Scent of Salvation coe-1

by Annie Nicholas

  Inali leaned forward. “Kele’s aware you’re waiting for her.” The alpha set his hand over Benic’s cup to still its motion. “Is there something I should know?”

  Benic scratched his cheek. “About?” Kele had not told her parents about Susan. Smart female.

  “About you and my only offspring.” Inali released Benic’s cup but not his gaze. “I may be mated but I still remember how a male’s mind works around a pretty female.”

  “Hmm…no doubt.” The vampire sipped his drink, struggling not to down the whole cup. “Do you wish to warn me from your daughter? I don’t see any prospective mates in your den for such a special person.”

  Inali clenched his fist. “Take care.”

  Propping his chin on his palm, Benic observed his host. “I always do, but do try to remember who you threaten. Biting the hand that supports you will only lead to a fall.” The alpha needed the reminder every once in a while. His pack lived in a forest that occupied a very, very small piece of land in the vast Vampire Nation.

  Kele slipped into the room, closely followed by Ahote. She spun around and poked the huge shifter male in the chest as she spoke to him.

  Benic couldn’t hear the exchange but neither appeared happy. Good. He didn’t like that hunter always guarding Kele. Couldn’t Inali choose someone mated to watch his daughter?

  An omega female filled his cup again. He relaxed into the cushions, enjoying Kele’s attempt at dominance from across the room. No one gave them any attention. Arguments were common; however these two didn’t fight in public often. Not that he’d ever seen.

  Ahote bared his teeth as he spoke to Kele before stalking out of the room.

  The vampire didn’t need to hear the words to know they were sharp.

  She stared daggers at his back until Ahote was out of sight. Her pale hair spilled down her back.

  Benic ran his finger around the lip on his cup as he watched her cross the room. He couldn’t recall ever seeing her appear so alive.

  Perching on a cushion at the end of Inali’s sitting area, Kele kept her gaze turned toward the activity in the busy pack room, avoiding Benic’s stare.

  “Are you well, daughter?”

  “Yes.” She seemed short of breath. A rosy flush graced her cheeks.

  Benic edged closer. Had she run here? He gave her a small, delighted smile and poured her some wine. Was she that anxious to see him again? “Here.” The racing beat of her heart was music to his ears.

  She sipped and finally met his gaze.

  Leaning closer, he whispered in her ear, “I missed you.”

  Her eyes widened as she raised her fingertips to her lips as if remembering their kiss. Good.

  An odd sensation bubbled in his chest. He wanted to rest his arm over her shoulders. Publicly claim her in front of her pompous father. First he needed the human, then he could resume his pursuit of Kele. He had many things to teach the young shifter and not all of it carnal in nature. “Have you found your human pet?” He kept the question quiet.

  “Not yet.” Kele cringed and set her cup aside.

  He followed the line of her gaze. Wonderful. Chaska had lumbered in, the light of Inali’s life and Benic’s personal bane. Someday the opportunity would arise to rid himself of that beast. Time was on his side, after all.

  He ran his fingers over Kele’s hand.

  She snapped her head toward him and met his eyes with a frantic gaze.

  He winked. Taking her to his bed would satisfy him on so many levels.

  “Vampire.” The bitch plopped onto the cushion between him and the alpha. She pressed against her mate. “Sweetie.” And she allowed Inali to nuzzle her neck.

  “I’m going to be sick.” Kele rose.

  Chaska’s attention latched onto her daughter. “Where are you going? I haven’t seen you much these last few days.”

  Before the two could start another hair-pulling contest, Benic stood next to Kele. “I’ve challenged her to a game of Mancala. Care to place a wager?”

  Chaska’s grin faded. “Not with you, weasel.”

  Inali choked on his wine. “Forgive my mate, Benic. We’ll let you go to your games.”

  Games indeed. The alpha should make the crazed female apologize. It reflected poorly on Inali’s control.

  Kele laid a hand on his arm and led him to a dark, private table—one reserved for lovers.

