“How big was the search radius around his compound?” she asked Gia.
“A mile. I can have another, bigger sweep done tonight.”
She nodded. “Do it.”
She ignored Marcus’s disapproval. She knew she couldn’t afford to waste any resources. She also knew she couldn’t leave Ben alone and defenseless and that was the only logical explanation. Unless the demons had taken him. Marcus grunted.
“Why would they take him, Winter? As a hostage? They don’t do that.” He paused. “Unless they’re torturing information about your Order out of him.”
Gia huffed. “He would never give up anything. He wouldn’t betray us.” Winter nodded agreement.
Marcus shook his head. “Maybe not and it doesn’t matter. They don’t take hostages.”
They didn’t. They also weren’t known for launching large coordinated attacks, but there had been cases, instances her Order hadn’t shared with anyone over the centuries. Times when a particularly bright and cunning warlord came from the Underworld. She groaned. Fuck a duck. They should have realized when there were two attacks that that’s what they were dealing with. It shouldn’t have taken three. Only a warlord was smart enough to track down the Order’s compounds and safe houses, smart enough to plan the attacks. And a warlord, especially a powerful one, could be very, very dangerous because he controlled large numbers of lesser demons, could command them and expect to be obeyed.
“A warlord.” She faced Dupree and Gia, but felt the two nightwalkers stiffen at her words.
“Myth,” Luke said.
She turned around to face him, but Gia beat her to it. “No, they aren’t. Why do you think the Order was created in the first place? You were too busy feuding with lupines. Someone had to deal with the threat.” She turned back to meet Winter’s gaze and Winter could tell she was displeased with her next words. “I’m going to get the relevant books from the library and bring them back to the nightwalkers’ house.” She seemed to consider something a moment. “Nadia, too.” Nadia was an Order historian and a friend. Winter trusted her implicitly.
She nodded, dismissing Gia, knowing Luke would stay at her side and they would both be safe enough at the abandoned commander’s compound where the library was housed. She ground her back molars together. She shouldn’t be concerned about the nightwalker’s safety no matter what he might mean to her friend. Marcus was a bad influence. Fisting her hands on her hips, she glared at him but he only looked back calmly, cocking one eyebrow as he waited her out. Ignore him, Winter. Just ignore him.
She heard his laughter in her head, his sexy slow drawl. What is it you people always say? Good luck with that.
Snarling, she turned her back to him and eyed Dupree, who stood silently waiting for orders. He was quieter than usual, more still. She frowned. He’d grown more and more reserved since her fight in the woods with the demons, but the change was so gradual she hadn’t realized how much he’d pulled away from her and Gia and their friendship. It had happened so slowly, she hadn’t noticed, hadn’t felt anything off about his aura. She still didn’t. He’d always been an exceptional blocker, but he must be suffering the long-term effects of demon bonding she and Gia were. He was made in the same year. If he was though, he showed no signs of it. She hoped he did what was necessary before it became too late.
Can I use your house as a meeting place? she asked Marcus.
Of course.
Spoken like she should just take it for granted. But why the hell would she? He may be claiming she was his mate, but she wasn’t buying it.
“Get the quad together at dusk tomorrow night.” There wasn’t much left of the night. “At the nightwalkers’ house.”
Cook a voice whispered through her mind and she realized after a moment of Marcus’s laughter it had come from Luke. Was she going to have access to the brother too?
No. Marcus answered. We do need a new cook, though. A woman.
A woman? You’ve got to be kidding me. Chauvinist much?
Not usually. A long pause. There’s too much tension in the house now as it is. We can’t bring another male in.
She sighed. “If you know a female cook, or someone who’ll take on those duties, bring her too. There’s room and everyone I can keep secure is a bonus.”
Dupree nodded. Was there a flicker of…something in his eyes at the order? She couldn’t tell.
“As for everyone who’s in one of the old safe houses? Send them to the caves.”
“What are you doing?” he asked. She studied him carefully, like a bug under a microscope. No censure. Barely any curiosity. Dupree was closer to the edge than she’d realized and brutally repressing it.
“I’m going hunting.”
“Alone?”
She glanced over her shoulder, registered Marcus’s slight nod. “No.”
Dupree met Marcus’s eyes, apparently saw what he wanted to see there. “Okay.”
“Dawn then.” He flashed her his quick signature grin. “Maybe I can arrange breakfast.”
Then he disappeared, gone almost as fast as his words faded into the abrupt silence.
She turned to Marcus. Alone again. And since her first thought was of ripping his clothes off and having her way with him that was not a good thing. He grinned.
Save it for later.
Rolling her eyes, she brushed past him and set off into the woods. There was killing to be done.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dupree left as soon as he could after Winter started probing his mind. She didn’t need to see what was in there, the struggle he was dealing with. He was just biding his time until he could get her and Gia safely bonded.
Sure they could let walkers feed off them and be safe. Did they really think he didn’t know about that? Neither could keep a secret from him. He was surprised it’d taken Winter so long to figure out. Sharing that extra energy with nightwalkers was just a temporary solution though. It took the edge off, but the only way to guarantee a hybrid was safe was the blood bond.
