by L. L. Raand
“I’m not a very good example,” Niki said bitterly. “You forget I was very nearly blood addicted.”
“What I remember,” Sophia said, running her tongue over Niki’s lower lip and nipping her hard enough to make Niki wince, “is that you saved an ally’s life. You risked your own to save Jody’s. I have nothing but respect for you.”
“You’re not—” Niki broke off, embarrassed by her weakness, not only her weakness for the euphoria of a Vampire’s bite, but her need to know she wasn’t just any Were in Sophia’s bed.
“Threatened by your hunger?” Sophia said softly. “Jealous of what a Vampire can give you?”
“No! That’s not what I meant.” Niki tightened her hold on Sophia. She was being foolish for expecting, for hoping, Sophia would feel things she’d already made very clear she wasn’t interested in feeling. Sophia didn’t want a mate. What she wanted was what Niki had just given her, relief from her heat, sexual release. “Never mind.”
Sophia gripped Niki’s shoulders and straddled her, her thighs clasping Niki’s hips. Her breasts nearly brushed Niki’s mouth and Niki snarled.
Smiling, Sophia leaned down and kissed her. “To answer your question, Imperator, yes, it bothers me that you might find more satisfaction than I can give you with someone else.”
“I don’t. I never have,” Niki said, rubbing her cheek over Sophia’s breast. “What I find with the Vampires is oblivion, and that’s not what I want with you.” She stroked Sophia’s back, loving the softness of her skin and the strength in her lithe muscles. Pulling Sophia close, she kissed her, sliding her tongue deep into her mouth, letting Sophia taste the surge of hormones in her mouth, smell them on her skin. “I want the sweetness of you everywhere inside me.”
Moaning softly, Sophia rubbed her breasts over Niki’s and entwined their legs. The hot wetness between her legs coated Niki’s thigh. “We can’t. You need to go.”
“I still want you again.”
Sophia pushed away, her hands shaking. “Good. You can have me again, when you’re sure we’re all secure. Go now. Before I don’t let you.”
Niki rose, lifting Sophia in her arms. She held her tight to her chest and kissed her until Sophia moaned and writhed in her arms. The sound filled Niki with power even as her heart trembled. “Don’t forget me.”
“I won’t,” Sophia breathed unevenly. “I can’t.”
Niki carried her to the bed and gently laid her down. She stroked her fingertips over Sophia’s breast and traced a line up to the bite marks she’d made in Sophia’s shoulder. She didn’t carry a matching mark. She’d never wanted another Were to mark her, to claim her, but she wanted it now. “I’ll be back soon.”
Sophia caught her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Be careful.”
Niki turned abruptly and strode out before she wasn’t able to go, duty or not. Sophia hadn’t bitten her. Sophia didn’t want a mate, and she wouldn’t bite. Niki had always been the one to avoid the possibility of a mate bite, but when Sophia refused her, she ached. She wanted her. Wanted her for her own, completely. But Sophia had been clear, and she would honor Sophia’s desires. What she had was already far more than she ever thought she would.
She passed Elena and her mate, Roger, carrying supplies into one of the treatment rooms.
“Sophia?” Elena said, concern darkening her elegant features.
“Down the hall. She’s fine.”
“And the Alpha?”
Niki ground her teeth. “She’s been delayed.”
Elena’s eyes widened, and Niki slowed to touch her cheek. “Don’t worry. Drake is with her. You know how careful she’ll be with the Prima with her.”
“It’s good the Alpha has her,” Elena said, her eyes on her mate. “Good for all of us.”
“Yes,” Niki said, meaning it without reservation. She’d always known Sylvan would mate, but the eventuality had always seemed far off in the future, something that would not alter their intimate bond. And then Sylvan had chosen a turned Were, a mutia, someone far beneath her and hardly worthy to be Pack, let alone Prima. But Niki had been wrong about Drake—Drake was everything Sylvan needed in a mate and every bit as much a Were as a regii. “Very good for us.”
