Kyn 3: Feral Read online

  His silent plea seemed to work, her coffee-cream eyes flicked over him again. Feral shivered, the look almost seeming like a caress over his skin, his nipples tightening a little as a thrill went through him. Then she stepped back, released the chain.

  “Come on, bring him in and we'll get him cleaned up,” she ordered, her voice brusque. Feral stalled, not used to being ordered around... no that was a lie. He was used to being ordered around. Vixen did regularly, as did their boss Marak, the current Kyn monarch.

  But both Vixen and Marak weren't people you wanted to piss off in a hurry and this woman was, well tiny. And curvy to boot, the figure the shapeless towelling robe was hinting at was enough to make his mouth water.

  He followed her into the living room, looked around the plush interior and dismissed it as quickly. It had all the hallmarks of expensive interior design and was about as interesting as the back of a cereal packet.

  “Come on, let's have him down here then.” She dragged out a changing mat from its hiding place behind a sofa, plopped it on the floor as she glanced at him. “The diapers will be a bit big but it's better than leaving him dirty. Can you take his diaper off while I get a fresh one?” She arched an eyebrow, obviously doubting his ability to carry out even that simple task.

  “Of course!” he exclaimed, kneeling down to settle the baby in the middle of the changing mat. For such a small, little thing, it took virtually every part of Feral's body to make sure he was placed carefully on the mat.

  Tessa shook her head as she headed out the room to fetch changing supplies. If he'd ever held a baby before she'd be surprised. He had that 'on eggshells' manner men tended to get when presented with an infant for the first time. Women didn't get it so much. Must be some maternal instinct she mused, rifling through the changing unit in the twins bedroom.

  Ignoring the washables Tessa went straight for the disposables, an addition she insisted on if she was expected to baby sit. There was no way she was scraping shit off a diaper for anyone, not even her sister!

  “Too big, all too big,” she murmured as she rifled through the wicker basket Lisa kept these things in. “Damn, this is no good,” She leaned down and peered into the darkness of the cupboard. There! At the back. She grinned in triumph as she leaned down and retrieved a wad of diapers from the back, left over from when the twins were small. She checked the size and nodded. Just perfect.

  “Look mate, you aren't making this easy you know!” Feral muttered, trying to get his nose as far away from his hands as he could without either turning his head or being on the other side of the room. He managed to remove the diaper but he hadn't been prepared for what was in it.

  He grimaced as he considered the contents, not sure what he was supposed to do now.

  He had watched Vixen change her little daughter, Marianne, more times than he could remember and she always made it look easy.

  He was quickly finding out it wasn't as easy as it looked.

  Tessa stifled a giggle as she came back into the room to find the Kyn Warrior on his knees trying to clean the baby's bottom with hesitant movements. All he was doing was spreading the mess even further.

  “Just where I like to see a man,” she quipped. “On his knees. Come out of the way, you're just making it worse,” She shooed him over to kneel down in front of the baby, who was taking advantage of the moment to attempt to flip himself over. Tessa made a grab for him just before he managed it, tapping his nose playfully.

  “Ohh no you don't, handsome,” she chuckled and caught his ankles in her hand to clean him up with the other. She was used to changing babies, had spent a lot of time over here when Lisa first had the twins, and it showed in her efficient movements.

  “There we go, all clean and dry, aren't you a clever little man?” She fastened his baby grow as he wriggled again, doing his best to escape. She grinned and caught him mid-escape, his chortles filling the room as she tickled his sides.

  Smiles wreathed her face; he really was the cutest little thing. A pang of longing filled her, she always wanted kids of her own. For that she had to meet a man first, something she seemed singularly incapable of. She tickled again, running her fingers along the soles of his bare feet as she reached for his trousers.

  “He's a gorgeous little thing,” she commented, very aware of the large Kyn watching her like a hawk. “So, he was just left on your doorstep?”

  “Yeah, about half an hour ago. Was a bit of a surprise... usually I just get pizza delivery,” he chuckled, shrugging a shoulder. “Not the domestic type.”

