“But unjustified murder wasn't right.”
“Nicholaus,” she stood, still naked, still beautiful, “do you not understand there is evil in this world? It matters not wolf or man. Forces in this world want to tear us all down, just because they hate us. They want to decimate us, to stop us. They’re unhappy. They’re terrorists. What you’re doing is shutting them down”
Her English began to falter, indicating her exhaustion in the subject.
“You’re going to stop them.”
Nicholaus frowned. ”I cannot do it all.”
“No one is asking you to. I’m only asking you to trust us, and trust yourself.”
He sat beside her, looked down at the brown concrete and inhaled. Calming energy settled around him, steering his thoughts to what became more important than self-doubt.
“Look at me.”
His heart raced, thundered heavy against his ribcage. Blood pounded in his ears, the sound almost deafening. Sweat broke out on his skin and his palms grew clammy. It would be another massacre and so many of those innocent didn’t deserve to die. But they would.
There would be a cleansing, he realized. A massive one once this shit started.
God damn it.
“Look at me, Nicholaus. Please?”
Lifting his head, he met her stare, felt it then. All the years of distance and she hadn’t stopped loving him. All the stupidity he’d done, all the heartache he’d caused, hadn’t made her love him less. He knew that now.
“Our blood rite will help you.”
“I thought Savas said—”
She pressed two fingers to his lips. “No one knows. But don’t you feel it? The strength you’ve found. Aren’t you fighting harder for us now?”
“Yes but that’s because something inside changed.”
“As it did with Józsi, I understand. But that took Selene to rummage through his damage. We can’t all use the witch, though she’s like a mother to us. We have unique gifts. Even I have felt power course through my body, strength I haven’t possessed. Look at me, Nicholaus. I’m stressed, but I’m not on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I’m,” she drew in air and let it out slowly, “better.”
He didn’t know what to say. Sure he felt the change in him, knew something was different. He’d taken on qualities he hadn't possessed before. Empathy to the point of inaction had stopped him before, but now he was questioning things.
Was that growth or the blood rite?
Did it really matter?
“I’ve been in your mind.” She tilted her head. “I know your fears, drágám. You are so afraid that you’ll turn on those you love. You always have been since the incident.”
Nicholaus stiffened. He stood, went back into his closet, pulled out a shirt and slipped it on. Fumbling with the buttons, he cursed until Katarina stood before him, reached for his shirt and began buttoning it up.
“I forgave you. They were going to kill me. My father went insane and set my brother off. They would have set others off with the madness if you hadn’t stopped them. The Flower Maiden’s disease started to seep into them a long time before I was born from what I had been told by mother,” she frowned for a moment and then continued, “You had to stop them. There was no reasoning. Once the Flower Maiden touches you, the disease sets in and you go mad. You do not show those signs. They did. Please trust me, Nicholaus.”
All the blackness hit when he thought back about that day. Darkness so bleak, so empty, so overbearing it usually threatened to bring him to his knees, slammed into him.
One moment he'd been in his loft, the next, back home. Old home.
Andris and Andor had cornered Katarina.
Again.
“Get up and take it like you’re supposed to. If you don’t, you’ll unleash hell on all of us.”
She screamed when Andor started for her.
The instant Andor touched her, Nicholaus lost it.
Something vile had unleashed inside Nicholaus, a need he’d mistaken for protectiveness but later called murderous rage. Then the world went blank. When he woke up, he tasted dried blood on his muzzle and numerous others were in the room cleaning up the defiled bodies.
No one met his stare.
Fear didn't seep off them, it tornadoed.
“Do you remember what brought you out of your rage, Nicholaus?”
Nicholaus shook his head and found Katarina's face, body, not the young girl but the beautiful woman, and his loft.
“Krystyna came into the room and said something to you. She professed her love for you and me. Then you turned around and looked at her. I saw the painful look in your eyes, drágám. You were so hurt for what you’d done to me, it was almost as though you ached more than I did for my loss.”
Nicholaus frowned.
“You were so sweet to feel that way, Nicholaus. But there was a lot you don’t know about my father and brother. They were not good wolves. The Flower Maiden’s disease only amplified their pain.”
Sure he knew what they had been doing to the girls of the pack. It wasn't uncommon at that time for that sort of thing. A lot of wolves had been inflicted, touched by the Flower Maiden's disease and were beginning to show signs. Oddly, Nicholaus did what he needed to in a blind rage, blacked out from this world while he cleaned up the mess that bitch left her wolves with. He wanted to spit nails at the fact that such a deity of sorts could be related to the Boldog Asszony. Desperate times called for desperate measures and the Opeth Pack had been dying off slowly. The prevailing thought had little to do with logic, but stated basically that more puppies equated a larger pack
It didn’t matter if those puppies became infected via the Flower Maiden.
God damn her too. He huffed. “What’s to say I wouldn’t have come after you and Krystyna? Or Kiba? Or of the former elders?”
