by Lexi Blake
“Yet,” Padric added.
Dev sent his brother an annoyed look. “Damn it. I told you how to handle them. You have to treat them with respect. You have to allow them their customs. They will try to push you into showing your distaste. You must never show them.”
“It is hard because I find them very, very distasteful,” Declan shot back.
They were off and arguing about politics which meant my mind was off and wandering. I don’t much care for the politics that directly affect me, much less politics on some other plane. I was busy watching the little furry thing sleep. It was such a sweet little puff ball. It opened its eyes and they were large and blue.
“It is a jalibuit,” Padric explained as Dev and Dec continued to argue. “It is a rare creature found in Faery. We brought two of them as gifts to the wolves. They are good to hunt.”
I made no attempt to hide my outrage. “You’re going to let the wolves hunt that tiny, sweet little rabbit thing? That’s horrible. And it’s rare? No wonder it’s rare. You let wolves hunt them.”
I started to reach through the bars of the cage to pet the poor little thing that would likely be some wolf’s morning snack soon.
Padric’s hand shot out just as the sweet little thing became a rabid fury filled with sharp teeth. It rattled the cage and tried hard to break free.
“It is rare, Zoey, because it is a ferocious predator,” Padric said with a wry smile.
“Zoey.” Dev pulled me away from the cage. “You will not be keeping it as a pet.”
“I don’t want to.” It had gone back to its former sweet state, but all I could see were teeth.
Dev kissed me lightly. “I have to go now. Our ceremony is tomorrow night and there are rituals I must perform to ready myself.”
“Does it involve scraping off half your skin with faery sand?” I asked grumpily because I was still a little raw from my last encounter with that sand.
“Yes, of course,” he replied, not taking the bait. He picked up a bag he’d prepared and started out the door.
“Devinshea,” Padric called. “I believe those rituals are for you and the male members of your family.”
Dev shook his head. “Given the way Declan feels about it, I will be fine alone.”
“I would offer my services, Devinshea,” Padric said plainly.
Dev smiled slightly and inclined his head. “I would be honored if you would accompany me.”
Declan was frowning at the two of them. “Well, if Padric is going I am, too. Besides, if I am left here, I doubt Zoey will be able to keep her hands off of me and then I will be forced to murder my brother in a duel. It is better I take the temptation away.”
I rolled my eyes as Dev laughed and led the other men out of the door. He popped his head back in for one last instruction. “Be careful today, my goddess. That little predator is the second of two brought in for the hunts. The first hunt just began. Stay out of the woods to the north. It will be dangerous.”
I nodded, promising to stay safe as he left with the men.
“Just another half hour,” Sarah said as she walked up with a nervous smile on her face.
“God, I hope he’s all right.” It was going to be a long half hour. It seemed like I’d waited forever to see Neil again.
Sarah stared out the open flap of the tent. Dev had disappeared into the forests. Sarah and I walked outside and I enjoyed the sunshine and the way the aspens shook in the wind. It was a beautiful, peaceful place.
Sarah pointed to the woods in the distance. “Do you think he’s already waiting out there?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.” The woods seemed far away. I hoped Neil wasn’t far. Declan’s words finally penetrated my brain. “Oh, shit, Sarah. Is that north?”
“Yes, silly.” She laughed because I wasn’t known for my spectacular sense of direction.
My heart practically stopped, and I shouted for the only person I was sure could help me. “Lee!”
Lee burst out of the tent, gun in hand. He quickly pulled me behind him and scanned for the threat. He wasn’t happy when he turned around. “Damn it, Zoey. Don’t scare me like that.”
I was out of breath and just short of panic. “Lee, what happens if wolves are hunting and they come across a sick wolf?”
Sarah drew in a shocked breath, turning toward those woods. Sarah and I were both familiar enough with wolf society that we had an inkling of what could happen.
“They aren’t going to take a sick wolf with them,” Lee explained. “Hunts are always a part of gatherings like this. It’s a part of wolf culture. It’s nothing to worry about. From what I heard, they’re hunting some weird-ass Faery beast. Only the strong will be on this hunt.”
