Page 6 of Darkhan

Shewas everything.

Harmony. Human, petite, cautious little Harmony. She was notably smaller than him even in his human form, though she had enough meat on her to grab hold of. Or sink his teeth into. Preferably both. She was fucking stunning. She would have been regardless of what she wore, with her wavy blonde hair and sky-blue eyes over pale, easily marred skin and all those curves. The tight dress she wore only emphasized all of that.

It was hard to think straight with her scent surrounding him, with the feel of her soft skin under his hands and the melody of her voice in his ears. But he hadn’t lived over four centuries without learning a thing or two about self-control, so Zeno managed not to succumb to his baser instincts before they even reached his penthouse. Which was not to say the feat was easy.

Their banter had helped. He genuinely wanted to know everything she would share of herself, but most critically why the stench of misplaced vermin lingered on her skin. Specifically over a bruise that had just started to form. She wouldn’tsurrender her secrets so easily, however. He was conflictingly proud of her for that.

As the car rolled to a stop, Zeno asked a subtle-enough but nonetheless loaded question that brought their progress to a screeching halt.

It was a hurdle they were going to have to overcome, sooner rather than later, but that logic did nothing to soothe him as the scent of her fear skyrocketed. It overtook her confusion and any beginnings of relaxation she had developed in an instant, surging higher than it had even when he’d hauled her off the sidewalk without warning and piled her into his car. He forced himself to watch as she again retreated to the far corner of her seat, as if the extra half-foot would insulate her.

There was no use, then, in asking whether she knew of shifters in the general sense. He hadn’t had to explain his verbiage. She knew what had put that mark on her arm.

Zeno barely bit back a growl and all but ripped off his seat belt. He would track down the honey badger whose stench was associated with that bruise and burn it to ashes for touching her, for scaring her. But first he needed to know precisely what the rodent had done—just in case he needed to make it a slower death.

More importantly, he needed to make certain his mate hadn’t become so frightened that she feared all shifters as a species. That would be a rather significant problem.

He managed not to slam his door as he climbed from the car, then raced around to her side and pulled her door open. She wasn’t expecting him and let out a short squeak as she began to topple backward. Zeno caught her swiftly, leaning around her to release the seat belt and making sure it didn’t snag on her anywhere before he lifted her from the car. She was stiff in his arms, her breathing shallow. The fear held steady in her scent.

Agitated as much with himself for causing her distress aswith the existence of it at all, Zeno bumped the door shut with his hip and turned toward the partially lowered driver’s window. “I’ll call if I need anything more today. Do not speak of this.”

“Of course, sir.”

Zeno twisted away from the car and strode toward the private elevator. The sooner he got Harmony tucked away where they could talk, the better. He couldn’t risk bumping into any of the building’s wayward residents, let alone any of his local associates, until he had at least assuaged the fear that almost paralyzed her. If that fucking badger was responsible for this reaction, he would make it beg for death.

He managed to angle his thumb out enough to press it onto the screen reader that unlocked the elevator, and the box was rising toward its destination before Harmony finally shifted, however slightly, in his arms. Zeno dropped his gaze to her, unsurprised to find her arms still folded over herself and her eyes still too wide.

She looked away from the steadily increasing digital display and met his stare again. “You … said you wouldn’t hurt me.”

He dragged in a breath and did his best not to growl when he spoke. “I will not, Harmony.”

The dip in her brow would have told him how little she believed him if her scent weren’t already conveying that information loud and clear. “Then what do you want with me? Why did you haul me off the street?” Tears built in her eyes and her hands shook in a tremor that worked its way through her entire body. “Are … are you going to send me back to him?”

Zeno locked his jaw to keep from roaring his fury at the tangible tang of her fear, and the sadness that underscored it.

The elevator settled on his floor and he strode out, grateful to be released from the box he hated having to use. Another awkward twist of his thumb later, and his interior doorunlocked enough for him to shove inside to the main space. His penthouse was three stories tall in some areas, though he had portions of enclosed spaces on the second and third level as well. But he’d wanted something potentially large enough to at least curl up in if for any strange reason he should need it. Though height was only one factor, and with the necessary encumbrance of furniture, there was no getting around how uncomfortable it would be if he ever had to put that height to use.

The truest reason he insisted on penthouse living—at least in big cities—was, of course, for the sky access. And if he’d been in this mood for any other reason whatsoever, he would surely have already been ripping out of his clothes and stretching his wings.

This time he couldn’t. This time, no matter the freedom and release it usually provided, flight was not the solution. Not immediately.

Zeno carried his frightened human mate into the main sitting room and lowered to a knee to set her gently on the well-cushioned sofa. Letting her out of his embrace was the last thing he wanted to do, but he recognized it was necessary for the time being. His touch was unwelcome. Still, even knowing that, he couldn’t stop himself from dropping a hand to cover both of hers as their gazes clashed again. “I will say it as many times as you need to hear it, Little Dove. I mean you no harm.” He gave her hands a faint squeeze. “The vermin who left that bruise on your arm will never lay another finger on you. Not while I breathe. But I would very much like to know that story, and if that’s why you’re so frightened.”

Her breaths were shaky and her muscles tight, but Harmony made no attempt to tear from him and flee. He’d sort of expected her to, so he supposed that was a start.

Raging against his instincts, Zeno pulled his hand from her skin and took a step back, moving to claim the oppositecorner of the sofa he’d set her on. There was a single cushion between them. It felt monumental, but he forced himself to hold his position.

Harmony lowered her gaze, still struggling with herself. It wasn’t until she moved her hand to rub at her bruising arm that he realized where she was looking. Quietly, she said, “You don’t seem like … them.”

Zeno scowled. “Them?” Was there a whole clan of honey badger shifters in New York and he’d somehownot noticed? They weren’t exactly common, let alone in the Americas. He nearly snorted at himself. He wasn’t one to talk on that front.

Harmony dragged in a breath, moved both hands to curl slightly into the fabric of her distractingly tight skirt, and lifted her head to let her gaze drift out the window wall. “The gang of shifters who run the neighborhood where I grew up. You don’t seem like them.”

His scowl deepened, alarm bells ringing loud in his head.

“It’s just that I’ve … never met any others.” The tears returned to her eyes and the scent of her fear became punctuated with a trace of salt. Her lips trembled for a beat and she hurriedly wiped at her face before finally turning her tortured stare to him. “They’re bullies. Monsters, on the inside. It’s like living in another world. They demand protection money and insist everyone in the neighborhood treat them with reverence. If they show up for dinner, we give them food. If we barely have enough to feed ourselves that night, too bad, we still have to feed them. If we don’t cooperate with one of their demands…” Her voice trailed off and she folded her arms around herself.

Zeno rolled his jaw as understanding lit slowly inside him. He couldn’t stop the low growl from escaping—didn’t even think to try—until he saw Harmony’s eyes get big again.

---