  “Pizza? I didn't think vampires ate?” Her eyes held confusion as she flicked a glance up at him as she finished dressing the baby. She picked him up easily and handed him over.

  “Here, hold him for a moment whilst I clear this lot up. Hey... what's this?”

  Her eyes fell on a folded piece of paper which had somehow gotten trapped in the yellow blanket, and fell loose as she folded it. Tessa reached down and picked it up. It was a piece of paper torn out of a reporter’s notebook, crumpled and flooded into quarters. She smoothed it out and frowned at the words scrawled of it in a hasty hand.

  “What's it say?” He shifted closer and peered over her shoulder. The scent of aftershave and warm man enveloped her; a shiver ran down her spine. God, she really needed to get laid if a man just looking over her shoulder got a reaction like that!

  She shook her head to bring herself back to reality. “I don't know, it's an old Fae script I think... this is more Lisa's kettle of fish than mine. Some of it I recognise,”

  She pointed out a word in the middle, her fingernail tapped the paper lightly, “This is the word for Morrigan,” Her eyes scanned the rest of the writing. Then it hit her, the half remembered lessons in her youth coming back all at once as she scanned the page.

  “Shit!” she breathed, looking up at him, her eyes wide.

  “What? What is it?” Feral frowned, picking up on her surprise.

  “He... the baby... he's a Morrigan. There's a Fae prophecy about a male Morrigan... ”

  Tessa swallowed, hardly believing what she was saying. “... when he grows up, I think he's going to be a God.”

  Chapter Two

  Feral blinked, not quite believing his ears.

  “Ok, you want to run that one by me again? A God? As in smiting and godly powers...

  the whole shebang?” He looked down at the baby in his arms in surprise, trying to see something of the divine there. All he saw was cute. A whole lot of cute.

  She nodded, “The whole lot. The legend of the Winter King...” She trailed off, looking at him as though the name should mean something to him. It didn't.

  “Sorry doll, not up on Fae legends. It's not compulsory reading for us Kyn, got enough of our own,” he apologised with a shrug and wondered why he was getting pulled into this. The baby was a Pixie, he found a Pixie to look after it so he should be high-tailing it out of here.

  He really didn't like Pixies, like really didn't like Pixies. Last year they kidnapped the woman he was in love with, or thought he was at any rate, and beat the living snot out of him.

  It didn't incline him to think favourably of them.

  But female pixies, Feral was discovering, were something else entirely. Tessa really was rather enchanting as she gathered things up, her movements quick and graceful.

  “The Winter King legend is an old one. You've heard of the Morrigan right?” she checked, not even waiting for his answering nod before she continued. Everyone knew the legend of the Morrigan.

  Originally a triple Goddess dedicated to war the Morrigan had diminished into one form, currently that of Nemain, and become a fixture of the Unseelie Court, mostly riding with the Host. No one was really sure how much of her divine power she had retained.

  What was known was the woman was batty... even by Fae standards. Madness ran in the line and touched each new Morrigan as she came into her power. Not that anyone would dare say it to her face. There was still something about a former Godd
ess, especially a corpse Goddess, which sent chills down a person’s spine.

  “Well there's this old legend about the line. They're all female. No male children born in the line whatsoever, never has been. But they say when there is a male Morrigan born, he'll be the Winter King.”

  “O...k, this is a bad thing, right?” Feral asked carefully and grimaced as the little guy they were discussing decided to slobber all over his shoulder.

  She shrugged, “It could really upset the balance of power in the Fae courts for starters. The rest I'm not so sure on, the legends are vague. Apparently the Morrigan knows more about it... there's a book, an old one, on it. But she has never let anyone read it, doesn't like to talk about it.”

  “Ok, so not end of the world type stuff... but imbalance is probably bad, right? And if he's Fae, not a Pixie, what's with the fluorescent 'do?”

  “Well Pixies are actually Fae,” Her lips quirked in amusement. “We just don't like to admit it too loudly. And imbalance bad, yes. You can pop him down on the floor to roll around, this place is kiddie-proof.”

