by Cecy Robson
I lifted my chin to resume our kiss. I loved that he was so attracted to me, but sometimes even after all our time in bed, I remained that timid kitten he’d first encountered. He smiled against my mouth. You like me shy. Don’t you, wolf?
“I’ll love you any way you are, and any way you’ll have me,” he answered.
Aric’s fingers trailed along the sweep of my neck, then along my body, as he spoke. “It’s our mate bond,” he reminded me when he caught the surprise on my face. “When our emotions are heightened, I can sometimes sense your thoughts. The connection is meant to alert my beast when you’re in danger. But this…” His fingers brushed through my hair. “This is just a bonus.”
“Okay,” I said. Being Aric’s mate came with more than simply the title. But the more intimacy we shared, the more bonded we seemed to become. I watched my hair slide through his fingers. “Do you like it like this? Without the curls, I mean?”
Aric kissed me before answering, his taste mixed with mine so addicting. “It’s pretty, sexy, but I prefer your waves. I love how wild it gets when I make love to you.”
My heart thumped loudly against my chest. It wouldn’t be long before round three would start between us. But instead of drawing closer, he sat up abruptly and fixed me with an intense stare I hadn’t quite expected. “Let’s get married, right now. We’ll fly out tonight and be in Vegas by the weekend.”
I rolled onto my side. “You’re serious.”
“Yeah, I am.”
My fingers traced small circles along his chest. “Why the rush? I thought you wanted something more traditional. Not Elvis and some chapel on the Strip.”
Aric ran his hand impatiently through his hair as the scent of fear overtook the room and smothered the desire between us. I pushed up on my arm, terror seizing me and causing my claws to protrude. “Aric, what is it? What’s wrong?”
He faced me, his expression riddled with worry and dread. My chest rose and fell quickly. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” When he didn’t answer right away I panicked. “Are you being forced to leave me again?”
Aric’s eyes widened. “No. I promised you I’d never abandon you again.” He dropped his gaze, his breaths harsh. When he spoke again, something shifted in his tone. “Except there is someone who can keep us apart.”
My eyes stung with tears, and rage blinded me. I wanted to race out of bed, to find this person, damnit, to make him bleed. “Who?” I demanded. “Tell me who.”
Aric stroked away the first of my tears. He didn’t speak for a long moment. When he did, my world came to a crashing halt. “You,” he finally answered quietly. “Celia…if you don’t want to be with me, I can’t make you.”
I stared at him, confusion warring with my breaking heart. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. You’re my mate. How can you possibly think I don’t want you?”
He shook his head. “You don’t understand. You’re my mate. I’m bonded to you. But that doesn’t mean I’m yours.”
I felt like he had slapped me. When he reached for me, I pulled away. I didn’t want him to touch me. I wanted an explanation for his asinine thoughts. “Tell me what the hell you’re talking about before I tear this goddamn room apart.”
He let out a deep breath, glancing down before looking me square in the face. “When a were finds his mate, whether she’s human or another were, there’s no doubt they’re true mates. Because of the curse placed upon you, you’re neither were nor human anymore. I know your feelings for me are strong. I can sense them. Hell, I can practically touch them. But it’s possible that you’re meant to love another more.” His tone was harsh and broken. “I never wanted you to know this, but I love you too damn much to keep it from you any longer.”
Angry tears leaked from my eyes, wetting my scorching cheeks. I was livid, breaking from his hold when he tried to pull me against him.
I stood, facing the doors leading to the bathroom, working not to rip them from their hinges and fling them through the wall of glass leading out to the terrace.
When I turned back to Aric, I could barely control my voice. “After all we’ve been through and all we’ve lost, you really think I’m meant to be with someone else?”
Aric watched me carefully, sensing my growing anger. “It’s not that I don’t think you care for me—”
“Care for you? Are you trying to tell me that I don’t love you—or that I haven’t loved you enough?” I stormed into the bathroom and started pulling on my clothes when he didn’t answer.
