Kennera
She had not meant to let the sound escape, but it had. It brought the wolves, betas from Redd Gothan’s pack to her side.
They questioned where she had gone — her pain must have granted her the extra power she needed to dematerialize completely. It was a false hope; she could not hold the mist for much longer.
She dropped into complete corporeal form at the wolves’ feet. Several shouted and jumped back. The leader reached out a foot and pushed her over onto her back.
Were she at full power, she would have rendered him to dust. No mere Lupoiux treated a deity with such disrespect. But she had not even the energy to tell him so.
Her eyes closed; she just needed a moment to rest. If she got her strength back, she could subdue one of the creatures long enough to feed from him.
With an infusion of blood, especially blood from the semi mortal — those who were not truly immortal, but extremely long lived — she would have enough strength to escape these… animals.
A howl rang out, the sound low, powerful, and chilling. Godlike. She trembled even more fiercely. Him.
He was coming for her, and once he found her, it was all over for her people. She could not let him find her.
She pulled herself to her feet as quickly as she could and grabbed the nearest wolfling. He was young, barely twenty years, and still thin with adolescence. Her fangs sank deep, pulling almost all the blood from the youth. She dropped him with the care that one who kidnapped defenseless Dardaptoan women deserved.
His blood was just what she needed. She turned to
Redd Gothan where he stood several feet away, watching her with lust and psychopathy in his eyes. “The god Eiophon comes for me. He is your god, and he is wrathful. You had best not be found here when he comes. You are poor and slovenly, with malice in your hearts. You lie and cheat, instead of fighting your battles with honor. He will not be pleased with you. Go, now, while you can.”
She would use their mingled scents to confuse the Wolf god. Hopefully, that would be all it would take for her to elude him once again.
Chapter Fourteen
Eiophon
The wolf Taniss kept pace with Eiophon, and at any other time the deity would have found that remarkable. Now all he could think about was his mate’s cry and how agonized it had been. Who had hurt her? Why?
When he found the fool responsible, it would prove more painful than anyone could imagine.
As for his female, he would tuck her against him and reassure her that he would use all of his strength and power to protect her from animals that would hurt her.
He had thought of her for many centuries, imagining her to be soft and delicate with a rod of inner strength running through her. Her hair would be red, with a soft gleam of gold running through it. Her eyes green like the Gaian forests he had run through as a youthful god.
She would be beautiful and his, and they would spend their days mating and enjoying one another.
He would kill whoever had harmed her.
The wolves scattered from the camp when he sprang through them. They were unremarkable, filthy, and ragged. His mind processed this though he focused on the beasts little. His female was near and needing of him.
Several males were clustered around something near the back of the camp. That was where Eiophon headed. The Taniss wolf was still at his side.
A blonde woman lay at the male wolves’ feet. Her hair was tangled, matted with leaves and grass. They had dragged her somewhere. She faced away from Eiophon.
She looked so delicate and frail, her garment draping fragile shoulders and narrow hips. She was not moving.
The largest wolf reached out a leg and signed his death warrant. He kicked her in the side and she rolled to her back.
Eiophon reared back and howled, both at the wolves surrounding her and because he could not believe what he saw before him.
It was not his mate on the ground before him needing someone to save her… it was the girl goddess. It made little sense to him why she would draw him there with her scent.
The girl goddess cried out again, the sound tearing through Eiophon’s head and heart. And then it made sense to him in a horrific way.
The mate he had so longed for those three thousand years had been closer than he had ever known.
Chapter Fifteen
Kennera
She’d recognize the Wolf god anywhere and at any time, and as he flew over her head and faced the six wolves still surrounding her, she had little trouble identifying him. A sob burst from her lungs, and she drew what pitiful amount of strength she still possessed around her.
The Wolf god had found her among a pack of his people. She had little hope of escaping, but Kennera had to try. All it took was the thought of even one of her people needing her.
She rolled to her side, kept her eyes on the god as he tore into the half-dozen wolves. Why was he killing his own people? She could never do such a thing. But then again, he was a beast in all aspects. Why wouldn’t he?
Still, while he was busy with his wolf victims, she might have a chance. If she could just get to the edge of the woods there…
Kennera pulled herself up to her knees, biting her lip until she tasted her own deified blood to keep from releasing even a breath to draw the god’s attention to her.
She wobbled, but she made it to her feet without the Wolf god stopping her. She continued, one step in front of the other. She would make it to the edge of the woods. Then, it was but a ten-mile hike to Dardanos and the people she had to find to carry out her plan.
She fell, landing hard on rocks that dug into her ribs and side. She might be a deity, but if she lived until morning, she would be bruised there. She was as weak — weaker — than any female of her Kind. Than any female child of her Kind. Would she make it the ten miles?
