by Cecy Robson
“Isn’t that more of a reason to stay connected to me? Our bond is getting stronger, Aric. I can feel it. Hell, I can feel you. You know when something’s wrong, don’t you?”
He hesitated. “Yeah, I do.”
“Then keep what we have and don’t let go.”
Aric’s deep voice lowered into a rumble. “What if you’re poisoned again?”
“Misha assured me he’d take care of it.”
Aric growled. “That’s great, seeing how he’s done such a banner job so far.”
I sat on the bed and tried to change the subject. “What happened when you met with the Elders?”
“In breaking free from Anara’s hold I basically demonstrated how much power I’d amassed. Anara feels I’m out of control and in need of discipline.”
I stood, trying to relax my grip before I crushed my phone. “Were you punished?”
“No. Makawee and Martin overruled him. They said I’d done nothing wrong; all I did was save my mate’s life.”
My fingers dug through my hair. “If they know I’m your mate, why the hell would they try to bring me and Tye together? Especially in your presence?”
“Because they trust Destiny and her predictions. Our were race has dwindled. In Destiny saying your children”—he ground his teeth—“with Tye will help protect the earth from evil, it’s given them hope. Hope for our world and for our species. Mates or not, my feelings for you don’t come first in their eyes.”
I leaned against the windowsill and looked out, afraid to ask Aric what I needed to. “And what do you believe?”
Aric started to growl again. “I believe I need to choke the shit out of him. He agrees with the Elders and feels he should . . . get to know you.”
“Aric, I want nothing to do with Tye.” I rubbed my eyes. “And damn, I cringe when I think about how I kissed him—while you watched! My God, I would’ve ripped out someone’s spinal column.”
“Believe me, the thought crossed my mind, but . . . it helped when you called him a stupid lion.”
I laughed and he did, too. “What can I say? I’m in love with a wolf.”
“I love you, too. Always.”
In the background, a wolf howled in mourning. I looked out into the night. He sounded so close. “Is that Liam?”
“Yeah, he’s really upset over Emme. He went wolf and disappeared. Koda and I are going out to look for him. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”
Emme stepped out of the bathroom then, her eyes swollen from crying. “Yeah . . . same here. Good night, Aric.”
“Good night, sweetness.”
Emme collapsed in my arms, sobbing. I helped her to bed and cuddled up next to her. My heart broke for her. I stroked her hair until drifted off into a deep slumber.
• • •
I woke with a start, scanning the darkness of my room. My body shuddered with cold, fear, and pain. But the feelings were not my own. Misha’s fading voice called to me, Celia . . .
I shook Emme hard. “Emme, wake up—something’s wrong.”
Emme rose, yawning. “Wwwhat?”
The cries of battle thundered outside, shaking the plate glass. Something large hit the far wall, crumbling the Sheetrock and shaking the foundation. I grabbed Emme and yanked her to her feet as the wall and part of the ceiling gave in with a detonating blast. Agnes, Edith, Liz, and Maria crashed onto the floor hissing and clawing at the enormous bloodlust vamp they were fighting.
Bloodlust-infected vampires were strong and hideously vicious. Fortunately, so were my Catholic schoolgirls.
“No, Celia!” Liz screeched when I tried to help. “The master’s in trouble!”
That’s all I needed to hear. I leapt through the hole in the wall and raced toward the house. Chaos erupted around me as Misha’s vampires battled a large band of Tribesmen. I shoved my way past them, not bothering to fight. My bare feet had just touched the back lawn when Tim soared from Misha’s bedroom window. Chunks of bone exploded from his chest when the iron light post punctured through his back and out his chest.
Blood spilled from his mouth like a geyser as he choked out his words. “Hurry . . . save the master.”
I bolted and threw myself onto the side of the house, using my front and back claws to scale it. My fingers pierced through the wood as I raced, the pained roars ripping through the air urging me to climb faster. I leapt through the demolished bedroom window ready to kill, only to scream when I saw what remained of Misha.
