by L. L. Raand
“When I was trapped in the building,” Sylvan muttered, gripping Drake’s shirt and pulling it from her jeans, “I was afraid you’d be caught in the blast, injured, that the young would suffer.” She licked the bite on Drake’s shoulder and scored the skin with her teeth. “I was going crazy trying to get to you, and then the fire—”
Drake gripped Sylvan’s hair and pressed Sylvan’s mouth harder into her skin. “I’m fine. You were the one in danger, not me.” She cradled Sylvan’s ass and pulled her tight between her thighs, needing the press of Sylvan’s heat against her own. “I called, and you didn’t answer—I couldn’t feel you. The world stopped, Sylvan. Everything ended for me.”
Sylvan raised her head, her gold eyes boring into Drake’s. “No. You have everything to live for.” She pressed her hand to Drake’s belly. “You have them. They’re everything now.”
Drake covered Sylvan’s hand. “You are everything. They are everything. You’re all my world.”
“I need you so much,” Sylvan murmured, wrapping her arms around Drake’s waist, dragging her closer until the planes of their bodies met and molded. “You give me strength.”
“Sylvan,” Drake whispered, stroking her hair, drawing Sylvan’s mouth back to her throat. “I love you. You are our touchstone—you give every Were in the Pack strength and courage.”
Sylvan buried her face in Drake’s neck, drawing deeply of her scent, absorbing her heat, replenishing herself in the power and certainty of Drake’s caress. Her wolf slowed her relentless pacing and dropped, exhausted, into the background, releasing her ferocious hold on Sylvan’s mind and instincts. Sylvan trembled. “I need you.”
Drake held Sylvan’s hips and slid her thigh between Sylvan’s. “I’m here. I’m always here. I’m yours.”
Sylvan braced both arms on either side of Drake’s shoulders and kissed her. “Touch me.”
Drake shuddered with a rush of desire so powerful her throat ached. Sylvan so rarely let her need surface. Only now, in these private moments, did she let herself be comforted. Drake opened Sylvan’s pants and slid her hand inside, cupping Sylvan’s wet, swollen flesh. Sylvan’s clitoris, firm and thick, rubbed her palm, and she squeezed.
Sylvan threw her head back, growling deeply as Drake stroked her, massaging her clitoris, milking her, filling her. Sylvan’s arms trembled and her thighs shook. She let herself come, and when her legs gave out, Drake was there.
*
Sophia’s scent was stronger, closer now, and Niki’s wolf crashed through the underbrush, heedless of the thorns and branches tearing at her. She smelled blood. Sophia’s blood.
Crazed, wild with fear and fury, she broke into a small clearing, growling, challenging, searching for the enemy. A snow-white wolf lay crumpled in the center of the leaf-strewn ground. Sophia. On the opposite side of the glen, Katya slumped at the base of a tree, naked.
Niki raced to Sophia and threw herself down beside her. Whining, trembling, she nosed her. When Sophia didn’t answer, she howled and licked her muzzle and neck. Still Sophia didn’t answer. Katya whimpered, and Niki shed her pelt and staggered to her feet. “Katya! What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Katya said, sounding confused. She wrapped her arms around her bare chest and pushed up until her back was supported by the tree. “I don’t remember how I got here. What happened? Is that Sophia? Is she—” Katya pressed her fingertips to her neck. “I don’t remember.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I don’t think so. I…I feel…” She shook her head. “I feel fine—nothing like what happened…before. I just don’t remember.”
Niki knelt beside Sophia and pushed her fingers into Sophia’s thick ruff. A bounding pulse beat beneath her fingertips, strong and steady. Relief so sweet and strong enveloped her that she shuddered. “Sophia. Baby, can you hear me?”
She gathered the white wolf into her arms and sat on the ground, supporting Sophia’s weight against her body, shielding her in the circle of her arms. She stroked her muzzle and chest. “Sophia. I’m here. Baby, I’m here.” She turned to Katya, who stood uncertainly a few feet away. “Go back to the Compound, get Elena. Bring the Rover. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” Katya nodded once, her expression determined. She shifted, and her wolf disappeared as silent as the night.
