by Danica Avet
He’d have to be dealt with, but first she had to get the Chieftain alone and away from the others. As for the Chieftain, she was a stepping stone to bigger, better things. Once Ruby was in her grasp, the Veilerians wouldn’t stand a chance. Lucian was the key, she knew. He’d be the one to force the Chieftain into seclusion. Just how should she do it?
A sly smile crossed her face. She knew the perfect way, and she could kill two birds with one stone.
Chapter Twenty
“Where is she?” he demanded as he stomped into the kitchen breathing fire.
Tawny confronted him, her blue eyes spitting fire right back. “She knocked me out and handcuffed me to a pine tree. I had her and she got the drop on me,” she hissed, her anger making her shine with power. “When I came to and Bree found me, I couldn’t pick up her trail again.”
Lucian was astonished. There was no better tracker than Tawny. If she had been available at the beginning of this entire fiasco, Ruby would’ve been in protective custody the very second she’d been made.
“I thought you said she was human before her transition,” Nila said coldly. The demon executioner wasn’t happy about this turn of events, but she could take a hike. Lucian knew she’d been the one to rush their arrival this morning and put all of this into motion.
Lucian corrected himself. He’d begun the mess by not telling his mate the truth before sealing their bond. Bianca and Nila hadn’t helped by bringing the reinforcements in before he was ready.
“She is,” Lucian said, sitting at his kitchen table to think. “She was a hermit, she said.”
Bree shared a look with Fields. “Did she say what made her a hermit?”
Lucian shook his head, not wanting to tell them Ruby’s private business.
Fields tapped one blue tinged finger against his mouth, his gaze turned inward. He turned to Nila. “Call Breed Affairs and Records. Tell them we need a file on all females born─″ he paused, looking at Lucian.
“She’s about thirty,” Lucian answered, his mind swirling with the idea that she might’ve lied to him about her species. Why would she do that?
“—thirty years ago. She’s stealthy and aggressive, so I’m recommending he check it against the records of Amazon, Demon, and wereanimal half-breed births. She’s not entirely human,” Fields said with his eyes locked on Lucian.
“How wouldn’t she know?” Lucian demanded. “She’d have realized something.”
Fields shrugged, seating himself across from Lucian. Nila left the room with her cell phone to her ear while Bree and Tawny made themselves comfortable. “It’s possible she doesn’t know she’s a half-breed. Sometimes the powers lie dormant until a traumatic event, which, in the Chieftain’s case would’ve been the transference of power.”
Nila came back in the room, her eyes serious when they landed on Lucian. “Daughter born thirty years ago to an Amazon named Zoe, who died in the Battle of Ari’och. The human father was never identified, but the child disappeared from our records. There are no other records for that time period matching this one.”
Tawny nodded. “Even if she were a half-breed elf or fairy, she’d be smaller and still look about fifteen years old,” she said, her own youthful face not giving away her true age.
Bree groaned. “Fantastic. She’s an Amazon with Chieftain abilities. She’s just gonna love it when we lock her up. We’ll need lots of tranqs,” she plopped her head on her hands.
“We’re not locking her up,” Lucian announced. Four pairs of eyes zeroed in on him. The range of expression ranged from bland to downright shock. “I bonded her. I’m keeping her with me.”
“Aw, hell,” Bree muttered to the table top. “I so don’t need this right now.” She lifted her head and glared at him. Lucian could’ve kicked himself. Having the interrogator at his table wasn’t a good way to keep a secret. “You didn’t tell her about any of this.”
Tawny looked even more shocked. “Lucian! You claimed your mate and didn’t tell her you called us down here? Oh, you’re in so much trouble!” She looked gleeful of the impending clash.
Nila, who was about as feminine as a two-by-four, looked disgusted with him. She sneered. “Now we know why she ran,” she muttered. “Asshole.”
Bianca sailed in the room at that very moment, looking like a spring morning. “Ah, everyone’s back, lovely.” She patted Lucian on the cheek with affection and took no notice of the other women. “Well, we should really continue looking for the beast. She’s put us through so much trouble as it is.”
