by Christa Wick
Dana reacted more aggressively, leaving his corner to stand next to the chair Esme sat in and glower at her. "The hell you won't. You're blood bound to protect the clan."
Esme brushed at her skirt, never looking toward Dana. "If you want your dog to stay, Seth, keep him chained."
The men exchanged a look, Seth's gaze darkening. Dana retreated to the corner with a scowl marring his good looks.
Seth rested one hand on the back of the chair and looked down at the crown of Esme's head. "He's right. You must hold to your ancestor's oath."
"Right, I'm sworn to protect the clan, yadda, yadda, yadda." She rolled her eyes then smiled at Leah again. "Thing is, she's clan."
A dismissive snort sounded in the otherwise quiet corner.
Seth shook his head. "She's not, but…"
"I was told she triggered your mating response."
Mating response? Was she freaking serious? Leah looked at Seth to find his eyes locked on her mouth. His own lips had darkened, parting slightly to reveal a hint of teeth and tongue. His cheeks flushed, nostrils widening as he lifted his gaze to meet hers.
"She did."
Leah responded with a soft gasp.
"It's not as distressing as it might sound." Esme reached across the mattress to cover Leah's hand before looking back at Seth. "You touched her forehead and she responded, right?"
"Not exactly." Seth shook his head again, the gesture less certain than before. "She passed out -- not the same."
"Your hand was tingling, that's why you used it -- you sensed her wolf totem and responded as alpha to calm her and avoid exposing the pack."
"You're all crazy," Leah whispered and withdrew her hand from Esme's.
"I wish I were, honey, but the sad truth is you're a latent." She closed her eyes, her mouth pressing into a flat line, her voice just as even as she explained. "Somewhere up the family tree you have a pair of shifters and a child born to them who couldn't shift."
Dana growled in the corner, his weight restlessly flexing from one leg to the other. "Latents don't exist."
Esme looked at Dana for the first time since her arrival. The right side of her top lip curled and she flicked her hand at him. "Neither do werewolves."
She moved her focus back to Leah. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she finished explaining. "Used to be such children were killed at birth -- a draught of something to put them to sleep and they never woke up. The parents considered it a mercy. The children couldn't run with the pack, but they would be hunted and killed by the pack's enemies all the same."
Feeling a knot form in her throat, Leah tried to swallow it down. It bubbled back up, releasing with a soft whimper. Who the hell would do that to a baby and think it was a mercy?
"Stop this, you're upsetting her." Seth put his hand on Esme's shoulder. "Just cast the spell."
"You don't understand." Esme brushed his hand away and inched closer to Leah. "These two came to the building tonight looking for a Hunter, one who finds and kills shifters. Only the Hunter wasn't looking for a shifter here -- there aren't any. He was looking for you. I'd be signing your death warrant if I put a forgetting spell on you."
Seth suddenly lifted his hand, stretching his fingers as Leah crawled toward the opposite side of the bed, her gaze growing bigger and her breathing becoming erratic. He shook his hand then balled it into a fist and rubbed his other hand against it.
Esme glanced over her shoulder. "It's tingling again. Do you believe me now?"
Seth nodded.
"Good, leave us alone for a few minutes so we can talk."
"No." He folded his arms across his chest, his stance widening.
Leah slid off the bed and crouched between the mattress and the wall. Her fingers tightened into a fist. She couldn't hope to win, but they'd leave here bloodied. "You're all crazy and I want you out now."
Esme pinned her in place with a hard stare and four words. "You dream about shifting."
Leah shook her head but her mouth trembled in denial.
"You do." Her gaze narrowing even further, Esme nodded. "And you're so quick to say we're crazy because you grew up around people with violent mood swings. You have them yourself. You don't want to believe us because you think that would mean you're crazy, too, and there's nothing you're more afraid of than that."
Esme rubbed at the chair's armrests again, her eyes fluttering shut. "This is your favorite spot in the apartment -- maybe the whole world right now." She reached up, her hands caressing the flared wings of the chair's back. "You come here when you're afraid, lonely, missing someone very close to you."
