Binding Ties

by Shannon K. Butcher

  “I can’t. I felt what you do. The deep yearning you have for this woman. You can’t enter into an arrangement with Faolan when you feel like this.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” growled Andreas. “It’s not like I asked for this. If I ignore it long enough, it will go away. Besides, you need to be spending less time using your gift on me and more time using it on the people here. If we’re to have a lasting peace with them, we need to know what it is they want, what we have to offer that is of value.”

  “If you think I’m going to start touching the men around here, you’re crazy. You know what could happen.”

  “Would that be such a bad thing? Can you think of a better way to tie our peoples together than a union like that?”

  She went still as a ripple of betrayal coursed through her. “That was what you wanted all along, wasn’t it? That’s why you sent me here when Eric was just as good a choice for a hostage.”

  “Eric would have killed someone here before the first full moon. You were the only choice.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question. You chose me not because you thought I could keep our mother’s dirty little secret safe, but because you were hoping it would come out—that someone here would figure out what I am.”

  Lyka felt the telltale tingling a second too late.

  Joseph rounded the corner, frowning. “What are you, Lyka?”

  “Pissed,” said Andreas. “Disobedient. Belligerent.”

  Joseph’s frown stayed in place as he eyed her. Clearly he wasn’t buying her brother’s cover. “We need you back in the war room,” he told Andreas. “And you, Lyka . . . Tynan called. The Slayer children are asking for you.”

  She nodded, glad for any excuse to be away from Joseph right now. He was as smart as he was tenacious. He wasn’t going to let what he overheard go. Escape was her only option.

  She gave her brother a hard hug, reeling at the sheer scope of his want for his mystery woman. “Stay safe,” she ordered. “Bring our brother and the young home.”

  “I will,” said Andreas. “I won’t rest until we find them.”

  She scurried off, feeling Joseph’s gaze on her back. She’d escaped his interrogation for now, but she knew that once the chaos was over, he would seek her out.

  She wasn’t sure whether she was more worried or excited by that notion. And that terrified her.

  Chapter 7

  Joseph paced the halls of Dabyr, waiting for news about the hunt. He’d checked on Carmen, who was working alongside the Sanguinar to help care for the wounded. She was safe and whole, but too busy to do more than reassure him that she was safe. His people were all doing their jobs, tending the injured, soothing the children and making arrangements for everyone to have a bed to sleep in tonight. Extra perimeter guards were on patrol, protecting the walls from attack.

  All that was left to do now was wait for word from those out searching for Eric and the missing children.

  The teams had left hours ago, and no one had so much as found a trail. Every available Theronai, Sanguinar and Slayer was out there, searching for those kids with no results.

  Joseph wanted to be out there searching with them so badly that he had to stay well away from the hallway leading to the garage. If he didn’t, he’d end up behind the wheel, speeding away from his responsibilities here.

  As he wandered aimlessly, his phone in his hand, hoping for a call or text, he found himself standing outside Lyka’s door.

  He wanted to see her again, and not just because of the mysterious comment she’d made in the hallway earlier. He needed her soothing presence, the relief she brought him whenever he glanced her way.

  The pain behind his eyes was killing him, shortening his temper and making him impatient. Every second that ticked by seemed to take an eternity.

  His thumb slid over the screen of his phone, itching to call Andreas or one of the others. He knew they were working and would contact him as soon as they could, but the waiting was excruciating.

  He needed a distraction. Something—anything—to get his mind off the fact that he wasn’t out there, at his brothers’ side.

  Lyka came around the corner, glowing like a beacon as she headed toward her suite. Immediately, the pain in his head eased and his cock twitched, straining against his zipper.

  The feelings he had for this woman were as powerful as they were dangerous. If Andreas had even half an idea of the things Joseph wanted to do to her, the man would kill him outright. Or at least make him wish he were dead.

  As soon as she saw him, she stopped in her tracks, yards away from him. “Did you need me?”

  More than he dared admit.

  “Has Andreas called you?” he asked.

  “I’m not allowed to have a phone, remember? It’s part of my being your hostage.”

  “You’re not a hostage. You’re a guest.”

  “Guests are allowed to leave.”

  He wasn’t going to argue about this with her. He was too wound up. Too on edge. If he let his temper flare, the rest of his emotions might burn out of control. He’d have that long, sleek body of hers up against a wall, feasting on her mouth before she could stop him. Once he got her there, it was only a few short seconds to having her naked in the hall while he drove his cock nice and deep.

  That would definitely make the precariously perched peace treaty between their people wobble.

  Joseph cleared his throat, which had suddenly gone dry with desire. “What did you mean earlier when you told Andreas that you were worried someone would find out what you are?”

  “You misunderstood me. That’s not what I said.”

  “Everything that happens in the halls is recorded. I had Morgan send me the video. There was no mistaking what you said. I want to know why you said it.”

