by L. L. Raand
Follow me. Lara moved through the mass of wolves toward the inner circle, feeling the Alpha’s call in her bones as she always had—as she had feared never to feel again. Wolves gave way, watching her and the big cat by her side as she took her place at the far end of the line of centuri. Andrew’s wolf—a muscular brown with brilliant blue-gray eyes—nipped at her ear in greeting. She rubbed her muzzle on his neck and moved close to Raina. She was still a wolf, and she was home.
“Tonight,” Sylvan declared, her voice ringing through the Compound and deep into the mountains beyond, “we claim these forests as our own by the skill of our hunters and the hearts of our warriors. Run with me and celebrate the strength of our Pack.”
Sylvan shifted too fast for Raina to see, and the others followed. The Pack streamed into the woods behind Sylvan’s lead.
Lara hung back, glanced at Raina.
You lead, Wolf, these are your lands.
Lara lifted her head and howled, a sound of fierce joy. Then she streaked toward the rear gate and into the protected Pack lands, and Raina gave chase. Lara was fast, but Raina was a cat and born to run. She gathered her legs beneath her and bounded over the ground, swerving off the trail into the forest as soon as they reached the dense woodland. Lara raced along a narrow trail and Raina cut above her to a high rocky summit, leaping from precipice to precipice, following Lara’s scent. When Lara reached a clearing, Raina dropped down beside her, bumping her shoulder in greeting. Lara swung her head and nipped at Raina’s neck, grazing her with her canines. Raina switched her tail and batted her with her front paw, then raced away. Now Lara chased her, and so they ran, first one leading, then the other, until Lara dropped down panting beneath a towering pine. Moonlight sliced through the branches in sharp silver strands. Raina curled up beside her and shifted back to skin at the same time as Lara. Raina rolled atop her and threaded her fingers through Lara’s. “I love you.”
Lara’s eyes slowly transformed from the amber of her wolf to Vampire crimson and her hunger enveloped them. “I love you. I hunger for you, more than blood.”
“I know.” Raina kissed her. “Be patient.”
Lara snarled but held still and Raina kissed her throat, her breasts, her belly where the fine pelt arrowed downward. She nestled her breasts between Lara’s thighs and kissed the hard heat of her.
“Raina,” Lara said, her tone a warning and a benediction.
“In a minute,” Raina murmured and took her into her mouth, filling herself with Lara’s essence, consuming her as she was consumed. Taking as she was taken.
Lara tensed, her hips rising above the pine-needle strewn forest floor. “Raina, I need—”
Raina held her a second longer, then slid upward until her clitoris nestled against Lara’s. “I know what you need. What I need.” She turned her head, offered her throat, and Lara took her. The pleasure was an arrow piercing the core of her, too intense to hold, and Raina shattered.
“Again,” Raina gasped.
They coupled until the moon slanted downward and a distant pale heralded the coming dawn. Raina lay on her back with Lara’s head on her shoulder, watching the night fade. An hour or two and Lara would need shelter. “Will you return to the city with Liege Gates at sunrise?”
“Yes,” Lara said quietly. She stroked the long, muscular curve of Raina’s flank. “Will you come with me? Bring the cubs?”
“For a time,” Raina said softly, “until I have secured shelter in the mountains.”
“There are cabins along the frontier for distant patrols. I will ask the Alpha to give you the use of one. You will be within Pack land, and our patrols will protect you.”
“In a month, the cubs will be able to hunt on their own. Then, if something happens to me—”
Lara snarled and rose over her, flame eclipsing all color in her eyes. “Nothing will happen to you. You are mine. I will not lose you.”
Raina caressed her face. “I can’t hide, none of us can.”
“I know that. And I know the cubs need to learn the mountains. But they need to learn the other world too. They will rule one day in a very different world than we knew.”
“Once I have regained control of the Pride, I will come to you when you can’t come to me.”
Lara relaxed, settled upon her again. “Yes. I will never be far away.”
“Nor I from you. I swear.”