Niki buried her face in Sophia’s pelt and breathed her in. At first she didn’t recognize the dampness glazing her cheeks. She hadn’t cried in so long, the sensation was foreign. She didn’t bother to brush the tears away, but held Sophia tightly, pouring all her strength and devotion into her. If she could have given her the essence of her life, she would have.
*
The Pack had always been home. Home was shelter, belonging, freedom. The Pack had given her refuge, community, purpose, but she had still always been alone. Even when she’d been held and loved, she’d always been apart. She drew in the scent of the night, of the forest, of her mate. As always, she felt the connection to all the Pack, but now she was not alone—she was united, joined, one. Joy, bright and sweet, shot through her and she opened her eyes.
Overhead, the moon was starting its downward journey and the stars were sliding away, softly making way for the dawn. The faintest touch of red glowed above the mountaintops. Niki was holding her, and she was crying.
Sophia’s wolf retreated and Sophia shifted. “Niki.” Wrapping her arms around Niki’s shoulders, she pressed her face against Niki’s breast. “What is it? Are you hurt?”
“Sophia,” Niki gasped, her voice breaking. She crushed Sophia to her chest, caressing her everywhere she could reach her face, her neck, her body. Cupping her face, she kissed her. “I thought—I was afraid—”
Sophia curled her fingers in Niki’s hair. “Where are we?”
“In the forest. Your wolf was hurt.”
Sophia jerked. “Katya!”
“She went for help. She’s all right. What happened?”
Sophia tried to sit up, but Niki held her tight. “Don’t try to get up yet. You were unconscious, but I don’t see any signs of a struggle.”
“I don’t remember how I got here.”
“It’s all right. We’ll figure it out. Where are you hurt?” Niki’s hands were so gentle, her embrace so strong, Sophia never wanted to move.
“My head—I remember the pain.” Sophia touched Niki’s cheek. “Why are you crying?”
“Am I?” Niki laughed bitterly. “Any other time I would have been ashamed to admit that in front of you, but not now. I was afraid I might lose you.”
“You couldn’t, don’t you know that? Even if you don’t want me.” Suddenly Sophia remembered running—running away. Niki had turned away from her—left her. Pain lanced through her and she tried to pull free.
“I’m sorry,” Niki whispered. “So sorry. I know I hurt you, but I want you more than I can say.”
“I should have told you a long time ago.” Sophia rested her cheek on Niki’s breast. If she only had these few minutes with her, she wanted nothing between them. “I should have trusted you.”
“You were probably right not to tell me,” Niki said, her voice jagged with regret. “I said stupid things, and I was wrong. I know you might not be able to forgive me right away—”
Sophia pressed her fingers to Niki’s mouth. “Stop. I don’t want your apologies.”
Niki grasped Sophia’s wrist and gently tugged her hand down. “I need to apologize, for that and so much more. You are one of the strongest, bravest in the Pack, and everyone needs you. You take care of us, not just by being a medic, but by understanding our pain and taking it away. None of us deserves that, but you give it to us over and over again.”
Niki was breaking her heart. Sophia never wanted her to feel the anguish and remorse that was pouring out of her now. “Listen to me,” Sophia said firmly. “Your job is to act for the benefit of all. We all trust you to put the Pack first—to take care of the Pack first, and individuals second. Everyone understands that. I know t
hat’s why you said the things you said about the humans.”
“That was my excuse,” Niki said darkly, “but it doesn’t excuse me. I was wrong about Drake and I was wrong about you. Maybe I’m wrong about those two humans back there in the infirmary too. The Alpha declared you Pack when she took you and your parents in, and nothing from that point on matters. Nothing can change that. Not where you came from, not what is in your blood. You’re Pack.” Niki kissed her, a hard, demanding, claiming kiss. “And you’re my mate.”
Sophia jerked. “Niki—if you know—”
“I know. I know what you’re afraid of—of what might happen if you bite me. I don’t care—I’m not afraid. You’re healthy and strong, but if you don’t want to bite me, we can wait until you have more tests. And no matter what they show, it won’t matter. You’re my mate. Bite or no bite.”
