Page 19 of Pretty Kitten

Oh, great. Now, they were the assholes.

Chapter 13

Lies

No one said anything for a beat after the hunk had served Ian a curveball.

“How did they die?” Clari asked, because it appeared that no one else was nosy enough to do it.

A few Wyvern shot her a reproachful look; but if this was about trying to find new members for their pride, they needed to know the basics.

“Not because of Huntsmen, strangely enough. There’re worse things in the world. Well, in his wisdom, my brother offended one of those worse things. A Scion.”

She was relieved to see that just about everyone seemed as clueless as she was.

“Sorry, I’m not familiar with the term.”

Luke scratched his chin, trying to find his words.

“There are a few words for them - you may call them differently. The Descendants, maybe?”

Ace, Ian, and Tracy seemed to understand.

“But I thought they were myths?” the young novelist said. “You know,” she told the rest of the pride. “The children of actual deities. We’re not talking Demi-Gods, although those are rare enough. You take two full-fledged gods, make them have a baby - that’s a Descendant. Or a Scion, I guess.”

Clari’s head was going to spin. Gods? Actual, real life, gods? They were a thing? She attempted to keep her expression even, not sure if she was supposed to act like the clueless human she was in front of strangers.

“There are, perhaps, a hundred Scion in this world. Some of them are just a little stronger than warlocks, but there are some who can make as much damage as a volcano by flipping their fingers. Brother dearest stole the girl of one of the latter kind.”

“If you have a quarrel with one of them, we might not be in a position to accept you,” Ace told him. “We have kids to think about.”

Luke shook his head.

“Ajax let me go. No quarrel there. He said I was to live my life and be a reminder of what happened to those who defied him. I’m welcome to share the story - in fact, he demanded it. Which is ever so slightly deranged and plenty megalomaniacal, if you ask me, but, as it saved my skin, I’m not in a position to complain.”

No one added anything for a while.

“Well, that was rather cheery, wouldn’t you say?” the only woman left piped in. She was a pretty thing, only just taller than Ace, with dark curls and long lashes. “While I’m just here because my damn Alpha is trying to get in my pants and my Beta of a father is all for pimping me. Did I mention he’s twice my age?”

“Gross,” Tracy grimaced.

“Double gross,” Ace echoed, turning to a slender, and mostly quiet male whose keen eyes took in everything.

“What’s your story?”

“Youngest brother. Why can’t I be as dominant, as handsome, as fast as my perfect elder brother - blah blah. I need out of the family pride.”

“Oh, you’re plenty hot enough,” Tracy said, batting her eyelashes.

And he was. Compared to the muscle men in the lounge, he may very well be the slimmest, but he would have stood out in any other crowd.

“You?” Rye asked the last remaining contender, a broad man in his early thirties, like the Alpha.

“I was raised in a Lion’s Den,” he replied with distaste. Another thing Clari didn’t quite understand - she stored it in a corner of her mind; she’d ask, or research it at the first occasion. “Now that my father’s passed, the females expect me to take his place. At least half a dozen of those females are my half sisters.”

She wrinkled her nose, hoping it wasn’t what it sounded like.

“So, you all have reasons to want to be out of your current situations, and reasons to remain faithful to the pride. That’s a good start, but I need more than that. Each and every one of us is loyal, not because we need to be, but because we’re family. You need to be able to show that you want to be part of this family. We also need to decide which role you can fill amongst us.”

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