Oath Sworn - K.N. Banet Page 0,39
what was supposed to be a bow.
“Very good. I actually wanted to talk to you both. You’re protecting Carey Everson, human daughter of that werewolf Alpha. Sad business, that. It got me thinking.”
Oh hell. Fae thinking was never good. My cat didn’t seem disturbed though, completely at ease with him and his presence. For once, I wanted the more defensive and aggressive cat and I didn’t get it. Perfect.
“You are going against wolves. Have they attacked you? You got those injuries from somewhere. Normally werecats on Duty find strength and protect their territory at the same time. You must have been driven away.”
I just nodded my large head. He had the right of it.
“That’s not good. While it’s happened before, generally once a human is under the protection of a werecat, it’s a safer bet to just leave it alone. The werecat is as much of a deterrent as it is a warrior.” He hummed thoughtfully before continuing. “I have a human wife. I don’t like that. I don’t like that some wolves have decided to pick a fight to take the charge of a werecat. That’s not good.”
I could relate to that. It didn’t make much sense on the wolves’ part. There was no way five werewolves could have taken Carey from me, but the fact that they tried? That was bad business for everyone, which was why I took her and put both of us into hiding.
“They would have attacked you in wolf form as well. I could smell the blood from you, along with a touch of silver. That’s foul play in my books. I’ll have to contact my own. If they’re willing to use silver on a werecat, who knows if they might use iron on a fae…” He growled and it sounded feral. Not like my deep, wild growl, but a rabid animal that was barely held back by its leash. “I’m probably paranoid, but it says something that I’m as old as I am and just a little paranoid. Well, fae problems aside, I wanted to offer you a gift.”
That had my hackles rising. I should have noticed he was fae and moved on. Fairy gifts weren’t trustworthy. My cat lay down, fighting my urge to leave. Damn girl thought this was perfectly normal.
“The human and the feline, warring for control. Jacky Leon, how much do you know about fae? You know enough to not get caught up saying thank you and you know how to barter. I caught that earlier, don’t think I didn’t. Well, your cat knows more instinctively than you do, so trust her for a moment.” He smirked, kneeling in front of me. “See, cats and the fae get along. We always have. Dogs became man’s best friend, but the cats and their fickle natures appealed to us. Cait sidhe are more common than Cu sidhe, even. Ah…cat fae and dog fae, respectively.” He reached out slowly. I tried my best to jerk my head away, but my cat thought a scratch was a great idea, lowering my head further and letting him get his fingers behind my ears. For a moment, I was positive he must have spelled us, removing my ability to leave, but the feline half disagreed.
“I’ll keep explaining. I can feel you fight, but there’s no reason to. This gift isn’t for you, Jacky, it’s for your charming feline half. I would never give a gift to a cat and expect repayment for it in the future. I just hope that maybe one day you will consider my family and I, and this gift. Maybe one day, I’ll need you to protect my wonderful wife and this will help you.” His smirk turned into a large grin. “There’s a lot you don’t know, but one day you might need to know. For now, I just want you to accept this gift and stick it to the werewolves who have decided to try and harm a human girl. Unacceptable on their part, and against the Law.”
Something burned in my mind, even making my cat uncomfortable. Finally, the smart thing happened, and I snarled, swiping a paw at the fae for whatever he was doing.
But as quickly as it started, it was over. He wasn’t in front of me either. I jumped to look behind me and found him, his arms once again folded behind his back.
“Werecats. Strong, smart, territorial, and beautiful. You take the form of a beast that no longer walks this earth and you hold