Seraphim didn’t wait around. His chair groaned along the floor as he bolted upright and headed for the door. “You coming, rogue?”
Wilder sat still in his chair, and when I looked up, I realized he’d turned completely toward me. I held my breath as our eyes met. His hard-cut jaw ticked, and butterflies erupted in my stomach. Something was seriously wrong with me.
“Where will you go?” he asked.
I forced a frown to my lips. “To rest for a while. Then,” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I need to start hunting for this rogue soon. Before she hurts someone else.”
He nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
I jolted in my chair. That wasn’t the plan. Avoidance was the plan. I didn’t think I could take another four-hour car ride stuck in the confinements of a cab with him again. “No. You’ll just slow me down.”
His eyes blazed. Temper. He had such a temper. “If you go, I go. End of story.”
My mouth popped open at the brashness of it. Who did he think he was?
“Enough,” the alpha demanded. “Wilder, I suggest you go with Seraphim before I lose my patience. I’d like a word alone with my daughter.”
Wilder didn’t drop my hard stare, but he nodded his head. “Yes, ma’am.”
And then he was up and standing by Ser in a flash. So fast... faster than normal for a lycan. Maybe even faster than me, and I’d spent a lot of time training to get that good.
My mother’s eyebrow furrowed at the movement, but Wilder didn’t look back at us. He didn’t know how strong he was yet, how different. It worried me...
“So,” my mother’s voice was like a bucket of cold water over my head. “When do you plan on telling everyone that you’ve found your mate?”
5
Ryn
The tip of the knife dug into the skin of my throat, sharp enough that it would cut into me if she pressed just a little harder. This was exactly what I’d been afraid of.
“There is no vampire Queen,” Roma, coven leader of the South American clave hissed. “Not even that puta Loraine gets the title. Proof. Now, before I saw your head clean off your shoulders.”
Her accent was thick, but I understood every word just fine.
I glanced toward the door, wishing Luke would hurry the hell up parking the car. He said we wouldn’t have any trouble here. He was supposed to be longtime friends with the Amazonian woman standing before me with the promise of a slow death in her eyes.
Obviously, she hadn’t gotten the memo about me.
“Wait, wait, wait,” I gasped as she pressed harder, this time slicing the skin. “Luke is my blood-sworn. You kill me, you kill him.”
“Mentiras,” she growled in Portuguese. “Lies. Word would have spread. I would know.”
“Velho amiga,” a strong, masculine voice approached from the door and sweet relief washed over me.
The sharp blade disappeared from my skin as Roma stepped back, her eyes wide with surprise. She opened her mouth as if to say something to him, but quickly snapped it shut and dropped to one knee, her head bowed low.
It was my turn to be completely shocked. I mean, after discovering the truth about Luke’s position within the clave, I knew he would be respected by some of the vampires, but I hadn’t expected this sort of servitude.
Luke’s nostrils flared slightly, his sharp hazel eyes narrowing in on the small trickle of blood gliding down the underside of my chin to the hollow of my throat.
“You drew my mates’ blood?” his rough voice sounded incredulous to my ears.
“My King,” Roma didn’t dare lift her head. “Forgive me. I did not know. I – I thought she must be lying. Word never came of your bonding. No word comes from the clave. Not for weeks now.”
Luke’s cool, gentle fingers slid under my chin, tilting it up to expose the column of my throat. He inspected the small cut and the droplet of blood gliding down my neck. I didn’t need to look to know that his eyes had gone feral black.
I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away. A tremor ran up his arm, his jaw tightening. He’d told me before about a male’s protective instincts. If he didn’t get ahold of himself, I had a feeling our would-be allies here in Brazil would become fast enemies.
“I’m fine,” I promised him.
His eyes snapped to the woman still kneeling on the floor - wrath in his gaze.
“Luke,” I said sharply. His focus swung back to me. “I’m fine.”
“Please forgive me,” Roma begged.
“Get up,” Luke’s voice was rough with anger, but the imminent danger seemed to have passed.
She rose to her feet swiftly, taking a few steps away from me. Luke stepped between us, blocking her from my view. I rolled my eyes and moved to his side. He knew I hated that...
“I deeply apologize, my Queen,” she dipped her head to me.
I shifted on my feet. I was still really uncomfortable with that term. Probably always would be. But I inclined my head back at her, nonetheless.
“It’s already forgiven.”
The way Luke’s body tensed beside me said he felt otherwise, but I paid him no mind.
“We’ve come to ask for your help.”
Roma’s face blanched. “What kind of help?”
I swallowed thickly. Already, I could tell that this was going to be an uphill battle.
“William and Loraine have started kidnapping lycans from their pack lands. They’ve overstayed their welcome on the throne.”
The woman took another step back, distancing herself from us further. “So, you are going to reclaim your place because of what they’re doing to the dogs? Let William have his fun with them. Why should we care? They’ve never been our allies. So why does this have anything to do with me?”
The muscles in Luke’s jaw feathered, but at least he was capable of words. I, on the other hand, couldn’t even wrap my mind around what she’d just said. Let him have his fun with them? These were people she was talking about!