Would he stop her?
Chapter Sixteen
Eiophon
It took little effort for Eiophon to dispatch most of the males of the despicable pack that had dared touch the girl goddess. They numbered only about a dozen though he quickly found out that another four dozen were raiding and patrolling. They had had nothing to do with the taking of the goddess so he would spare them their lives.
He turned back to where the girl had lain in the grass, so small, pale, and unmoving.
Momentary guilt filled him. She would not have been taken by these disreputable wolves if he had not been pursuing her. But why had she been so easily taken? As a deity — and a powerful one at that — she should have been able to easily wipe the wolves from Gaia with barely a thought.
Yet she hadn’t. And they had been able to hurt her. Why?
She was not where he had last seen her, but he had little trouble following her scent. It was the same orchid fragrance he had long recognized, but now it was mixed with the coppery scent of her blood.
His pace quickened as urgency filled him.
What he would do with her once he found her, he did not know. But it did make a sick sort of sense. She was the goddess of romance and romantic love. And she had been infatuated with him millennia ago. Had one of her curses created this tie between them, and his resistance to the match been so strong that his mating instinct hadn’t been triggered through the barrier the other deities had erected between them?
He trailed her into the woods, every instinct telling him to find her and claim her before it was too late.
The wolf Taniss stopped him, the girl goddess held close in his arms. Eiophon resisted the urge to shred the once-human alpha. A growl escaped before he could stop it.
“I mean no harm, god Eiophon. I found her lying in the mud. I’m afraid the cold is working on her faster than can be expected. I didn’t realize she was Dardaptoan until I saw her eyes. You must hurry — the temperature will continue to drop, and Dardaptoan females are so susceptible to cold.”
Taniss held her out to him, but Eiophon resisted. If he touched her, would he be bound by the thirty-six hour curse, as well? Yet, i
f Taniss continued to carry her, Eiophon half feared he would be tempted to kill the wolf. And he did not want that. Taniss was an admirable alpha, a credit to Eiophon’s Kind.
“She is not just Dardaptoan. She is the goddess of their Kind.” Eiophon spoke the words harshly. “And she is my mate. Give her to me.”
Chapter Seventeen
Kennera
Kennera knew on some level that the Wolf god was the one carrying her through the Colorado wilderness, but the cold eating at her skin and the lack of blood had combined to weaken her past the point of any hope. Of any resistance.
He had her now, and not even the deities could know what he planned to do to her. Kennera wept silently, her tears soaking into the tunic her face was pressed against.
His bare feet crunched the leaves and twigs covering the ground, the rhythm of his steps matching the beating of her heart. Where was he taking her?
Would he kill her once he got her there, or would he make her suffer even more first?
Kennera started shivering as the temperature around them dropped. It was so cold, even the blood left in her veins — little though there was — felt frozen.
She knew she did not have much time. She had to get to Dardanos and Dhar Rydere. Only the Dardaptoan and his advisers could help her now. But how was she to do that?
His pulse beat strong and hot beneath her cheek, the life force of another god exactly what she needed. With just a bit of his blood, she might be able to last long enough to get away and to Dardanos.
She didn’t stop to think what he would do, thought only of her people and what she owed them.
Kennera’s fangs sank deep. She ignored the Wolf god’s surprised curse and drew deeply, trying to steal as much of his blood as she could before he stopped her.
Every little drop would help her. Every swallow would get her closer to her goal.
Chapter Eighteen
Eiophon
He nearly dropped her. He’d nearly forgotten the results of one of his earlier curses; so even the girl goddess needed blood to survive.
And she was drinking his. His arms tightened around her; he was surprised once again at the fragility of her body. Still, her feeding from him hurt him little — a bit of blood loss for his Kind was negligible.
And he needed her at full strength.
He had thirty-five hours and fourteen minutes to claim his mate, and despite the enmity between them, he would have his female beneath him before half that time had passed.
Then his revenge could commence.
“Feed well, little girl. You will need your strength in the hours to come.” He whispered the words against her blonde hair. He had wanted his mate to have red hair, but the fine gold strands on his female’s head were soft and beckoned him.
She shivered against him, but she did not pull away.
Her fear both saddened and thrilled him.
She owed him for the last three millennia. Years that had been taken from him because of her girlish infatuation.
That had him thinking — had she been his mate back then? If he had not scorned her, would they have spent the last three thousand years loving together? His arms tightened around her again as his mind flashed back to how she had looked those three thousand years ago.
She’d been soft and young and her cheeks had glowed with good health.
Now she felt breakable in his arms.
Why?
Was it the result of his taunts and curses? Or something else? Something only she could answer?
