looming over her. Just as quickly, she schooled her expression to something less threatening before she insulted the bigger shifter further. With the tip of her tongue, Susan explored her mouth. She didn’t encounter any big gaps, so no lost tooth. A small blessing.
Kele’s crazy mother hovered over Susan’s face and bared her teeth. In beast form, her expression would have appeared fierce, but in human form it seemed terrifying. With an easy grace, she flipped Susan onto her stomach. A bony knee pressed between her shoulder blades, making her kiss the floor. Pain shot across Susan’s upper back and neck.
“How dare you come into my den and not submit to me.”
“She’s not a shifter!” Kele shouted. “You can’t expect her to know how to be polite.”
Something ran over Susan’s hair, and the sound of sniffing followed. She tried to take a deep breath but the weight on her back made it difficult.
The nutjob exhaled in disgust. “What is she?”
“A human.” Kele peered at Susan’s throbbing face as she stroked her hair. “Please, I wanted to teach her how to behave before meeting you and father.”
“Your father.” The bitch snorted. “It’s bad enough he’s entertaining a vampire and dealing with trespassing alphas. We don’t need any more vermin within the den.”
Susan was jerked from the ground by her hair and dragged across the floor. Pain shot into her scalp while she scrambled to support her weight with her legs. “Let go. Let go.” The shifter world was more brutal than anything she’d ever experienced. Susan slapped at the crazy woman’s hands tangled in her hair.
“My daughter took too many liberties in offering you shelter. You’ll need to find another den to take you in.”
At a loss, Susan yanked and squirmed but only made the pain worse. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kele leap.
The petite blonde used her wiry strength to jump across the room and land on her mother’s back. The collision knocked them both to the ground in a knot of arms and legs.
Untangling her limbs from the struggling shifters, Susan could finally elbow the bitch in the face. The impact made a satisfying crunch. She pulled back her arm for a second shot, but Kele grabbed her and half carried, half dragged her out of the chamber.
“Hurry, we need to reach my father before she beats you into cinders.”
Not needing any further incentive, Susan ran after her new friend. “Your people are crazy.”
They tore across the rope bridge, Susan ignoring the height this time. What chased her would do far more damage than falling. Kele’s mother howled profanities, and they echoed inside the volcano’s interior.
Susan cringed and glanced back. It wasn’t a matter of if Kele’s mother caught them, but more of when—then she’d have to kiss her ass goodbye.
The dark-headed, crazy female crashed out of the chamber, splintering the wooden door in her enthusiasm, and took chase in her human-appearing form.
Jumping down the stairs two at a time, Susan made it to the ground floor without breaking her neck. It was a miracle.
Thirty-one years on Earth, and she’d never been chased or hit by anyone. Less than six hours in this dimension, and it had happened twice.
A crowd gathered by the path Kele ran along. Some laughed and others rolled their eyes but no one helped.
Pumping her long legs, Susan tried to keep up with the shorter Kele but the pale-haired shifter outpaced her.
It wouldn’t be long before the mad shifter dug her nails into Susan’s flesh. She could almost sense Kele’s mother reaching out, the sharp edges of her nails tickling the hairs on the nape of her neck. Susan pushed her body to go faster. Her sides cramped. Her lungs burned. God, was she ever out of shape.
From nowhere, Ahote stepped out of the crowd. A huge grin spread across his face, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Keep running. I’ll try to slow her down.”
As she passed him, he slapped her ass like a fucking horse. The pain spurred her on. The crowd cheered but she couldn’t waste time to look around. Was it for her or maybe the crazy female chasing her? Insane people!
Kele ran into the vegetation that grew in patches inside the den, and Susan lost sight of her. Panic sent her heart into double time, and her pulse only slowed a fraction when she caught a flash of Kele’s blue dress between the plants. Susan ran after her. Over a fallen log, through thick ferns and across a spider web large enough to be classed as a condo. A large entrance in the side of the extinct volcano’s wall loomed ahead.
Susan crossed inside and slid to a stop, dirt blooming into a small cloud around her feet. Panting, she leaned her hands on her knees and dragged in a deep lungful of air. The eerie silence in the cavern had her lifting her head.