by Zoe Winters
“I do. A vampire hand-delivered me a location. It’s in Washington State.”
“Tell me.” Cole growled. He knew who had his pup, but all he cared about was getting the information.
“They’ve got Fiona. I’m going. You come get me, and we’ll go together.”
“Fine.” He stabbed the button angrily to end the call, arguing with the panther would only waste time, and if he wanted to lend some extra muscle, so much the better.
“Well?” Jane looked anxious.
“We were wrong. There’s no ritual.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s Anthony. He’ll want a trade. The location of the hive for the pup.”
***
Fiona heard a snapping sound. She opened her eyes to find a hand near her face trying to get her attention.
“Ah. There she is. I’m so glad you could join us, hours after you were bespelled. Are you sure this woman’s a witch?”
“Yes, sir. She’s a witch, just not a very good one.”
Fiona would be angry if it weren’t for the mind-numbing terror. Her vision blurred as she opened her eyes. Everything looked strange and warped, like she’d been drugged. She took a deep breath and things began to clear. She scooted away from the hand that had been snapping at her.
“Drink this.”
A glass of clear liquid was shoved in her face.
“W-what is it?” As if she had a choice in the matter.
“Water.”
She struggled to a seated position and took a tentative sip. When nothing tasted off, she drank the rest down quickly. She hadn’t realized she’d been so thirsty.
“It’s an aftereffect of the spell.”
Vampire. He knows what I’m thinking.
“I do. So it’s going to be pointless for you to lie to me when I ask you questions.”
Fiona glanced around the room. It was warm and masculine, like somebody’s home. Z could have lived there if not for the cave. It had that bachelor-pad feel to it.
“This is my penthouse. I don’t live here anymore, but I still keep it just in case. The pup is playing on the roof by the pool.”
“The pup’s here? Y-you haven’t hurt him?”
The man stood in front of her, menacing in all black. His long blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, making him look like a hit man. At least he wasn’t wearing black leather gloves.
“Of course I haven’t hurt him. I need him for information. That’s all. Tell me, dear, when Cole came for his pup, did he tell you anything about where he lived?”
“N-no, he just wanted the pup. Why would he tell me anything about…”
“Stop talking. I don’t care what your mouth says. I care what your thoughts say.”
Fiona froze while he stared hard at her, poking around in her head, searching through her thoughts. She tried not to think anything lame or weak.
After several minutes, an exasperated look crossed his face. “I didn’t expect anything. Oh well. Cole will be here soon enough, but let’s make sure, shall we?”
He produced a phone from his jacket pocket. It was the prepaid phone Z had left with her when he’d gone searching for the pup’s family.
“Call him.”
Fiona’s brow creased in confusion. “Call who?”
“Your boyfriend. Make sure he’s sending Cole. Use your sad little tears on him. I’m sure that will sway the therian.”
As if on cue, tears began to track down her face. “He won’t come. He doesn’t care for me. I was never anything more than a conquest.”
The vampire’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think so. You smell like him. He marked you.”
Fiona blushed. Was there a sign over her head? Perhaps someone had given her a tramp stamp while she’d been out cold. Z hadn’t bitten her or left any other kind of mark. He’d slept with her, yes, but that didn’t make her his.
“Cats rub against things to mark them. You smell like him in a way that is deliberate. It’s not just sex. He cares. And I’m betting he’s the last number that called you while you were unconscious.”
Her hands shook as she took the phone from the vampire and checked the missed calls. Z’s number was there. And the vampire was right, it wasn’t long ago. A couple of hours at the most, depending on how long she’d been out.
“It doesn’t mean… ”
“Call him. And when you ask him to send the wolf tomorrow night, make sure it sounds like your life depends on it. Because it does. I have no other use for you. I’d just as soon drain you for dinner and be done with it. You’re a bargaining chip. Once that value disappears, I get hungrier.”
“How will Cole know how to get here?”
“The panther already has the address. A member of the coven delivered it.”
She wished the vampire would give her some space and stop hovering. Despite what he’d said, she wasn’t sure Z would help. All he has to do is call Cole and relay a message. Even if he doesn’t want to see you again, he’ll do at least that much. It won’t interrupt his bachelor lifestyle.
Z answered on the second ring. “Fiona?!”
Okay. Maybe he cared.
“Z! Are-are you sending Cole? I mean I know that we aren’t a thing or anything, but please just call him… they’ll kill me if he doesn’t show up.” She winced at the way her voice sounded, the horrible pleading in it. There was a long pause. “Z?”
“Are you kidding me? Of course I called Cole. I’ll be there, too. I don’t know who you think I am, but if you think I’m just leaving you to be negotiated over by a bunch of monsters, you’ve lost your motherfucking mind.”
Fiona’s gaze shifted to the vampire, wondering if he’d be upset about extra members in the rescue party.
The vampire raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care who all is coming. I’ve got an army of my own. Should be fun. I look forward to the smackdown.”
“Fiona?”
She turned her attention back to the phone, still processing the fact that he was coming for her. Directly. No intermediaries. “Yes?”
“Is he there in the room with you?”
