No, no strife. But his enemies, the Saints, a rising power in the Vampyr underworld, were about to become Blake’s new allies. And Warner’s friends in the Department of Defense who dealt with supernatural threats were about to gain a new test subject.
The thoughts cooled his fury and helped him leash the turmoil that roiled through him. “No, I understand you had to do what you had to do. That’s how it goes with our kind, isn’t it?” he asked in a blasé manner that belied the urge to rip the Vampyr’s head from his body.
“Good. I’d hate to find us on opposite sides of a war. Wouldn’t you?”
“That would be terrible, especially since the Vampyr are dealing with a new threat. A rogue murder, or is it a whole clan? Calling themselves Saints, are they?”
Evgeni laughed. “Dragomir Saint is nothing but a mosquito who will be swatted when I tire of his games. For now, he suits my purposes.”
And he’d suit Blake’s purposes even better. Blake nodded and turned his attention back to the fight and his mate, noting that the murder had begun to fill the private apartments and he was surrounded by leeches.
The stench of death choked him, but he pushed it down and watched as his mate came into her own.
She tore a bloody swath through the berserker wolves, rending them limb from limb, the blood splatter spraying high and hitting the gathered crowd. Money, jewels and gold changed hands fast and furious as the red wolf demolished the berserkers while Jessa huddled in a corner behind her.
One of the wolves tried to claw his way up to the crowd. Some of the weaker, younger Vampyr feared it. He could tell by the way they stiffened their bodies, their eyes filled with blood, and a few even bared their teeth.
That was good to know.
Through the entire ordeal, Blake took stock of his enemy, and those he kept close.
Especially his reaction when Randi tore his berserker from the wall and ripped his heart out.
When all three berserkers were dead, she turned her face toward the crowd. He could see the intent in her eyes. She wasn’t going to stop with the berserkers. She was going for the Vampyr.
Some of them feared her, but not enough. Even she and Blake together couldn’t handle a whole murder.
Evgeni read the intent in her eyes too, because he said, “You’d best leash your bitch. I wouldn’t want to have to take her down.”
Blake’s wolf rose in protest, but he kept himself from the Change. It seemed to bother them more, the more control he displayed. He knew his eyes burned like hot coals. He could feel it. “No, you wouldn’t.” He spoke low, his voice like gravel and rust, but calm and definitive.
There was no doubt whether Blake would attack anyone who touched Randi. Without making threats or posturing, he let Evgeni know he understood the consequences, but he’d rip his head off just the same.
“There’s a door to the outside down there. A right, right, right, left out of the observatory, a secret passage the handlers use. Old school, gargoyle on the wall trick. You could lead her to it. Get your prize to follow.” Evgeni shrugged. “My friends will be sorry they didn’t get to observe the aftermath. I’m sure they’d love a real werewolf mating. That should be quite the spectacle to end all spectacles.”
Blake didn’t answer him. Instead, he dropped down into the pit.
Jessa wasn’t crying and hysterical, but she wasn’t quite with it, either.
“Don’t. Move,” he instructed her. “Not until I tell you.”
Randi began circling him. A thrill shot hot and steady through his veins as he began the dance with the wolf in her warrior form.
“I’m going to lead her out until she can regain control. You are to follow.”
“No.”
“Yes. Or you’ll stay here with them.” He pointed up at the slavering Vampyr with the diamond teeth. “Okay? You’ll follow us out, then you go around to the front of the building. My driver is there with the black Rolls.”
Jessa shook her head slowly. “I don’t think I can move.”
“Yes, you can. Remember, she did this to save you.”
He saw when it finally clicked in her head and he nodded slowly, and did something no one should ever do a predator—he turned his back and ran.
And dear Goddess, it felt just as amazing as she’d promised. She was chasing him, this beast, his mate—his Alpha bitch. She ran him down like prey and he fucking loved it.
Adrenaline coursed through him, his heart racing, the Change hovering so close, but forced to edges of his consciousness. He couldn’t let her catch him, not until they were outside and Jessa was secured.
Oh, the things he would do to her then.
He remembered what Evgeni had said, right, right, right and then left. She was snarling and growling just behind him. He took the turns through the tunnels and was thankful she wasn’t in her human form, that she couldn’t see the cages of stock…
Blake led them through to the passage, and outside into the fresh air, but he couldn’t stop. Not until they’d rounded the building and he saw them strapping David into the back seat, blood bag IV still attached.
He’d paused—a mistake, he realized, as he heard Jessa scream then he hit the ground, hard. Randi landed on top of him and her teeth tearing into his throat.
His cock was so hard. If not for the inopportune audience, he’d have taken her right there.
His warrior form erupted. He easily pinned her beneath him, a roar from him silencing her. He exerted his will, his dominance and forced her down into four-legged wolf form where the darkness could bleed away slowly and her human thoughts could return as the battle haze dissipated.
It would also keep them from needing clothes until they returned to the hotel.
He didn’t trust their safety on the island, anyway.
Blake supposed to the casual onlooker, it would be strange to see a liveried driver open the door of a Rolls Royce for two wolves and half-mad dirty young woman hugging herself.
