Accidental Acquisition by Evangeline Anderson
20
Kalis bore the pain of the lost limb stolidly. He’d had worse wounds in his Blood Circuit days and one Mistress had liked using a fire whip on him—just to see how fast he healed. As a B’varren Kindred, he could heal almost any wound, but he could only regrow a lost limb by switching to his other form.
But he didn’t want to change in front of Jillian. The little female had already had enough trauma for one day—she didn’t need to see him grow into a twelve-foot tall Ursus after she’d already been drugged, dumped in the Dark market, kidnapped, and nearly assaulted by a depraved Trollox. It would be too much for her to process.
Just admit why you don’t want her to see you change, whispered a little voice in his head. You’re afraid she’d have the same reaction Mistress Douchenbag had! You’re afraid you’ll drive her away forever if she sees you in your other form.
Kalis had to acknowledge that was true. His first love, the mate he had lost, had been a B’varren Kindred herself. And while female B’varrens didn’t have a second form, they grew up seeing their fathers and brothers change, so it wasn’t a shock to them. But almost every other female who had seen him become the beast he kept inside had been horrified and frightened to death.
Well, with the exception of his first Mistress. She had feared his other form, but used it to make him a champion of the Blood Circuit.
But the fact remained that he preferred to wait until he reached a safe, private place to take his other form and regrow his lost hand.
“It is done,” he heard the Master of the Market intone in his deep, creaking voice. “Trollox, take your payment and go,” he ordered.
“Yes, your Eminence,” the Trollox snarled. Though he scooped up Kalis’s severed left hand, he didn’t look very happy about how things had ended.
Too fucking bad, Kalis thought, with a burst of anger. He’d had to muster every bit of his self-control not to go into Rage when the fucking monster had been threatening Jillian. But he’d known that only by keeping a cool head, could he get his new Mistress away from the Trollox intact.
Speaking of his new Mistress, Jillian was standing beside him, sobbing as though her heart would break.
“Oh, K-kalis,” she sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m so s-sorry! I can’t believe he…you…” But she couldn’t get the words out.
Kalis got awkwardly to his feet and put his right arm around her. His left he held carefully out in front of him, glad that the tourniquet was doing its work.
“It’s all right, little Mistress,” he murmured, squeezing her shoulders gently. “I’ve had worse in the ring at the Blood Circuit. It will all turn out in the end, you’ll see.”
“But h-how?” she demanded. “This is just horrible!”
With concern, Kalis realized she was near a breaking point. Too much had happened to the little female today—he needed to get her back to the Kindred Mother Ship. Despite their rules about not bringing strangers aboard, he was certain he could bargain with whoever was head of the High Council and change his mind. The B’varren Kindred—while rare—were generally well-respected by the other branches of the Kindred family tree.
“Never mind,” he said soothingly. “We’ll talk about it later, little Mistress. Now come on—the Master of the Market has other matters to attend to.” He nodded at the huge Quinlow, who was still regarding them sternly.
“The Kindred is correct,” he creaked. “Leave me that I may recharge my energy for the next conflict I must settle.”
“Thank you, Master of the Market.” Kalis nodded at the Quinlow, who rustled his branches in return.
“Go in peace—this matter is settled,” he announced. “Guards, show them out.”
The two guards with their long necks and large, beady eyes, escorted the four of them out of the Master’s compound.
Kalis was relieved but also worried about his new Mistress. He still had a protective arm around Jillian—her sobs had stopped but she had a blank, shell-shocked look on her pretty face. He was glad he knew where her shuttle was parked so he could take her directly back to the Mother Ship and get her some medical attention—she seemed like she might need it.
But they hadn’t gone three paces from the Master of the Market’s compound before trouble started again.
“This ent fair,” Ripper’s yellow-eyed head snarled, as the solid wooden gates banged shut behind them. “Ent fair at all! We had already claimed the female for ourselves—the Master didn’t have cause to take her from us.” The huge Trollox rounded on Kalis and poked a dirty, sausage-sized finger at him. “You tricked us, Kindred! Fooled us into taking the matter to the Master of the Market instead of settling it in our shop!”
“There was no trickery involved,” Kalis said sharply, pulling Jillian closer to his side. “You agreed to see the Master of your accord, Trollox. And now the matter is settled.”
“Well, maybe we want to start a new matter,” Ripper’s one yellow eye was crafty. He dropped Kalis’s left hand in the dirt and pulled out his butcher’s cleaver instead. “We have a claim to that female, Kindred. We challenge you here and now to fight us for her—winner gets her as the prize.”
At Kalis’s side, Jillian suddenly came to life.
“You can’t do that!” she exclaimed, glaring up at the Trollox. “We just went to court and Kalis lost a hand because if it! You can’t say he won the case when he lost his freaking hand!”
“Yes, but he got to keep you, girly!” the yellow-eyed head hissed. “And we wants you! What’s more, we aims to have you!”
He rushed forward and Kalis pushed Jillian behind his back.
“Go, little Mistress,” he murmured. “Run to any booth or stall and claim Market Sanctuary—you’ll be safe and I’ll find you when I finish this.”
“But you’ve only got one hand!” Jillian exclaimed. “And he’s like four feet taller than you! This isn’t a fair fight at all. And you shouldn’t have to fight, either—I’m not a prize to be won—I’m a person, goddamnit!”
“Just go!” Kalis begged her. He could feel the Rage wanting to take over his body again and this time he wasn’t sure he could stop it. If the Rage came, so would his other form, and he didn’t need his new little Mistress to see him that way—not yet.
Jillian started to move away but before she could get to the nearest booth—which appeared to sell dried herbs—the three-headed Trollox called Thrasher grabbed her.
“She ent going anywhere until this fight is over,” he announced, grinning cruelly as Jillian struggled in his grip. “This little girly is going back to Ripper’s shop with him—just as soon as he finishes with you, Kindred.”
Kalis glared at him, feeling the hot curtain of Rage drop over his vision—it stained everything he saw blood-red and he could feel his other form—his Ursus—pushing to break free and take over. Still, he fought it, though seeing the bastard’s hands on her again woke every protective instinct and his other form roared within him.
“Let my Mistress go,” he growled at the three-headed Trollox. “Or you’ll get what your friend Ripper is about to get.”
“What’s that, Kindred?” Ripper’s yellow-eyed head taunted. “You think you’re going to take us both on one-handed? We’ll have your other hand for our shop window before you can take the first swing.” He tossed the huge cleaver from hand to hand, both his heads grinning tauntingly. “Then maybe we’ll take your legs as well and prop you up so you can watch while we fuck your Mistress.”
This last taunt was too much for Kalis to take. He could feel the Rage building within him, pushing against the dam inside his mind that separated his two forms. His Ursus was about to break free and there was nothing he could do about it, even though Jillian was watching him with wide, uncertain eyes.
“You fucking bastard,” he growled, his voice already being taken over by his beast. “I’ll kill you for daring to speak so of my female. Come for me then and see what you get!”
And then he began to change.
