Kai, p.1
Kai, page 1
Kai
A PARANORMAL ROMANCE WITH BLOOD!
N GRAY
Copyright © 2021 by N Gray
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All rights reserved
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No part of this ebook may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without express written permission from the publisher. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
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Kai is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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First Edition 2021
Second Edition May 2022
Published in South Africa by Cutman Press
Previously published in the Sultry Shifter Nights Anthology
Contents
1. Kai
2. Kai
3. Kai
4. Naomi
5. Kai
6. Kai
7. Naomi
8. Kai
9. Naomi
10. Kai
11. Naomi
12. Kai
13. Kai
14. Naomi
15. Kai
16. Naomi
17. Kai
18. Naomi
19. Naomi
20. Naomi
21. Naomi
22. Kai
23. Naomi
24. Kai
25. Kai
26. Kai
27. Kai
28. Naomi
29. Kai
30. Naomi
31. Naomi
FREE short story
What’s next?
Special Mentions
From Me
Thanks for Reading
Also by
Hidden Shifter Teaser
Ava
Ava
Kai
This book is filled with a feel-good story, love, and thrilling action. Some may take offense to the adult content and graphic descriptions. Reader discretion is advised.
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I entered the hallway and into the cavernous room. I assessed whether any of the doors had been breached or if any artifacts Léon stored in his renovated warehouse had been stolen or damaged.
Everything was as it should be and stepped into the kitchen I shared with three other shifters. I switched on the kettle and added a tea bag into my favorite mug. A smell caught my attention, and followed the stench to the basin; inside sat dirty dishes and leftover food with flies buzzing around. When I opened the dishwasher, it was full, too.
While the kettle boiled, I burst through Jude’s door and the were-tiger jackknifed out of bed, his fists out readying to fight.
Jude narrowed his eyes, realizing there was no threat, giving me the middle finger. “Asshole,” Jude said, raising his hands above his head to shield his eyes from the blinding lights. “I was sleeping.”
“It’s your turn to empty the dishwasher.”
Jude groaned and fell back into bed. “You’re worse than my freakin’ mother. Give me ten more minutes.”
“Now, Jude, the kitchen stinks. Do you want cockroaches again or worse, the stench of rotten food hovering throughout the warehouse?”
“Christ! All right, all right, I’m up,” Jude moaned, kicking off the covers, and climbed out of bed. He pushed against my chest as he stomped past. He headed in the kitchen's direction, scratching his ass as he made a show of how upset he was that I disturbed his sleep.
Jude reluctantly opened the dishwasher tray and unpacked the dishes into their rightful spots while I finished making tea.
“Morning.” Lee strode in, flicked my ear and darted to the other side of the kitchen, narrowly missing my backhand.
“One day I’m going to get you where it hurts.”
“I can’t wait. Maybe then you’ll get that old man stick out your ass,” Lee said, drinking water from the open faucet, then closed it.
“Someone needs to keep you in line or this place would be in chaos and Léon would bleed you dry.”
Lee grunted.
“Morning.” Flynn entered and roared. He removed a mug from the cupboard and started making coffee. “You should rather drink this, Kai,” — he tapped the coffee pot. “It gives you great hair.” He combed his fingers through his jet-black hair.
Lee laughed. “Man, I still find it strange your mane goes sun-soaked yellow when you change.”
“Yet, it stays gloriously dark around the edges.” Flynn wiggled his eyebrows. “The darker the mane the more powerful the lion,” he roared again.
“We get it,” Jude mumbled. “It’s not necessary to rip out the measuring tapes every morning, we all know you’re the bigger animal.”
“We’re quicker though.” Lee elbowed me.
I nodded. “That may be true, Flynn, but I prefer tea,” I said, placing my cup on the table. “You two still okay for tonight?”
“Yes,” Flynn and Jude said simultaneously.
“I’d do anything for you to get laid and to get off my back about the dishwasher,” Jude mumbled into the dishwasher and closed it. “I on the other hand am always happy.” He arched an eyebrow, no doubt reminding us he always had a lady keeping him company. “‘Cause at night the monster ladies love to come out and play.”
“Yeah, and they steal from the Master,” I said dryly.
Jude harrumphed. “It happened once, Kai. Are you ever going to drop it?”
“Maybe when you start doing your chores without us having to ask you.”
“Why can’t we get someone to clean around here.”
No-one answered Jude because we had this conversation with him numerous times before. Léon had already advised against anyone or a cleaning company to clean the warehouse because of the nature of the items he stored here.
Cleaning up after ourselves was part of our job. And besides, no-one would want to clean up after a bunch of animals, anyway; I grinned at the thought, leaning into the chairback.