He didn’t need to instruct the driver. He drove them directly to a secret airfield where the Woolven jet was being refueled.
Once they were on board, he saw to practical matters. Getting her clothed and in his arms in the sleeping quarters in the rear of the jet. Then he used his power to push her down to sleep where, hopefully, her psyche could begin to repair itself. He entrusted the care of their new passengers to the well-trained werewolf staff.
And he held Randi the whole flight home.
Even while he called Warner.
“How did it go?”
“Put Westwood and Medical on notice. We’re coming in hot with a natural who could quite possibly be in shock, as well as David Rutger.”
“What did those bloodsuckers do?”
“I’m not sure, but Grigori was procuring stock for Evgeni. He confessed his part in all this. They took David, turned him because of the Ash weapons. He’s on a blood IV now for nourishment. He hasn’t spoken. The change isn’t complete. If we could reverse what’s happened to him… I don’t know.”
“What about Breslin?”
“I think we need to set a meeting with Dragomir Saint.”
“Are you sure that’s the road you want to take?”
“More than ever. Evgeni fucked us. I expected some rough road. He’s Vampyr, after all, but I really believed he’d honor our pact.”
“You want me to set the meeting?”
“Yeah. I need something else from you as well, Uncle.”
“What?”
“Your contact at the Department of Defense working the supe division—I want you to give him the coordinates of Upyrion. Tell them to take their very best and all their toys for recon and capture.”
Warner laughed long and hard. “Boy, when you break covenant, you burn it down.”
“Fuck them. Evgeni threatened us, stole from us, and if I hadn’t Turned Randi, he’d have killed her. Dropped her in the pits for the berserkers to fight over. I’m sure your contact could use a few test subjects.”
; “What about the berserkers? You know we haven’t turned over any were-neutralizing tech.”
“They’re dead.”
“All of them?”
“They were low, only three in residence. Or they’re running loose on the island, but I think that’s unlikely.”
“Got it.” Warner chuckled again in his signature gravelly voice. “You must’ve had a mighty rage to kill three berserkers. Randi will be proud of you.”
“No, she’ll be proud of herself. She’s the one who killed them.”
Chapter Nineteen
Randi didn’t know how long she’d slept or if everything that had happened had been some horrible nightmare, but the tang of blood filled her mouth and every joint in her body ached.
She was torn between hoping it had all been a nightmare and the fever-raw need to see her father again.
When she realized she was at Aphelion, a pained sort of relief washed over her. Had what happened at Upyrion even been real?
Despite the agony she felt with every movement, she forced herself to struggle into a sweatshirt and yoga pants, grabbed her ID, then headed toward Medical.
When she entered the wing, she saw it had been no dream.
The crowd of staff parted and seemed to disappear into the edges of her vision. All she could see was him.
Her father.
He sat upright, the IV still feeding blood into his arm, but when he looked at her, she could see recognition on his face. The sorrow, the guilt, and the joy.
“Daddy?”
He opened his arms and Randi didn’t know how she made it to him, but she did. Her knees went weak, and she could barely stand because the moment she thought would never come again was here—her father embraced her.
She clung tightly to him, her face buried in his neck where the rope that had taken his life had scarred him, the ligature marks still as fresh as when she’d seen him hanging—she hugged tighter.
“You smell a bit like wet dog, my Randi.”
“And you smell like a horrible leech, but I don’t care.”
“Can you forgive me?”
“For what?”
“For not telling you who you are. What I was working on. For not trusting you.”
She pulled back and studied him, his brown eyes ringed in the red that would never leave them. “That’s not what I expected you’d say.”
“What should I say?”
“I don’t know. Something about the way your white blood cells are responding to…” She shrugged, helpless.
He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “My beautiful girl, a Woolven bride. I never expected that. Blake tells me you marched into his office and told him you were going to end him. I’m very proud of you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? About all this, I mean?” She searched his eyes again but found only sorrow.
“Your mother. She didn’t want you to know. I am human, or I was. Your mother came out of the Remus bloodline via the O’Reilly’s at Kilkenny, Ireland, seven generations back. She thought ignorance could keep you safe.”
“No one’s ever really safe, are they?”
“No.” He shook his head. “But why would you want to be? Too many good things happen outside the safe zone.”
She scrubbed a hand over her face with a sigh. “What do we do now?”
“You mean because that rat bastard Evgeni infected me? I study it. I cure it. I know I can.” His eyes narrowed in determination.
“You’re Vampyr.”
“Yes. And you’re a werewolf. That’s doesn’t mean you’re not my daughter. You’ll always be my daughter. Nothing can change that.”
“I never thought I’d see you again.” She was overwhelmed with emotion. It choked her, and hot tears gathered in her eyes. “I wasn’t going to cry. Alpha bitches don’t cry.”
“Alphas bitches do whatever they want to do.” His embrace relaxed slowly until he pushed her away gently. “I need more blood and rest. These emotions, they do strange things to the Vampyr. They’re not equipped to feel things like humans do. It makes them angry and… hungry.”
His eyes became completely crimson, even the sclera.
