“Then let me take the chance because I can’t bear to live if you die. I brought you into this mess. I must get you out of it.”
Her eyes wild, she held up the crystal. Nia ripped open her shirt, exposing her bare breast. She pressed the tip of the crystal’s long end against her heart. The crystal began to glow an eerie white.
She screamed and staggered back. Her screams pierced his ears and he moaned, partly from the pain and partly from her agony.
Then she held up the glowing crystal. Skin pale, her shoulders slumped as if she were weary, Nia approached the bed.
“Cure, save… for Rickie. Protect the young.”
“You’re not dying on me, Mitchell. Not you.”
With all his strength, he shook his head. “No.” Aiden labored to breathe past the elephant sitting on his chest. “Young… deserves to live. Protect pack…”
Nia’s expression grew stubborn. “No. No more pack. Our whole lives have been consumed by pack. You’re always putting your people first, my needs first as well. But not anymore. Today, you come first, you big, stubborn wolf.”
He tried to move away, but she moved swiftly, his mate, and seized his jaw. Nia forced his mouth to open and popped the crystal inside. He felt it dissolve on his tongue. It tasted as bitter as vinegar and sweet as honey. No, no, no. Damnit, his life wasn’t worth this.
Holding his mouth shut with one hand, Nia wiped away a tear.
“Please live,” she begged. “This is all my fault that you’re dying. Don’t leave me like my father and brothers did, like all the males I loved did. I couldn’t bear it. I love you, Mitchell. I was too proud and stubborn to admit it all these years.”
Then she tickled his throat, forcing him to swallow. The tears of the dragon burned his throat like the bite of whiskey.
“Live, Mitchell. Please live,” she whispered, crying. “I love you.”
He lifted a hand to her cheek, touched her tears. “Love… you… mate.”
Groaning, Aiden fell back among the pillows, feeling his strength leave him.
Damn stubborn female, stubborn as himself.
Closing his eyes, he surrendered to the grayish void.
***
Her wolf had to live. Even if she must die.
Utterly drained, Nia sat in the armchair near the bed. Xavier had not lied when he said the crystal would drain all a Lupine’s magick.
She reached deep inside herself, tried to summon her wolf and met with silence. Her wolf, the beast who had given her strength, who had enabled her to lead the pack after her father died, was gone.
Tears trickled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with a shaky hand. And now what? She’d have to leave, forge a new life for herself. A Lupine without magick was doomed, like the Crystal Wizard had said. The pack would never allow her to live among them, either her pack or Aiden’s.
And what about Niki and her people?
Aiden would care for them. He would protect her twin as fiercely as he’d protected his own. He promised.
All that mattered was for Aiden to live.
In all the years the disease had plagued them, she’d never seen it progress so quickly in a male. Aiden’s superior strength and alpha traits had triggered it to overtake him.
Making the strong male weak.
Her man still breathed. He slept, his color still pale as milk.
On the nightstand, his cell kept going off. Summoning all her strength, she went to the nightstand, picked up the phone and marched into the bathroom, then dropped it into the toilet.
No one was disturbing them. All their time together had been for pack, all about pack. And now he hovered on that frail line between life and death.
If it was life, then she needed to be here for him.
If he died, she would be here as well.
Nia closed her eyes, willing Aiden to live. Please, she thought. Don’t leave me.
***
An hour later, she sensed a change and stirred. Nia opened her eyes, cursing the fact that she’d fallen asleep. Gods, she was so damn weak now.
And saw Aiden sitting up in bed, the covers pulled to his waist. His thick hair was rumpled and matted with sweat, his eyes still glazed, but he breathed normally.
Joy filled her. She struggled to stand, then went to his side, touching his forehead. No fever.
Nia wrapped her arms around him. He stroked her hair as she sobbed in his arms. Finally she drew back, wiping her face with the corner of the sheet.
“Hey there,” he said softly. “Don’t cry, Blakemore.”
“I’m no wuss, Mitchell. Cry over you? Those aren’t tears. You’re seeing things.” She kissed him, hard.
