Warrior

by Karen Lynch

  * * *

  I barely noticed my surroundings as I drove through Boise the next evening. My mind was too preoccupied, thinking about the long overdue conversation I needed to have with Sara when I got home. I didn’t know if she was ready to hear the truth, but she deserved to know what was happening between us. There was no going back to the way things were, not after I’d kissed her.

  Remorse filled me over the way I’d left her. I should have tried to talk to her, if not that night, then the next day. I’d thought I was doing the right thing by leaving and giving us both some space.

  I realized now that I’d left because I’d been afraid she wanted nothing to do with me. If I’d been thinking clearly, I would have realized that no one responded to a kiss the way she had if they weren’t attracted to the other person. Maybe I’d misread her reaction, and what I’d taken as distress had really been the confusion of a girl receiving her first kiss.

  I’m such an idiot, I thought for the hundredth time since I left Salt Lake City. I wouldn’t blame Sara if she refused to speak to me for another week. How had I managed to screw things up so badly?

  A mocking laugh burst from me. I had known many women in my lifetime, and I’d always been confident and sure of myself with them. One kiss from Sara and I was fumbling like a prepubescent teen.

  It was after ten when I pulled into the garage at Westhorne. Grabbing my bag and sword, I walked to the main building, wondering what Sara was doing at that moment. I’d only been gone for three days, but it felt like much longer. I was going to drop my stuff off at my place, and then I was going to find her and make things right between us.

  The first place I went was her room. Not finding her there, I checked the common rooms, the library, and the menagerie. I was frowning when I entered the main hall again. It was a Saturday night, but there weren’t a lot of places she would go. Maybe she was with Jordan in the other girl’s room.

  Disappointment pricked my chest. It looked like our talk was going to have to wait until tomorrow.

  “Hey man, I thought you were in Utah.”

  I turned to Dax. “Change of plans.”

  He held up the tablet he carried. “You must have a sixth sense for trouble. We had a vampire attack in town tonight.”

  “An attack in Butler Falls? Are you sure?” No vampire would be stupid enough to hunt so close to one of our strongholds.

  “It’s the real deal, all right.” He tapped on his tablet. “Chris went to check it out, and he confirmed it. Tristan’s gone to town too on account of the trainees being at a party there. I’m surprised you didn’t pass him –”

  Icy fingers touched the back of my neck. “Sara is in town?”

  “Yeah. No worries though. The party is out at a farm on Old Creek Road, and the attack happened on the other side of town. Besides, Tristan and the others are there by now.”

  I reached for his tablet, and he relinquished it. On it was a map of Butler Falls, zoomed in to an address on Old Creek Road. Handing the tablet back, I turned to the door.

  A minute later, I was speeding toward town, dread knotting my stomach. Butler Falls hadn’t had a vampire attack since we moved in next door. And now they had their first one on the night Sara was there. It was just too much of a coincidence.

  I shouldn’t have left Westhorne. If anything happened to Sara, I’d never forgive myself.

  I couldn’t help but think about the last time I’d raced to find her. I’d been too late, and I’d almost lost her. What if I was too late again? What if Tristan hadn’t reached her in time?

  My chest felt like it was in a vise, and my Mori was in a state of high agitation by the time I pulled into the farm’s long driveway and spotted two of our SUVs. I parked behind them and strode toward the house. The sounds of laugher and music coming from the place eased my mind a little, but I wouldn’t relax until I saw Sara and knew she was okay.

  I was almost to the house when I spotted lights moving over at the barn. Instinct had me moving in that direction instead, and I let out a breath when I suddenly sensed Sara’s presence nearby. Some of the trainees stood outside with Seamus and Niall, but there was no sign of Sara or Tristan.

  I came up short when Callum walked out of the barn with an unconscious human male over his shoulder. When Jordan appeared behind him in blood-splattered clothes and carrying a bloody knife, my heart began to pound against my ribs.

  Movement in the barn entrance drew my eye, and I stared at the girl emerging from the shadows. Her clothes were covered in blood. She stumbled and would have fallen if not for Tristan. He held her up and offered to carry her.

  I was too late.

  Roaring filled my ears, and a deep-red veil fell over my vision as my tenuous hold on my Mori snapped.

  Solmi, the demon roared ferociously, its distress and rage blending with mine. My body shook from the white hot rage consuming me. The urge to destroy anything that threatened my mate overpowered me.

  Sara stopped walking and looked at me, and my gaze locked on her. A part of me registered she was well enough to stand, but all I could focus on was her pale face and torn, bloody clothes. The need to touch her, to comfort her, and to reassure myself she was okay was unbearable, and it was all I could do not to go to her and crush her to me. The pain and confusion in her eyes were all that stayed me and kept my Mori in check.

  She walked briskly toward me…but then she veered to go around me.

  Mine, my Mori growled, and an answering sound rumbled in my chest.

  She stopped abruptly to stare at me. “Did you just growl at me?”

  “Nikolas, she is okay.”

  I heard Tristan’s words, but it was difficult to focus on anything except the girl standing too far away from me. My Mori was close to losing it, and she was the only thing keeping us together.

