I'm an Archer. A celibate in plain clothes. A shadow in the background. "Guess." At least he got points for not mistaking her for a nymph. Unfortunately, the two species resembled each other with their elven features. That was where all similarities ended.
"With the bow and the pointed ears, I'd normally say fey. But you've wee fangs and claws, so I fear it will no' be so easy as that."
"Easy? What are you talking about?"
He opened his mouth, then closed it, slanting his head at her in an appraising way. She sensed that whatever he'd been about to tell her, he decided against it, instead saying: "Seduction. Valkyrie are notoriously difficult to seduce."
He wanted to seduce her? No talk of a date, of courting, just sex. Men! "Difficult, you say? If you've made a go at one of us in your current state - unshaven, bloody, half-dressed, and covered in mud - I just can't imagine why. Not to mention that you smell of mash and distillery. Be still my heart."
He scrubbed a palm over his face, seeming surprised to find stubble there. "Today is no' a good day for me."
"Then you should go back and enjoy your groupies. I've always heard that nothing brightens one's outlook like an orgy with nymphs." Why this sharp tone? As if she were jealous. A spark of disquiet arose in her.
"Doona want them." He drew closer. "Even before I saw you." He gazed deeply into her eyes, as if he could see through her chaste, ascetic shell and recognize how wild she truly was. As if he knew her façade was a shaky house of cards that could be felled with a touch.
You have a darkness in you, Lucia, Skathi had warned her eons ago. You must constantly be vigilant against it.
Yes, vigilant. Lucia needed to get home, away from this rumbling-voiced werewolf. A face like his had been her undoing once, a handsome face that had concealed a monster.
Just as this one's did.
"The attraction isn't mutual," she said crisply. "So be on your way." With that, she turned to dispose of her kill, intending to throw the pieces into the water for the animals there to feed on. When she bent for the kobold's head, the Lykae picked up the body, as if he were being gentlemanly, retrieving a dropped handkerchief. So surreal. They lobbed the pieces into the murky water.
Her task done, she brushed off her hands and turned for home.
He followed.
She stopped, glaring briefly at the sky before telling him, "Werewolf, save yourself both time and effort. Whatever is the opposite of a sure thing, that's me."
"Because I'm a Lykae?"
Because you're a man. "You were right earlier - I am a Valkyrie. And my kind considers yours little better than animals." They did. Though Lykae weren't formal enemies like the vampires, older Valkyrie had battled them in the past, during bygone Accessions - faction-wide wars in the Lore. They'd said it was rare to see one fully turned unless you threatened their mate or offspring, but that even a hint of the beast that resided inside them was harrowing....
So where was the conviction in Lucia's tone?
"Aye, mayhap they do, but what do you consider me?" He narrowed his eyes. "Surely you doona agree with them or you would no' want me to mate you now."
Her lips parted. "Mate me? I've met arrogant males in my day, but you are the king of them."
A shadow passed over his face. "The king, then? What a way of putting it." But he quickly recovered. "Then give me a boon for taking the prize. Tell me your name."
She exhaled, then grudgingly said, "I'm called Lucia the Huntress."
"Lousha," he repeated.
Everyone she'd ever known had pronounced her name Loo-see-ah. With his thick Scottish accent, the werewolf pronounced it Lousha. She just stopped herself from shivering.
"Well, then, Lousha the Huntress" - a roguish grin curled his lips - "you've snared me."
Tingles danced over her body, but just as swiftly foreboding filled her. She had no business responding to him. He'd just left the nymphs and a guaranteed orgy. He would expect sex from a female this night.
Which she could never give - even if she wanted to - without disaster.
He fisted the flights, trying to draw the arrow free, but those barbs made it impossible. Reaching around awkwardly, he grated, "Help me get this thing loose!"
She blinked up at him. "I put the arrows in. I don't take them out."
His chin jutted. "You do with me."
The corners of her lips quirked, surprising her. What a wild, mad Lykae. She schooled her features. "Why would I ever?"
"Because, Valkyrie" - he started for her again, apparently planning to ignore the arrow in his chest - "by the close of this night we'll be sharing a bed, and you'll feel foolish to have shot up your bedmate."