Nicholaus led them back down the hallway to the bedroom. Upon entering the room, he noticed Katarina hugging a pillow tightly.
Looking at Krystyna, he motioned for her to crawl into bed. “I’ll sleep between you two, like,” he swallowed, “we used to.”
Krystyna’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, but she nodded and discarded the robe on a nearby wooden chair.
Unconsciously, Nicholaus licked his lips at bared flesh.
Crawling into bed, Krystyna tugged the pillow from Katarina. The other woman struggled to maintain her grip until Nicholaus slid over Krystyna, setting his hand over Katarina’s.
She let go of the pillow and reached for him, interlocking their fingers.
Settling the pillow behind him with his other hand, he rolled onto his back and looked at Krystyna. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Give me your damn hand, woman.”
Krystyna sighed slowly.
Nicholaus took her other hand and placed it over his stomach. Taking Katarina’s hand and placing it over Krystyna’s, he closed his eyes.
This was how life used to be. Simple, fun.
Even though tomorrow was another day, it’d probably feel like yesterday. Nicholaus let out an exhausted breath and waited for Krystyna to fall asleep.
He wondered what kept his former lovers awake at night. Why they’d have such perilous dreams. What had they seen in his absence? Sure, Krystyna described it all right but nothing could compare to actually seeing what they did.
Perhaps he'd have to stay a few days then, just to check on them. Plus, that beating heart of his maintained a steady rhythm that pumped through him and claimed both women as his.
He’d struggle with that thought. The answer seemed so clear at first, stay with them. Then his human mind turned over the questions his wolf mind couldn’t process. The animal inside him understood things like possession, food, sex. Mate.
The human understood those things too, but it had to question decisions, weigh consequences.
Damn he hated being a wolf sometimes.
At least the wolf could run from its fear if it wanted. Not like the man, who everyone wanted to stay and take responsibility for what was never his to begin with.
Katarina whimpered, her hand twitched.
He turned his head, whispered, “Fall into sleep, fall into me.”
Katarina snuggled closer to him.
Krystyna’s grip on his hand tightened.
“Szeretlek.” Both women seemed to utter the words silently, but loud enough that Nicholaus heard them.
Chapter 6
Nicholaus opened his eyes and looked over Krystyna’s head. Her blonde highlights stood out in the sunlight against dark hair strewn over her face. He moved strands of hair back and smiled. Her beautiful round face didn’t have that angry stare she’d displayed since he’d seen her again. He turned to Katarina, saw her arm draped over his chest. She’d snuggled close sometime in the early hours of the morning, then moved back, her lips drawn up in a bow.
Had he heard them both declare their love for him?
It really made him wonder how they could be so perfect, fit so well into his life and heart even after a ten year absence. He’d already started questioning himself when it came to the things he believed, knew his resolve was steady in who he was.
Except Krystyna’s statement about doing bad things for the greater good made him hesitate. Had he not taken out those two wolves, Krys and Katarina would’ve been reduced to nothing but victims, fearing everyone and everything.
They’d have never have blossomed into the beautiful creatures he knew they would.
Had he not taken out those hunters, his mother would have never killed his abusive father.
Of course, had he not fled to the States…
Nicholaus shook off the thought. He had to stand by his belief that at least then he did what he felt was right for everyone involved. And so far, he stood by that conviction, but he hadn’t run into anyone else from the pack. He peered out the window, saw the rays of the sun kissing the ground, smelled the fresh chill from the breeze coming off the lake nearby.
Then the salty, smoky scent wafted over his nose. Great. Someone was coming.
Careful not to disturb his lovers, in case he was overreacting from last night, he made his way to the window.
A few others had begun milling out of their houses, wondering what the foul odor in the wind was. Nicholaus quickly found his pants, shoved them on and slung a shirt over his head before toeing on his shoes sans socks. He ran a hand through his hair, adrenaline rushing through him when he made his way into the living room.
His wolf’s mind welcomed the war. It needed to feed an innate need to hunt and defend what belonged to it.
Krystyna and Katarina. Both were his mates.
Nicholaus tamped down the violent urge and forced himself to make his way outside, despite the stares from the others though he'd much rather shirk the duties of protector and play the role of lover.
“You,” someone gasped.
Another pointed a trembling finger. “You’re back.”
“You’re a foreigner. Go home.”
Nicholaus ignored their scorn, figuring it better to take the high road rather than beat them with the low road. By the looks of those who bothered to say anything, they were no match. Scrawny, weak and the scent of fear, almost a muted campfire smoke smell came from all three idiots.
This was what he was afraid of?
He scoffed and wandered toward the entrance of the village, awaiting what was to come.
If the intruders could be dealt with rationally, he’d be pleased. However, experience taught him no hunter thought logically, no one with a one-track mind could be persuaded.
He’d tried. He made the attempt at first with Katarina’s brother Andor, who truly lived up to the meaning of his name. But like the warrior he was, he refused to relent, echoing his father’s words of Andris. “We are doing this for the good of the pack.”
Unable to stand the lies, Nicholaus felt his blood boil. When Andor reached for Katarina, Nicholaus snapped.
