Page 27 of Warrioress

Kam craned his neck curious over her shoulder, and Uma shoved his muzzle back, earning a grunt of surprise from the male.

“What was that for?” he grumbled and rubbed his nose.

“I can’t see around your big block of a head,” she muttered as she squinted furiously when Ava leaned in to speak to someone before starting down the street.

“I thought we were supposed to be leaving. Not lurking on corners,” Vrin commented drily, bringing her annoyance level up another notch.

“We are. And we aren’t,” she replied absently.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Vrin blink, and his head turned toward her. “What?”

He sounded so disgruntled that she bit back a laugh despite her own annoyance. Blessed Mother, how could someone so grumpy be so adorable? It almost threatened to break her out of her bad mood if it weren’t for the fact that Ava was clearly doing something shady as fuck.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and arched an eyebrow though she worked to maintain an otherwise flat expression. The last thing he needed to know was that she actually enjoyed the barbs they traded back and forth—even if she wanted to find the nearest bucket to drown him in from time to time.

“We are leaving... we are not lurking on a corner,” she said slowly, emphasizing every syllable of each word until his lips peeled back into an adorably fangy snarl. She smirked back at him before waving to the street. “I just wanted to see what she is up to with her friend there.”

“You mean that male beside her?” Kam asked as he scratched his ruff lazily. Uma’s eyes shot to him in surprise, but he tapped his nose with a wry smile. “Many of your males have a distinct scent to them.”

Laro grunted in agreement as he peered in the couple’s direction. His ears pricked and he frowned. “They are intentionally speaking very quietly. Normally humans are so loud that we can hear most of what you say at this distance, but I cannot hear their words, only a hardness in their voices as they hiss back and forth to each other.”

She was right then... this wasn’t a casual meeting on the street. They were being sneaky about something, and whatever it was had something to do with the family a short distance down the street. Although they were not aware of Uma behind them, it was clear that they were whispering so not to be overheard by the Ragoru or attract their attention. Which meant they were up to something.

“Not on my watch,” she muttered as she abandoned the wall that she was hidden behind only to be stopped mid-step and practically jerked off her feet as Vrin hauled her back against the heavy muscle of his chest.

“What are you doing?” he growled.

She glared up at him over her shoulder. That was not sexy as hell. His chest and abs beneath his short fur didn’t feel like a woman’s dream playground. His obvious protectiveness wasn’t a siren’s song to her nether regions.

“I am going in closer to see if I can hear what they are saying,” she hissed and proceeded to wriggle out of his grasp, which was a little awkward when his lower arms closed around her as well. She finally scowled up at him and pinched his upper forearm. “Do you mind? Who is in charge here?”

His ears flattened as if he were considering arguing, but Laro sighed and bumped him with his arm. “Let her go.”

She guessed that told her exactly who they thought was in charge because Vrin reluctantly released her without complaint. She straightened her armor and the tunic under it with a frown. She should logically be angry given she had worked hard for her status, but she couldn’t be. She wasn’t going to be with the triad much longer, and she wasn’t exactly clueless regarding their social structure. Although the rest of the triad had a say, the lead was the alpha and called the shots. She could respect that. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to call the shots when it came to her duties, however. After visually verifying that Ava and her companion still hadn’t moved, she pointed at the triad and then at the ground forcibly. She met Laro’s eyes, knowing the other two would follow suit if she gained his cooperation.

“Stay here,” she reiterated with a hiss, and at Laro’s nod of confirmation, she slipped out into the open.

Uma stalked purposely forward, keeping her steps light as she walked at a brisk clip, shortening the distance between herself and the warder. Her skin prickled as Ava leaned in to whisper something to her companion and then suddenly he moved. Uma froze in place for a heartbeat before ducking behind a wagon. Her eyes followed him as he raced down an alley. She instinctively started after him but drew up short, her eyes darting over to Ava as the warder began to suddenly advance on the family. She hadn’t been spotted yet, but it would be no time at all before Ava started an ugly confrontation with the Ragoru in the street.

She couldn’t let her interfere!

But the man—what if he was associated with the gentlemen’s club? He could have valuable information about not only what the club was up to, but also in regard to the incident with the triad being poisoned. She bit her lip uncertainly as the distance rapidly increased between her and both targets. Her gaze skipped over to Betani and her heart clenched. She couldn’t allow Ava to cause any trouble for the woman. All her research recently had told her exactly what sort of life she had lived before the restructuring. She didn’t deserve to have someone fuck that up for no reason.

Resolved, she cast one last reluctant look toward the alley and blinked in surprise as three large, stealthy shadows broke away from the side of the nearest building and slipped down the narrow street. Although they had clearly ignored her orders, she felt a rush of relief and smiled privately to herself. That took care of one problem. Her hands curling into fists, Uma rapidly closed to the distance between herself and the warder. With a rush of forward momentum, she suddenly jogged forward and snatched the other woman by the material of her tunic just below the nape of her neck before ducking between two buildings, dragging the warder in after her.

A shrill cry of surprise escaped Ava, but Uma spun her around and slapped her hand over her mouth, pinning her to the wall with one hand, her eyes narrowing threateningly on the other woman. Thankfully, Ava was not as big of a fool as she looked. The woman’s eyes widened fearfully, but she immediately ceased struggling. Uma’s hand, however, was hot and damp from Ava’s rapid breathing as the woman failed to entirely conceal her panic.

“Hello, Ava,” she purred as she leaned in close until their noses were barely an inch apart.

The sound that escaped Ava was something between a miserable squeak of fear and a groan of dismay, bringing a cold smile to Uma’s lips. The woman trembled as her gaze shot to the scars carved into her face. She knew that they made her look like a brutal killer as newer scars were added over the years in the course of her duty to those that were far older born from her own tragedy. She normally hated the instinctive fear those scars triggered in people, except for people like Ava. Bringing up her opposite hand that had previously been gripping the other woman’s tunic, she lightly patted Ava’s cheek.

“You are everywhere lately, aren’t you, Ava? And always with something interesting to say to someone it seems, and this time no more than a short distance from a triad of Ragoru who would happily kill you for threatening their mate.” She pursed her lips in a faint pout. “We wouldn’t want that right?”

Ava’s head jiggled in a yes but when Uma’s eyebrows rose, she seemed to rethink her reply and she blinked quickly as she shook her head no, a muffled sound drifting up between them.

“No, of course not,” Uma purred in agreement. “Then, do you want to tell me what you were telling your little friend back there?”

The warder shook her head rapidly again as her hand came up to tug uselessly at the corner of Uma’s hand. Uma looked down at the hand and raised an eyebrow before slowing, looking up to meet her eyes.

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