  Feral did as he was told, a quick glance around reassured him she was telling the truth. Soft carpets and furnishings, all hard edges on the furniture had little cushioned pads.

  Amazing what you missed when you weren't looking properly. He had been convinced this place was an interior design showpiece but when you looked you could see care had been taken to make it suitable for children. Not sure why he cared that much, especially with a kid he just had dumped on his doorstep. Feral put the baby on the floor carefully, leaving him giggling and playing with a soft toy Tessa had waved in front of him Like his place, the kitchen was just off the living area, a large breakfast counter separated the two. He leaned against the counter, his arms folded over his broad chest as he watched her bustle around the small space. Now the baby had been sorted and didn't smell so bad he could finally appreciate the way she looked.

  She was small, barely grazed his shoulder and wrapped in a terry towel robe designed for someone far larger than she was. The voluminous fabric buried her, cinched in tight around a wasp waist.

  “I'll make him up a bottle,” She was saying, not realising Feral's attention was elsewhere at the moment. Like on the deep vee at her neckline which kept gaping a little, teasing his imagination with fascinating glimpses of the creamy skin underneath. “We don't know when he last ate so better be safe than sorry... uhm, do vampires drink coffee?” She queried, looking up to catch him looking at her.

  They locked eyes for a moment before she blushed and looked away, leaving a little smile on Feral's face. He read the interest there, the awareness of him as a man, and it pleased him on levels he didn't realise existed.

  “Yeah, we drink coffee,” he rumbled, his voice low in the sudden silence.

  “Actually most of us can eat and drink... we just don’t most of the time. Some prefer not to at all. Myself, I'm partial to a beer and a pizza,” he offered with a smile, as he realised having a vampire in your apartment (or your sisters at any rate) must be a little worrying.

  After all, he wasn't the smallest of Kyn and compared to your average Pixie or Human, he was huge.

  She flashed him a grin, “Sounds like the perfect date,” Her voice was light as she opened a cupboard to put two mugs on the side. “Pepperoni pizza with all the trimmings?”

  Feral grinned. “Why? You angling for a date, Tessa?”

  She arched an eyebrow as she poured the bottling water into the bottle, measured out and mixed the formula with an experienced hand. She popped the bottle into a jug of cold water to cool and looked at him. “Hmm, depends... Pixies are better kissers than vamps,” she replied, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

  This time it was Feral's eyebrow winging its way up to his shaven hairline. “Is that so little Pixie?” he asked, a dangerous edge in his voice belied by the twinkle in his eyes.

  “Yup!” She pushed a mug towards him, leaned her hips back against the side as she lifted her own to her lips, blowing the steam on the top. Her wide, dark eyes glanced at him over the rim, laughter dancing in them. Pixies liked to live dangerously, seemed it was true of the women as well as the men. But where the men liked to get into fights, Tessa was playing a whole different sort of game. One Feral was more than happy to play.

  “Well I can't let this slur to the Kyn go unpunished,” He pushed off from the counter and sauntered towards her step by slow step. He could move faster than the eye could see, mortal or Pixie, but this wasn't about speed. It was about the awareness tingling between them, about feeding it to see where it would lead. And about getting a taste of those full, pouting lips. Lips that held a soft smile of invitation.

  He reached her and took the mug from her unresisting hands. “I figure I'm going to have to do something about it,” He put the mug on the counter behind her and boxed her in with a hand on the counter either side of her hips as he lowered his head.

  The softness of her lips took him by surprise, warm, and pliant under his. There was no coyness in her response, her lips yielded under his gentle coaxing and her arms lifted to wrap around his shoulders. He groaned as she stroked her tongue along his playfully, shifting to wrap her in his arms as he deepened the kiss.

  By the time he lifted his head both their breathing was ragged and high bands of colour highlighted her cheeks. Feral rested his forehead against hers for a moment and then smiled. “I agree,” He breathed, “Pixies are great kissers.”

