Marco smiled again and her heart rate spiked for a completely different reason. “That’s right. And allowing you to hold a leash is a sign of trust. We don’t trust easily. Don’t hold the leash too tight. They’re designed to break apart with a specific amount of pressure.”
The noises behind her were starting to fade but she didn’t want to release Marco’s hands. “So then why have the leash?”
“For appearances. We’re not exactly dogs and people realize that. But because we’ve got leashes, people think we’re civilized.”
Something nudged her leg. Or rather, someone.
Amy Jo turned to find a gray wolf with Bella’s dark eyes standing by her side, purple leash in her mouth. She knelt to be on a level with the animal’s eyes, finally breaking Marco’s hold on her hands.
She reached out to stroke Bella’s gorgeous gray fur but stopped. “Whoa, so not fair. You’re even pretty as a wolf.”
If a wolf could smile, Bella did, her mouth filled with sharp teeth curving up on the sides. Then the wolf shook her head and the leash rattled.
“Go ahead,” Marco said. “Take it.”
Amy Jo did, feeling like she should curtsy as she attached the jeweled collar and leash. “Jeez, I hope I don’t pinch you or something. Are those really diamonds? Can I pet her?”
She directed the question at Marco but Bella gave her a short nod.
“Guess that answers your…”
Amy Jo glanced at Marco, whose gaze was fixed on the gorgeous creature in front of him. She’d never seen a lynx before but she guessed that’s exactly what stood before him.
That cat was Diego, who looked like an exotic housecat with spotted fur and tufted ears. The biggest freaking housecat she’d ever seen. It was surreal, to say the least and she shook her head and blinked a few times, just to make sure she wasn’t really dreaming.
Diego stared at Marco with his human eyes and a leash in his mouth. Marco didn’t take it right away and Diego just kept staring at him.
Suddenly realizing she was probably interrupting some sort of brother-bonding moment she looked back at Bella to give the boys some room.
“I gotta say, Princess,” she whispered in Bella’s ear, “I love the diamonds. They make the whole ensemble.”
Bella snorted, as close to a laugh as she could get, Amy Jo figured. And Bella did look regal, even if she was a wolf, complete with fluffy tail and sleek coat.
But her eyes were pure human. It was slightly weird but it helped. Oh hell, it was really weird, but she was learning. She could deal. She had to if…
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marco kneel to take the leash from his brother’s mouth, his expression still shocked. She realized just how much Diego’s action meant to Marco.
From the little she’d overheard and from what Diego had told her, the brothers had a lot of family issues to work through. But she could tell Diego was determined to be close to his brother.
And here she was, lusting after both of them.
Yeah, that was really a good way to mend fences between brothers, idiot.
Marco didn’t pet Diego, merely took the leash and snapped the collar around his neck. Then Diego’s mouth moved in that way cats had. To her, it looked like pure feline satisfaction. Marco just shook his head and stood, leash in hand.
“Alright, people.” Dorian stood by the door, Luca’s collar in hand and a pack carrying the shifters’ clothes on her back. “We don’t have all night. Let’s get this fucked-up parade on the road.”
Chapter Sixteen
Under the cover of a glamour spell wrought by Serena before they left the hotel, Bella stalked up and down the street in front of the building.
She’d known immediately when they got to the place where Steven had disappeared that something strange had happened.
And not just strange in the fact that he’d disappeared.
Strange in the way he’d disappeared.
She sniffed the air, trying to block out the smell of Cole’s blood, metallic and thick and terrifying, while keeping Steven’s scent at the forefront. She sniffed up and down the street but couldn’t catch Steven’s scent anywhere but in front of the hotel. It just disappeared.
Not like he’d been shoved in a car and driven away.
Like he’d been sucked out of existence.
Fear made her heart pound furiously but she gave her entire body a shake and forced it to settle down.
Maybe the stench of garbage from the alley around back had clouded her senses. Maybe she just needed to concentrate. She had to be able to pick up his scent, no matter how faint, and use it to track him. It should have been a snap in her wolf form, where her sense of smell was so much more sensitive.
Of course, it couldn’t be that easy.
Just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, she stalked the street from end to end, Amy Jo keeping a light grip on the leash.
Nothing.
Sitting on her haunches under the awning, she gazed at the street in front of her. Which way? If she chose wrong— No, she couldn’t think like that.
What was she missing?
Something warm and furry sat beside her, causing her wolf to growl and consider grabbing the throat next to her and biting. After all, she was canine and the feline next to her was prey. But she knew Diego would smack her down with one swipe of his paw. He was larger than a real lynx and much stronger.
And he was waiting for her lead.
Think, think, think. What are you missing?
Okay. She didn’t smell Steven. So what else did she detect that might lead her to him?
Closing her eyes, she drew in all the smells she could. Familiar ones like gasoline and diesel fumes from the street materials and cars, rotting garbage and the overwhelming scent of human flesh that wasn’t Steven…those she could block out.
But there was something else, something she couldn’t put a label on right away.
Something magic. But not like any magic she’d ever come across. Something…pure.
