Ilona Andrews own the kate daniels series.

A/N: Here comes the rest of Kate's crew:D

Un-beta'd

Chapter 3- Unnatural

Seleyda settled down on the lush couch, greedily sucking up the drink in a plastic bottle and rapidly munching on the baked potato slathered with butter in her hand. Every few minutes, she would stick out one butter-covered hand and Ana would pass her another potato. Or she would give her the bottle to be given another freshly filled one moments later. It was like a dance between two professional artists, if it weren't such an overwhelming display of gluttony.

Barabas stared at the sight with mild disbelief. Ana smiled at the look on his face. "No, she isn't."

Barabas blinked. "What?"

"She isn't a wererat," she explained. "Seleyda's a bouda, though and through. If she were any more like them she'd be going at it like a bitch in heat and not knowing when to stop." Barabas smirked.

"We already have one like that here. Ascanio Ferara's his name. Stay away from him at all costs."

Drew snickered. "What, another hotshot who thinks he's God's gift to women of all ages from all walks of life and works it like a charm?" Barabas gaped at him. "The girls have handled worst. Just point them towards his direction and let them loose. There won't be anything left." Barabas raised an eyebrow. Ana pinched his cheek. "Ouch!"

She smiled, and kissed him exactly where she'd just pinched red. "I'm not a toy, Drew. Please remember that." Drew gulped.

"The boy started a threesome on the courthouse steps. He lives and breathes trouble," Barabas continued. Ana frowned.

"On second thought, I think you shouldn't take this lightly, Drew." Ana smiled, a spark in her eyes that spoke of trouble of the male kind. Drew immediately wrapped a possessive hand around Ana's waist. Ana grinned beatifically. "Good choice. We promised to be honest to each other," Ana explained. "It's healthier this way." Barabas chuckled.

"What about her?" He indicated the still-eating Seleyda. Drew smirked.

"She's more likely to chew his head off than fall to her feet and worship him."

"Ascanio's only second to the male bouda alpha, Raphael," Barabas added.

His eyes twinkled with amusement. "Just a stray thought, but how good is the boy's beast form?" The beast form is a shapeshifter's warrior form, a monstrous mismash of human and animal to form an upright, clawed and fanged monster who could rip a man apart without a second thought. It also takes alot of discipline and training to acquire and support it for a substantial amount of time.

Barabas looked warily at them. "Why?"

"Seleyda ripped an alpha wolf apart without even using a full warrior form. Do you still think he has any chance of surviving if Seleyda took him seriously?" Ana poked him in the ribs. "Okay, okay, Ana. that's all I'm telling him. I remember the last time." Barabas looked horrified.

"What the hell have you guys been through?"

"Hell." Barabas blinked, turning to face Seleyda. "We've been through hell and back."

The second door on the opposite side of the dome-shaped room slid quietly open. Jezebel peeked into the room. "Call the Consort. Her friend Andrea urgently needs to speak with her." A hand pushed her aside, revealing Andrea, looking worried and just about ready to go furry. She scanned the room with her blue eyes, frowning at the unfamilliar faces around her. Her gaze flickered to Barabas. "Please."

Barabas sighed. "Okay." He gave the group a warning glared. "Stay here and wait for me."

Seleyda smirked. "Yes, Mom." She shared a knowing look with Ana. Suddenly, she froze. "You smell of vampires." Barabas shot a startled glance at Andrea, who was a good ten feet away from Seleyda, looking just as unsettled. Shapeshifters were reknowed for exceptional tracking abilities, but not to this extent. For a moment, no one moved.

Seleyda's eyes flashed red as she snarled. "Tell me before I rip both of you into shreds with none the wiser."

Andrea hesitated. "It's Ghastek's vampire you smell. He needs the Consort's help." She sent a pleading glance to Barabas. "Please."Andrea turned to look at Seleyda, but frowned. Something's not right.

Seleyda snorted, polishing off the last of the buttered potatoes. "Why would the second most powerful Master of the Dead in Atlanta be interested in-" she stopped, eyes narrowing. "Cutting Edge Investigations? Is he hiring the Consort for a job?" Andrea took a step back, completely stunned.

"What?" She exclaimed. "How d-did you k-know?" Seleyda shrugged.

"Through the grapevine."

