Kalina ~ Book Four

“Are you alright, angel?”

Sylvie smoothed her bristling demeanour as Alpha Fraser searched her face with his amber eyes. They were sad, and something in Sylvie’s heart clicked. She knew that look.

“I-I’m fine. Sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

She fumbled for words as her eyes couldn’t seem to leave him, his hands cupping her elbows and her finger lightly brushing his forearms. It was like she was being hypnotised. In the slowly strobing lighting, his tan skin glowed.

“Shouldn’t have-” He paused, waiting for her to fill in the gaps.

“Danced,” she breathed. “Two left feet.”

“Oh no, I’m certain that fall was due to some unfortunate carelessness from my brother.” He shot the shifter a look over her shoulder, and instead of turning to see who it was, Sylvie found herself stuck on the familiar flash in his eyes. She’d see it often, usually from Elias to Rowan, that said something like, ‘Dummy, I tolerate.’

When his gaze returned to her, she shot a cursory glance at Fraser’s ‘brother’ and stiffened. Claudine sent an apologetic smile over his shoulder.

“Will,” the shifter said. Will gave her a nod before returning his attention to Claudine again. Brother of the Alpha. They suited each other. Though that was the point of mates, so she shouldn’t have been surprised.

Sylvie returned to Fraser, pointedly ignoring the flash of red, gold and indigo iris’ of the men in her life. Her mate marks tickled as she regarded Alpha Fraser again. Not in a bad way, either. She realised she was still holding onto the tailored mulberry suit over his forearms and lifted her palms before they began to clam up.

“Is she a friend?” Fraser asked, and Sylvie had to think a bit longer than she liked to understand what he meant.

“Uh, yes. She is.”

“I take it none of my shifters were your mate.”

She shook her head.

“You don’t seem sad.”

Shit. She wasn’t selling it. But aligning herself with the truth was the safest bet. She wanted to tell him the truth but veered away.

“It’s complicated.”

He nodded and tilted his head a fraction, eyes casting over where her mate marks hummed. The urge to look down and check they weren’t exposed nearly overcame her when he asked. “Would you like to dance?”

She blinked. Dance. He wanted to dance. “Oh, uh-”

“You can say no-”

“No… I mean, yes. I would. I want to dance with you.”

The smile he flashed her almost reached his eyes this time, the slight twinkle making her heart beat faster. Guilt swamped her mind as he yelled something to the DJ at the back of the room, and the music slowed.

Not slow dancing slow, but sexy slow.

Oh god. She swallowed, avoiding the eyes of her mates she knew were following her and threaded her fingers together behind his neck as he lowered his giant hands to her waist. She stiffened. Would he feel her weapons? God, she hoped they blended in enough to her bodice.

“So, who are you, angel?”

“Not an angel,” she replied lightly, though the heaviness of the words dragged her feet until they felt leaden.

When he said nothing, she peered up to see him already regarding her. A curious look. Uncertain. Not necessarily lusting, but wanting something. She pulled her internal guard up a little.

“We’ve already talked.”

“Kalina,” he said instantly. The name sounded so perfect on his lips. She hated the name for herself, but how he said it almost swayed her.

“Why were you answering Alpha Rowan’s private phone?”

He had her with that one, but she recovered quickly. “I’m close to his mate.” Her rapidly increasing heart slowed, and she silently thanked Kian for messing with her emotions. Stay calm.

“She was using it and asked me to answer for her while she was busy. That’s all.”

One of his brows rose, but he said nothing as he lifted her in time with a sweeping rise in the music.

She gasped, squeezing his broad shoulders as he placed her down again and dipped her back.

From her angle, she could only see his eyes of liquid fire caged by the long strands of his golden hair.

When they stood again, she swallowed. Something was wrong with her. It had to be. She had never, ever felt any kind of attraction to a male outside of her mates since their bondings were complete, yet Alpha Fraser was doing things to her. She didn’t even like blondes usually.

“Do you have a mate?” It was a stupid question, and the tension in the room grew thick as soon as she asked it. Their movements slowed as if said tension sucked her into its slimy grip.

She had to ask, though, in case she was somehow his too. It was impossible. It had to be. Her marks were complete, the perfect triangle of her red, purple and gold marks spiralling into one another. There was no room for another. Not one more. No.

“It’s complicated,” Alpha Fraser replied carefully, his expression turning blanker by the second.

So, not her long-lost mate, then. Good. Three was more than enough.

“Alpha Fraser I-”

“Fray.”

“Huh?”

“William Fraser was my father. His first gift to me was calling me ‘Son of’ Fraser.’ Fraser Young. It makes it hard to be your own person when all you are known as is ‘son of’.”

His eyes darkened a fraction before mellowing. They made a few rotations of the room as the music heightened in a powerful bridge, Sylvie both processing and trying not to trip on her train.

“Fray,” she tested out the name and his body tensed. “I like it. Bet he hates it.”

“He did.” Fray half smiled. “He’s dead now though.”

Sylvie nodded and played with the ends of his hair without thinking. “I’ve had my fair share of deadbeat fathers.”

When he squinted, she added. “Foster care.”