Fields cleared his throat, his mouth twitching. The air elemental’s blue skin whirled with air currents no one could feel. Lucian never saw much of Fields since they usually worked on different assignments, so it was always a shock to remember he was working with one of the Earth’s strongest powers. Fields’s silvery hair floated around his body in the breeze that never left him.
“Fields, if you even look like you're going to laugh, I’ll light a match,” Lucian threatened.
“Oh, sure, take it out on Fields when you’re the one who screwed up,” Bree scolded, her ears tuned to his voice. “You’re such an ass sometimes, Lucian. You probably went after her, turning on the infamous Ravenswaay charm.”
Lucian glared at her while Bianca’s eyebrow rose. “What’s going on?” she asked haughtily.
“The big, dumb male bonded with the Chieftain and then betrayed her.”
“He did what he was ordered to do,” she said in her cool voice, an assessing gaze resting on Lucian. “If the Chieftain thinks Lucian is her bonded mate, then she’ll come back just to be with him.”
Bree snorted bitterly. She had every reason to be angry, as Lucian’s youngest brother had done the exact same thing a hundred years ago to get information from her regarding Lucian’s location. It had been a family emergency, but Bree had never forgotten Uri’s deception. To this day, she made sure she had several potions and wards on her body at all times protecting her against seduction.
Nila was glaring a hole through the back of Lucian’s head. “She’s an Amazon who went hermit, of all things,” she swore softly. “She’ll be nearly impossible to find. The stealth she already had will have been multiplied by the transition, which explains why Tawny couldn’t find her.” Lucian didn’t want to think about what kind of man problems the demon had had in the past, but apparently she shared the other women’s disdain of him.
Tawny seconded Nila’s assessment and she, Bree, and Nila ganged up on Lucian, fury in their eyes and kinship with Ruby in their hearts. Bianca sat to the side, her thoughts hidden behind a tolerant smile. Lucian dropped his head in his hands and groaned. The only thing that would be worse than this, he thought, was if Pagan showed up to castrate him and served his balls to Ruby on a silver platter.
“Okay, now,” Fields said calmly, showing why he was the Veil negotiator. “We have more important things to worry about. The Chieftain is out there again.”
Lucian nodded, his heart seizing in fear for her. “Malachi’s going to be after her. She’s not afraid of him yet,” he told them, his voice almost raw with emotion.
Tawny frowned. “She didn’t seem to have trouble escaping me,” she said with extreme reluctance. The tips of her pointed ears turned red. “I’ve never had someone get away from me before. Damn Amazonian stealth. Better than ninjas,” she said with a grin.
Nila said drolly, “Which would explain why they’ve been used as assassins for centuries.”
Bree slapped her hands on the table. “Right. We’ll call the subs in and they’ll start scouring the nearby communities, see if they come across her,” she announced, pulling her cell out of her pocket. She looked at Nila. “You saw no sight of her on the back roads? And Tawny saw no tracks in the swamp.”
Nila shook her head. “It didn’t look like she even went near the road. I drove around for about an hour trying to see if I could sense her approach, but it was like she disappeared.”
“Okay,” Fields said, the air around him flowing
faster with his excitement. “Lucian, we need some maps. Bree, call Pagan and Jackson. See if they can get Marie and some other day-walkers out here until the vamps can come out. Nila, I need to see if you can find out more information on Amazonian abilities. I’m embarrassed to say I’m not up to snuff on my race history. Tawny, I need you to go back out there and try to pick up her trail. Bianca, you go back to the safe house and arrange her accommodations.”
Tawny nodded and headed out without further questions. Lucian could see the determination burning in her eyes. She wasn’t happy Ruby got away from her anymore than he was. She’d find Ruby’s trail, eventually.
“Lucian, the map,” Fields said calmly, breaking into his thoughts.
An hour later, they had twenty of Pagan’s daytime operatives in the surrounding towns. None of them were as good as their boss except Marie and she’d followed Tawny into the woods. Bree and Nila were pouring over the map trying to estimate how fast Ruby could travel. One of Nila’s personal contacts was of Amazon descent and she’d called in a favor, giving them a rough estimate of stamina and speed.
