by Judy Teel
"Where the hell did you get a vamp decryption unit?" Cooper asked.
"Amazing what unwanted guests carry around with them these days."
Despite everything, the flash of his brother's familiar teasing smile made Cooper laugh. How many times when they were boys had they found themselves doing the worst jobs in the compound after getting caught in one kind of mischief or another?
His moment of happy nostalgia died as the door opened and Rosalind strode in. She locked the door behind her and turned to face him, her expression set in tense but determined lines. "Aesei," she said with a polite nod of her head.
Ryker handed her the decryption unit as she passed him to stand behind Cooper. "As fast as you can, understand?"
How easy would it be for her to be just a little too slow, Cooper thought, realizing even as he did how crazy that sounded. As Isabel's childhood friend, Rosalind was his niece's godmother. She was also a ridiculous stickler for following the rules and loyal almost to the point of fanaticism. But she'd never approved of racial intermixing. Would she jeopardize the Clan over his relationship with Addison? Maybe. If she knew they were bonded.
He forced his mind to focus as Ryker got up from his chair and positioned himself in front of the couch. Opening the leather pouch, his brother pulled out a small knife, carved from the femur of the first Alpha. The blade of the knife was smooth and sharp and stained with blood.
Cooper braced himself. What was about to happen could never be undone and it would change everything. He hoped he could endure that.
Standing over him, his brother cupped his left hand under Cooper's right wrist and then positioned the knife over Cooper's artery. "Just so you know, Ry," he said, giving his brother a quick smile as he leaned his head back against the sofa to give Rosalind better access to the PRC, "blood is a bitch to get out of carpeting."
He was rewarded with the flash of a genuine smile across Ryker's tired face. "I'm fairly certain that's the least of my worries."
His brother's expression sobered and he glanced at Rosalind. "Ready?" Then he raised the knife. "Blood of my blood, bone of my bone, the line of our Clan plunges deeply into this Earth, stretching back to the beginning. Back to the dawn of our people. By the bone and the blood, the will of the Alpha and the blessing of the Huntress, it will reach forever forward into time, into the hearts of those yet to come."
With a quick strike, his brother swiftly carved the symbol of their Clan deep into Cooper's wrist. Blood welled up, pouring down over Ryker's palm.
The black dots flirting at the edge of Cooper's vision gathered into a thick hoard of darkness that crept steadily toward him. As his vision blurred and faded, Cooper idly wondered if his father would let him come back a second time. Then Rosalind was pressing the vamp decryption unit against the code box of the PRC.
As he waited to hear the whine of the warning alarm and feel the sting of the laser taking his head off, he pulled his thoughts into the memories of holding Addison in his arms, their bodies entwined, and of her laugh. And of the way she smelled like sunshine.
As if from far away he heard the click of the collar disengaging.
Rosalind tore the PRC from his throat and an explosion of power ripped through his body, chasing back the darkness and setting his teeth on edge as his bones, blood, muscles and organs seemed to ignite with it. The tidal wave of energy overwhelmed him as it crashed through every bruise, every cracked rib, and every dying cell and then flowed into his wounded shoulder with a blast of healing fire that took his breath away.
And then, on its heels, the sweet, sweet warmth of Addison swept into his awareness. Cooper sucked in a breath as the knowing of her hit him. Feelings raced through his heart — worry, anger, love, and then sharp surprise as his Were DNA reasserted itself and the connection between them was reborn. He heard Rosalind gasp behind him, but he didn't care that she and his brother had felt it, that they could smell Addison on his skin. She was his again.
His vision cleared and he looked down at his wrist. Pink lines of new skin formed the symbol that marked his new position in the Clan.
Ryker put the knife on the coffee table behind him and stared down at Cooper, surprise and worry in eyes. He hesitated, then dipped two of his fingers into the blood cupped in his hand. With a quick swipe, he spread the blood across his mouth. His expression grim, he dipped his fingers in again and drew two parallel lines down Cooper's forehead, the bridge of his nose and over his chin. With the last of the blood, he dragged his fingers in a horizontal line from Cooper's right ear to his left.
