Kindred by J. A. Redmerski Read Free Book Online

of a flat landscape, the area was carved from within the side of a giant ridge. It makes me even more nervous as I stare up and all around me, waiting to be ambushed from above and on all sides. I feel like a fish in a bucket.
    I see Nathan’s chin turn at an angle and raise toward the highest point of the ridge. “There,” he says and his eyes shift black. “Smells like New Jersey.”
    Uhhh, okay.
    A small group of dark figures emerges from the canopy of trees at the top of the ridge. But it’s when they jump the more than one-hundred-foot drop and land in a flawless, crouched position that my breath catches and I let out a tiny yelp. My hand flies up to my lips.
    I count eight brooding guys walking toward us. Their arms are huge. They seem taller than Harry and they look meaner than Rachel. The one in the center is a huge frickin’ black guy and it’s obvious to me by the way the other seven stay a few inches behind him on either side as they approach that he’s the leader.
    Eight. Against four? My nervous levels just went through the roof.
    My eyes dart over to see Isaac, but his back is still facing me. I glance downward to see that his hands and forearms have changed colors to appear more grayish and his blade-like fingernails have emerged from the tips of his fingers. Nathan, Xavier and Seth are also standing ready in their mediate forms.
    What did I get myself into?
    I don’t realize until afterwards that I’ve pressed myself so closely into the corner of the Jeep door that my fingers are wedged tightly between it and the frame. If the door moves a fraction of an inch, my fingers will be smashed.
    The leader stops about twenty-feet away, a treacherous grin frozen on his face. Muscles bulge underneath his t-shirt and he’s wearing loose-fitting jeans, but his legs are so big that they fit snugly.
    He crosses his huge arms and his eyes shift black.
    “Jersey isn’t big enough for you, Treven?” Nathan says, stepping up.
    There is technically no Alpha in the Mayfair house other than Trajan because no one has been named and Trajan hasn’t made Serbia his permanent residence yet. But I guess in situations like this, the oldest automatically assumes the position.
    The brute named Treven lets his grin soften making him appear falsely offended. He has no pupils, but I can tell by the way he tilts his head that he’s referring to the big white guy standing to his right when he says, “For me, it’s fine. For Darren here…well…” ‘Darren’ rolls his neck to one side, cracking it. “…obviously, there can’t be two Alpha’s in one territory. And from what I hear, Maine has no Alpha.”
    Seth steps forward, his hands balled into fists at his sides. “You know that my father is Alpha here,” he growls. “Is…Darren,” Seth’s eyes skirt Darren dismissively, “…here to challenge my father?”
    Treven throws his head back and roars with laughter.
    “Give us some credit, Mayfair,” he says, grinning impishly, “we’re Purebloods—we know the way things work.” He looks a tad more serious now and adds, “And no one here is that foolish.”
    I gather he meant that they would never challenge Trajan, and I find this comforting. Comforting because they don’t seem the type to play dirty.
    Maybe this will be a fair and clean fight.
    The second that thought flits off the edge of my mind, Nathan and Darren run toward each other, claws at the ready and they clash in mid-air. I jump backward, feeling my pinky finger smash a little in the door of the Jeep and I jerk my hand away, but can’t tear my eyes away from the fight.
    Nathan backflips effortlessly over Darren’s head and lands behind him with a quickness almost too fast for me to see. And just as fast, he throws his powerful leg out and buries his foot in Darren’s back, sending his body soaring many feet away. Darren hits the ground hard, throwing dust up all around him, but also effortlessly, he rolls into a crouched position. His eyes are