I pointed to the woods. “Neil is in those woods, Lee.”
He went slightly pale. “Oh, god. They’ll tear him apart. If he’s weak and those wolves have their bloodlust up, they’ll kill him without a thought.”
Sarah bit back a cry. I ran into the tent and back to the master bedroom. I quickly located my suitcase and rifled through it until I found the lavender polo I’d brought along in case we needed Neil’s scent. I’d packed away all of his things when I moved into the penthouse, but I kept a few items with me in hopes I would need them. I hadn’t washed the shirt so it should still smell like him.
Time was of the essence so I opened the drawer and pulled out Dev’s gun, shoving it into the pocket of my denim shorts after I checked the clip. I forced sneakers onto my feet and then raced back out to Lee.
I passed him the shirt and Lee put it straight to his face, breathing in the scent. He let it wash over him, unwilling to hurry it even though I was impatiently pacing, waiting on him. He took one last long inhale and when he tossed the shirt at Sarah, his eyes were already wolflike.
“I can track him.” He was looking toward the tree line, searching for something.
“Then let’s go,” I replied, starting to move toward the woods.
Lee pulled me back, his hand on my arm like a vise. “Zoey, it’s dangerous out there. Those wolves are hunting. This is serious. You’ll smell like food to them.”
“If you go without me, I’ll be right behind you.” Neil didn’t know Lee. He would run and hide. I had to be with him.
He growled at me, got right up in my face and tried to stare me down. He had a good half a foot on me, so I had to stare up at him. I didn’t let the height difference intimidate me. I held my ground and refused to break eye contact. I did a fairly good growl right back at him to let him know I wasn’t going anywhere. When he bared his teeth, I bared mine right back.
“You’re the most frustrating woman I’ve ever met.” He finally stepped back, throwing his hands up. “If you get your ass killed out there, it’s not my fault. I’m going to move fast, so you better hang on.”
Lee kneeled down and offered me his back. It was strange, but I was willing to go with it. I jumped on and wrapped my legs around his waist, locking my feet together. I steadied my hands on his shoulders as he stood up.
He used one hand to pull my arms around his neck. “Don’t let go.”
I glanced at Sarah. “I’ll bring him back.”
She nodded and then we were off.
I held on for dear life as Lee galloped through the valley toward the tree line. I had to close my eyes and bury my head in the back of his neck because watching the world go by at that pace made me dizzy. The wind whipped my hair and did crazy things to my hearing. It was like when a dancer twirls without a spot point. There’s only so much the human senses can take, so I shoved my face into the flannel of Lee’s shirt and prayed I could hold on.
Lee stopped on a dime and suddenly we were in the forest surrounded by aspens. Despite the fact that we were on a steep incline moving up into the mountains, Lee was steady as a rock. He breathed in and then took off again without a word, veering sharply to the left and then the right. I could hear wolves growling now. We passed some small groups of wolves and they barked out warnings to others of
their kind. Some took up pursuit, but none of them could begin to keep up with Lee even though he had a passenger.
Lee stopped again, and he slapped softly at my thigh, letting me know I could let go. I dropped to the ground, my feet crunching into leaves and dirt. A cascade of low growls pulled at my attention. Up ahead something was happening. Something menacing. Lee started climbing and I followed, pulling the gun out of my pocket, flipping the safety off.
As we moved closer, I caught the sight of a small group of wolves. They stalked in a circle, at least eight of them. They prowled, their four legs moving in time to some predatory instinct I couldn’t understand, circling what I knew would be Neil. Lee’s senses didn’t lie. He wouldn’t have brought us to this place if he hadn’t known Neil was here. My heart caught at the thought of him sick and hurt and surrounded by ravenous wolves.
Picking up the pace, I followed Lee, leaving my fear behind.
One of the wolves stopped and in an instant he was back in his human form, a sneer on his familiar face. “Well, well, well, not so tough now, are you, Neil? Where’s that fucking vampire you whore yourself out to? Did he get tired of you? It was inevitable. Everyone gets tired of you. No one wants you for long, you pathetic piece of trash.”