“How do you feel?” she asked, as they parted.
“I feel fine. Need a shower.” He frowned, looking at the covers. “Hard to remember what happened. I know I was sick, but how did I get better? All I remember is some nasty shit in my mouth and a burning taste down my throat.”
Nia said nothing.
His nostrils flared and his dark eyes widened. “The tears of the dragon.”
“It’s okay,” she soothed. “You’re safe now. You will live.”
Aiden seized her hands. He pressed his cheek against them. “Nia, Nia, why? Your magick, your powers…”
He gave her a hopeful look. She shook her head.
“Gone.”
Emotion clogged her throat as he stared at her. Aiden framed her face with his big, rough hands. “My beautiful Nia, why did you do this for me?”
She stroked a finger over the thick stubble on his handsome face. “Because I love you, Mitchell. I’ve always loved you. And your life is worth more than my wolf. I can live without my wolf and my powers. I can’t live with knowing you’re gone forever.”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “We’ll find a way to make it work,” he said, his voice thick. “We will. After we get a cure for this godsdamn disease, you and I will make it work.”
Pulling away, he said in a gruff voice, “I need out of this damn bed. I’ve been slacking long enough.”
She slid off the bed and nearly collapsed. Aiden cursed and leapt off the mattress. He helped her to stand upright.
“Guess I’m really weak without my wolf.” She gave a wan smile.
Picking her up into his arms, he carried her to the armchair. “Stay here and rest. I’m taking a shower and then we’ll go see your twin. She’s a biologist. Maybe she has some herbs that will restore your strength.”
After he’d showered, Aiden emerged from the bathroom, clad in a towel. She stared at him, her joy turning into desire. “How do you feel, Mitchell?”
“Strong. Very strong.” He enfolded her into his arms and stared down at her. “I don’t remember a lot. But I do remember this. I told you how I feel about you.”
“Uh huh. Maybe you should tell me again.” She squeezed his taut ass and then let him go.
As she watched him dress, Nia sighed. “I know Niki. If anyone can help me, she can. She’s always experimenting on herbs. That’s why she got so sick when we were fifteen. She went into the forest and picked berries she thought were medicinal. They were to Skins, but toxic to Lupines. And that’s how she almost died.”
“She’ll find a cure.” Aiden’s confidence in her twin fed her hope. “And when she does, Rickie will be saved.”
“And Carl.”
“And Carl,” he agreed. “I want that son of a bitch to get better, so I can punch his face.”
“Such a peaceful guy you are,” she murmured.
They went down the back steps, to the basement apartment’s back door.
Niki must know. They had a cure, and her twin had saved Aiden’s life.
As she went to knock on the door, she noticed it was slightly ajar. Dread raced down her spine. Aiden looked at her and opened the door.
“Niki,” he called out softly. “Niki?”
The room was dark, and smelled musty, of dampness and something else unpleasant.
She recognized the smell and fresh fear made her heart skid.
And then she noticed the figure lying prone on the carpet, so still.
So very still.
CHAPTER 17
Nia rushed over to her twin, praying she wasn’t too late. She reached Niki and her senses screamed denial as Aiden snapped on a light.
Niki opened her eyes, bright with fever. “Thought I’d get this… over with… before you found me. Want to die… alone.”
Oh gods, oh gods. Nia looked at Aiden. “Help her!”
As Aiden lifted Niki into his strong arms, Niki lifted an arm. “Found cure. In…lab.”
Nia rushed into the lab as Aiden carried her twin into the bedroom.
Her heart pounded hard as she scanned the room, the counter, the vials of crimson fluid neatly labeled, and the syringes lined up in a row. Two rabbits in wire cages hopped around, frisky and healthy.
A red Biohazard box sat on the counter as well, along with a microscope.
Nia opened the refrigerator and scanned it. Dozens of vials of fluid, all labeled. None labeled “antidote.” Maybe her sister had hidden it.
She picked up another vial and her blood ran cold.