"Body, mind and soul, you belong to your people as have all that have gone before you. You are Aesei Siian. Protector of Bone Clan, guardian of my daughter and Alpha in all but lineage," Ryker said, his voice rough with emotion.
With his bloodied hand, he clasped Cooper's healed wrist in a grip that would have crushed the bones had Cooper still worn the collar. As he pulled Cooper to his feet. Their gazes locked and Cooper dove into his brother's soul as he released the iron hold he kept on himself. His will to dominate collided with Ryker's, pushing against it, hungry to win. The force of two Alphas battling for superiority, fighting to contain their instinct to kill, crackled between them.
He released Cooper's wrist and took a step back, giving Cooper a short bow of his head. Rosalind edged around the sofa and kneeled between them. "Rosalind Amelia Grey," Ryker said to her, "will you stand with the Aesei Siian? Holding his life above yours? Balancing his will to lead with your strength? Accepting and protecting Maya as if she were your own daughter?"
She bowed her head. "I will."
Cooper wiped his blood from his brother's mouth with his thumb as Rosalind lifted her face, her worried gaze meeting his before dropping away. He pressed the pad of his thumb against her forehead, leaving a bloody smudge. "Rise, Lieutenant Grey. I accept your pledge."
Turning to Ryker, he mirrored the short bow that acknowledged them as equals. "I will guide and protect your line with all that I am and all that I have, even to death, until such time as the true Alpha may take her rightful position in the Clan."
"It is done," they all said in unison.
* * *
I pulled in a deep breath to calm the butterflies in my stomach. "Hey!" I called across the ring to Deg. "Are you ready to apologize for being a rude moron so that I can get to my dinner?"
Deg stared at me, appalled, and then his brow lowered. He stepped into the ring. "Are you anxious to die?"
"I hope your fighting style is more interesting than your banter." I smiled and his scowled deepened.
Lifting his arms, Deg turned in a slow circle as if addressing the entire compound. Maybe he was. "A challenge is issued," he called out.
I kept my gaze on him. "A challenge is accepted," I yelled back, taking a guess at the expected response.
"You're either the stupidest human I've ever met or the bravest," Deg said as he faced me, and I didn't think it was a complement.
I opened my mouth to launch another taunt at him when a blazing rush of agony slammed into the top of my head and drove me to my knees. The forest around me lost focus and a wave of nausea bulldozed over me. Sweating, I clutched my stomach and bent over, gasping for breath.
Noah dropped to his knees next to me and grabbed my shoulders to keep me from falling over. I jerked in a ragged breath and the sweet scent of moonlit meadows filled my lungs. My heart beat faster, and then burst with a bright warmth like the first rays of Spring sun after a long winter. Then, as quickly as it had come, the onslaught was gone.
"Cooper," I whispered. An explosion of joy rocketed through my body as our bond drenched my soul. I never wanted to be without him again.
Noah tensed, his fingers digging into my biceps as he pulled in a sharp breath. He shook his head and then looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. Holding me down, he stood up and faced Deg. "She's sick. She can't continue."
"No." I pushed his hand off of me and got to my feet as strength poured into me. M
y vision sharpened, taking in Deg's uncertain expression and the mixture of worried and contemptuous faces in the gathering crowd. I grit my teeth. "I owe Cooper the respect of his Clan." I tightened my grip on Wolf's Blood and rushed at Deg.
He dodged to his left to avoid me as I expected him to do. Not a bad move if my goal had been to stab him. Instead, I turned and sprang at him, hitting him in the side with my shoulder to push him further off balance. Pivoting, I swiped my knife horizontally across the small of his back, cutting through his leather shirt and deep into his muscles.
With a roar, he spun around, leading with his fist in a swiping blow that would have cracked my skull if I hadn't ducked under the swing. I reached up, grabbed his wrist and spun like a dancer, twisting his arm as I went. The pain of certain dislocation forced his body into the turn and as he came around, I rammed the blade of my knife into his stomach up to the hilt.