Behind Esme, Seth growled but she ignored the warning. "Amanda…"
Tears flowed down the cheeks of both women.
Leah sniffled. "What do you know about Amanda?"
Esme's hands started to move across her stomach, her expression growing increasingly strained. Dana moved from the corner, his hand nervously reaching for the witch's shoulder but freezing before he touched her.
"She was like you," Esme answered. "Same hair…same eyes."
"My sister." Leah sank onto her bottom, her back against the bedroom wall and just her head showing above the mattress.
Esme took a shaky breath in, her hands gripping the flesh of her belly, her nails pressing into her blouse and the skin beneath. "She's gone now."
"Murdered," Leah confirmed.
Esme nodded, her hand coming up to brush at a lingering tear. "You should come with us, but I won't put a forgetting spell on you if you refuse. No one will believe you if you say anything."
She rested an elbow on the mattress, her hand reaching across the bed toward Leah. "But whatever you do, you have to leave here tonight. If not with us, then go far, far away. And you have to keep on moving. You can never stop running."
Leah closed her eyes, drew her bottom lip between her teeth. When she looked up again, she hooked Esme's gaze and held it. "How do I know you're not the ones who want to hurt me?"
"It's simple, honey." Esme stood and shook out the folds of her long skirt. "You'd be dead already."
**********
Seth carried an overstuffed duffel and suitcase into the guestroom of Esme Foster's house and placed it center of the bed. Walking over to the window, he opened the curtains and checked the lock. He could feel Leah out in the hall hesitating at the room's threshold. Slightly angling his head, he caught her reflection in the glass pane.
"Promise I won't bite, baby."
He'd meant it as a tease but she started wringing her hands. Sighing, he closed the curtains and turned to her. The room was small enough that it only took a few steps before he stood beside her. He expected her to retreat into the hallway, but she stood her ground, impressing him. Even within his pack, people had a way of backing away from him. Only Dana, his second in command, and Esme stood up to him -- and now Leah.
He closed his eyes for a second, breathing her in. This close, her smell made him drunk with need -- even more than it had been in the elevator or on the car ride back now that he'd had time to study its intricacies. There was a bite of hot pepper to it, like the fire she'd shown at her apartment when she told him to leave. An undercoating of dark chocolate gave just a play of bitter before her scent finally relented and melted across his tongue rich and sweet.
Opening his eyes, he fought the urge to curl his hand along the back of her pale neck and pull her to him for a first kiss. The timing sucked -- he had to figure out what her being a latent meant for the clan, not to mention the whole werewolf thing she had to deal with and the ashes of her dead sister that Esme had stirred back to life.
"You can go now." Leah lifted her chin, tried not to look at him and failed.
Her face was a work of art, the canvas smooth and pale with thin traces of blue beneath the skin. A barely perceptible cleft dented her narrow chin. He pictured his thumb flat against the spot, using it to control the tilt of her head as he kissed her. Those startling green eyes would close in surrender when his lips touched hers.
Not green. Green was too bland of a description. She stared at him with irises the color of pale liquid moss, the kind he could happily roll around in for hours in his wolf form. Right then, her pupils pulsed, their size huge. Watching them dance, he leaned a little closer and felt heat flare through her body.
God, what a body. The memory of pressing against her made his cock twitch. Definitely on the plus side, she had rounded arms with wide flared hips that dipped back down to plump thighs. Not at all like the women in his clan who were as hard and muscled as the males.
His gaze moved to her breasts. Full and sensuous, he could bury his head between them if she would only let him. But first he would suck the nipples to a swollen peak. Just thinking about it turned his tongue as hard as his dick.
He blinked, his gaze refocusing on the most lush, fuckable woman he'd ever seen. His woman, no matter how much she might deny it. She was a latent. She'd triggered his mating response. She didn't understand yet what that meant, but he knew. All the shifters before them, all the living, fucking, and dying to make room for the succeeding generations had distilled down to this one woman -- his genetic mate.
