Continuing westward, he came upon a field with several tents surrounding a small stucco building. A quick sensory scan alerted him to Krystyna's angry aura. She didn’t appear hurt, other than a little roughed up and magically drained. Two sentry guards dressed in military uniforms stood watch on either side of the door. Not a single window was visible from his vantage point.
This seemed too simple. Something was definitely wrong.
His course of action seemed easy enough. Knock out the two knuckleheads at the doors and barge in to rescue the girl. Except that the two morons guarding the door were rather large in stature and had guns. The smart thing to do would be to circumvent them by going around to the back of the building, but without the true cover of night, Nicholaus wasn’t going to be very covert. Plus, those tents may have other men in them.
He looked toward the lake, just to check the sun’s position. Yup, in a few minutes daylight would be upon them.
The obvious front door solution required him to use force.
“Fuck.”
Dealing with humans was so much easier when one punch put his fist through four inches of hard wood and scared them off. Wolves possessed greater strength so he’d have to use more power. He’d have to dig a little deeper.
The wolf in him crouched low to the ground, licked its lips.
Because they were also wolves, he would have to kill them quickly, quietly. He hated the idea. Violence he’d tried to eschew but in the end, he saw no other way.
Lowering himself to the ground, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind. They are not truly an enemy, are they?
Pure instinct forced blood pounding angrily through his veins. Animal mind took over, roaring loudly in his head.
He charged out of the underbrush and rushed the two guards.
Both guards looked at him, aimed their weapons and fired. For one, it was too late. Nicholaus caught him by the throat, snapped his neck, licked blood off the flesh and darted away.
The other guard fired off a shot that barely missed Nicholaus.
He only saw red before dropping the other guard. Why did you take my beloved?
“Who are you?” The guard's eyes blanked, removing any fear he might have shown.
His defiant tone pissed off the animal in Nicholaus. I am here to take back what is mine. You can let go or I can kill you.
“You won’t be doing any killing,” a voice behind him uttered. The hammer of the pistol cocked back loud enough to alert Nicholaus to his position.
Nicholaus spun around, saw a few more wolves had joined the party. He could take this, the beast inside him howled in delight at the prospect of more blood.
The human screamed for mercy.
And yet another voice cut through both the howling and the cries. Nicholaus, break the door down!
Krystyna.
Before he knew it, he’d been surrounded by three more men, all pointing rifles at him.
Nicholaus jumped, scraping the barrel of one gun with his claws before he caught the man in front of him with a head butt, sending him stumbling back. Rebounding off that man’s body and using the momentum, he lunged toward guard number two on his left, disarmed him and snarled loud enough to scare the man.
The third man fired off a shot but it missed Nicholaus. The second one caught him in the thigh, sending him to the ground.
Nicholaus snarled. Unable to let the wound slow him down for fear of missing his chance, Nicholaus spun around, sent himself flying through the air in a blind rage and snapped his jaws around the thigh of his final assailant.
The man screamed in pain until Nicholaus clawed his way up the man's body and finally tore out his throat.
Nicholaus, help!
The female voice cut through the rage blinding him. Nicholaus shook off the anger and looked at the door before him. He couldn’t open it in wolf form and doubted Krystyna could either, else she would have been long gone by now. The woman had plenty of brains and strength.
He shifted into human form, darted around the bodies and blood and rushed the door.
It budged but barely.
Nicholaus looked around; saw one of the guns at the dead man’s feet. He picked it up, aimed it at the lock. “Stand back.”
Waiting a beat for Krystyna to obey, he inhaled, pulled the trigger and shot the lock.
It flew off with ease on the third shot.
He kicked the door open, stepped into the room, let his eyes adjust to the darkness while his nostrils ignore the dank smell. What the hell…
It took a second but his eyes adjusted. In the center of the tiny room sat a chair and table, broken chains and by the looks of it, blood stains on the finish. Krystyna crouched in the corner in her human form, sweat pouring off her. Her eyes darted from side to side before she ran a hand through her mass of blonde hair and moved it from her eyes. “It’s you.”
“Come on. Let’s go.”
Her eyes widened, lip trembled. “You're here…”
She sounded astounded. He sniffed the air. Picked up fresh blood. Hers, no doubt. Anger boiled within him. He clenched his fists, then forced a breath out and tried to relax enough to keep a calm head. Extending his hand to her, he looked back over his shoulder at the entrance. “Of course it’s me. Who the fuck else would be here?”
She stood slowly, stumbled toward him.
He caught her by the upper arm, felt the burn from contact.
She pulled back, found her footing and met his gaze with a stare of contempt. “Katarina.” She crossed her arms over her luscious chest.
“That woman is asleep. I knew better than to bring her. Now come on, let’s go before we get killed.”
Nodding curtly, she dropped to all fours and stood as brown fur covered her sleek body. Deadly eyes glowed with fierceness.
Nicholaus fell to his fours and became the wolf once again. The stench of blood caught the wind and tickled his nose. He looked around, saw the pile of bodies and cringed.
Gun shots rang out several hundred feet behind them. Head east, he barked.
She nodded and headed toward the forest.