A ghost of a smile crossed his lips as he ended the dance and pulled away from her. She was almost reluctant for it to end.

“Would you like a tour of the building?” Fray asked then. “You can bring someone along if you’d like.”

“Will we find ghosts on this tour?” Sylvie grinned as she waved over to Rosie.

“Maybe.”

“Yeah,” Rosie panted, covered in a light sheen of sweat.

“Alpha Fraser would like to give us a tour. Wanna come?”

Her eyes widened comically, and her grin followed. “Yes! This place is so cool!”

Fray smiled and nodded to the open doors. “Follow me then.”

Curiosity tugged on her mate bonds, but she eased them with a gentle caress over her marks. She would be fine. She had Rosie. All would be well.

“This is where all our unmated and turned shifters sleep, and it used to be where they kept all the sick patients in the second earthen World War.”

Rosie raked her gaze over every wall and scuffed the floor with her low heels, marvelling at the textures and sounds.

“None of the shifters get spooked sleeping here?” Sylvie asked as they walked down one aisle. There had to be a hundred cots in the space; all lined up head to head and feet to feet. The room was chilly, a persistent breeze worming through the wooden window sills.

“Not really. Some turned shifters say they hear their names being called, but I think that’s just the other shifters fucking with them.”

Rosie hummed. “I’d like to talk to a ghost.” The words were spoken lightly, but a weight settled in Sylvie’s chest until she didn’t know if she could speak again without her voice cracking. There were a few ghosts she would’ve also loved to have talked to.

Natalie.

Her colleague turned enemy, turned best friend. She missed her stupid, inappropriate questions more than anyone knew, even the shifter who loved her. Sylvie eyed Rosie sidelong before distracting herself with the floor under her shoe.

Fray seemed to notice the mood and took them outside to the grounds. Surrounded by lush desert plants and paved with flagstones, the space drew her in. A few Acacia trees shaded the succulents and cacti.

“Wow.”

“It’s quiet, but it’s home, and after we ward fully against these fucking humans, it will be safe.”

Sylvie hummed. “So Kian warded the whole building?”

“Yes. He said he’d start the official border when he next visits.”

Another visit. She’d have to tag along. Being anonymous had its perks. It felt good like she could be herself.

“Where are all the turned shifters, by the way? I didn’t see any on the way in.”

“They understandably didn’t want to join the party, so they went for a run to the north. There are caves there where they can shift without being noticed.”

Caves.

“You can’t shift freely here?” Rosie asked with a downturned mouth.

Fray regarded her thoughtfully and shook his head. “Too many drones. They fly over here all the time. I can’t risk that we’ll miss one, and the humans will come for us.”

They turned back and headed for the hall when a loud thump made Sylvie flinch. Rosie stilled, almost unnaturally still, and Fray chuckled softly.

“What was that?”

He shrugged and continued walking back. She followed closely behind him, and another thump from behind her made her jump right into his back. “Fuck, sorry!”

He turned and looked her up and down with the most lopsided grin she had ever seen. Like he couldn’t even believe he was making the expression. A giggle bubbled in her chest.

When he chuckled, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. The echoing sound spilt past her lips with breathiness from her creeped-out vibes, and she edged closer to him. “You better not let your fucking ghosts get me.”

“Never,” he said back, light in his amber eyes.

Rosie peered between them with pink cheeks and a raised brow. “What is happening? Are you high?”

Sylvie swallowed her laugh like she’d been caught doing something wrong and shook her head. “Nope. Not even a drink.”

“Let’s get back,” Rosie said, rolling her eyes, and both women darted out of the room after another clanging rang out behind them, followed by Frays’ soft laughter.

Kian stared at them with raised brows as they barreled back into the hall, but Sylvie waved him off with a grin. It felt good to be a little silly. The last ten years had become so severe and grown-up that she had forgotten she could banter with the best of them.

Rosie squeezed her bicep and disappeared to get a drink while Sylvie saddled over to Rowan—Alpha Rowan, as far as Fray was concerned.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just ghosts,” Sylvie breathed, still covered head to toe in goosebumps.

Elias edged closer, trailing his eyes down her body until Fray returned, and he disappeared into the gloom. She couldn’t sense his emotions besides admiration, so she hoped he wasn’t pissed at her weird interactions with the Northern Alpha.

“Remember the cup we blessed.” She hoped Rowan clicked onto her wavelength about the Fae artefact, Animae dimidium meae: the cup Elias and Kian found to buy her freedom. Those were the days.

She sometimes grew sad about the misunderstanding and cruelty that started her relationship with Rowan, but he never held it against her. He loved her for her violent side. And every other side of her.

“Yes, Kalina.”

She shivered. It sounded sexy as hell from his lips, too. She bit back the urge to ask him to ‘say it again’ and smiled.

“Could we offer it here?” she said near his shoulder, hoping she wouldn’t look too suspicious talking so openly with ‘her alpha’.

“Why?” His energy hit her like a bolt, and she spun, facing the dancing shifters. She got his message. Was it a good idea?

She nodded once and shrugged. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” She walked away, hoping he knew she would discuss it more later and prepared to dance the night away.