by Larissa Ione
Hunter eyed him for an uncomfortably long moment, probably trying to determine whether he could trust Lobo’s word. Lobo couldn’t blame him. He’d stop at nothing to protect Tehya.
Finally, just as Lobo’s palms started to sweat, Hunter crossed to the door and flung it open. He spoke in hushed tones with Baddon, who was standing outside. When he returned, his expression was grim.
“I sent Baddon to find Su’Neena.”
“She won’t admit to being a spy.”
“If she’s a spy, we will get to the bottom of it.” Pivoting on his heel, he moved back to the door. “Come on. You can shower and have a shot of human blood while Nicole looks at that wound.”
A wound he had only because one of Hunter’s boys had shot him. “I’ll be fine.”
“It’s not a suggestion. I promised your wolf she’d see you again, and I don’t want you keeling over in front of her.”
“Why? Because it’ll be the last time I see her?”
Hunter paused with his hand on the doorknob. “If you’re wondering whether I’m going to kill you, I’m not.”
Lobo let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Why not?”
“Because,” he said in a voice weighted with gravity Lobo didn’t understand, “I’m not my father.”
That was something that was becoming more obvious by the minute. “So what comes next?”
Hunter yanked open the door and stepped out into the hallway. “We’re going to get to the bottom of your accusation against Su’Neena.” He lowered his voice as a group of males walked by, their laughter echoing through the halls, something nearly unheard of during Bear Roar’s reign. Hell, even after Hunter had taken over after his father’s death, the clan had still been a dark, sobering place. The changes at MoonBound since then were startling. “I don’t know why, but my gut tells me to believe you. So until we get this straightened out, you’re free to go.”
“And Tehya?”
“We’ll keep her safe and teach her what she needs to know to survive as a vampire.”
Even though it was exactly what Lobo had asked for, his stomach still churned. He’d asked Hunter to take care of Tehya, but that was when the prospect of losing his head had been very real. Now . . . damn. It was for the best. She needed friends. Community. Training. She needed the clan.
He must have looked troubled, because Hunter’s hard-ass expression softened. But that was like saying a diamond had softened into an agate. “She won’t be a prisoner, Lobo.”
“Good. She doesn’t like that. You should see what she did to my cabin when I locked her in it once.”
No, she didn’t take to captivity well at all. But he also knew she didn’t take orders well either. Keeping her here wouldn’t be easy. He’d have to convince her.
But how could he do that when he wasn’t convinced himself?
10
Tehya wanted to hate MoonBound and everything about it. But the people were friendly if wary, the compound was clean and warm, and it boasted modern conveniences such as a library and rec center, which she was currently touring. They even had a kitchen and cooks who had made her a venison sandwich she’d scarfed down while she walked around with Katina in borrowed jeans and a fitted green long-sleeved top.
“This isn’t anything like I imagined.” Tehya stared in awe at a young male and a female with bright orange pigtails as they played some sort of dance-themed video game on a screen nearly as large as one of the rec room walls. “From what Lobo described, I expected dark caves and torches on the walls. This isn’t exactly medieval times here.”
Katina laughed, her bright white fangs creating a striking contrast with her dark skin. “I would definitely not be here if it was like that. I like my modern comforts.” She shuddered, making her sleek black hair, gathered in a low, thick ponytail, brush against her paisley top. “From what I hear, though, MoonBound used to be a horror show. I’m sure Lobo wasn’t exaggerating. The old guard, mostly the born vampires who follow the Way of the Raven—they’re a bunch of primitive, superstitious freaks.”
“What’s that about? This Crow and Raven thing?”
Katina rolled her pewter-silver eyes. “It’s a belief system that supposedly explains vampire origins—if you want to completely discount science and logic. Again, it’s pushed by the old guard, mainly as a way to keep everyone in line. Crows are more moderate, and Ravens are just crazy.”
