Entangled

by Olivia Stocum

  He obviously knew what she was talking about because he smiled. His smile grew by increments as he looked her over. “So would I. There’s always sex.”

  Her breath heaved instinctively in response to him. “This is just weird,” she said as she willed her lungs to obey. It wasn’t working. “Aren’t you getting tired of me panting like a dog?”

  “I’ve had a little more time to come to terms with it than you.” His smile returned, softly now as he lifted her chin to him. He kissed her once. “Besides, I like it when you do that.”

  She pulled his face back and kissed him again. “What do you do that makes me so high on you?”

  “It’s mutual.”

  “You’re not the one with the buckling knees.”

  He seemed to be thinking about that. “You’re female,” he said.

  “That was the best you could come up with? The ability to have multiple orgasms?”

  He grinned. “At least you’re talking about it openly, using adult language and everything. I’m proud of you.”

  She pursed her lips. “I’m going to get you for that later.”

  “I was hoping you would.”

  She cleared her throat. “And female vampires?”

  “They have to feed, yes. But it’s easy for them. Men are easily seduced.”

  “So, men are pigs and female vampires kind of have their pick with little to no effort?”

  “Men are weak.”

  “Hmm. As long as all men aren’t.”

  “You are my soul. I could hardly deny my own soul.”

  “Nice save.”

  “Female vampires are more likely to turn their mates very early,” he said, one finger trailing idly down her neck. She lifted her chin to him. “Often immediately. Most women, even vampires, prefer a partner who can dominate them.” He stopped, eyeing her from under black lashes with a look of mock-innocence. “At least in bed.”

  She couldn’t deny that part. She liked a take charge kind of guy too, in bed anyway.

  “That’s not likely to happen with a vampire/mortal relationship.” He took her hand. “We can do this in the car. We need to feed you too. How are you holding up on two meals a day?”

  “To be honest, I was never good about regular meal times anyway. I ran a diner. I’m used to being on my feet a lot. I’ve probably been sleeping too much lately, really.” She stopped herself short, trying not to think about her old life too much.

  “It will take some time to adjust to being nocturnal, and you will want to sleep off the bloodletting every other night.”

  “Great. Just call me Lazy Bones then.”

  “I think I’ll still call you habibti.”

  “It is quiet,” she said. “The darkness. I’m used to being surrounded by noise and people, and now I’m up when most everyone else is asleep.”

  “There has always been a nightlife, but I’ve stayed out of it since I stopped hunting.”

  “Yeah… good idea. No point in making it any harder on yourself than necessary.”

  A familiar scraping sound came from the window. She ducked behind him even as he put out his arm to shield her, her heart thudding in her chest.

  Alessandro pulled back the curtain. They were on the first story so vampires breaking through the windows was a distinct possibility. Kendra peeked around his arm.

  “It’s them, isn’t it?” she said.

  His chin lifted and he backed her up across the room. He reached into his bag and a knife flashed quickly in a beam of light from the parking lot.

  “They found us,” she said.

  He stopped, listening. “They are just outside. They will wait for us to come out. They’ve been ordered to be clean.”

  “Clean? As in drag us off with no trace and take us to your son so he can incapacitate you and turn me into a vampire?”

  “He’s told his Slaves you are a hostage and that you are to be brought in alive. What state you arrive in has not been made clear.”

  “As long as my heart is still beating.”

  “Yes.”

  “I doubt he has any intention of giving you back to your werewolves. He’ll use you as bait, then change you for himself.” He paused, and she assumed he was reading the Slave vampires’ thoughts. He smiled grimly. “He’s fantasized about making me watch him having you.”

  “Why though?”

  “Likely to spite me.”

  “Gee, how nice of him.” Amazing how she could still find the wherewithal to be sarcastic. It was her superpower. Too bad her wit couldn’t protect her from vampires. “So, what do we do now?”

  He turned his face. His profile was to her, fangs elongated. “We go out.”

  Quickly, in a blur of motion, he pulled on a shirt then his baldric of knives. He covered it with his jacket.

  “How are we getting to the car without making a scene?”

  He brought up a number on his phone. “Tell him where we are and that the local pack needs to be notified.”

  “Right.” She typed.

  “They’ll clean up the mess for us and hopefully create enough of a diversion.”

  “If they get here in time.” Kendra sent the text, then looked at the number. She recognized it. “Lothar?”

  Alessandro looked at her questioningly. “Yes.”

  “He’s your contact?”

  “The bigger question is, how do you know his private number?”

  “Because, well, his mate is kind of my best friend.”

  There was no response from him at first. Literally. He wasn’t even breathing. And then his jaw worked, followed by his voice. “Your best friend is a werewolf?” he said from between his teeth.

  “Here we go again… She’d never hurt me, ever. Don’t overreact. We have vampires outside, remember?”

  “They will wait for us to come out. Lady Wolf is your friend?” he reiterated, still through his teeth, all of them, including his fangs.

  “You mean Danielle?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?”

  “I didn’t want to, okay.” She stood her ground. A girl didn’t have to tell a guy everything. She was entitled to her secrets.