  All the color drained from her face. She swayed slightly on her feet, grabbing the wall for support.

  Joseph was down the hall and at her side before he could remember that she wouldn’t want his help. His hands dropped before he touched her. “Are you going to fall over?”

  “No,” she snapped, straightening her spine.

  The light caught her golden hair and made it glow. He could see in the depths of her tawny eyes—in the way she refused to meet his gaze—that she was hiding something from him. Something important.

  “What did you mean, Lyka? What are you?”

  Sarcasm spewed from her mouth. “A spy, sent here to take you down. Mwoo-haha.”

  “I’m being serious. If there’s something you’re hiding, you should tell me now while we can still deal with it—before it becomes too big a problem for us to face together.”

  “It’s not a problem, Theronai. Your not minding your own business is.”

  “You are my business now, kitten. One of these days, you’ll get used to that idea.”

  “Don’t hold your breath. I won’t be here that long.” She went to her door and opened it, but rather than let him in, she blocked the opening so he wouldn’t feel inclined to follow.

  He opened his mouth just as his phone broke out in Andreas’s ringtone.

  He answered immediately. “Hello?”

  “None of our trackers caught a scent.”

  Well, hell. He’d been hoping for some shred of good news, but he’d had too many conversations that started like this to hold out hope.

  This kind of thing was best done with some modicum of privacy, so he went to the closest place open to him—Lyka’s suite.

  The second he marched toward the doorway, she shied away, leaving him the opening he needed to enter.

  He closed the door behind him. “What about the Sanguinar? Did they detect anything they could follow—a blood trail, maybe?”

  “Nothing there, either,” said Andreas. “I don’t know if it was the sheer number of the creatures that attacked us—too much
blood from the ones we killed—or if the enemy is using some kind of magic, but it’s nearly impossible to pick up on any one scent trail.”

  “What do you want to do now?” asked Joseph.

  “I sent teams in several directions from here, hoping we’ll catch a break, that they’ll pick something up a little farther away from the scene of the attack. But it’s not looking good. I was hoping you’d have a trick or two up your sleeve.”

  Joseph did his best to hide his worry. What the men needed now was strength. Confidence. Leadership. “I’ll check with the warriors I have in the field and see what I can come up with. You keep at it from your end. I’ll send help as soon as I can.”

  “Don’t take too long. The young may not have much time.”

  Joseph braced his shoulders so they wouldn’t bow under the weight of his fear for those kids. “Understood.”

  Andreas hung up. Joseph looked at Lyka, seeing more fear on her face than he would have thought possible.

  Her chin trembled for a second before she controlled it. “They didn’t find the young, did they?”

  “Not yet. But they will.”

  “Tonight?”

  He wouldn’t lie to her like that. “Slayer kids are tough. Eric is with them. They’ll stay safe until we do find them.”

  “You don’t know that. You can’t know any of that.”

  “I believe it, though. You should, too. Hope will keep us strong and positive.”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how strong we are if we’re here, sitting on our asses. We have to do something. You have to let me out there to look for them.”

  “And let you get killed because there are no warriors here who can go with you and protect you?”

  “I don’t need their protection, and even if I did, there are lots of warriors here.”

  “Those are the husbands of our pregnant women. Not one of them would leave his wife unguarded. I’m sorry.”

  “What about you?”

  “Someone has to be here to lead the troops.”

  “Let one of the other men do it. Come with me. Help me find those children before it’s too late.”

  The idea of setting out with her, of getting to spend a considerable amount of time with her, was more than tempting. He’d have her nearby, easing his headache, challenging his mind and revving his libido like a finely tuned engine.

  But it was impossible. He had to make her see that.

  “Even if we did leave, where would you go? There are dozens of people out there scouring the scene of the crime, searching for some clue to where the kids were taken. What makes you think you could do any better?”

  “I’m an excellent tracker. And the more eyes, ears and noses we have in the field, the better. You never know what path we might cross that they haven’t.”

  “It’s not worth the risk. I’m sorry.”

  She went quiet for a second, but he could see the wheels in her head turning. “What if it was worth the risk?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “What if I could give you something you want in exchange for you letting me go hunting?”

  She was so serious, he didn’t dare laugh. But he was curious. “What could you possibly offer me that would be worth endangering your life as well as the peace treaty between our peoples?”

  She straightened her spine in resolve. “A female Theronai.”

  Chapter 8

  Lyka couldn’t believe she was doing this. It was insane. Completely nuts.

  She moved to the sliding glass doors on the back wall of her suite. They overlooked a parklike setting, complete with flowers, topiaries and wrought-iron park benches. Normally the view soothed her, but not tonight.

  Even hinting that she knew where one of their women was located was enough to get her waterboarded. But what choice did she have? Eric was missing, possibly dead. The young still hadn’t been found. Every hour that passed was one in which they were vulnerable and afraid.