Wow, Tehya had so much to learn about being a vampire. As a human, she’d only known what the human powers-that-be wanted her to know about them—mainly that they were dangerous, but they made good slaves when properly trained. Later, as a wolf, she’d learned about vampires by watching Lobo, but he wasn’t exactly typical of the species, as she was just beginning to discover.
He must have been so lonely.
“Everything you see is available to you twenty-four seven,” Katina said as they walked past an empty pool table. “It’s usually busier here, but it’s the new moon, so everyone is off feeding and fu—”
“Ah, there you are.” Hunter’s deep voice boomed through the room, and Tehya spun, heart racing in anticipation of seeing Lobo.
She’d barely laid eyes on him before he was crossing to her in quick, long strides. He’d showered, his damp hair raked back and wildly unruly, and he wore a pair of well-fitting worn jeans made for slim hips and powerful thighs. Fresh bandages crisscrossed his shoulders and disappeared under a black tank top that showed off every ropy muscle. Every female hormone danced in appreciation as he hauled her into his arms.
“You okay?” He buried his face in her neck and held her so tight she couldn’t escape if she’d wanted to. Which she didn’t.
“I’m fine.” She inhaled, taking in the comforting scent of him. God, she loved how he smelled. Like trees and moss, with a subtle hint of musk. “I’ve been worried about you.”
He pulled back and glanced over at the doorway, where Hunter was talking with Katina, Riker, and someone Katina referred to as Jaggar. Then, without warning, Lobo took her by the arm and spirited her into the connecting room packed with arcade games and another large-screen TV. Where the hell did they get all of this stuff anyway?
“What are you doing?”
In answer, he pushed her up against the side of the classic Pac-Man game, the long, lean length of his body covering hers. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after this, but I want you to be happy.”
“Then why do you sound so sad?” In his eyes, hooded and shadowed, she saw the reason, and it speared her in the heart. “This sounds like a good-bye. It is, isn’t it?”
He dropped his face to hers so their foreheads touched, reminding her of all the times he’d done that when she was a wolf. He’d been so free with his affection, and it seemed that nothing had changed. Which made what he said next all the more awful. “I think it has to be. For now.”
What a load of bullshit. “I won’t live here without you,” she swore. “You can’t make me.” She didn’t give a crap that she sounded childish. At this point, she’d suck on a pacifier if that’s what it took to change his mind.
“It’s for the best,” he said, spewing more bullshit. But it was bullshit he wasn’t going to back down from, and she knew it.
Desperation made her, well, desperate, and she clung to his biceps, clutching him as if doing so would stop this from happening. “I’ll turn back into a wolf. Somehow, I’ll figure out how. We can be like it was before.”
A heartbreaking sound of misery rattled in his throat. “Neither of us wants that, and you know it. You need the kind of life that only MoonBound can give you.”
“These are the people who threatened to kill you, Lobo.” She cast a furtive glance at Hunter, who was idly bouncing a Ping-Pong ball in his palm as he talked with a growing group of people who were extremely well armed. “They hurt you and then abandoned you. How can you say that I should stay here?”
He stroked his hand over her hair the way he’d petted her fur when he wanted to ca
lm her down. It made her mad that it worked.
“What happened was a long time ago.” His voice was calm. Controlled. Too controlled. She could smell the emotion in him. The conflict. “Hunter was different then. The clan was different. Trust me, it’s safe for you here. And with everything going on in the human world, belonging to a clan is what you need.”
Wrong. He was so wrong. She wasn’t a pet to be passed around. “I won’t stay here, Lobo. Not without you.”
“Damn it, Tehya.” Cracks in his tight control made his voice pitch low. “You need to stay.”
“I’m not a dog,” she ground out.
“If you were, this wouldn’t be an issue. You’re a vampire. Vampires aren’t safe on their own. That’s why clans work so well. It doesn’t have to be forever. But right now, you need to stay here.”
Never. She was about to say as much when Baddon, Takis, Aiden, and a male she didn’t recognize rushed into the room, their expressions grim. Baddon looked like he’d been chewing on an electric fence. She’d done that once. Not recommended.