Blood pumped over my hand as he staggered back and I lost my grip on the slippery handle. In disbelief, Deg stared at the knife sticking out of him, then reached down and yanked it out. Blood spurted from the artery, fanning out over his shirt and pouring down into the waistband of his jeans. If he'd been human, he'd only have a few moments to live before he bled out.
But as a paranormal, he wasn't in danger. The wound across his back had already closed up and my latest strike would soon follow. If I hadn't lost my knife, I would have gone for the iliac on his thigh or the carotid if I could get to it. He'd then have lost enough blood to be too weak to bother me and I would have walked away from the fight without a scratch.
As it was, all I'd accomplished was to piss him off. Worse, now he had something to prove.
I pulled up the left leg of my jeans and went for my second knife that was strapped to my calf. Before I could get to it, Deg sent Wolf's Blood clattering against the border of stones and charged at me.
I sprinted for the discarded weapon, my need to reach it before Deg caught me grinding against the need to keep my speed at human levels. I dodged when he made a swipe at me and ditched that idea. Life before subterfuge. I dove for the knife.
Deg slammed into me from behind, tackling me to the ground as his fist smashed into my right forearm. A crunching crack of sound rang through my head as the bones broke, and Wolf's Blood dropped from my grip. I went down, the furious Were on top of me, his fists pounding into my body like jack hammers.
A storm of torment erupted from every strike and the instinct to shift gripped me, pushing against my will as darkness edged my vision. The beast in me churned and heaved, wanting life, wanting to kill, but I fought it down as my ribs snapped, followed by the bone of my upper left arm as I attempted to protect my head from the blows. My thoughts fragmented as the world blurred, and the rage of the monster I was swelled.
Then something heavy hit us, taking Deg with it and dragging me for a few feet before the tangle of our arms and legs gave out and I was dumped into the dirt. I lay on my back, struggling to find my next breath. Everything around me, even my pain, faded as shock spread through my battered body. My gaze focused on the white clouds drifting across the deep blue of the sky above me. I wondered if they would be the last thing I'd see in this world.
As the blackness sneaking up on me closed in, I was vaguely aware of Noah sprinting toward me across the practice ring and Cooper lifting Deg over his head before launching him toward the onlookers.
CHAPTER FIVE
Someone strong carried me, and they weren't doing a very good job of it. I knew this even from the bottom of the thick blackness wrapped around me because someone groaned every time I was jostled. Whoever it was sounded hurt. I sympathized.
When I came to again, I was lying on a cot and Cooper gripped my left arm, one hand near my shoulder and the other near my elbow. His silver-green gaze hooked into mine and if I'd had the strength, I'd have been surprised by the anguish reflected there.
Then he glanced away and his muscles flexed as he made a quick, jerking motion. The broken ends of the humerus of my left arm ground together and the darkness rushed over me like a waterfall. Far away, that same person from before screamed.
* * *
The smell of something meaty and vegatable-y wound its way into my awareness and my mouth filled with saliva. That was weird. I didn't cook. Neither could my cat Wizard. Something wasn't right.
Maybe I was dead.
I drifted back into the velvety blackness, happy to leave the string of confusing thoughts behind me. A moment later, the lovely smell of food called to me again. My stomach rumbled, pulling me awake with a sharp tug. Sounds drifted around me — birds, the distant bellow of a cow, which didn't make any sense. I shook my head, fighting my way back to consciousness.
"She's awake," a beautiful, rumbling voice said above me.
"Cooper." I sighed.
His warm hand touched my face and I turned into his palm, savoring the rough texture of it. "Did I oversleep again?"
"You're in the infirmary, behind the kitchen."
Oh, yeah. Fight with the nasty Were. Lots of pain. Only I didn't feel too bad now. Dr. Barrett must be really good at his job.
Kissing the tip of Cooper's thumb, I cracked open one eye and looked up at him. "It was nice of you to teach Deg to fly."