  Assuming they still lived.

  As those dark thoughts swirled through her mind, she had to shove them away with a force of will before they could take root and fester.

  She couldn’t simply stay here in these safe, lush surroundings while her brother and those babies suffered. Even if it meant giving up her secret, her freedom. Irrevocably.

  Joseph still hadn’t said a word, making her wonder if he’d heard her.

  She strengthened her willpower and forced herself to stay on the only path possible. “Your men are still dying without their mates. I know that a few of you have found women, but every one you find is a big deal, right?”

  Joseph nodded slowly, eyeing her as if looking for her lie. “Huge. A bonded pair of Theronai can save thousands of lives.”

  “Then it seems I have something of value to you. I propose a bargain.”

  He stepped closer. “Don’t play games with this, Lyka. I mean it.”

  “I’m not playing.” She swallowed hard. “I’m acutely aware of the stakes.” She was going to regret her actions here today, but only if her plan failed. If the young survived, their lives would be worth every day she spent in captivity. She had to believe that.

  Joseph’s hazel eyes darkened. His voice dropped to a tone so low, it vibrated with an unspoken threat of violence. “Tell me where she is, Lyka. This isn’t the kind of secret you can keep from me.”

  She’d never seen him like this before. He’d always been so accommodating and solicitous. Every creature comfort she’d asked for, he’d provided. The only thing he hadn’t allowed her was her freedom. She’d had no idea that what she dangled in front of him now would evoke such . . . darkness from him.

  She balled her hands into fists and steadied her nerves. “First you have to promise. Bind yourself to your word. There can’t be any room left for you to weasel out of your promise, or my lips stay sealed.”

  All the glittering light that usually reached his eyes was gone now, leaving behind the kind of darkness a man would need to have to slay beasts without mercy. She’d always seen him behind a desk, but that docile impression of him vanished. What remained was a hard, lethal warrior standing in front of her.

  His voice was still low, vibrating with power, but also coaxing. “What vow do you want in exchange for this information, kitten?”

  This was it. Her only chance at helping find her brother and the young.

  She pulled in a long breath, giving herself enough air to state her demands without her voice wobbling. “Freedom. I want to be free to leave Dabyr whenever I want, and to go wherever I want. Alone.”

  He shook his head. “No. That’s too much to ask of me. You can’t expect me to trade your life, not even for information like this.”

  “That’s not what I’m asking. My life is my own. Not yours. You don’t get to trade it for anything.”

  “You’re putting me in an impossible position. If I don’t give you freedom, then one of our women goes unclaimed and unprotected. If she dies, so does one of my men, and untold others that a united pair of Theronai could have saved. If I do give you freedom, then you could be hurt or killed, and the peace between our people could crumble, taking countless lives along with it in future battles. How can you stand there asking me to choose from those two outcomes? Just tell me what I want to know so we can save this woman.”

  Lyka wasn’t about to fall for it. She wasn’t putting some stranger’s life at stake, but he couldn’t know that. “She doesn’t want to be found. Outing her is a huge betrayal. If not for the lives of our young and my brother being at stake, I wouldn’t even consider telling you who she is. This is a onetime offer. Take it or leave it, before I change my mind.”

  Joseph’s jaw clenched with frustration. “If she doesn’t want to be found, then she knows what we’d ask of her. An unwilling woman is of little use. We would need her to bind her
self to one of our men in order to save his soul and tap into his power.”

  “What if I could promise you that she would come to you willingly?”

  “I don’t believe you. You’re grasping at straws now.”

  “Am I? I’m willing to tie myself to my word. I’ll give you a binding vow that she will accept the collar of one of your men as long as she gets to choose which one.”

  “That doesn’t prevent her from taking years to make her choice.”

  “I could make her choose.”

  “How?” he asked. “What does this woman owe you that you could be so certain of her cooperation?”

  “That’s my business. All you have to do is man up and give me your promise.”

  He stood there in silence for several seconds, simply staring at her. “I want proof first.”

  She shook her head. “No. My word is all the proof you get.”

  “What will your brother Andreas say?”

  “If I get out there and find the others? He’ll thank you for letting me go.”

  “And if you die while hunting for them?”

  “My death is on me. Not you. I’ll leave behind a note making sure he knows that you’re not responsible for my choices.”

  “We need that woman, Lyka,” he said.

  “I know. And I need my freedom.”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head in defeat. “I know I’m going to regret this, but one female Theronai could save a lot of lives. She could save one of my men. I have to know where she is.”

  Victory was so close, she could taste it. “Then give me what I want.”

  “You swear you can convince her to bind herself to one of my men? Irrevocably?”

  She hadn’t even considered any other kind of bond until his comment shed daylight on the option. But that door was closed to her now, and she refused to regret it. If giving up her life as she knew it would save the lives of the people she loved, she had a duty to make whatever vows he demanded of her. “I do so swear.”