“I thought I had no reason to continue,” Lara said quietly. “I thought what I had become destroyed everything that mattered.” She kissed Raina. “I was wrong. You are everything that matters now. You and the cubs.”
“I wasn’t looking for a mate. I thought I had everything I needed.” Raina pressed close until their bodies joined. “I was wrong. You are everything I need.”
Chapter Thirty-one
“They’re active tonight,” Sylvan said, her hand on Drake’s belly as the shower sluiced over them.
“They’ve had enough waiting.” Drake tilted her head back and kissed the angle of Sylvan’s jaw. “It won’t be long.”
“I know. I can sense them reaching out to the Pack.” Sylvan kissed the back of Drake’s neck. “You know, you don’t have to go tonight.”
Drake shook her head. “This is one of the biggest political events of the year. It’s not just a fund-raiser, it’s the place where deals are made and votes are procured. And where laws are made or unmade. You need to be there, and if you need to be there, so do I.”
Sylvan shut off the water and reached outside the enclosure for a towel. She wrapped it around Drake’s shoulders and began to dry her. “Just because it’s been quiet the last few weeks doesn’t mean there is no danger.”
“I don’t think we’ll be without danger until well after the legal battles are over.” Drake grabbed another towel and draped it over Sylvan. “Laws might ensure rights on paper, but it takes more than a signature to change the way people feel. Or the way they act. With so many factions opposed to Praetern recognition, we’re looking at a long struggle. Laws are a beginning, not an end.”
“And we haven’t even gotten the laws yet,” Sylvan muttered.
“It’s a fight, but the Coalition has the right leader.”
Sylvan sighed. “Sometimes I wish we could go back to a time when all we had to worry about was securing our borders and protecting our Pack.”
“I didn’t know those times, but I know they’re in your blood.” Drake kissed Sylvan and walked into their bedroom where she’d laid out their clothes for the governor’s gala. She was heavier throughout her middle, but without the classic pregnancy mound. Dressed in a shirt and pants a size larger than she usually wore, she hardly appeared pregnant by human standards. All the Weres knew the Alpha pair was expecting young, as did the Vampire upper echelons. Probably many humans and other Praeterns had heard as well. She wasn’t trying to hide her state; in fact, she wanted those in attendance at the gala, some of whom were surely enemies, to see that Sylvan had the support and strength of her mate at all times. She stepped into charcoal pants with a subtle white stripe and reached for the matching jacket. “Everything you’re doing now is exactly as it has been since the beginning. You are still securing your borders, only now those borders have expanded beyond the physical. You are protecting the rights and future of your Pack and our young in the legislature and in society. You are still the Alpha, and everyone looks to you to lead the way now more than ever.”
“And I look to you.” Sylvan buttoned her fitted black shirt and tucked it into tailored black pants. “Just promise me that you’ll be careful tonight.”
Drake grinned. “I’ll be with you. How much safer could I be?”
*
“You look very handsome, darling,” Francesca said, taking the pearl gray studs from Michel and fastening them through the buttonholes in Michel’s crisp white tuxedo shirt herself. Michel’s black pants were perfectly tailored with a satin stripe down the side. Her black hair fell in roguish layers over her ears and down to her collar. Crimson simmere
d beneath the Mediterranean blue of her eyes. Francesca kissed the hollow of her throat. “We should leave the neck open, I think. Such a perfect reflection of what is truly beautiful. I couldn’t ask for a more dashing escort.”
Michel stood still as Francesca attended her in a move calculated to be proprietary, not subservient. Francesca had fed well and her face glowed. Her eyes smoldered with passionate vitality. Her sleeveless floor-length royal blue satin gown dipped between her voluptuous breasts, showcasing her milk-white shoulders and unblemished décolletage. The lush fabric dipped in at the waist and flowed over her hips and thighs in a cascading waterfall of sensuality. She moved like a dark secret, a whisper on the wind.
When Francesca finished tucking Michel’s shirt into her trousers, Michel slid an arm around Francesca’s waist and kissed her. “And you, my Regent, are as beautiful as ever.”