I listened to the other men’s banter and quietly sipped my tea. Jude was into any woman who would have him, while Flynn was a picky. Lee and I had been so busy lately we hadn’t had time to find women. Hopefully tonight we’d break our dry spell.
As the others joked around a part of me wished I had found my mate. I wasn’t an alpha male who led the pack, but a beta male who ranked high within the were-leopard leap, along with my best friend Lee. Beta males did what was necessary to keep the pack strong and followed through on alpha orders. And it was beta males who usually only found their mates later in life or worse yet, never at all. And since I was not a natural born were-leopard, my chances were slim.
Every time I heard about beta shifters finding their mate, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Although I didn’t have many one-night stands, I was getting tired of them. In today’s world of quickies and hook-up culture, I still hoped my one was out there waiting for me.
I wanted someone to bond with, to share my life with and to cherish forever. The thought of waking up next to the same girl every single morning made my heart swell.
I wanted to know everything there was to know about that one woman. I wanted to commit every line on her body to memory. To know what made her scream my name as we made love. Sharing our thoughts for the future, and maybe even kids.
I wanted all of that and more. Unfortunately, I would have none of that.
I learned not to expect anything on my night out with Lee, and tonight would be no different. Lee might find a girl interested enough in him and bed her, or he’d just do it at the club. While I usually stood by the bar and drank.
Going out was more for Lee’s benefit than for myself. And even though Lee knew this, it didn’t stop him from dragging me along.
A hollow uneasiness settled within my chest but I made peace with it. This was my life now. I would forever be alone, a dedicated worker to the Master Vampire of Sterling Meadow, and committed to Sebastian who led the leopards.
Kai
I stepped out of the shower as Lee waltzed in the communal bathroom with only his towel slung over his shoulder.
“I hope you’re ready for all the ladies we’re about to meet?” Lee said with a mischievous smirk. “And you got enough rest.”
“You’re bad for my reputation,” I said, keeping up with the bravado. When I reached the door, I added. “It’s not like we haven’t been out before.”
“I know we’ve been out. It’s just we’ve only been to Léon’s clubs and I’m tired of fangers. Have you decided where we’re going first?”
“I thought you had a place in mind.”
“No,” he said, furrowing his brows.
“Okay, let me ask Jude then, he knows them all.”
Once dressed, I found Jude eating in one of the private rooms. He sat in a chair made of gold with engravings etched into it.
I whistled. “Léon is going to murder you when he sees these recordings.” My eyes flitted to the cameras in each corner.
Jude always ate in this room; he said he felt like a king. He rested his feet on the golden coffee table while he ate chow mein out of the box.
“You know he never checks. Besides, you do such a stellar job here that nothing goes wrong. And he trusts you.” He shoveled a mouthful of noodles. “Unless you plan on telling him?” he added as he chewed with bits of sauce spilling down his chin.
“Not yet, but if you continue using it as a dining room, I will. Anyway, that’s not why I’m looking for you. Which club would you say is the best one? We’ve kinda lost touch with what’s out there and one that doesn’t belong to Léon—”
“There are a few, but my favorite is owned by the Russians. But don’t go there though. They don’t like our kind.” He arched an eyebrow.
“I knew the Russians were in town, but I didn’t know they already owned a nightclub.”
“They were quick, but oh my gods, it’s the best one. Again,” — he pointed his chopsticks at me, — “do not go. Those guys are crazy and will kill you. They only allow humans in.”
“How do you get in?”
“I enter with my human friends. It’s the only way. They have a bear bouncer to sniff out the riff-raff. Just don’t let him catch your leopard stink. Maybe blend in with some women and their perfume. He’s one of a handful of shifters allowed on the property, and he is one vicious animal. I saw him rip apart a were-rat in the alley. It was nasty stuff, man.” Jude shuddered and shoved the chopsticks into the box. “Thanks, you just killed my appetite.”
“Give me the addresses for the other clubs and include that one. We might drive by.”
“Sure, but don’t do it, man. If you don’t know how to blend in, it’s not worth it.” He stared at my clothing. “You might get in.” One side of his mouth curled upward.
Kai
I entered Spiders nightclub first, with Lee trailing behind me. There was no dress code or entrance fee. Which usually meant one thing—the riff-raff frequented here.
The place smelled of cheap cigars, alcohol and vomit. In a corner stood two men wearing leather; their ears had large flesh tunnels in their earlobes adorned with black earrings. They had snouts instead of noses as they had partially shifted into their hog beast.
