by L. L. Raand
Raina hissed. “Your Alpha does not rule me.”
Lara smiled as she climbed the familiar steps into the barracks. “No one does. But if you’re going to lead your Pride again, you’ll need allies.”
Raina’s lip curled. “Wolves and Vampires?”
“We fought well together.” Lara nodded to the male Were who stood at attention beside the open door to a room that held two beds set on opposite walls beneath a high window. The rough plank floor was bare. A plain dresser separated the two beds. A functional room meant for sleeping between long shifts on the training field and days on patrol in the mountains. She shut the door behind them and closed the shutters on the windows, blocking out the rising sun. The room fell into shadow. She sat on the bed and pulled off her boots. “Jody took your part out there. That will carry weight with the Alpha.”
Raina leaned against the door. “I can do more good in the mountains than I can locked up here. The cats are wild, but they’re fierce fighters. You saw that for yourself. I can raise a militia to help in the coming struggles.”
“Why would you?” Lara asked, genuinely curious. “What do you care about the wolves or the Vampires? The cats aren’t targets.”
Raina shrugged. “And after you’re gone? It will be open hunting season on the cats, and then the foxes and coyotes, and eventually we’ll all be exterminated. The cats have lived in the shadow of the wolves for millennia, and we’ve resented it. But those same shadows have been long and dark, and kept us hidden too. Now we are as visible as you.”
“Me?” Lara smiled thinly. “My wolf or Vampire?”
“Both.”
Lara was beside her in a flash, crowding her close to the door. “Can I trust you to stay here today?”
“You said I could trust you,” Raina said. “Now you will have to trust me.”
So close, Lara could scent the power in Raina’s blood and the heat pouring from her body. Raina was fire and strength, and she was so cold. She’d bled out there in the forest, and she was weak and cold and hungry. “The other bed is yours. Get some sleep. The Alpha will return soon.”
“You’re hungry,” Raina said. “I feel your need.”
Lara snarled, resenting her inability to hide her weakness from the cat. “I’ll send for one of the wolves.”
She reached past Raina for the doorknob, and Raina gripped her wrist. The tips of Raina’s claws bit at Lara’s skin, and her sex pulsed. “You don’t want to play with me now, big Cat.”
“I am stronger than any wolf,” Raina said with feline arrogance. “I will feed you.”
Lara brushed her mouth over Raina’s neck, and Raina’s taste pierced her with more than hunger. Desire, longing, a need so deep she ached. A very, very dangerous cat. “I’ve fed from you too many times already. My blood recognizes your blood. You would be wise to stay away from me.”
“My blood recognizes yours,” Raina whispered, the burn in her body too strong for her reason. She was at heart a cat, and her cat crouched, ready to pounce. Raina ran her hands up Lara’s arms, over her shoulders, and down her chest. The body beneath the thin T-shirt was honed muscle and graceful curves—as beautiful as it was powerful. Her cat purred, a deep rumble of anticipation and desire. She tugged Lara’s lip into her mouth, bit down. “My cat recognizes you. I want you.”
Lara trembled at the scent of cat enveloping her—evergreen and earth, intoxicating and seductive. Raina was an Alpha, her call enough to bring even a dominant Were to her knees. Lara’s wolf alerted, pushed through the Vampire hunger roiling her lust, and rumbled an invitation.
Raina smiled and stroked Lara’s face. “Listen to your wolf. She isn’t afraid.”
“I’m not afraid, but you should be.” Lara pressed her hands flat on the door to keep from touching her. If she moved, she would take her, pull her beneath her, feast on her. She rested her forehead against Raina’s, the breath burning through her chest. Her loins ached, her bones hollowed. She craved Raina like life. Raina was life. “I need you.” She raised her head, her vision eclipsed by flame. “I can compel you to come to me. I will, if my need grows stronger. You should not feed me again.”
Raina gripped Lara’s wrists, pulled her hands from the door, and pressed them to her breasts. Her nipples were hard, her breasts full. Her sex was swollen and ready. “I ran with you, I fought with you, and now I want to couple with you. I want to spend with your mouth at my throat. You can’t compel me to do what I want to do.”
