Undone (The Amoveo Legend)

by Sara Humphreys

  “You know,” Olivia began, “I’ve never really asked you before. Why didn’t you declare a side publicly? I mean, you told me that you’re a Loyalist, but really, who gives a shit about my feelings on the subject? No one. That’s who.” She smiled and squeezed her hand. “Why not say it out loud to the people who matter?”

  “Just stubborn, I guess.” Marianna sniffled and swiped at her eyes. “I was angry. My father died because of his hatred. My mother is dying because of his actions, and all of it is because of this stupid division over breeding with humans. I guess I thought that if I didn’t pick a side and stayed neutral on the subject, then I could stay out of it and avoid getting more hurt than I already was.” She shrugged. “Silly, huh?”

  “No,” Olivia sighed and pulled Marianna into a hug. “Switzerland has been getting away with it for years.” The two women laughed, and Olivia wiped Marianna’s tears away with cool fingers, but the smile faded from her lips. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

  “Yes.” Marianna nodded and rose from the couch. She stoked the fire with the last log in the bin. “Dante and some of the others have been helping the prince investigate what the Purists are up to.” She laughed bitterly. “The ironic part is that they’ve been ferreting out information bit by bit, and the other night at the Waldorf benefit, Artimus came right out and told me what they’re up to. He was actually proud of it.”

  “Well?” Olivia looked at her expectantly. “What is it?”

  “I tried to put the whole disgusting idea out of my head and ignore it, but as we can see, the whole pretend-it’s-not-happening-thing doesn’t work well.”

  Marianna folded her arms over her breasts and rubbed her arms, trying to get warm but it wasn’t working. She grabbed the iron poker and moved the logs around, stoking the flames higher. Staring into the flickering light, she shivered as she forced herself to say it out loud.

  “They want to use human technology to genetically engineer pure-blood offspring.” She swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat. “And they want to use me and Hayden.”

  “Over my dead, fucking body,” Pete growled.

  Marianna spun around and gaped at Pete, who was staring at her with a less than pleased expression. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn’t even hear him come inside.

  “Awkward,” Olivia murmured. She stood and looked from Marianna to Pete. “It’s been a real blast visiting with you kids. I just wanted to make sure Marianna was okay, and she is… sort of.” Olivia glanced from her to Pete. “I can see you’ve got some things to talk about.”

  Pete stood still with his arms full of firewood and a fierce look that Marianna had only seen once before—that night at the club when Hayden laid his hands on her, Pete had that same ferocious glint in his eyes.

  “You don’t have to go,” Marianna sputtered.

  “Yes, she does.” Pete didn’t take his eyes off Marianna, and his voice was barely audible. “Isn’t that right, Olivia?”

  “You bet.” Olivia rolled her eyes as she wrapped Marianna in a cool embrace. “This isn’t going to work if you aren’t honest with him,” she whispered. “Facing all of this head-on will be a lot easier with him by your side. Trust me, being alone is overrated. I’ve been doing it for a long time.”

  Marianna nodded, but said nothing as Olivia went to the door and waved at Pete. He nodded and said something that sounded like good-bye as he dumped the firewood into the copper bin.

  “Listen,” Olivia said as she opened the front door. “It’s against Presidium law for me to get directly involved in this Amoveo civil war.” A smile crept over her face. “But… you know how I feel about the rules… if you need me, I’m around.”

  In a blur of red and a gust of wind, she was gone.

  Chapter 9

  Pete sat on the couch and stared into the roaring fire while he waited for Marianna to come out of the bedroom. The folder Dante had given him was sitting on the table and lay open with Artimus’s picture staring back at him.

  The man was one cold piece of business.

  Pete took a long pull off his beer and leaned both elbows on his knees as he glared at the man in the photograph. His brown eyes were flat and reminded Pete of a shark—emotionless, barren, and evil.

