by Dia Cole
Startled, I blinked into a sharp amber gaze. Damnation. I’d been daydreaming about Vana instead of focusing on the meeting with the Alpha of the Moon Valley faction.
Shoshanna Moreau eyed me with a deceptive calm betrayed only by the tightening of her full scarlet lips. Even if she didn’t lead the largest Lykos faction in the Southwest, her voluptuous figure, long silvery-white hair, and smooth almond skin ensured she’d capture every unclaimed male’s undivided attention. Every male but me apparently.
Tension filled the air. The fleet of armed males lined up along the boardroom wall behind her glared at me.
The leader of the Moon Hunters shook his head. Shit. If the legendary Kanin Arius was nonverbally chastising me like a young pup, I’d screwed up big-time.
Hell. I needed to get it together or I could kiss this peace accord goodbye. I cleared my throat. “Apologies, Alpha Moreau. I think I may be coming down with something.” Something like an obsessive fixation on my daughter’s nanny.
The smaller male sitting next to Shoshanna snorted derisively. “You dare disrespect my aunt and then lie to her face?”
“Silence, Manny,” Shoshanna said, her gaze going to my wrists. She must’ve known of the silver cuffs and how they made me as vulnerable as a human to injury and sickness. Her expression softened. “It’s unfathomable that the Beast makes you wear those.”
It was my turn to take offense. It was one thing for Ty and me to refer to Tasha by her well-earned nickname, quite another for a rival faction leader to do it in my presence. Gritting my teeth I said, “It’s not my place to question my Alpha’s judgment.”
Emmanuel slammed his fist down on the conference table. “You should question her judgment. The psychopathic bitch you serve tortured and killed my brother. Not only that, we’ve heard she’d had him stuffed and put in the entry hall of her ski lodge. Is that true?”
It was, not that it would be judicious to confirm the rumor. Ty had told me that when Tasha had found Nico Moreau in her territory, she’d immediately made sport of him. The poor male hadn’t had a chance. “I’m sorry for the loss of your family member. With this peace accord—” I tapped the stack of papers in front of me “—we can avoid such senseless tragedy.” Assuming Tasha can control herself.
“Screw your peace accord.” Emmanuel let out a growl and jumped to his feet. “I think we’ll send you back to your Alpha in pieces instead.” He lunged for me, but moving in a blur, Shoshanna grabbed him and slammed him down onto the table by his throat.
“Ambassadors are protected by council order. You know that, nephew. Now leave this room before you do something stupid.” She threw her nephew in the direction of the door.
Emmanuel managed to stop himself from face-planting into the wood. Giving me one last threatening look, he opened the door and stomped through it.
Shoshanna looked up at her warriors. “Out.”
Kanin, the biggest of the Moon Hunters gave her a hard look. “I don’t think that—”
“Out,” Shoshanna said again.
Even though she hadn’t raised her voice, the nearly seven-foot-tall warrior reacted as if she had. He turned to the other males, saying, “You heard your Alpha clear the room.” As the warriors filtered single file into the hallway, he shut the door behind them and positioned himself in front of it.
“Kanin,” Shoshanna said, clear warning in her voice.
The male merely crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her. It was clear, based on their tense expressions, they were having a mental argument of some kind.
After a few seconds, Shoshanna let out a huff of air. “Fine, stay, you stubborn bastard.” Giving the male a dirty look, she rose, walked around the table, and sat down in the empty chair next to me. “I’m sorry for my nephew’s rude behavior.”
Trying to hide my surprise, I cleared my throat. “His anger is understandable. I am truly sorry for your loss.” Emmanuel’s brother was only two decades old. He’d barely just transitioned. He was far too young for his brutal end.
Shoshanna frowned. “Nico was rash and impulsive like Manny is. Despite my warning, he pursued a Winterhaven female and paid the ultimate price for it.” Her full lips pinched together as if she was in pain. “But I don’t wish to speak of him right now.” She glanced out the large window across from where we sat. “Just look at that,” she said pointing at the large man-made lake twenty stories down. “A lake in the middle of the desert. Is there anything more ridiculous?” She snorted. “Do you know how much it cost to build and maintain?”