When Niki reached Gray and Katya’s room she rapped sharply and stepped inside. Katya was on her bed as she had been before, curled up with her eyes open, unblinking, endlessly sad.
“Where’s Gray?”
“She shifted,” Katya said bleakly. “Gone. Out the window.”
Niki cursed. They’d had no sign of attack teams anywhere near their territory, but the Timberwolf holdings were vast, and small strike forces could easily cross their borders and approach the Compound without being detected. If Gray was running alone, she was vulnerable.
“Stay here,” Niki leapt from the room and vaulted down the hall. Callan stood in the center of the Compound, conferring with one of his lieutenants.
“Where’s Dasha?” Niki called.
Callan looked over. “She went to get the Alpha.”
Niki’s breath exploded in relief. The Alpha was returning. She was all right. “Did you see Gray?”
Callan shook his head.
“Is everything quiet?”
“Yes. I’ve doubled the border patrols and we have spotters on the barricades. Everything is secure.”
“Good.” Niki crossed to the barracks where the sentries and the trainees bunked. She knocked on Misha’s partially open door. The young brunette jumped to attention.
“Imperator!”
“I need you.”
Misha straightened even more. “Yes, Imperator.”
“Gray is running alone. Do you know where she usually hunts?”
“Yes, Imperator.”
“She hasn’t been gone long—probably hasn’t gone far. I need you to find her and bring her back.” Niki saw the barest hint of hesitation in Misha’s eyes. “She trusts you.”
“I’m not sure she trusts anyone anymore.”
“All the more reason to bring her home. I need you both to be careful. There may be enemies in the woods. If her wolf is in control, don’t fight her. Leave her.”
“She’s my friend.”
“I know.” Misha and Gray were very nearly equal in their level of dominance, but Misha was the more mature. Levelheaded, in control of her wolf. Niki was asking a lot of her, but she thought Gray would respond better to her than one of the older wolves. “I don’t want either of you injured.”
“I understand.”
“Report to me when you return.” Niki turned for the door. She wanted to see the Alpha. She needed to know Sylvan was all right. And she couldn’t tolerate being so far from Sophia. Her wolf paced, agitated and angry. She ignored the clawing need in her belly. She had duties.
“Imperator?”
Niki glanced back over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“Thank you for trusting me to bring her back.”
“You probably won’t thank me when you find her. Go now.”
Misha shimmered, and a sturdy gray and white wolf bounded onto the bed and out the open window.
Niki found Callan at headquarters, conferring by sat phone with one of his soldiers. She waited until he’d finished and asked, “Why didn’t you come and get me when the Alpha called?”
“She requested a vehicle—the call was brief. There wasn’t time for anything else.”
“Where are they?”
“Just crossing into New York. Dasha should intercept them at any moment. They’ll be back here soon.”
“What’s the status of the injured?”
Callan shook his head. “I don’t know. The Alpha didn’t tell us anything else.”
“All right. Keep up the surveillance and the extra soldiers on patrol. I’ll be with the prisoner.”
*
Sophia started at the knock on the door. She didn’t feel Niki. She felt her absence—a longing deep inside, a restless, anxious need to be close to her. She drew a breath and all she coul
d scent was Niki, covering her, filling her.
“Who is it?”
“Elena.”
Sighing, Sophia sat up on the side of the bed and reached for her pants. She wasn’t embarrassed by her nudity, no wolf ever was, but she needed distance, and even this false shield helped bolster her courage. She stepped into her khaki cargo pants. “Come in.”
Elena entered, flipped the switch that lit a muted bulb in the ceiling, and leaned back against the closed door. “Are you all right?”
Sophia laughed shortly. “I think so. Yes.” She raised her eyes to Elena’s, found sympathy and understanding. “Wonderful. Frightened.”
“She wants you, you know that.”
Sophia spun around and walked to the window, searching above the treetops for the moon. The luminous warmth always calmed her, but not tonight. Her blood was still raging for Niki. “I know.”
“And you want her.”
