Kenney, Laina - Vulfen Alpha's Mate [Vulfen Cadre 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Kenney, Laina

  “I have heard this news. My daughter has spoken to me of her excitement. She is honored.” Mura smiled. “Although, she is young and in her words, excited came out as ‘blown away.’ As a mother who wants her daughter to be happy, I have learned to appreciate these terms.”

  Both women laughed.

  Ellie was happy to find one person at least who would call her by name. She thought with enough time in her company, the daughter might be persuaded to shed some of the protocol as well. At least, she hoped so. Rylek was wonderful, but she needed some female friends in this new world.

  Mura leaned her hip against the long table.

  “Ellie, my dear, the Alpha’s Cadre is twelve warriors, as you know. They are the first line of defense, and stand for the Alpha if he is wounded outside of a formal challenge. In ancient times, the Queen’s Guard was one female warrior. But that gradually changed. Rylek’s mother had six, with five of them females. In the case of several of the members, it was a ceremonial position, not necessarily granted because of excellence in combat. But my daughter, Eva, is a warrior. She would be an exceptional Queen’s Guard.”

  “Valeri said Eva is merciless when she’s training with the men,” Ellie said, and Mura’s smile was luminous. It was obvious she was very proud of her warrior daughter and son.

  “The last Guard all died at the hands of human assassins in defense of Rylek’s mother. My sister was in the Queen’s Guard. The last queen was killed as well that day. It was many years ago.”

  Mura wiped away a tear, and Ellie winced in sympathy.

  Ellie’s head was throbbing, but she never got headaches. Surely the pain would pass. She tried to concentrate on what Mura was telling her.

  “I am sorry. The queen was my sister-in-law and my dear friend, and I lost my sister that same day. I was the only woman left in my family. As soon as we got the news, Vasily went to get Rylek, and he came to live with us. Rylek was sixteen and had just made it through his First Change. He was proclaimed Alpha of the three clans within weeks. Even then, no one could stand against him.”

  Ellie hugged her. Mura returned the gentle hug.

  There was a knock on the door, and the young blonde woman who had brought their tea tray stuck her head in.

  “The queen is summoned to the kitchens. The chef is looking for her opinion about the midnight buffet.”

  Mura straightened and ushered Ellie to the door.

  “You must go with Nasja. Don’t keep my Vasily waiting,” she said with a wink.

  Ellie nodded. She knew Vasily from the restaurant.

  “Yes, I remember Vasily and his mouth-watering chocolate mousse. Yum,” she said, trying to ignore the rolling of her stomach.

  “Yes, his ambition in life is to make women swoon and crave his chocolate desserts.” But the older woman’s smile was intimate, and Ellie understood that Mura was very much in love with her mate.

  Mura waved as Ellie followed the young woman from the room. They walked through the atrium before they descended a staircase and turned down a dark inner hall.

  “Is the kitchen this way? I must be turned around. I thought this was the way to the bathing room,” Ellie said. She was paying attention to their route. The house was large and had several wings. She wanted to be able to find her way around eventually without needing an escort.

  “Yes, it is this way.”

  They turned again. This hallway was in an older part of the house. It was narrower, and the walls were bare stone.

  Ellie was beginning to feel ill. She needed to lie down. She was about to make some excuse when Nasja stopped and withdrew a large old-fashioned key from her pocket.

  “You keep the kitchen locked?” Ellie asked, feeling perspiration break out on her forehead. She was going to be sick. She started to back away from Nasja, but when she turned, she ran into a large form.

  It was the white-haired man who had been so slow to kneel at the presentation. He grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides, preventing her from getting away. She writhed in his hold and fought to get away, but her struggles were ineffectual. Her head bobbed and she felt as if she was looking at the world through a long tunnel.

  “Who are you? What do you think you’re doing?” Ellie asked in her best queen’s voice. “Let go of me.”

  His face twisted into a sneer. “Ah, but letting go would defeat the purpose of bringing you down here. Nasja, hurry up and open the door,” he barked.

  “Who are you?”

