by Kimber White
“Take it easy, friend,” he said. “I’m not here to sample the merchandise. We just want to talk.”
Three points of light appeared behind me, followed by the fae who made them. Five against one, with Denall downstairs.
“Bring her down,” Denall called out. “Riall, Jonall, take her to the wine cellar.”
They were on me. The instinct to cloak burned strong. I couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t sense it. So, I took a breath. Once one of the fae tried to curl his long fingers around my arm, I jerked away.
“Don’t touch me,” I said. “I won’t fight you. I know my way.”
I turned on my heel and walked toward the stairs. Viktor stood at the bottom, eyes glowing gold. I felt like I should warn him not to shift. But why the hell did I care whether he put himself in danger with this group? They were friends. More than that, Denall was likely here to collect his prize. Me.
The fae closed in around me. One pushed me forward toward the back of the house. Whatever this place was, they knew it as if they’d lived here. How the hell had I missed the stench of fae magic?
One of them opened a hidden door in the wall and shoved me down. I entered a cavernous wine cellar and my heart lurched.
This was a torture chamber. There was a metal chair bolted to the center of the room, draped with chains. Shelving on one wall contained an array of knives and surgical instruments. I could feel their Dragonfire from here. God. How many shifters had been led down here?
“Have a seat,” Denall said as he emerged from the stairs. Viktor tried to follow, but with a wave of his hand, Denall slammed the door shut, leaving Viktor locked behind it.
One of the fae shoved me forward. Denall called him Riall. I stumbled, then sat down hard in the chair. They looped chains around my wrists and ankles. Dragonsteel. All of it. I could easily break it. I would. These men would not lay their hands on me.
“Ms. Brandhart?” Denall said.
I didn’t answer.
“Don’t play coy,” he said. “I know who you are. Now, the only question is...what you are.”
I clamped my lips shut. What was he asking? Was it my Kalenkov family’s secret he was after? Or the Brandharts’? For the first time since Viktor grabbed me, I felt I was in real danger.
“You’ve certainly given us a lot of trouble,” he said. “You could have made things so much easier if you’d just registered with the Ring when you turned eighteen. It’s the law, you know.”
“It’s the law for shifters,” I said. “The Ring has no jurisdiction over me.”
“Don’t we?” Denall asked. “You’ve lived among them your whole life, Mia. We’ve been watching you.”
He was bluffing. I’d stayed well hidden, surrounded by people my family trusted.
Denall pulled up a chair and sat in front of me. “Do you even know who I am?” he asked.
“Well, you’re Denall. And you’re fae.”
His eyebrow raised. He hadn’t expected me to know that part.
“Your grandfather was smart to try to keep you away from the Ring.”
Grandfather. So he was after the Kalenkovs. I felt an odd sense of relief wrapped in new doom. He knew nothing about the Brandharts. Good.
“Are you close to your Uncle Edward?” he asked.
“He’s my mother’s cousin,” I said. “Not my uncle. And not really. I think I’ve met him once or twice when I was little. He lives in an Oasis Territory north of here. Why? Has he done something wrong?”
Denall smiled, revealing a row of hideously long teeth. “Oh, let’s just say he’s an old friend. One I’d like to become reacquainted with. He knew my brother Olen.”
“That’s why you kidnapped me?” I asked. “Are you kidding me? Do you realize how many treaties you’ve violated? There’s a process for getting in touch with someone in the Oasis. You don’t hold someone for ransom. That’s why we have treaties.”
“Treaties go both ways,” Denall said. “Your very existence is a violation.”
My heart went cold. What did he know? How much danger was my family...my entire family in?
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” I said. “I’ve operated inside the bounds of every law. You know what I do for a living. I broker real estate within the Oasis to registered shifters. All of my buyers are pre-approved with all the requisite paperwork. I’ve been audited at least a dozen times with no issues. None. So, I don’t know who you report to, but you’ve been given false information if someone’s said I’m not above board.”