Sophia pressed her forehead to the rough wood frame and closed her eyes. She couldn’t lie to Elena. She could barely lie to herself anymore. How would she face Niki and keep the truth from her? “Yes, I want her.”
“You don’t have to suffer like this.”
Fury displaced the despair and Sophia spun around. “How can you of all people say that. You know—”
“I don’t know. I know what the tests showed years ago. Years ago. When you were an adolescent. But you’re not any longer. When is the last time you let your parents study you?”
“So I can see their sadness and disappointment again?” Sophia shook her head. “Not for years.”
“I know how terrible it is for you, how frightening—”
“You can’t know. You can’t know what it feels like to never totally belong. To fear what you feel and what you want.”
Elena crossed the room in one graceful leap and pulled Sophia into her arms. “I do know. I do.” She stroked her hair. “But you can’t be sure. You deserve to know, and Niki deserves the truth.”
“She’ll hate me.”
“No,” Elena murmured, kissing Sophia’s temple. “She loves you.”
Sophia shuddered and clung to Elena. “She won’t, not if she knows. You know how she feels. You know how proud she is.”
“You need to trust her.”
Sophia tilted her head back and searched Elena’s face. “Trust? Trust she won’t break my heart? Or worse?”
“She would never do that.”
“I would never force her to make that choice.” Sophia wrenched herself from the comfort of Elena’s embrace. Comfort and sympathy only made her weak. “There’s work to do. I’ll help you get ready in case we have casualties.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” Sophia wrapped her arms around herself. “I should stay away from her. But I don’t know if I can.”
*
Becca heard the security door in the main chamber beneath Jody’s town house open and close. She took a breath and, steeling herself to be calm, crossed their bedroom and opened the door into the common area. Her heart thudded madly, and when she saw Jody, she choked back a cry. Jody and Rafe were covered with burns, horrible charred patches of skin oozing blood and sluggish, sickly fluid. She’d never seen Jody stumble, but she could barely walk now.
Keeping her head up, her voice steady, Becca walked to meet them and slid her arm around Jody’s waist. “I told you not to get shot. I obviously need to be more inclusive next time.” She glanced at Rafe. “What do you need?”
“Just to feed,” Rafe said, her voice rusty and weak.
“Zahn has arranged for hosts. Thank you for bringing Jody home.”
“I’m honored,” Rafe said, disappearing through a door leading to the inner rooms.
Becca turned to Lara, who looked clear-eyed and healthy. Her skin glowed a deep bronze and her hair shone brilliantly. She’d never looked stronger or more beautiful. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” Lara said.
“It’s not long till dawn. You’ll need to feed.”
Lara shuddered. Her eyes ignited. “Yes.”
Becca glanced at Zahn, not certain if Lara could be trusted with one of Jody’s blood hosts. Lara seemed in control of her hunger, but she was still a newly turned Vampire.
“I’ll feed you,” Zahn said.
Lara snarled. “You’re human. I prefer Weres.”
“I am a blood servant,” Zahn said archly, “not some rabble you picked up in a blood club. Whatever you need, I can provide.”
“Then you’ll have to do.”
Wordlessly, Zahn opened the door to the hall and Lara followed, leaving Becca and Jody alone.
“Come with me, darling,” Becca said, leading her toward their bedroom. “Let me take care of you.”
“Becca,” Jody said hoarsely, holding back. “You can’t be alone with me now. We need—”
Becca’s frayed temper snapped. “Don’t you dare tell me what we need. I know what you need. I’m going to feed you. I’m going to give you whatever you need. Don’t argue.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” Becca led her to the bed and helped her to lie down. She undressed herself, undressed Jody, fighting back tears at the devastation of her lover’s beautiful body. She slid under the silken sheets and wrapped her arms around Jody, drawing their bodies together, guiding Jody’s mouth to her throat. “You never need to be sorry for needing me.”
Jody gave a desperate snarl and struck swiftly, sharply. Becca arched, gasping at the rush of heat that surged through her. She cried out, climaxing instantly. Shivering as the orgasm flowed through her, building again immediately, cresting again, the cycle repeating over and over as she fisted her hand in Jody’s hair.