He reached his hand up, not so much rethinking the kiss as knowing he had to taste her mouth before he took that hot, sweet pussy. She stepped back, her pupils growing impossibly bigger.
She swatted at his hand. "There'll be none of that!"
Fiery, but winnable. He grinned, matching her steps away from him until she had her back up against the door to the opposite room. Wrapping his hands around the door frame, he bent down until his lips were even with her glistening strawberry pucker of a mouth. Seth dropped one hand, slid it along the small of her back and pulled her to him.
"Do you know how much control it's taking not to strip you naked…"
Pausing, he trailed one fang over the curve of her ear. "Throw you on the bed…"
He sucked the bottom of her lobe into his mouth, his cock swelling with the need to plant his seed inside her.
"And lick you head to toe before I fuck you?"
A sexy little whimper ran through her, chased by a full-body shiver. She surged against him for one brief second of pure heaven before she pushed at his chest and glared up at him.
"Do you even speak English?"
"No, but I hear he can howl in both Mandarin and Cantonese." Esme appeared around the corner carrying fresh towels for the guest bathroom and a small travel bag.
Ignoring Seth's frustrated growl, she disappeared into the guest room and placed the items on the dresser. Re-entering, she pointed down the hall. "Pillow and blankets are on the couch. Keep the snoring to a minimum."
Leah shook her head, the raven black strands settling in a tousle around her face. "He can't stay here."
The hell he couldn't! Seth wrapped a lock of Leah's hair around his finger. Soft, smooth as silk, it made him wonder how much smoother and softer the fur between her legs was. His cock shifted inside his jeans. Not only was he staying -- he'd be damned if he would sleep on the couch, not when she was this close. He'd almost had her. A kiss, a lick along the corner of her mouth and she would have forgotten the ridiculous human rituals of courtship and surrendered.
Esme snorted. "If you can convince him to leave, please teach me."
Seth dipped his head back down to Leah's ear. "Yes, love. Convince me."
He didn't care if Dana's witch was standing right behind him. He exhaled along the curve of Leah's neck, heating the sensitive flesh before the tip of his tongue darted out to stroke it. Running his palm across her breast, he felt the tip harden. Her scent, heavy with arousal, rose to greet him. He took a deeper breath in, realizing she was just days away from ovulating.
As a latent, it was possible she would be able to bear his children. There were no little ones in the pack. A decade had passed since the last child was born to any of the clans. A hungry growl escaped him, his hand tightening on her breast as his chest started to ache.
"Staying right here, beautiful."
Leah reached between them, pressed her thumb against the underside of his chin and pushed. "I'll leave if you don't."
Her voice caught as she rejected him. Seth pulled back, his gaze landing first on her eyes. It hurt too much to look at them. Anger sparked deep inside the pupils. The quiver in her mouth told him he'd gone too far. The lick, the breast, calling her love.
The ache in his chest deepened. If the stories about latents were true, she should be feeling the same connection. His mating instinct would not have been triggered otherwise.
Behind him, the witch cleared her throat. "Seth--"
He growled. Whatever Esme was going to say, he didn't want to hear it. He didn't need the two of them ganging up on him.
The warning didn't deter her, just softened her tone. "It's a lot for someone who grew up outside the clan to process."
"You said they were hunting her." Turning away from Leah, Seth glared at Esme. "She's in danger and she's my..."
Feeling Leah stiffen behind him, he swallowed the word down before he could say it. She had looked horrified back at her apartment when Esme had mentioned his mating response. It hadn't helped that he lost control of the change in the stairwell, showing her his fangs. Despite her body's continued arousal, she probably thought he was some kind of rabid beast.
"Fine." He relented with a snarl. "Dana will watch her."
A small swell of satisfaction eased his pain as Esme paled. Petty, he knew, but he felt better knowing he wouldn't be the only one whose night was ruined. Dana and his pretty little witch could be miserable right along with him.
Esme acquiesced with a tilt of her head, her nostrils flaring slightly in irritation before she waved him away. He turned, gave one last look at Leah, who studiously avoided his gaze, and left the house.