“He’s killing them - experimenting on them. He wants full reign of the supernatural world. When do we draw the line if not now?”
Roma’s face scrunched up in distaste, her lip peeling back to reveal slightly extended fangs. “I will not risk my people to save our natural enemies. If they had the chance, their kind would never help us. They would rather watch us all burn.”
“Soon this won’t only be about the lycans. Seers, witches, even humans may become his next targets. You’re willing to let that happen?”
She just shook her head from side to side, backpedaling. “I cannot help you. I’m sorry.”
She wasn’t. Not truly. I could see that much in her eyes. She was so biased against the lycans, she wouldn’t even hear us out.
“Roma,” Luke snapped.
She turned her back on us as three armed vampires flanked her on each side.
“I’ll have accommodations made for your stay.”
Luke grit his teeth. “That won’t be necessary. We aren’t staying.”
She paused, coming to a halt before the door that led into the rest of the massive house. Turning her head to the side, she peered over her shoulder at us.
“Then this is goodbye, old friend.”
Things moved quickly after that. Luke’s hand stayed planted on the small of my back as he led me back to the car, and he didn’t release me until I was safely shut inside.
Once he was in the driver’s seat, he shot off like a bullet. The car whipped through narrow streets until he found the highway, and it took a full fifteen minutes before the tension in his shoulders relaxed and he kept his eyes off the rear-view mirror for more than five seconds.
“I don’t understand,” I admitted as I sank lower in my seat.
He ran a hand through his hair. “They already got to her. They must have.”
I shook my head. “They couldn’t have. She didn’t know who I was.”
“She could have been lying.”
“I don’t think so. Why would she risk cutting me w
ith you there? Why put on false pretenses when you weren’t even in the room?” My stomach soured. “I think she just hates lycans that much. That’s how she came off to me anyway.”
The tension in his shoulders eased a little more. If she wasn’t working with William and Loraine already, then we probably weren’t being followed.
“I didn’t think the feud between species ran that deep. Will more react like her?”
Luke sighed, gunning the engine as we accelerated toward the nearest airport. “I hope not.”
Anxiety slithered through my veins. If we couldn’t find support, then we didn’t have much of an army.
“Me too,” I whispered.
6
Aella
Breathing was difficult as I stared at her. My mother had just confirmed my biggest fear, the thing that had been niggling at me since I met the rogue. I suspected it, but it was easier to lie to myself, to claim it was just a silly attraction.
My hands balled to fists on the table. “You don’t know that for sure.”
She tilted her head at me. “I know it and so do you. Hell, I can smell it. There’s a charged energy in the room. It wasn’t there before you arrived with him.”
I wanted to throw the vase of poinsettias at the center of the table across the room. Instead, I took a deep, steadying breath through my nose.
“I don’t want a mate. I reject the bond, okay?” I looked up at her. “It doesn’t mean anything anyway. Look what happened to you and my father.”
She blanched. We never spoke about him, the man who sired me. They had been married once. I knew that much. But he left before I was born.
Mom sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing on the sensitive flesh until it was red and swollen. “I never told you the whole story, Aella. Your father and I were married, yes, but we weren’t mates.”
My jaw nearly fell to the cherry-wood floor. All this time... All this time I’d believed they were mates. Not because she told me. She never told me anything about him. But wolves hardly ever married without the bond to back it up. The risk was too great. The idea that there was someone out there, your true mate, was too strong for most to take the leap with someone else.
“We were young and stupidly in love. Mates are difficult to find. I didn’t think it would ever happen. So, we got married and I was pregnant with you a year later. He didn’t even know. I never had the chance to tell him before he found her, his true mate. Everything changed after that.” She sounded brittle – hollow – like if I breathed too hard, she might crack and fall apart. “The mate bond outweighs everything. It’s not something you just walk away from. I didn’t want that for him. And I certainly don’t want it for you.”
My mind reeled over her story, my story. How had I never known? How had she never told me?
I wanted to be angry, but I couldn’t. Not after seeing her this way. My mother was tough as nails. Tougher than me. It must have broken her thoroughly for her to still be so upset about it.
Still, I frowned. There were a few couples in our pack that were mated. It often resulted in children and a simple life amongst the pack. Not my style. I didn’t want kids. I wasn’t interested in settling down. I wanted exactly what I had. I was the pack assassin. I trained my ass off for it. I enjoyed it. And I’d be damned if this male tried to strip it away from me.
“No one can force this on me. Not him. Not you.” I stood from my chair, the harsh skid against the floor probably leaving a scratch. “I was fine before. I’m better off alone.”
She didn’t say anything as I stalked from the room, straight through the foyer and out the front door. There was only one place I wanted to go to hide from this conversation. My bed.
I tossed and turned under my heavy comforter for hours. I was tired, exhausted from a week full of nights with little to no sleep. Trying to get some shut-eye curled up next to Seraphim was a fools-errand. The man kicks and punches in his sleep.
Still, rest wouldn’t come to me. My brain was hotwired, swirling over my mothers’ story. My father didn’t even know that she was pregnant before he left. He didn’t know I was alive.