Edmond Blakemore. She set it down, carefully, noting there were several containers. And others, with their brother’s’ names. Several of them. A good portion of all the males who had died from the disease.
Nia slammed the door shut and sagged against it. “What have you done, Niki? What have you done?”
She had never bothered intruding into Niki’s private lab, wanting her twin to have privacy for her work.
Now she wished she had. Dear goddess…
She raced into the bedroom. Niki lay upon her bed, her face pale. Aiden sat next to her, his expression taut with worry.
“She can’t seem to breathe. What do we do?”
“Nothing,” Niki gasped. “You can’t do anything. Cure… Rickie and Carl…their blood will create more antibodies. Save … others.”
Nia sat beside her twin. All this time she’d thought Niki was experimenting with animals, her twin had been doing far worse.
Taking the disease into herself in an attempt to find the cure. Because Niki was female, and only males caught the disease.
“I’ll use the antidote on you,” Nia cried out. “I can save you, Niki.”
“No.” Niki coughed. “Too late. Immune…system too compromised. Tried already. Won’t work on me. Carl…Rickie… still in early stages.”
“Why? Why? Why did you do this?”
“Found chest. By the cabin. Had to make amends… I opened it, wished for a cure. For knowledge.” She gulped down a breath. “A Blakemore opened the chest and cursed us. It’s only fitting a Blakemore lifts the curse. I…wished for a magick solution… my blood could create the vaccine.”
Horror stole over Nia. That was the way the chest worked, the diabolical two-edged sword. Their father had wished for a cure for his beloved eldest daughter, but lost his sons, who were to lead the pack after him. And then the disease spread, from male to male until none were left.
And then Niki had found the chest. Her twin opened it and wished to cure the disease. She had. And now she was paying with her death.
“I won’t lose you.” Nia took her twin’s cold hands into hers, willing them to be warm, to have the blood flow, to be filled with life once more. “No, Niki. I’ve already lost Dad and our brothers. I can’t lose you.”
Niki’s gaze grew dimmer. “Afraid you have no choice, sis. I took the choice out of your hands. Be happy… with Aiden.”
Closing her eyes, Niki wheezed, her breath thin and whispery. Nia bent close to hear her.
“Pandora’s Chest… it’s in my closet, hidden by my clothes.”
Her eyes closed. “So thirsty…fridge… bottle of water. Please.”
Aiden raced to the refrigerator and returned with the water. He held it to Niki’s mouth. Her twin drank, and seemed to be a little stronger. She opened her eyes.
“Experimented with my blood. Injected the disease into my body. I’m female, immune, but have the same DNA strands as Dad, the original carrier.”
Nia smoothed back her twin’s hair. “When did you find the chest, Niki?”
Her sister’s eyes closed. “Two weeks ago. Didn’t want to tell you. Hid it. Had to wait for you to be settled, and happy. You loved Aiden… anyone could see it. Anyone but you.”
“Stubborn wolf,” she whispered.
Niki was gasping now, her face growing pale, patches of violent black spreading up her neck like wildfire.
Her twin was dying. She could almost feel the burning pain charge through her body, licking at it like fire. Two fat tears rolled down her cheeks. She’d spent her entire life shielding her sister from harm and now was helpless to prevent her death.
Please, someone help her. Please.
And then there was a brilliant flash of light in the room. Nia turned. Her heart slammed wildly against her chest.
Tristan. The Silver Wizard. The prophecy was being fulfilled at last.
“No,” she screamed, throwing out her arms protectively to hide her twin. “Don’t you dare touch her! Aiden, help!”
“You’re not getting near her.” In two strides, Aiden charged the wizard. Tristan flicked a finger and her mate sailed through the air, landing on the ground.
“Aiden!”
“Forget me. Save Nikita.”
“Don’t touch my sister.” She sprang off the bed and rushed at the wizard, hammering at his chest with her fists. Not caring if Tristan could fry her with a single flick of his finger.
But instead, he caught her in his arms. “Hush, Nia. I won’t hurt her. I’m going to save her. This is the only way.”