“Thank you, darling. You flatter me.”
Michel smiled. “I have never needed to. You are truly magnificent.”
Francesca inclined her head, hearing the truth in Michel’s words. Pleased that her senechal had not yet grown inured to her charms despite her new interests, she slipped her hand through Michel’s arm, and they walked through the underground passages to the inner courtyard where her car awaited. “It will be very interesting to see how our friends align themselves tonight.”
“Yes. Much can be learned from casual conversations.”
“I assume you have eyes and ears where we need them?”
“Of course. Luce is attending as part of Dr. Standish’s party, and since Dr. Standish is escorted by Nicholas Gregory, we have a direct avenue to them.”
“And the wolves? Do we have someone with them?”
Michel almost smiled, amused that Francesca would ask her questions to which she already knew the answers. But that was always part of her mistress’s game. To be caught out in a lie was viewed as a failure of skill, as punishable an offense as the actual deceit and a sign of weakness. In this case, what the Regent really wanted to know was if Katya would be accompanying the Alpha. Michel could answer truthfully that she didn’t know.
She hadn’t seen Katya in the weeks since the Alpha’s visit to the club—when she’d last fed from her. She had not attempted to reach her via the link they shared and had tried very hard not to think of her. Instead, she’d gone through every Were in the club on a nightly basis, hoping to temper the gnawing hunger that held her in its grip. She’d only been able to succeed enough to maintain her sanity. But with Francesca watching her so closely, and suspecting her desire for Katya, she could not go near her.
“Not for certain,” Michel admitted, “but we know that Nicholas Gregory has wolves in his secret employ, and we both know Enoch is blood-addicted. I’m having him watched. If he makes contact with any of Nicholas’s people, we’ll have him.”
“That will have to do for now. But I want a Were who answers to us.” Francesca paused while Michel opened the door of the idling limo. “I’m sure you can find someone to succumb to your charms.”
Katya’s face flashed through Michel’s mind and she quickly raised her shields. She settled next to Francesca and pulled the door closed. Francesca’s hand automatically moved to the inside of her thigh and slid high enough to cup her through her silk trousers. She hardened, but she kept her voice steady. “As soon as I do, I’ll be sure to tell you.”
*
Lara waited with Zahn on the sidewalk in front of Jody’s town house, surveying the shadows in the park across the street, the traffic moving by, and parked vehicles for anything out of place. Zahn was the head of Jody’s security, but Lara was Jody’s warlord, and as far as she was concerned, safeguarding Jody was her most important job. She would lead Jody’s soldiers in a fight, but even if a fight never came, the night still held danger.
“Looks clear,” Zahn said.
“Yes,” Lara said, watching the progress of a white van as it moved slowly down State Street toward the capitol buildings. She didn’t like vans—too easy to conceal armed occupants. Simple enough for the vehicle to careen to the curb and for assassins to roll out, shooting before anyone had a chance to mount a defense. The van passed uneventfully. She checked her watch. 7:55.
“What do you think the chances are of an attack at this kind of event?” Zahn asked with the same conversational tone she might use if commenting on the weather forecast.
Lara answered in kind. “I think our enemies expect us to figure the risk of capture is too great for anyone to make an attempt at such a high-profile event. That we’d be lulled into a feeling of false safety and let down our guard. And then they’d strike.”
Zahn nodded but didn’t comment.
“And for exactly that reason, we have to be doubly vigilant every night, but especially tonight.”
“My thoughts too.” At exactly 7:58 Zahn raised her left hand and spoke into her mic to the drivers standing by where Jody’s vehicles were garaged, two blocks away in a secure enclosure. “Bring the cars around.”
The private lot was under twenty-four-hour guard by human servants, but car bombs were a relatively simple and effective means of assassination. Easy to assemble, easy to place—it only took a second to attach a palm-sized square of C-4 to the undercarriage of a vehicle—and easy to detonate with a cheap burn phone. Zahn wasn’t taking any chances, and Lara was just fine with that.