Wyatt Roberts pulled back his foot and kicked the white wolf as hard as he could. I heard a low whimper and got my first good look at my best friend as he made a halfhearted attempt to get away. Blood covered his thin body, matting his normally gorgeous fur. The wolves had been playing with him for a while, taking small chunks out of him, making him their chew toy.
I saw the moment Neil caught my scent. His furry white head came up and those arctic blue eyes turned toward me. He whined with everything he had left and started to crawl my way. By this time, the other wolves knew we were coming as well. They shifted toward us, scenting the air and obviously liking the way I smelled. More than one of the wolves licked their chops as though anticipating a nice meal.
I didn’t really care. I was too blind with rage at the man who was still kicking his brother. Wyatt Roberts spat down at his younger brother, whose great crime in life had been his sexual preference. That one trick of biology had cost him a family, a home, and was about to cost him his life if his brother had anything to do with it.
I was close enough now to get off a good shot. Planting both feet on the ground, I aimed and fired. The kick was a little more than I was used to but nothing I couldn’t handle. There was a satisfying thud as Wyatt’s right side flew back when the round connected with his shoulder. I had promised Dev I wouldn’t kill anyone. He’d said nothing at all about maiming. I was maiming for the purest reason I could think of, so I saw no reason it should be verboten.
“Zoey, let me handle this,” Lee shouted my way. The small pack had switched their attention completely on me. Lee shook his head as he watched the pack prowl. “Damn it, I really liked this shirt.”
“I’ll buy you another one,” I offered, knowing what he had to do. Werewolf bodyguards went through a lot of clothes. It was a hazard of the job.
I’d never seen anyone change as quickly or as fully as Lee Owens. One moment he was a curly haired, six-footish man and the next he was the biggest wolf I’d ever seen. I don’t know how or why, but he seemed larger in wolf form than he did as a human, as though the wolf that inhabited his body could change mass as well as shape. Marcus had explained that Lee was different, and it was easy to see when he changed.
Lee’s wolf was the same color as his hair. The wolf was all powerful muscle, and his body was reared back and ready for action. Lee growled, a sound that filled the woods with menace.
The other wolves stopped when faced with the biggest, baddest wolf in the woods. They backed away enough for me to take the chance and run to Neil. He crawled low to the ground, trying to get to me. I finally managed to put my hands on him, and he stopped and gave a great sigh. Neil’s head was down on his front paws, and he looked up toward me, his glacial eyes asking the question.
I smiled down, hopefully with an assurance I wasn’t feeling. “It’s all right, Neil. It’s going to be okay.”
I stroked his fur, offering comfort and loving the warm feel of him under my hands.
His body was so much thinner than I remembered. Slight and frail against my hands but even battered, he responded to a loving touch. His back arched into my palm as I ran it over his matted fur. I could see the places where the wolves had bitten him and scratched at his flesh. He would heal if I could just get some food into his stomach and some affection into his soul. I had to get him off the mountain first.
Lee was rumbling as the wolves started to turn their attentions back toward me. We were in a precarious position. Lee’s threat might hold them off for a bit, but eventually one of those wolves was going to try to take a hunk out of me, and it would be mere luck as to whether or not I survived the experience.
Another group of wolves had joined the first, swelling their numbers and taking a position at Lee’s back. We were completely surrounded and I leveled the pistol at the first wolf I could find, letting him know I would take his ass out.
Neil whinnied and I realized I’d forgotten something. Wyatt Roberts came up from behind me. There was a sharp, hard tug at my hair as he hauled me up.
“I thought we told you not to mess with pack business, bitch,” he snarled in my ear, holding me far enough away that I couldn’t get a shot off.
Lee growled, but if he attacked he could hurt me and Neil, who was at my feet unable to move any further.
“And I thought I explained that I don’t like you or your dad, Wyatt.” I wasn’t willing to give an inch even when he could kill me. “How’s it hanging for your dad?”