He’d been ripped in half. His hips and legs lay a few feet away from his torso. A tangled mess of intestines scattered between the separated parts. Blood spilled from the slowly beating heart dangling outside his chest, held in place by only one of the great vessels. His eyes widened as they took me in.
Misha’s hand slipped from his chest and reached out to me. He couldn’t speak, but his stare pleaded with me to save him. Hank twitched next to his master, his severed limbs tossed like logs around him.
The Tribemaster from Nicaragua loomed above them, laughing. “I found you, bitch,” he hissed in Spanish.
I launched myself at him with more hatred than I knew existed. I kicked him in the groin and tore out a chunk of his larynx in one motion. He lifted me by my throat and squeezed. I scissor kicked with my back claws, partially disemboweling him. His howls of agony climaxed when my front claws punctured through his eye sockets. He flung me across the room, demolishing part of the wall with my head and back. I rolled forward, struggling to my feet while the room spun around me.
A kaleidoscope of stars blinded my vision. They barely dissipated enough to see him charge. I scrambled out of his path just in time. He rammed his tusk into what remained of the wall, wedging himself between two support beams. I broke the leg off a bedside table and aimed for the back of his skull. He dislodged his face and whirled with such velocity, I stabbed his chest instead. My strike wasn’t hard enough. I missed his heart and was thrown again. This time I slammed to the floor and didn’t move.
The Tribemaster stampeded toward me like a speeding bus. He may have been blind, but my groans of anguish led him to me. I thought I was dead until invisible arms slammed into him and shoved him back. Emme had found us. She used her force to propel him back. She whimpered and screamed as he collided against her power. She skidded backward, unable to hold him. I lurched to my feet as a horde of Misha’s vampires stormed in, followed by Chang and Ying-Ying. They plowed onto the Tribemaster, but they were no match for him.
He needed to die.
I sprinted toward them, roaring with the might of my beast. “Move!”
My jumping, spinning back kick decapitated him. I landed hard, but leapt up instantly and crushed his head with the heel of my foot. I fell back to the floor next to his skull and ripped out his brain. His body buckled at once. Around me, the vamps holding him collapsed into a bloody, sweaty pile.
We all lay there, panting and wheezing heavily until Virginia screamed. Blood dripped onto her face from the deep laceration across her scalp. She ran at me wielding an ax. Maria yanked it out of her hands and knocked her unconscious before she could strike.
I blinked back at her limp form. “I don’t think she likes me,” I muttered.
“Celia. I can’t heal Misha—he’s dying!” Emme cried out.
My eyes widened at Misha’s graying form. I crawled toward him. Oh, my God. His heart shuddered, no longer beating.
“He’s lost too much blood,” Hank sputtered.
Misha’s fingertips traced down my cheek, causing the huge lump in my throat to crack. I couldn’t let him die, and only one thing could save him.
I cradled him against me and pushed my hair away, leaning my neck against his lips. “Bite me!” Misha didn’t respond. I shook him fiercely. “Damn it, Misha—this is no time to be a gentleman. Bite me!”
At first when his fangs g
razed my neck nothing happened. Suddenly he let loose. The initial stabbing pain was temporary, but the pleasure was not. Images of Aric on top of me overtook my reality. I moaned loud and strong, my body arching and surging with each orgasm he brought me. I fell back to feel a hand caress my face, neck, and shoulders. Deep within my mind I heard Misha, his groans hungry and lustful. My lids fought to open as my conscious broke through the fog. This wasn’t Aric and me making love. It was Misha, feasting.
Jesus.
I no longer held him. He held me. My limbs draped against the wood floor like wet socks. I couldn’t move and could barely breathe. I was . . . dying.
Someone shook him. “Master, stop!” Maria pleaded. She shrieked and something hard hit the wall.
“You’re taking too much, Master!” Liz yelled.
Our bodies shuddered aggressively as more and more vamps begged him to release me and struggled to pry him off me.
Emme screamed, “Misha, you’re killing her—you’re killing Celia!”