  Tristan spoke again. “Sara, listen to me. You need to walk toward him, talk to him, and let him know you are okay.”

  “I don’t understand.” Her gaze remained locked with mine, and I could see fear creep into her eyes. “Can’t he see that from here?” she asked.

  “No,” Tristan answered calmly. “You need to get a lot closer. He won’t hurt you. If there is anyone here who is safe from him, it is you.”

  I wanted to speak, to tell her I would never hurt her, but I was locked in a power struggle with my demon. My Mori would not harm her, but it might hurt someone else. Sara wouldn’t forgive me if that happened. I’d never forgive myself. All I could do was hold myself as still as possible as she closed the distance between us.

  She stopped a few feet away and gave me a tentative smile. “Look, Nikolas, I’m perfectly fine, see? Okay, I’ve looked better, but that’s beside the point.”

  My enhanced senses recognized her sunshine scent beneath the coppery smell of the blood that covered her clothes. Mine, the demon snarled again.

  I gritted my teeth from the superhuman effort to control the demon side of me that was feral in its need to claim our mate, to take her away and make her ours.

  I was only vaguely aware that Sara and Tristan were talking. Then she moved forward until she was close enough for me to see her lips tremble and hear her rapid heartbeat.

  An eternity later, I felt her cold hand slide into mine, and I grasped it like a lifeline. If she pulled away now, I didn’t think I could bear it.

  “Let go!”

  I stared down at her in confusion when she hit me in the chest with her free hand.

  Then she slapped my cheek hard. “Nikolas, snap out of it! You’re breaking my hand.”

  The pain in her voice penetrated the red haze in my mind, and I released her hand. But if I didn’t touch her I’d go insane. I enfolded her tightly in my arms and buried my face in her hair, breathing in her warm scent like it was oxygen to my starved lungs.

  Her arms wrapped around my waist, and I sighed as her hands rubbed my back gently.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here,” she said softly, her touch and voice a cooling balm for the rag
e burning through me.

  It took a while for my Mori to calm, and for the rage to recede enough for me to realize what I’d done. Shame settled like nausea in my gut as I thought about what I’d put her through and how close I’d come to losing control completely.

  I looked over her head at the group who stood frozen, watching us. Their shocked faces told me they knew exactly what had just happened and why.

  Sara was the only one here who still didn’t know about our bond, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. I had come home tonight intending to tell her everything, but not like this. This was the worst possible way for her to learn the truth about us.

  I released her as Tristan approached us. She took a step back and looked up at me with eyes full of tender concern.

  My stomach knotted. Would she still look at me that way an hour from now?

  “Nikolas, we need to get Sara and the others home.”

  I nodded at Tristan.

  Sara’s searching gaze moved from me to Tristan, and I knew she was waiting for one of us to tell her what was going on. But this was not the place for that conversation. I’d take her home so she could get cleaned up, and then I’d explain it all to her.

  When neither of us spoke, she let out a soft sigh of frustration and stepped around me to walk to the driveway. I fell in behind her, intending to ride with her in one of the vehicles. Someone else could take my bike home.

  She approached the second SUV and climbed into the back seat. I moved toward the other door until Tristan laid a hand on my arm.

  “I think you need to let me do this,” he said quietly.

  “She should hear it from me.”

  Tristan might be her grandsire, but Sara and I shared a bond and a history. It was my place to tell her about us.

  “Before tonight, I would have agreed with you. But she’s been through too much with the vampire attack and now this.”

  The rage threatened to surface again. “Is she hurt?”

  “No. They were young vampires, and Sara and Jordan killed them. The blood you saw on her is the vampires’.”

  I unclenched my hands. “I have to be with her.”

  “Nikolas, listen to me. You are both overly emotional right now. Sara is confused and upset, and you just went into a full rage. You know you’re not in the right frame of mind to talk to her about something so delicate. And she will be even more upset if we make her wait until tomorrow to hear the truth.”

  He sighed heavily. “I know this is hard for you, but given the situation, I’m probably the best person to talk to her.”

  I opened my mouth to object, but the words died on my tongue. He was right. I was still worked up, and the last thing I wanted was to upset Sara, though it killed me that she was going to hear the truth from someone else.

  Tristan laid a hand on my shoulder, and then he walked to the SUV and got inside. A minute later, Seamus and Niall climbed into the front.

  I strode to my bike and moved it aside so the SUV could back out of the driveway. I stayed behind them for most of the drive back to Westhorne, but I went on ahead when we reached the main gate. I wanted to be there when she arrived, to reassure her I was in control and she didn’t need to fear me.

  The SUV pulled up in front of the main steps, and Tristan got out. He reached in to assist Sara from the car.

  She emerged, looking pale and exhausted, and I had to force myself to stay where I was. She looked at me before Tristan led her up the steps into the main hall. It was enough for me to see the apprehension in her eyes, and I cursed myself again for doing that to her.

  I rubbed the back of my neck and looked around, at a loss as to what to do now. It was going to be a long night.

  I was still standing outside ten minutes later when Chris arrived.

  He gave me a wry smile. “You look like hell.”

  “You heard?”

  “I saw. I was in the barn when you decided to have your meltdown.”