Chapter Nineteen
Kennera
His blood tasted sweet and hot and the power and strength of him renewed her. It had been so long since she had fed. Nelci had offered, but Kennera’s body just could not process the blood of her friend any longer. Another of the wolf’s curses that affected only her.
She had yet to find a blood solution and had come to the realization centuries ago that she probably never would. She endured.
And once she had formulated her plan to save her people, her own physical state hadn’t mattered.
Her plan was all that mattered.
That reminder had her drawing even more deeply from the god. She would need her strength if she was to escape him, and her people deserved no less than that she try.
“Easy, girl. Leave me some lifeblood. You will need me at full-strength soon.”
What had he meant by that? What was he planning to do to her?
“Let me go, wolf.” She pulled back to look at the dark face above her. “I think we can agree to go our separate ways after three thousand years together.”
“Not happening.”
“Why?” She waited a moment, allowing the rich power of his blood to sink into her cells. She would not have a physical advantage over him. She would have to act quickly and hope that surprise gave her an edge.
“Because you owe me something. And I will be taking it from you.”
His words were ominous and sent shivers of cold fear down her body.
Would he kill her? Or just torture her?
“I owe you? Remember, wolf, you have cursed my people far worse than I have ever affected yours. My people are weak and dying out because of your careless words!”
Kennera bucked her body, using her legs to break the Wolf god’s hold. She fell to the ground and rolled away quickly. It was the only shot she had.
She ran.
Chapter Twenty
Eiophon
His mate ran from him and Eiophon let her. What would be more fun than tracking, than catching her? They would find a cave somewhere — or he would make one appear — and he would enjoy the spoils of his hunt. Would remove that soiled tunic from her body and enjoy his little captive until the dawn broke the sky.
She stumbled away from him, but he did not give chase. Not yet. He needed to track her, to find and possess her. The chase was so vital, yet he could not put it into words.
He flashed into wolf form and lifted his nose to the sky. Her orchid scent was evident even over the smell of mud and brush that covered the forest floor. It was so easy for him to track her.
She ran straight toward the center of the town.
Why was she so hells-bent on reaching that particular place?
He stayed on her trail, letting her approach the city; he had no intention of letting her enter. She would receive no help from that corner. His mate would be fully claimed by this time tomorrow. He could not do that if he was forced to contend with a city of her people.
He could smell them on the air. Thousands of them. Dardaptoan weaklings.
He knew then that she thought to hide from him behind the walls of her people.
“Run fast, little girl.” He whispered the words to the moon above him. “But it will do you little good. I am coming for you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Kennera
She ran, desperation giving her bursts of speed that surprised her. He was behind her, but his reaching claws came nowhere near her.
He was playing with her, chasing her through the woods like a gods-damned rabbit. She knew that, could almost feel his taunts upon the air.
Her only hope was to reach the sanctuary of her people and hope, pray that they were powerful enough to protect her from him.
The city of Dardanos was clearly visible in the distance. Minutes more and she would be safe within the Dhar’s home. Safe from the wolf, for the moment.
Hope began to fill her as she ran close enough to hear the traffic of the town over the misting rain. Someone was watching over her, aiding her in her quest.
It had to be Nelciana, her only true friend in all of Gaia.
She stumbled just outside the city limits, falling hard to the brush and gravel mix next to the road. Her strength, stolen from the Wolf god, was beginning to wane. She had very little time left. If she stumbled again, the Wolf god would have her once more.
Kennera forced herself to her feet and continued on. Despite the stolen energy taken from his blood, her body fe
lt weak like it was fracturing into small pieces internally.
Would she have the strength to complete her plan, even if she made it to the safety of Dhar Rydere’s home?
Kennera honestly didn’t know.
But she owed it to her people to try. If she didn’t, the Wolf god’s curses would wipe them out within the next hundred years.
Their futures depended upon her reaching the city. She would not fail.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eiophon
It would be pitifully easy to stop her. She stumbled and fell more than any Lupoiux drunk on blood absinthe he’d ever seen. She would feel the bruises tomorrow.
He would enjoy kissing every mark upon her body, as soon as he had her naked beneath him. He would use his rudimentary healing powers to wash the bruises and scratches from her skin as he claimed her as his mate.
He hadn’t decided how his revenge would play out now that he knew she was the mate he searched for. She still owed him, but now he could take the payment from her in so many different ways. Good, hot, enticing ways.
Yet he had not forgotten the responsibility that rested upon her shoulders for the years of his life when he had no more to do to occupy himself than torment her through a magic barrier.
She owed him something for that. He would have that something.
He watched her from the hill that overlooked Dardanos, saw her stumble near the road. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, and traffic in and out of the city was increasing. If he left her where she lay, she would be found. Possibly by humans.
That was never allowed.
He made no pretense of muting his footsteps. He liked knowing that she heard him coming.
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