Strong arms abruptly released me. My eyes blinked open. Misha’s sickly pallor had deepened to gold and his lower body was crawling to him. The room tilted and everything blurred. I remember Emme’s healing light surrounding me as Misha shouted orders over the dimness claiming my sight.
Aric . . . Aric, I need you . . .
CHAPTER 23
“She’s waking up,” Shayna whispered.
Bren growled. “It’s about damn time. She scared the shit out of me.”
“I better call Aric,” Danny said.
“Let me do it,” Emme offered. “I don’t want you to get in trouble with the Elders.”
“Nah, that asshole Anara doesn’t recognize us as part of his pack. He’s got no hold over us.”
I pushed up on my elbows, stiff but surprisingly all in one piece. In fact, I felt exhilarated . . . and hungry. It took me a moment to realize I was in the upstairs apartment of the guesthouse. The bedroom was smaller and decorated with white, silver, and rust accents. My mouth had the worst taste, despite the IV running in my left wrist.
“How are you feeling, sweetie?” Emme asked.
I rubbed my eyes. “Hungry. How long have I been out?”
“Three goddamn days!” Taran snapped. She hit the button for the main house and ordered me food.
Chef answered with a resounding “Merde!”
It was strangely comforting to know Chef was still alive. I tugged at the IV in my wrist. “Was this just for hydration?”
Shayna helped me remove it. “No, Ceel. We had to give you Emme’s and Taran’s blood. We weren’t sure how my furry side would affect you, but it looks like you didn’t need it anyway.”
I started to remember the details of the fight. “Is everyone okay?”
Shayna placed gauze over where my IV had been and held pressure. “For the most part. But some of Misha’s vampires didn’t make it. The weaker ones were taken out before we arrived.”
“We?”
Bren sat on the bed next to me. “Aric sensed you were in trouble and called us. We got here almost at the same time everyone else did since he let Shayna drive.”
I walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. My sisters followed me in. “Tell me what happened.”
Taran watched me brush my teeth, as if she expected me to pass out. “The attack was sloppy, just like when the other asshole Tribemaster invaded the area. What Misha’s vamps didn’t kill, we slaughtered when we arrived.”
Emme stared at her hands when I slipped into the shower. “I don’t think as many of Misha’s vampires would have died had the stronger ones not been fighting to protect him.”
Taran rolled her eyes. “Or trying to save you from him. Aric flipped when he found out Misha fed from you.”
“It was my idea,” I mumbled.
Shayna watched me thoughtfully. “That’s what Martin said, too. Which is why he ordered Aric not to fight him.”
I stepped out of the shower and dried off. “Why was Martin here?”
Taran shrugged. “Misha is an Alliance leader. I guess he felt obliged to help. He also knew you were here and that Aric would lose his shit if something happened to you. Poor sap.”
I yanked on a pair of sweats, pausing when I slipped a tank top over my head. “Poor sap? You can’t mean Aric.”
I stepped out into the bedroom to find Bren laughing. “No, she means Martin. The old bastard never had the . . . pleasure of riding in a car with Shayna. It took him a few moments to gather himself before he could climb out of the car and take on evil.”
Shayna knitted her brows together. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Yes, it was,” Taran snapped.
Danny entered the room and jerked a thumb toward the living area. “Food’s here.”
Everyone followed me into the kitchen, gasping when they saw the giant buffet that awaited. My empty stomach growled and cramped when I began to fill it, but the loss of Misha’s family made me sad. I finished quickly and slumped on the sage-colored couch, tucking my legs beneath me. “How many of Misha’s family died?”
Shayna exchanged glances with Taran, who jutted her chin. “She needs to know. The sooner we tell her the better.” Taran looked at me square in the eyes. “Eleven vampires . . . and Virginia.”
My spine straightened. “Misha killed Virginia for attacking me?”
Bren scoffed. “And for poisoning you and for planting the witch fire.”
