Blood of the Neko - 1. Chapter 1

He hit the ground. Hard. He gasped as something sharp pierced his side. Damn fucking rocks. The air whooshed out of his lungs before he felt an arm press across his throat. He felt his heart racing. He swallowed and felt the harsh press of the man's arm against his Adam's apple.

"Give up?" the voice above him seemed to float amid the dust stirring around them.

Kayden grit his teeth, clenching his jaw as his pupils dilated and focused on the grinning face. His small, lean body was not much of a match for the bulkier strength of the man looming over him. Hissing, he threw his hand up into the man's throat as he yanked up his knee into the man's solar plexus.

The grunt of pain, along with the shock of the counterattack, was enough to allow the small neko to throw the man off and scurry out from under him. Kayden crouched on his toes, ready to spring, one hand on the ground in front of him for balance as watched the movements of the man a few feet from him.

The bigger man grinned, rubbing at a streak of blood at his neck and Kayden realized that he must have caught the man's throat with his claws.

"I guess not," came the rumbling laugh.

Kayden didn't let the chuckle distract him, watching the man for any signs of impending attack. His feline side itched to dig his claws into the man, his sleek black tail flicked behind him in agitation. A black pointed ear twitched as a boot scuffed closer and his body went rigid, bright green eyes narrowing through the long strands of ebony hair.

His keen hearing noted the thundering of horse hooves approaching, but his opponent seemed unaware of them as he lurched forward, feigning to the right before diving to the left. Kayden managed to dart under the man's grasp, not falling for the trick, and the man stumbled past him.

The larger man was quick to recover and managed to whirl around in time to lunge for Kayden's ankle, his fingers closing around it. The neko hit the ground with a hiss, immediately tasting blood in his mouth as his fang bit down on his lip. He rolled quickly to kick the broad shoulder attached to the arm holding him, causing enough pain for the man to release his grasp.

"Shit!" the man gasped, grabbing his shoulder.

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"What the hell is going on here?" the loud voice of Geoff Brenner shouted as he drew his horse to an abrupt halt. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His own guard was attacking his master's lover. Was he a traitor? Shit, Damien would have his head if anything happened to the young neko.

He slid off his horse, dropping in front of the crouching neko protectively. His eyes narrowed on the man in front of him, his dagger sliding from its sheath.

Geoff Brenner aimed the weapon at his man, his eyes hot with anger. "Back away, Nash!"

"Sir!" The young blond straightened as quickly as he could, scrambling to his feet to get to attention, obviously fearful of what was about to happen.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Kayden scramble away from him, even though Geoff was just there to protect him. The young neko's past as a slave for hunters who tormented him into silence and obedience for years had made the poor thing rather skittish. When Lord Harrison bought the boy for his brother's birthday, the tiny thing was hardly worth anything--he was too skittish to be helpful and too small and weak to really do much work. The boy had been so malnourished and fearful, that he could do little more than sit in silence, trembling in fear if anyone came near him. It had taken his lord's patience and love, as well as the care and understanding of the entire household staff, to win the boy's trust. Brenner regretted causing the boy any additional fear, but Geoff would do what was necessary to protect the boy.

"Nash, what the hell are you doing?"

Geoff could see the young neko to his left rising fluidly to his feet, the lean body seemed to shake a bit at the harsh sound of his voice. The young, burly guard also cowered slightly under his glare. Good. While he didn't mean to scare the young feline hybrid, he was glad to see that his man appeared suitably chastened.

"I--" Joseph Nash glanced uneasily over at Kayden.

"You are supposed to be guarding him, not fighting with him," Brenner accused.

"It's my fault, sir," came the meek voice next to him.

"What?" Brenner asked, not taking his eyes off Joseph Nash, just in case the man made a sudden.

"I asked him to," Kayden explained, causing the captain to drop his blade to his side in shock.

"What?" Geoff rounded on the young kit. He glanced briefly back at Nash, who nodded emphatically, eyes wide with worry. Geoff saw Kayden's green eyes dart warily to the blade still in his hand, and with one last glare at his guard, he slid the blade back into its sheath.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

The neko's black ears flattened at his tone, but Geoff didn't care as he turned his whole attention to the boy. His eye caught sight of the crimson drops on the boy's lips.

"Oh, shit," he cursed, his hands darting out to grab the young neko, pulling him closer.

Kayden flinched at the abrupt movement, and Geoff quickly regretted his gruffness. The boy was still anxious around big men with weapons, but he stilled as Geoff smoothed his hands over boy's face. He ran his thumb over Kayden's bleeding lip, his frown deepening.

