Page 17 of A City of Hearts and Feathers (The Order of Anubis #1)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

S omething had been pissing around Zoe's bookstore. Kahil's sensitive nose burned with the scent of ammonia as he followed the trail through the surrounding neighborhood.

Zoe going out with Arslan and Kerem was the perfect opportunity for him to deal with the culprit. He regretted not getting the chance to be fed and coddled by Belkis, but having a bunch of Lykos trying to mark Zoe's shop as their territory couldn't go unchallenged.

Kahil found the perpetrator loitering outside a restaurant, smoking. He didn't have a chance to react before Kahil smashed the cigarette against his face, followed by a swift uppercut. Kahil dragged the wheezing wolf shifter down a side alley and slammed him up against the wall.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" the shifter said, holding his bleeding nose.

Kahil pinned him with his forearm across his chest. The curved blade of his jambiya dagger went to the man's groin.

Kahil growled. "You have been pissing in places that don't belong to you, pup."

The shifter's eyes glowed, but he wasn't bold enough to change into a wolf with a knife at his dick. "I was told to do it by my king," he replied.

"He wants you dead that badly? I'm happy to oblige him."

Kahil stilled as three other shifters entered the alley. Istanbul was full of stray dogs, so at night the wolves wouldn't be looked at twice.

"You better let me go, war dog, or it will be your blood staining the streets tonight."

Kahil grinned. "You know, I'm in just the mood to like these odds."

The wolves leaped, and Kahil moved. He tossed the bleeding shifter at them, slicing open his gut as he did so. The world narrowed down into a whirl of snarls and blood and flying fur. Kahil wasn't wielding silver against them, apart from his rings, so he wouldn't kill them, but he would fuck them up for their impertinence.

" Enough ," a deep voice boomed from above them. A figure dropped from the rooftop to the street, and Kahil reached for his silver dagger. The wolves were all on the ground, twitching and bleeding as they healed their wounds.

"Septimus! So nice for the Lycaon to join us," Kahil said, smiling through his busted lips. "Maybe you can explain why your pups are pissing everywhere when your territory has always been Kadikoy. You're on the wrong side of the water."

Septimus had held the title of Lycaon for over a hundred years, not because he was the biggest of the wolves, but because he was the smartest.

"Kahil, I was unaware of your Order's involvement in this matter," he said diplomatically.

"Well, we are. Zoe Kartal has hired me as her bodyguard until the matter of the Sais Codex is resolved. Don't tell me you are interested in it as well?" Kahil asked.

The wolf king smiled, a slash of white in his thick beard. "What use would I have for necromancy?"

"Then why are your puppies turning my neighborhood into a sewer?"

Septimus crossed his arms. "I received news that Oman's daughter had returned, and one of those blood sucking pieces of filth had already attacked her. I wanted to make sure the alukah were deterred from doing it again."

"Out of the goodness of your heart? Don't lie to me," Kahil said, all out of patience.

"The alukah are getting bold. There're young ones getting around the city with no respect for the rules, and they are going unchecked. The Kartals are friends to all of us. Oman's blood demands respect, not to be attacked and coerced against her will."

Kahil sighed and sheathed his dagger. "I swear to Anubis, the whole city is losing its mind at the moment. Lydia sent one of her goons after Zoe today too."

"The priestess thinks her position puts her above politeness. You dealt with it?" Septimus looked at his still healing pack members.

"Yeah, pretty much the same way. Zoe barely has a foot in our world, and they are after her."

Septimus let out a growl that could have meant anything. "Then it is good she has you watching over her. Truly, I hadn't heard she had gone to the Order for help. ?zür dilerim ."

"Apology accepted. I'm sorry for smacking your pups about," Kahil replied. His side was hurting where one had got some claws into him, so it was all fair.

Septimus waved the apology away. "It is good practice for them. I'm glad to see you are vigilant in watching over your charge. I know you probably won't accept it, but call me if you need help. I liked Oman, and the city has needed a Kartal back in the shop." He held out a card to Kahil, and he took it, sliding it into his back pocket.

"Thank you. I might just take you up on that. If they are getting this edgy now, can you imagine how they will be at an actual auction night?"

Septimus smiled, flashing sharp canines. "There is already too much blood in the water. You better have a good plan in place, mercenary."

"We will do our best," Kahil assured him. He waited until the wolves had left the alley before he followed them into the main streets and made his way back to the bookstore. It was getting late, and he wanted to beat Zoe home so she wouldn't see the blood all over him.

Kahil came in through the roof access and walked into the apartment. He opened the bathroom door and walked in on Zoe brushing her teeth. She spat out her toothpaste, eyes going wide.

"Kahil! You scared… Oh my God, you're bleeding!" she gasped.

"It's nothing," he said. He couldn't feel the wound he was holding because he was mesmerized by the cute satin sleep shorts she was wearing.

"It's not nothing. Fuck, how can I help?" she asked, grabbing a towel to offer him.

"It'll heal in no time. Don't get too upset," he replied, closing the lid of the toilet and sitting down on it. "I need to make sure there's no dirt in the wound, but it will close up and be nothing more than a scar by tomorrow."

Zoe didn't look less concerned. "The potion thing again?"