A woman danced on stage, or rather slithered. Her tail rattled as she danced. When she reached the center of the stage, she gripped the pole with four arms and pulled herself up, an arm let go of the pole, removing her top. The hard rattles at the end of her tail shook and vibrated hypnotically. Her skin as smooth as porcelain and her raven hair cascaded passed her shoulders. Her breasts natural and firm.
Lee gawked at the snake-lady. I nudged him and he wiped his mouth dry.
“Oh my gods, she’s beautiful.”
“And deadly horned. Look at her head.”
Lee raked his eyes up her body, her breasts, then widening them when he saw the two horns on either side of her head.
“She’s deceptively poisonous. I would advise against meeting that one.”
Lee shuddered as he forced himself to look away. “I need a stiff drink.” He corrected the bulge in his pants and turned toward the bar.
I chuckled knowing Lee was easy to please when it came to women—they all did it for him. I on the other hand had a type and reptiles weren’t it. I knocked twice on the wooden counter to get the barmen’s attention.
“What’s your poison?” the bartender said when he reached us.
“Two double shots of Tequila.” I left money on the bar while the bartender poured our drinks.
I elbowed Lee, pushing his shot closer to him. “To all the pussy cats you gonna meet,” I said, winking wickedly and downed my drink.
Lee downed his drink, scrunched his face at the awful taste and slammed his glass on the counter, alerting the barmen for a refill.
“I hate those things, but it gives me such a buzz. It’s just unfortunate we have to drink a shit-ton before it does anything,” he said, grinning.
The bartender refilled our glasses, Lee paid for this round.
We downed the shots, slammed our glasses on the counter simultaneously and turned around, scanning the dance floor. Men sat along the walls, with only a handful of women in-between. A couple stood near them, one in the corner, and then there was the magnificent snake-lady on stage.
“I must be honest. This place doesn’t have enough women,” I said with disappointment.
“Yeah, let’s go to the next place.”
The next nightclub had a queue all the way around the block. Lee grumbled when he saw it went right around the second block as well.
“There’s no way we’re getting in there tonight. Right, what’s the next one.”
The next establishment was the same as the first one; except it had more drunk men than women. We exited with a half an empty bottle of Tequila.
“Now what?” Lee asked, finishing the liquid and throwing it in the trashcan. “I don’t discriminate, but I prefer the delicate touch of a woman. That place,” — he thumbed behind him, — “was just too much testosterone for me.”
I glanced at the list in my hand. There was only one place left. “We could try this one.” I pointed at the word.
“Stingray,” Lee sighed. “I’ve heard about it. They might not welcome us.”
“We can go to one of Léon’s clubs or back home—”
“No way. We’re always going to his clubs. I love them, they have desirable women but they’re mostly vampires. And I don’t want to go back to the warehouse. It’s still early. Let’s check out Stingray,” — he shrugged, — “maybe it’s not so full.”
I drove slowly past Stingray nightclub; blue, yellow, and green lights alternated as they struck the glass with their colorful strobes. I felt the music vibrations all the way to our car. Smoke emitted out the entrance as the bouncer spoke to a group of ladies.
I found the closest parking spot and killed the engine. Glancing over my shoulder at the warehouse, I had a sense of uneasiness spreading through my body. The tall dark bouncer flexed his impressive muscles as he pushed a man to the curb, pointed at something in the distance as he yelled at him never to return. The man crawled to his car and drove away.
“Maybe we shouldn’t.” I squeezed the door handle but kept it closed.
“It will be fine. We’re cats, we run faster.” Lee climbed out and slammed the door.
I hated when Lee did that; he assumed just because we’re shifters, we could run away from anything. We could do a lot more than humans, but we weren’t immortal; we’d die someday. It was just a matter of how much trouble we’d be in when that day arrived.
I ran my fingers through my short brown hair and exhaled sharply. I scratched the stubble on my chin and doubted I was in the best condition to catch any woman’s attention.
We’d been working non-stop the last few years with hardly any time to play. With Sebastian and Greg becoming the alpha leaders of the leap, I knew we would be needed there and at the warehouse. Flynn and Jude were excellent shifters, and we got on, but… they were sloppy. And we desperately needed a break.
Finally, I gave into temptation and climbed out, locking the car.
It was risky entering a human only nightclub. As much as I wanted an evening away from leap and vampire business, being recognized as a shifter inside this club could result in our untimely death. This was a Russian nightclub after all, and they didn’t take lawbreaking lightly. Lee and I had been best friend since the start and helped each other when trouble found us, and tonight wouldn’t be different.
The mountain of a bouncer glowered over the line of patrons waiting to enter Stingray. We stood behind a group of rowdy men when two women came into the line behind us, smiling sweetly.
Lee elbowed me, wiggling his eyebrows. He turned around and started speaking to them.
