by Zoe Forward
Blay gazed at him, contemplative. “She told me you two decided it was over.”
They decided no such thing, but that wasn’t Blay’s business “Stay out of whatever’s going on between us.”
“You marked her.” There was no emotion in the statement. Lexan couldn’t discern Blay’s opinion on the matter.
“I did. It’s instinctual.”
Blay’s lips thinned. “Don’t act like you don’t know exactly what it means. You’re going to shadow her for the rest of your existence, whether she’s by your side or with another.”
Another? His hand fisted around his knife’s handle.
Blay’s lips curled upward. “Hurts to think of her tangling sheets with another?”
“Fuck you.”
“No, you’re the one that’s fucked. If she dies, then the ennui you battled before you met her will triumph, and you’ll let it. Because there is nothing without her. Nothing. Trust me, I live this every bloody day. Without her, death is a relief.”
“That’s why we’re going to get her back and lock her down.”
“Exactly what did she define as the problem with your relationship?”
She felt he wanted to imprison her, which she needed to keep her safe. He cursed.
“She’s independent.” Blay nodded, obviously having done some mental eavesdropping.
Get the hell out of my brain, Lexan thought.
Blay shook his head. “Get mated and we all turn into primitives. Your protective instinct is natural, but you’ll lose her if you don’t figure out what she needs to thrive. For me, Arie needed her children. She would’ve died if I’d taken her away from them. I wanted to take her away. I fought with her for years to take her somewhere Dominic never would never find her and could no longer hurt her. I nearly lost her in the fight until I realized if I took her away she’d become someone who wasn’t the woman I loved.”
“Don’t psychoanalyze me. You lost Arie because you let her have her way. You weren’t there to protect her and now she’s dead.”
Blay growled. “I always protected her. I was with her every damned moment, even if sometimes in the shadows, invisible. That day I’d taken Vee to Carol. It was the single moment when I hadn’t been watching.”
“Your anecdote isn’t convincing me to do anything other than force Vee out of this country and to somewhere safe.”
Blay picked up his phone and typed. “Plane will be ready in fifteen minutes. If you don’t figure out what she needs, you’ll lose her even more than you already have. Give her what she wants. The reward will be worth it.”
Lexan lunged forward, pinning Blay by the neck. He leaned close to Blay and squeezed. “We’re going to get on your goddamned plane and get to Charlotte before she arrives. If she dies because you dragged her idiotic brother here, if they kill her, I’ll rip out your throat and that of every wolf loyal to you.” He released and stepped away.
Blay coughed and massaged his neck. He lowered his head submissively. “I would let you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“You still alive under there?” Trace asked.
“As if you care.” Vee peeked out from under a blanket, finding herself in the backseat of a sedan.
“If I didn’t care, I would’ve left you in Canada. You were confused and didn’t know what was best for you.”
She whipped off the blanket and punched him in the shoulder. The car veered into the left-hand lane, barely missing a car.
“Hey. Driving here,” Trace grumbled.
“Don’t ever drug me again.” She cringed from the late afternoon sunlight, which hit her skin through the nontinted glass windows. After this past week, she expected to be stronger, maybe even take on more of the werewolf’s ability to walk in the day. Yet, each small touch of sunlight singed as if she was now even more sensitive than ever before.
Trace chuckled. “I can’t believe you’re still a sun wimp.” He seemed resistant to the sun’s relentless rays. Either that, or he refused to complain.
He pulled the borrowed—actually stolen—car off the interstate onto an exit she recognized as just west of Charlotte. “You slept through the whole trip and should be thanking me. We’re here.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere near here.”
“I’ve got a plan. First, I need to rest. Then, tomorrow, I’ll figure out where Carol is being kept. For now, this should be safe.” He turned into a townhouse complex. Each house had a perfectly manicured lawn and a small covered carport. Doggie pick-up bag stations were on almost every corner. He whipped around bends in the complex at a speed far above the fifteen-mile per hour limit.
“Did you meet her here? The werewolf you had an affair with?”
