by Louisa Bacio
“And your mom?”
“According to a note left at our place, she went to visit some relatives. When’s the last time she’s done that? To think about it, when’s the last time she’s left the encampment?”
“What’s your dad say?”
“He doesn’t know what to say.”
“Well, don’t worry about it anymore tonight. She’ll be safe. You gotta know, though, that I have to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Darkness clouded Dom’s eyes. “I understand. I just don’t get it. What did Silver ever do to my mom? She’s not a threat to anything or anyone.”
“Everyone has a different level of enemy. Right now, we don’t know if she did this on purpose, and to what extent. I suspect the worst, but who knows?”
Viktor shrugged his shoulders, and gave his friend a pat on the back as he went inside. “I’ll send Jana out, and you’ll see her home safely, right?”
“Will do.”
Viktor stuck his head out. “You know, with your mom not around to cause problems—”
“Don’t say it. I’ve already thought it, but I can only handle one major life change at a time right now. My stepsister Silver showing up, my mom getting even more wacked out? Not the time to think about getting mated.”
“Don’t blame me for wanting to share the happiness.”
Inside, Jana sat by Silver’s bedside, smoothing her friend’s hair back. She laid the back of her hand against Silver’s forehead. “She’s burning up.”
“It’s going to be a long night,” he said. “Why don’t you go get some rest, and I’ll call you if I need you for anything?”
She hugged him as she passed by, and Viktor realized it had probably been the first time they had ever embraced. He’d always kept his distance, and now wondered why.
She looked warily at Nick. “I’ll see you later.”
In acknowledgement he nodded his head, and once she was gone, Nick sneered at the guitar in Viktor’s hands. “What are you going to do with that?”
“Play for our damsel in distress, until she no longer is.”
“I’m definitely going outside then,” he said. At the doorway, he looked back. “Thanks for what you did today, saving her.”
“You would have done the same thing, I know it.”
“But I wasn’t able to, that’s the thing. During the daylight, I’m disadvantaged. Nothing I could have done.”
“Don’t even think about it.”
“Anyway, I’ve got your back tonight. I’ll patrol the nearby woods and make sure nothing else exciting happens.”
“Let Dominick out there know, so no one shoots you, all right?”
“I’d like to see them try. The way I’m feeling, I need a little pick-me-up about now.”
“If those two hunters who chased after Silver come around, you have my permission to have a little snack.”
Nick bared his fangs at the invitation. With one last glance at the bedroom door, he walked into the night.
* * * *
Under the staggering weight of what could have happened that day, Nick sagged against the side of the house. The cool wood cut through his clothes and chilled him even further. He shivered, thinking how absurd he must look, a dangerous, deadly vampire shaking in his boots. He wasn’t cut out for this environment. At heart, he was a city boy. He’d hit a turning point tonight, and he realized Silver would be all right without him. He didn’t need to stay for her benefit, he didn’t belong here, and he needed to figure out what would be best for all of them.
He knew where Viktor would cast his vote.
Chapter Sixteen
She came to consciousness to the strum of a guitar and a familiar male voice. A sea of dizziness made her fall back down on to the pillows, and she shut her eyes, letting her body adjust to her surroundings. Viktor was singing “Love is a Four-Letter Word,” the song that had been playing when she left New Orleans. A sense of karmic rightness came over her. It was a sign, and she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to interpret it this time.
Nick wasn’t in the room. She was alone with Viktor.
“Hey there,” she said. “How long have you been playing?”
The amazing man stood, stretching his back out, then set the guitar down carefully and came toward her. Silver got a flash of being in his arms as he ran, the forest on fire all around them, and her face dug into his chest, smelling his strong scent. He’d been magnificent.
“Long enough,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore and thirsty.”
“Let me get you some water. Don’t try to get up before I get back. Your ankle won’t hold you.”
At the mention of her ankle, it began to throb anew. Damn. Just her luck; she goes into the forest to gather some flowers, and she ends up head over ass, hanging from a hunter’s trap. Some natural-born werewolf she was. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this lifestyle either.
The bright purple cup with the pink straw brought a smile to Silver’s face. “Where did you find that thing?”
“I stole it from one of the kids earlier. Thought it might be easier for you to drink from in bed.”
“Well, aren’t you thoughtful?”
“I’m trying.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, and she wanted to invite him in, to hold her and remind her she was alive and going to be all right. Tears streamed down her face, and she wiped them away with her free hand.
“Feels like all I’ve been doing lately is bawling.”
“No crying,” he said. “It’s going to be all right.”
He slid in next to her, gently placing his arm under her back, and she snuggled in closer. “I was so scared out there.” She hiccupped, and he took the cup away from her and sat it on the bedside table.
“I can only imagine. I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.”
“I should have told you I was going out there. I’m sorry I went alone.”
He got quiet at her apology. “We’ll talk about that situation a little later, when you’re feeling better. Right now, though, that’s the first order of business.”