  He knew that Artimus and the rest of the Purists wanted Marianna on their side, and until a few minutes ago, he hadn’t been able to figure out why they were desperate for her in particular. He never dreamed that they’d try some kind of breeding program. His stomach lurched at idea, knowing that they wanted Marianna as part of their experiment.

  He’d texted Dante yesterday to tell him they’d arrived at their destination safely, but he wanted to make an actual phone call to deliver the news about the breeding program. He lost his phone in the lake, and it was too late to be driving into town. He needed to hear the whole story from Marianna before he called Dante with half-baked information.

  Frustrated, Pete flipped through the folder and found Hayden and Dr. Moravian’s photographs amid other unfamiliar faces. He was certain now that the missing women were taken by Artimus and the Purists as part of the pure-blood breeding program, but he’d be damned if he let them get Marianna.

  The click of the bedroom door opening captured his attention, and Marianna came out looking sexier than ever. Her face was free of makeup and her hair was swept up in a clip. She wore a pair of white pajamas that hugged her curvy body in all the right places and accented that gorgeous, lightly tanned skin. Barefoot, she sat on the opposite side of the couch and pulled her feet under her.

  Pete was about to say something when there was scratching at the back door accompanied by Tramp’s unmistakable bark.

  “I should’ve known that dog would show up eventually,” he said as he went to the back door and let him in. When he opened the door, Tramp brushed past him and went directly to Marianna. “Nice to see you too.”

  The husky immediately placed his head in her lap, seeking her affection. Marianna ruffled his ears and scratched, much to the dog’s delight.

  “I’ve never been jealous of a dog before,” Pete said as he joined her on the couch again. He flicked his gaze from Marianna to Tramp. “But there’s a first time for everything.”

  “I thought you liked him and dogs in general?” she said, looking at the dog lovingly.

  “I do. Well, they seem to like me anyway.”

  “What do you mean?” She turned her big brown eyes on him and smiled warmly, which made his heart squeeze in his chest. Jesus, one look from this woman, and he was completely undone. “Tramp isn’t the first stray who’s adopted me.” He lifted one shoulder and looked at Tramp. “When I was a kid there was a German Shepherd that used to come around here a lot, and in the city, where I grew up, there were a couple neighborhood strays that turned up now and again.”

  “Are you some kind of dog whisperer?”

  “Hardly,” he said through a short laugh. “But I will admit that they always showed up when I was going through a tough time. When I was little, my mother told me that they were my guardian angels.” He sat back and took another needed sip of his beer. “I used to think it was kind of silly, but given all the recent revelations about crazy critters roaming the earth…” He didn’t finish the thought, but captured those big brown eyes once again with his.

  The smile on her lips faltered, and she tore her gaze away.

  “What’s in the folder?”

  Marianna picked up the beer he’d gotten for her but avoided looking at him. He studied her carefully and noticed the strictly business attitude that she wore. Great. He’d stepped in it again.

  “Dante gave it to me.” He handed her the folder, which she promptly flipped through. “It’s pictures of the higher-ups from different clans who have declared themselves Purists, among other things.”

  He watched as she sifted through the pictures one by one, but she stopped at Hayden’s. Her entire body went rigid, and her mouth set in a tight line.

  “
It’s sick,” she whispered. “The notion of genetically engineering pure-blood children goes against everything we were taught. Our children are created from love, from fate…” She made a sound of disgust. “Hayden was always a spoiled child, and now he’s an arrogant, self-entitled prick. I don’t like being in the same room with him, let alone the idea of having children with him.”

  She shuddered and continued going through the folder. All the color drained from her face when she hit the last batch of photographs—they had a note clipped to them that read: missing. Marianna stared at the bright-eyed smile of Courtney Bishop as the folder quivered in her unsteady hands.

  “Oh my God,” she breathed. “This is one of my friends. Why is Courtney’s picture in here?” She flipped frantically through the other women’s photos before looking back at Pete through frightened eyes. “She and these other women are missing?”