  I grimaced. “How bad was it?”

  “Bad, but it could have been a lot worse. You got it under control.”

  “Because of her,” I admitted, remembering Sara’s arms around my waist as she’d talked to me. Even after I’d frightened her, she’d come to me, comforted me.

  “Well, it won’t do you any good to stand around here. You’re only going to get worked up again. I’d suggest a good sparring session, but in your mood, I might not come out of it with all my parts.”

  He pointed to the garage. “Let’s go for a ride.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t leave. Sara might –”

  “Tristan will take care of Sara, and she’s not going to talk to you tonight.”

  I scowled at him.

  “You know that’s how she copes with change. She avoids dealing with it until she can handle it. She’ll talk to you when she’s ready.”

  “I don’t know, Chris. She’s never looked at me that way.”

  He shook his head. “She’s confused and overwhelmed, that’s all. Did you know she killed a vampire right before we all got there?”

  “Tristan told me.” Pride surged in me in spite of the part of me that struggled with the knowledge that she’d fought a vampire.

  “She’s tougher than she looks, Nikolas. And she cares about you. Anyone with eyes can see that. Give her some time.”

  I looked up at the light shining from the second story windows belonging to Tristan’s apartment. I should be the one with her, telling her about us.

  “God, I really messed up.”

  “You aren’t the first bonded male to lose it, and you certainly won’t be the last. Standing here torturing yourself is helping no one.”

  “You’re right.” I made myself turn away from the building. “Let’s ride.”

  Chapter 22

  I waited until noon the next day before I knocked on Tristan’s door. I could feel Sara inside the apartment and knew she’d stayed there all night. I hadn’t seen Tristan yet today, so I had no idea how their talk had gone or how she’d reacted to the news about the bond. I couldn’t forget how lost she’d looked when she arrived here last night. I needed to make sure she was okay.

  Tristan didn’t look surprised to see me when he opened the door. “She’s still asleep,” he said quietly as he motioned for me to come in.

  “Still?”

  His brow creased in concern. “I don’t think she slept well. I heard her moving around for a long time after she went to bed.”

  I hadn’t slept well either. My apartment was two doors down from Tristan’s, close enough for me to feel Sara nearby. Not being able to go to her had me prowling around the apartment like a caged tiger all night.

  “I’ll come back in an hour.”

  He shook his head and gave me a regretful look. “She is not ready to see you. Last night was a shock to her, and she needs some time to process it.”

  His words didn’t come as a surprise, but they hurt.

  “I frightened her. I need to talk to her, to explain.”

  “Sara knows you would never harm her, and she’s the only one who wasn’t afraid of you last night. You and I both knew she would be upset when she learned about the bond, which is why we agreed to wait to tell her.”

  I threw up a hand. “I did wait. I left for almost three weeks.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “When you returned and asked to train her, you said you could keep your distance. Kissing her is not what I’d call keeping your distance.”

  “I didn’t mean for that to happen…not yet.” I raked my fingers through my hair. “We argued, and we got caught up in the moment. I’m sorry for the way I handled it, but I’m not sorry for kissing her. I came home last night, intending to tell her everything.”

  His sympathetic look was worse than his anger. I wanted to ask him about their conversation, but all I said was, “How is she?”

  “Like I said, it was a lot for her to take in, and she’s hurt that we kept it from her. Give her a few days.”

  “I’ll
give her whatever she needs. You know that.”

  “I do.” Tristan glanced over at the guest room door. “I think she knows it too.”

  I turned to the door. “I’d better leave before she wakes. I’ll be working with Dax today if you need me.”

  I didn’t know if anything could take my mind off Sara, but I had to try. I had a feeling I was going to be a very busy man until she was ready to talk to me again.

  Dax and I spent the afternoon going through the constant stream of reports from our people all over the country. I was grateful for the distraction, but the higher than usual number of vampire attacks was troubling. I scoured the feeds for missing teenage girls, or anything that might indicate the Master was still searching for Sara. I found nothing that pointed to her, but I wouldn’t be happy until that vampire was dead.

  If Dax wondered about my extended presence in the security center, he didn’t say anything. Neither did he mention what had happened last night, though I was sure everyone at Westhorne had heard the story by now. Gossip didn’t bother me. Neither did stares. My only concern was Sara, and how she was handling everything. Since I couldn’t go to her, I buried myself in work.

  Tristan came looking for me late in the afternoon, and we walked outside to talk.

  “How is she?” I asked.

  “Good. Better than last night, but still a bit shaken up. She said some things that you need to know.”

  My gut hardened at his serious expression, but his next words were the last ones I expected.

  “Sara told me she can sense when vampires are near. It’s how she knew there were vampires at the party last night.”

  I was sure I had heard him wrong. “Sense them?”

  “She gets a cold feeling in her chest. Apparently, her sylph friend came to visit her a few days ago, and the sylph thinks it’s because of the vampire blood on the knife Sara was stabbed with. It does make sense that Sara’s Fae side would react differently to demon blood.”

  I didn’t hide my shock. “You’re serious.”

  He nodded grimly. “That’s not all. She said she’s sensed vampires three times since she moved here, but she didn’t know what was happening until last night.”