His eyes found her the moment he came outside. She was leaning casually against the wall, hands resting lightly on her leather-coated hips. Seeing him, that deliciously slow smile was allowed to spread across her face again, her eyes dark with desire and something else, something that called to him. Like a moth to the flame, he purposefully prowled towards her. Just as he came within reach of her, she parted those tempting lips to speak, but he didn't give her the time.
His hands snaked around her waist and he yanked her up against his hard chest. She made a soft sound of surprise, but was silenced when he buried his lips in hers in a kiss so savage it left her dizzy and breathless as sweet hotness raced from his mouth to hers. When he finally broke away, her heart was pounding like a drum against her ribs and there was a faint roaring sound in her ears as she panted against his skin. His scent filled her nostrils and she closed her eyes to feel the rightness of it. He bent his sleek head and pressed tiny, teasing kisses along her neck, nibbling softly just to hear her moan. When he reached her ear, he nipped the lobe before breathing hotly into it.
"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" His voice was a husky growl that made her shiver in anticipation.
She tried to answer, but could only whimper when his hand skimmed down her back, her skin tingling wherever it met his. The sound made Reid groan in response, swooping in to wrest another kiss from her lips, gentler but no less passionate than the first. Finally they came up for breath, Kai's body agreeably pliant in his arms. For once, there wasn't the rush of cocky triumph that came with making another conquest. Instead, he felt such fierce longing to keep her always within arm's reach that he pressed his forehead to hers, looking intently into her eyes. When he spoke, he hardly recognized his own voice; it seemed deeper, more authoritative.
"You're mine." He didn't know where the words came from, only that they felt right.
Kai smiled softly as the animal roared in triumph. "Yes."
He leaned in for another kiss, but before their lips could touch there came the sound of mocking applause. Reid scowled, annoyed at the interruption, but Kai suddenly went stiff in his arms. He saw her nostrils flare before she jumped out of the circle of his arms, shoving him behind her with surprising strength. He watched, confused, as she turned to face the seemingly empty alleyway in front of them, her lips peeled back from her teeth as she hissed angrily at the shadows.
Reid was about to ask her what was wrong when another figure emerged from the darkness; the blonde was taken aback – he hadn't seen a thing where the other man was standing. Taking a moment to study the stranger, he blinked in shock. The man was tall and lean like Kai, but there the similarity ended. Where she was dark of skin and hair and eye, he was ghostly white. His skin was so pale it seemed almost translucent, his hair totally white despite his evident youth; he couldn't be more than twenty-five, Reid estimated. His eyes, however, gave the blonde a creeping feeling of foreboding. They seemed to glow in the murky moonlight, a sickly red that made him look menacing and frightening for all that he was smiling.
The man's voice reminded him of the sound of wet silk being torn by a knife. "Kailani, my darling, it has been too long, has it not?"
His peculiarly formal English was so like Kai's, even down to his accent, that Reid nearly jumped. However, the familiar form of addressing his girl made the blonde's hackles rise. Scowling, he went to reply, but the rigidly tense girl beat him to it.
"Iregi." Her voice was colder than he'd ever heard it before.
The man – Iregi – laughed. "Do I not merit more of a greeting than that? We are fated to join, my dear."
Kai began to stalk towards the albino and Reid saw her fingers crook into claws. "I shall not. You killed her!"
The other man seemed totally unconcerned. "Yes, I did. You should not have tried to run, Kailani; if you had just done as you were told, she would still be alive."
The girl flung a barely intelligible curse at him before spitting at the man's feet. "I would not touch the ground that Bayanyoka filth had walked on, let alone join with you!"
The man's face suddenly twisted angrily and he lunged for the girl, slapping her hard around the face. Kai gripped his wrist, doing something that made the albino jerk back with a snarl of pain. The sound of his hand on her flesh, however, had jerked Reid out of his shock. He leaped forward, pulling Kai back against him protectively and glaring at her attacker, who blinked in surprise, as though he had barely noticed the blonde there before. Then he began to laugh, a scornful sound that echoed from the buildings around them hollowly.
"You think this… boy can protect you? My darling girl, he would not stand a minute against me."
Kai straightened in his hold, and Reid smirked. "Wanna bet on that?"
The albino frowned at the girl, ignoring Reid completely. "This is not how you should behave. Why does the Claim not affect you as it should?"
Kai laughed now, a harsh bark lacking any amusement. "I found a replacement. Did you not feel it, Iregi? This boy usurped your Claim, and I submitted to him. Your Claim is void."
The albino's face contorted with fury, his fists clenching as a vein suddenly bulged in his forehead. "Then I challenge him, by the laws of the first Meet, to fight for his Claim."
Reid, totally out of his depth, looked from one to the other in confusion. Kai, however, seemed to understand exactly what was happening. She turned to face him with a half-smile, her eyes soft. Placing a hand over his heart, she closed her eyes for a moment and he watched as she inhaled through her nose, seemingly smelling him. As though the activity had calmed her, she relaxed in his loose grip, turning back to face the albino. She smiled again, although it was icy cold.
"You cannot. He is not of our kind, and is outside the laws. You have been replaced, Iregi, by a man more worthy of the honour."
The man stayed in place for a moment before he lunged for them. Reid gathered his strength to Use and build a barrier, but Kai was quicker. Ducking out of his arms, she braced a hand on the floor and shot upwards. Her shoulder slammed into the man's chest, sending him sailing backwards far further than he should have done. Kai raised her chin defiantly, stalking towards the panting man. Leaning over him, she gave a dismissive hiss and smirked.
"Get you gone, traitor."
Turning her back on the albino, she walked back to Reid, who pulled her against his chest. She rested her head wearily on his shoulder, the last of the tension draining from her body. He looked up to keep an eye on the mysterious stranger, but to his shock found that the man had vanished completely. Frowning, the blonde looked down at the girl in his arms. When it seemed that she had settled enough, he pulled back slightly and looked down at her. She met his eyes with a weak smile, looking more vulnerable than he had ever thought she could.
"I think there's something you wanna tell me, right?"
Kai opened her mouth to reply, but just then Caleb, Pogue and Tyler came tumbling out the door into the alley, grinning like lunatics, followed more sedately by a beaming Kate and Sarah. Everyone crowded around the pair, and the blonde boy felt Kai tense in his arms; after the tense confrontation, her animal instincts were on almost painfully high alert. Thinking she wanted him to let go, he loosened his hold, but the sudden disappearance of his comforting embrace just made the claustrophobia worse. Pogue, realising what was happening, backed away, but Tyler reached past Kai to thump Reid jokingly on the shoulder in congratulations.
The dark girl let out a sound between a snarl and a hiss, leaping sideways. Everyone's smiles faded as she backed away, something wild and panicked in her eyes that only three of the company recognised. Reid watched in confusion, and growing anger, as Pogue slowly approached her. The long-haired boy spoke in a low, soothing voice and finally the dark girl relaxed, letting out a shaky breath. Pogue, Reid noticed, didn't make an effort to touch her as they walked back to their friends, though the biker said something teasing that made her give a wan smile.
Kai moved straight back into Reid's arms, and he felt a rush of warmth flood his body. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he tightened his arms around her, smiling tenderly when she snuggled back against his chest. Seeing the foolishly love-struck expressions the other two girls were levelling at him, he quickly erased the smile with a scowl as the seriousness of the situation reasserted itself. Looking around at his guiltily shifting brothers, then down at his still but obviously uneasy girlfriend, he let the scowl deepen.
"Does anyone wanna tell me what the hell is going on?"