He was beginning to see the tribe’s thrall. Why Ariana was so committed. He wondered what her story was. Who had hurt her so badly that she needed saving?
“My story is different,” the chemist, Ella said. “My salvation came when Greer found me with my beast.”
Kelly gasped and Lance frowned. She’d mated with a wolf? He glanced at Ariana, who shifted her eyes to meet his briefly as if to say, listen, be witness, learn something. He shifted back to Ella, watching as she surveyed her audience, her furrowed brow and frown enough to tell him her story would be different.
Ella’s gaze seemed to skitter to Kelly. “Like you, sister, I was abused by the one who was supposed to cherish me above all.”
“But you bonded with your beast,” Kelly whispered.
“Happily bonded.” Ella sneered. “Or so I thought.”
“Ella’s tale is much like yours, Kelly,” Ariana said. “Her bond began with love, romance, a connection between Huntress and wolf that may have been envied by some. Romantics.” She scoffed a little on the last word, earning her a small indulgent smile from Ella.
“Until he turned,” Ella said as she clenched her fists, her lips tightening as if she was forcing the words out. “Some evil gripped him and he became a monster, a true beast, when before he’d only ever transformed into a wolf.” She seemed to gulp her next words, cleared her throat and then continued. “He was no longer a man, no longer remembered the significance of our bond beyond my powers to his pack. He treated me horrendously. Brutally. Not so much in action—not really physically—but mentally, emotionally.”
“Like Andrew,” Kelly said, her eyes wide, tears glistening.
“Until that day in the woods…” Ella lowered her head, words seeming to fail her.
“We cut a beast down one afternoon. A beast who’d been after another Huntress,” Ariana said as she glanced in Ella’s direction. “We didn’t know that it was Ella’s beast until we found her wandering the forest in a daze the next day.”
“And then I was saved, as you will be,” Ella said, her words quiet, without conviction when she glanced up at Kelly.
“You mourn him still?” Kelly reached across the Huntress next to her so she could touch Ella’s hand. “Even though he abused your trust, your love?”
Ella snapped her eyes to Kelly’s once again. “Of course. I loved him once. There are days that I wish with all of my heart that I could touch him one last time.”
Kelly gasped. Ariana frowned. Obviously, she hadn’t expected that.
“But my love for my beast, or any man, is something that I should atone for since it made me weak. And it did make me weak.” Ella slipped her hand out from under Kelly’s. “I am one with my tribe now, my heart mending slowly. And I am forever grateful for my sister Amazons.”
With that cue, Ariana nodded, then stood, the others following suit.
She started the chant, a low murmur, words that he couldn’t make out. He felt the power rise. Goose bumps on his flesh made him shiver as the other Huntresses’ voices joined hers. It wasn’t loud, nothing that would attract attention above the usual forest sounds. It was lulling though, the power cascading through Lance, making him yawn, his body suddenly sluggish.
Ariana ceased her chanting, bringing the other women to silence. “Great Goddess Artemis, mother to us all, we thank you for your wisdom and your strength in our mission. We honor you with the blood of youth.” She pulled her sickle from her back before slipping it under the doe’s neck. She slit its flesh in one effortless stroke. Blood pooled as the animal slumped.
The warriors each unsheathed a blade of their own.
“And blood of power,” Ariana said. She pulled her sickle across her palm, wincing as it bit her flesh before she tilted it over the pool of doe blood, hers mingling with its.
Lance jolted out of his stupor, watching with horror as Kelly did the same, angling her blade in a way that was going to cut too deep. Her cry of pain made him jump. He quickly moved to her, pulled her back and out of the circle, her hand cradled in his.
“Kelly! What have you done?” Her hand was splayed open, blood gushing. “Fuck!”
She smiled at him. “I’ve never done that before, I think I went too deep.” Her eyes rolled back and he caught her before she fell.