She wants to talk about the lake? “I couldn’t begin to venture a guess.”
“Nearly half a billion dollars.” She shook her head as we watched a fleet of rowers propel their racing boats across the body of water. “Every year we fight against seepage and evaporation to keep it. We constantly replace the sunbaked dams and we continually pipe in water from the Colorado River. However, the truth is, one day we will lose the fight because we are fighting against nature. Just like you are fighting against your nature.” She laid her hand over mine.
The giant warrior in the corner growled softly. Apparently, he wasn’t pleased that she was touching me.
“I’m not sure I understand your meaning.” Sliding my chair back, I moved my hand away from hers.
She gave me a pitying look. “We Lykos cannot live in cages, whether those cages are built by someone else—” her expression turned dark for a moment “—or are built ourselves. The truth is we are wild animals inside and our primitive drives won’t be denied for long.” She tapped my wrist, her long nail striking the silver cuff through my dress shirt.
Taken aback by her forwardness, I shifted in my seat. I wasn’t about to discuss the terms of Tasha’s and my agreement with anyone, much less the head of a rival faction. “Yes, well, I think we can all agree that we should aspire to be more than wild animals and through this peace accord we can curb some of the violence that has erupted recently between our factions.” I wasn’t about to call out the fact that a contingent of Tasha’s Enforcers had gone missing in this area last week, but based on the narrowing of Shoshanna’s eyes, I didn’t need to.
“It’s not just our factions that are at odds, Ambassador Steele. The other Alphas are also fed up with Tasha’s abuse and lust for power. Mark my words, this is only the beginning of suffering for Winterhaven, and Tasha has no one to blame but herself. She brought this on herself and her people.”
The warning in Shoshanna’s tone sent a chill down my spine. Are the other factions planning something?
“Your mother, Gia, and I grew up together. Did you know that?” Shoshanna said, taking the conversation in an unexpected turn.
I jerked my head up in surprise. “No. I didn’t.” I’d known my mother had originally come from the Moon Valley faction, but that was the extent of what Tasha had relayed to me.
“We were good friends. She was one of the few who didn’t treat me differently because of my rank. You know?”
I did know how rare that was. Alphas of both genders were normally treated with subservience and respect from the day we were born.
Her gaze went distant. “She fell for your father the first time she saw him fight at the Interfaction Games. I’ll admit he looked impressive with all those muscles.” Shoshanna let out a laugh. “But I still tried to talk her out of choosing him. I knew as Winterhaven’s Council representative, Mikael would have to remain at Winterhaven and Gia would follow him there. But I couldn’t reason with her. She told me that in her family, they know right away when they’ve found their chosen. She said, ‘We love only once and we love forever.’” Shoshanna gave me a sad smile. “How I missed her when she left. I cried for weeks when I found out that she and Mikael had died. So tragic. Do you know I petitioned Tasha to let me adopt you?”
I fought to hide my surprise. “Is that so?” Tasha had never told me that. In fact, she’d constantly reminded me I should be grateful to her for taking me in since I had no other family to care for me.
&nbs
p; “Of course, the bitch denied me,” Shoshanna growled. “If I’d any idea of what she’d do to a child… to you…” Her golden eyes shimmered with emotion. “I would’ve tried harder. Hell, I would’ve sent my best warrior to take you back no matter the cost.” She looked over at Kanin.
Stunned, I could only stare at her in silence. The idea that anyone would’ve fought for me filled me with bittersweet remorse. If I’d only known there was some place to seek refuge, I would’ve found a way to escape Tasha. But Shoshanna’s words didn’t change the past. I’d been left in the hands of the ruthless she-wolf and after decades of torture and pain, I was still bound to her.
Shoshanna wiped a tear from her eye. “I-I just wanted you to know that and to know I am here for you if you ever need anything… anything at all.”