Winter would resist of course and he didn’t blame her. Like Winter, he had no interest in bonding himself for eternity to someone he wasn’t insanely in love with. Since that hadn’t happened to him in the almost eighty years of his existence, he was pretty damned positive it wasn’t going to now. He’d do the necessary thing when the time came. Take his own life. No way was he going to make them hunt him down.
He was good at what he did. Damned good. It would take Winter and Gia both to hunt him, to kill him. He wasn’t doing that to them. The only other hybrid in the region who could have taken him was Benjamin, but Ben was no more. Even if he lived, and Dupree was fairly certain he did, he was rogue. Totally gone to the evil they all took on. That evil might have given him the strength to take Dupree now, but he doubted it. When someone went rogue, they also tended to go stupid.
Pausing on the lawn he’d teleported to, he took a deep breath, ruthlessly squashing down the demon who surged up with the scent of so many others nearby. Worse, it scented the woman and wanted her. He had to be in control to walk in there, the same cold, heartless bastard everyone had come to know and be wary of.
The Order had given him a home, something to live and fight for, in a time of his life when he’d desperately needed it. Young and orphaned, they’d become his family. He hadn’t been allowed to go through the merging ceremony until he was twenty and it was one of the proudest moments of his life.
A scent came to him in the slight breeze. Baking bread. The barest hint of vanilla. That’s why he watched over her. That’s why he was going to jump at the chance to get her into the nightwalkers’ house. Because she was like him. Taken in by the Order as a child, allowed to grow up knowing about all the evil things out there in the world and somehow maintaining her innocence. Half in his world and half out of it. He squeezed his eyes shut, struggling against the lie, against the urge to walk in there and snatch her up, carry her off somewhere he could not only keep her safe but all to himself.
N
o. He couldn’t do that. He would see her safe, along with Gia and Winter, and then he would disappear. Take his own life. Because none of them could really live with him, none of them could really live with the possessive, protective, wild need he had to keep them all to himself.
Especially her. Kara was light and sunshine and laughter and joy. He ignored the part of him that insisted she was also his. She didn’t have any place in his world and he felt like an old lecher when he dreamt, when on rare occasions he allowed himself to imagine otherwise. She shouldn’t be subjected to the demands he would place on her.
He smelled blood and his demon roared to the surface. Damn it, he was losing control. He forced his hands to unclench, looked down at the damage his nails had done. He wiped the spots away on his jeans, focused and walked up the lawn to the back door. Bracing himself, he set his hand on the knob and pushed it open.
Smells enveloped him. Hers first, that unique vanilla and spicy scent he could never quite rid himself of. Bread baking. Other men. He barely restrained the snarl. The young males always hovered around her. All the more reason to get her into the nightwalkers’ house. He wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.
As always, Kara sensed his presence before he announced himself, and she rushed from the counter where she was rolling out dough with a smile. He caught her up in his embrace. Didn’t have a choice did he? And took the opportunity to glare around the room at all her young hopefuls. None of them were worthy and as long as he was able he’d ensure she was free of them. It didn’t have anything to do with him wanting her for himself. He knew better than to give in to that foolish wish. She pressed a kiss against his neck before pulling back, her eyes worried.
He ran a hand down her shoulder to her elbow, the only touch he ever allowed himself, the only intimacy he ever allowed himself. Sensing his withdrawal, she backed away and he immediately pulled back, made sure all his shields were in place. Walking to the oven, she grabbed a mitt and opened it, pulling out a fresh loaf of bread. When she turned, her eyes were still clouded with concern.
“What’s going on, Dupree? Can you tell me anything?”
He shook his head. She knew he wouldn’t. “Nothing to tell. I did find a place for you though. Get your things and I’ll take you.”
She wasn’t demon-bonded, but he had the unique ability of being able to teleport people with him and he had every intention of getting her out of there ASAP. Tilting her head to one side, she studied him and he sighed, knowing she was going to argue.
“I can’t leave. I can’t run and hide. Dupree, you know that better than anyone.”
He did. She’d been training for years, since she was a child, waiting to reach Ben’s arbitrary age of twenty-five to bond her soul with a demon’s. In this one instance, he agreed with his former Commander. He didn’t want Kara taking that on. Didn’t want her soul endangered as the rest of them were.
“You won’t be running or hiding. You’ll be using your skills to the best of your ability.”
Suspicious, she narrowed her eyes. “And how is that?”
He had to tread carefully. He didn’t have a problem just snatching her up and taking her, but he didn’t want to lose her trust.
“We need someone who can take care of herself. But also who can cook.”
Her eyes widened, but more with outrage than surprise. “You want me to be someone’s cook?”
“You’re the best and personally, I’d like to eat well while I’m stuck living with the nightwalkers. Not much consolation, is it? But it’ll have to do.”
She titled her head to one side and studied him and, not for the first time, he wished he could read her. Why couldn’t he read her? He wasn’t much of a telepath, but he read others’ emotions easily and he’d never had a problem getting into a human’s mind. Except for hers. Her mind was closed to him.
“You’re staying with nightwalkers?”
“Yep. And Winter and Gia.”
He couldn’t read her mind, but he could see the interest on her face. He grinned. “Come on, sweetheart, you know you want to.”