“I’ll see you later, Daddy.” She pinched her lips together tightly. It didn’t matter, because he was right. The only important thing was he was here. He lived.
The Vampyr version of life, anyway.
She didn’t want to let him go, but she knew the moment was as much about him learning what it was like to be Vampyr as about their reunion.
When her feelings threatened to overwhelm her, her wolf rose. Instead of fighting it, she surrendered. It felt good to run, to stretch… the Change might be painful, but not as painful as the first time. It would get easier, she knew.
Running with her bare paws connected to the sweet grass and earth below, the wind in her nose and the freedom, the peace she found was a salve.
Even better once she caught the scent of her One. Her mate. She ran harder and faster to catch up to him. As she closed in, he shifted to warrior form and she followed suit.
Instead of turning to face her, he ran. The cant of his head over his shoulder indicated she should chase.
Somewhere, deep in her memory, she remembered chasing him. Remembered being desperate to catch him and running him down like prey.
Just as she’d promised.
Desire tinged his scent and she pushed herself harder, stretched farther, reached out for what she wanted and she took it.
Everything she wanted was within her grasp.
They tumbled into the sheltered arms of the forest when she took him down hard. He allowed her to pin him beneath her, and she howled her victory.
Blake quickly reversed their positions and joined her song with one of his own.
Just maybe he was Big Bad after all.
It occurred to her, as her mate took her there in the soft grasses under the cathedral of trees, how Little Red Riding Hood got it all wrong.
Wandering off the path was the best part of the story.
MORE FROM SARANNA DEWYLDE
If you enjoyed Big Bad Billionaire, join my mailing list to get exclusive content and stay up to date on all my new releases like the rest of the books in the Woolven Secret Series
The Werewolf Tycoon’s Secret Baby
While on holiday in Greece, Drew Woolven had a passionate encounter with a woman he never expected to see again. Especially not in a small Midwestern town with a dark-haired boy that has a crescent moon birthmark on his wrist that matches Drew’s own. Emmie Anderson had never been more thrilled than when she discovered she was pregnant. She’d wanted a baby and was tired of waiting for the right man to have one. A successful career woman, she thought she had it all planned out until she discovered her son’s unique affliction. Pack law demands Drew marry her and turn her to keep the Woolven secret, but after her divorce, Emmie swore she’d never let another man have that kind of power over her again. Especially not one she’s in danger of falling for.
The Mate Mistake
After waking up in a sleazy hotel room in Vegas married to waitress Belle Vaughn instead of wolf heiress Maribella DeVaughn, Parker knows he’s made a mistake of epic proportions. One that his family, money and position can’t fix for anyone involved. There will be no annulment or divorce. Not only because wolves mate for life, but because of Woolven Industries. They can’t afford another scandal. Belle doesn’t understand why it’s such a big deal until the full moon Parker tries to turn her and fails—because she’s a vampire. They aren’t even the same species, but somewhere along the way, the show they put on for human society became real and that mistake became something not only worth dying for, but worth living for, too.
Stealing the Heiress
Warner “War” Woolven is the scarred, half-mad uncle who shuns human or wolf contact at all cost. After the last pack battle when the Woolven patriarch was killed, War raised the boys until they could fend for themselves and then retreated to his animal form to live off the land.
Until Parker marries the wrong woman. The marriage covenant states only a Woolven heir, so to protect his brother’s sons War steals Maribella and marries her in the way of old—with his bite. Maribella planned her current circumstances too well to be saddled with an ugly, deformed beast like War. Yet as her time passes with him, she comes to the stark realization that maybe the ugly isn’t on him at all, but inside herself. His quiet and stoic sacrifice could easily be mistaken for apathy, if she hadn’t heard him in the grip of his nightmares reliving the torture he endured to protect those he loved. Maribella thinks at first love is a kind of madness until she experiences it herself and discovers she’d do anything to be worthy of a noble wolf like Warner Woolven.
Keep reading for exciting new work from other fabulous authors such as Deanna Chase and Rose Pressey.
These Haunts Are Made For Walking (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery, book 1)
If ever a whole town could be haunted, Devil's Moon, Kentucky would be that town. Ripley Van Raden, or Rip as her friends call her, has come back to her hometown to start her own ghost tour business. That’s not her only career path though. Librarian by day, and ghost tour guide by night, Rip is ready to take on the ghosts following her around and the mysterious residents who show up for more than the tour in the Devil’s Moon Cemetery.
Her first day on the job as librarian, Ripley finds a dead body and a ghost who can only communicate through electronics. Who knew ghosts could send text messages? To make things even more complicated, Ripley meets a hot cop who happens to also be a ghost hunter. She doesn’t know if Brannon Landon is interested in helping her or just around for the paranormal activity.
When Rip discovers threatening notes between the pages of a novel, she must solve the library patron’s mysterious death before she unwillingly joins the other side of her haunted tour.
For Old Crimes Sake (Chase Charley Mystery, book 1)
TV investigative reporter Chase Charley is tired of probing small assignments. A routine investigation leads to something major when she stumbles on what she believes is murder.
Big Bad Billionaire (The Woolven Secret Book 1) Page 16