*****
Certain she wouldn't get any sleep, Leah started to unpack the duffel. Once she agreed to leave with them, Seth had given her only thirty minutes to gather up a few clothes and any keepsakes she cherished. Lucky for him, her salary at the school only managed to keep her fed with a low-rent roof over her head for the year. She'd been able to bring all of her clothes and her only keepsake -- a silver-framed picture of her and Amanda.
Esme stood just inside the doorway watching. "Do you mind if I help?"
Leah looked over her shoulder at the woman, hoping her eyes countered the indifferent lift of her shoulders. She had a million questions she wanted to ask if she could only figure out how to start and what topics might be off limits.
Grabbing some hangers from the closet, Esme opened the suitcase. "You know, if you're curious about anything…"
Leah chewed at her lip, uncertain which question to start with. She knew they were in a remote area an hour out of the town she lived in, with all of the surrounding land owned by the clan under various names. She knew the clan consisted of several packs, each numbering anywhere from a handful of werewolves to a couple dozen and headed by a pack leader like Seth. Years past, packs would have been blood related, but the people Esme referred to as the Hunters were close to achieving a complete genocide.
Her stomach did a sick back flip at the thought of so many people ruthlessly murdered.
Pulling a pair of slacks from the duffel, she handed them to Esme. "Are there other humans living with this clan?"
"Two." Putting the slacks on the hanger, she walked over to the closet and hung them up. "My mother, Camille, and a healer named Gordon who looks as old as Moses."
Opening up the suitcase, Leah unwrapped a blouse from around the silver frame. Both women in the picture had pure black hair. Frail from childhood, Amanda was the smaller of the sisters despite being three years older than Leah. They had their arms around each other, their heads turned toward the camera, lips puckered in a playful kiss to the friend snapping the photo.
Leah placed the frame on the nightstand and looked over her shoulder. "Is your mom a…"
"Witch?" Esme laughed and nodded. "My family has served the
clan for nine generations."
Returning to the bed, she gestured at the picture. "You and Amanda?"
Clearing her throat, Leah looked away. "Yeah, the summer before she was murdered."
"About the frame," Esme scratched at her chin for a second then pinched at her lower lip. "You have to be careful with silver around the pack."
Leah's head swiveled. "You mean that silver bullet mumbo-jumbo is true?"
"Not exactly." The suitcase and duffel empty, Esme settled on the edge of the mattress. "Silver is a conduit for magic -- it magnifies potency. It's dangerous to the pack in my hands because I'm a very well-trained witch. So if I chucked a silver tea tray at Dana's head…"
Looking as if she'd contemplated the act more than once, a grin erupted across Esme's face before her expression quickly sobered. "Anyway, as a latent, there's a certain magic inherent in you, even if it's unschooled."
Leah started to protest, but Esme cut her short. "No one ever called you a jinx growing up?"
Leah didn't answer.
"You didn't have a talent for finding things people lost?"
"Anyone can figure--"
"And you didn't always know exactly before someone you cared about or really disliked showed up or called?" Esme studied Leah for a few seconds before grinning again. "Hot damn, three out of three!"
Picking up the suitcase and duffel, Leah turned away and put them in the closet. She felt her cheeks heat up, the witch almost as good as Seth at making her feel self-conscious. Leaning against the closet doorframe, she watched Esme put fresh linen cases on the pillows.
"I sort of shut it off after Amanda died." Suddenly cold, she wrapped her arms around her chest. "The week before she was murdered, I had a feeling of dread, leaden…suffocating."
Esme stopped dressing the bed and stared at Leah. "You've had it again since then."
Leah nodded. "It started a few days ago. I didn't recognize it until you said Amanda's name at the apartment."
Crossing the room, Esme gently took Leah's hands and held them. "That's why you came with us."
Blinking, Leah felt a small trickle of tears. Freeing one hand, she wiped them away. "I was going to run a few errands this afternoon after I started a load of laundry but the sensation got really heavy. I locked myself in my apartment until it stopped about ten minutes before I ran into Seth."