by Brenna Lyons
“Alyssa, do you understand—”
“Home,” she pleaded.
“You are home,” Tim growled.
Kaitlyn motioned to him, ordering silence. Alyssa didn’t look at him, terrified of what she’d see if she met his eyes.
“I want to go home,” she repeated in a stronger voice. “I can’t stay here.”
“We’re your family,” Tim protested.
Scott winced, shooting a pained look in his direction.
Alyssa shook her head, fighting back tears. She wasn’t family. This was a lie, a mistake. She never should have agreed to it.
Kaitlyn sighed. “A month,” she decided. “Stay here for a month. If you still feel this way—”
“I will.”
“If you do, I’ll petition my parents for you, personally. You have my vow that I will.”
Alyssa stammered out her thanks, abandoning food for the oblivion of sleep.
Chapter Thirty-four
February 11, 2050
Corwyn scanned the barroom slowly, biting back a sigh of relief. It wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d feared. It was a homey little place with an etched mahogany bar along the left wall and two pool tables at the far side. It was a nice family establishment. That meant he could report favorably to the Armens.
“See her yet?” his distant cousin, Daniel Hunter, asked.
A negative response was on the tip of his tongue when he spied a crop of startling blond hair. “I’ve got her.”
“What now?”
By the tension in his voice, Corwyn could tell Daniel hoped he intended to throw Alyssa Bradley over his shoulder and carry her out while her hand-shorn hair bounced with each step.
The fact that Corwyn intended nothing of the sort was sure to send his cousin to the edges of Blutjagd, but this situation required kid gloves. Alyssa was a young bride, shattered and grieving the loss of her mate. She’d barely settled into Tom’s home and met all his family when she’d found herself alone with strangers who wanted her to act the part of loving daughter.
As when Scott, Corwyn’s brother-in-law, had returned to the Armen fold, force would be the wrong way to engender the family spirit. Alyssa had to accept the Warriors willingly. As it was, she kept the amulet out of fear. At König’s order and Hunter’s agreement, she’d been allowed to return home to the life she’d known and the friends she’d left behind—until it becomes necessary to change that situation. There was no ‘unless’ about it; eventually, the decision would have to be reversed.
“Bear? What now?” Daniel repeated.
“Now...we have a beer.”
They started toward an open table at the rear of the room, but their plans changed abruptly.
Two men, playing pool at the table nearer the bar, took stock of Alyssa, whispering between themselves and chuckling. Corwyn pushed his jacket back over his hip, preparing for a fight that simply. Whatever they were planning, it didn’t look good, and young men like these rarely thought clearly with a few beers in them.
Alyssa reached for the empty bottle on the edge of their table, and the larger man moved. In a heartbeat, he had her by the arm. Her empty tray clattered to the floor as he dragged her to his chest. She gasped, pulling at his hold with a wide-eyed look of fear.
A flash of motion between the Warriors and their prey brought Corwyn up short, startled at her vault over the bar. The woman stood in his path, her back to him, short black hair with undertones of purple catching his eye. She was a Bohemian of sorts; graduated gold tribal hoops adorned her ears, a goddess hanging from the lowest on her left ear, and a woven belt decorated her black stretch jeans, adding color to the uniform white and black of a barmaid.
“Let her go,” the woman growled.
She hardly seemed a threat to the two men. At roughly five feet two or three and a little over an even hundred pounds, the bartender couldn’t possibly back up that order...he believed.
The punk scowled at her, and Corwyn reached out to move the well-intentioned woman out of his way. He had a duty to attend to, and it was a duty he’d be more than happy to carry out. His blood burned to teach the two barely-legal idiots the proper way to treat a lady.
The bartender moved like lightning. The baseball bat Corwyn hadn’t realized she was holding came up into her opponent’s arm, and he released Alyssa with a shout of pain.
The young widow pushed from him, ducking the second man’s hands, and raced past her co-worker into Corwyn’s arms.