Taran cut him off, appearing more furious than I’d seen her in a long time. “Misha questioned the bitch with his mojo after they revived her. She admitted to paying a Tribe witch a shitload of money to make both. When the fire didn’t take you out, she slipped the poison in your bisque, knowing it would drive you to kill yourself.” A spark of blue flame crackled over her head. “But that wasn’t all. She’s also the one who sent word to the Tribe and the shape-shifters, painting you as the perfect weapon . . . and one that needed to be disposed of.”
Shayna played with the edges of her long ponytail. “When the poison didn’t work, she made one last desperate call to that witch who’d helped her. The Tribemaster was supposed to come for you and you alone.” She let her hair go. “She hadn’t counted on the army he brought with him or that they’d also target Misha.”
My jaw tightened. “She let them through Misha’s wards.” My sisters nodded. I shook my head in disbelief. Virginia had hated me—that was obvious—but to risk Misha’s life to come after me skydived right into psycho.
Bren leaned back into the sofa, placing his hands behind his head. “What I don’t get is why the hell you didn’t just feed Virginia to Misha? Seriously, kid, did you have to give yourself to that asshole?”
“I wasn’t really thinking, Bren. I just reacted. I mean, crap, he was going to die.” I rubbed my hands against my knees and tried to think things through. “It seems strange that Virginia would make me think Tye was Aric.”
“Ceel, you’re forgetting the poison was designed to make you crazy obsessive. You couldn’t fixate on Tye like that unless you truly believed him to be Aric.” Shayna leaned forward in her seat. “Remember how you told us Virginia was constantly lurking about? She probably learned of Destiny’s prediction. Think about it. Would anyone question you wanting Tye based on what Destiny said?”
What she said made sense. And yet, Virginia’s actions didn’t seem quite right. My mind struggled to work things through. “But wouldn’t the witch Virginia used need something of Aric’s or Tye’s to make the magic target them specifically?”
“The most powerful ones can do with just a photo, Celia,” Danny answered. He’d been quiet, listening carefully to what everyone had said. “And Tribe witches are exceptionally lethal—that’s why the Tribe recruits them.”
“Okay, I guess that wouldn’t be so hard to do.” I glanced out the window when I heard someone outside.
“How are the other vampires doing?”
Bren chuckled. “Those losers are fine. The healthier ones gathered a bunch of clubbers in South Tahoe and brought them back to replenish themselves. The next day they hit the casinos and had some Mexican.”
I quirked a brow. “Mexican?”
“His name is José,” Danny explained.
Emme walked to the window. “José and his friends were looking for work so Maria brought them back here.”
“To eat?”
Shayna nodded. “Yeah, Ceel. But they’re also helping to repair the damage to the house. Misha is paying them a heck of a lot more than we make. We should have been carpenters.”
Aric burst through the door and barreled toward me. He scooped me into his arms before I could greet him. “What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting.”
I kissed his pursed lips and smiled. “I’ve been resting for three days. It feels good to be up.”
Aric sat on the couch, keeping me on his lap. He ran his fingers against my neck and carefully examined it. His eyes softened once he realized I wasn’t going to keel over. “Thank God you’re safe.”
I snuggled against him and took in his scent. “I’m fine, wolf.”
Bren rolled his eyes. “Get a room.”
Taran flashed a wicked smile. “Or a garden,” she sang.
My face flushed and so did Aric’s. “You told her?” he murmured in my ear. He tickled me with his nose, so I knew he wasn’t mad.
I played with the buttons on his shirt. “She pretty much figured it out on her own.”
Misha came in then, followed by Liz. “Hello, my darling.”
“Hey.” I was relieved to see him safe and healthy. So why did my body heat up and why the hell was I panting? I was surprised by how my body responded to seeing him, and so was Aric. He released me gently, then lunged at Misha. He didn’t get within three feet of him before hitting an invisible wall.
Misha flashed him a little fang, the arrogance he was infamous for soaring to the surface. “Tut, tut, tut, wolf. You know what Martin said.”