I’d shot Mitchell Roberts in the privates roughly a year before. With any luck, he should have managed to grow back his dick by now. If he gave me any trouble, I could always shoot it off again.
Wyatt’s growl came from a place deep within him, and I heard Lee respond in kind. I got the feeling that Lee was going to pounce and take the chance on hurting me and losing Neil when suddenly a large black wolf changed forms and John McKenzie strode forward with Wyatt in his sights.
It was my lucky, lucky day since this was the third naked dude I’d seen since I’d woken up that I really didn’t want to see naked.
“You let her go right now, Roberts,” McKenzie commanded, his muscular presence leaving no doubt there was an alpha in the house. The other wolves put their heads down and averted their eyes to show their submission to the dominant male presence. Lee merely took the advantage, placing himself in an excellent position to kill Wyatt Roberts. He made no move to give McKenzie the dominant position, choosing to threaten Roberts himself.
Wyatt dropped his hand from my hair. I was shoved forward, forced to catch myself on my knees. I moved quickly to cover Neil’s body with my own because if there was a fight, we would be in the middle of it, and I wasn’t at all sure that he would survive much more. He whimpered beneath me and I stroked him, trying to let him know I wouldn’t leave him. I would never let them take him from me without a hell of a fight.
“What do you think you’re doing?” McKenzie asked, trying to ignore the fact that Lee wouldn’t let him anywhere close to me. He was pointedly looking at Neil’s brother.
“He’s weak.” Wyatt tried to hold his ground against the stronger wolf, but his eyes kept sliding away. “He’s half dead, and we should put him out of his misery.”
“I don’t give a shit about the sick-ass wolf,” McKenzie acknowledged with a sneer. “You were about to harm the priest’s goddess. I invited Quinn here. I’m paying him handsomely to ensure our fertility. What is he going to do when we kill his goddess? I’m assuming you’re completely ignorant, so let me make it clear to you. There’s a god and a goddess. That’s how the fertility ritual works. Kill the goddess and the god tends to get pissed off.”
“She shot my father,” Wyatt replied with a huff.
“I don’t care,” McKenzie s
hot back. He glared at Lee, who was still keeping him away from me. “Stand down, you freak of nature. Can’t you see I’m trying to save her?”
Lee changed forms, but I kept my eyes on the ground because I didn’t need naked dude number four ingrained on my brain. “You’ll forgive me for not trusting you, Mac. She’s my responsibility. I trust no one but her husbands with her. I don’t think you’re married to her, so I’ll be sticking around.”
“Would you like to explain why you interrupted our hunt, Your Grace?” McKenzie asked.
I pulled Neil firmly into my lap, no longer concerned that we were going to be torn apart. McKenzie had firm control of his pack. “I didn’t know there was a hunt. I planned to meet with this wolf in this location. He’s sick, so I came to find him.”
“He belongs to my pack, sir,” Wyatt said. “He’s ours to dispense with as we please. He’s weak. It’s long past time to put him out of his misery.”
I didn’t understand pack law, but I knew that Neil belonged to me. “He hasn’t belonged to your pack for a long time. He’s mine. He belongs to Vampire. He made a blood oath to my husband.”
McKenzie raised a questioning eyebrow as he contemplated what I said. “Which role do you speak from now, Your Grace? How do you claim this wolf? It seems you claim much that should belong to me.”
I’d learned a lot about politics in the last two years. So much of politics is about sounding like you mean what you’re saying. I looked John McKenzie straight in the eyes and said with every ounce of confidence I had, “Lee is mine. This wolf is mine. If you dispute my claim then I will be happy to meet you on the battlefield and we can decide it there.”
McKenzie’s eyes widened and he glanced at Lee, looking for confirmation.
Lee smiled, his hands crossed over his chest. “Oh, yes, she dares. You want to meet her, she’ll be there. She is one crazy-ass bitch, and those two men love her to pieces. Take her on and you’ll deal with a faery, a vampire, and me. I might not sleep with her, but I respect the hell out of her. She always means what she says.”
“She says you belong to her,” McKenzie said, looking at Lee with a questioning stare.