Page 6 of Master of Kayos

Quinn

The front dooropened, and the hair on Quinn’s arms stood on end.Before she could stop it, her Wolf took over.Bones snapped and morphed.The shift was no longer painful.It was as natural as breathing.Just as she prepared to lunge, the imposing, tatted male said, “Stop.”It was a command she couldn’t disobey.The air changed.It swirled with a heaviness unlike anything Quinn had ever felt.Her Wolf whined and dropped to its belly.This was more than the voice of an Alpha.It was powerful and brooked no argument.Kyllian squatted and held out his hand.Her Wolf ached to crawl toward the man.No, Kyllian Lazlo was no man.But he wasn’t wolfkind either.Her father knew that.Knew what Kyllian was.It was probably the reason he felt Kyllian could protect Quinn.

It took every ounce of energy she could muster, but instead of giving into her Wolf’s wants, Quinn jumped to her feet and ran the other way.When she reached the back door, Quinn shifted into her skin and strode outside to catch her breath.Her Wolf demanded they go back inside and present their neck to Kyllian.This was bad.This was so very bad.She had thought by keeping herself locked away inside her home she would never come across her true mate.What were the odds the one Hound sent to watch over her would be that to her?He might not be able to or even want to mate with her since he wasn’t a wolf.Quinn didn’t want to be bonded to another lifeforce.Not since—

“Quinn?”Trenton reached out for her when he followed her outside, but she took a step back.

“What is he?”

“Kyllian will need to tell you himself.I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you.I assumed your Wolf would recognize him as something other than human the same way you did Ryker, but I didn’t think it would react so strongly.”

“I want him out of here.”

“Quinn, you need someone watching over you.”

“I’m not arguing about that.I’m saying it can’t be him.”

“All the Hounds—”

“Aren’t my mate,” Quinn hissed.Trenton’s eyes widened, then his face softened, but she couldn’t have her father getting any ideas of what that meant.It meant nothing.“No, Dad.”

“At least talk to him.He’s already here, and Sutton sent him in particular for a reason.You don’t have to get close to him to let him protect you.Please, Quinnlyn.”It was rare her father used her full name.It alluded to just how tired he was.She wouldn’t risk his health any more than she already was with the perceived threat looming.Reaching out, she pulled him into a tight hug.“Okay.I’ll talk to him.”Quinn kissed him on the cheek.When she pulled back, she placed a hand on his shoulder.“This isn’t going to end up like you want it to.”

Trenton gripped her wrist.“The only thing I want is for you to be safe”

Quinn gave her dad a brief nod before heading inside.She stopped off in the half-bath to check her reflection.Her lupine magic allowed her to shift without shredding her clothes, so that was one thing she didn’t have to worry about.Her ponytail was askew, so after fixing it, she inhaled deeply, steeling her resolve.She found Kyllian standing in her office, his arms crossed over his chest.Why the hell did he have to be so sexy?

“Would you like something to drink?”Quinn motioned to the chair in front of her desk, and Kyllian took a seat.

“I’m good.Why don’t you explain to me why you need a bodyguard?”Kyllian was relaxed.Maybe it was his size, or maybe it was whatever he was, but the male wasn’t threatened.Quinn didn’t know how to feel about that.

Quinn moved to her own chair, the desk offering a barrier between them.She leaned forward, clasping her hands on the desk.Kyllian made her nervous, but she knew better than to bare her neck to any unknown entity.His dark eyes narrowed on her, waiting.They needed to address the elephant in the room.“Whatareyou?”she blurted.

Kyllian’s eyebrows shot up, and his body tensed.Quinn sat back, eyeing the male.If this was going to work, she had to trust Kyllian.Maybe if she offered her truth, he would do the same.“Trenton thinks my old pack is sniffing around.”If Kyllian was surprised by her admittance, he didn’t show it.

“Our kind doesn’t have packs, so you’ll need to explain to me how that works.”

“And your kind is what?”she asked instead of explaining pack dynamics.She would get to that, but first, Quinn wanted to know what Kyllian hid beneath his human façade.

Kyllian narrowed his eyes, shifting in his seat.When she merely stared at him waiting, he blew out a breath.“I’m a Gryphon.”

It was Quinn’s turn to frown.She had read about the mythological beasts, but she never thought they were anything other than a fairy tale.“Like half lion and half eagle?”

“Yes.I can shift into a full Gryphon or take the form of either animal.Now that we have that out of the way, tell me about how a pack works and why you think your old one is after you.”

Quinn didn’t normally drink so early in the day, but this wasn’t something she wanted to talk about without a little liquid courage.It had been many years since Trenton stole her away from her mother’s pack.Standing, she walked over to the cabinet where she kept the liquor and poured a glass of bourbon, not caring she didn’t have any ice.Holding up the glass, she asked, “You sure you don’t want a drink?”

“I’m sure.”

Quinn took a sip as she leaned her hip against the cabinet.“I can’t speak for all packs, but the one my mom was born into, the River Canyon pack, didn’t believe in mating with humans or wolves that were half breeds.They didn’t want there to be anything other than dire wolf in the pack.”

“A dire...I thought those were extinct.”

“Almost.That’s the reason Dennis and all Prime Alphas before him intended to keep the bloodline pure.As far as I know, the River Canyon pack are the only ones left.Anyway, my mother was promised to an alpha, but she met and fell in love with Trenton.When she got pregnant with me, she couldn’t hide the fact since other wolves can sense a second heartbeat.Instead of admitting who the father was, my mom lied and said it was a wolf from a rival pack.”

When Quinn paused to take another sip, Kyllian asked, “River Canyon, where is that exactly?”

“New Mexico.Just outside San Rito.Dad never hid that from me when he told me about how he and my mom met.”

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