He could feel Kayden trembling slightly under his hands. It had been a while since he had sensed so much fear in the boy. The last few months the former slave had become increasingly more confident and even adventurous. Kayden had to know that Geoff Brenner would never hurt him, but the captain realized that just his size and tone could inspire a bit of fear in anyone.

"Kit, it's okay," he said, dropping his voice to a calming tone, letting the young neko know that he wasn't in trouble.

He shot a look over his shoulder at Joseph Nash, who was another matter entirely. "He's bleeding, Nash," he growled. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was teaching him to fight, sir," Nash said, having finally recovered some of his decorum, and straightened his vest.

Geoff froze, his hands hovering on the boy's jaw as he checked for more injuries. "You were what?"

He felt Kayden flinch under his hands and turned back to the boy. The bright green eyes gazed up at him.

"I asked him to, sir," Kayden stated, and Geoff was impressed with how bold the words came out.

The captain dropped his hands, glancing over the lean body of the neko again, making sure there weren't any more injuries. Not that Kayden didn't get scratched and scraped practically weekly these days from his own explorations, like climbing the balcony or trees, standing on his horse, or running barefoot chasing squirrels--but this was different. One of his own men, Kayden's own guard, was responsible for hurting the boy. And that just wasn't acceptable.

Finally, Geoff was able to control his rising anger. How could the boy be so stupid? Learn to fight? He was only a little thing, he had his own guards, why would he need to fight?

"And why would you ask your guard to do that?" Brenner finally asked.

"So I can protect my master," Kayden said, straightening, and Geoff had the sudden impression that the boy must have grown a couple inches recently.

Geoff Brenner's eyes softened, knowing how the boy felt for Damien. The neko had almost lost his life protecting the duke from an assassin over a year ago, and Lord Damien had been livid at the possible loss of his young lover. There was no way Geoff would ever let the boy risk his life like that again.

"Kayden, you don't need to do that. That's my job," Geoff stated softly.

But the boy's sleek black tail twitched behind him, and Geoff knew that he was a little irritated.

"I can help you. I can be a guard too," Kayden drew himself up even taller. "I'm not a slave anymore. I can choose what I want to do."

"I see," Geoff repressed the chuckle that threatened to escape at the thought of the lean little thing being one of his guards. "And has your master approved of this new vocation?"

Kayden glanced abashedly at the ground.

Of course he hadn't.

"Look, kit, you are Lord Damien's companion, not his--"

Geoff cut himself off at the fierce look that Kayden shot him. He could practically hear the growl rising from the boy's throat.

"I am more than just a companion," Kayden snapped.

Again, Geoff saw the fierce little panther that occasionally rose up from depths of the feline hybrid. When it did, it was shocking. As Kayden was usually either so skittish--or more recently playful and cuddly--seeing the boy actually angry was still such a surprise that Geoff was speechless for a moment. The fire in the boy's eyes now made him wonder if he was seeing a glimpse of the ferocious determination that the assassin had seen when Kayden had gripped his throat and threatened a confession out of him.

"I'm closer to the master than anyone," Kayden continued, "I can protect him too."

Geoff finally sighed. "Yes, yes, you are. And you've proven that you can protect him. You know we all love you for what you did when you protected him from his brother and the assassin, but it would kill Lord Damien if something happened to you again, especially if it had been meant for him."

The little kit just cocked his head, his pointed black ears perched forward. "But which one of us is more expendable?"

Shit. The kid had him there. Geoff didn't want to think about that. Because he knew the answer. It was the same answer for the neko as for anyone else. Everyone, short of King Eudon himself, was expendable if it meant saving the Duke of Marsten's life. Of course, Damien wouldn't see it that way, but Kayden obviously did.

It was an odd thing to watch the boy with the duke. He was so submissive and playful, sitting at his master's feet while Damien lazily pet the boy's silky black locks. When Kayden was with Damien, he melted under his master's gaze, curling against the broad man's body. Damien would wrap the boy up in his protective arms and kiss the boy breathless. The boy was his kitten, his love. They were beautiful to watch together.

If something threatened Damien, though, the kitten would suddenly morph into something more--claws and fangs bared aggressively. The feline hybrid instinctively protected what was his, even if that put him in harm's way.

The captain glanced back at Nash. "I suppose you agreed with that."

Joseph Nash shrugged. "It made sense to me. He's going to do it anyway--hell, he already has. Why not teach him some moves that might help?"

Fuck. Geoff knew there was no arguing that. The question was: what should he tell the duke?