Trace’s cheeks flushed. “Sometimes I brought women here. It’s off the radar. I needed a place away from Dominic’s watch. If I can’t figure out tonight where they have Carol, then I’ll get her tomorrow and we’re out of here.”
“I do not want to confront Dominic or Ambrose.”
“I’d like to avoid Ambrose, if possible. He’s…unpredictable, but I may have to face Dominic. Not you. You’ll stay here. Hidden and safe.”
Trace pulled in front of a townhouse, parked and asked, “You sense anything nonhuman here? I don’t get anything.”
Her brain remained dulled from the drug, similar to when she’d woken up in Quebec. At least her throat wasn’t quite as dry. She tried to scan, but the effort hurt. More effort equaled more pain.
“I’m not getting anything, but I’m fuzzy.” Her mind whirled with escape options. Goal number one was to get Trace’s cell phone and call... Crap, she didn’t know Lexan’s number. She could call Roman, though.
Trace signaled for her to remain behind him as he unlocked a townhouse’s black front door. The porch was littered with leaves. His hand hovered above the alarm panel box. “Oh shit.”
“What’s wrong?” As she stepped into the doorway behind him, the scent of anise assaulted her nose. Hsu-Li. She seconded Trace’s “Oh shit.”
A vampire rammed Trace so hard that his head hit the wall. He slithered to the ground, stunned.
With a preternaturally fast sweep, she was off her feet, cuffs were clamped around her hands and legs, and a hood thrown over her head. So much for avoiding confrontation.
…
Her arms and ankles hurt from seesawing the cuffs in the back of a car, but it was pointless. A vamp at full power could probably break them, but she’d never been that vamp.
After being dragged down a few flights of stairs she was tossed into a cold room. She smelled Trace nearby along with the odor of disinfectant. And she smelled a werewolf.
After a long wait a door opened and shut. The revolting anise scent tickled her nose a moment before the hood was snatched off. She blinked into the brilliant room she recognized as one designed for wolf interrogation in Dominic’s basement.
Trace lay on the cold linoleum floor to her right, still out.
To her left, TC sat handcuffed into the central metal chair very much awake, watching her. The wolf broke his stoicism to smile at her so briefly that she wondered if she’d imagined it.
TC here? A fierce protective surge swept through her. Nothing could happen to Lexan’s protector. TC didn’t deserve to die because of her brother’s impulsive decision to “rescue” her. She wondered if Lexan had ordered TC to follow her. Probably. That meant Lexan might not be far behind. Her heart expanded, honored to have been safeguarded by one of his best.
Hsu-Li leered at her. His mind filled with disgusting images involving torture and sex.
The door opened. Dominic sauntered in dressed in a tuxedo, which suggested he’d been entertaining elite company. A chilling smile she associated with profound pain spread across his lips.
“Ah, Velvet, my dear, you came back to us. I knew eventually we would get you back. So, where have you and Trace been?” asked Dominic.
She sat upright to avoid being dragged into the position by her hair. The glint in D
ominic’s eyes conveyed his desire to inflict pain.
She focused on her heart rate. Breaths slow and easy. But sweat broke out across her back. The room was clean and devoid of almost everything other than the chair in which they always put their wolf victim and a hose to clean up the mess.
“We’re on our way…almost there. Stall them,” Lexan’s voice boomed telepathically.
Oh thank God. She thought to him, “It isn’t my fault we’re here. I didn’t want to leave.”
“Later.”
Dominic’s eyebrows slowly rose in a tell-me-now-or-else glare.
Her mind rewound to remember what Dominic had asked. Oh, right, where they’d been. “Wolves took us up north. We escaped.”
“Where are you?” she thought to Lexan. Was Lexan already on the estate or just near Charlotte? Big difference in stall time. She needed at least one of them in here. Right now.
“Ah, Velveteen. I was so worried for you. It is good to see you survived in one piece. Ambrose has been…worried.” The use of the nickname snapped her full attention to him. Chills teased her arms. He only referred to the fluffy bunny when in one of his dangerous moods. “You remained so long with werewolves…” He pursed his lips in a perfect pantomime of a concerned parent.