  Two hours later Tessa escaped to the solitude of the bathroom, closing the door and leaning back against it. He was gorgeous! She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't just imagining what was going on. She fully expected to wake up on the sofa to find her film over and her ice-cream melted and dribbling all over the floor.

  “Ouch!” She rubbed the sore spot on her arm. Ok, so she was awake and this was really happening. She couldn't believe it; these sorts of things didn't happen to her. In her world Feral would have just dumped the baby and disappeared. But he hadn't, insisting on sticking around in case they 'needed anything'.

  Tessa sighed and ran a hand over her still tingling lips. Then there was the kiss. She had never been kissed that way before, not ever. Slow and thorough, it had been a devastating kiss which had left her weak at the knees and breathless. Breathless. Anyone would have thought she had been out running the hundred metres. No one had kissed her and made her breathless before!

  She moved over to the sink, splashed water on her face before looking into the mirror.

  God, she looked awful!! No makeup, her hair scraped back.

  “Ick,” she muttered under her breath, closed her eyes and concentrated a moment. She was half pixie, on her mother’s side, so low level glamour was all she could achieve. Luckily that was all she needed to tone down the more exotic elements of her appearance, making her almond shaped eyes slant a little less, dull the colour of her eyes a little and alter the shape of her cheeks so she appeared just like the dull looking humans she lived among. It was easier for female pixies, without the peacock like colouring of their male counterparts.

  But with a man like Feral in the next room, a vampire who knew all about the world she couldn't talk about, Tessa gave into vanity and relaxed the glamour a little. She smiled and pulled the tie from her hair, releasing the gold flecked waves. Without the glamour covering it, thin strands of pure gold wove through the dark mass. Her one claim to beauty.

  Her lips quirked as she shook her head at her own silliness. She would never be a supermodel that's for sure, she was more curvy than the usual stick insect not to mention at least a foot too short for the job. Besides, what woman looked glamorous when looking after a baby? Already she had baby drool on one shoulder of the t-shirt she had thrown on with a pair of jeans earlier, and spilled formula decorated her thigh.

  Ahh well, she was used to babysitting she thought, washing her hands, and it was no hardship. The baby was a cute little thing, more developed than she'd have expected, making her and Feral laugh earl
ier as they chatted on the sofa.

  It wouldn't be for long though, she left voice-mail messages for just about everyone she could think of. Someone, somewhere, had to know if there was a baby missing. In fact, she was surprised someone wasn't knocking the door down already, he really was a cute little thing. Then there was the weird note. She couldn't make out more than a few words about the Morrigan and him being the Winter King but she didn't believe that. Did she?

  She shook her head as she headed out of the bathroom. No, it was too old a legend to pay much credence to. No doubt the work of fanatics, the Fae seemed to collect them like other species collected knick-knacks.

  “So how's he doing?” she checked as she walked back into the main room. The scene which met her, the half naked man sprawled across the sofa, almost dwarfing it, and the baby crawling around the floor, made her pause for a second. A strange feeling buzzed in her head, her vision swimming in and out as the edges blackened. Dejá-vu, she'd seen this before... or she would.

  “Hey there... you ok?” Feral's concerned voice brought her back to the present and she blinked to clear her vision.

  “Yeah, I'm fine. Just felt a bit... odd there for a moment. Is he ok?” She smiled in reassurance and walked around the sofa to check on the baby.

  “Yeah, he's a happy little bunny down here... chewin' on my phone. You know, we should decide on a name for him. We can't keep calling him 'the baby'... was there anything about his name on that note?” Feral sat forward and rested his forearms on his knees to look down at the object under discussion.

  Tessa glanced at the note on the counter and shook her head. “Not that I can work out.

  I flunked ancient Fae I'm afraid,” Her lips quirked a little. “I never was what you could call academic.”

  She settled back on the sofa next to him. “Without knowing what his parents, whoever they are, called him it's difficult. Calling him something else might confuse him, but he seems bright to me and if just for a little while... What do you reckon, what do you think we should call him?”