He passed her off to Daniel with a grumbled, “At my back,” turning back in time to see the bartender swing the bat into the second man’s ribs. Corwyn winced at the crack of bones. While the first would only be bruised, the second wouldn’t breathe without pain for several weeks.
She brought the weapon up in warning. “Not in my place,” she informed them. “I suggest you leave, before the doctors who patch you up are called to County lockup.”
They glowered at her, then at Corwyn, shambling down the next aisle over. She turned to watch them leave, her attention fixed on her foes until the door closed behind them, despite the cheers and shouts of encouragement some of the other patrons let loose.
“That’s the way, Jessica!”
“You picked the wrong place, losers.”
“That’s why I come here, baby.”
“You tell them, sister.”
Jessica nodded to that last speaker, then turned on Corwyn, motioning to him with the bat. “You want to be next?”
He smiled, managing not to laugh outright at the threat. “Thank you. No.”
“Then tell your friend to take his hands off the lady.”
The edge of Blutjagd spiked behind him.
“Stand down, Daniel,” Corwyn ordered calmly.
* * * *
Alyssa tried to force her mind to work. Ever since the König prince had passed her to the other Warrior, she’d had a problem in that department.
“You’re safe now,” he whispered again.
She closed her eyes, shivering in delight. How many times had Tom said that to her in their few weeks together? Every time the nightmares started.
“Are you okay?” His voice was rough in the promise of retribution.
She nodded, burying her face in his intoxicating scent.
His hand caressed the nearly-flat plane of her womb. “And the baby?”
Her breath caught at his tenderness, his hesitancy. “Fine,” she managed.
The whisper of heat from his breath bathed her face, and she trembled in anticipation, though in anticipation of what she couldn’t say.
Jessica’s voice registered in her mind, but no meaning came assigned to the words. Corwyn’s voice followed. Still, she nestled into the offered embrace.
“Then tell your friend to take his hands off the lady,” Jessica barked.
Alyssa stiffened, and the Warrior holding her did likewise. His head turned toward the prince and her boss, and his muscles tightened down another notch.
“Stand down, Daniel.”
She took a calming breath as Daniel Hunter relaxed, obeying Corwyn absolutely.
“Look, Ms—” Corwyn continued.
“I am giving you until the count of three to release her, or you’re going to look worse than the two losers who just stumbled out of here.”
“It’s not what you think.”
Corwyn was calm, which was more than Alyssa could say for anyone else in the room. Her heart was abruptly pounding, and she winced at the escalating scene.
“One.”
Jessica didn’t bluff. This was about to get ugly very quickly, considering both sides thought they were protecting her and neither would hesitate to do it with force.
“It’s okay, Jessica. They’re...uh...friends of the family.” Alyssa extricated herself from Daniel’s arms and smoothed her apron self-consciously. She tapped Corwyn’s arm and rounded him when he turned to let her pass.
Jessica scanned each man in turn, seemingly weighing their threat level. Her gaze settled
on Alyssa, and she smiled weakly. “You okay?”
“Fine,” she lied. Alyssa’s nerves were jumping from a combination of the shock of her attack and the disconcerting emotions Daniel unleashed in her.
Her boss’s face announced clearly that she knew better. “We’re light. Mel and I can handle it until closing. Go home.” She raised a hand to still Alyssa’s protest. “My dime. I said you’d be safe here, and I won’t lose you after a week.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Alyssa promised, as much for the information of the Warriors at her back as for Jessica.
Jessica smiled. “You better be. Saturday is always our busiest, and this is the first Saturday night Tia has had off in three months. She’ll throttle me if I try to play the ‘I need just this one favor’ routine on her.”
“Well, you won’t have to.”
“And, you get some rest tonight.”
“Deal.”
Corwyn placed a hand on her shoulder. “Daniel will see you home,” he stated in what sounded like an offer, but Alyssa guessed that it wasn’t.
