by Zoe Forward
“For a dead guy, you sure like risking exposure with this cloak and dagger shit.” Lexan threw his shades on the table and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the pulsating lights. He leveled his gaze on Blay in a calculated glare meant to intimidate.
“I’m not impressed by your progress so far, Your Majesty. Time is running out.”
Had this been any other wolf, he’d strike him down for the disrespect. But the two of them were bound by memories that fucked them up and still tortured. Even if Blay preferred the shadows, if Lexan called upon this wolf for anything, he would show up, armed and ready to kill. No questions asked.
“If you decided you’d like to be involved in this venture, then you could’ve phoned. If you’re ready to go back on your word to her dying mother that you’d stay out of your daughter’s life, and you want to finish this yourself, then so be it. You can collect on your IOU a different time.”
“How could you let her go to the wedding?”
Yeah, he didn’t think Blay would release him from his promise to help Vee so easily. Unlike last week, now he was okay with helping her, actually anticipated it. “You forbid I kidnap her. There would’ve been no other way to stop her.”
“You were supposed to use your…lady charm and have her on a plane to Europe already.”
“It doesn’t work on her.”
Blay stilled. “That’s odd. Did you pick up any other skills from her?”
“She’s a healer who uses some sort of calming thing on her patients.”
Blay nodded toward Lexan’s beer. “You mind?”
Lexan shook his head.
Blay took a huge swig. “Well, that makes this complicated. I was counting on your ability to make this fast.”
“I’ll get this done for you, but it’s going to take more time than anticipated unless you’re ready to okay kidnapping.”
Blay took another large swallow of beer. “No kidnapping. It has to be her choice to leave her life here. I need you to get her somewhere safe. Very safe.”
“This isn’t just about her transition, is it? You’re worried the vamps are going to play with the virus in this country. Did you hear something?”
“The virus may not affect all of us once exposed, but it kills all demisangs. Wolves in this country are already infected with the original virus. The DiFalcos gave the viral technology to Dominic last week. I don’t know if they modified it, but I heard they wanted to do more testing. With open warfare here and Dominic’s Squad capturing wolves who never survive…”
“Shit.” Perfect experimental subjects. Lexan rubbed his eyebrows. “Kidnapping would be the fastest way to get her out of here.”
“No. But you need to get this done fast.”
“Did you at least get reconfirmation it is time for her inner wolf to awaken?”
“The Hag read the runes again. It will be this full moon.”
He rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you rely on that nutjob. The last time I listened to the witch I almost killed Eric. She could’ve simply stated my wife was sleeping with a vampire instead of giving me confusing innuendoes.”
“Eric is one whose loyalty will not stray.” Blay’s lips almost twitched into a smile. “I attempted to recruit Eric away from you long ago. His no was a rather large fuck you. Still, did the Hag ever lie to you?”
“Her advice is always vague as shit. So, you can understand my doubt.”
“I believe the witch. Besides, who set you on the right path about the Hag’s meaning before?” Blay glanced around and stiffened. Quickly, he added, “You have less than a week.” He pushed away from the table and executed a small bow. He disappeared into the crowd.
Lexan leaned back and folded his arms. Another wolf was nearby.
Eric stalked through the crowd. He yanked out the chair opposite and sat hard, glaring.
Lexan dramatically rolled his wrist to view his watch. “One hour, fourteen minutes. I’m disappointed.”
“You can’t do shit like this, sir.”
“Maybe it was a test.”
Eric seesawed his lower jaw. “It wasn’t a bloody test. Who’d you meet?”
“The one who requested the favor that brought us here.”
“Did he take it back so we can go home?” Eric’s eyebrows shot up, hopeful.
“No. Time to ruin a vampire princess’s life.”
Chapter Five
“This is quite a reception.” Vee tried to smile at Dominic but couldn’t persuade her lips to tilt upward. She wished the line at the head table hadn’t dissolved the moment she arrived.
Conversations all around halted or went hushed. Most stared. Her notoriety as the only person to defy Dominic made her a curiosity.
Vee wished she could throw a mental mist and make this conversation a little less front-and-center.
“Velvet,” Dominic said low. The single word was layered with the disappointment and frustration of a century. Dominic’s left hand shifted close. His rolled his heirloom ring outward for easy access.
She bit her tongue against voicing a vicious go to hell. That much disrespect with this large an audience guaranteed he’d terminate her where she stood, regardless of her engagement to Ambrose. Still, she wouldn’t kiss his ring. If he wanted her vow of allegiance that bad, then he could beat her into submission. Right here, right now. Audience be damned. He wouldn’t. Public image mattered too much to him. His furious do-it-or-else scowl promised she’d pay later.
Tense silence shrouded her while he surveyed her from head to waist, ending with a disenchanted sigh.
“So nice you could finally join us tonight.” The fury dulled. His eyes narrowed with a speculative slant, and the right corner of his mouth elevated.
Alarm shrieked inside her head. She gazed downward with fake submission. “I apologize for my tardiness, but I was unavoidably delayed.”