Barabass cleared his throat. Everyone turned to stare at him. "My apologises. This is the Wren family." Seleyda snorted. He ignored her. "They are here for a group interview from the Beast Lord, since it's a special case. The man there-"he indicated Drew"- is Andrew Wren, husband to Ana Farrer-Wren-" Ana flushed, waving enthusiastically, while Drew scowled but inclined his head. "The loud-mouthed teenager is their ward, Seleyda Medrano Farrer." Andrea stared at her in shock.

"You're Raphael's?"

A male voice spoke as he walked up to Andrea stared. "Honey, I'm so sorry I took so long to get here. I had to fight for the last parking lot since the bull-headed Mahon refused to park his monstrous car anywhere-" he stopped short, staring at Seleyda. His jaw worked for a long moment, but no sound came out. "Aunt Lexie? Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in Aspen?"

If her eyebrows could go any higher, they'd vanish into her hairline. "Wha-at?" She frowned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Andrea's eyes narrowed. Where have I seen that before? Seleyda shook her head. "Nope. Dunno anyone by that name. You must've mistaken me for someone else."

"No," Raphael said. "You really resemble my aunt. Not a twin, but close enough to have to be a relative. Whose kid are you?"

"She's your niece, Raphael,"Barabas replied. "Angelique's daughter," she added in a lower voice. Raphael stood there, looking at Seleyda. He looked blank. Completely blank, as if he was gazing at something that had broken his brain.

"Raphael?" andrea asked worriedly. A muscle twitched on the side of his mouth. He opened his mouth. Nothing came out."Congrats. You're an uncle."His jaw finally worked. He swore.

"I have a niece?" He whispered, sounding almost terrified.

"I have an uncle?" Seleyda echoed in horror. "A bouda uncle?"

His jaw tightened. "What did you expect? That your mom is a first generation shifter?" She's pretty much the bouda equivalent of a princess, girl. Say, where is Angelique?" Seleyda's face darkened.

"She's dead."

"Oh." Raphael slid his hands into his jeans' pocket. "I'm sorry."

Seleyda shuffled her feet. "So, the Aunt Lexie you were talking about. She's my grandma, then?"

"Yeah, sure." Raphael was excited. "I'll have to tell my mom and ask her to call them back. If you'd like," he quickly added. "This must be quite...overwhelming for you." Seleyda raised her eyebrows.

"Them?"

"Mm-hm. There's Uncle Dan- well, it'll be Grandpa Dan to you. He's going to be stoked at becoming a grandfather," he explained. "Your mom was only the second in the family. But she's the only girl who survived, so you only have a couple of uncles and such. Mom's gonna flip when she finds out."

"Who's your mom?"

"Aunt B, or Beatrice, female alpha of Clan Bouda. You're gonna love her. She'll spoil you rotten the moment she sees you." Raphael smiled almost dotingly. "Heck, I would too. You're too skinny for your own good." Seleyda's face became closed. She wrapped a hand around Ana, away from Drew. Drew released her.

"I don't want to meet her."

Jezebel opened the door leading to where the Beast Lord and Consort awaited before Raphael could formulate an answer. Seleyda hissed. Ana pressed her small hand against Seleyda's cheek. "Calm down. Please." Seleyda bared her teeth at them, but didn't snap. Jezebel looked at them for a long moment, then said, "They are ready." Seleyda straightened her clothes and smoothed Ana's jacket out. She took a couple of deep breaths and eventually calmed down. Ana looked up, a searching look on her face. Slowly, a smile lit up her face, catapulting her from pretty to stunning. The smile Seleyda answered her with was almost blinding. Andrea finally noticed what was wrong with Seleyda's face.

Her face. At first glance, she resembled a seventeen-eighteen year old female, with strong cheekbones and an angular jaw. But at closer inspection, the skin was tightly stretched over her cheeks. Faint circles hung under her grey eyes, which gave a greenish tint when she'd smiled. She'd been starved, continuously over a substantial amount of time; it's a well-known fact that the face was the last place a body lost fat. If this was any indication of how starved the girl had been, it had to be recent, and there had to be worst damage on the rest of her body.

"Let's go, Andrea," Raphael said, hand on her arm. Andrea shookv herself out of her reverie. "Kate would want to see us first." He levelled a warning glare at Ana and Drew, but softened when they reached Seleyda. "Please wait for me here. After you're done. I promise I won't tell my mother." Yet.

Seleyda stared at him through narrowed eyes. "Sure."

A/N: Finally! Hope you guys enjoy!