  The man didn’t answer. He was glaring over her shoulder at his companion.

  Ellie heard a clatter behind her and a nervous apology from Nasja. It sounded as though she had dropped the big key. After a moment, the old hinges creaked and then White Hair shoved her backwards through the door and into what looked like a long storage room. The floor was stone, and there were several dusty barrels in one corner.

  White Hair gave Ellie a shove, and she stumbled further into the room.

  She caught her balance with an effort and studied her captor.

  “Rylek will hunt you down if you kill me,” she said, and she knew it was true. “You won’t escape him.”

  White Hair smiled and it was an ugly expression. “No, no, you will not be killed by me, human. When you appear at the crowning ceremony covered in another male’s scent the Alpha will kill you by his own hand. When he knows that you have betrayed him with another, his Alpha nature will demand immediate retribution.”

  A shiver of fear ran up her spine as she watched his face. His voice was dripping with false sweetness, but his eyes were alive with a malicious excitement. He wanted her to smell like another male. Did this man mean to rape her?

  “Rylek will never believe it. He knows I would never cheat on him.” She put every ounce of defiance she could muster into that statement. It still came out sounding small and scared.

  “Of course he will believe it. I am known as a lover. I have a well-deserved reputation for seducing faithless women, even those who are unwilling at first,” White Hair said, and his cruel smile sent a ripple of terror through Ellie.

  “I’ll fight back,” Ellie said flatly. “You picked the wrong woman. I won’t just lie back and…let you…hurt me.”

  Nasja sounded almost sympathetic when she replied, “It won’t hurt. You won’t even be aware.”

  Ellie tried to focus her eyes on the woman, but the face wavered and blurred. There was a feeling of wetness on her chin and her lips were cold and numb. Understanding was slow in coming.

  “The tea…drugged.” She was having trouble putting her thoughts together. “Mura?”

  Nasja pushed the long curls out of Ellie’s face. “You are concerned for Mura? She will be fine, though she may have a headache. We obtained a human drug.”

  “Shut up,” White Hair said and backhanded Nasja away from Ellie. Nasja slammed against the wall with a cry and slumped to the floor. “Humans do have their uses. But we do not need to justify our actions to a human.”

  Humans had their uses? Ellie’s thoughts were fuzzy, but that statement made her pause.

  Was this the vulfen male who had given information to the humans who attacked them at her apartment? Miros had smelled a faint vulfen scent on those humans. She felt a rush of anger at the thought that this man had caused her mate to be shot.

  “Are you the man…betrayed your Alpha…and Cadre…to humans?” Ellie managed.

  A flash of triumph crossed his face before he schooled his expression. But in that moment she had seen.

  “Coward!” She tried to spit in his face, but it fell short. She couldn’t seem to control her movements. Her limbs were filled with a strange tension, and she couldn’t make them obey.

  White Hair pushed her and her neck snapped back. Her head felt like it would explode, but she managed to stay on her feet.

  Behind White Hair, Nasja rose from the floor unsteadily. She looked at him with horror.

  “Roga, is it true?” Nasja asked. “You acted against the Alpha?”

&nbs
p; He barely spared his companion a glance. “The human would say anything when she is scared,” he said. “Humans can’t be trusted.”

  Ellie was weaving on her feet, fighting to stay upright, but she wasn’t going to give up. If she could get them fighting with each other, maybe she would have a chance to get away. But she was so weak.

  “Nasja…it’s true.” Ellie could barely get the words out. “Can’t you…smell his lie?” She didn’t know if ordinary vulfen people could smell lies or truth, but she hoped so.

  Nasja looked at her companion in panic and ran out the door.

  Roga grinned and grabbed Ellie again. He pulled her up against his body.

  “Alone at last,” he said, and licked Ellie’s cheek in lewd mockery of lover’s a caress.

  She swung at him and the hit connected, but it barely made an impact. He was still holding her much too close.

  Her heart was pounding and sweat was pouring off her. The room was too hot and too cold at the same time, and her insides were twisting themselves into knots. She felt so dizzy.

