Page 42 of Prey

“That has nothing to do with you whatsoever. Marko is…how do I say this without pissing myself off? Guess there’s really not a way,” she sighed. “Marko is the epitome of a leader. Someday, he will be. Probably not for another couple of hundred years, but mark my words, he’ll go far. He has the power. He has the focus. And he knows it.”

“Leader?” My eyes lowered to the bed. “No wonder he doesn’t want a human concubine.”

“Concubine?” Marie burst out. “He put you in the role of his concubine? Or thought it?”

My head shook, not wanting to tell her too much. Especially if I was wrong. “No. Not really. He’s just thought about it a few times. About how humans weren’t concubine material. They were food.”

“He was angry, though?”

Marie’s face was focused, serious, as she stared at me.

“Well, yeah. Very angry. He’s always angry concerning me.”

She sat up, letting the blanket fall to her waist, exposing her breasts. “He loves you. Like…really loves you.”

I nearly laughed, but hadn’t I thought the same thing? Even called him on it? I knew he battled with feelings for me, but it was an illusion. Marko may have let me live up to this point, but he was still choosing to kill me over keeping me. That alone spoke for itself.

“I don’t want to talk about him anymore. He’s going to try to murder me anyway.” I yawned, snuggling into the pillow. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Marie turned from me and glanced over at her men who were in the process of removing their clothes. Denton looked up and I could tell she favored the dark skinned man over the others. He nodded and my eyes widened as I realized they’d been communicating, just like me and Marko.

“I’m going to give you a gift, my new friend. I think I’d like to keep you around for quite some time. What you choose to do with it is up to you.”

“A gift?”

“Yes.” Denton walked up, holding a small silver dagger. There was nothing fancy about, but I knew what I was looking at wasn’t cheap. There was history behind the weapon that I wasn’t sure I was comfortable with. I could feel my heart pick up speed at her taking it and holding it out to me.

“Keep it close to your side. Cherish it. It’s a beautiful protector. And a blessing never hurt anything. Maybe keep that in mind, but not too close, if you know what I mean.”

My lips separated as I let the heavy metal slide over my fingers. “You want me to—”

Marie’s finger pushed against my lips. “Shh. We don’t speak words out loud here. The walls can sometimes have ears. Look into my eyes and let me erase this conversation. You won’t even remember having it. You’ll just know what you’ll need to do.”

Aching settled back in my chest, but my true self somehow pushed through. For the first time, I connected with the depths of who Marie was, and then…nothing.

Chapter 18

Hunter

Tessa held my stare, neither of us ready to give way to the other. Our arms crossed over our chests and I adjusted mine, raising my eyebrow as she mirrored my actions. If I wasn’t so pissed, I might have laughed at our ridiculous confrontation, but I was. Downright livid, and she knew it the moment she staggered through the door.

The anger hadn’t come right away. Not even close. First came lust at the revealing, little black dress. Then came shock that it was actually her I was looking at. That’s when the anger broke through.

“Well,” I said, widening my eyes. “You going to explain?”

The sun lit up the house brightly. Lit up, because I’d opened every fucking curtain and blind just to see the moment she came walking down the Goddamn street. I’ll have her back before the sun rises, my ass!

“I fell asleep at Marie’s. Truthfully, I’d have come home a lot sooner had I not drank so much. So, please, Hunter, not right now. My head hurts and I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“You drank?” The surprise was deep in my words. Of course she drank. She wasn’t dressed like she’d spent the last few hours at a church convention. “I thought this was a girl’s get-together. A birthday party or something.”

Tessa’s eyes closed for the briefest moment. “It was. But at a club.”

“A club,” I repeated, having flashbacks of myself at clubs. I hadn’t been in years, but I did go through a period where I liked to go out and have fun. I’d just grown out of it.

“Yes, a club. It’s not a big deal. I won’t be going back.”

“Oh.” I stood a little straighter, feeling relief begin to take over. “Well, that’s good. Did you see Marko?” The words came rushing out and I wanted to kick myself. The question had been driving me insane all night. I hadn’t even been to sleep yet and I was exhausted and cranky from lack of caffeine. “Of course you didn’t,” I said, under my breath. “You wouldn’t be here right now if you did.”

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