At eight o’clock precisely, the front door opened and Jody stepped out with Becca on her arm. Jody’s ebony hair and midnight blue tuxedo with monochromatic shirt made her seem part of the night. Becca’s pale ivory gown glowed against her coffee skin, a glimmering star marking Jody’s dark sky.
Two Vampire guards fell in behind them as they approached the street. The limo pulled to the curb with an armored SUV carrying the rest of Jody’s bodyguards right behind it. The limo idled, and Zahn walked over to open the rear door. Lara did another visual sweep of the street. These last twenty feet were the most critical if an assassin made an attempt.
“Clear,” Lara said to Zahn, who motioned Jody and Becca forward. Jody handed Becca into the rear of the car but did not follow. Zahn’s brows drew together. “Liege? You should get inside.”
“In a moment.” Jody turned and looked down the street just as another SUV rounded the corner. She smiled. “Ah. Our last guest is right on time.” She turned to Lara. “Please escort the Alpha to the limo so she can ride with us.”
Lara sensed her then and strode rapidly along the line of parked cars as the second SUV pulled up behind the first. The rear door opened and Raina stepped out. Lara missed a step, caught in the unexpected vortex of Raina’s aura. Her blond hair was long and thick, teasing at the thin straps of a simple midnight blue dress that fell in shimmering sheets to her knees. Her heels of matching blue added to her already formidable height, and she moved with the same lethal grace she displayed in pelt. Lara swallowed the lust in her throat. “I didn’t expect you tonight.”
Raina smiled, her gaze raking Lara hungrily. “I received an invitation from Liege Gates this morning, asking me to attend as her ally and guest.”
Lara’s jaw set. “An open association with her is going to make you a target for every Were, human, and Vampire who fears her and the strength you bring to her with your cats.”
“A secret alliance is of limited benefit,” Raina pointed out. Moving toward the limo, she slid her hand under Lara’s black jacket and rubbed her back. “I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s been three days. I’ve missed you.”
Lara growled softly. “Not as much as I’ve missed you.”
Raina laughed. “Are you hungry?”
“You have no idea.”
“Later,” Raina said and slipped into the backseat of the limo.
Lara leaned down to the closed window, compelling Raina to look at her. Be careful of what’s mine.
Always.
Zahn walked around to the passenger side, opened the front door, and said across the top of the vehicle to Lara, “We’ve spent enough
time out here already.”
Lara nodded curtly and headed for the follow car. Claude was behind the wheel. “Make sure we don’t get separated.”
“Yes, Warlord.”
Lara climbed into the back, and the vehicle pulled away. She watched the taillights of the limo, checking all approaches to each intersection as they entered. Cross streets were vulnerable points where an attack car could take out the limo or pull between them, effectively separating the limo from its protective follow car. All the drivers were experienced and trained in defensive driving, but she was happy when the short ride to the governor’s mansion was over.
A crowd of reporters from TV and print media crowded the long walkway to the front entrance. There hadn’t been a gathering of so many powerful politicians and Praetern representatives since the Exodus was declared. If someone wanted to cripple the Praetern initiative, this would be the place to attack.
Chapter Thirty-two
“I don’t believe I’ve been introduced to your lovely…partner, Alpha Mir,” a patrician voice said from Sylvan’s left.
Sylvan clasped Drake’s hand and turned to the silver-haired human who smiled at her with just a hint of condescension he no doubt thought he had hidden. “Senator Weston, I’d like you to meet my mate and Prima of the Timberwolf Pack, Dr. Drake McKennan.”
His icy eyes registered the faintest surprise, as if he had not expected Sylvan to refer to her otherness in frank terms, but he graciously extended his hand with a well-practiced smile. “Very pleased to meet you, Doctor.”
“Thank you, Senator.” Drake gestured to the crowded ballroom where human state and federal officials, business powerbrokers, and social elite mingled with the ruling heads of the Praetern realms. “This is quite an historic event. It’s been very gratifying to hear such strong support for the Coalition’s goals from so many.”
“Yes, we’re making excellent progress in that regard.” His smile stayed in place, but his eyes grew wary.