“It’s not fair to you.” Sophia shuddered. “Without the bite you’ll never completely release—you’ll never have the final joining.”
“I’ve tangled all my life and avoided any chance of a bite,” Niki growled. “I’ll tell you what’s not fair. Being without you—that would be worse than death. Please don’t make me go. Please.” Niki kissed her again. “I love you.”
“Oh, Niki.” Elated and terrified, Sophia kissed her. She couldn’t bear to hear Niki plead. Not her strong, valiant, brave lover. Her heart ached as if it might burst. “I love you.”
Niki sighed as if she had just finished a long hunt and closed her eyes. “You’re sure you’re not hurt?”
“Not now.”
“The Rover’s coming,” Niki said, rubbing her cheek on Sophia’s hair. “We’ll be back at the Compound in a few minutes. Elena will make sure everything is all right.”
“Don’t leave me,” Sophia said, unable to help herself. She shouldn’t, she knew that, she should try to find the strength to send her away, but she couldn’t. Not yet.
Niki shook her head. “That won’t work.”
“What?” Sophia said softly, tucking her face into the curve of Niki’s neck. She loved the way she smelled, the slight roughness of her warrior’s skin, the sweet taste of her kisses. “What won’t work?”
“You can’t send me away. I won’t go.”
Tears filled Sophia’s eyes. She kissed her, uncertain of what another day would bring, only knowing she could not deny her. She needed her, loved her, too much.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Luce knelt beside Veronica, stroking Veronica’s hair and lifting the long strands away from her throat as Veronica straddled Raymond on the wide, silk-covered bed. Veronica rode the cock buried inside her as automatically as she checked her reflection in a mirror for imperfections—reflexively, without even really thinking about it. She was thinking about Luce, though—Luce was all she could think about. “Bite me again—for God’s sake, hurry. I want to come.”
She grasped the Vampire’s hand and pulled her closer, molding Luce’s hand to her bare breast. “Again. Bite me again.”
Luce cupped Veronica’s breast and teased her nipple into a hard, aching point. “Three times already tonight,” Luce murmured. “You’ll be weak tomorrow if I take more.”
“I know what I want,” Veronica snarled, gripping Luce’s chin. Just the sight of the Vampire’s incisors pressing against her lower lip made her want to come. “I want your essence inside me again. So good, so powerful. You want my blood—make me come.”
Luce’s eyes darkened to a violent magenta, and she was at Veronica’s throat before Veronica had even sensed her move. Fire scorched through her, immolating her with more pleasure than she’d imagined possible. She came in a hot flood, drenching Raymond, not caring what became of him. She dug her fingers into Luce’s shoulders and rubbed her breasts over the Vampire’s firm, sculpted chest. Luce’s small, perfect breasts were faintly cool, like exquisite glass. She came and came and came, crying out as her control shattered and flew apart.
Veronica heard voices, but her mind was too hazy to make out words. She willed herself back to awareness. She couldn’t allow her pleasures to interfere with her objectives. Raymond sprawled beside her, his face lax, the evidence of his satisfaction glistening on his washboard stomach. She barely spared him a glance—he’d served his purpose. Luce stood by the French doors overlooking the park, splendidly nude, every inch of her gleaming skin enticing. She held a cell phone in her hand. Veronica’s phone.
“Who is it?” Veronica asked, holding out her hand as she crossed barefoot on the thick Persian carpet.
“The Viceregal,” Luce said, her pupils vast pools of inky black as her gaze slid over Veronica.
Veronica smiled and stroked a fingertip down her cheek. “Still hungry, darling? You’ll have to wait.”
Luce hissed and Veronica laughed. She took the phone. “Yes?”
“Teasing her is inadvisable,” Francesca said mildly.
“You needn’t worry. I know how to handle a lover.”
“Perhaps—under ordinary circumstances. But these are not ordinary circumstances, are they?”