She turned to him, pleading silently for discretion and understanding. If he caused a scene, she’d lose her job. Jessica’s love for Gi, Alyssa’s grandmother, would only stretch so far. Of course, if Jessica perceived Alyssa as threatened, nothing Corwyn could do, even as König, would force Jessica to cut her loose.
But, he could still side with Armen against her. If he did that, there was no saying which way König would swing in the battle. God only knew what Tom’s family would do then. Job or no job, Alyssa was afraid she would find herself carted back to Armen range against her will.
He touched her cheek, smiling warmly. “Those idiots interrupted me ordering a beer. I’ll be along later.”
“And you let them live?” she quipped. Alyssa bit her lower lip, nearly groaning at her stupidity in egging him on.
“Well, they might come back. I have high hopes,” he joked in return.
Alyssa swallowed a sigh of relief, leaving her apron on the bar and following Daniel to the door. If Corwyn said it was nothing, it was nothing. If there was one thing she’d learned it was that Warriors didn’t lie.
* * * *
Daniel followed Alyssa into her townhouse, instantly at home in the slightly-cramped comfort of the place.
“Not exactly a manor house, I know,” she noted nervously.
“I hate the manor house,” he replied without hesitation.
“Really?” She seemed surprised by that. “I did, too. Not yours, of course. I’ve never been to the Hunter manor.”
“They’re not much different.” He’d been to the Armen and Maher manors. For the most part, manors were manors and cabins were cabins, regardless of range.
A row of leather-bound books on the shelves caught his eye, and Daniel ambled over to them. It was a force of habit, he knew. ‘Leather-bound’ was usually synonymous with ‘important’ in the Warrior world.
“Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, The Bobsey Twins, and a bunch of classics,” Alyssa offered. “Gi was a collector.”
He smiled. “Now those are some books I wish I’d read more of.”
Alyssa turned from the window, her brow furrowed. “Really?”
“Really. My uncle had an odd sense of humor. He gave me Brahm Stoker and Mary Shelley to read when I was about eight or nine. Said they were training manuals.”
She snickered, then laughed outright. The color she’d been missing all evening seeped into her cheeks and lit her eyes. She was beautiful.
And, here I am, staring at her like a horny trainee. What in the gods’ names is wrong with me?
Alyssa was a widow, newly pregnant with her dead husband’s son. The hunger he felt was completely inappropriate.
“Can I get you anything?” she offered. “Since it seems that you’re stuck here until Corwyn shows...”
“Anything you have handy will do.”
Daniel turned back to the books, hiding his wince. If his throbbing cock was any indication, he wanted everything she had to offer.
Fih! Bear would kill me, if my father didn’t get to me first. Then Tim and Jason Armen would finish any scrap of him that remained. Tyler Lord Armen wouldn’t get within ten yards of his sorry hide while he still breathed. Alyssa Armen was the last woman on the face of the Earth he should consider bedding.
Alyssa Bradley. They never actually married. She’s not really an Armen.
But, she was. She’d sealed printing with Tom. She carried the Warrior’s son. She was an Armen, and they wouldn’t hesitate to protect her with all they had.
With that in mind, he pulled a book off the shelves and turned to face Alyssa. He took the glass of Pepsi from her hand with a nod of thanks.
* * * *
They sat, side-by-side, each of them with a book in hand. Alyssa found it nearly impossible to concentrate on the words on the page. There was something disconcerting about sitting here with a Warrior.
She’d like to pretend it was fear she felt, but it wasn’t. Daniel was comforting, a calming influence...and yet not.
Her body was reacting to frissions of sexual awareness. She tried to shake them off, arguing with herself that it was just biology talking, the crazy roller coaster of pregnancy hormones.
Daniel chuckled, bringing her back to reality.
Alyssa smiled at his expression of wonder. “What is it?” She slid to her left, nestling her head to his shoulder to read the page he was on. “Oh, yes. One of my favorites.” It was a Hardy Boys first edition, signed by the author, light years away from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s latest that she’d jokingly told him was a ‘training manual.’ “You know. They changed that scene in the second edition. It’s a collector’s item.”