She still hesitated. He appealed to the chef that lurked in her soul.
“You’ll love the kitchen. Granite counters. Stainless steel appliances. Gas stove.”
She still held back and he did what he’d always promised himself he wouldn’t, used the physical attraction between them to push her. Stepping forward, he lifted his hand to her jaw, spread his fingers and rested his palm against her throat. Her heart thumped, quickly, irregularly and his tried to match it. She should be mine. He ruthlessly repressed that inner voice.
“Not fair,” she whispered.
“Who said I was fair?” he responded just as softly. “I need to know you’re safe, Kara.”
It was a low blow and he knew it, but he didn’t care. He had to know he’d be leaving her safe, leaving her secure and he refused to examine his reasons why. She saw something in his eyes, on his face. She always did, was the only one he couldn’t hide from. Eventually, she nodded.
“Okay. I’ll get my things.”
He held his breath as she left the kitchen, held his breath until she returned with a duffle bag swung over her shoulder. He took it from her, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and visualized the foyer at the nightwalker mansion.
Then they were there.
He had no idea where to put her, no idea which room was empty. Thank God, a woman poked her head out of the office, smiling when she saw them. She stepped out with a nightwalker pressed tightly up against her back. The one he’d met last night. Kadall. He nodded at the other male.
“This is Kara. She’s gonna take care of the cooking for a while.”
After a slight hesitation, Kadall grinned. “Cool.”
“She needs a room,” Dupree prodded.
“Of course.” He nodded at Kara. “I’m Kadall and this is Marelle. My mate. She’ll show you the rooms that are empty. Take whichever you like.”
Kara’s smile was slow and hesitant, but genuine. “Thanks.” She followed Marelle up the flight of stairs. Dupree didn’t look away until she’d disappeared from sight.
“Your woman?”
Dupree jerked around at the voice, at the intrusive question. Made his gaze hard and ignored the exultant yes in his soul. “No. Just someone I look after.”
Kadall arched his eyebrows but didn’t comment. He only shrugged and turned back in to his office. Dupree stood frozen a moment, unsure what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go. Up after Kara seemed like a damned fine idea. But no, no. He wasn’t subjecting her to his desires, to his demands she give over every ounce of herself to him. Wasn’t. Doing. That.
She deserved a life. A real life that didn’t include a control freak, half-demon monster. He knew she wouldn’t thank him for making that decision for her, but he also knew it was for the best. She was sixty years younger than him. She’d learn in time. Without another word to the nightwalker, he concentrated and flashed out of the house, out of her range.
Away from temptation.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Winter struggled to hide her frustration. It was a long fruitless boring night with a broody, infuriating man dogging her trail. He wasn’t speaking to her, not even mentally, and frankly that was just fine with her. He’d tried to order her back to his house an hour ago, had even threatened force if necessary. Winter snorted. The only way to get her there now, before dawn, would be to physically haul her there. She was exhausted, but wasn’t budging on this. It was the principle of the thing.
She’d visited almost all the safe houses, paused in her approach to the last one now to gaze at the sky. It was still black, but sunrise wasn’t far off, just another hour or so. Tilting her head to the side, she stepped up to the edge of the tree line that bordered the lawn in front of her. Nothing moved. No person. Not even the wind. Her scan was met with nothing. A knot formed like a heavy iron ball in the pit of her stomach. God, not again. Hopefully the house’s residents had already reloc
ated. Hopefully she wasn’t going to find anything horrifying when she walked through that front door.
Marcus was right beside her when she stepped into the clearing, as she walked over to the small porch and hesitated before turning the knob. Then the smell hit her. Putrid. Death and sulfur. Just on the other side of the door. How had the demon avoided her scan?
There’s a demon here.
She sensed rather than saw his nod. At least two.
Her demon, feeding off her rage, clamored to the surface, desperate for her to let it free. She restrained the urge just barely and promised the demon it would get its chance. She would get her chance. But the last time she’d rushed into a fight, she’d damned near got herself killed. Marcus relaxed marginally beside her, his relief evident. She rolled her eyes.
I never make the same mistake twice.
She felt his disagreement. He thought she was out of control, always reckless. Whatever. There wasn’t time to argue the point now.
We need to draw them out, she whispered along the mental connection. No way in hell was she getting trapped inside.
I don’t think that will be necessary. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the way just as the door exploded outward. Four demons poured out. She didn’t have time to wonder again how it was so many were working together. Spinning out of the way of one’s sharp talons, she pulled her knives, rolled under it while stabbing upward. She grinned at his grunt of disbelief and spun around to meet the next attack. He fell as three new demons appeared in the yard. They stood between her and the house. She couldn’t see Marcus.
There’re more, Winter pointed out.
Yes. We should retreat.
She snarled her no, engaged another demon in the fight. He was a better fighter than the others, and though she heard Marcus yelling at her in her head, she tuned him out, concentrated on killing the new demon. He was good, very good, and forced her to retreat across the yard, toward the house. Scowling, she realized he was trying to herd her and she jumped forward, got a lucky slash across his chest but immediately had to dodge a blow, which put her closer to the house.
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