“Damn it, Kelly.” He lowered her to the ground, tilting her hand to let the blood drain from her palm. He was filthy—nothing on him clean enough to wrap the wound. He lifted her hand to his mouth, then licked along the cut, his mind focused on using his tongue as his method of mending her wound. He’d never done it that way before—why the hell would he? But as he licked along the cut, he felt his power rising. He used his lips to pinch the wound together and his tongue to send his magic in. Once he got into a rhythm, he closed his eyes and let the magic lead him.
Chapter Ten
Ambushed
I watched with disgust as Lance seemed to kiss Kelly’s wounded hand better. He was so blissful in his task that he didn’t realize he had a crowd. His hand was on Kelly’s hip, embracing her as he tenderly cared for her wound.
What kind of moron cuts that deep anyway? I scoffed to myself, not at all wondering what his lips on my palm would feel like.
Nope, not at all.
A few of the Huntresses shot me careful glances, gauging if I was going to react. I was seething, wanting to rip them apart, so fucking jealous that I wanted to break something, like Kelly’s face. It was getting worse, these feelings of ownership, a need to possess Lance every time he showed her the least bit of attention. What was killing me, though, was that before I knew he’d been playing to some extent—teasing me with Kelly, this time was for real. He cared about her, was tending to her without thought, love evident in his actions. My heart felt like it was crushing in on itself, like I was losing something I never had in the first place.
Do something, my gut screamed. Take your man. I pushed that nagging voice back and instead I rolled a shoulder, easing the tension down my spine, resheathed my weapon and walked away.
“I’m going to go clean up. Save some of the meat for me.” I snatched up my bag and left the camp.
Artemis had blessed us with a power surge, our sacrifice appeasing the Goddess, Kelly’s blood in particular pleasing her immensely it seemed. What I’d told Kelly earlier in the day was true; the Goddess had taken a keen interest in her plight, guiding us so that we had no choice but to help Kelly regain her strength and find her missing mate. What we didn’t know was why.
It was obvious to us that having a former Order leader in the hands of the enemy was dangerous. However, we’d never been in league with the Order in the first place so why it was a concern for the tribe, I couldn’t say. And if Queen Val knew, she wasn’t saying anything either. Although we’d always chanted, sacrificed and prayed to Artemis, it had only been in the past few months that she actually had begun to speak back to us, sending messages, that, although garbled sometimes, led us in certain directions.
In the past six months we’d made contact with Artemis more times than not. Ella’s special brand of herbs, her knowledge of different chants, helped us make a connection that had failed us for years. We were desperate to keep the Goddess talking to us, guiding in her convoluted way.
I didn’t presume to understand the mystical workings of Artemis and could only hope that her greater plan was something beneficial…with the Goddesses though, that was sometimes iffy. What I did know was that you didn’t want to piss off Artemis. Given our history with the woman and the fact that I was feeling the symptoms of one of her ancient punishments already—lusting for my Hunter—I wouldn’t want to cross her. If she was directing us to this purpose, then that’s what we were going to do. We lived to serve. Or something like that.
I skirted along the edge of the camp, cutting through the forest and down a familiar path. Even with the limited light cast from the rising moo
n, I knew my way well enough to avoid any major pitfalls and was at the small body of water in only a few minutes.
The lake was surrounded by forest and rocks. Big huge boulders with giant tree roots snaking down and dipping into the water. Moss was everywhere, vines too. It was fed by an underground hot spring. The water was calm, steam rising into the crisp night air. I knelt and opened my bag, then pulled out a small case that held the basic toiletries, including a body wash, shampoo conditioner combo pack that was biodegradable, safe for use in the lake. Just because I was in the wilderness didn’t mean I couldn’t have some of the comforts of home.
I unstrapped my weapon holsters, then took them off, putting them on the ground, hilt toward the lake, just in case I needed them. I slipped out of my clothes and draped them on a tree trunk. Digging through my bag, I swapped out a clean pair of panties and bra for later, and set them aside on one of the giant boulders that was conveniently set up like a table. The stone was still warm from the sun and I pressed my palm against it. It was another reason why I loved this particular camp. I’d be able to lie out and dry in the night air, not getting too chilled thanks to the thermal heat that the boulders seemed to trap.
