And when he did, it was going to be the best goddamn moment of Wyatt’s life.
*
Birdsong. Sunlight. Warm, sex-rumpled sheets. Mmm. It was almost perfect. The only thing missing was the feel of that deliciously hard, hot male body that had held her through the long hours of the night. Elise might be in Wyatt’s big ol’ bed all alone now, but he’d slept with her. And that wasn’t all they’d done. Last night had been... Wow, there weren’t even words.
She’d been so wrong when she’d thought there was nothing that could heal her. Nothing that could stop the pain. All she’d needed was Wyatt. Not just his body, though she enjoyed the hell out of it. But what she’d really needed was his heart.
They’d both bared themselves to the other. She’d shown him her external scars. He’d finally shown her his internal ones. And it had brought them closer. As close as two people could ever possibly get.
Stretching, she felt a smile curve her kiss-swollen lips, their surface hot and sensitive, as if she’d been permanently marked by him. And that wasn’t the only way that he’d marked her.
It hadn’t taken long before his control shattered and he’d bitten the hell out of her, making the blood bond that meant they could never be torn apart. Then she’d bitten him back. After that, she was surprised they hadn’t broken the bed, their mating had become so...wild. Maybe even a little savage and violent, but she’d realized that when drenched in love, that kind of sex could be incredibly emotional. It took trust, on both sides, and they’d been so overwhelmed that when they came they’d damn near lost consciousness. They’d laughed at their antics when they’d finally found the strength to drag their heat-glazed bodies to the shower, so happy they’d practically glowed.
She still felt that way. Felt...changed, in a good way, as if everything in life was better and brighter, full of hope and possibility, even with the trouble they knew was coming. She wasn’t going to be weighted down by fear for a moment longer, because she knew that she could face anything, so long as Wyatt was beside her.
Somehow, she had finally found her place. Her home. It wasn’t every day that a person got lucky enough to find their own happily-ever-after—and she readily admitted that she’d been a skeptical fool not to truly believe, because there was nothing more real than what she’d found with her sexy Runner. And whether she ever managed to completely shift or not, she would fight to the death to protect it. To protect Wyatt.
After their shower, they’d spent the night in bed, lost in each other. They’d made love and talked for hours, dragging their naked bodies to the kitchen for sustenance, before falling back into bed for more breathtaking passion...and those long, soulful talks that were bringing them so much closer together, the bond a miracle they were both lost in. They knew that rough times were ahead, but no matter what life threw at them, they would have each other. And that made anything seem surmountable.
Wondering where he’d wandered off to, Elise finally tossed back the covers, ready to climb out of bed and track him down, when a warm, mouthwatering scent suddenly reached her nose. Sitting up in bed, she was about to go explore, seeking the source, when the man who completely held her heart walked into the bedroom, smiling his wicked grin at her, the look in his dark eyes impossibly happy. She started to smile back at him, when her breath caught, her eyes going huge, both hands pressed against the center of her chest, where her heart was beating so hard that it hurt.
Oh, my God...oh, my God...oh, my God!
Wyatt rushed toward her. “Jesus, El. What’s wrong, baby?”
“Nothing,” she whispered, blinking up at him as he sat beside her on the bed. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that...God, Wyatt. You smell so good.”
A look of confusion creased his brow. “Huh?”
“Do you...do you know what you smell like?” she asked, feeling the tears start to gather at the backs of her eyes.
Slowly, he shook his head.
Mouth trembling, she said, “You smell like mine.”
“Yours?” He blinked as his jaw dropped. “Elise? Are you...? Did you...?”
She nodded, grinning at him like a fool, but too freaking happy to care.
He made a hard, thick sound and dragged her into his arms for a ravenous kiss. When he finally lifted his head, she was gasping for breath, and the smile curling his lips was slow and sexy, his dark eyes glittering with love that she could feel moving through her, a part of her. “I told you that I just might surprise you, baby.”
She laughed as he lowered his head, nuzzling the side of her throat, so happy she didn’t think she would ever stop smiling. “You most certainly did.”
“Can you scent the others?” he whispered. “I was coming in here to wake you up because nearly everyone has shown up and they brought breakfast with them. They’re all waiting in the kitchen.”
She shook her head. “I had no idea. I can’t smell them at all.”
His low, husky rumble of laughter filled her ear. “It probably makes me sound like a caveman, but I think it’s incredibly hot that I’m the only one.”
“It wouldn’t matter, you know.” She ran her fingers through his glossy hair as he lifted his head, staring deep in her eyes. “You’re mine no matter what, Wyatt. But I can’t say that the way you smell doesn’t make me want to devour every inch of you.”
“Now you know how I feel,” he murmured, rubbing his nose against hers. “But I’d love you no matter what, El. You know that, right?”
“I know,” she whispered, kissing the side of his beautiful mouth. “You loved me when I was broken, and because of that, you helped make me whole again.”