It shouldn’t matter to me. I’d spent twenty-eight years without the man. But it did. I’d wondered about him my whole life. What he looked like, sounded like. If he bounced his knee when he got nervous like me. Or if he had the tendency to laugh in awkward situations like I did.
My mind wandered to Wilder, the way he’d faced off with me, the anger and defiance in his eyes. He would be a problem. Already was. And at just the mere thought of his perfectly chiseled face, my heart stuttered.
Shoving my face into my pillow, I groaned so loud it was almost a scream. If I couldn’t rest, then I needed to do something to distract myself from these thoughts. And I knew just the thing.
My fist collided with the sandbag once, twice, three times. It was a dance. One punch, shuffle back, two punch, forward, three, and a kick for good measure. If the bag was a man, he’d be immobilized. My aim was true, harsh, and precise. I didn’t make a habit of missing my target.
“If you’re going to break my equipment, I’ll need to put more on order,” a female voice trailed into the ring behind me.
I turned to face Tara, the pack trainer. Her hair flowed in a mane of curls down her back. She wore gym leggings, a sports bra, and boxing tape over the dark skin of her hands. I’d always admired the way her skin glistened with sweat after a workout, seeming to glow from within. Aside from being one of the most physically fit members of our pack, she was also the prettiest by leagues, but maybe that was bias. She was my closest friend, after all. Even closer than Seraphim and Jamie.
I smiled at her, my first real smile in weeks. Sweat dripped from my forehead, stinging my eyes as I wiped it away with the back of my hand.
“Tell me you came to spar.”
She flashed me a smile that was both a laugh and a challenge. “Of course. But I also came to check on my sister. I went to your cabin. Figured you were here when you didn’t answer.”
The claiming warmed something inside me. We weren’t actually sisters. Looked nowhere close to blood. But blood wasn’t everything. Not with us.
“Oh, Tara,” I got in my fighting stance, fists up as she entered the circle. “You know me too well.”
“Skin, no fur.” Her eyes took on a sharp edge, the warrior inside coming to the surface. “Now tell me, what’s going on in that pretty blonde head of yours?”
Her fist flew at my face, and I dodged just in time. She was fast. And insanely good at offensive fighting.
“Just this mission,” I lied. “I didn’t catch the rogue.”
The admission stung. There was nothing I hated more than missing my man... or woman in this case.
“Looks like you caught a rogue just fine.” She dropped to the ground, sweeping her leg around. I wasn’t expecting it. Her words threw me off guard and I went down like a bag of bricks. My back slammed into the dirt-packed floor, knocking the air straight out of my lungs.
She was on me in a second, her knee pressing into my chest, blocking my airway as I wheezed. Her fist raised; a strike that would knock me unconscious if I wasn’t careful. I stared up at her, wide-eyed. She’d never knocked me on my ass before and that had taken a matter of minutes. Then, a laugh bubbled up from her chest and her hand opened, extended to me as she pulled me up to a sitting position.
“Well, someone’s off their game,” she teased.
She had no idea.
“That rogue you brought in... he’s pretty.”
I could feel my hackles rising, and I’m not sure I would have been able to stop myself from growling at her if it weren’t for the small voice in the back of my head, soothing, calming. Tara was gorgeous. She could have whoever she liked. But she wasn’t particularly interested in men the last time I checked. Plus, I didn’t want the rogue. He wasn’t mine. Didn’t belong to me. Of course, the women in the pack would look at him, admire him. He was unmarked, new territory. It was only a matter
of time before someone tried to stake a claim.
“So, you missed your rogue,” she shrugged. “You’ll get her next time. What’s this really about?”
Catching my breath, I climbed to my feet and faced her. I wasn’t ready to talk about it. My mom’s omission of the truth for all these years. The fact that my father didn’t even know I was alive. Wilder. Not yet.
“Let’s drop it. I’ll be better by tomorrow,” I forced a smile.
She opened her mouth to say something else, but at that exact moment, my stomach growled.
She blinked at me. “When did you last eat?”
I shrugged. I’d forgotten all about food after the conversation with my mom. And Seraphim and I had been living off of protein bars for days.
Tara grabbed my arm and tugged me out of the massive barn that served as our training room. Even it had been decorated for the holidays. As the sun dipped low in the sky, the lights flickered on, and the barn shown as bright as a star, a huge wreath hanging high above the big doors.
“They really went all out this year,” I smiled.
Tara kept shoving me forward, toward the pack house up the road. “Your mom has been... happy this season. She set to work on all of this just after you left this last time. I think she’s trying to keep everyone’s spirits up in the midst of everything happening with the vampires.”
Aside from the reminder of our impending war, the thought of Christmas and high spirits warmed me. The pack tried to draw the least amount of attention possible, but as far as our little town knew, we were just a bunch of mountain people, close-knit neighbors. In a way, they weren’t wrong. The pack house was always open to everyone. It’s where the kids were often raised under the watchful eye of the alpha. During the weekends, kids would usually go home to be with their parents, but during the week it acted as a sort of boarding school, equipped with the pack teachers. There was always food prepared at night for hungry mouths, and when we called a meeting, that’s where we all converged.
Marked By A Rogue: The Rogue Hybrid Book Three Page 3