  “Danielle is pregnant,” he said. “And you didn’t trust me with the information.”

  “No.” Yes, just a little. “How did you know she was pregnant?”

  “Her scent, of course.”

  “You could tell?”

  “I’m very old.”

  “I guess you pick up on those things after a while.”

  Unexpectedly, he cupped her face in his hand, bent, and kissed her. Wait, wasn’t he mad at her?

  After a confused moment she started kissing him back. When he finally released her it was done slowly since she was dependent on him for her balance.

  He said something in irritable Arabic.

  “What did that mean?” she asked.

  “You do not want to know, which is why I didn’t use English.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Put on your coat.”

  Sighing, she did as he asked. He took her by the hand. “Stay behind me and do as I say,” he commanded, piercing her with a look that spoke more than words.

  “Yes, all right. You’re the boss.”

  His phone chimed and she checked it. “Ten minutes until the local pack arrives. That’s too long.”

  “The wolves do not have enough control anyhow. They’re a good distraction but I would need to watch myself with them, guard you, and destroy Slaves at the same time. Either way, there is risk.”

  She switched the phone to vibrate in case it went off again then stuck it in her back pocket. He led her outside and across the parking lot toward the Porsche. He didn’t have to ask her twice to stay close. She wouldn’t have done anything else.

  A blur rushed past her. She felt the air part.

  Seeing what she couldn’t, Alessandro grabbed hold of the vampire, stopping him mid-stride. The male came into full view. He had long straggly blond hair and blue eyes, lik
e hers. Without hesitation Alessandro jammed the tip of a knife into one eye then dropped him, still writhing onto the ground. He turned, Kendra behind him, guiding her movements with one arm as they made their way to the car.

  Two more Slaves slipped out of the line of darkness, one male, and one female. Slaves didn’t fear death. They only did as they were programmed. They rushed forward, unaware of the threat Alessandro posed.

  He tossed the one aside, knifed the second. The one he’d thrown came back to his feet. Another appeared from behind.

  “Alessandro,” she said, but he already knew.

  It had never been more obvious to Kendra how breakable she was than at that moment. He caught the male in one hand, throwing him directly into the second. Incredibly hard bodies clashed like cars in a wreck. Alessandro, even as careful as he was, knocked her down. She landed on her hands and knees on the blacktop, pain ricocheting through both.

  Blood and vampires again.

  This was definitely getting old.

  She looked at the scrapes on her hands, thinking idly of some way to bind them, knowing there wasn’t enough time.

  She clutched her hands close to her body as vampires closed in on her.

  Hissing, more monster than man, Alessandro threw a knife at one, killing him. He shielded her, still on the payment, killed a second with one hand while pulling her up and against his body with the other. Seconds later, she was in the car and the engine purred to life. He peeled out just as giant wolves leaped into the parking lot. She lost sight of them as they turned onto the road.

  Kendra pressed the back of her skull against the seat, breathing hard and trying not to cry like a baby. She felt Alessandro’s hand reaching for hers. She pushed it back.

  “I scraped them,” she said.

  “I know. I can smell it.” The lights in the car came on. He must have done it with his mind.

  She was stunned for a moment as it burned her eyes.

  “How bad?” he asked.

  She held them out. Her palms were grazed. Annoying, but not the end of the world. “Could use some peroxide, but I’m okay.”

  He looked her over. “And the rest of you?”

  She tested her limbs. Her knee was sore. “Bruised my knee when I fell. I think that’s all.”

  “I didn’t hurt you?”

  “No, nothing broken if that’s what you mean. You just knocked me down.”

  He switched off the light and she was blind for a moment until she adjusted again. “Text Lothar and tell him this isn’t working anymore,” he said. “Tell him we will report where we sleep. I want at least two werewolves posted nearby every night when we wake.”

  She stared at him in disbelief but he was watching the road so he didn’t see it. “We can’t have werewolves near you every night. Lothar maybe, but not the others.”

  “It’s a chance I’ll have to take.”

  “I won’t let you. I won’t have you anywhere near something that can kill you. You said it yourself, they aren’t mature enough. Once they start killing, they will kill you too.”

  “I’ve proven myself hard to kill.”

  “Mostly because you evade them, right?”

  He blew out a breath. “Yes. One bite through my skin will kill me.”

  They sat in silence.

  “And you would try and avoid killing one, since that’s not your thing.”

  “I’d rather not, no.”

  “So you’d risk yourself protecting me, and them too.”

  He glanced at her side-eyed. “Yes, habibti.”

  “I won’t send the text,” she said. “You’ll have to do it yourself.”

  “Kendra.” It was an order this time. One he fully intended on having her follow. He was used to that, women docilely following his lead. Beneath his bluster she felt his emotions, and knew what fueled him when he got this way. Fear. Of losing her.

  “No,” she said, her voice weak now. She was reeling under the weight of his emotions. They seemed to be radiating at her like particle waves.

  He reached over and took the phone away from her.

  “Don’t do this, please. I’m fine. We can take care of each other. What do we really need them for? You can kill Theron with your knives, right?”

  He seemed to deliberate.

  “Don’t make me lose you,” she said, knowing she had him there because it was his fear that she was projecting back at him.

