Hunted Read online

  “Yes, you should have!” Liv sank down on the round bench that circled the table in the dining nook. “You absolutely should have, Kat—I don’t care how awkward it would have been.”

  “Olivia is right,” Baird rumbled. “Though believe me, it would have been plenty damn awkward,” he added, looking uncomfortable. Remembering the kinky exploits of the night before, Liv felt herself blush in agreement.

  “We would have if we thought Sylvan couldn’t protect her,” Lock said with dignity. “But from what Kat and Deep and I saw—”

  “How exactly did you see them?” Baird growled, frowning.

  It was Lock’s turn to look uncomfortable. “We, er, used Kat as a focus to find Sophia and Sylvan. But only because you weren’t available yourself, Brother.”

  “They used you as a what?” Liv looked at her friend in concern. Kat was still glaring at the twins and her fair cheeks were stained a deep, rosy red. “Kat,” she murmured, what exactly did you get up to last night?”

  “Not as much as you did, I’m sure.” Kat spoke to Liv while keeping her eyes trained on Deep and Lock. “But a hell of a lot more than I planned on, I can tell you that.”

  Liv turned on Deep and Lock. “You bastards—what did you do to my friend?”

  “Only what was necessary to find your sister,” Deep shot back.

  “Using an unmated female as your focus?” Baird shook his head. “I don’t know much about the way seeking/finding works, but I thought it was forbidden to use an unshielded mind in such a way.”

  “It was her choice.” Deep scowled.

  “And it’s not forbidden—just not exactly encouraged,” Lock added. “The lady Kat did offer herself. We tried to warn her that the experience might be somewhat…intimate.”

  “Somewhat intimate?” Kat demanded. “It was a hell of a lot more than ‘somewhat intimate.’ Compared to being mentally groped by the two of you, a trip to the gynecologist is like a handshake.”

  “You volunteered for it,” Deep exploded. “We tried to warn you.”

  “Well you didn’t warn me about the fact that this…this link between us doesn’t seem to be fading.” Kat sounded both scared and furious. “Or that I’d have your damn emotions running around inside me for who knows how long. Or that I’d have a splitting headache I can’t get rid of.”

  Baird crossed his arms over his bare chest and narrowed his eyes at the two Twin Kindred. “You put me in an awkward position, brothers. It is my duty to protect the females under my care. As my bride’s friend, Kat falls squarely into that category.”

  “Kat should be ours to protect,” Deep snarled, taking a step forward. “Lock and I have shared a joining with her and you already have a bride.”

  Baird took a step forward too, glowering. “If I’m hearing correctly, she wants nothing more to do with you. And it seems you took unfair advantage of her last night.”

  The tension in the room was suddenly so thick it was stifling. Liv could almost smell the testosterone filling the air, a thick, hot odor like the musk of male animals in rut. She opened her mouth to say something but Kat beat her to it.

  “Wait a minute, wait a minute.” She held out her hands, stepping between Baird and Deep, who was being held back by Lock. “Look, I’m not happy about what happened last night—not happy at all.” She glared at Deep. “I will admit, though, that it was necessary up to a point. We had to make sure Sophie and Sylvan were all right. And that’s what we need to concentrate on now—finding them and bringing them home.”

  “The lady Kat is correct,” Lock said earnestly. “After she found them, Deep and I were able to pinpoint their exact location.”

  “Give me the coordinates,” Baird said at once. “I’ll go get them right now.”

  “The structure they’re in is in a heavily wooded area,” Deep growled. “You couldn’t wedge a shuttle in there if you tried.”

  “However, there is a clearing about half a mile away by a small human shop. You could land there,” Lock offered. “Only…”

  “Only what?” Liv demanded impatiently.

  “Well…” Lock looked uncomfortable. “Perhaps you should try bespeaking them again first. And not just…walk in on them.”

  “When we last saw Sylvan he was deep in rage,” Deep added, as though that explained anything.

  “He really was?” Baird frowned. “I thought he might be from Kat’s description but I didn’t know he cared for Sophia that way.”

  “Apparently he does,” Deep said dryly. “Which is why you should call first.”

  “How can we call them? I thought you said there was a mental block,” Liv said.

  “There is,” Lock said. “But the last time I tried Sylvan on the Think-me, it felt weaker. As if I could almost get through. Maybe if someone with a stronger connection—”

  Liv was already up. “Bebo,” she called. “Bebo, quick, fetch the Think-me.”

  “Wait.” Baird put a hand on her arm just as the little zichther, which looked remarkably like a blue teddy bear, came waddling into the room with a thin wire circlet clutched in its jaws.

  “Wait? Why should we wait?” Liv was already reaching for the Think-me but Baird got it first.

  “Think what Lock is trying to tell us, Olivia,” he said softly. “Sylvan was deep in rage. That’s a state Kindred males don’t go into unless their bride is threatened. I had a helluva time not being blinded by it myself when I went to the Scourge’s Fathership to get you. If the AllFather had refused my offer of krik-ka-re, I probably would have lost it and ripped the whole damn place apart.”

  “I still don’t understand.” Liv shook her head. “Sophie and Sylvan aren’t together but he still went into this…this rage state? What does that even mean?”

  “It means that Sylvan probably demolished the threat—whatever it was—and he’s bonding Sophia to him this very minute,” Deep drawled. “And it’s not wise to interrupt bonding sex between a Blood-Kindred and his chosen mate—not even telepathically. Although it’s a hell of a lot better to bespeak them than to just barge in.”

  “Are you crazy?” Kat glared at them. “You never said anything like that to me. Sophie doesn’t even like Sylvan.”

  “Sometimes liking doesn’t have anything to do with it.” Deep gave her a half-lidded look so hot Liv was surprised it didn’t burn her friend’s silky blue dress right off her lush, voluptuous body. “Sometimes the desire between a Kindred and his bride is so intense that it can’t be denied—by either party.”

  “Deep is right,” Baird said thoughtfully. “Sometimes the blood knows what the mind does not wish to see.” He sounded like he was quoting some kind of a proverb.

  Liv thought of the hungry way Sylvan had kissed her twin during the Luck Kiss and how nervous Sophie had seemed afterwards. Could they possibly… No. No way. It’s just not possible. “I’m not listening to any more of this.” She held out her hand, frowning up at Baird. “Give it to me.”

  “Lilenta,” he murmured. “How would you have felt if someone had interrupted us the first time?”

  “I would have been madder than hell,” Liv said calmly. “But I’m telling you, Baird, nothing is going on. Think-me’s only work when you’re calling from the Mother ship and Sophie left her cell phone at home, so neither one of them has any way to communicate. They’re probably down there, twiddling their thumbs right now, waiting for us to make contact. That’s if they’re okay. Please…” Her throat got tight but she forced the words out. “I have to know they’re all right.”

  Baird looked troubled but he handed her the thin silver wire at once. “Very well. But I’m certain they’re well, Lilenta. Sylvan and I have a very deep bond. I would know if he was wounded or had gone to be with the Mother.”

  “You think that,” Liv said, settling the Think-me so that the cool silver wire pressed against her temples. “I was really close to my parents, too. I would have sworn that I would just know somehow if anything happened to them. But when we got that knock on the door