  Her knees gave out, and Roga let go of her as she dropped to the floor. She landed with her arms braced in front of her. Her stomach heaved and she gagged, but nothing came up. Her limbs were twitching and she couldn’t keep her balance. With a groan, she toppled over sideways, falling to the cold floor.

  Roga straddled her prone form and lowered his weight to sit on her aching stomach. He grabbed her breasts and squeezed hard. She almost passed out with the wave of pain and revulsion. His head was coming closer and his eyes were on her mouth. It was disgusting.

  Rylek was her mate. The thought of submitting to this male made her ill. She renewed her struggles, twisting her torso and shoving against his chest. She forced her aching body to battle against his depraved attack.

  She would never let this creature have her.

  “Never!” The sound reverberated in the room and in her head. Ellie screamed and there was a flash of light in the dim room.

  Her vision became painfully clear, every detail of her attacker standing out in sharp relief. She saw the shock on his face as she pulled her arm back, but when she lunged upward to hit him, savage claws tore across his face and blood sprayed into the air.

  Chapter 14

  Rylek sat at the big central table in the kitchen discussing the Cadre reports with Vasily and Valeri. Vasily kept looking at Rylek’s hands, and he realized he’d been drumming his fingers on the tabletop. He stopped the loud tapping, but the desire for action didn’t subside. It was all he could do to stay in the kitchen and away from his alluring mate.

  He pulled his attention back to the reports with some effort.

  The investigation was well under way, but the vulfen traitor had not been located and the crowning ceremony would begin in a few short hours. Rylek was adamant they find the traitor before the ceremony.

  When Mura walked in carrying a tea service on a large tray, he looked up expectantly, but Ellie wasn’t with her.

  “Mura, how is Ellie feeling about the crowning ceremony?”

  Mura tilted her head and looked at him. “You should ask her. She came to the kitchen with Nasja Dobren when Vasily sent for her. You haven’t seen her?”

  Rylek was on his feet. “When?” he asked at the same time Vasily said, “I did not send for her.”

  Mura frowned. “It was ten minutes ago, or fifteen. No more. Where could they be?”

  Rylek and Valeri shared a look.

  “Valeri, send warriors to hunt Nasja. I will track Ellie’s scent. Follow me when you are able.”

  “Mura, did you or Ellie drink any of this tea?” Vasily asked. He had picked up the teapot and frowned down into it.

  Rylek was halfway out the door, but Vasily’s question stopped him at once. Was something wrong with the tea?

  “Ellie drank more tea than I did. She was nervous, I think, and it gave her something to do with her hands.”

  Rylek grabbed the teacup and sniffed, recoiling in disgust.

  “Drugged,” he snarled and his claws sprang in anger. “Valeri, call the Cadre. Forget everything else. Find the queen.”

  Still in human form, Rylek raced from the room following his mate’s sweet scent, howling his hunting song, with Valeri on his heels. Cadre members answered the blood-chilling call and poured out of doors and hallways to follow their Alpha.

  One by one they fell in behind their leader as he tracked his mate. Even in their wolf forms, the elite warriors were hard pressed to keep up with Rylek, and he refused to slow his punishing pace.

  His mate was drugged and in the hands of a traitor to their people. Every second was vital.

  She was a strong, brave woman, Rylek thought grimly, but even the bravest person would be terrified in this circumstance.

  Rylek was going to get his mate back. And if the queen had been harmed, someone would die an ugly death.

  * * * *

  Ellie rolled to her hands and knees, but something was very wrong. Her balance was off and she stumbled to the side.

  Roga was bleeding from four deep slashes across his face, and the expression on his face was twisted. He scrambled to his feet and reeled against the wall. Staring, keeping his eyes on her the whole time, he backed out of the room.

  When he made it out into the hallway, he locked the door and left her alone in the dark.

  Ellie could hear his footsteps echoing on the stone as he ran. She didn’t understand what had happened to derail his plan and change his mind. Or perhaps he thought enough of his scent was on her already to cause Rylek to go mad. No matter the reason, she was glad for the reprieve.