Unsure of how to respond, I pulled the blue silk pocket square out of my suit breast pocket and handed it to her. As she dabbed her eyes with it, I finally said, “I appreciate you sharing that with me. Your support of the accord would—”
She interrupted me with a husky laugh. “The accord is a joke, Nathan. I would never agree to peace with that evil bitch. In fact, if Tasha Digoski ever sets foot in my territory, I will personally rip off her head.” For a moment her eyes glowed with an unholy light.
Across the room, Kanin let out a deep threatening growl that would’ve had any lesser male pissing his pants.
I looked between the warrior and the Alpha female in confusion. “Then why agree to this meeting?”
She smiled at me, her infamous beauty breathtaking to behold. “Because you look so much like your mother and seeing Gia’s legacy is one of the few things that makes me happy. You are always welcome in my territory, Nathan. In fact, I was hoping one of these days to meet your daughter.” A wistful expression crossed her face.
My blood chilled. Like hell I’d ever bring Mira into a rival faction’s territory. Shoshanna could be speaking the truth, or she could be trying to lure her enemy’s offspring into her territory to kill her. I couldn’t take the chance, but that didn’t mean I had to be rude. I motioned out the window. “Perhaps one day I’ll bring Mira here to see the lake. She’d enjoy the ducks.”
Shoshanna laughed. “That alone would make it worth the half a billion.”
Kanin must’ve communicated something telepathically to the beautiful Alpha female because she sighed and got to her feet. “Duty calls.”
I stood and shook the hand she offered me. “Thank you for your time, Alpha Moreau. I know how busy you must be.”
“Call me Shoshanna, please.” She squeezed my hand affectionately before dropping it and walking to the door. Before following Kanin out into the hallway she looked back at me. “One day you will find your chosen like your mother did. When that happens, don’t let a pair of silver cuffs or the Beast stand in your way.”
As the door closed on her parting words, a crazy thought ran through my head—Is Vana my chosen? A second later, I dismissed the preposterous idea. Lykos only bonded with other Lykos. Vana could only ever be a temporary distraction. Although admittedly, a very tempting one.
9
Havana
As the weeks passed, I became more and more infatuated with Nathan and soon found myself living for the lunches we shared with Mira. Through bites of the delicious gourmet food Mrs. Pierce prepared, we’d discuss our favorite films and the fascinating places he’d visited. Unfortunately, I quickly found that traveling was something he continued to do a lot of for his job.
Nearly every other week he went out of town and while he was gone I was expected to stay overnight at the house. This took me by surprise, but when I questioned Mrs. Pierce, she gave me a haughty look and told me I should have read the job requirements more closely.
It really wasn’t any big deal. The room I stayed in with its en suite bathroom could rival the luxury of any five-star hotel room and I still earned my exorbitant hourly rate overnight. The only thing I disliked was being alone in the house with Mira. For a home this size it was crazy there wasn’t more household staff. Mrs. Pierce said it was because Mr. Steele liked his privacy and she, along with the cleaning staff that came three times a week, were more than capable of looking after everything. Still, when Nathan was gone and Mrs. Pierce had left for the night, the mansion felt very empty.
Being alone brought me right back to my childhood and all those lonely nights waiting for a mother who never came home. Since then, I’d purposely lived with roommates. Syd was perfect in that she always brought a crap ton of people to our apartment. But here… I felt surrounded by emptiness.
Never had I felt more alone than the stormy night eleven weeks into the job. Nathan was in New Mexico for the week and Mrs. Pierce hadn’t been able to make it to the house that day due to her ailing mother.
Despite the loud thunder and cracking lightning, Mira went to bed at seven sharp as she usually did, which left me desperately trying to think of things to do to keep from climbing the walls. Taking a bubble bath in the enormous claw-foot tub hadn’t calmed my nerves and neither had washing my hair or repainting my toenails.
Turning on the television proved to be a big mistake. Although there hadn’t been any more victims of the Strip Club Killer, thank God, the news was filled with stories of the worldwide canine flu pandemic and the tens of thousands of lives lost to it. Seeing the faces of the flu survivors mourning their less fortunate loved ones sunk my mood even more. So many kids. I hoped to the powers that be that Mira didn’t catch the flu.