She nodded, then remembering Z couldn’t see her, she said, “Yes.”
“Give him the phone.”
She passed the phone to the vampire. “He w-wants to speak to you.”
“I’m sure he does.”
The vampire took the phone, and then there was a lot of yelling. Fiona couldn’t make out what Z was saying, but he was angry.
Without the slightest irritation, the vampire said, “It will be lovely to meet you tomorrow night. Ciao.” He chuckled as he closed the flip phone. “That boyfriend of yours has a temper. He told me if I touched a single hair on your head that he’d let me find out what my intestines looked like before I died, then he’d make a noose out of them and hang me while he drove a stake through my heart. Such vivid imagery. It makes me wish he was one of mine.”
“He said that?” She wasn’t quite sure if the vampire was messing with her, though it did sound like something Z might say.
“Nothing like a kidnapping to bring young lovers together. Just think, without this melodrama, you two might have remained stubborn for years until you forgot about one another. You can thank me later.”
“Who will I send the card to?” Fiona asked, uncharacteristic bravery creeping through.
“Anthony Burgess.”
“The Clockwork Orange guy?”
Anthony rolled his eyes. “No. Not The Clockwork Orange guy. I swear. Do you have any idea how old I am? More than one person on the planet can have the same name! If I’d known that man would become famous for that book, I would have hunted him down and killed him before he’d written the first page.”
Fiona shrank back. “Sorry,” she mumbled. This was obviously a sore spot.
Anthony composed himself like someone had flipped a switch, then patted her on the knee and started toward to door. “No harm done. Someone will bring you dinner in a while. I expect you to watch the pup
for me until the big showdown.”
So what else was new? Kidnapped to be a babysitter. Again.
Chapter Twelve
Z was running on almost no sleep. From the moment the priest had told him they had Fiona, rest had been the last thing on his mind. He shouldn’t have taken her back home. Let her whine and cry. He should have listened to his instincts and kept her in the cave.
But he’d been afraid it was less about her own safety and more about him. And that was a rabbit hole he didn’t want to fall down. Being attached was bad. He was just starting to get his life back. He’d been so busy trying to get back to his status quo, he hadn’t stopped to think about how empty that life had been.
Fiona was sweet and pretty, and he wanted to take care of her. Maybe months with the pup had domesticated him after all. Maybe it was only an illusion that he was still the hard drinking, man-whore panther he’d been before he’d stumbled upon the wolf.
Z couldn’t help blaming himself for the mess everything was in. Fiona’s life was in danger because he’d taken the pup, though he wouldn’t have met her without the pup, either.
He expected to be on his way to Washington state by now, but he was tramping through desert in the middle of the night. Perfect weather, though. It was a demon dimension. His skin felt itchy with the entire Cary Town werewolf pack trudging along behind him. They each had bags and gear, but Z hadn’t asked any questions. Being brought along for the trip was enough.
Ahead of him were two demons, Jane—who he’d met before—and a male named Cain. The panther wasn’t up on the politics of the various preternatural factions, but if he had to guess, Cain ran this dimension. He moved through the place with the certainty of someone who knew everyone would cater to his whims or else.
“This is far enough from my people to not cause a disturbance. You can make camp here,” Cain said.
“Thank you,” Cole said, “We appreciate it.”
The demon looked incredulous. “I’m sorry, were you dismissing me with that? This is my dimension, and if you all think you’re living here until the danger is over, I’m going with you. I want you all back in the hive within the next forty-eight hours.”
“W-we might have to tell Anthony the hive’s location to get our pup back,” Jane said. Unlike Cole, she was trying to appease the demon.
“No. You will not. My dimension is for my demons only. This is a safety precaution. We will be fighting. The day I bend to a vampire is the day time stops. Fucking half-breeds.” The demon leader turned to Z. “Are you fighting with us?”
“Oh, hell yes,” Z said. He wanted to make good on his threat to Anthony. He hoped the vampire wouldn’t cooperate so he could.
The demon nodded. “So myself, Jane, Cole—I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Just call me Z,” Z said.
Cain ticked off numbers on his fingers as he said the names, “and… Just call me Z.” He turned to the pack alpha. “Pick your five best fighters, and I’ll pick my five best.”
Cole seemed irritated about being given orders, but he let it go. It was Cain’s dimension. Z figured it was a my dimension, my rules deal. If there had been any doubt over who the leader was here, there wasn’t any more: Cain.
The demon disappeared down the path he’d led them down, Jane following behind him. The pack started unpacking their things and setting up their tents. Some of the younger pups cried while their mothers reassured them everything here was safe.
Cole looked out at the pack. “I don’t know who is coming back from this, so I’m not going to force anybody. A lot of you have families, and I’m not asking you to stick your neck out for me and my pup. So I’ll take five volunteers.”
The unpacking stopped and silence fell, then murmurs and whispers. One of the wolves stepped forward. “Well, I’m the beta, and I’m single, so I’m going.”
“Thanks, Blake”
A couple of females stepped out of the line.
“Mara, Shelly, I’m not sure about…” Cole started.