  She struggled and finally crawled to the door, but her legs gave out halfway and she collapsed.

  “Rylek,” she whispered, holding his name like a talisman against the darkness as it swept up to claim her.

  * * * *

  Rylek rounded a corner at a dead run and smashed into another man, knocking the man back several feet. The man hit the wall and bounced back at Rylek swinging his fists.

  The man smelled of Ellie and blood, and Rylek was on him in seconds. Rylek dragged the man to him and shook him like a rag doll, roaring in his startled face. The Cadre rounded the corner behind him, but they didn’t make a sound. No one dared to speak.

  “Where is Ellie?” Rylek snarled. “Where is my queen?”

  The man continued to struggle, trying to shift forms. Rylek slammed the sneering man hard into the stone wall and let his Alpha power flow. Dominant wrath snapped and seethed in the contained space. The stone hallway echoed with a deafening boom like overhead thunder and the man yowled and writhed in agony.

  Rylek heard someone gasp behind him, but he didn’t look around to see who it was. The Alpha was dealing with a traitor. The punishment for betrayal was harsh, but no one in the Cadre would interfere.

  When Rylek dropped him in contempt, the man slid to the floor in a cowering heap, his shifting ability forcibly stripped from him by his furious Alpha while the Cadre looked on.

  The man would be helpless, his vulfen strength gone forever. In this state, he would be weaker than the average human male.

  The man’s head fell back to rest against the wall. It was Roga Gabrov, the son of a clan Elder and brother of Cadre member Matsij Gabrov. He was hard to recognize with one side of his face in shreds. Four bloody gouges marked him.

  Rylek wanted to tear out the betrayer’s throat, but he wanted to find Ellie more. His power swelled until the air in the hallway warped with the elemental force of his anger.

  “Where is my Queen?”

  Rylek could feel his rumbling Alpha command sink into Roga’s brain, forcing him to answer, conquering his will.

  “The queen—” Roga visibly struggled, blood trickling from his nose and ears, but he could not refuse the Alpha’s authority. “The queen is in the lower storage room.” He bowed his head and curled into a ball.

  “Does she live?”

  “She lives.”

  The urge to
destroy the pathetic man was eating at Rylek. He had never suffered from the burden of bloodlust as some of his people did, but he wanted this man’s blood with a desire that nearly overwhelmed his control.

  Rylek pulled the broken spy off the floor. At the Alpha’s touch, Roga convulsed. Rylek shoved him at Valeri and Eva.

  Beside the two warrior siblings stood Matsij Gabrov, the older brother of the traitor. Matsij’s face was cold until he met his Alpha’s gaze. Then emotion swam in his eyes. After a moment, he looked away from Rylek.

  Rylek rested his hand on Matsij’s shoulder and squeezed in silent sympathy. But when he spoke, his words were hard.

  “He is a traitor to our blood queen. His death is mine.”

  Eva nodded, helping Valeri to support a twitching Roga.

  “Yes, Alpha,” they said in unison.

  Rylek turned and ran to find his mate.

  * * * *

  A noise on the other side of the door woke Ellie from her stupor. For a moment, she didn’t remember where she was, but as soon as she tried to move, pain rolled through her head like a tidal wave and she whimpered.

  A hard hand pounded on the door.

  “Ellie!” Rylek shouted. “Ellie!”

  A loud strike against the door made the old wood shudder in its frame. Her ears protested at the harsh sound.

  One more earsplitting thud and the door cracked down the middle, one half smashing to the floor right beside Ellie. She barely had time to flinch before she was lifted into Rylek’s arms and carried through the halls at a dizzying pace.

  Her eyes wouldn’t focus properly because of the jolting. She saw such pain on his face. She tried to touch his cheek to reassure him, but her fingernail left a tiny scratch beside his eye.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, but only a soft whine came out.

  “Ellie, my heart, I never expected this.” Rylek was still running, turning into the atrium and taking the stairs two at a time. “I know you’re scared. I would have warned you, taught you. It is my failing, not yours.”