She lost herself in pleasure and only slowly returned to awareness. When she opened her eyes, Jody was leaning over her, worry etched in her striking face. Becca traced the arch of her cheekbones, the line of her jaw. Her skin was flawless, her eyes clear. Becca smiled lazily. “Are you better?”
“Yes.” Jody kissed her. “Are you all right? I took more than I should have.”
“You took what you needed.” Becca stretched, contentment making her muscles soft and her mind just a little bit mushy. “I feel wonderful.”
Jody’s frown deepened. “You should feel weak, dizzy. A headache?”
Becca shook her head. “No. None of those things.” She pulled Jody down beside her. “I want you to tell me everything that happened tonight, but first, I need you again. While I’m not consumed with bloodlust, when you can come with me. Make me come again.”
Jody cupped her breast, grazed her mouth over Becca’s flesh, raising goose bumps of pleasure. “I want you.”
Becca arched over her and slid her hand between Jody’s thighs. Jody was wet and hard for her. “Anytime, Vampire mine. Anytime.”
*
“A vehicle approaches,” one of the soldiers on the stockade called down.
“The Rover?” Niki asked, bounding the steps from headquarters. The prisoner had refused to speak to anyone but the Alpha, and she feared if she stayed with him much longer, she might tear his throat out. Every time she looked at him she saw Gray’s wild eyes and Katya’s sad ones.
“No, it’s civilian. A limousine.”
Niki looked at Callan, who’d come out behind her. “Were you notified?”
“No. It may be a trap.”
“Keep the gates closed,” Niki shouted to the soldier on the fence. She held out a hand to Callan. “Give me your weapon and alert the sentries.”
She shouldered the assault rifle and leapt up onto the rampart at the top of the twelve-foot barricade. Headlights cut through the trees less than a hundred yards away. She dropped down into the brush and raced to intercept the vehicle as it emerged from the forest. When the limousine slowed, she leapt into the road and aimed her rifle at the driver. The sleek black car slammed to a halt a foot from her. Armed Were sentries converged on either side. A pale, indistinguishable face peered ou
t through the smoked glass windshield.
“Turn off the engine and step out of the vehicle.”
The window rolled down and a male called out, “We seek audience with the Alpha.”
“Step out of the vehicle,” Niki called, “or we will open fire.”
Nothing happened for a second, and she signaled to the sentries to prepare to fire. Then both back doors opened. Francesca and Michel stepped out.
“I’m so sorry we arrived unannounced.” Francesca smiled, and Niki quivered under the crush of her thrall. “But I think the Alpha will want to hear what I have to say.”
Chapter Twenty-four
The stockade gates parted, and Dasha drove the Rover into the center of the Compound, veering around a stretch limo parked in front of headquarters.
Sylvan turned to Drake. “It appears we have visitors.”
“Tonight of all nights,” Drake grumbled, “I trust no one.”
“We can trust Niki and Callan—they would not have allowed anyone to enter if there was the slightest possibility of a threat.”
“Still, I don’t like it.”
“Will you be all right with them?” Sylvan gestured to the two unconscious humans.
“Yes. I’ll get them settled in the infirmary, but we may not be able to take care of them here long-term.”
“If they survive, we may not have any choice.”
Drake touched the nearest girl’s forehead. “They’re consumed with fever.”
“And if they turn, even if they carry only some Were traits, we have to protect them.”
“Is everyone yours to protect?” Drake shot back. “No matter the cost to you, the risk? Wasn’t tonight enough to prove you’re in danger?”
“I’m fine,” Sylvan said softly, stroking Drake’s cheek.
Drake grabbed her hand, kissed her palm. “You’re not fine. You’re torn and bleeding, and the blood you didn’t lose in the blast you gave to Jody.”
“She needed it—and I heal quickly.” Sylvan kissed her. Drake was agitated and wary, her wolf driven to protect her mate even more now that she was carrying their young. “Go take care of the injured. I’ll probably be at headquarters for a while.”