  “I’m not easy to kill,” he repeated.

  “I slow you down and make you vulnerable.”

  He handed her the phone back without even attempting to send the text. She tucked it away.

  “I’m getting you out of the country tomorrow,” he said. “It’ll throw them off.”

  “I don’t have a passport. I don’t even have any ID on me.”

  “Text Lothar and tell him what you’ll need, and to overnight them to us.”

  The phone came back out. This time she didn’t hesitate, scrolling up his number before Alessandro changed his mind and forced her to fight about it with him some more.

  Kendra paused, needing to see where they were. In all the commotion she’d lost track. She checked the GSP. Seattle? Good Lord, had they driven that far? She found a hotel while she was at it and booked a room blindly. She doubted Alessandro would let her sleep alone, ever, for the rest of her life, so it didn’t matter what the room looked like. She got an address to send to Lothar, along with what she needed from him.

  Kendra hesitated, then sent one more text.

  Tell Danielle and Nick that I’m okay.

  She waited. Two texts came in from him quickly.

  You’ll have them tomorrow.

  Kendra?

  She sniffed, losing control of her emotions. She wiped her eyes so she could see the screen to type.

  Yes, it’s me.

  What happened? he texted.

  I’m all right, but it was close. There’s just so many of them and they’re on to us. He’s getting me out of the country.

  I’ll send a jet to Seattle.

  She took a breath to clear her head, then answered simply, Thank you.

  Kendra looked at Alessandro, who was waiting.

  “He’ll send them. We’ll be in Seattle by then. He’ll send a jet for us too.”

  “Good.” He frowned at the gauges. “We’ll need gas soon.”

  “I don’t want to stop. No offense, but I hate vampires.”

  “So do I, habibti. So do I.”

  She tucked her good knee to her chest, shivering as adrenaline faded out of her system. “I might be going into shock now, just to warn you.”

  He turned up the heat then reached for her hand. She wanted to latch on tightly, but her palms ached so she settled for resting it in his. Kendra leaned her forehead against her bent knee, the back of his hand tucked close like he was her security blanket.

  “I’m just too easy to kill,” she said into her leg. “Your son probably knows we’re alone.”

  “He does.”

  “He wants to use me to get at Danielle and Lothar.”

  “I had wondered how you were connected. You should’ve told me everything.”

  “A girl has to protect her bestie.”

  “Kendra,” he warned.

  She lifted her head. His look told her what he thought of that. “My life is important too?”

  “She’s getting closer,” he said under his breath. “You can’t protect everyone. Not when you are the one who needs it the most.”

  She shrugged. “I won’t let any of you die for me.”

  “Ya habibti, I was dead when you met me. At least now I live.”

  She blinked back tears. “You do things to me. Things I can’t control.”

  “I know,” he said. Yes, he knew.

  Kendra looked at his hand in hers, still warm but less so than yesterday. Tomorrow he would need to feed. And they would need to reconnect. She lowered her face again, her forehead on her knee. Moving his hand, he slid his fingers around to her neck,
purposefully over the scars that were, as always, hypersensitive to his touch.

  If he ceased to exist, what would become of her? Would this all fade like a dream, or would she see him every night when she closed her eyes?

  She rested her head back, exposing her throat to him as he trailed the backs of his fingers over her skin. Kendra closed her eyes, tuning into the moment as he spoke softly in a language only he understood.

  Chapter Ten

  Danielle Ludvitski peeled back the red satin sheet. She set one foot on a cool wooden floor, and then carefully the other. After preparing herself, she stood, her head swimming as she adjusted to the change in altitude.

  A month ago she’d been running through the forest, hunting bears with her partner and mate, Lothar. Now she could hardly get out of bed by herself. A four month gestation with twins, or triplets—the midwife wasn’t positive—was not really a piece of cake. Although she’d be happy to eat a piece of cake. Or three of them.

  She found one of Lothar’s shirts where he’d left it on his dresser for her, pulling it on as she walked out of the bedroom, ignoring her haggard and definitely pregnant reflection as she passed the bathroom mirror. She stopped in the stone chamber beyond. This was his family estate, his inheritance. Lothar was of a royal line, a filthy disgustingly rich family with a legacy reaching back to the thirteenth century.

  They weren’t the only werewolves who lived in the massive stone castle. It served as a training center for adolescent werewolves and a sanctuary for females, like her, who were vulnerable with their young.

  The two of them had been hunting partners for the better part of two decades. Lothar’s uncle, the previous High Councilor, had been recently dethroned, and since Danielle was unexpectedly with child, Lothar had retired as a Hunter to take his uncle’s place.

  She was no one. Okay, Lothar wouldn’t like her thinking that way. She was the unlikely daughter of Jacob Smith—not even his real name—who served on the Council as Lothar’s right hand, and of Marisa Jade from a little known pack of independent werewolves who wished to remain anonymous.

  A few weeks ago Lothar had moved his desk and computer into their quarters so he wouldn’t have to leave her more than necessary. He, who’d been intent on something on his computer screen, turned, looked her over as if assessing her present condition, and then smiled.