“Damn it, that’s it. I need to fuck you, baby. Right now,” he growled, kissing the side of her throat, his tongue flicking against the marks he’d made in her tender skin when he’d bitten her.
“I want that, too,” she said with a breathless laugh, tilting her head back for him. “But you said the others are waiting for us.”
Lifting his head again, he gave her a warm, wicked smile that curled her toes. “Let them wait,” he rasped. “I’ll cook for you later.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she teased.
“You can hold me to anything, sweetheart. Just so long as you always hold me.”
Blissful tears filled her eyes as she smiled and placed her hands on the back of his neck, pulling him down for another kiss. A kiss that started out sweet, but quickly built into something hot and explicit, and she couldn’t get enough. Knowing this perfect moment was the first of many to come, Elise surrendered completely to the man who would forever hold her heart and her trust, knowing she would never run again...unless it was into Wyatt’s arms. Where she belonged.
And where she always wanted to be.
Epilogue
One week later...
The day after Wyatt had made the bite that would bind him and Elise together for the rest of their lives, he’d proposed. He gave her his mother’s ring, a simple white-gold band with three sparkling diamonds, and she cried so hard he’d had to wait several minutes before she was finally able to give him a husky, beautiful yes. Eager to make her his wife, he wanted the wedding to take place as soon as possible, but they were going to do their best to wait until they had Carla back in the Alley, and hopefully Eli, as well. Personally, Wyatt didn’t know if he could wait that long. He and Elise had made the blood bond, but he wanted it all. His name after hers and his ring on her finger. Wanted the human marks of a couple as desperately as he’d wanted the Lycan ones. And he knew, without any doubt, that she would be the most beautiful bride the world had ever seen.
Eric was happy to walk Elise down the aisle, but Wyatt knew she was hoping that Eli might come home to do the honors. And the Runners were still hoping the renowned mercenary would come back to help them fight the war.
Two days after the events in Hawkley, they received word that Roy Claymore had recovered from the bullet Wyatt had put in his brain and that he was currently in talks with the Youngblood p
ack to the west of them, who had yet to decide where their loyalties would lie. The smaller pack had to know that if the Silvercrest fell, they would be next. But their decision depended on how much they feared Roy and the rest of the Whiteclaw...and how much influence Roy held with them through his blackmailing efforts.
As for the Greywolf to the north of their territory, they had chosen to cover their own asses instead of coming to the Silvercrest’s aid. In the last meeting Mason had with their Elders, he was told that the pack would most likely make their own move against the Silvercrest’s northern land to ensure that their borders were protected in the event Shadow Peak fell to the Whiteclaw.
Which meant they were on their own. But they weren’t going down without a fight.
As for Glenn Farrow, they were still searching for the Lycan, but had been unable to locate him. If he was in Hawkley with the Whiteclaw, the Runners knew the bastard could give their enemy valuable information about the pack’s security—and so they were being even more vigilant than usual. Robert had been great at helping to recruit more help within Shadow Peak, and the training sessions Mason had wanted to set up would be starting within the next few days.
There was a storm coming, they had no doubt. But they were willing to do whatever it took to be ready. Eric had called for a special meeting up in Shadow Peak, and they would all be attending later that night. The newest Runner was going to announce their plan to move the pack’s youngest and eldest members down to the Alley in the coming weeks for protection. Any women who wanted to fight would be allowed to do so, though Wyatt secretly hoped they would choose to stay and provide help in caring for the others. He knew it probably made him sound like a chauvinistic ass, but the idea of a woman being hurt in combat made his gut ache.
Still, he doubted there was a chance in hell he would be able to convince Elise not to fight. The night after they’d made the blood bond, she’d asked him to come out to the woods with her, wanting to see if she could take the complete shape of her beast. Though he loved her no matter what, he’d been beyond proud when she’d fully shifted. He’d joined her in his Lycan form, and together they’d gone hunting, running wild through the forest, their beasts connecting on a level that had affected them both. When they’d finally made their way back to the cabin and retaken their human shapes, they’d fallen into the shower together and damn near killed each other with the ferocity of their lovemaking. But he had no doubt that she’d loved it, the gorgeous smile on her lips when they’d finally stumbled into bed all the assurance he had needed.
Elise had opened his eyes to what it meant to need another person more than he needed to eat or breathe or sleep—which meant he was both incredibly protective and possessive of her. But he was also proud as hell of her strength, both inside and out, and if she wanted to fight at his side, she would have his support. As well as his promise to protect her with his dying breath.
Somehow, after all the crap they’d been through, they’d found each other. Found that place where they could put the past and its baggage behind them, and live a little freer, knowing that no matter what came their way, they would face it together. Even war.
As they climbed the front steps of their cabin, coming back from dinner with Mason and Torrance, Wyatt was confident that whatever the future held, the Runners would triumph in the end, for one simple reason: they weren’t fighting for power or money or glory. They were fighting for love.