  “You’ll give everyone something to gossip about, bringing me here.” He eased onto the cushions and lay on his side, patting the one next to him. “Your father has already expressed concern.”

  She sat across the table from him.

  Disappointed, he hid a wince.

  “Let them worry.” She set the game board on the table, tossing the stones in the proper slots. “They insult you on purpose.”

  “I know.”

  “My father lets her speak her mind to keep you off balance.”

  “I’m not dizzy.”

  She paused in setting the game and grinned at him. “Good.”

  Laughing, he checked his side of the board, counting the stones. Sweet that she cared, but it wasn’t necessary. He’d dealt with more cunning creatures than the Payami alphas. One of those creatures sat across the table from him. “What news do you have on Susan?” He adjusted the stones where Kele accidentally misplaced them. Little cheat.

  “Nothing.”

  He pressed his lips together and swallowed a hiss. Before leaning across the table, he set his cup carefully on the surface so as not to slosh any wine. “You’re lying.”

  “How can you possibly tell?” She batted her eyelashes at him in mockery. “Is there some vampire trait I don’t know about?”

  Lowering his gaze, he traced the line of her long neck down along the small curvatures of her breasts. “There are many. Care to learn a few tonight?”

  She made a move on the board game but he had noted the hitch in her breath as he spoke. “We’re meeting at the Temple in two days.”

  “How did you arrange all this?” He rubbed his chin and watched her concentrate on the game she played. Not the Mancala stone pieces, but the one containing people.

  “He sent a messenger.” She blushed.

  “Hmm…” Someone who flustered her. “Your guards let him live?” He doubted a female would have the ability to stir Kele.

  “We were on Temple lands. Every shifter has the right to be on it.” She crossed her arms and gave him a piercing stare.

  He met it, clenching his teeth. She hadn’t denied it was a male. “It’s dangerous to feel that way. Look what happened to your religion.” He should never have left the den. “I’ll return with you to the Temple when it’s time to meet Sorin.” She opened her mouth but Benic halted her words with a gesture. “I’ve brought my own guards this time—that way I’ll be safer traveling those lands without your father’s generous protection.”

  “How thoughtful of you, Lord Benic.”

  The title smarted. Why the anger? She acted as if he’d broken her toy.

  She let her game pieces drop and stood. “Good night and pleasant dreams.”

  “I had hoped we could share some of those dreams.” He must have misjudged her reaction earlier.

  Pausing, Kele glanced from the exit then back at him. “No, I don’t think that would be practical.”

  He rose, took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

  Her gaze slid from his.

  “Sleep well.” He watched her leave the room as he finished the wine at their table. Something was amiss. He rolled the empty cup between his hands. If he followed and she went to her room, maybe he could seduce his way in. Otherwise, he’d find out what caused her sudden change of heart.

  Out in the pack garden, under the starlit sky, he searched for Kele’s presence inside the large den with his mind. Not an easy feat with so many shifters living here but he’d known Kele since birth. Like a light, she drew him in.

  He couldn’t read or influence thoughts; however he could sense the living. Ea
ch creature had a unique pattern, and with time he could distinguish it from the rest.

  Kele was not in her room.

  Sighing heavily, he struck out in the direction of her presence. Guess there wouldn’t be a seduction tonight. If he found her with Ahote, there would be blood. Anyone but him.

  The trail led him farther from the populated areas toward the abandoned parts of the den. Quiet, he stuck to the shadows. Melding with the dark was second nature. Shifters hunted as packs, vampires by stealth.

  Ahote stood guard by a door in an abandoned section of the den. He leaned against the wall, cracking his jaw with a wide yawn.

  Perfect. Sleepy shifters were easier to ping than alert ones. He didn’t do this often. The ping was a mental blast that caused confusion, which could be used in hunting and stunning prey. He didn’t need to hunt much anymore. His meals came to him willingly.

  He pursed his lips. The assault could be taken badly by the alphas yet his latest toy was being sneaky. He had to know why. Approaching Ahote, he sent the ping as their gazes met.