In the end, Nicholaus made his point, these two women, and all others were off limits from violence and bullshit outside the nature of wolves.
Finally, he understood you couldn’t reason with a bully. They had to be dealt with, put down like rabid dogs.
In that split second, Nicholaus realized he had to make a choice. Either get Krystyna and Katarina out of Hungary and away from the pack, or stand and defend ground he had no true loyalty to.
The voices grew louder, the band of, wolves, if he scented the air correctly, were on the move again.
Ignoring the commotion among the others, he rushed back inside and into the bedroom.
“Katarina, Krystyna, wake up. Come on.” He shook them both until they rolled over.
Krystyna rubbed her eyes and looked at Nicholaus. “What’s going on?”
“We have to go. Get dressed. I’m taking you both back to New Mexico with me.”
“You’re leaving us?” Krystyna muttered sleepily.
He shook his head, aware of the growing tension mounting in his shoulders at the prospect of relocating both of them from their home. “No, I’m taking you both with me. Come on, get dressed.”
“What about the others? Are they going to be okay? Katarina’s eyes widened, her saddened expression tearing at his heart.
“They’ll have to defend themselves. I cannot be responsible for more than what is mine.” His gruff voice irritated even him. Quickly he finished dressing. “Stay here until I say otherwise.”
He waved at them and headed toward the front living room. Throwing open the shutters, he peered out the window and saw an angry mob dressed poorly. Some held torches, others had pistols. Something was definitely wrong with this picture but he couldn’t understand what, exactly.
Then his jaw dropped. “What the fuck?”
A tall man with very Asian features strode
into the center of the road and stood before the mob. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Les?”
Les indeed. Dressed in slacks and a white dress shirt, he ran a hand over neatly trimmed black hair and looked at the mob through his almond eyes. “Who are you people?”
The mob drew closer. One man stepped forward, gun in his hand. Shaggy hair blocked his eyes but if Nicholaus had to guess, he was probably intoxicated. He picked up the faint smell of alcohol and chemicals too.
His ruddy skin marked him as a farmer or blue collar worker around the area. Dirt stained his jeans, his shirt had been torn. “Where are the wolves? We’re here to rid our lands of them.”
Les stepped forward with a cool manner, spread his arms apart. “What are you talking about? There are no wolves in this village or these lands.”
“We know there are wolves here,” the man pointed the pistol at Les. “Are you hiding them?” Through his hair, Nicholaus saw the man's eyes narrow in angry slits. Their coloring was off. Usually the pupil was white, but this man's iris and pupil were almost the color of blood. His jaw was rugged, breathing ragged. He wasn’t that built, even Les in his smaller stature could probably take the man, if Nicholaus had to guess.
"Holy smokes, Mister, I have no idea what you're talking about. We’ve lived here for a few years and never seen anything remotely resembling a wolf. What are you talking about?”
Nicholaus needed to stay inside, but found himself moving on auto pilot outside until he stood next to Les. He crossed his arms, growled low at the angry mob. “What’s going on here?”
The man with the angry blood colored eyes shook a hand, his pistol wavering, at Nicholaus. “That’s the man who took our prisoner. He’s a wolf.”
Les laughed. “Surely you’re kidding. Nicholaus has never left the village.” Les turned, gazed at Nicholaus. Les’s lime green eye flashed.
Nicholaus felt something inside him pulse with life, couldn’t put his finger on it but knew the right option was to agree with Les. “Yeah, I’ve no idea what these men are talking about.”
“Nicholaus,” Les faced him full on now, his eyes expressing caution, “weren’t you here last night?”
“Indeed I was. Who would say otherwise?”
“You! You were with that other woman. The other woman is a wolf who came through our town and killed most of our children. She is a murderer. We merely want revenge and know she is here.” He shoulders stiffened when Nicholaus stepped forward.
Krystyna was anything but a murderer. “How do you know she is here?” Nicholaus stepped even closer, not taking his eyes from the shaking gun.
“We have information.” The man scratched his head and focused on Nicholaus.
“Do you really?” Nicholaus tilted his head. “Do you have such information that proves I was the one who stole your precious captive? Why would I do that? I’m here on vacation, you stupid fuck.” Ire continued to build inside him, steadily coursing through his blood, but something kept the wolf at bay.
The man glared at them. “You’d protect your own if she was one of yours, wouldn’t you?”
Of course he would. Nicholaus nodded. “But what makes you think I am a wolf?”
Another man stepped forward. His hair was just as shaggy, his eyes, the same blood red color. Yeah, these men were on something all right. His skin looked grayed, almost as if he were dead. Cheek bones were sunken in; the man's limbs weren't capable of firing the high caliber pistol he carried. "Look at them. Focus clearly. They're all wolves. General Savas was right!"
That was the second mention of Savas. This was about to get really ugly.
Nicholaus looked at Les. “Can you do something?”
“I would suggest we change their prospectus.” Les nodded and looked at the man. His eyes widened, the lime green eye began to glow.
How he'd forgotten the man made up English words. “How? They seem convinced that we are wolves when we are clearly human.”