Aric stood, meeting me in the doorway when I stomped out. “Celia, where are you going?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“Away from you!” I pointed my finger at him. “You’re wrong, Aric. The only being who can keep us apart is you. I want to love you—it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But you never let me!”
I rushed past him and pulled on my shoes. Aric tried to gather me to him. “Celia, I’m not trying to push you away.”
“But you are. And it’s not the first time, is it?” I accused. “Look at everything you’ve done since we’ve met to keep me away—all those times you walked away. That was never me, Aric. It was always you!”
I grunted with frustration when he wouldn’t answer. His eyes fired with anger and his hands balled into fists at his sides. The huge lump in my throat expanded, threatening to cut off my air. “I mean it when I say I love you. I mean it when I say forever. You insult me by calling me a liar.”
His frown vanished, my words demonstrating how badly he’d hurt me. Without thinking, I passed my hand across my belly. “If you don’t know how much I love you by now, maybe we really shouldn’t be together.”
Aric froze. I left without another word, slamming the door behind me.
I broke down the minute the elevator doors sealed tight. I was still crying when I crossed the lobby. Tim waited at the bar, his meal in the form of two blondes edging closer. He abandoned them when he saw me, his steps slowing when he caught me wiping my eyes.
“You okay?”
I nodded, but I clearly wasn’t.
Tim didn’t exactly ooze compassion. It was a lot for him to just ask how I was. He swiped at his bald head and bent to whisper in my ear. “Agnes thinks she found Shah. But she doesn’t trust the witches, and she wants to leave the beasts out for now. Can you move tonight?”
I thought about Aric back in the room and everything that he’d said.
“Yes,” I answered.
Chapter 13
I adjusted the straps of my tank and fiddled with the edge of my denim shorts for the millionth time. Emme checked her phone and turned toward me as the small plane carrying us over the Malaysian jungle swerved and bounced. She was looking pretty green from the ride, but it didn’t stop her from speaking. “Aric just texted me again. He says he’s sorry and wants to talk.”
I shook my head and didn’t respond. Whether it was the stress from my fight with Aric or our encounter with Dilip and his crocs, I couldn’t be sure, but two waves of painful spasms had racked my body since I’d left Aric. The first I’d somehow breathed through. The second had me curling on the bathroom floor where I’d changed out of my dress. I’d managed to hide the attacks from my sisters and the vamps, but I was sure they’d return. I only hoped they’d subside long enough for me to complete my task and find Shah.
“Celia,” Emme pleaded, trying to draw my attention. “He seems really upset, sweetie.”
“Leave her alone, Emme,” Taran said. She tucked her zombie limb beneath her shirt. “They need time apart.” She glanced at Shayna, who kept scratching the area between her breasts. “Hell, we all need some time away from the furries.”
Shayna growled, or at least she tried to. Truth be told, for all the were blood coursing through her veins she was more puppy than predator. “I can’t believe Koda has the nerve to be mad at me. He was all like, ‘You jeopardized the mission, baby,’ ” she said, trying rather sadly to imitate his deep voice. “ ‘It was all for show. Th
e mission is our top priority. The mission is what’s important. The mission can’t be compromised. You overreacted. Blah, blah, blah. Put the knife down. Blah, blah, blah. I can’t let you stab her. She was just part of the mission.’ Mission, mission, mission. Well, do you know what I told him?”
“What?” the rest of us muttered.
“That next time the mission involved anything in his pants, to find a new Bond girl to take care of it.”
This caught Taran’s attention. “Did you really say that?”
“Well, no,” Shayna admitted. “Mostly I just called the girl he was dancing with a tramp and walked away.”
“Oh,” the rest of us said.
I glanced out the window as the plane swept over the tall trees. “Do you want to talk about it?” Emme asked me quietly.
Not really. But I did anyway. “Something’s not right with Aric.” It pained me to say it out loud. “I’ve noticed a shift in his behavior since he asked me to marry him. He’s so irritable toward everyone and we rarely make love anymore.”