Veronica heated inside at the razor-sharp memory of the crystal pain lancing her neck and the explosion of sensation in her mouth and her throat, driving into her stomach, lower, exploding outward in an orgasm so devastating she was reduced to helplessness. She’d always used physical pleasure to dull the edge of her mental aggression, the intensity of which sometimes made her feel as if she were in the center of a hurricane. But she’d always been aware, always maintained control, always tempered relief with her need to be in charge. Tonight, all that had changed. Still, she’d handled the powerful exchange without any mishaps. Her only concern now was when she could repeat the activities. “Is there something I can do for you, Viceregal?”
“It’s almost sunrise,” Francesca said. “Luce will be leaving soon. I’m sending another guard to replace her. Raymond will remain with you during the day.”
“I thought there’d be only Raymond by day, except in the case of a threat. Is there some reason you feel I need added protection?”
“I was about to ask you,” Francesca said, her voice as thick and rich as honey, “if you knew anything about the explosion at the laboratory.”
Veronica cursed Nicholas silently for having failed to keep her informed of the timetable for his plans. She assumed whatever had happened was his doing, but she couldn’t be sure, and now she was placed in an awkward position. This was exactly the reason why she didn’t like to become involved with the agendas of others. If she wasn’t making the critical decisions, she couldn’t control the outcomes or plan for contingencies. “I’m afraid I don’t.”
“I suspected that was the case,” Francesca said. “After all, why would you want to destroy your own work?”
“Exactly,” Veronica said, realizing that Francesca had just provided her with the perfect defense should anyone ever question her. On the surface, she had nothing to gain by destroying the facility. “You obviously know more than I, but if I learn anything, I will of course pass it on to you as soon as possible.”
“Of course,” Francesca said. “By the way, are you happy with the arrangements we’ve made for your protection?”
Veronica’s gaze flitted over the exhausted man on the bed and the smoldering gaze of the Vampire leaning against the wall with her arms crossed beneath her flawless breasts. Luce looked hungry, and Veronica wanted nothing more than to feed her. “Quite satisfactory.”
“Be careful, my dear,” Francesca said softly. “Accidents like the one tonight have a way of recurring.”
“I’ll remember that, thank you.” Veronica wondered if Francesca had just delivered a warning or a threat. She also wondered if Nicholas wasn’t becoming more of a liability than he was worth.
*
“What do you think?” Michel asked, propped up against the satin-sheathed pillows on Francesca’s bed. She lifted a glass of champagne and sipped it.
Francesca tossed her cell phone onto her dressing table and leaned back
against it, her fingers curled over the ornately carved edge, her attention on the beautiful androgynous form of her longtime lover and second in command. “She’s lying. She wasn’t surprised or upset by the news of the laboratory being destroyed. She and Nicholas must be working more closely than I realized. Placing Luce with her was a very good idea. Hopefully, we’ll learn something of their plans in enough time to decide if we want to support them or stop them.”
“And if Sylvan discovers you’re playing both sides of the street?”
Laughing, Francesca slid the straps of her sheer negligee over the slopes of her shoulders and let the filmy material fall to the floor. Naked, she reclined on the bed and faced Michel. “Sylvan is enough of a politician to understand that those in our position must make decisions to benefit those we serve.” She kissed Michel lightly. “Or perhaps, in our case, those who serve us.”
“Why not just ally with Sylvan openly now?”
“For all the reasons I’ve resisted doing that so far,” Francesca said quite seriously. “Sylvan’s stance of cooperative coexistence with the humans is not popular among our kind nor among many of the other Praeterns. And I’m not at all convinced it’s to our advantage. Now that we are visible to the humans, we have almost more prey coming to us than we can handle. Why change the balance of power, particularly when that means giving up some of ours?”
“It’s possible after these attacks on her Weres, Sylvan may rethink her position on the Coalition and change her mind about working with the humans. After all, they were the ones experimenting on her females.”
“Yes,” Francesca said. “And the more information we can provide her about humans working against us, the better. We just need to keep our association with the humans from becoming known.” She tapped Michel’s cheek playfully. “And you should stay away from Sylvan’s Weres unless they come to us at Nocturne. Poaching on her territory is a challengeable offense.”
“Sylvan should be the last one to complain about a Were consorting with a Vampire,” Michel said.