She and Lobo joined the group as Baddon spoke up. “Su’Neena is gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?” Hunter stopped bouncing the Ping-Pong ball. “Did you search the compound?”
Baddon gave a curt nod. “I’ve got people still searching, but I’d bet my left nut the search won’t turn up anything. I checked her quarters—looks like she left in a rush.”
“She knows.” Lobo cursed. “She knows I’m here, and she probably suspects that I’ve told the truth about her.”
“Excuse me,” Tehya interrupted, “but who is Su’Neena?”
A muscle in Lobo’s jaw twitched with anger. “She’s responsible for me getting kicked out of the clan. And she tried to murder me a couple of times.”
This time it was Hunter who cursed, his hand closing on the little ball so hard it crumpled. Too bad it wasn’t this Su’Neena person’s skull.
“Send out a search party,” Hunter growled. “Hurry. If she makes it to ShadowSpawn before we catch her, she’ll be lost to us.”
“But you have a treaty with Kars,” Katina said. “You can force him to give her up.”
Hunter snorted. “Do you really think he’ll give her up so she can admit to being a spy? He’ll kill her and blame her death on humans. We won’t see her alive again.”
Aiden fingered a dagger sheathed at his hip. “Hunter, are you sure Su’Neena is guilty of anything?” He shot Lobo a glare so hateful that Tehya had to hold back a snarl. “We don’t know Lobo. This could be a trick. Skinwalkers are deceptive by nature.”
Next to her, Lobo went taut, his hand clenching hers in a powerful grip, and she caught the acrid scent of danger rising from him. But she got the impression his anger wasn’t about the insult to him—it was about the insult to her. She was a skinwalker too.
“Say that again.” Lobo’s voice throbbed with menace. “Seriously.”
Hunter stepped between them, forcing Aiden back a step. “Back off, Aiden. I might have made a mistake all those years ago, and if I did, and Lobo’s right, a lot of the shit we’ve taken from ShadowSpawn for decades is my fault. I will fix it—and to do that, we need to find Su’Neena.”
“She’s a mystic-keeper,” Katina pointed out, easing the tension, if only slightly. “She can evade us, and pretty easily, I might add.”
“So . . . what, we’re just supposed to sit around and do nothing?” Takis cursed. “No way. I’m heading out.”
“Wait.” Tehya’s face heated as all eyes fell on her. “What’s a mystic-keeper?”
Lobo squeezed her hand. “A shaman of sorts. Mystic-keepers can bend nature’s energy to their will to hide objects or to create invisible traps, wards, false trails . . . shit like that.”
Trails? Tehya was an expert at following those. “Can she mask her scent?”
Baddon shook his head. “But her ability allows her to throw false tracks and to cover up the real ones.”
“Then I can track her.” When no one reacted, she huffed, “What? Why aren’t we moving?”
“You heard what Nicole said.” Lobo angled closer to her, a subtle movement that blocked the door, as if he thought she would bolt. “You can’t shift into a wolf. You might not be able to turn back.”
She wasn’t sure she knew how to shift into a wolf again anyway—but the moment the thought formed, she felt an icy pull, a tingle that she instinctively understood was the key to shifting. Not that she was going to do it.
“My sense of smell is powerful.” She looked over at Hunter. “I might be able to track her without shifting.”
Hunter and Lobo exchanged glances. “It’s worth a try,” Hunter said, but when Lobo hesitated, she growled in frustration.
“I don’t need your permission, Lobo,” she said. “If finding this person can clear your name, I’m doing it. End of story.”
“Females, huh?” Hunter sighed, and in a surprising move, he clapped Lobo on the back. “Welcome to my world.”
Baddon threw back his head and let out what she could only describe as a battle cry, and the wolf in her wanted desperately to howl.
The others joined in, and as the battle cries reached their peaks, Hunter threw open the door. “Irinami ka’ta uwelet. May your spear find its mark.”
Lobo was pretty sure that every able-bodied member of MoonBound was combing through the forest for the traitor. The woods were crawling with vampires, and he almost felt sorry for any vampire poacher who might be out hunting for an easy target.