* * * *
Whispers alerted Nick to their presence. He stepped back against the wall, further into the shadows. The average person would not be able to hear them, but with his superhuman hearing, their intent came through loud and clear. They were moving much too carefully and stealthily to be approaching the cabin under regular pretenses. No, they were out to kill, and it would not happen on his guard.
A growl broke out from the side of the house, and Lupa launched herself at the men.
“What the fuck?” one of the intruders called out. The animal made contact, then yelped. “Is it a werewolf, or a dog?”
“I don’t know, but do it in before it comes at us again.”
That comment was their death sentence. Nick had to strike before they did, or else Silver would never forgive him if he let them kill her beloved pet.
As he stepped forward, the floorboard creaked, and the taller of the two men turned toward Nick, as if sensing his presence. He launched himself onto the intruder, catching the scent of smoke and chemicals. He’d bet anything they were the two who had attacked Silver in the woods earlier, and they also probably had set the forest on fire in order to force her out of hiding.
The man elbowed Nick in the face, the pain making him even madder. Nick seized his arm, twisting it until he heard a satisfying crack, and then the other man launched himself on Nick’s back, stabbing a knife into his shoulder. He twirled around, flinging his one assailant onto the wooden stairs and hoping the corresponding sound was his ribs and back breaking, and then he grabbed hold of the man in his arms and sunk his teeth into the fleshy part of his neck.
Bitter blood filled his mouth, and he about gagged on the flavor. Sustenance was sustenance, though, no matter ho
w vile it tasted. Just proof that this creature was pure evil.
The guy’s legs bucked, trying to gain ground, but Nick lifted him up off the floor, not worrying about if he was tearing the flesh or inflicting unnecessary pain. The fucker deserved to die in fear. He would have done worse to Silver if he would’ve gotten his rotten hands on her.
* * * *
Shocked, she couldn’t speak, the horror lodged in her throat. The sickening sound of the body caving in on itself nauseated Silver.
“Nick, stop!” she finally yelled out.
He froze, looking up at her over the now dead body he grasped in his arms. That same embrace he’d held her in hundreds of times. With a deliberate twist, a crunching sound indicated he’d broken the guy’s neck, and then he dropped the corpse. Blood dripped from his mouth, down his chin and splattered on his shirt in a pattern that reminded Silver of a Rorschach test. What could she see in Nick’s killings tonight?
Her mind slipped, at odds with what she saw before her, and the connection she had with the vampire she knew. A strong presence stood slightly behind her, and she knew Viktor had joined her on the porch. Both of them stood, looking down upon Nick and the carnage he’d made.
Her undead lover wiped his mouth on the back of his arm, taking off some of the remains and smearing the rest. Her stomach revolted, and she reminded herself of her wolf hunts and the animals she’d killed.
But not humans. At that moment, Nick no longer appeared himself, but some evil demon-like creature, uncaring. She shuddered. How she hoped he hadn’t turned, out here in the wild, away from humanity. She prayed he hadn’t turned rogue, or else he’d have to be put down.
Lupa limped up the stairs and leaned against Silver’s leg. The dog whimpered, and Silver rubbed her massive head. Even she was disturbed by what had taken place.
“They weren’t human,” Nick finally said, addressing Viktor. “They tasted different than Silver, or werewolves I’ve fed from, so I’d say they weren’t werewolf either. Some form of Others, and they meant to kill Silver. I’m sure of it. They tasted disgusting.”
“Hired zombie assassins, most likely,” Viktor said.
“Zombie?” Silver said. “But they didn’t look dead.”
“Zombie doesn’t need to mean deceased and buried,” Viktor said. “Just no longer fully in control of their bodies.”
With Vick’s explanation, she took at closer look at the two men heaped on the floor, and gasped in recognition. On one, she recognized the plaid hunter’s shirt more than his beaten face.
“They’re the hunters who chased me in the woods, the ones I got away from. How did they find me here? How did they know which cabin was mine?”
“Well, obviously we won’t be asking them those questions,” Viktor said, headed down the stairs.
“You did a good protecting us, bloodsucker,” Viktor said. “You could have left them a little less dead, though, so we could have interrogated them.”
“Once I started, I was so full of rage, I couldn’t really stop,” Nick said. “Not until I heard Silver, that is.”
Viktor unhooked the communicator on his belt and spoke into it. Faster than Silver could have imagined, Dominick and two other members of the Pack arrived, and picked up the bodies. Nick bent down to help and she noticed fresh blood flowing from his shoulder blade. A knife remained lodged in his back.
“You’re hurt,” she said, limping down the staircase.
He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the remnants of his too-brief fight. The adrenaline had already drained from his body. Yet he still had energy to burn. “So you’re right,” he said. He tried to reach back to pull the knife, but it remained out of grasp. “And it looks like I’m going to need some assistance to get this damn blade out of my back.”
“I’m sure I can help with that,” Viktor said.
Without warning, he grabbed the hilt and yanked backward.
“Motherfucker,” Nick cursed. “You could give a guy some warning.”