He waved his hand dismissively. “By your senseless work. Human pets…ack. ’Tis time Ambrose makes you quit. I’ve been patient…”
She internally rolled her eyes. Patience wasn’t one of Dominic’s virtues. He’d given her two choices when she graduated vet school. Move back here and work as a vet but remain within one hundred miles of him, under his watchful eye, or he would force her back here and not allow her freedom.
Freedom. Such a joke while anywhere near him. But she’d get her freedom very soon, and on her own terms.
“You must retire.” He folded his long, delicate hands in front of him, the left pinky tapping furiously against the table.
Retirement—a euphemism for broodmare-dom. She despised being ordered she produce a kid. She was more than a breeding vessel. The thought of sleeping with Ambrose…ick.
Her mind spit out an image of Lexan. Her body tightened at the thought of sex with Lexan.
No, no, no. She couldn’t think of him now.
“I have great respect for your guidance, but…” She forced a polite smile and gripped her hands behind her back to control their trembling.
A masculine voice whispered in her ear in a clipped British accent, “Careful, love.”
She jumped and looked up at five-foot-eleven of gorgeous vamp, shocked. “Ambrose? I thought you couldn’t make it tonight.”
Ambrose nodded his perfectly groomed blond head at her father. “Dominic. Such a delightful party. I wouldn’t dare miss it, or seeing my fiancée in such a lovely dress.” He sent her a lascivious scan, guaranteed to convince all around their bedroom antics were anything but boring.
“DiFalco.” Dominic’s lips clamped shut, as if holding back a curse. Dominic may hold great power in the States, but the DiFalcos remained the ruling family to which all must bow.
“Do you mind if I borrow Vee for a turn?” Ambrose purred. “Someone needs to take advantage of the live music. Such a rarity these days. The stiffs you invited seem unwilling to soil their shoes on the dance floor.”
Ambrose lifted Vee’s hand and delicately kissed her knuckles. “You are a vision, Vee. As always.”
“I would love to dance. Thank you. Would it be okay, Father?”
Dominic nodded but sucked in his cheeks like he’d just bitten into an unripe plum. “We will speak after your dance, Velvet. Perhaps, all three of us in private.”
She hadn’t expected to avoid a confrontation with her father, but she’d hoped.
With expert precision, Ambrose spun her into a slow waltz. The one other young couple maneuvering the small dance floor fled the moment they arrived. As expected, they attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.
The rhythmic turns to a classic waltz distracted her mind from panic planning. Ambrose’s large hands clasped around hers, strong and warm. She concentrated to maintain the proper waltz interbody space, but she was far from a professional dancer. She tripped on his foot. He caught her without even breaking stride. Her face heated. When she looked up, amusement bled into his hazel eyes.
“I’m sorry. Is your foot okay?” she whispered.
Loudly, he said, “My lady, it is but the price one pays to be a gentleman.” He smiled and inclined his head in a brief nod. Without warning he dropped her into a low dip. His nose came within kissing distance of the top of her left breast.
“Nice dress.” His breath tickled her chest.
She should feel something in response to his compliments. But they were bullshit. Everything about him was a mask, a show for those around them.
“Smile, darling. People are staring. Time to put on a face,” he ordered softly.
She pasted a smile on her lips and gazed up at him. How was she supposed to convince the hoard around them she was into him? Maybe a little tittering or whatever crap happened when a powerful vamp was into her. She’d never desired him. She’d never liked him, even though he was the world’s best catch from a vamp’s perspective. Handsome, rich, and powerful. He was also one of a slim few vamps Dominic wouldn’t try to bulldoze. He agreed to marry her at his father’s order. This had everything to do with her bloodline and nothing to do with her being an appropriate partner to him.
Three months. She had but to delay their union for a few months. Then freedom.
Ambrose leaned in close and whispered, “I need it ramped up a bit.”
She almost jerked away from his breath on her ear. “How convincing? You plan to push me up against the wall and fuck me? Maybe that’d prove your machismo and how into you I am?”
“Don’t be vulgar, love.” He pulled away and a slow smile spread on his lips. “Is that your fantasy? Public domination? Could be fun. Maybe a bit shocking for those here.” He glanced around. “Narrow-minded twits.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly and pupils went pinpoint. Shit. She should’ve said yes and moved on. Only, with Ambrose, she feared agreement might lead to acting out on said agreement. No way.
“If you don’t convince those staring at us that it’s so hot in the bedroom between us that the sheets catch on fire, I will fuck you against the wall. Right here. Right now.”
Fear slid down her spine. The humiliation she could take. Him touching her or inside her she could not. She tried to think of something she liked about him, something hot. Nothing came to mind.
Her traitorous mind wandered to the naked wolf king. At the memory, heat flooded between her thighs. How completely screwed up. Her entire body lit up and she felt her face scorch. She pushed the vision away and focused on Ambrose.
As they twirled, she allowed her eyes to lower to half mast. “Kiss me.”
Ambrose leaned in and touched his lips to hers. Cool lips. He coaxed her lips apart and slid his tongue inside. Her body recognized him as the wrong male.
Be convincing. She forced her hand to leave Ambrose’s shoulder and cup the back of his head. She leaned in close. Not enough heat to his body. No evidence he was even aroused, not that it surprised her. She wasn’t even the right gender to get Ambrose aroused. This was about their audience.