He didn’t answer. He tilted his head to the side and looked at me as if I were some curiosity. An animal at the zoo. He walked around my chair, stopping to lift my hair. He twirled the ends with his fingers and brought it to his nose. I went rigid as he inhaled my scent.
I smelled like nothing. Just human. God, was there some faint trace of the dragon blood flowing through my veins?
My grandmother said no. She’d tested me a hundred times. I had no fire of my own. Just the cloaking magic. The normal things a female shifter could do.
Even your existence is a violation.
What could he mean by that? There was no way this Denall, the Ring, or anyone outside of the Brandharts and Kalenkovs could know I could shift. There just wasn’t.
“Wolfguard,” he said.
I stiffened.
Denall moved lightning quick, kneeling in front of me. I wore a tank top. Denall looked me up and down, licking his lips as if he wanted to taste me.
What if he did?
He moved so quick it barely registered, even to someone like me. Denall pulled my top down further, stopping just short of revealing my nipples. He pressed a thumb to the top of my breast. I jolted in my seat. I’d heard fae magic could do terrible things to shifters. I had to keep myself under control. I couldn’t do anything to provoke him.
My skin burned where he’d touched me. Denall cocked his head to the side as he inspected the patch of skin he’d just touched.
“Interesting,” he said. “You don’t bear their mark.”
My pulse settled as I realized what he meant. “No,” I said. “It’s just plain old me. No tattoos. No brands. I told you, I run a legitimate operation. I’m no spy. No double agent, Mr. Denall. And you have no cause to keep me here.”
He let go of my top. I felt relief. He was just looking for a tattoo. My mother’s brother and uncles all had one. A wolf’s head with a shield. A generation ago, they had all worked for an agency called Wolfguard Security. They went after rogue shifters and magic users. They were the first to have run-ins with the Ring. It all happened way before the shifter attacks on the cities. Afterward, they disbanded. At least, as far as the rest of the world knew. It had been part of the deal they struck to get their families into the Oasis Territories.
Lord, was that all this was? Had one of my cousins or uncles done something stupid to draw attention again? No. It couldn’t be. I would have heard. We would have been put on high alert.
Unless…
“What do you want from me?” I asked. “You’ve gone to an awful lot of trouble to bring me here. You’ve made promises to your goon Viktor out there. He may be too stupid to see through you, but I’m not. So let’s cut to the chase. You tell me what you’re really looking for, and I’ll see if it’s within my power and the law to help you find it.”
He grabbed both of my arms in turn, inspecting them. Then, he pulled my hair back and inspected the nape of my neck. I realized with horror he was looking for an Alpha’s mark.
“She’s clean,” he said to the others. “Let them know.”
Denall snapped his fingers and the other fae started up the stairs.
“You son of a bitch,” I yelled. “This is all for show. You’re seriously planning on selling me? You can’t! I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
It was a bluff. We had a plan in place for this. If I or any of my cousins were ever captured, we had just enough phony information to feed the Ring that would buy some time. There was only one t
hing: it meant we might have to sacrifice ourselves.
Could I do it? Could I die to save my cousins?
I could. Probably.
Denall licked along my neck. “What are you?” he hissed. “You’re hiding something. I can sense it. What did they give you? You took a hit off of something before Viktor picked you up. Or...he gave you something. Is that it?”
Denall’s eyes went wild.
“If he spoiled you…”
He snapped. Denall took a step back. He curled his fingers. His veins lit up with light. My God. He was about to hit me with a bolt of something. I had to cloak myself. I had to stop it. If he…
A growl erupted through the room with the force of thunder. Viktor’s wolf charged down the stairs. He leaped in between Denall and me, backing Denall into a corner.
“No!” I screamed. Instinct fueled me. Whatever magic Denall intended for me, I knew it would do even worse damage to Viktor.
Denall was fast. But Viktor was faster. He sank his teeth into Denall’s wrist and drew blood. Denall shrieked. His magic went astray, hitting the wall behind my head.
Denall and Viktor tumbled end over end. Viktor’s wolf landed on top.