If the place wasn’t infested with roaming beasts and too close to wolf territory, I’d have made it my home.
Naked, save for the one remaining weapon holster strapped to my calf—a blade I never went without—and shivering a little, I pulled my hair from the ponytail and then waded into the lake. The water cold against my feet at first, warm tendrils snaking around my ankles as I walked farther in.
“Ahhh.” I moaned as the water crept up and around my waist, the soothing current cycling around me. I crouched, soaking myself from the neck down, my butt resting on the muddy, pebbly bottom, the ends of my hair wet and heavy, tugging my head with the churning water. It was like a gentle massage, watery fingers easing the tension away.
Which reminded me of Kelly’s massage across Lance’s shoulders earlier, her hands on his flesh, the moan he’d given.
“Grrrr.”
I slipped under water and pushed myself deeper, letting the sound of the current wash away any more thoughts of him or her. My hair swirled around me, the water as clear as it could be with the limited light from the moon. Tranquility, peace, if only for a moment. I turned and swam toward the center, the lake so deep it was all darkness below. No weeds or icky things—just warm, fresh bliss.
When I broke the surface, I instantly got a shiver of unease. My heart ramped up, thudding painfully. The lake was silent. The only sound my breathing and the lapping of the water against my body as I swayed to keep upright, treading water. The forest sounds came from a distance, leaves rustling, branches snapping, a few night birds calling. The crickets and frogs around the lake, the other bugs that usually serenaded me with their sounds were not making a peep. Had they been making noise when I first went under? I frowned. I hadn’t been paying close enough attention. I turned, searching the forest line for danger, my hackles rising with each sweep as I reached down and unsheathed my blade.
“You want some company in that big bath tub?” Lance stood at the shore, my toiletry case in his hand.
I scowled, letting out a hiss as my pulse quickened for different reasons. “No.” Yes, fuck yes, hell yes, I wanted him in here with me. I wanted to slide onto his cock and ride him underwater. I wanted his hands and lips all over my wet skin, pinching my hard nipples, eating my mouth, licking the water from my flesh. “There isn’t enough room in here for both of us.”
I resheathed my blade and swam a little closer to shore, the feel of the muddy bottom under my toes giving me a little more stability.
Lance held up my case, a cocky smirk on his mouth. “I think you forgot something over here.” He zipped it open, rummaged around inside. “Body wash, hmmm, shampoo, toothpaste.” He glanced up. “Yep, all necessities for a good wash up. You want it?”
“Zip it up and toss it here,” I said with a wave, the movement splashing water in my face. “It’s waterproof and it floats.”
He held it up, pinched between finger and thumb and shook his head. “Nah ah, you’re going to have to come and get it.”
I lowered my chin, mouth below the surface so he couldn’t see my smile. Did he think I wouldn’t? I shrugged, lifted my gaze and boldly met his stare. “Okay.”
Walking in neck deep water is not as graceful as one would think, and I had a bit of a trek to get to the shallower area. Instead I swam, ass skimming the top, lily white skin no doubt like a beacon. Just to make it more fun, I flipped over and floated for a bit, tits breaking the surface as I lazily stroked toward him. I was smiling, not bothering to look at him, knowing that his eyes were probably glued to my breasts.
Okay, flirting was fun. I could do flirting.
I heard a splash, figured he’d shed his clothes and was barreling for me. Was waiting for his hands to come up from underneath, maybe cup my breasts, flick my nipples. And then I felt a wave. It splashed over me from the wrong direction. I bolted up, my feet slipping on the lake bottom before I could get purchase.
Lance was screaming at me. “Ariana, get out, get out! There’s a beast in the water with you!”