It was my last comment that struck a chord. You could say everyone knew Aric and I used to do it like wererabbits. Taran quirked her brow. “You and he don’t have sex anymore?”
“Not like we used to,” I admitted. “He’s exhausted all the time and pretty much loses consciousness once he crawls into bed. We only made love once last week. It was nice, real nice, but I was the one who instigated it and he fell asleep immediately after.”
Shayna turned around in her seat and leaned her chin against her palm. “Ceel, I’m not saying this to upset you, but even when Koda is worn out, his beast always gives him an extra boost of energy. I don’t remember him ever being too tired. If anything Puppy gets his second wind when he sees me, you know?”
“Aric used to be the same way.” I glanced out the window again. “Now he’s questioning whether he’s truly my mate.”
“You’re kidding,” Taran said.
That awful sense of abandonment I felt at his words reclaimed me. My sisters didn’t move, waiting for me to respond. “That’s what he said. And apparently what he believes. He felt he owed it to me to tell me.”
“Shit,” Taran said.
“Yeah,” I added quietly. “Pretty much.”
I rubbed at the center of my chest. The ache there was starting to get worse. I must have sprained something during my encounter with Dilip. If it didn’t improve, I’d ask Emme to heal me. I sighed. Then again, it could’ve just been the hurt Aric caused.
Shayna tried to smile. “Aric loves you, Ceel,” she said. “That I’m absolutely sure of. You didn’t see him the whole time you were separated. Koda and I did. Your wolf was positively miserable without his little kitty.”
“I believe you,” I told her. “What I can’t understand is why he doesn’t believe that I love him, too. Or how lost I was without him.” I rubbed my chest again. “I can’t help thinking all his anger stems from his deepest insecurities….”
Taran shook me hard. “Celia. Celia, what’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
My sisters exchanged glances, but it was Taran who spoke up. “You were talking and then it was like you checked out. You okay?”
A strange haze seemed to dull my senses and dim my thoughts. I shook my head, trying to clear it. “I’m fine…just tired, I guess.” For the life of me, I couldn’t even remember what we were talking about. But I didn’t want to admit it, especially seeing how worried my sisters suddenly seemed.
“I’m fine,” I repeated, trying to put more force behind my words. “Really. We just need to focus on finding Shah.” That much I meant. We were anything but focused.
My hand reached to rub the center of my chest again, but then I caught myself and stopped. The pain I’d felt was suddenly gone.
Taran frowned, looking past me to Emme. “Em…is that a hickey on your neck?”
Emme slapped her hand over her neck. “No. It’s just a bruise. I fell. Last night.”
“On your neck?” Taran asked, smiling.
Shayna whirled around, pointing to her other side. “Oh! She’s got one right there, too.”
“No shit?” Taran laughed. “Tell me you hooked up with some hot Malaysian guy.”
Emme’s cheeks flushed and she opened and closed her mouth a few times before any words came out. “I can honestly say I didn’t hook up with a hot Malaysian guy.”
“Then who did you hook up with?” Taran demanded.
Emme shut her mouth abruptly when she caught mine hanging open. The only males I’d seen her with who weren’t trying to kill her had been Bren and Tye. And she wouldn’t—I mean, they couldn’t possibly. He and she—Did he and she…Come to think of it, which he and she?
The radio crackled and Agnes’s voice blasted over the speaker. “Listen up, freaks. We have three potential spots where Shah might be. One’s a hotel on the east side of town close to the club we hit last night. A team is searching it now. One vamp’s been blown to bits, but it was kind of an accident so we think it’s a dead end. I’m with the team searching the underground lair beneath Dilip’s compound. We think Shah might be here, given how many have been eaten.”
Emme gasped. “Eaten?”
Agnes huffed. “Yeah. Can you believe it? So far we’ve lost two vamps and a rogue witch to something with tentacles—”
A shrill scream cut Agnes off.