He would have killed him. I sensed his murderous rage. Saliva dripped from his fangs. My own wolf echoed his. I wanted to leap to his side and finish the kill.
He knew. Oh, God. Viktor sensed it.
His eyes went wide as he tore them away from Denall’s throat. I went as still as I could. Calm. Conceal. Survive.
I meant the mantra for me. But somehow, it worked on Viktor. His fangs receded. His fur disappeared. He let go of Denall and slowly rose on two legs.
“Get up,” Viktor hissed. “And you’re welcome.”
Spitting mad, Denall leaped to his own feet. But he didn’t advance on Viktor. Denall straightened his shirt and ran a hand through his hair.
“I could have your license for that,” he said.
Viktor turned on him. “My license? Who do you think you’re talking to? There’s no license for what I do. You hurt the girl, you know what happens to you. I just saved you from yourself, asshole. Now, I’ve had about enough of these games. Come upstairs so we can talk. You came for something. If you still want it, I might be persuaded to give it to you. But don’t try me again, light boy. You’re fast, but I’m lethal.”
He offered Denall a hand. The other man batted it away and pushed past him. Then, the two of them walked out the cellar together, leaving me once again alone in the dark.
Chapter 8
Viktor
“You don’t touch her,” I said, my voice a low, rumbling growl. Denall’s men stood at the ready. If it came to it though, they’d never be fast enough to save him. And then, there would be no one left to save me.
Or Mia.
Denall projected calm. A slow, infuriating grin spread across his face. “You’ve done well,” he said. “I have to admit, I wasn’t even sure I believed you’d gotten a hold of the girl.”
“No one touches her but me,” I snarled.
We’d made our way to the main sitting room off the foyer. Denall backed away from me and leaned against the large, marble fireplace. Above it hung an oil painting of Olivia Clairmont, the mistress of this mansion during the nineteenth century. The painter wouldn’t have known what she was back then. But he’d unwittingly captured her essence. Her eyes glowed bright gold. She was the last female shifter from the Clairmont pack. Her great-great-something grandson had given this property over to the Ring at the first sign of trouble. I’d wager old Grandma Olivia would have ripped his lungs out if she’d known.
“She’s not yours, Viktor,” Denall said. “Her fate is up to the Ring. That was the deal. I’m here to check the condition of our prize. We’ve delivered our end.”
Denall spread his hands wide, gesturing toward the mantle, then the woods beyond the north-facing window. He was an abomination. The idea that he thought he could lay claim to these lands. They were here eons before he was. He wasn’t of this world. He was an invader.
“I trust the house and grounds were everything you hoped for?” he asked.
“The terms have changed,” I said.
Denall raised a brow. “You really think you’re in a position to dictate terms now?”
“I do,” I said. “I have a message for your boss. I expect you to deliver it today.”
Denall looked amused at first. But when he saw I wasn’t bluffing, his own eyes narrowed. His boss. I’d never met him in person. But I knew Denall feared him.
He started to walk toward one of the plush, red couches. When I didn’t make a move to stop him, he continued.
“Enlighten me,” he said.
“I have something the Ring wants more than Mia Brandhart,” I said.
Denall went very still. “And the Ring has something you want more than this house,” he said, smiling. “You want her.”
“It’s not about want,” I said, lying. “It’s about owed. This girl. You’re right, she’s Andre Kalenkov’s granddaughter. I know that’s what you told me. But until I saw her for myself, I couldn’t be sure. I could smell it on her in an instant. You held out on me though. You didn’t tell me her mother was Grace Kalenkov. You don’t even know what that means.”
“Once again,” Denall said. “So enlighten me.”
“There’s a pact. Grace Kalenkov was promised to my uncle, Pavel Vadim. It would have united the packs once and for all. But Andre, her father, killed my uncle instead. And Grace mated with someone else. With this Brandhart. I can rectify that. I demand satisfaction of her family’s vow. You understand enough about pack law to know what’s at stake.”