He pulled away. “Good girl. That was…better than usual.”
Her cheeks flashed hot. “Dominic wants me to stop working.”
“He wants our union completed. I suppose we should set a date.”
Stall, stall, stall. Three months.
“We discussed next spring. I want to continue to work.” She glared into his eyes, daring him to break their truce over keeping his secret about why he spent so much time in California.
“You can work until you are pregnant.”
“Pregnancy might require…” She cleared her throat. “You here for a while after marriage.”
“Dominic has plans he wants to enact prior to marriage, perhaps to force us to make the vows. Perhaps, he simply wants an heir now.”
“He wouldn’t… I will not be forced.”
“The treatment would push you into receptivity.”
“You’re onboard with forced pregnancy?” Treatment involved a series of injections over forty-eight hours. It forced the female into ovulation. Side effects were common and severe. But if a fertile male serviced her for three straight days afterward, the female usually ended up pregnant. Three days of Ambrose on top of her, hating her but forcing himself on her in his impersonal, dispassionate style. Terrible plan. Maybe AI was an option. She’d rather have an impersonal clinical experience than sex with Ambrose.
“I haven’t made up my mind.” The answer was smooth and suggested he didn’t agree. His face conveyed the epitome of sincerity. This was exactly what she wanted to hear, but she caught another flash of deceit in his thoughts. This ancient might spout pretty lines, but at heart he remained old fashioned. Her gut didn’t trust him or any powerful vamp. He agreed with Dominic’s plan. They’d do whatever the hell they wanted to her until they got what they wanted.
“May I ask you something?” She forced a smile. Subject change time.
A beautiful smile curved his lips, one more for those around them than her.
Dangerous waters, but there was no one better to ask. “What’s your impression of the wolves? If I am to believe those here, then they’re savage animals unworthy of anything other than death or—”
“Deserving only to become subservient to us again?” Ambrose interrupted quietly.
“I know your family has meetings with them over there in Europe.”
“We haven’t been in outright war with the wolves in Europe in a long time. I find they have evolved into an interesting species since we released them. Or, perhaps I should say since we stopped trying to enslave them. To the world they appear civilized and willing to let the past rest in peace.”
“I hear a but in your tone.”
“The older wolves remember the past. Long ago they were our pets. We trained them well in combat and used them to protect us. Most were loyal and dependable when treated properly. Sadly, many vampires did not treat them well. There was a lot of… Bad things happened. Things that are not worth repeating for your delicate ears. They were far too intelligent a species to remain in captivity forever.”
She wondered if she should press him further. Curiosity won. “What about their leader, their king? Have you met him before?”
“Yes, I know him. Not well, but we have met upon occasion. He lived through that time before the War. Sometimes I wonder if anyone could really forgive that kind of past. Even so, Aleksander—or Lexan, as he prefers to be called—is political enough to play the game of peace well.” Ambrose chuckled and smiled down at Vee. “That wolf is one you don’t want to meet. Women of all species seem unable to keep it together in his presence. I have seen even the haughtiest fall to pieces and beg for his attention when he but smiles.”
“You’re telling me,” Vee mumbled.
Ambrose stopped mid-turn, catching her to him before she tripped. All hint of good humor vanished.
Oop
s.
His eyes narrowed dangerously. “When?”
She shrugged.
He whirled her into a turn that took them through open terrace doors. With a push, he had her against the wall in what onlookers would perceive to be an intimate embrace.
“There’s no reason for you to ever meet him.” He touched both sides of her forehead and closed his eyes.
Oh no. Not this. She hated his mind-meld, memory-reading ability. Her mind screamed Escape! yet her body wouldn’t comply. She was drowsy, as if drugged and floating in a dream. Through a haze, the events of the evening slow-played in her mind, leading right up to the present.
Ambrose released her head but kept her in a tight hold. A rush of air past her ear whispered a single word: “Intriguing.”
“This might put a big kink in our plans.”
She caught his thought. There was more than the two of them going on here.
“What are you going to do?” she asked. Icy terror whipped through her body. How much had he picked up of her attraction to Lexan? Would he care? Aside from that, if he told Dominic about any of this or of her helping other wolves, she might be marked as a sympathizer and slated for punishment, maybe even death.
“You need to leave. Dominic plans to start the treatment tonight or keep you detained until tomorrow to start it,” Ambrose said.
“I’m not doing it. If you want an heir, then we can do it the old-fashioned way and get in a bed. Drug free.”
“An interesting proposition. I like you feisty, but Dominic won’t. He’s been consulting with my father. They want our families united and think an heir is the right solution.”
“Then why don’t they set a marriage date?”
Ambrose shrugged.
“You want to do it this way, too. Do this and I swear—”
“You will not threaten me.” He pressed her against the wall and wrapped a hand around her throat, one of his sharp nails digging deep into her neck. His eyes dilated and glowed, a signal of arousal. This was the only time he got even marginally interested in her—when she pushed him to violence. It did nothing for her other than make her want to fight harder and run away faster.