Slave To The Fang

16, Feeling again.

"Morning. Send word to Lady Karayan to meet me in my office immediately." I ordered.

"Right away my Lord." One of the men ceded, bowed and hurried off. I needed that chat with Lady Karayan. What I had found out in the East was disturbing. Something was going on in the coven and it was strange she hadn't informed me about it.

I got to my office in no time and immediately set to work. I had to remind myself to talk to Lord Mba later about his suggestion. The man was my third in command and it was his suggestion that had given me the idea to place Carlisle as my eyes and ears in the coven. There was more that I knew Lord Mba would play an important role in.

After a while, a knock sounded at the door, reverberating through the entire room, effectively pulling me out of the documents I had been studying. The knock was soft and yet purposeful.

"Come in Lady Karayan." I answered, already knowing who it was. It was no surprise then that when he door opened, wild red hair showed first followed by the visage and body of Lady Karayan. She had opted out of the dresses that high ranking court women wore and she was instead wearing leather pants, boots and a loose dress shirt. Her red hair was held in a ponytail and her face looked serious. She smiled when she saw me.

"Kyryaan. you're back." She enthused...well it over enthused to me. Hmmm. She was being too chirper.

"Yes. Since last night..." I trailed off with an eyebrow raise.

"And last I remembered, I'm still your Lord." I added and I noticed her smile falter. Just slightly. And then her smile widened even more. It didn't feel real to me. She was concealing her true feelings. But why? I had not insulted her. I simply stated a fact. One she clearly knew. So why was she affected by it? Interesting.

"I thought.... Forget it. As you wish my Lord." She said with a small bow and kept her head there. I raised a brow again. Lady Karayan was definitely acting strange. And now that I thought about it, it had been for a while. It was times like this that I wished I was direct and outright like my brother Dalkyr, or as observant as my brother Lucien. Either way, I had my own strengths and I was going to use them. I faked a small smile, bringing my mask back on.

"You may raise your head Lady Karayan. It was a tongue slip. You may take a seat." I spoke. She raised her head and took a seat as suggested. Her smile had been diluted and her eyes were far off, her pulse controlled. She smiled diplomatically.

"Of course my Lord." She accepted.

"About last night, I couldn't come because I assumed you needed your rest from your travels." She explained lightly. I studied her and smirked.

"That has never stopped you before." I commented and she smirked back.

"I didn't know you expected my visits my Lord. Especially since you have not had my body or wanted to have it in years." She leaned forward, her breasts pushing against her shirt, inviting as she smiled. I dragged my eyes from her cleavage to her eyes and smirked back.

"I didn't know you took offense in it. After all, we are not and have never been in a relationship. You are not my beloved." I stated simply and she flinched visibly, recoiling immediately. Her expression changed, looking almost wounded but then her expression hardened and she forced a smile. I knew it was forced because I had seen her do it so many times.

"Of course not my Lord. The dynamics of our relationship have always been clear." She replied tactfully.

"Hmmm." I hummed lowly, still studying her. She held my gaze unflinchingly. Interesting. Was she challenging me?

"You are right. The dynamics have always been clear. You are my second. Which is why we have more to discuss than our adventures on the sheets." I spoke calmly, my fake smile still on.