She turned west and walked to the end of the block. Nothing.
She walked to the other end of the alley, away from the hotel.
Bingo.
She barked to Diego to follow then shot off down the alley, breaking the leash, chasing that almost-elusive tingle in the back of her nose. She heard Amy Jo shout behind her and felt Diego and finally Luca catch up to her as she ran.
Even though they were in the Garden District and it was close to three in the morning, she passed a couple of people on the streets. She ignored the startled and fearful looks and ran flat out, pulling ahead of Amy Jo and Marco in seconds. Only Dorian, Diego and Luca kept pace with her.
She didn’t bother to look for landmarks or street signs. It didn’t matter where they were going just as long as they got there soon. She had to be right.
The blocks became longer and less densely packed with buildings the further into the Garden District they ran. The houses grew bigger, the yards more spacious and the trees larger and older. The streetlamps shed little illumination, making for gloomy conditions. That didn’t matter. She was using her nose more than her eyes anyway.
She didn’t know how long she ran. All she knew was that she was going to find Steven.
Here. The scent was strongest here.
She stopped in front of an ornate black fence surrounding a lush garden. She couldn’t see a house but she knew there had to be one. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath…
Yes! Steven was in there.
Diego hissed at her, wanting her to wait for the others. Luca was still at least a block away and Dorian nearly two. She growled back and slipped through the iron bars, designed more for show than protection. Diego followed after a decidedly feline snit.
The dense vegetation swallowed her almost immediately but she focused on Steven’s scent. Keeping to the protection of the overgrown garden, Bella pushed forward until she saw a quaint, one-and-a-half story cottage through the thick foliage.
; There, that’s where Steven was. And only Steven.
She sensed no one else.
Shifting back into human skin, she ran for the door, barely noticing the branches whipping at her bare body or the rough, uneven ground under her now-tender feet.
She had to get to Steven, had to save him from…whatever.
Up the three brick stairs to the front door, and without hesitation, she twisted the doorknob, startled into stopping her forward motion when it opened.
Diego, still in his lynx body, hissed at her to stop, actually butting his head at her legs as he pushed in front of her. But there was no way she was going to stay behind now.
Fuck caution. She wanted Steven. She could smell him. He was here.
“Steven!”
Her voice echoed down the long center hall, doors set at random intervals down either side. So many doors. Too many doors. Diego shifted while she stared down that seemingly endless hall.
“Arabella, get back outside,” Diego’s voice held a commanding edge she ignored. Instead, she began pushing open doors.
The first one to the left held a sitting room—chairs, sofas, a fireplace. To the right, an identical room. Completely, weirdly identical.
Same with the next two. And why didn’t it seem like they were making progress down the hall?
“Arabella, stop.” Diego’s tone caught her attention this time and she did. “Something’s not right.”
She sighed, frustration giving an edge to her words. “Yeah, I kind of figured that out on my own. What the hell’s going on?”
“Damn. This place, it’s charmed pretty heavily,” Luca said behind them. “Can’t you tell?”
Well, no, she hadn’t been able to tell because all she could concentrate on was Steven. Now she stopped and let the arus in her blood connect with the magic in the house.
Whoa. The power, the amount of it, nearly rocked her back on her feet. Charms were kind of like wards, protective spells used to protect buildings or open areas from deliberate acts of harm. But where a ward had to be maintained and recharged, a charm never did. It took an immense amount of power to make a charm.
Shit. Now what?
She looked at Diego, who was shaking his head. “Someone really doesn’t want us to find—”
“Steven!” She called again, hearing the tension in her voice, the tremor that let Diego know she was about to lose it. Charm or no charm, he was here and she would find him.
“Bella, I think we should wait—”
“Bella. I’m here. I’m okay.”
Steven’s voice came from somewhere down the hall and the relief nearly took her to her knees. Swallowing a sob, she called to him again. “Where are you? Steven, please…”
When he stepped from a door halfway down the hall and opened his arms, she ran and leaped into his arms, knowing he would catch her.
* * *
Steven caught Bella out of the air, wrapped his arms around her and let her wind her naked body around his. When her head burrowed into the curve of his neck, he felt the warmth of her tears and held her tighter.
He held up one hand to stop Diego and Luca. “It’s alright. I’m alright. Just let me calm her down. I assume Dorian’s coming?”
Diego nodded. “Yeah, but they won’t be able to get through the gate.”
“It’ll open. Just…give us a minute.”
Without waiting for an answer, he walked back into the library with Bella.
“Shh, stop crying. Come on, Bella, pull it together. Tell me how Cole’s doing. Is he all right?”
He rubbed her naked back, feeling like a pig because the warmth of her skin was turning him on, even as she shook. Christ, didn’t he have enough to deal with at the moment?
It took her a minute to gain some control, until she drew in a deep, shuddering breath and lifted her head. With her eyes on his, she clasped his face between her hands and kissed him. And not a gentle peck, either. No, her kiss threatened to make him forget everything else, daring him to tear his clothes off and sink himself into her right here and now.
Then she pulled back and smacked him on the back of the head.