  “Yes.” Pete’s mouth set in a grim line. “Dante said that Courtney and several other pure-blood females have disappeared. He said that they found out Artimus had some kind of acquisition list—and these women were on it.” His voice dropped low. “And so are you.”

  “That’s why.” Her eyes widened as she realized the magnitude of what was going on. “That’s why you and Dante were so worried about Artimus. You think he took these women and that he plans on taking me.” She shivered and gave Tramp more scratches, seeking solace as much as the dog was. “Have you told Dante about the breeding program?”

  “No.” He shook his head and sat back in the corner of the couch, needing to put a little distance between them.

  “Why haven’t you told Dante yet?”

  “My cell phone fell into the lake when I fished you out. I’ll go into town tomorrow and use one of the pay phones. There’s no phone here in the cabin, and no TV or Internet, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “I noticed.” She rolled her eyes. “Is there anything else that you and my brother have been keeping from me?” she asked as she closed the folder and placed it on the table. Her eyes flashed, and Tramp whined, as if he was asking her to calm down.

  “No.” Pete shook his head and scoffed. “But you’ve got some damn nerve to be annoyed with me. You haven’t exactly been forthcoming. When did you plan on telling me about Artimus’s breeding program?” His voice rose as his anger and insecurity got the better of him. “Or did you want more time to think it over?”

  Hurt and anger flickered over her features. “How can you think that?”

  “What am I supposed to think?” He slugged back another gulp of his beer, hoping it could cool his rising temper. Unable to look at her, afraid he’d see utter contempt in her eyes, he looked into the flickering firelight. “I told you why I did what I did. It was the only possible way that I could do my job.”

  “Being with me is your job?”

  “Hang on.” Pete put his hands up. “It was, at first.” He let out a growl of frustration. Feeling edgy and out of his element, Pete stood and stoked the already blazing fire. “At first, it was just a job, and that’s what I kept telling myself, every time I picked you up and drove you around town. You’re my friend’s sister, and on top of everything else, you’re Amoveo, and I’m not. Hell, I’m not even a hybrid.”

  Pete paced in front of the fire as Marianna and Tramp watched him silently. He ran one hand through his short hair and put the empty beer bottle on the mantel, before turning to face her.

  “I’m only a human, Marianna. I didn’t think that there was any possible way that you could be mine. I thought you were supposed to be with some Amoveo guy—even though the idea of another man touching you makes me want to rip someone’s head off,” he growled. Pete’s voice dropped to above a whisper. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out when it happened.”

  “When what happened?” Marianna asked quietly as her eyes searched his for answers. The amber glow of the fire washed over her hypnotically.

  “When I fell in love with you.”

  The crackling of the fire was the only sound in the room that Pete heard, other than the thumping of his own heart. She stared back at him with wide eyes, and Pete’s gut clenched with fear as he waited for her to respond. Fear. Need. Love. All of it swamped him mercilessly. He thought he’d choke on his own emotions, if she didn’t say something soon.

  “No.” Marianna shook her head, and tears filled her eyes. “Don’t say that.”

  “Why not?” The sting of rejection flashed over him. He’d never told that to a woman before, and when he finally does, she tells him to take it back. His eyes narrowed, and he struggled to keep his temper in check. “Don’t want some pathetic human for a mate, is that it?”

  “How could you think that?” Marianna rose from the sofa, her eyes glittering as she moved toward him. Tramp tracked her every move. Hands on her hips, she sidled up to him. If she were going to tell him off and rip his heart out, then he’d stand there and take it. Pete braced himself—ready for whatever she had to throw at him.

  “I am not a Purist,” she said quietly. “I think that my father, Artimus, and the rest are narrow-minded and twisted. I didn’t tell you about the breeding program because it’s disgusting, and I’d hoped that if I pretended I never heard about it, then it would go away.”

  She leaned closer, and the look in her eyes softened as she continued.