He gently untangled himself from her grip and sat on the bed. Tristan uncapped a glass vial he pulled from his pocket and held it to Nikita’s mouth.
“Come on sweetheart,” Tristan said softly. “Drink.”
Nikita’s lips remained blue, and closed.
“Drink,” he said more firmly. He tipped the vial up to her lips and forced it past them. “I will not let you die.”
She gasped and he poured it into her mouth, then she swallowed.
“Good,” he told her, and there was something satisfactory, almost predatory, in the wizard’s gaze. Nia could only stand by helplessly and watch.
Aiden joined her, rubbing the back of his head. He clasped her hand tightly, oh so tightly. She held onto him, feeling her world shatter as Nikita gasped for breath. She convulsed and Tristan held her, murmuring to her in soothing words she could not understand. His eyes glowed bright blue, then turned silver.
Niki seemed to recover, and he helped her to sit upright. Relief poured through Nia. Her twin would live. Oh gods, she was going to be okay, everything was going to be okay.
Nikita opened her eyes. They were silver, bright and shining as chrome. Silver like the wizard’s.
Tristan placed a soft kiss against her forehead. Then he gathered her into his arms and his gaze glinted. “Mine.”
His voice deepened, almost to a guttural growl. Instinctively, Nia stepped back. Aiden released her hand and partly blocked her view, standing before her in a protective stance. Her twin closed her eyes and appeared to sleep. Tristan laid her gently back on the bed.
“What are you doing, Tristan?” he asked, clenching his fists. “She’s not yours. She’s wolf.”
“And so am I,” Tristan said.
The wizard released Nikita and stood, straightening to his full height. His eyes glowed chrome, and then amber. And then he raised his arms skyward and growled.
The wizard vanished. In Tristan’s place was a timber wolf the size of a small pony, with thick silver fur, his eyes glowing blue.
It growled at them, blocking their view of Nikita.
Nia gaped at the wolf, fear sliding down her spine. What was this? Tristan was Lupine, like them? Maybe not. Maybe his powers could enable him to shift into various forms.
&n
bsp; The wizard changed back, his eyes now their normal dark color, his body clad in black leather pants, soft doeskin boots and a black tunic. But there was something different about him, a ruthless purpose that made Nia afraid for her sister.
Very afraid.
“Yes, Nia, I can shift into different forms. But I chose my original form for a small demonstration.” Tristan folded his arms, and she saw a glimmer of amusement on his face.
“Stop reading my mind.” This was downright spooky.
He appeared to ignore the remark and parked a hip on the bed, brushing her twin’s hair back from her pale cheeks. “I was Lupine once, like you and Aiden. Like Nikita. Many centuries ago, when Nikita and I met and fell in love.”
Sudden insight filled her. The dreams her twin had of the handsome, dark-haired stranger who looked like Tristan, dreams in which she felt loved and cherished. “Niki was your lover.”
“My wife.” A shadow crossed his face.
Niki’s dreams always turned into nightmares, because in the end, the dark-haired man screamed in pain and then vanished.
“Your wife?” Nia stared at him, and then her twin. “Your wife, reincarnated? You bastard, you loved her and you let this happen?”
As she rushed at him, Aiden caught her in his arms. “Easy, pixie,” he murmured.
Tristan gave Nia a level look. “Had your father not insisted on hiding Niki from me, he would never have needed Pandora’s Chest to cure her when she fell ill. I would have cured her when she ate the poisonous berries.”
“Why didn’t you?” she asked, calming a little.
He sighed and stroked Niki’s forehead. “I tried. I appeared to your father one night as he roamed the forest, looking for an herbal cure. He told me he would never allow me to touch her while she was alive. He would fight me to the death to keep her from me. He had already lost his mate. He was not losing his daughter. I left, knowing his eventual fate.”
Nia felt as if her world tipped on its axis. All these years she’d protected her twin, and Tristan knew she was alive. And their own father had deceived them, never telling them Tristan had actually been here, on the ranch.
Bad Boys of the Night: Eight Sizzling Paranormal Romances: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set Page 143