“I’m too weak to be strong,” Lara whispered.
“That’s all right.” Raina pulled her to the bed, guided her down, and slid on top of her. “I’m strong enough for both of us.”
Raina kissed her and Lara groaned. The sound of Lara’s need filled Raina with joyful power. She tore Lara’s shirt down the middle and pulled her own off over her head. She stretched out on top of her, sliding her breasts over Lara’s. She licked the bite she’d made in Lara’s shoulder and felt Lara surge beneath her. Lara’s canines gleamed in the dusky light, her eyes like beacons of fire. Raina reached between them, opened her pants and Lara’s. Raising higher, her mouth claiming Lara’s, she stripped them both of the remnants of their clothing and straddled Lara’s abdomen. Lara’s skin was hot, her pelt line a luxurious tease over Raina’s distended clitoris.
“I would have you beg,” Raina gasped, dragging her tongue down the center of Lara’s chest and over her nipple, “but my cat is impatient to taste you.”
Lara reached up, gripped her hands. Her voice was a dangerous growl. “I have little control left. I am all Vampire now, and I must feed.”
“I know,” Raina hissed and slid herself over Lara’s hard stomach, coating her with her essence. She felt herself fill. The pressure, the need to spend, was all she knew. She leaned down again, her breasts swaying over Lara’s mouth. Lara ran her canines over her nipples and Raina jerked. “Suck me.”
Lara reared up, closed her mouth over Raina’s breast, drew her in.
Raina’s head snapped back, her mind blasted with pleasure. She was close, so close.
“I need you,” Lara warned.
“I’m ready. Please. Now.”
Lara wrapped her arms around Raina and twisted, pulling Raina beneath her. With her hips notched hard between Raina’s thighs, her sex pressed to Raina’s, she took her throat in one swift plunge. Raina came, a sharp cry wrenched from her throat, her victus exploding over Lara’s sex. Lara drank and piercing pleasure flooded her with power. She thrust, her sex emptying in rhythmic pulsations, and surrendered to Raina’s call.
*
Sylvan and her wolves reached the Compound just after dawn. Max met them on the steps of headquarters.
“Any problems?” Sylvan asked.
“No, Alpha.” He glanced toward the barracks. “Lara and the others returned a half hour ago. I provided quarters for the Vampires and guards as instructed.”
“Good. How did they fare?”
“They brought back a prisoner. He’s below, with Callan and Dasha standing guard. Jace was injured and I sent her to the infirmary.”
“Is it serious?” Drake came to stand beside Sylvan and hooked her fingers through a belt loop on Sylvan’s pants. Francesca’s seductive thrall still hovered around Sylvan like a cloying mist. She wanted to wipe the memory of the Vampire’s taunts from her mind. She wanted to claim her mate, skin to skin. And soon.
“No, Prima. Elena said she would be fine after her wounds were tended and she shifted.”
“Good,” Drake said.
“What about the other cat?” Sylvan asked.
Max grimaced. “She is with the Vampires.” He looked down, then focused on Sylvan’s shoulder, keeping his gaze below hers. “She’s with Lara, Alpha.”
“I see. You’re relieved, Max.”
“Yes, Alpha.” He turned and strode away.
Sylvan twined her fingers in Drake’s hair and kissed her. “I’ll speak with Lara. Andrew will see you home.”
Drake caressed Sylvan’s j
aw. “I’ll check on Jace and the cat cubs. You can meet me at the infirmary and we’ll go home together. Don’t be long—I need you.”
Sylvan pulled Drake close and rubbed her cheek against Drake’s hair. “As soon as I can—I’ll show you what you mean to me.”
Drake kissed her throat. “You don’t need to show me. I feel it with every breath.”
“I love you,” Sylvan murmured.
“I know. I love you. Go see to Lara.”
Sylvan waited until Drake reached the infirmary and then strode to the barracks. At the far end of the hall, Vampires and wolves stood guard outside a half dozen closed doors. The Vampires regarded her impassively as she approached. The wolves straightened to attention. Misha stepped forward as Sylvan slowed. “All quiet?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Misha said briskly.