“Why do you hate me?” She’d never asked before, assuming he blamed her in some way for her mother’s death.
I don’t know if you’re mine. His gaze flickered to Hsu-Li. “I don’t hate you, Velvet. I but want what is best for you.”
Did that mean he suspected her a demisang? Her heart rate tripled. Memories of all he’d done over the years flashed through her brain. The animal in her pressed to have control. The wolf’s base desire was to chew out Dominic’s throat. No, no, no. Ramp it down.
She followed Dominic’s gaze as it shifted back to Hsu-Li.
Hsu-Li circled TC. He traced the edge of his knife around TC’s neck. TC’s expression didn’t change from an emotionless stare.
Hsu-Li tapped the knife over a tattoo on TC’s neck. “This is one of Aleksander Dimitrov’s Elite Guard.” The Asian vamp glared at Vee. “Why are you so interesting to the werewolf king that he’d send one of his guard after you?”
“We were kidnapped. We escaped before I got reasons from them. It has to do with the war.”
Dominic made a clicking I don’t think so noise. “Ambrose enlightened me that a wolf marked you, which we know means one of them likes you a hell of a lot. And you seemed pretty chummy with Aleksander Dimitrov last he saw you.” He rushed forward and twisted her hair to force her to meet his gaze. “Did he mark you?” He yanked down her shirt, exposing the mark. “Do not lie to me.”
She glared him straight in the eyes and said nothing. Based on his state of mind it didn’t matter what she said. He’d formed his own opinion and wouldn’t believe anything she said. “Where’s Carol?”
Just as suddenly, he released her and brushed imaginary dirt off his tux. “She’s somewhere safe. Now that she’s served her purpose…” An image of Carol locked in an interrogation room like this flashed in his mind. Alive and pissed.
Not dead, at least not yet.
Hsu-Li leaned close enough to TC to rain spittle on him as he spoke low, “Why would you allow yourself to be captured, wolf? It certainly wasn’t a challenge to bring you in.” Hsu-Li straightened his spine and spoke to Dominic. “Something’s not right about this…any of this.”
“Where is Aleksander Dimitrov?” Dominic asked TC.
TC’s lips shifted into a feral grin.
Hsu-Li pierced TC’s neck, drawing blood. “Where the hell is your king?”
“You will not harm him,” Vee commanded. No fear came from her, just a profound desire to protect the one decent being in this room other than her brother.
“You are a wolf sympathizer. Ha.” Hsu-Li beamed. “I knew it.” He preened like a kid who’d won a huge trophy.
Dominic glared.
Vee said, “This war is baseless, as I have recently discovered. And, no, I am not brainwashed by wolves. They aren’t evil. They’re a species surviving among humans, like us.” She didn’t break her stare from Hsu-Li’s knife, which had returned to TC’s neck. “Blaylock Lazlo did not kill my mother. The wolf you killed wasn’t him. It was someone who had nothing to do with anything.”
“Is that Blaylock wolf still alive?” Dominic’s eyes widened. His face blanched.
Hsu-Li cut TC’s face in a slice down his cheek.
Anger hazed her mind. Without thought, she ripped the bindings around her arms and legs. In a superspeed move, she wrenched the knife out of Hsu-Li’s hand and rammed the blade deep into the center of his chest before throwing him into the wall. He lay there, glazed, but not dead. “I said don’t touch him.”
She met TC’s gaze, which transmitted awe, maybe thanks.
A small clap resounded in the room. “Very impressive.” Dominic’s smirk fell. “Now tell me why you care so much about this wolf, or all the wolves.”
“You’re not my father.” She shrugged. “Sorry, Dad.”
“The little whore,” Dominic muttered. “I always knew there was something wrong with you. How do you know you’re a…mix?” His mouth twisted on the last word.
“I’ve been told this mark on my iris is a familial trait.”
Dominic’s lip curled with disgust.
Her shoulders lifted and dropped. “So, Father, who killed my mother?”
Dominic glanced around as if insecure. He pressed the red button on the wall, the one to summon all of the Squad vamps in the vicinity. No one appeared. She released a pent-up breath. The wolves must’ve secured the Scarpa estate.
