Dark Alpha's Embrace by Donna Grant Page A

first, walking among the Dark and the mortals as if he was still very much a part of the world. Kyran remained at the doorway. He leaned his shoulder against it and merely watched Fintan.
    A female Dark rose from her stack of pillows on the floor and approached him, a goblet in hand. Kyran took in every detail about her from her average height, her straight black hair that just touched the tops of her shoulders.
    The silver streaking her hair was abundant, the strips thick and wide. She wore a silver bracelet on her left wrist with a chain that connected to the ring on her middle finger.
    Her red silk dress stopped mid-thigh and was of the highest quality. She showed just enough cleavage to bring a man’s attention to her breasts, but she didn’t bare herself like some of the lower-class Dark had a habit of doing.
    She stopped before him and smiled seductively. “See something that catches your eye?” she asked in a husky voice.
    Kyran looked down into her large red eyes. “Maybe.”
    Her smile widened at his words. For long minutes she stared at him as she drank from her goblet.
    “Finish your inspection?” he asked after her gazed raked him from head to toe twice.
    “Maybe.”
    He chuckled and glanced to where Fintan was talking with a group of Dark. “What does your family think of you being here alone?”
    Her smile dropped instantly. “Excuse me?”
    Kyran nodded to her bracelet. “No one here must know you’re part of the Nighttail family or else they wouldn’t talk to you. They aren’t exactly a family who’d allow a female to venture to the palace unescorted.”
    “I don’t need anyone following me or telling me what to do,” she said tightly. “Is that why you’re here? To take me back?”
    “I don’t care what you do. I’m here for information.”
    As soon as she realized Kyran wouldn’t return her home, she relaxed. “Information I have loads of. I’ll get you anything you want to know as long as you don’t tell anyone I’m here.”
    “Sounds fair. Though you should hide that bracelet.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Already did that. My father made sure that it isn’t just permanently on my wrist, it’s now unable to be touched by magic.”
    That meant her father was mostly likely the head of the Nighttail family.
    “What do you want to know?” she asked.
    “I hear there is a group of Dark who hunts a mortal family. They leave one in each generation to continue the line, but then hunt and kill them.”
    “Why do you want to know this?” she asked, skeptically.
    Kyran smiled. “So I can join them, of course.”

Chapter Eight
    “That doesn’t sound like your speed.”
    Kyran pushed away from the doorway and smiled down at the female. “I’m in need of fun.”
    She hesitated. “This crowd I’m talking about doesn’t allow just anyone in. And once in, they’ll never let you out.”
    “Thanks for the warning.” Kyran watched as she nervously glanced around. “What are you afraid of?”
    Her red gaze jerked to him, becoming hard. “You’re a male. You wouldn’t understand.”
    He understood perfectly because he’d had a sister. Kyran remembered how she suffered, how she’d borne the weight of her obligations in silence and sadness.
    “This is a bad idea,” the female said and began to turn away.
    Kyran reached out and snagged the wrist bound with the bracelet and chain, stopping her. When she didn’t jerk out of his grip, he asked, “If you had a choice, if you were free, what would you do?”
    “I don’t know.”
    He smiled sadly. “You’re lying. You’ve thought of it a hundred times or more and planned every detail.”
    She cocked her head to the side. “Who are you?”
    “No one.”
    “Now who’s lying?” she asked with a raised black brow. Her red eyes narrowed as her head straightened. “My father sent you, didn’t he?”
    Kyran released her hand. “No. I recognize the bracelet.”
    “And only those close to my family know what it