"Yeah, it is. If you want to help, I could really use a beer," he said, placing the towel over the gashes in his side. "Shit, please don't cry, Zoe. I really am okay."

Zoe blinked back her unspilled tears. "You're hurt because of me."

"Sweet Zoe, this was only a scuffle. That's all." Kahil cupped her cheek. "You have no idea the violence I would do to protect you."

Zoe looked up at him, big eyes full. "I still don't like seeing you bleeding for me, Kahil."

"It'll heal soon, I promise. I'm okay," he repeated.

Zoe nodded before she walked out of the bathroom, leaving him feeling more terrible. He was struggling to get off the scraps of his T-shirt when Zoe came back with a beer.

"Here, let me help with that," she said and pulled the fabric the rest of the way off.

"Not quite how I imagined the first time you took off my shirt," he teased.

Zoe gave him the beer. "Drink this, and I'll check your cuts for dirt."

Kahil wasn't going to argue. He couldn't remember the last time someone tended his wounds.

Zoe wet a cloth and started to clean the blood and dirt from his face. "Your head is still bleeding. What the hell happened tonight?"

"I found Lykos pissing around the shop. It didn't go down well that they were marking you as their territory," Kahil said, staring at the new talisman hanging around her throat. It had Arslan's lion head pressed into the silver, and he knew that a stylized scales for the Order would be on the back. It was more polite to focus on it than stare at her lovely breasts that were right in his eye line. Dark gods of the Duat, her scent was going to kill him quicker than his wounds would. He wanted to pull down her tank top and bury his face right into all of that soft?—

"Lykos?" Zoe said, drawing him out of his increasingly filthy fantasies.

"You know, lycans. Wolf shifters. They have been here since the Megarians settled in Chalcedon. Modern day Kadikoy." Kahil ended up telling her about Septimus's good intentions and how they had backup if they needed it.

"Sounds like my father knew everyone in this city," Zoe said. She rinsed out her cloth and gestured for him to move his hand away from his side. He could feel that his healing abilities had stopped the bleeding, so he let her fuss. It was too nice to waste the opportunity.

"The Kartals are really well known and respected, Zoe. Usually, the city is more polite. It's the Sais Codex that is making them act all crazy." Kahil spread his legs a little wider for her to get better access to the wounds on his chest. He tried to think unsexy thoughts because the last thing he wanted was an awkward boner because she was so close. "Tell me your night was better than mine."

"You didn't miss much really. Belkis sent you home some food for you because you're her favorite."

"She really is the best of women," he said. Healing always made him hungry as a beast, so he made a mental note to send Belkis flowers to thank her.

"Arslan told the girls Azi was watching the story of Isis and Osiris. They loved it, the blood thirsty little darlings. They put plaits in his hair the whole time he was telling the story which was adorable as hell," Zoe said with a smile.

"Sounds like something he would do. Please tell me he left out the part where Isis makes Osiris a fish penis."

"Nope. It was in there. Kerem was so embarrassed," Zoe said, and Kahil laughed loudly.

"I'm sad I missed it. What else happened?" he asked.

"I met my uncles again. Zeki has made me promise to visit his shop, and Ahmet offered to show me his lab. I don't think Kerem likes Ahmet very much. There was a weird tension between them all night."

Kahil hummed. "You could say that. Ahmet was with Oman not long before he was murdered because I could smell him in the office when I found Oman's body. When we tried to question him about it, Ahmet blamed Kerem for not protecting his brother or from dissuading him for trying to sell such a dangerous book. The fight got vicious, and they've never really talked since," he told her.

He didn't mention that Ahmet wanted Arslan to break the wards on the bookstore so they could sell the property and all the books still in stock. He was a man of science and the future and wanted the family to be done with the supernatural nonsense of their past.

There was no way that Arslan would have gone against Oman's wishes, and Ahmet had sulked about it ever since. Zoe didn't need to know that. It was ancient history. Ahmet had dropped the matter, and she needed all the family she had left.

"I suppose that explains some of the tension tonight. It sounds like baba should have accepted your help to begin with and saved everyone a lot of heartache." Zoe finished wiping the blood away and stared at the gashes. "I can't see anything in them."

"Thank you for checking, balim . They are already healed enough for me to have a shower," he said, standing up again.

"Seemed like the least I could do," Zoe replied and tossed the ruined towel in the bin. She was washing her hands in the sink when she asked, "What does that mean anyway?"

" Balim ? It's an endearment that means my honey ." Kahil smiled down at her. They were close enough in the tiny bathroom that he could have kissed her. His lips tingled, wanting to close the distance between them.

Zoe raised a brow. "Because of my hair color?"

"No, because I have a sweet tooth," he said, leaning a little closer to her. "And I bet you would taste sweeter than honey. You're welcome to kiss me and satisfy my curiosity."

Zoe's lips twitched into a smile. She went up on tiptoes, and for a second, he thought she was going to give him what he wanted.

"In your dreams," she said close to his lips before pulling away at the last minute. She backed out of the bathroom door. "Enjoy your shower. You need it."

"You could stay and wash my back for me. I'm wounded, you know?" he said with a pout. Zoe only laughed and shut the bathroom door on him. With a sigh, Kahil got into the shower on his own.