She asked again, this time infusing what she hoped was a bit of persuasion into her request. “Who killed my mother?”
“Blaylock.” He glanced out the door. Fear passed through his eyes momentarily before he threw his shoulders back and squinted at her, confident and threatening.
She shook her head. “He loved my mother. He mated her. No mated wolf would ever kill his mate.”
I know, thought Dominic. The thought vibrated in her mind.
She wanted to scream, You know?
Trace moaned as he sat up, massaging his head.
“Did you kill my mother?” she asked.
No. Dominic shook his head.
She asked, “Who else was there the night she died? Who was at my mother’s apartment?”
He said he’d kill Trace if I told anyone. He told me to blame the werewolf. An image of a familiar vamp standing with a knife above her dead mother flashed through his mind. “I killed the wolf who killed your mother.”
Her anger came in waves, cresting and receding. This bastard hurt her mother for years. Then he hurt her as a surrogate for his disappointment and inadequacies. The wolf in her pressed hard for control. She measured the distance to Dominic’s throat.
“Vee, calm down,” Lexan said in her mind.
“Get out of my head. I’m not going to calm down.”
“I’ll be there in a minute. Don’t shift.”
She snarled, not a sound a civilized vampire would ever make. “I can take care of myself.”
Dominic pulled a serrated knife from his belt and held it up in defense.
Trace groaned and rolled to a sit, massaging his head. He met her gaze and stilled.
“It was never your responsibility to do this, Trace. It was mine.” She let the wolf take over. There was the pain of muscles stretching and the odd feel of quick-growing fur. The shift to her animal form took no more than a few seconds this time. She experienced simultaneous exaltation at the freedom allowed her in this form and primal fury. With a leap, she hit Dominic mid-chest with her front paws. His knife sliced at her, scoring her left shoulder. She barely felt the blade’s damage as she dodged another swipe of the blade, this time headed for her neck. With single-minded focus, she sprung forward to latch onto Dominic’s throat. Her aim was true. She felt the life leave Dominic.
Moments later, she
shifted back. Gloriously naked, she yelled at the now-deceased Dominic, “That is what it looks like when a wolf kills a vampire, you motherfucker.”
Her gaze zoomed around to meet the wide-eyed terror of Hsu- Li. The anger was back, pushing her to shift again.
Trace pulled off his T-shirt and thrust it at her. He held her arm when she took a step toward Hsu-Li. “Vee. Stop.”
The door burst open with the arrival of Lexan and Blay. Both were drenched from their hair to their soaked jackets.
“What happened?” Lexan demanded. “You’re bleeding.”
She pulled the T-shirt on, which covered her down to her knees. “I’ll heal.”
Lexan glanced at the dead Dominic. A hint of a smile ghosted on his lips. He stepped close to her and touched her face gently, tracing the line of her cheek. The touch was feather light, but it felt as if lightning had ripped through her body. His hands settled on the sides of her face, framing it as he gazed at her with tenderness. Desire and hunger burned in his gaze, but above that shone approval. “You sure you’re all right?”
She nodded. “Death seems almost too good for him, but it just happened.” Her heart ached for how much she wanted everything with Lexan.
“Did you find out anything about your mother before you killed him?” Blay asked, staring solemnly at the dead Dominic.
“You knew I’d…ask Dominic? Tell me you didn’t plant it as an order in my brain. That you didn’t want me to go with Trace.”
“You’re too strong for that. I didn’t want you anywhere near Dominic because he’d do something insane like this.” He waved at the room in disgust.
“Why did you leave?” Lexan asked telepathically, his face dark as he glanced between she and Trace.
“Later,” she communicated to him. He deserved a return of his blow-off from earlier. She wasn’t sure how much Trace wanted Hsu-Li to know, if he was going to leave the vamp alive.
Lexan’s eyes narrowed. Him being pissed off she could handle, just not right now.
“About Arie?” Blay asked again as if he knew of their mental chitchat.
“Ambrose, most likely.” She returned her gaze to Lexan.
“What?” echoed from several people at the same time. “Ambrose?”