Pulling his mate into his arms, he lowered his head and whispered into her ear, telling her how thankful he was that she’d come into his life. How much he loved her. How much he needed her.
And that he always, always would.
*
On the other side of the Alley, Cian looked at Jillian as they sat on his front porch, and slanted her a grim smile. “If I ever turn into such a lovesick jackass like Pall over there, please do me a favor and put me out of my misery.”
Lightly, she said, “You won’t get off that easily, Hennessey.”
“I won’t become like that poor bastard, either,” he rasped, taking a deep drag on the cigarette he held between his thumb and forefinger.
Laughing softly under her breath, she said, “Keep going through women faster than a gigolo, but you know your day is coming.”
His dark brows lifted. “Oh, yeah? You know something I don’t, lass?”
“I know you can’t run from fate.” She shook her head, and her voice got softer. “Even one that scares the hell out of you.”
“I’m not scared of anything,” he muttered, blowing out a sharp stream of smoke.
Her cryptic smile made chills race across his skin. “Well, boyo,” she whispered, mimicking his lilting accent. “You should be.”
*
Keep reading for an excerpt from NIGHTMASTER by Susan Krinard.
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Chapter 1
Trinity Ward waited with the other dozen convicts, her wrists aching from the grip of the padded cuffs that kept her hands locked together at her waist.
Not that she would have fought to escape. This was where she was supposed to be, among these poor, lost souls whose punishment was to be more terrible than mere imprisonment. Or even death.
They were condemned to a life of blood slavery to some Nightsider master in the Opir city of Erebus—an existence of unending servitude—until they were too old to provide blood or serve in any other capacity.
But these living offerings around Trinity, men and women who had committed only the most minor crimes, were not old. Some were in their late teens; the eldest couldn’t have been more than fifty. If not for the Treaty and the need to maintain the Armistice, they might have lived normal lives, sentenced by the Courts to jail time, probation and reparations.
Except that there were only two jails in the Enclave, and they were nearly empty. Crime had dropped to levels unknown in all of human history. Dropped so far that the bloodsuckers were growing restless.
“What did you do?” a young woman standing next to Trinity asked in a surprisingly calm voice.
Trinity met her gaze. She knew what the woman saw: normal human eyes, not the catlike pupils of a half human, half Nightsider dhampir. In a way, the contact lenses were like shields, not only concealing Trinity’s identity, but also helping her keep her distance from those around her.
Distance, Trinity thought, shouldn’t be a problem. She had been chosen for this assignment because she was known as the most unflappable, most controlled operative in all of Aegis. The one without close friends or lovers, because she wanted it that way.
Still, it was hard looking at this woman’s face, knowing she hadn’t earned the fate that awaited her. None of these people had.
“I didn’t pay my taxes,” Trinity whispered. “You?”
The woman’s brown eyes filled with tears. “I stole a pair of earrings. They weren’t expensive at all, but I hadn’t had something pretty like that in—” She broke off, her calm dissolving in grief and fear.
“I’m sorry,” Trinity said, awkwardly touching the woman’s arm.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for my daughter,” the woman said, wiping her eyes on her forearm. “She’s going to stay with my parents now. They’ll take good care of her. But I—”
She didn’t have to finish. Trinity knew what it was like to lose
family. Not that she’d ever really had one. Her Nightsider father, whom she didn’t remember, had been killed at the end of the War when Enclave soldiers had found him in possession of Trinity’s mother and their daughter, treating both as prisoners rather than anything a human would call a “family.”
Trinity’s mother had taken her back to the Enclave. But there had never been another father. And Trinity had grown up half vampire in a world of humans who feared and hated the part of her that made her so different, so much faster and stronger and keener of vision, able to see in the dark and with teeth made for drinking blood.
Something most dhampires would rather die than sink to.
“My name is Trinity,” she said to her companion.
“Rachel,” the woman said, raising her bound wrists. “I can’t shake your hand.”
Suddenly they both laughed, the laughter of people without hope. Trinity wasn’t completely faking it. She knew her odds of coming out of this alive and free were minimal, but that wasn’t what she feared. She had to obtain the necessary information and get word out of Erebus. If this was to be her last assignment, she intended to make it count.
“Attention,” the soldier at the front of the column shouted, his helmet reflecting the sunlight. “You’ll be boarding the ferry now. When we reach the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, you will board a transport to the border of the Zone, where we will proceed on foot to the transfer point.” He scanned the small gathering, his eyes—and his feelings—hidden behind his visor. “Any disruption or attempt to escape will be met with force.”
He glanced at his fellow soldiers flanking the crooked line of dozen convicts and moved closer. “Stay alive,” he said in a soft voice obviously meant only for the prisoners. “There’s always a chance things will change. If we ever beat the bloodsuckers—”
Dark Wolf Running (Bloodrunners) Page 25