  The shifter grasped his head and crumpled.

  Benic stepped past him, opened the door and entered. Curiosity betrayed him. He should have stayed in the gathering room drinking wine.

  Kele sat on the edge of a bed.

  A very pretty, naked shifter male sat next to her, his blanket barely covering his lap.

  They were flipping through a book written for pups.

  Betrayal seemed the theme of his evening. Benic barked out a sharp laugh. “Is there room for one more?” He leaned on the doorframe, glaring at the couple.

  “Benic!” Kele blushed to the tips of her ears, the reaction not as endearing as before.

  The young male bowed low, gaze pointed to the ground. An omega? She cast him aside for a submissive? A golden-haired, pretty male, probably with the intelligence of a rock.

  “I don’t recognize you.” He tilted his head to get a better look.

  “He’s Apisi.” She sighed and almost deflated. “I took him hostage and plan to trade him for Susan.”

  A high energy shock hit him. “Your parents don’t know about him?” Oh, how Kele rose in his esteem. He couldn’t have come up with a better plan.

  She straightened and opened her mouth only to shake her head.

  He clapped and grinned. Deceived by his curiosity and his love interest, but not by fate.

  “What do you want, Benic?” Kele’s voice hardened as he laughed more.

  “Many, many things but let’s start with my going to the Temple for the exchange. Do you have any wine in here?”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  After two hours of hiking, the mountains still soared ahead of Susan and did not appear any closer. When she had ridden Sorin to the Apisi den, it hadn’t seemed to take that long from the Temple.

  Had she taken the wrong path? She walked along the river. There should have been a turnoff, one going to the den, the other to the mountain, yet she couldn’t find either. The trails didn’t have any visible signs she could follow. They probably were marked by scent. Everything in shifter life revolved around their noses.

  She kicked a rock. It bounced off a tree trunk then plopped in the river. Sunlight no longer sparkled over the surface. Pursing her lips, she eyed the dark clouds in the sky. They hadn’t been there when she left the den.

  Cold tentacles of fear crept up her spine. Glancing around, she couldn’t spot any shelter to hide under. She was lost in the woods with a storm approaching. Maybe Sorin would send someone from the pack to look for her. What if he came? Her gut clenched. What would she tell him? She had feelings for him and panicked? That might work. Nothing like telling a male she might be falling in love to make him run.

  What if nobody came? She shivered, though no breeze stirred the leaves in its wake. From lack of choices, she continued walking.

  A great big new world lay ahead of her to explore. The Disney World for scientists. She’d already considered spending the remainder of her life cataloguing Eorthe’s species, experiencing odd traditions, and witnessing new rituals. She sighed. Who would she share this information with? None of these things were new to the inhabitants of this world.

  She was the new thing.

  And what had happened to all the humans? This tribe had never seen her kind but that shouldn’t mean they didn’t exist. She rubbed her arms to soothe her goose flesh. The vampire, Benic, had never seen a human either and he claimed to be well-traveled. She felt weak in this world, as vulnerable as a babe. Maybe all the other humans had hidden or been eaten?

  She could spend the rest of her life pondering their fate. Answers would only be found by asking questions and investigating what had diverged their timelines so drastically.

  The clawing fear gripped her tighter. When her ancestors had stepped out of the forest to build cities, thousands of years of evolution didn’t vanish overnight. Instinct still existed, and it told her something watched from beyond the trees. Scanning the forest, she didn’t see anything.

  She was in deep shit. Ahote had mentioned traveling the forest in civil form was dangerous. Maybe other monsters roamed the area. Things she’d never heard of.

  Sweat trickled along her temple. Run! Her adrenal glands screamed, and finally her brain heard them. The locks on her knees released and she spun around. Pumping her legs, she ran faster than she’d thought possible. The pace would kill her. She headed toward a tree with branches low enough to climb. Her body went from wanting to flee to wanting to hide.

  With a leap fueled by panic, she grabbed the first branch and swung her legs up as if Jaws would chomp on them from the thick, leaf-covered ground. Out of breath, she scrambled from branch to branch until they grew too thin to support her.