Bianca had left to set up the safe house, knowing she could leave the actual capture in Lucian’s capable hands. Fields kept in contact with the Veilerians who lived in the surrounding communities. Ruby was being tracked down in the biggest woman-hunt in Veilerian history.
Lucian paid them no mind. He bided his time until sundown. He methodically dressed himself in clothing made for stealth. He would find her. He could feel the line stretched between them, feel it vibrate when she hurt herself in her haste, feel it tug when she thought about his betrayal.
His room was redolent in Ruby’s jasmine scent. The bed still a mess of blankets and sheets, the pillow Ruby had slept on at an angle.
He tried to ignore the pain in his chest and went about gathering a personal arsenal. Lucian wasn’t fool enough to believe he’d get her back without having to fight Malachi again. Instinct told him something very important was about to take place.
* * * *
Before heading out after his mate, Lucian looked over a report Breed Affairs had compiled. He saw the words “Amazon,” “Bretina,” and “Ingvar.” He heard a muffled huff from Fields and knew he’d also read the most important parts of the report. Only Fields had been alive when Bretina, with Ingvar at her side, had ruled the eastern seaboard with an iron fist. Everyone else learned about them in the history books. Bretina, with her tribe of forest Amazons and a few handpicked berserker mates, had been responsible for the disappearances of several settlements in the early days of the New World.
Lucian didn’t envy any leader who went up against them. Bretina was no longer leader of her tribe, but her daughter was, and she was just as ruthless and savvy as her mother. All of her daughters were. Lucian glanced through the names: Albreda, the leader and third born, Ocean, the oldest, Saga, second oldest, and Zoe, the youngest daughter. They were among the fiercest Amazons in the world and won several tournaments during the Battle of Lionesses, as those games were called.
No one outside the race was exactly sure what the purpose of the tournaments was, just that they’d been going on since the beginning of Veilerian recorded history. The resulting fighters born of the tournament winners were usually the fiercest and no one wanted to tangle with them.
Lucian reflected on what else he knew of the Amazons. The majority was very man-shy and was, in fact, extremely aggressive when presented with a nonrelative male. Considering how rare it was for Amazons to give birth to male children or to keep men in their lives, it was unusual to find one who didn’t try to kill every man she found. They were ferocious fighters, protectors, and mothers.
The myths surrounding Amazonian mating rituals abounded with everything from BDSM to flat-out rape. Some suggested that to truly mate an Amazon was the most stupefying experience in the world and the male who managed it would never want for love for the rest of his days.
Lucian rubbed the back of his neck. “So what does all of this mean?” he asked the room at large, knowing damn well it meant his mate was none other than the only surviving granddaughter of the most bloodthirsty berserker and Amazon leader in history.
“It means we look for her and if we don’t find her, we make a diplomatic appeal to the Amazons for help.”
“I should’ve never mated her,” he murmured as he stared out at the night. “I should’ve just stuck with the damn plan.”
When Lucian turned around, it was to see Fields looking at him like he wanted to beat the crap out of him.
“You’re a fool, Lucian,” the elemental said harshly. He rose to his feet, the currents around him whipping his hair and clothing into a frenzy. “You’ve been given the one gift few immortals will ever receive and you’re saying you shouldn’t have grabbed it with both hands? If she is your mate, then that woman was created for you and you alone. There will be no other for you or for her. If by some miracle, she cares for you and you get her back, you’d better make damn sure you don’t ruin it. Chances like this only come along once in a lifetime and, considering how long we live, you’ll regret it forever.”
Lucian looked at Fields, his heart and his mind at complete odds with each other. He understood what Fields was saying and even agreed, but the honor of not only himself, but his family was rooted in his duties to the Council. He also had a duty to his deceased brother, Bernard, to fulfill this assignment and join Council ranks.
The Veil needed the Chieftain. The Council needed to ensure the Chieftain’s safety. In weighing the desperate need of many against his own, he knew there was no real choice to make. And hopefully Ruby wouldn’t hate him for all eternity.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ruby heard more rustling, turning away from Bretina. Several people were moving through the marsh, headed their way. Some sense told her it was Council representatives.
