All her life, Kaya had dreamed of having somewhere to belong. A child of the streets from the time she was a little girl, she’d longed to find a place where she felt needed and respected. A place where she mattered. Where she could feel safe.
During the more than year since she’d met Mira, she’d seen a glimpse of what that life could be like. After training under her friend for the past two weeks, Kaya couldn’t think of anything she wanted more than to be a full-fledged member of the Order.
Mira gestured to her team. “Let’s wrap up and head back to base.”
They’d been running her through the paces since sundown, so despite Kaya’s eagerness to prove herself and hone her skills, the thought of a hot shower and clothes that weren’t caked in dirt and forest debris sounded like heaven.
As a group, they trudged up the wooded incline. The Montreal command center sat at the top of the city’s eponymous hill, land given to the Order in exchange for its protection in the years following First Dawn and the violence that became epidemic afterward. Kaya had never seen anything as impressive as the enormous mansion and the labyrinthine nerve center beneath it. She’d spent half a month there and she doubted she’d covered even a fraction of the massive compound.
Mostly by design.
Until she was a full member of the team, her clearance restricted her to the residence and patrol squad areas unless she was accompanied by Mira or another warrior. Kaya didn’t mind the lack of trust. It only made sense. They had a right to be cautious when it came to Order business. After all, the warriors had been under siege from one enemy or another for decades. Far longer than that, if you counted all the centuries that the Breed had been trying to keep the peace between their kind and man before the secret of their existence had been revealed twenty years ago.
“Patrols roll out within the hour,” Mira advised the men as the team reached the command center. When Torin, Bal, and Webb walked away, she turned a considering glance on Kaya. “You looked good out there tonight. Don’t think Niko hasn’t noticed how hard you’re working too.”
“Nikolai?” Kaya stood a little straighter at the mention of the formidable commander who also happened to be Mira’s adoptive father. Although Mira would decide when Kaya’s training period was over, it was the Montreal commander who would be the one to assign her to the team. “Did he say he’s noticed me, Mira? I swear, he’s hardly said two words to me since I arrived.”
Kellan chuckled. “Niko’s hardly got time to say two words to anyone now that Renata is so close to having that baby.”
“It’s true,” Mira agreed, smiling affectionately. “He’s an absolute basket case--although he would never admit it.”
“Never,” Kellan said, then reached out and stroked his mate’s cheek as if he couldn’t control the impulse. “I probably will be too. When the time comes.”
The couple exchanged a look that Kaya pretended not to see. It felt too intimate, a wordless conversation that made the air feel suddenly thick and heavy with meaning.
Kaya cleared her throat. “I’m ah . . . I’m going to drop my gear, then head to my quarters and take a nice long shower. I’ll probably be finding leaves and pine needles in my hair for days.”
Mira laughed from under the curve of Kellan’s arm. “Get some rest. You’ve earned it.”
Kaya left them to their whispered talk and private glances, glad to escape the heated emotion that always seemed to crackle between the recently mated pair. Their bond had been a long time coming--a miracle that had managed to defy both fate and death. Kaya couldn’t begrudge them their happiness, but it made the emptiness in her life feel all the deeper.
She entered the weapons room and unstrapped the paint pistol and her blades. Elsewhere along the corridor, she heard the warriors’ low voices rumbling with conversation and laughter. The sounds of the command center had become a familiar part of her daily routine in the short time she’d been there. Bal’s deep baritone. Torin’s velvet drawl. Webb’s low purr.
Kaya let her mind wander as she took apart the gun and cleaned all the parts. A thousand thoughts and memories crowded her mind as she worked, some of them pleasant, some . . . not.
She didn’t know how far she’d gone adrift in her own head until she felt a vague shift in the air around her. The hair at her nape prickled, at the same time Webb’s warning flashed through her subconscious.
Watch your back. I’ll get you when you least expect it.
Kaya’s lips curved in the beginnings of a smile. We’ll see about that.
Her grip tightened around the hilt of one of her blades. Behind her, she sensed his approach even though he moved in utter silence.
Kaya sprang into motion. In a fraction of a second, she pivoted, bringing the edge of her dagger right below the Breed male’s squared jaw, poised to kill.
Except it wasn’t Webb’s face she stared into now.
It wasn’t any of the Order warriors from the Montreal command center.
Eyes the color of a spring leaf held her gaze from beneath thick golden-brown brows and dark lashes that any female would envy. There was no fear in those unblinking eyes, only surprise and a trace of wry amusement. “Now, this is a hell of a welcome.”
Kaya scowled at the tall, muscular Breed male dressed in civilian clothes. She didn’t move her blade. “Who the fuck are you?”
He smirked, too arrogant by far. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
“This area is restricted. Who let you in?”
One