  Nothing moved.

  Had she lost her freaking mind? She’d watched way too many horror films. Catching her breath, she stared at the ground, which appeared way too far below. She tried to swallow but her throat went dry. She would have drunk pond water to quench her thirst.

  What next, genius? She wouldn’t make it to the Temple any quicker trapped in a tree, jumping at shadows. Resting her head against the trunk, she closed her eyes. She had to get it together. Rain clouds were gathering, and she didn’t want to be stuck outside in a storm by herself.

  But she sensed something out there. Her body might class a shifter as a predator. Could it have been Sorin? Her heart sank. Half of her wanted him to rescue her. The other half was horrified by the idea. She’d run away for a reason. She sniffed and wiped a tear away. If she cried for help, it would only confirm how much of a dunderhead she’d become since meeting him.

  Future copies of Eorthe dictionaries would contain a picture of her under the definition of pathetic. Parents would show their pups and tell them not to be a Susan.

  The bushes below rustled.

  All the muscles in her back contracted. Her bones creaked under the tension. She could barely breathe.

  Under the tree, a large, feline-like animal crept by. From her angle and poor experience, she guessed it could be a lion or a saber-tooth tiger. Anything was possible on this world, but it definitely wasn’t Sorin.

  She clutched the trunk with both arms and tried to become one with it. Silence was key. It might not know where she was hiding.

  The animal snorted as if hearing her thoughts and clawed the tree.

  “Sorin.” Her voice rose as she cried out. The sound of his name traveled loud and clear in the quiet of the forest. Staring down at the big cat’s hungry face, she screamed again, a pure cavewoman sound. Lions climbed trees, right? She checked.

  Yes, they did. “Sorin. Help me.” God, let him be searching for her. She climbed higher, into the branches too thin to support her. Every second branch broke while she scrambled to the top. A piercing howl shattered her ears. She couldn’t protect them with her hands since she clung for her life.

  The tree lurched as if something heavy struck it, and she lost her footing. Hanging, she swung back and
forth from the branch by one hand.

  As if tossed like a bowling ball, the lion rolled across the forest floor.

  The ground spun. She had a one-way ticket straight down, and she held her breath.

  This would hurt.

  Her weight cracked the branch. For a brief second she seemed buoyant, then gravity—the greedy bitch—grabbed hold and yanked her hard toward the forest floor. She struck and broke a branch across her side, which sent her rolling as she fell. Her hair snatched the little twigs and pulled at her roots, slowing her descent by a fraction. What truly helped was the last branch she hit full across her spine. It must have been thick because it didn’t snap. Instead she cracked, losing her breath, and she rolled once more to fall belly-flop style.

  She landed on a thick bed of old, sticky leaves. Rolling on her side, she moaned in a terrible way and tried to make her lungs work.

  The cat could finish her off now. She doubted she’d feel the pain.

  Two different types of growls surrounded her. She blinked to clear her vision. A silver-gray mass approached her. Sorin? A flood of relief helped her breathe once more.

  Sorin snarled at the mountain lion. He bared his claws and canines so it could see what it was fighting.

  Susan lay limp on the bed of leaves behind him, making horrid noises. He feared they’d be her last. Humans were so delicate in comparison to shifters. Who knew what a fall like that would do to her?

  Twisted with worry, he couldn’t keep from glancing at her. If she made noise that meant she could breathe. He kept repeating this in his head as he tried to focus on the animal threat.

  It hissed while pacing back and forth.

  The lion was off its territory. They usually hunted on the southern range. Prey must be scarce for the predator to wander this close to his den.

  He rose on his hind legs, looming over it, and roared his response.

  Crouching in submission, it retreated. The branches of the brush whipped back in the lion’s passing.

  In a different situation, he would have chased it off his land, but the animal’s footfalls faded in the distance. Kneeling on the ground next to Susan, he ran his hands over her limbs. Everything appeared intact. “Where does it hurt?” His voice shook as he spoke.