“You cannot be human. I see one of you has a tail. How many more of you are using mind tricks to deceive us?” Shaky Handgun man stepped back and tried to aim his pistol at Nicholaus.
Les lifted his hands, palms facing outward. “Why would we do that? Why would we allow you into our village and then deceive you?”
He spun toward Les, still shaking. His aim at this range would blow a hole through Les's chest and kill him. Wolves were stronger than humans, healed faster but everything had a weakness and bullet caliber and muzzle flare would open Les up like a can of tuna at this range.
“I don’t know. Wolves are fucking evil. They're the devil’s creatures!”
“Dear man,” Les stepped forward, his lime green eye growing brighter, “wolves are the gateway to salvation and paradise. They are mans’ protection against evil. Never forget that.” Les looked at the entire mob, catching their stares in his.
Nicholaus gasped in awe.
The man lowered his gun and waved his other hand back. “It’s okay. She’s not here. These men are not possibly wolves.”
“But,” one man yelled from behind the so-called leader, “They have to be. I can see tails!”
“No, you’re tired. It’s late. It’s been a long march for all of us. Let’s…hit the next village. Maybe they are there.”
Sighing loudly, the other man lowered his weapon. “Fine.”
The angry stares across the faces of many became disappointment and weariness. “Let’s go. There are other places to check in the area. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some food.”
“Good idea. Check farther away from Budapest for food. There are no evil wolves in this village or otherwise. Put out your flames, unload your weapons. You only remember that wolves are angels, agents of the Goddess to save mankind.” Les's voice remained calm the entire time.
The ones holding their torches set them on the ground and stomped on them while others unloaded clips from pistols. Grumbles of hunger and exhaustion hummed low among the crowd but slowly they disappeared back from where they came, leaving Nicholaus alone with Les. There was a collective sigh from the few wolves that had poked their head out of windows.
Footsteps echoed in the silence but Les didn't look up, he only raised a hand, signaling the other wolf to stop and retreat.
“What now?”
Les looked up, his lime green eye had stopped glowing by now. “You take Krystyna and Katarina to Szentendré. It’ll be safe there for the three of you for a few days. If General Savas is sending hunters this way we have a real problem.”
“You can’t do that same mind trick with Savas?”
“I wish. General Savas is powerful, I have heard. I do not know if even my magic could hold him off. I do wonder,” Les rubbed his chin, “if you’re… “Les blinked, shook his head. “We’re not sure of your strength or your control.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I told you, you’ll know when the time is right. Still,” Les closed his eyes, continued rubbing his chin.
“But you just turned a band of angry humans away.”
Les shoved his hands in his pockets. “My powers work on humans easily. With wolves, it seems I have to try harder and am not always successful.”
“I’d rather not deal with pack mess. It’s not my business."
Les turned to face Nicholaus, his lime green eye started glowing again. “Even though you can disappear again, your energy is better spent with your two lovers and reconciling the damage you caused.”
Nicholaus scoffed. “Fuck you, Les. What do you know about reconciling anything?”
“My experiences with them over the last several years give me quite a perspective on things. Plus, I know a thing or two about damage. Let’s leave it at that.”
Nicholaus couldn’t argue that point. “Where is your mate?”
“My mate?” Les arched an eyebrow. “She is with Marco.”
He quirked a brow. “Really?”
"Ha! No. I have searched the world for a mate and have no
t found one. I am not meant to fit into this destiny so easily as you, Nicholaus. There isn't harmony for me."
He never suspected there was. Even after all the drama of his acts growing up, Nicholaus never saw Les act with any true purpose except for when he heard about his attempt to make Selene his mate. “I see. What’s with that?”
“I can only tell you I’m not your answer. Nor apparently mine. You’d have no concern either if the only family you ever knew had to be murdered according to prophecy. Now go. Then come back and welcome Józsi as our new Alpha. Lukina has been promising that he will be ready for his responsibilities soon.”
“This pack is a mess.”
Les nodded. “It is.”
“Your lime green eye creep me out.”
“So be it.” Les turned away and seemed to fade into the scenery before disappearing into nothingness.
Nicholaus hated how Les disappeared like that. Even so, a man with so much power couldn't keep the mobs at bay forever.
For a moment Nicholaus realized he had the ability to disappear too, like Les. He could take off running now, summon a deeper power within him that was the murderous rage and use it to protect his lovers by concealing himself. This was a new revelation but…
Both of his lovers had actually remained inside, probably still in Katarina’s room.
He was here now. After last night, he had no reason to run without them. Love ran in his heart too deeply; the detachment had been reattached within minutes of being with his two mates. They were true to him and it had been ingrained in him a long time ago. Still, the desire to flee the bullshit boiled within. Would he ever be free of this pack?
Dropping the illusion of being human, Nicholaus paced back and forth, looking into the house for signs of Katarina and Krystyna. Neither seemed to have moved. Had they really grown used to his bullshit so that they would let him run without chasing him?
Snuffling, he walked a few feet from the house toward the end of the village, knowing that if he left he’d be found. Krystyna’s words stuck in his head from last night. “She will find you.”
Raining Kisses (The Opeth Pack Saga Book 2) Page 10