Behind them gunshots echoed, splintered trees, wolves snarled and barked. Smoke filled the air from the gunfire and blew toward them with the help of strong gusts of wind.
Why did you come for me?
Why wouldn’t he come for her? Because aside from not knowing she was in danger, he didn’t know about the threats to the Opeth Pack. Shit like that wasn't his business. Because it was asked of me by your lover. Now keep running toward our village.
My village.
Whatever. Just keep running. Nicholaus snuffled.
Both wolves ran at a high speed past thick underbrush. Sunlight appeared over the horizon, making it easier for snipers to aim.
A bullet whizzed past Nicholaus.
Francba! Shit!
Krystyna looked behind her to see the bullet cut a slice through Nicholaus’ skin.
Are you okay?
He yelped but continued moving, ignoring her question outright. He'd get her to safety then deal with the wound. It wasn't much, just a nick. Blood trickled down his check but he kept running, pushing himself faster. Keep running!
She whimpered in response.
Both panted furiously, ran frantically. It would be another hour and a half before they reached the village. A few gunshots whizzed past them in their general direction but none came as close as the first shot that had nipped Nicholaus.
I think we’re safe. Krystyna slowed her pace.
He growled low at her, Never. Keep running.
After a few hundred more yards, she stopped and turned around.
Nicholaus stopped just short of slamming into a very beautiful blonde woman. He shifted, staring at her.
Standing before him in her brown skirt and white top, she glowered at him, head cocked, arms crossed over her ample chest. Nipples were visibly hard, like the coldness in her eyes. Something bitter poured off her aura in waves…aggression?
No, h
e recognized the scent immediately.
The acerbic tang between them implied her disappointment.
Not like he had time for this. “What are you doing?”
They stood so close he could smell her arousal through her other emotions. He could taste her, if he licked his lips.
Full lips as red as fire and made for kissing complimented a face that was meant to be cradled closely to his chest after long lovemaking sessions. Hair that fell down in waves past her shoulders was pure silk, softness he’d remembered before he’d even reached out to touch her.
“We don't have time for this posturing, little girl.” He grit his teeth.
She spat and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before setting her hands on her hips. “I'm not going back.”
“You were in obvious danger. The cuts on your body have healed but the ones inside…”
She blinked, poked a finger in his chest. “If I have wounds to deal with, I’ll deal with them without a deserter like you.”
He clenched his fists. “Now is not the time, Krystyna. We have to get out of here. Why are you stalling? Do you want to die?”
Krystyna put a hand to her ear, appeared to be listening. "Hear that? Nothing. No hunters, no gunshots. We've lost them." She looked down her nose at him, pinning him with her agitated stare. “Oh, shut the hell up. We’re close enough to home that we’re in no real danger. You’re overreacting. Again. I know the way home.” She turned and started stalking away from him.
He caught her by the shoulder, spun her around to face him. His nostrils flared from the scent of her arousal and his groin hardened but he did his best to ignore his passion and focus on the task at hand. “You will not go without me and we will go all the way.”
Her breath caught in her chest, the rise and fall barely visible to the human eye. “No. Only one of us need lie to ourselves.”
He pursed his lips together. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you're betraying yourself, your nature, heritage and loved ones all for a lie of safety that cannot exist. Tell me, did you already forget about the bodies you dropped just to save me?”
He stiffened. Of course not, he couldn’t scrub the vision from his mind fast enough, but that priority could wait. “No, I didn't forget. I have more important things to do than dwell on my murderous rage. And my issues are not yours to deal with.” Nicholaus snarled, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown.
“You dispatched them quickly. You’re a hero to Katarina. You know that?”
“Where is this line of conversation going?”
“You know where it could go and where it needs to go. You left without an explanation and you broke her damn heart. She wouldn’t lay into you but I will.”
He wiped his hand down his face and shook his head. “Why are you doing this?”
She huffed, knocked his arm off her shoulder. “Because one of us has to. It won’t be Katarina; she wants us back together as a threesome again.”
“And you don't?" He’d smell the bitter lie she told him, and it would burn his gut to even hear the words. Aware of her heated gaze roaming over his body, he repeated the question. “Tell me you don’t want it.”
“What difference would it make? I only want what my lover wants. And I seek only her happiness.”
Nicholaus stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Unable to stand it any further, he leaned in and stopped just millimeters from her mouth. It took all his self-control to not close the distance. Instead, tension tightened in his neck while his cock throbbed. Hell, even his pulse began to speed at the prospect of being near his former mate again.
“You’re not going to kiss me.”
The threat she made hung in the air. He wondered for a second if she bought the bullshit she tried to feed him.
When she moved in to brush her lips over his, he knew the answer.
Arms circled his neck, yanking him to her body.
The softness of her breasts crushed against his chest. Nicholaus inhaled her arousal, loving how she closed her eyes and sucked in his tongue the second he plunged past her plump lips. Her fingers tangled in his locks, tugging his head back all while pushing him into her for a deeper kiss.