“Let’s go,” Bretina asked softly, the tension in her body suggesting she would and could whisk Ruby to safety.
Lucian would be on the heels of the Council reps. Even if she wanted to escape, he’d just follow. She didn’t want to get her grandmother in trouble with Council, no matter how kick-ass the Amazon seemed to be. Ruby wouldn’t go easy, but she wouldn’t take her grandmother with her.
She had a crazy idea that maybe she could reason with Lucian. After that eye-opening vision she’d had of Amazon mates, she wondered if the arrogant vampire was her true mate. Something inside her needed to know, and the only way she’d find out was to be near Lucian again. A warning echoed in her brain, saying she was taking unnecessary risks, but her heart, oh, her heart ached to find out if Lucian was meant for her.
“Go. If you don’t hear from me in a couple of days, look for me,” Ruby whispered back, ignoring the warning her logic screamed. “I’m sure you’ll learn where I am soon enough. The Council will want to celebrate my capture.”
Bretina gave her a cocky smile. “I don’t know if this is the bravest thing I’ve ever seen someone do or the dumbest.”
Ruby let out a shout of laughter. “I’m sure it’s the dumbest, but I have to know something first.”
Bretina nodded, satisfied. “You want me to take them with me?” she asked tilting her head at the dead demons.
“Um, yeah,” Ruby said, having forgotten about the corpses. If Lucian saw the demons, he’d go apeshit.
She helped Bretina drag the bodies further into the brush, covering them with smelly mud and leaves. “I’ll bring help to move them out. You be careful with Council,” Bretina warned in a near silent whisper.
“I’ll be fine. If things get dicey, I’ll make a run for it. They won’t hurt me. They need me,” Ruby swore to her grandmother, praying she was right. “Now go.”
The mystical bonding stretching between Ruby and Lucian felt as though it were tightening some. He was coming, fast. Ruby frowned and watched as Bretina slinked into the underbrush, disappearing like a shadow in the face of the sun. Ruby’s heart pounded as she tried to center herself for the c
onfrontation. She didn’t know the other councilors or what they might do to her, but she wasn’t going without a fight. She tensed and prepared to defend herself. She hoped, prayed really, that she could convince Lucian that she was serious about her freedom. He had to understand. He had to.
She was undone when Lucian was the first in the clearing. The thunder in his expression warred with obvious concern. Her heart melted. His hands ran over her body intimately, checking for injuries.
When he finally convinced himself she was unharmed, he shook her hard, making her hackles rise. “I can’t believe you did this!” he hissed at her through clenched teeth.
Any spark of happiness or relief at the sight of her accidental mate was instantly squashed. Ruby set her feet and knocked his hands away from her arms with a vicious oath. “I told you I didn’t want to be the Council pet, Lucian. What did you expect me to do? Sit around and let you all decide my fate? Pretend I don’t mind a group of complete strangers think they know what’s best for me? Dream on, buddy.”
“Maybe we should conduct this conversation somewhere else,” an amused feminine voice said from the shadows. The elf appeared, looking perfectly healthy. Ruby denied feeling any concern over her treatment of the tracker. “I’m Tawny Cunningham, Chieftain. That was a neat trick you used, and thanks for making sure I didn’t wake up with a crick in my neck.” The comment was made dryly, which cheered Ruby a bit. If the elf could laugh at herself, then she couldn’t be that angry.
Lucian said nothing, pulling Ruby into his side as they headed back the way the trackers had come. Ruby noted Lucian had arrived with half a dozen people. Two she recognized as elves, and one she thought might’ve been a wereanimal, but the rest looked completely normal, which made her wonder where they’d come from.
Part of her felt bad these people had been roused from their normal duties to chase her, but another part, the part she was beginning to suspect was Amazon, felt extraordinary pride at her ability to elude them for so long. From what she heard by the group’s quiet conversation, she’d traveled a good thirty miles from Lucian’s house.