Mara spoke up. “I know. It’s just… neither of us has pups or a mate yet, so it makes sense. If you end up with more than five, we’ll fall back if not needed.”
Cole nodded. But it was doubtful there would be a large number of volunteers. They seemed to have read suicide mission from between the lines.
A young male that looked like alpha material stepped out of the ranks. “I’ll go.”
“No!” A female. Possibly his girl, but there was no mating mark on her.
“Lucy, stop it. I have to go. I’ll come home.”
“You don’t know that.”
He took her away from the group, and Z watched the two of them argue, too far away to make out their words. The male came back and joined the volunteers.
“I need one more,” Cole said.
“I’m going.” It was Lucy.
“You’re staying,” her boyfriend said.
“Oh, you’re my father now? If you’re going, I’m going. You’ve talked about breaking off and starting your own pack. If you’re going to be an alpha, I have to be a leader, too.”
“Lucy!” The male looked to Cole, scared. Shit, this pack was terrified of him.
“It’s all right,” Cole said, “I’ve known he was an alpha for a long time. His options eventually will be to fight me or break off and form his own pack, and I’d just as soon not kill him.”
***
Jane’s loyalties were split. Cain was her demon leader and Cole was her mate. How was she going to be a demon and the alpha female of the wolf pack? Those two things were hard to prioritize. It shouldn’t be difficult with Cole being her mate, but Cain had that charismatic leader magnetism, and crossing him would be a mistake. The peace between her mate and the demon leader was tenuous at best. She had to be the bridge that kept everybody safe.
She hoped Cole didn’t think she was picking a side against him. It just made sense to go with Cain for the demon selection. Her mate could handle the wolves.
Cain didn’t speak as the empty desert slowly became a town. She loved it here and wished the pack could move here, but she knew Cain wasn’t going to start sheltering everybody, even if it was the mate and pack of one of his demons.
Her thoughts turned to Anthony. She didn’t want to believe he could be behind this. So much had changed. During the tournament for vampire king, she hadn’t believed Anthony was all that bad—not as evil as Linus. She’d breathed a sigh of relief when he’d won, thinking he was the safer option.
He’d won more cool points when he’d allowed her to kill Paul, the vampire who’d abused her and kept her prisoner until Cole had rescued her. He’d said Paul was dying because of treason, but she’d always believed it was partly for her. She was friends with his mate after all.
Now that the vampire king had her child, it was hard to see how anything he did was for anyone but himself. She wiped an angry tear away—part anger at the vampire, part over her own gullibility and faith in him.
“Do not start crying,” Cain said. “I need you strong for this. That bastard has your pup. Be angry, but do not cry. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” She wasn’t about to challenge him. This wasn’t his problem. He’d be justified in sitting this one out. “Thank you for helping us.”
“Oh, believe me, it’s entirely selfish. I don’t want your ragtag band of wolves occupying my dimension forever.”
He was never going to admit he cared and was invested in what happened to her. He took a strong interest in the safety and happiness of his demons, but going this far above and beyond was unheard of.
“What does my mate have on you?” she asked, finally.
The demon turned sharp eyes on her. “Excuse me?”
She took an involuntary step back. “Well, I mean… he said he helped you once, and sometimes there’s tension between you two, so… what does he have on you? That’s the only motivation I can figure.”
“He has nothing on me.”
Sh
e knew it was a lie. But it wasn’t worth pushing the issue, so she let it drop.
Cain poked his head in a tent. “Daria. I need you.”
“For what?”
“Killing vampires.”
“Oh, goody!” She popped out of the tent looking like Xena Joins A Harem.
Cain looked her up and down in that way men do. “Are you wearing that?”
“Oh yes. I will distract with my cleavage, then kick asses.”
He chuckled. “Don’t get too excited. Our intelligence says there are magic users in the group. That could mean some danger.”
Daria shrugged. “So, we bring our own heat. Isn’t Luc’s girl a witch?”
He growled.
“What? She’s got all her memories. She could be useful. If she trapped Luc in that house for half a century then…”
“I don’t have time to track them down. They could be anywhere,” Cain said, obviously not keen on the plan.
“Well, they could be, but they’re not. They’ve got a tent a few blocks over. They’ve been here the past three days.”
“Why didn’t I know about it?”
“They were laying low.”
Cain growled. “Find two more strong fighters, older ones. I don’t want anybody under a thousand, and I’ll get my brother and his witch on board. And weapons. We need guns. Wooden bullets.”
“If we’re only going with older demons, we can throw fire at them.” It was one of the few demon powers that didn’t manifest until much later. Cain had explained it all to Jane during her shapeshifting training.
“Magic users. Remember?” he said. “Magic can block magic fire. Get guns.”
He turned without waiting for agreement from Daria and headed in the direction she’d pointed. He was a big bundle of irritated energy, and only an idiot would cross him right now.
Jane followed to Luc’s tent. “A witch on our side is a good thing,” she said, trying to calm him down.
“A witch is never a good thing. Do not trust them, Jane. You’ll end up trapped in some stupid fucking curse. A house. A bottle. Some awful cave. Stay away from the magically inclined. So help me, if you start befriending magic users…”