I looked to the other side. Only about two hundred feet away and there it was—a werewolf swimming at frightening speed toward me. I spun toward Lance, who was knee deep in the lake, sword in his hand, one of my sickles in the other. I made it within a hundred feet of him when the second beast attacked, coming out of the forest to Lance’s left, barreling at him with fangs bared.
“Lance! Look out!”
He spun and slashed. The beast in the water caught up with me. With a claw digging into my hip, it spun me so fast that I fell back, my ass hitting the lakebed. I scrambled to unsheathe my blade, my hands clumsy as the pain from the claw wound roared through my hip.
It was on me, rank breath washing over me. “Huntress,” it growled, then pushed me under. With gigantic paws on my shoulders, it curled its claws around my back, puncturing flesh so I cried out, losing my held breath. In a wavy distortion I saw it lift its head and roar, the muffled sound barely penetrating the water.
It adjusted its stance, forcing its massive hips between my thighs. Rape? Not the usual MO. Typically the monsters just ripped us Huntresses to shreds if given the opportunity. It squeezed my shoulders, trying to angle me better for its distended, disfigured cock. Horrified at the idea but not losing my wits, I pulled my knees up, fighting against instinct to scissor my legs closed and instead opened myself wider. With legs splayed, knees brushing against the back of its arms, I snatched my blade. My lungs were screaming, black dots flashing. It was now or never.
He prodded me with his cock again, ready to thrust no doubt, and that was enough to ignite my rage. I brought my feet together and shoved against his groin, toes digging into his flesh, before pulling back and pounding him. His grip on my shoulders loosened. I struck again using my feet to push him away and with my limited mobility sliced across one of his hairy arms, my blade biting deep. He released me, his howl of pain ear piercing. I bounced from the water, sucking in a deep lungful of breath as I simultaneously drove my blade into its chest.
He howled again, my weapon protruding—not deep enough for an instant kill but my poison was at work. He stumbled back, clawing at the knife.
“Here, Ariana.” Lance’s hand was on my arm, my sickle shoved in front of me.
I grabbed it without hesitation, spun and rammed it into the beast’s chest. Killing it instantly. It fell with a hard splash and I stumbled away.
“Get the foul thing out of the lake,” I said, panting as I moved closer to shore.
Lance had left a bloody mess there, another beast writhing with its guts splayed on the beach. I dragged myself from the lake, water and blood spilling down my body from my various wounds. Sucking in a deep breath, I stood over the pathetic creature, disgust at its mewing
, at its begging for mercy. Lance had opened it up—no need to make a new hole. I shoved my sickle in and hacked its heart from below. Another death.
I moved away and slumped to the ground, the wound at my hip throbbing, my shoulders burning.
Lance pulled the first beast out of the water and dumped it on top of the body of the other.
He knelt in front of me, out of breath, hands touching my face, tilting it up so he could look in my eyes. “Are you injured?”
His hair was a mess, scratches lined his cheeks, blood and dirt all over and he was asking if I was okay?
Tears burned the backs of my eyes. I flinched, nodded, lowered my leg so he could see my hip. He gasped. Angry and gaping, it was only a couple of inches but the flesh was gouged and bleeding profusely. He laid his hand over it, and I laid my hand over his, shaking my head. I didn’t want his magic. His concern made my heart hurt. I didn’t like that.
He snapped his eyes to mine, determination there. I wouldn’t win this fight. I didn’t have the energy. With a sigh, I lifted my hand and let him do his work.
Feeling his power for the first time was intense. It sparked along my skin, pulling my tattered flesh together from within. There was pain at first, but then something special, different, came from his touch. As he mended, he pulsed an anesthetic of sorts, masking the discomfort and pain. It was amazing and something I totally didn’t know how to do. The throbbing of my wound disappeared to numbness and in its place I felt nothing but his euphoric touch. Watching with awe as he healed me in a way that was foreign to me.
His magic did other things to me too. It made me long for things I didn’t really want. Like to be held, and comforted…by him.
Valiant Heart Page 8