“Whose side do you think I am on?” Leandra asked.
“I don’t know. Remus was your mate, but there were rumours you were with Darius that night, that you called him away and that was why Remus was alone,” Amara said quickly, hoping a guard wasn’t listening at the door.
“Yes, I was with Darius. But not the way everyone thinks. It was innocent, trivial, a birthday party... If only we had known what we would set in motion,” Leandra said faintly.
“And your children?” Amara pressed.
“Gone. To safety I hope. But I don’t know. I still keep their teddy bears, hidden from Serrif of course, he would destroy them if he knew, just as he has destroyed every facet of my life.” She smiled. “I take them out, when I am alone, and smell them, my baby boys; they would be grown men now.” She inhaled, and then her eyes opened wide. “I smell them now. On you.”
Amara shook her head. “I should go.”
Leandra got up off the floor, straightening her skirt and smoothing her hair. “It was good of you to come.”
She went to the door and opened it, checking the corridor. “It is clear, go quickly, keep to the story about the dress and leave as quickly as you can. If Serrif ever found out who you were, he would use you, just as he has used me.”
With jagged nerves, Amara left the room, walking quickly but not running, even though her lioness desperately wanted to. They were in a lion’s den, and this lion would do unspeakable things to them if he caught them here.
Leandra followed her out, back the way they had come, and into the entrance hallway, absent of guards, and with the door open, all she had to do was cross the open plain, now covered in darkness, and run back home.
“Ahh, so you do have a guest,” a man’s voice came from behind them.
“Run,” Leandra whispered.
Amara had one foot outside the door, when the voice spoke again, gloating, confident, playing with her as he said, “I think I have something you want.”
She couldn’t help herself, she had to turn around, and as she did, she saw Kane being dragged down the hallway between the two guards.
He had come for her: she was a fool, a betrayer, and now Kane would pay the price. The ultimate price.
29
He had allowed himself to be captured, it was the only way he was going to get inside the house, where he was certain Amara was being held. Or was she here of her own accord? He was confused, and if it wasn’t for the strong mating bond between them, and the way he felt about her, he might be suspicious of her motives. She had, after all, been the catalyst that had brought him to Shifters Prime. Was Serrif the person behind all this, had Amara come here to the house he shared with Kane’s mother because she was part of some bigger plan? A plan to get rid of the heirs of Remus.
No, he couldn’t believe that.
The guards had met him as he neared the house. He had taken the precaution of being in human form, convinced murder was still murder, but killing a lion, how did that work? Kane still had trouble shaking off the laws he had abided by his whole life in the Otherworld.
They didn’t seem to care about using him as a punching bag, however, and on the second blow to his head, he decided to pretend to be unconscious.
“Who is that?” a voice asked.
“We found him near the house,” one of the guards said.
“Excuse me?” the voice came closer, irritated and angry, and the guards holding him took a small step back. “You let someone get this close to the house?”
“We were returning to our posts.” It seemed one guard did all the talking.
“And where were you returning from?”
“We found a lioness from Satoma in the grounds. She had come to see Leandra.”
“A lioness, from Satoma. And what did she want?” the man asked, his curiosity laced with suspicion. “And where is she?”
“We took her to Leandra. Apparently she is a seamstress, and had to take a measurement from your wife for a dress she needs altering.”
“Where?” the question was barked. “Show me, you fools. And bring him. Two intruders in one day must mean they are working together.”
Kane was half dragged along a corridor, and then into an open hallway, he felt the cool air on his face, and half looked up, only to see Amara about to escape the house. She was safe.
“Ahh, so you do have a guest,” the man said.
Run, Amara, he prayed silently.
But the voice spoke again, gloating, confident, as he said, “I think I have something you want.”
Kane knew she wouldn’t leave without him. He had to act.