“What the hell happened to you?”
The next smack was on his shoulder.
“What are you doing here?”
Smack on his chest.
“How did you get here?”
A kiss this time, hard and fast.
“Who—”
He clapped a hand over her mouth before she could speak finish that thought. “Bella, sweetheart. Shut up. How’s Cole?”
She took a deep breath and the tears that had stopped with her tirade returned. Blinking until they receded again, she sniffed. “He’s okay. Dr. Kent’s with him now. There was so much blood, Steven. I didn’t think I’d be able to stop it in time. Did you see who shot Cole?”
He should’ve been there for her. He would’ve been there if only… He shook his head, replaying her words so he could answer her. “I only got a glimpse of Cole before—”
Damn, what should he tell her? The truth? It would be a hell of a lot easier and Turan hadn’t told him not to tell anyone, but he was still trying to figure out what exactly she had told him. How the hell did he explain something he didn’t yet understand? Or even trust?
Bella stared at him, waiting, so much love in her eyes it nearly made him dizzy. “We need to get back to the hotel and talk. Include Cole.”
“But who took you, Steven?”
“It’ll be easier to do this all at once with Cole. I’m fine. The…person who took me only wanted to talk.”
Bella opened her mouth to speak again but Dorian called out from the hallway.
“Steven? Bella? Where are you?”
Dorian was on her way, whether they were ready or not.
“We’ll talk, I promise.” Steven punctuated his words with another kiss then set Bella on her feet. “Once we get back to the hotel. Let’s just get back there without any problems.”
* * *
“You’re sure it was Cole?”
The eteri sniper nodded, his eyes cool and unwavering.
The human had shown no emotion whatsoever since he’d walked into Remo’s French Quarter hotel room. The sniper was a sociopath, capable of cold-blooded murder yet able to function in society without revealing the fact that he felt nothing. A fascinating subject.
“I’m sure it was Cole Luporeale,” he said. “The wound wasn’t lethal, just as you asked.”
“Good.” He didn’t want Cole dead. Not yet, anyway. He might still be useful if he needed to deal with Veive again.
Remo held out an envelope filled with cash. The man took it, not bothering to check the amount.
Nodding once, the eteri said, “Thank you for your business.”
He turned to go but hesitated at the door before turning to face Remo again.
“A second man exited the building only seconds after Luporeale went down.” A flicker of something Remo interpreted as interest flickered through his eyes. “He wasn’t one of the other targets you had given me so I didn’t mark him. However…as I was watching, the man disappeared.”
Remo let his eyebrows lift in disbelief. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
The man’s expression didn’t change. “I mean, one minute he was there, the next he was gone. Vanished. I found that…interesting.”
Then the assassin turned and left. As if he hadn’t just told a stranger he’d seen a man disappear. Like magic.
Coincidence? Trick of the eye?
Or was something else going on?
Remo had started this chain of events and he would see it through to the end. He’d promised Veive he would show the wolves just how vulnerable they were. That the murders of the Luporeale king, queen and heir had not been a lucky strike.
By striking at Cole away from his base of power, Remo had put the wolves on notice.
Their king wasn’t safe.
* * *
When they got back to the hotel, Dr. Kent refused
to allow anyone but Dorian in Cole’s room.
“Are either of you hurt?” he asked, staring hard at Steven. When they all shook their heads, the doctor crossed his arms over his chest. “Then I order everyone to get some sleep. Whatever you need to talk about can wait until morning. Cole needs rest and, from the looks of you, you could all do with the same.”
Then he went back into Cole’s room and shut the door behind him.
Steven sighed, knowing this was probably for the best. Besides, he wouldn’t win a battle with Dr. Kent. The guy was a lion in wolf’s clothes.
It was nearly three o’clock in the morning and Bella had told him she had to be at the meeting table at nine. His eyes hurt he was so tired, his stomach ached from adrenaline overload and his temples pounded with a tension headache.
He wanted to go back to Bella’s room, tumble her into bed and get inside her as fast as he could. Then he wanted to stay there until she had to leave for congress.
The meeting he needed to be at. Where he knew he wouldn’t be welcome.
“Steven?”
Bella’s voice drew his gaze away from the wall. He’d been staring at a speck of dirt, didn’t know for how long.
Concern was written all over her beautiful face and he raised a hand to cup her cheek. He was about to crash. Emotionally, physically. He was suffocating under the weight of his worry for Cole and Bella and the information Turan had told him. Tinia’s teat, had he really talked to Turan? He needed to tell Bella—
“Steven. Come with me.”
Bella took his hand from her cheek and pulled him along after her to her room down the hall. She didn’t bother to turn on the light, just shut the door behind him and guided him to the bed.
She stripped him down to his boxers but didn’t take them off. Then she pushed him into bed with a light hand and took off her clothes before she joined him.
Curling against his side, her hand on his chest, she kissed the side of his neck and whispered “Good night” into his ear.
He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
* * *
Amy Jo watched the door shut down the hall and took a deep breath.
The tension between Bella and Steven had been as thick as her mother’s pound cake. It made her twitchy.
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