Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(10)

But it was Lyon, with his intense amber eyes and air of command that pulled at her. And when he glanced back, meeting her gaze, made her breath quicken and her pulse kick up. Was this attraction real, or yet another thing he was forcing on her?

Kara clenched the fingers of her entwined hands, pressing them against the tense knot of her stomach. What am I doing, coming with him? The refrain had echoed like a litany in her head since the plane took off from the small airfield hours ago. Her first plane trip had whisked her away from everyone and everything she'd ever known. Everything.

Kara pulled her jacket tighter around her. With each passing minute, the events of the night seemed more and more unreal. Talking with immortals, or almost-immortals. Fighting a creature who could fly through a pane of glass without harming it yet tear her flesh to shreds. Burying her mom… who was not really her mom.

The ache of grief had settled in her chest, aged and mellow as if she'd been living with it for months, if not years.

How could any of this nightmare be real?

Yet it was. Even as she questioned the insanity that made her agree to this trip, part of her shook with the nervous excitement of discovering who and what she really was.

Ahead, scattered lights peeked through the trees until the car drew close enough to illuminate the whole of the house. Feral House, they called it. The home of the Feral Warriors. And their Radiant.

The house was nothing short of a small mansion—three visible dark brick stories with dormers on the top floors and black shutters at each of the windows. In the dark, the house appeared cold and forbidding like something out of a gothic novel. All it needed was a rollicking thunderstorm and a few crows to make it a perfect setting for a horror movie.

The thought did nothing to ease the apprehension twisting her insides into knots.

The drive widened and curved in front of the house and was lined with expensive-looking cars. A couple of low-slung sports cars, a Hummer, and a yellow Porsche among them.

Tighe parked the Land Rover behind a red convertible and glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "Welcome home, Kara. We're a lot to take in all at once." He grinned, the smile carving deep dimples into his cheeks. "But you'll grow to love us."

"I'm sure," Kara murmured, but the thought of living with nine men like these two was enough to take her breath away.

Lyon held the car door for her and ushered her out into the damp morning chill. She glanced at his profile as they started up the short brick walk to the house. "Are there draden here, too?"

"They're everywhere we are. But the house is protected. You're safe."

"Why haven't I ever heard of them before?"

"Humans can't see them and generally don't attract them. The draden feed off Therian energy. Lost among the humans, with your energy untapped, you were safe enough. Until I showed up. You'll be safe here as long as you stay inside at night."

"They're nocturnal?" Kara followed him up the wide brick steps to the front door.

"Yes." Lyon ushered her into a circular, high-ceilinged foyer dimly lit by a pair of electric sconces. Twin stairs curved to the second floor, framed by ornately carved wood railings, then traveled up to a third. Her wide-eyed gaze traveled down, following the line of chain from which hung the biggest chandelier she'd ever seen, teeming with hundreds of crystals. Her gaze slowly descended farther, taking in ornately papered walk covered with paintings of gardens and flowers, coming to rest on the magnificent scene painted on the wood floor beneath her feet. Like something out of an ancient temple, naked men and women played hide-and-seek in a woods teeming with unicorns and centaurs and all manner of mythical creatures.

Feeling as if she'd stepped through the doors of a small palace, she met Lyon's gaze. "How many women live here?"

"Pink is the only female, besides the Radiant, who resides here on a permanent basis. Some of the men bring in girlfriends to stay for a time, but none of the men are currently mated. Pink does the cooking and keeps the house." He led her across the painted floor to the right-hand stair. "Why? Looking for allies?"

"No, though a friend would be nice, I'm trying to reconcile the fancy decor with a house full of males. I expected wood paneling, maybe some stags' heads on the walls."

Tighe made a half-choked sound behind her. "We're not much on mounting animal heads." He started up the stairs. "I'm going to catch a few more hours of sleep."

Lyon nodded and turned back to Kara. "Believe me, the decorating was Beatrice's doing, not ours. Beatrice was your predecessor. The previous Radiant."

"What happened to her?"

"She died six months ago."

"How?" Kara frowned. "I thought you said we were all but immortal."

"We're not indestructible. We can, and do, die. Beatrice fell asleep with her window open. The draden got to her before we knew what happened."

"I'm sorry."

Lyon nodded. "No one lives forever. Not even Therians."

Kara shivered at the thought of being overpowered by those horrible little fiends, their teeth ripping her to shreds as they sucked the life out of her. Definitely not the way she wanted to go.

Lyon swept his hand outward, encompassing the foyer. "You're free to redecorate any way you like."

Redecorate. The thought was so absurdly mundane she almost laughed out loud. She was in a strange, unsettling house full of powerful males who claimed she was their chosen one. She didn't know who they were, who she was, or what they really wanted from her.