  “I realized you were my mate the other night in the club when I heard your voice in my mind—that’s when I knew. The truth is that I’ve wanted you from the first moment I laid eyes on you at Dante and Kerry’s apartment. Based on the intensity of my attraction, I should’ve known that you were my mate, but because of your shielding or whatever, I couldn’t sense it,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Then there was the dream realm.”

  “I remember.” A smile curved his lips at the mention of the dream.

  He wondered if this was a dream. Was she really saying these things, or was it a cruel joke, and the rug would get pulled from under him at any moment? Not a chance. She wasn’t getting off the hook and pretending that this wasn’t happening.

  “You and me, we are not a dream, and I’m not letting you act like none of this is real. I love you, Marianna. So you better get used to it because I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I don’t want you to be in love with me. I don’t want you to be my mate because Artimus will kill you. Don’t you get it?” Her voice quivered as she inched closer, and the familiar enticing scent of peaches filled his head. “That night in the dream realm, the bear that tried to attack you? That was Artimus, and if he figures out that you’re my mate, then he’ll stop at nothing to eliminate the threat—to eliminate you.” Tears spilled freely down her cheeks as the words tumbled from her lips. “I can handle living like a human for a month—or even forever—but what I couldn’t handle is losing you. I’d never forgive myself if you were harmed, and I don’t want you to give up your life for me.”

  “Marianna,” Pete whispered her name and took her face in his hands. He smiled as he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “You are my life. You’re unpredictable, feisty, smart, and drop-dead sexy… and you’re mine.”

  Her eyes fluttered closed and sent more tears cascading down her cheeks. He wiped them away and looked at her with genuine confusion as the heat from the fire wafted over them.

  “Can you please tell me why you’re crying? I really suck at the emotional stuff, and my grandmother always told me that if I ever make a woman cry, then I better damn well know what I did, so that I don’t do it again.”

  “You did make me cry.” She opened her eyes and laughed through her tears. “But you better keep it up.”

  “You want me to keep making you cry?” He looked at her with confusion, which only made her smile broaden. “I don’t think I can take too much more of that.”

  “No.” She sighed. “I want you to tell me things like this for the rest of my life, but you have to promise that there will be no more secrets.”

  “I think I can handle that,” he whis
pered. “So I guess this means you’re okay with having a human for a mate?”

  “Okay with it?” Marianna hooked her thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans and yanked him against her. She looked at him seductively from beneath a fan of dark lashes as she pressed her warm body against his. “I’m more than okay with it, but I have one question.”

  Pete held his breath and waited. The fire crackling and the sound of their breathing filled the room as she smiled with that stony look. He slipped one hand to the nape of her neck and released her long, rich brown hair from the confines of the clip. Pete tossed the annoying thing on the couch before lacing his fingers through those smooth locks.

  “Take me to bed?”

  “I don’t think so,” he murmured.

  Her eyes widened with surprise, and she opened her mouth to undoubtedly tell him off, but before she could say a word he covered it with his. The sweet fragrance of peaches and vanilla flooded his senses as her tongue tangled with his.

  He tilted her head, deepening the kiss and angling for more, for every bit of her that she could give. He wanted it all.

  She grabbed the front of his shirt and tore it open, sending buttons flying across the room. As he nibbled and tasted her sweet lips, he sighed when her fingernails trailed down his back.

  “The bed is too far away,” Pete murmured between kisses. He whipped her top off as she kicked off her bottoms, revealing the flawless skin beneath. He looked at her and groaned. “You are gorgeous.”

  “Shut up.” Marianna kissed him as she made quick work of undoing his jeans.

  Pete swore silently as her warm fingers wrapped around the length of him. She worked him in her palm as he shucked his jeans. Running her fingers up and down his erection, she kissed and nibbled her way down his neck. Fire, deep carnal need, flashed through him, and if she kept stroking him things would be over before they started.