It turned out that Tehya was both right and wrong about her sense of smell. She’d been able to track Su’Neena for the first couple of miles, but she lost the scent on the bank of a stream. After that, Hunter and his warriors spread out, while Lobo and Tehya circled the area where she’d lost the scent. She’d refused to leave, determined to pick up the trail again.
Her curses as she moved around amused him, but he knew how frustrated she was. If she were a wolf, she’d be whining and running zigzag patterns with her nose to the ground.
“We’ve got to do more.” She kicked a rotting log, and splinters of soft wood flew everywhere. “This bitch is responsible for getting you banished from MoonBound and nearly killed. And—”
“Hey,” he said from where he was kneeling next to a footprint that appeared to be older than what they were looking for. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” She rounded on him, her expression fierce, her eyes glowing hot, like amber put to flame. “I know what it’s like to have to hide who you are because some jackass will kill you for it. My mother was always looking over her shoulder, and every time someone knocked on our door, she was sure it was the government looking for me. You lived that way for decades, an outcast punished because of what you are, and she needs to pay for that.”
Sure, it had sucked to be ostracized because of what he might do with his ability, and he definitely wanted Su’Neena to answer for any crimes against MoonBound, but nothing would change the past. What mattered now was the future. A future he’d fight for the way Tehya was, right now, fighting for him.
She needed to learn how to be a vampire, but he wouldn’t give her up. Their relationship might be forbidden by vampire law, but only if they were caught.
Once she’d spent some time with the clan and had learned more about vampire life than he could teach her, he could take her somewhere safe. Where no one knew them.
Alaska was sounding better and better.
“How do you feel about snow?” he asked.
She blinked. “What?” She jammed her hands on her hips, and he realized he liked her in jeans. Not as much as he liked her naked or wearing his shirt, but there was a lot to love about the way her curves filled out a pair of pants. “We aren’t talking about snow. We’re talking about capturing someone who tried to kill you.”
He sighed. “You really are a dog with a bone.”
She gave him a flat stare. It was the same stare she’d give him when he held a tasty treat
out of reach to tease her before tossing it into the air for her to catch.
“What?” he asked, feigning ignorance. “That was funny. You know, because . . . wolf.”
Clearly she was not amused, but that was okay, because he cracked himself up enough for both of them. Damn, it felt good to have someone to banter with. To laugh with. There hadn’t been enough of that in his life, and he was ready. So ready.
Shaking her head as if he was a lost cause, she went back to searching, disappearing over the top of a shallow rise. He continued scanning the ground for broken twigs, displaced rocks, any physical sign of Su’Neena’s passing.
He was about to join Tehya when he heard an excited yip.
A yip he recognized. His heart missed a beat.
Oh, Tehya, you didn’t. Tell me you didn’t. . . .
He charged up the hill, and his gut slid to his feet at the sight of Tehya in wolf form, wagging her tail. He couldn’t utter a word. Couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Not until she put her nose to the ground and took off.
Fuck.
He had no choice but to chase after her. He called out, but why, he had no idea. It wasn’t as if she could talk to him, tell him why she’d done such a stupid thing. Besides, he knew why. She’d said it earlier. It was her turn to save him.
Not this way, Tehya. Not this way.
She didn’t stop. She was on a mission, and she was going to see it through. This was nothing new. As a wolf, once she’d picked up the trail of a deer or rabbit, she didn’t stop until she either caught it or lost it for good.
Sweet Maker, how could he both love and hate her dedication?
His mind was a tormented, tangled mass of anger and sorrow, and even a little reluctant pride that grew with every mile they put behind them. Maybe she could shift back. Maybe Nicole was wrong. Please let her be wrong.
Up ahead, Tehya halted, ears pricked, tail high. Then, abruptly, she crouched, hackles raised, and slipped into some thick brush as quietly as a ghost.
On instant alert, he eased behind a fat fir tree and peered in the direction Tehya had gone. Beyond a moss-covered stand of old growth, something moved.