“Where is Lara?”
Misha pointed to the room across from the one she guarded with Zahn. “There, Alpha.”
The hall had no exterior windows, so Sylvan wasn’t concerned about exposing the Risen to light. She also wasn’t concerned about Lara’s privacy. Lara was alone with a prisoner while she was compromised. Foolish, perhaps lethally so. Sylvan reached for the knob, and a human servant, a chestnut-haired male she didn’t know, slid in front of her, blocking her way. “The warlord is not to be disturbed until sunfall.”
Sylvan growled softly, a quiet warning. The human servant avoided direct eye contact, probably more out of protocol than respect. He was following orders, but Lara was her centuri, no matter what else she might be, and she would see her safe. “The cat is inside?”
“The Were is with the warlord by the warlord’s request.” He hesitated. “Alpha.”
“The warlord has nothing to fear from me,” Sylvan murmured, “but you will want to step aside now.”
From behind her, Zahn said, “Let her pass.”
The servant stepped aside and Sylvan entered.
A warning growl from the other side of the room had Sylvan’s wolf on instant alert. A gigantic cat, glowing golden even in the near darkness, lay stretched out on the bed between Lara and the door. Sylvan’s wolf snarled, her hackles rising, but Sylvan held her back. She and the cat made eye contact across the narrow space, gauging each other’s strength. The cat snarled.
“You don’t want to challenge me,” Sylvan warned softly.
Next to the cat, Lara twitched and turned, her arm draping around the cat’s shoulders. Her fingers tightened in the cat’s ruff. “It’s all right,” Lara murmured groggily. “The wolf is a friend.”
The big cat swung her head around, nuzzled Lara’s neck. Lara’s eyes opened a fraction and she struggled to emerge from the torpor that drained her strength and fogged her mind. She focused on Sylvan. “She won’t run.”
Sylvan scented the air, smelled cat and wolf, and other. The scents twisted, blended, entwined. The cat lay tangled with Lara in a way that was more than physical. Sylvan’s wolf huffed and relaxed. The cat’s tail stopped swishing, the muscles in her shoulders and powerful flanks relaxed.
“Guard her well.” Sylvan turned and left.
*
Veronica waited until a decent hour to call Nicholas. She poured her first cup of coffee and walked out on the small curved stone balcony adjoining her bedroom. Five a.m., and the late summer sun streaked through the windows and slashed across her bed. An hour ago the drapes had been drawn and the room lit only by candles. She would have kept the room in shadows all day if it meant keeping Luce in bed with her. She blinked, her eyes watering. She hadn’t slept more than an hour or two after Luce brought her back from Nocturne. She’d been exhausted, but her body had vibrated with urgency. She’d coaxed Luce to feed from her again, and the orgasms had satisfied her craving for that elusive sensation of being consumed by physical passion, but the need had been sated for only a few minutes. When she’d pressed Luce to take more, Luce had refused.
“You’ve had enough for tonight,” the Vampire said, closing the wounds in Veronica’s throat with the stroke of her tongue. “You need to replenish. And I must go. Dawn is coming.”
Nothing she said could convince Luce to stay for a few more moments. Now she was alone, and the day stretched heavily before her. She’d talk to Nicholas and then try to sleep. When sundown came and the Vampires awakened, she would be strong again.
She sipped her coffee and listened to the phone ring.
“Veronica,” Nicholas said flatly by way of greeting.
“Good morning. At least I hope it’s a good morning.”
“A busy one,” Nicholas said curtly. “How can I help you?”
“I was hoping you’d tell me my new laboratory facilities are ready.”
Nicholas sighed. “Veronica, I need at least a week, possibly longer. We’re not just talking logistics, we’re talking a great deal of money.”
“I understand that, Nicholas, but we were making very good progress. Now is not the time to lose momentum.”
He was silent a long moment. “There might be a way to facilitate our recovery.”
