King of Prey: (A Bird Shifter Novel) Read Free Page A

light spilled into her bedroom window and she turned her head, allowing it to wash over her face.  
    She stretched, thinking about the dream she’d had. It was a doozy. Her body still tingled. She’d been whisked off by some warrior man who seemed very out of place, almost medieval in a sense. He’d taken her to a castle, high in the mountains, and once there he’d rocked her world. So much so her inner thighs still spasmed with the aftereffects of his rockage.  
    She tried to think of what he’d looked like.  
    Handsome.  
    Striking.
    All man.  
    With a hefty dose of alpha.
    But she couldn’t actually remember his face. Only his body—and what a body it had been. Every detail of his shape and form. Even down to the dimples on his backside. She’d never seen anything like his body in waking hours. And probably never would, since she’d dreamed him up and all.  
    She lay on her back, her gaze going to the ceiling. It was good to be home. She spent such little time there anymore that she’d nearly forgotten how good her bed felt. Too much time away on photo shoots. The money was welcomed and she’d saved every penny she could, living a rather modest life.  
    She was totally alone now, no family to rely on, no close friends to speak of. Her chest tightened, tears wanting to come. She blinked them away, took a deep, calming breath. She wouldn’t cry anymore. Not over this. Crying wouldn’t bring her loved ones back.
    Nothing would.
    She’d only just reached a spot in her life where she was able to say goodbye to certain things. Her grandmother’s home was one of those things. The time had come to let it go, to allow someone else to find joy there, someone else to perhaps start a family there and breathe new life into the old dwelling. She had plans to greet the new owners later in the day.
    Rayna eased out of bed, the sheet sliding away from her naked body. She walked to the window overlooking the backyard, which connected to her grandmother’s grounds as well. It would be sad to see the home go, but it had sat empty too long now.
    Her fingers grazed the window, the sunlight warming them instantly. She closed her eyes, thinking back to her dream. She’d felt whole and complete when dreaming of him. If only that filtered into her waking hours.
    “Time to turn over a new leaf,” she said, taking a deep breath and turning from the window in the direction of her bathroom.  
    A long hot bath was in order. Then it would be off to try to make peace with giving up a large piece of her past. She just hoped she could hold it together when seeing someone living in her grandmother’s house.

Chapter Four

    Kabril dusted off his hands and looked around the location Sachin had secured for them. Supposedly, it was to be home for the duration of the fool’s mission they were on. Kabril was not one to do manual labor. He had people for that sort of thing. Yet, for several weeks, he had put his time in, cleaning, de-webbing, and doing what he could to make the new dwelling feel like home.
    As much as he wanted to punish Sachin, Kabril had to admit that doing things for himself felt oddly liberating. Of course, he would never tell Sachin such a thing. To do so would mean allowing Sachin to know he was right in forcing Kabril’s hand and making him come to Earth’s realm.
    The home Sachin had selected from there was in close proximity to one of the portals back home. One near the Tocallie Mountains that Kabril favored so much. He’d given his word to try living among humans and not return to Accipitridae, but he was not sure he could actually hold true to his promise. The call of the mountains, of home, was simply too great.  
    “Considering breaking our agreement?” asked Sachin, walking into the room from the back hall, carrying yet another box. The old home seemed to posses limitless boxes, filled with what Sachin had explained were keepsakes, though they meant little to Kabril.
    Kabril cast Sachin a warning