Someone needs to come up with a vaccine and fast. Already local lawmakers were pushing legislation that would force all dog owners to euthanize their pets. Laws like that would pit animal lovers against the government and I could only imagine the fallout.
Clicking off the TV, I dug out my cell phone only to find five new text messages from Jeremy begging me to come to another party this weekend. Man, the guy is tenacious. You’d think he’d get the hint by now. After I went through the motions of blocking the newest number he was using, I called Syd. It wasn’t until I got her voice mail that I remembered she was dancing tonight. Because so many dancers were out with the flu, Max was having the rest of them work double shifts. Poor suckers.
Although I didn’t miss stripping for money, part of me missed the male attention. I certainly wasn’t getting any around here. Nathan had been so busy traveling lately, I hadn’t seen much of him and my overnight stays at his house put a big cramp in my dating life.
Syd had accused me several times of dating someone behind her back, some hottie with an Aston Martin Volante, whatever the hell that was. But she’d clearly been drinking too much. It wasn’t as if I had time to date, and besides all my attention was focused on Nathan.
Being around him and knowing I couldn’t have him was slow burn torture. It didn’t help matters that he loved to spoil me. He’d sent me chocolates for Valentine’s Day, a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for my birthday, and he regularly brought me gifts from the places he visited. And that wasn’t all. Just last month he’d slipped me a gift certificate to Le Ciel, the fanciest restaurant in town. When I’d coyly suggested we go eat together, he’d declined in that aloof way of his and avoided me the rest of the day. I couldn’t figure the man out. Some days he seemed really into me and other days he couldn’t get far enough away. What I wouldn’t give to read his mind.
Boom.
The deafening blast of thunder had me gasping. God, I hate storms.
There was another loud boom and then the lights went out.
Crap. I flicked on my cell phone light and padded over to the bedroom next door. I slowly cracked the door and peeked in. Mira was sitting in her Cinderella carriage bed, her tiny body trembling.
“Did the thunder wake you, bug?”
She blinked up at me seeming disoriented. “I thought the Beast was here.”
I set my phone down on her nightstand and sat down beside her. “The Beast?”
She nodded, tears welling in her eyes. “She has big te
eth and glowing eyes and she’s coming to kill me.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “Sweetheart, monsters aren’t real.”
“The Beast is real.” She pulled away and looked up at me. “Daddy says that if she comes, a light will come on.” She pointed at the ceiling at what looked like a smoke detector. “If I see the light, I’m supposed to hide and not come out until she’s gone.”
“Hmm.” It seemed I needed to have a conversation with Nathan. I know some parents enjoyed freaking out their kids with scary stories, but Mira was too young for that kind of thing. “I’ll tell you what. I’m right there.” I pointed at the room next door. “And I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
Mira rubbed her eyes. “You promise?”
“Cross my heart,” I said, running my finger across my chest. “If there was a Beast, and there isn’t, I’d pound her face into the dirt. She’s never going to hurt you. Now get some sleep.” I gently pushed Mira back on the bed.
She wrapped her hand around mine. “I wish you could live here with me and Daddy always.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice,” I said with a smile. Then I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Now sleep.”
She closed her eyes. Soon her breathing deepened.
When I was certain she was sleeping, I slowly pulled my hand away and walked back into the dark hallway.
I should try to sleep too. There wasn’t anything I could do about the lights. It wasn’t as if I’d have much luck searching for a breaker box in the dark. Besides, if the power wasn’t on in the morning, Mrs. Pierce could call the electric company and they’d send a crew out. At least it hadn’t happened during the hottest part of the year when the lack of air-conditioning for even an hour would’ve made life uncomfortable.
I was just stepping back into my room when I heard a clinking sound from down the hall.
Someone’s in the house! My heart hammered as I peered down the dark hallway. Mrs. Pierce never showed her face before six in the morning and Nathan wasn’t due back for another day.