“Make that three vamps,” she continued. “So if you see any tentacles when you get to your location, run like hell. I don’t know what this thing is, but damn, it’s hungry.”
None of us moved, but Taran had plenty to say. “That’s your advice to us? Run like hell?”
“Unless you prefer to be eaten,” Agnes sang.
Yeah. So not a fan of Agnes.
Emme leaned forward and wiped her paling face. “Good Lord,” she muttered.
The pilot tilted the plane down, beginning our descent. I caught sight of an old cinder block house with a tin roof surrounded by what appeared to be tall white grass. That must be the place. I hadn’t seen anything else for miles.
The pilot veered the plane, angling it toward a clearing on the opposite side of a small patch of jungle. We’d have to cross through the dense stand of trees. But from what I could make out, it didn’t appear to be rough terrain.
Shayna adjusted her ponytail just when Emme groaned again. “Don’t worry, Emme,” she told her. “The way I figure, if anything ever needed tentacles to guard it, it’s Shah. If so, sounds like the vamps have the right place. Let’s just check this lead out, give it the all clear, and go home.” She grinned my way. “Celia and I have some wolves to make up with.”
She was starting to feel better about her and Koda. I didn’t share the same hope for Aric and me. What was wrong with my wolf?
The pilot landed in the field near an old farm. The scent of manure made me gag when the pilot opened the door for us. The moment we climbed out, he tried to climb back in. I grabbed his arm. “You’re not coming with us?”
He smirked, allowing his fangs to lengthen past his lips. “Nope. Like it or not, you need me to fly your asses out of here. Can’t do that if I’m eaten.”
Most beings couldn’t argue with that logic, but I wasn’t like most. “Fine. But just so you’re aware, if you leave us behind, Misha will know.” I smiled. “We’re besties. You’re not. He’ll find you, rip off your arms, then feed you to something scarier than that creature with tentacles.” I released him when his fangs retracted. “Toodles.”
I headed in the direction of the jungle. Shayna skipped to catch up, twirling the machete she carried to loosen her wrists. “Want me to take up the rear?”
I thought about how volatile Taran’s magic had been lately. “Sure. Taran, stay behind me. Emme, you’re in front of Shayna.”
“Yee-ha,” Taran mumbled.
She tucked her arm beneath her shirt, trying to shield it from the sun, but when we stepped into the jungle it fired up like a glow stick. She shook it hard, as if try
ing to rid it of its eerie glow. “Son of bitch. Great. That’s just fucking great.”
She waved her arm. Good heavens, it looked like a plastic light saber. My steps slowed. It reminded me of something that she’d done last night but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what. “Maybe your arm is capable of more than you’re giving it credit for,” I reasoned as I pushed forward. “I’m wondering if you just need to figure out how to use it.”
Despite the darkness of the jungle, I caught her eyes glistening with tears. “The only thing this thing is good for is grossing out big bad beasts and chasing them away.”
The hurt in her voice made me want to cry for her. “Taran…” was all I could say.
“Don’t sweat it, Ceel. Some things aren’t meant to be. No matter how bad you want them.”
She needed a moment, so I let her walk ahead of me. As I watched her hug her body, I thought about what she’d said. Her words, while disturbing, fueled my need to make things right with Aric. We’d been through too much. I wasn’t ready to let him go. I needed him.
And he needed me, too.
A jaguar cut along the path, growling and licking its chops. I yanked Taran back and growled louder. It lifted its paw and rushed away in the opposite direction.
That’s right, kitty. In a cat fight, this tigress is going to win.
Snakes slithered around us. I could hear them sliding over the drying leaves and through the thick vegetation. Their colors made them almost invisible, but I could smell their leathery skin. Knowing where they lurked would help keep us safe.
My sisters nodded when I pointed them out, and we gave them a wide berth. Considering our walk was short, we encountered several snakes and a few frogs I was very leery of.