If so, why? There had to be more to this whole setup than he understood. Of course, with Sonia involved… Fey magic had a way of messing with normal perceptions. Was Sonia doing something to bring about events for purposes of her own design? He had to scoff at his own naiveté. Of course, she was. She was fey, after all. That’s the kind of thing they did.
The fey had a well-earned reputation for interfering in the mortal realm. They’d been doing it for thousands of years. The mortal realm and the fey plane of existence were closest of all the magical realms and were therefore the easiest to transverse. The fey, as a magical race, had the knowledge and the power to make it happen. Any time someone from the mortal realm entered fey spaces, it was usually due to some sort of magical accident.
Pushing thoughts of Sonia aside, Ren escorted a very tipsy Kat to her room. He waited patiently as she fumbled with her key card, finally managing to open the heavy door. Realizing he’d have to at least step inside to put down the water bottles he’d snagged for her, he pushed the door open. She moved unsteadily into the room, and he followed, just a short way, placing the water bottles on the console table that ran the length of one wall and held the television and desk area.
He saw an array of office supplies and a colorful planner book open on the desk and was intrigued, but he wouldn’t go any farther into the room. As a shifter, invading someone’s territory without permission—especially when that person was both innocent and vulnerable—didn’t feel right. Perhaps, at some point in the future, he’d get her to share what looked like art combined with scheduling with him. Or not. Either way, it should be her choice. Uncertain of why he felt so very strongly about this odd situation, he withdrew to the doorway.
“Thanks for the escort and the water,” Kat said as she lowered herself unsteadily to sit on the edge of the bed.
“No problem,” Ren answered, suddenly feeling as if he needed to run. Run far. Run fast. Away from this confusing woman. “Sleep well, little Kat,” he whispered on his way out the door.
Ren went back to the restaurant, just to show his face, as promised. The last thing he wanted was for untrue gossip to start making the rounds about himself and Kat. He could handle it, but he suspected she wasn’t anywhere close to getting used to being in the spotlight yet.
Of course, if this movie was the hit he suspected it would become, she would have to figure that out in a hurry, but not just yet. Bad enough that she’d probably have a hangover tomorrow, most of it his fault. He didn’t want to compound the problem by her having to face unfair rumors and innuendo.
Ren allowed himself to be coaxed out onto the dance floor for a few minutes, just to show everyone what a good sport he was and that he had definitely returned to the party after a very short absence to make sure Kat got to her room safely. He’d polished his own reputation while saving hers, as well. Two birds, one dance.
After expending a bit of his excess energy in the exuberant dancing, he still felt the need to run. Excusing himself from the crowd and heading for the exit, he wasn’t too surprised to find Greg at his side as he left the building.
“Hope you don’t mind some company,” the older man said to Ren as they walked out into the night air. “Sonia asked me to keep an eye on her star attraction after your run last night.”
Ren rounded on Greg. “Does everyone know I went out for a prowl last night?” He could hear the exasperation in his voice and tried to tamp down his irritation. Greg didn’t deserve it.
Greg shrugged. “Personally, I was in bed with my mate, so I knew nothing of your nocturnal activities, but if you’ve slipped so far as to let a human see you…”
“Kat’s not just any human,” Ren said defensively, before he even realized what he was going to say.
“She’s not?” Greg stopped short, turning to meet Ren’s gaze.
Ren ran one hand through his hair in frustration. “No. She is. She should be.” He sighed. “But I’m beginning to believe there’s something more going on with her.” Ren turned away, stalking a few steps forward down the path toward the woods. Greg caught up with him easily. “I’m not sure what to think, but I suspect our friendly fey knows more than she’s letting on.”
Greg was quiet a moment as they walked slowly onward, then he spoke in a low tone. “You know what the elders said about Sonia. She’s on our side.”
“That’s as may be, but I’m convinced she had some ulterior motives in hiring Katrina.” Ren’s voice was all but a growl as his pace increased. They were almost to the cover of trees.
“Bad motives?” Greg sounded dubious.
Ren sighed. “That, I haven’t figured out yet, but definitely motives. Otherwise, why pick a nobody with an obscure theatrical background? Sonia could’ve had her pick of anyone once I signed on for the film. Why her?”
Greg coughed. “Getting a bit big for your britches there, aren’t you, son?”
Ren stopped walking and turned to face the older man who had taught him martial arts, and a whole lot more, as a child. “All right, you’ve made your point. I know my ego is the biggest thing in the room, sometimes, but even you have to admit that having me in the film guaranteed Sonia a certain bit of notoriety. That’s why Mark asked me to do it in the first place. I was supposed to be enjoying some quiet time off at my place on the island, not shooting another film. A low-budget one, at that.”
Greg shook his head. “You’re a spoiled brat, Ren.” His laughter took the sting out of the words. “For that matter, so am I. We’ve gotten too used to big-budget blockbusters. It’s a good change for us to rough it in a cheaper hotel than usual and shoot in drafty locations, instead of cozy multi-million-dollar studios with the latest tech and squads of carpenters to build everything from scratch.” Greg clapped Ren on the shoulder, and they started walked again. “As for why Kat… Who knows? I suspect you might be right. Maybe Sonia knows something she’s not divulging yet. Maybe it was a random thing. I have no idea, and the fey aren’t usually very forthcoming with information when we ask questions point blank. All I know is, we’ve got Kat, and we might as well make friends with her. She seems nice enough.” Greg shrugged and dropped his hand from Ren’s shoulder.
“She is nice. Maybe too nice for what will come down on her head after she appears in this movie,” Ren said on a gusty sigh. “I doubt she’s prepared for the media attention she’s going to get.”
“She’s an adult,” Greg reminded him. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out. Just like you did.” Greg tilted his head, as if remembering. “Scratch that. She’ll do better than you did. As I recall, you spent a few years believing your own publicity. Your head was so swelled with your own importance, you barely fit in the doorway.”
Ren pushed at Greg’s shoulder, laughing. “I was never that bad,” he objected. “My cat brought me right back down to earth when my ego started getting too big. Needing to shift and stalk something in order to stay sane had a way of reminding me of what was really important in life, and it wasn’t my bank account or how many fancy sports cars I had parked in the driveway of my Malibu beach house.”