“What did they change?” His voice had gone rough.
She avoided looking at him, swallowing slowly. “They decided it was too rough...I mean, intense...” Give it up and move on! “for kids. They changed the location and—”
He shifted, giving her a better pillow of his shoulder. “And?”
Alyssa looked up at him, her breath catching at the intensity in his eyes, directed entirely at her.
“And?” he repeated.
“Made it...um...” What were we talking about? The first edition! “Less violent.”
“Yeah. Makes sense.” He looked back at the book, his eyes widening, clearing his throat. “Wonder where Bear is.”
“Bear?”
“Corwyn. His blood mark is Kor, the strength of the bear. The story is that Kates’ first word was ‘Bear.’ Close family has called him that ever since.”
“You’re close family to the Königs?”
“Now that Kates has married Scott, all of the North American ranges are. Hunter Crossbearer-König’s line runs Cross range. König was founded by Talon Cross and Jayde...a Hunter. My father is Jayde’s first cousin, and the current Lord König is—”
“A Maher,” she remembered. She’d heard Tom call Kaitlyn ‘a Maher tracker’ more than once.
“Yes. He’s the youngest brother of the current Lord Maher.”
Alyssa suddenly realized how little she knew about the Warrior world. She straightened, contemplating that. Considering her situation, she should probably know more.
“Is something wrong?” Daniel asked.
“No. I...” Chicken! She forced a smile. “I guess marrying more houses in is going to be difficult.”
“Not really. The Stone Vessels tour to meet the eligible Warriors from every house that isn’t closely related to them. They’ll just have to look to Europe for the next few generations. By the time they run out of houses, they’ll be far enough removed from Hunter and Crossbearer to start over again.” He hesitated. “Though, Jee willing, by then, the last beast will be dead, and we’ll all be free.”
Alyssa stared at him, at a loss for words. “You want the curse to end?” Tom had always talked about the glory of being a Warrior.
Daniel nodded, seemingly confused. “Of course. Who wants to f
ight beasts? No one sane.”
Tom had. He’d loved everything about his life, from the thrill of the hunt and the rush of the kill to the power and respect he got for being a Krieger der Nacht.
“We do it for duty, because we’re driven to, because the alternative is watching people hurting and dying...and hurting ourselves, because we know we can do something about it. We’re given the gifts to make a difference, and we do. If we don’t, who else can?”
It was a lovely description of their life, much nicer than Tom’s had been. “But?”
“If I could kill the last beast tonight, I’d die doing it to free every Warrior in the world. Given the right woman, I’ll have sons, and I’ll train those sons to this life, but I don’t want them to be cursed. I’d die to—” He choked. “Dear Ani, forgive me.”
She shook her head in confusion. “I want to hear this. I want to hear everything.”
“I shouldn’t talk about Warriors falling in battle so lightly. You have my apologies.”
Her face heated. She hadn’t even considered Tom, while he’d been talking about Warriors dying, fighting beasts. It was if the entire world had been reduced to Daniel Hunter and herself. “No apologies needed,” she managed in an even voice. “It’s the Warrior world, the lives you lead.”
He bowed his head slightly. “I got carried away.”
This is your chance. “So did I.” Go on. “I meant what I said. I want to learn everything. I didn’t have much time with Tom. There’s so much I don’t know.”
Daniel took a calming breath. “What do you want to start with?”
“My...my standing, I guess.”
“You’re a widow.” He seemed to consider it. “Widows usually choose to stay with their husbands’ families, but like any general protected, you have autonomy.”
“I thought wives were...”
He shifted closer. “What?”
“I thought wives had to obey the Warriors of their house, to go wherever they ordered them to go.”
“Only when it comes to your safety. You have to listen to any Warrior then, of your range or not. If your safety is compromised, the Warriors will do everything in our power to protect you, but you have to let us do that. As long as you’re safe in this house, you cannot be forced to leave it.”