“No matter what, it had to come out. All warning would have done was make you anticipate it more.”
Silver stood before Nick, a look of concern on her face. His vision blurred, and the world tilted on its axis. He was going down. His useless arm grasped at empty air, and he felt himself falling backward, helpless to do anything about it.
“Damn it.” He landed right in Viktor’s arms, and the fucking manly werewolf lifted him up and settled him onto the swinging bench on the porch. How perfectly fucking Norman Rockwell they must all look.
“Not so tough for a bad-ass vampire, are you?” Viktor asked.
“It’s not every day I consume a couple of bad guys, and get stabbed,” Nick joked. “You got any whiskey around here? I think I need a stiff drink.”
“That I can do,” Viktor said.
He disappeared into the darkness, and Silver sat next to him. “I was so worried about you.” She socked him in his good arm.
“Oww!”
“Don’t you ever do something dumbass like that again!”
“What, saving your life?”
“You know, the whole metal blade so close to your heart and shit,” she said.
Ah, no wonder it had affected him so badly. “At least it wasn’t wood. But, if you figure, I’ve already been staked through the chest twice now, the third time has to be my lucky charm.”
“Not funny, Nicholas Stake, and notice how I’m not laughing.”
He leaned against the plush softness of her body, and dozed happily. She made him feel safe, as if he hadn’t lost his humanity, and maybe there still was hope for him.
Chapter Seventeen
Viktor brought in the liquor, and Nick knocked it back quickly. Already, the wound on Nick’s shoulder was healing. Feeding from her would make him stronger. Silver knew that broaching the subject of letting Nick feed from her again so soon was going to cause some commotion, but she was willing to press her luck.
“Let him drink from me,” Viktor said. He yanked down his collar, and exposed his neck.
“Dude, I already had two nasty men tonight, I don’t want to add you to my list. I’ll be fine, Sil.”
“No way. I can’t let you keep putting your life at risk for me. And I’ve been thinking, why don’t we up the stakes a little? How about all three of us getting into bed together?”
She braced for their reactions.
“While I can appreciate what Silver sees in you, Vik, dude, it’s all about her for me. I’m not really interested in getting physical with you.”
Viktor held up his hands. “I’m right there with you. I’ve never shared a bed with a male before, and don’t plan on starting now.”
“So what does this mean?” Nick asked.
“It means we both want to be with Silver, and respect her wishes, but if our hands or dicks accidently touch during that process, we don’t get all wacked out, because it’s bound to happen.”
“I can deal with that,” Nick said.
Silver sat there watching the two of them negotiate the bedding process. She’d always loved the wild contrast between herself and Nick with his caramel-colored skin and blond dreads. Now, she compared him side by side with Viktor and his almost military-style short brown hair, and chiseled features. Both were incredibly fine-looking men, and both were pissing her off at the moment.
Were they going to flip a freakin’ quarter to see which one of them won heads, and which took the tail end of her? Here she was going to be the woman in the middle, and didn’t she have a say in all of this?
“Trevor and Lawrence—” she started.
“That vampire and werewolf were together long before Lily came along,” Nick said. “If you want us both at the same time, this is how you’re going to have to take us.”
“Does that mean I don’t get to see the two of you kissing?” Silver teased.
&n
bsp; “Exactly what it means,” Viktor said. “In the Pack, we may share females, but it’s not usually at the same time, and I’ve never been attracted to men, although I can admit Dom is one hot wolf.”
“True dat.” Nick laughed, and held his fist up to Viktor to tap.
Maybe Silver should keep them from becoming too close after all. She could only imagine the trouble the two of them could get themselves into if given enough leeway.
She slipped her shirt over her head, exposing her royal blue bra. Her nipples peeked out perfectly, and the color accented her skin tone.
“Shall we move this little soiree into the bedroom, then?” she asked.
Viktor’s howl of approval and the look in Nick’s eye was answer enough.
* * * *
Bodies pressed on either side of her, and Silver’s senses cranked on overload. How she loved being loved, and right now she got the best of both worlds. She sometimes wondered how Lily managed with Trevor and Lawrence. Well, she didn’t really think about how the three of them got it on in the bedroom, but she was curious. At the moment, it seemed like it could work out between her, Nick, and Viktor.
Have her cock and eat it, too? She giggled at the play off the common analogy.
“What about this situation do you find so funny?” Viktor asked.
“Nothing humorous, just more than I could have imagined.”
Nick pressed himself against her back, pushing aside her hair and kissing the curve of her neck. “How good you smell,” he said. “I missed your scent.”
She arched into him, which jutted her breasts into Viktor’s face. He cupped their fullness, his thumbs flicking across her nipples. “And I quite like this view,” he said. He dipped down, taking one upturned nipple into his mouth and she braced herself for the stimulation.
“Oh, Vik-tor.”
He brought his hand up to her mouth, slipping his finger inside. She worked her tongue around his digit, teasing him and letting him know what she wanted to do with other parts of him. When it was good and wet, he brought it back down, using it to play with her other nipple.