Denall’s eyes finally glinted with understanding.
“That’s right,” I said. “There’s no more powerful mate for this girl than me. You want ultimate loyalty from the remnants of the Vadim pack, you give her to me. You let the rest of my pack come here. There’ll be no dispute. No fight. No war at all. They’ll all fall in line and subjugate themselves to me. Even those still hiding in Russia. The Ring will have us all, Denall. The most important, powerful alliance at the Ring’s disposal.”
“You want a lot,” he said. “There are other plans for that girl that don’t involve you. You had one job, Viktor. Bring the girl to heel. You’ve done that. You’ve got your reward.”
I moved in on him. Growling, I got right in Denall’s face. “Then you go back to your bosses. You tell them what I told you. You tell them the Vadims are at stake. I know you know that’s a prize they won’t pass up. There’s no other plan they have for that girl that’s as valuable was what I’m offering.”
Denall went silent, considering my words. He’d known me long enough to know I didn’t bullshit. This would be far too big a bluff to pull off. At least, I needed him to think that.
“I’ll wait,” I said. “You can have the room.”
“Does she know?” Denall asked.
I turned. “About what?”
“About who you really are?” Denall answered. “Does she know you’re Pavel Vadim’s heir?”
“I don’t know what she knows,” I said. It was the first truth I’d told. It was my turn to lean against the massive marble fireplace. I wanted to rip Olivia’s portrait down and smash it over Denall’s head. The idea that he thought I needed his permission to claim my mate. That he could honestly stop me if I wanted to do just that. Right here. Right now.
But claiming Mia would be the easier part. Holding on to her would be something else. It would bring the full power of the Ring down on our heads. And it would leave the members of the Vadim pack closest to me vulnerable. Luka. Nico. Gregor. All of them. Even now, I could sense their agitation as they hid deeply in the woods all around us.
“I said I’ll wait,” I said. “Go talk to your bosses now. I know they’re waiting on your status report.”
Denall rose. I’d barely finished my sentence before the light in the room shimmered. It made my ears pop as Denall opened up a portal an
d disappeared through it.
“God, I hate when they do that,” I whispered. He could be gone for a moment or hours. There was no way to tell. If he had popped through to a fae dimension, I knew a thousand years could pass for him, though it might only feel like a second to me. Or the other way around. Years could pass here and only moments to him.
But it meant he’d taken my words seriously enough to pass through.
I felt Luka’s concern bleed through. We weren’t pack. Not yet. If we were, he would have been able to communicate with me telepathically. Easier, yes. But it would have put him in extreme danger if ever the Ring caught me in Dragonsteel. I wouldn’t let that happen. Instead, I tried to project a message of calm. Wait. Be patient. I’ll know something soon enough.
Below me, I sensed another presence. Mia was scared. More than anything, I wanted to go to her. I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her I’d never let Denall touch her again.
The pull was so strong, I nearly lost myself in it. Then, the light shimmered again and Denall appeared on the couch as if he’d never left.
I stayed stock still, not letting even so much as a hair on my neck betray the turmoil inside of me. Could I do it? Could I kill Denall right now if he tried to keep me from Mia?
“How many?” he asked.
Fae were like that. Infuriating. They existed on a different plane of time. It could sometimes amount to riddle speech, starting a thought or a sentence in the middle of it. But I’d been around Denall long enough that I could see through it. I turned to face him.
“How many, Viktor?” he asked again. “I know you know. The Ring knows you know. You’ve been loyal so far, except for this one little detail. You want the prize? You have to prove how far you’re willing to go to get it. So, I’ll ask you one more time. How many members of the Vadim pack are still out there? And don’t try to be cute. I mean direct line Vadims and those loyal. Friends of the pack. All of it. The truth.”
Below me, I felt Mia’s tears. They pulled at me. She was scared. Terrified. She hadn’t been up until now. It’s the one thing that made no sense about who she was. Even if she was the shifter I suspected her to be, the Dragonsteel should have terrified her. No one could be that good of an actor.