The worry on his face relaxed and a slow smile caught his pretty mouth, lifting up one corner in the way that I loved. Cooper glanced over at someone I couldn't see. "She's back."
"Miraculously." Dr. Barrett came into my field of vision and leaned over me, prying open one eyelid and then the other. "Still no sign of concussion. Another miracle."
"Good to see Cooper looking all better," I said, trying to smile past the stiff muscles of my face.
"As are you." Dr. Barrett gazed down at me, concern and that worrisome speculation back in his soft blue eyes. "You've been unconscious for almost thirty hours. In that time, I estimate that you've lost ten percent of your body mass. Which, if you were a Were, would explain why your cracked collarbone has completely healed, the bruises that covered eighty percent of your body are gone, your ribs will be as strong as ever by tonight, and why I suspect I'll be taking the casts off of your arms tomorrow afternoon."
His brow furrowed over the bridge of his nose and he stared first at me and then at Cooper. "If you have an explanation, I'd love to hear it."
Cooper shrugged. "You saw the scan."
"Yes. All four of them and I still don't believe it."
I gave him my best wide-eyed innocent look and he made a displeased noise at the back of his throat. "Small amounts of broth at first, Mr. Daine. And then sleep. She must build back the strength that she's lost healing."
As Dr. Barrett ambled down the row between the beds lining each wall, Cooper helped me into a sitting position. "He's not going to let this go any time soon," he said, tucking a towel under my chin. He picked up a wooden bowl from the side table. "We call him Dr. Pitbull behind his back."
Handing me a spoon, he held out the bowl of soup. I loved that he knew how much I hated feeling helpless, with a close second of having to be fed like an invalid. He even refrained from interfering while I mastered getting the broth into my mouth with both arms in casts.
"You shouldn't have accepted Deg's challenge," Cooper said when I was about halfway through filling my empty stomach with the warm, salty soup. "As a human, you wouldn't have suffered for backing down."
"Sure I would have. I already was."
His nostrils flared. "Who?"
I ignored the question and slurped up one more spoonful before calling it a day. Didn't want any of that delicious goodness deciding to vacate the premise prematurely.
I snuggled back down under the covers while Cooper took care of the nearly empty bowl and my spoon. He turned back, his expression pensive. "Dr. Barrett didn't mention that he ruptured your spleen too. You should be dead."
I pulled the towel out of the neckband of the sweatshirt someone had put on me and handed it to him. "Stillman once told me that I'd be hunted
down and killed if I anyone knew what I was. By keeping my secret, all everyone has is curiosity and guesses. Much better odds of survival."
I considered bringing up the little issue of his near-royal status to change the subject, but decided I really didn't care about that anymore. Bone Clan could call him Chief Toilet Cleaner or King of the World and he'd still be Cooper. My Cooper. The thought made me smile. I closed my eyes, my body feeling warm and heavy. The bones in my arms tingled around the breaks like they were vibrating.
I heard Cooper blow out a long breath. The bed sagged as he leaned down, his scent of warm meadows drifting around me just before his lips touched my forehead.
"We're not done," he said in a low voice. "There are things you need to know."
"That's nice," I slurred as I drifted away.
When I woke up again, it was dark outside and Cooper was gone. The small light on the bedside table was on along with a bowl of what looked to be chicken noodle soup with plenty of meat and vegetables in it and a glass of frothy milk. The milk was still cold and the soup was steaming. Someone dropping it off must have been what woke me.
I scooted up into a sitting position, only feeling a twinge of discomfort when I put my weight on my arms. Definitely progress. I picked up the bowl of soup and noticed the leather-covered book it had been sitting on.
Where History and Myth Collide. Looked like Dr. Barrett was up to his old tricks again. Which reminded me, as soon as I could, I needed to find out if Miller had done anything about the message I'd left him. Next time Cooper came by, I'd mention it to him.
Finishing my soup, I settled back with the book, sipping milk as I flipped through the pages.
Chapter Eight: The Ghost Clan — Legendary Interdimensional Walkers
A chill rippled over me. Dr. Barrett knew.
* * *