Across the street a woman in black tights and a cropped tee jogged by, out for her morning run. Her blond hair swung around her shoulders, and Veronica was reminded of the golden strands that teased her throat when Luce fed. She drew her fingers down between her breasts, brushing them lightly over her nipples. They tightened and tingled. She touched her throat where Luce had taken her, and her clitoris hardened.
“Veronica?”
She jerked. “Yes? What?”
“I have a contact in the government. It’s possible we can draw on that resource for funding. That would help us rebuild much faster.”
“Well, I certainly hope you—”
“I think, considering your impressive reputation as a researcher, it would be better if you pleaded our case. With luck, I can set up an appointment for you today.”
“All right,” she said, even though she was suddenly so tired her legs shook. She needed secure, private facilities to continue her work. Right now, Nicholas was the only person she trusted with the true nature of her experiments, and she needed his considerable resources. At least for now. “Let me know when and where.”
“Excellent.”
“But, Nicholas, this time we need to be sure our laboratories will be secure. I can’t afford to lose any more subjects. And, on that matter, we’re going to need more.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that. And I think I can safely say we won’t be bothered much longer by Sylvan Mir.”
Veronica smiled. Wouldn’t Francesca be grateful if she could give her some truly valuable information. “Tell me.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Sylvan closed the door to Lara’s room and walked past the Were guards and Vampire servants protecting her allies. She tested the air, sorting the myriad scents—the familiar tapestry of her Pack, each individual thread familiar and distinct, at once a part of and apart from the whole. On the fringes of that unassailable whole drifted the strange new signatures of the Vampires. Faintly metallic, with undertones of stone and flame. And here and there, an even newer mixture of the pungent wild smell of Were and the cool, flinty edge of Vampire. Members of her Pack who had hosted for the Vampires and now carried remnants of the Vampire essence in their cells. Sylvan’s wolf rumbled fretfully, unhappy with the nearness of those not-Pack and the taint of difference lingering on the wolves who had fed them. But Sylvan understood what her wolf could not—she ruled by primal strength and force of will, but she was not a tyrant. She would not chain her wolves in spirit or body.
Sylvan followed one particular scent, stronger than all the others, to the second floor of the barracks. No room, no place, no thought in her territory and beyond was closed to her, but she knocked quickly before opening the door. Katya sat in the center of one of the narrow beds with her back against the wall, her arms wrapped around her raised knees, her head turned toward the open window. Her face was pale in the bright golden glow of the early morning sunlight
streaming in. As Sylvan closed the door, Katya jumped to her feet.
“Alpha,” she said, her eyes widening.
“Stand down, Sentrie.” Sylvan scanned the room Katya shared with Gray. “Where is Gray?”
“She’s running. She—” Katya sat on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped between her knees, her shoulders stiff. “She said she wouldn’t stay in the same room with me, not when I carried the enemy in me.”
“Most wolves wouldn’t recognize the scent of a Vampire so easily.”
Katya drew a sharp breath. “The night we were rescued, there was a lot of blood—mine and some of the Vampires’ too. She’d remember.”
Sylvan walked to the window and glanced down on the Compound where her Pack went about the morning business. Patrols returned through the stockade gate, sentries climbed to the ramparts, cadets trained in the open courtyard, and beta wolves—teachers and medics and caretakers—headed for the schoolrooms and nursery tucked safely in the heart of the facility. An ordinary morning in the lives of those she had sworn to protect and keep free. When she’d assumed her father’s position as Alpha, she’d thought her greatest challenge would be negotiating with the humans, who outnumbered all the Praetern species by thousands to one, to secure the safety of her Pack. She had not expected to have to fight her fellow Praeterns, but she should have. The world as they had known it had changed the day their invisibility disappeared, and when power was suddenly fluid, Praeterns and humans alike sought more.
She turned and regarded Katya. “Tell me about Michel.”
Katya kept her head up, her gaze directed to Sylvan while avoiding direct eye contact. “She saved me.”
“Possibly.” Sylvan ignored the quick rush of anger and suspicion along with her wolf’s snarl of rage. As much as she distrusted Michel, she cared more for Katya’s feelings. Katya had been tortured and violated and debased, but here, among those she depended upon, she would be respected. “We don’t really know what happened that night.”