His cock hardened painfully. He swept his tongue around the inside of her mouth, tasting and mapping every nuance again, remembering just how familiar she tasted. He caught every tooth. Every bit of her tongue wrestling with his. A hand slid through her thick hair, the other down her slender waist to the rise of her hips.
She pulled back, eyes glazed over. In an instant, her stiff posture reflected her earlier emotions.
“We don’t have to do this. We don’t have to rehash the past, Krystyna.” How he wished he could believe that now.
“Yes. We do. I never had the chance to tell you, Nicholaus,” she stepped closer, pointing a finger into his chest, “just how badly you hurt us. Katarina cried for weeks.”
He knew he’d hurt them both doing what he had to, but how could he make them understand? Hell, at the time he barely understood himself. Now he knew how to leash the beast except…
He sniffled, wiped his nose on his sleeve and threw his hands up. “What do you want me to say?”
“Nothing. There is nothing you can say, Nicholaus. You can’t apologize if you don’t know why you hurt her.”
“I didn’t…” He stopped short. Would she understand that his shortcomings needed to be kept close? That he couldn’t share his shame with her, any more than he could share it with Katarina? They couldn’t know, wouldn’t understand why he felt the way he did.
He’d killed people. Without remorse. The things he did felt good. In fact, he enjoyed the massacre the more he ruminated on it. That scared him.
That he’d take lives without care, without remorse, bothered him. He couldn’t become a cold blooded killer. To do so would be against the very principles he’d been taught growing up.
The very things Katarina and Krystyna feared would be the thing he became. He couldn’t live with that. So he fled, hoping to protect them from his world, his fate. Hopefully, he’d changed his destiny by leaving. Though, standing here in a field near the lake, near the wolves he’d grown up with, he realized that hadn’t been the case at all.
Sadly, he’d only played into this huge game the deities had created.
And it pissed him off.
“You hurt us both. I just dealt with it better than she did.”
“What did you do, drágam?”
She turned her head from him, tilted her chin upward. Her eyes closed and she remained stiff in posture.
“What did you do?”
Again, she glared at him, tilting her chin up in defiance. “I did what I had to.”
“You hurt her too.”
She snorted.
He searched her gaze, smelled the deceit she’d been hiding. Nicholaus hoped Krystyna had been smarter than he was but she wasn't running from a fate she loathed. Her role in the pack was solid, would be of great use to both wolves and mankind. But the angry slant of her mouth and scowl in her eyes clued him in. “You had to. Something you’ve done hurt your lover. You did just what I did, only on a smaller scale, didn't you?”
Her face twisted into an angry scowl. “How dare you accuse me of such treachery? I’m not the irresponsible bastard. You are.”
“Hey.” He couldn’t quite argue but what the hell else was he to say? She was his lover at one time. Now?
What did he have now?
“Has your life improved since you left us, Nicholaus?”
He shook his head. The only honest answer he could give her was a big fat goose egg. He had no real life to speak of back home. The lifestyle aspect of his existence was nominal at best. Go to work when he felt like it, get home, drink some, smoke a few cigars, and go to bed. Maybe pop in to The Library or Raw every once in a blue moon, pick up a human, fuck her, then send her on her way.
Yeah, he had an existence worth writing home about. “M
y life is golden.”
“You know I can smell the lie, right?” She smirked.
Yeah, he knew. Didn’t stop him from trying to sell the bullshit. “I’m good. I live free of the crap with wolves. I live free of the nightmares.” Where had that lie come from?
He shook his head.
She must have picked up on his crap because she put a hand on his shoulder. “The point of having lovers is to help each other grow, not to fight our nature or the demons in our head alone. But to truly grow, Nicholaus. Or have you forgotten that? You’ve been…”
She didn’t have to say it. Yeah, he’d been there for them numerous times before he’d left. Katarina was the shy one, she’d been the one who felt emotions intensely, Krystyna the troublemaker, but he’d managed to talk her way out of punishment.
“I know. I did what was best for all of us.”
Her eyes widened and he swore he saw tears forming. “Who said you get to play God and know what’s best for us? The Boldog Asszony has our fates determined.”
“If you believe in her.”
She gasped. “You haven’t…” She pointed a finger at him. “No, please tell me you didn’t forsake…”
He sighed, shrugged and let his shoulders drop with the weight of his confession. “No, I haven’t left the faith in the manner of which we are accustomed. I just don’t practice and I’m not a believer in this bullshit ideal of Heaven.”
“We have to believe in something.” Her voice dipped an octave.
His groin hardened again. By now he’d stared at her, wondered how she’d taste if he shoved her to the ground, spread her legs and speared her with his tongue, but the thought stopped when he realized his other lover wasn’t present.
Then he realized he had no other lover. In fact he didn’t have this one.
He’d left it all behind.
“You know how Katarina felt when you left.”
Nicholaus stared down at her. He let out a breath; prepared himself for the answer he knew was coming. “And you? How did you feel after I left?”
Chapter 4
Krystyna looked away. “I didn’t shed a single god damn tear.”
“Bullshit.” His ire came through in the roughness of his voice. “If that were true you’d at least look me dead in the face.”
Raining Kisses (The Opeth Pack Saga Book 2) Page 6