Katarina rested her palm against his cheek. “My heart knows best sometimes, drágám. You should really consider listening to me more often.”
“If I planned to be around more often, I would.”
“What do you mean if you planned to be around more often? You’re not leaving after this is over, are you?”
“I don’t plan to go back to Hungary with you two.”
“Then we shall stay here.”
Nicholaus studied her face. Her lips were set in a firm line, her eyes sparkled with determination. “I meant it when I said I’m not letting you get away this time. It’s about time I take what I want, for once.”
“You’re asserting yourself?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Very matter-of-factly, she nodded. “I am. I will not board a plane to Budapest without you. And Krys can’t stop me. She won’t. You two have a lot of talking to do.”
He shut his eyes. “No. We don’t.”
Stepping forward, she poked him in the chest with a long fingernail. Her eyes narrowed and her face was red. “Yes, you do. You two need to get over your aggression and make up. She’s behaved just as childishly as you have, and I’m tired of it.”
Nicholaus started to say something but stopped short. She was right. Letting out a long, slow breath, he forced himself to relax. “Fine.”
Her smile returned. “Good. I’m glad. We need each other, drágám. I feel Savas is close, I can scent our third.”
He nodded, sniffed the air and picked up on the Turkish wolves nearby. How Katarina had grown so quickly in the last few days was a mystery to him. Apparently though, it was time.
A knock on the door disturbed them. “Who would be coming over now?” Nicholaus tensed, waited for the rush of power that came from new people.
“Probably Józsi and Selene. Even in his confusion and aggressive behavior, he supports his pack entirely.”
The door opened. Nicholaus looked down the makeshift hallway to see Selene and Józsi stalking toward them. “We’ve got trouble.” Selene sounded anxious. Her deep red mane had been pulled back in a tight ponytail, emphasizing her round face and bright eyes. The air crackled around her enou
gh to put Nicholaus's nerves on full alert. Aggressive energy swarmed around her, making the hair on Nicholaus’ neck stand on edge.
“Józsi’s hung over and can’t fight?” Nicholaus snickered.
Józsi snorted and stepped through the door, wearing black like a second skin. His jacket fit over large shoulders and remained open, though he carried no weapons. This wouldn't be a fight with traditional weapons anyway, not unless the sword Savas carried counted. Two pairs of boots clicked on the concrete. “Not even close, pal. And she wouldn’t be freaking out if that were the greatest concern we had. Have you two seen the news?”
Nodding, Nicholaus watched Katarina walk up to Selene and give her a hug. Instantly, the anxiety around Selene died down. In fact, her clothing, black jeans and tight top that pushed her chest out, seemed to ripple until Katarina hugged her.
Nicholaus looked at Katarina. “How did you do that?”
Katarina smiled at him without answering.
“Katarina is part of our pack that does that like it’s breathing.”
“I’m just learning the same thing with Lukina and Ilona. Our women are amazing, Nicholaus.” Józsi pulled two cigars from his pocket. “I’ve been learning a lot from them both about us and it’s literally amazing. Here,” he handed the cigars to Nicholaus, “These are for when you’re done later today.”
Nicholaus took the two cigars and looked closely at them. “That’s a La Viña Eighteen isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Let’s say I have friends in China who owe me.”
“Thanks.” Nicholaus turned to Selene.
Selene stood quietly chanting while stroking Katarina’s hair. She looked up and opened her eyes. Nicholaus saw something flash across her pupils but didn’t want to ask about it. It actually looked like something had taken over Selene momentarily.
“Savas is only a few blocks away. He’s left the military vehicles down by the south valley but is traveling on foot as a wolf. So, it looks like he’s trying to intimidate this town.” Józsi lowered his gaze.
“Fat chance. There are gangs here who’d shoot him for crossing their territory.” Nicholaus settled a hand on his hip.
“And they’ll be murdered in cold blood quickly. The city of Albuquerque is trying to pass a ban on wolves. If Savas and his gang murder anyone, they’ll make sure wolves are blamed. And your little home here will be reduced to ashes if you're caught.”
“This town couldn’t give a fuck about our existence.” Nicholaus settled a hand on his head.
Józsi shook his head. “Normally you’re right. But over the last few days there have been uprisings in the gang territories by the North East Heights area. Savas isn’t as advanced as Les is but he has certain powers, I’m told. I sensed them the other day from here when he was near you.”
“That’s just great. I assume that’s why you two are here today?”
Józsi nodded. “You guessed it. I need to be at the helm of whatever fights I can be as your Alpha. And as you know, the fact that we’ve ignored so much of our heritage really is a problem.”
“Somehow I’m not sure I like the odds. How come Les couldn’t stop these guys?”
Selene smirked. “He’s not here, and more importantly, there is something wrong with Les. Ever since he fought Marco, there has been something wrong with him. He’s off his game. Yes, his magic is still strong and he can manipulate people and those of lesser intelligence. Wolves are a different matter but he still has some modicum of control over them. But the Les we knew is gone. He’s become a recluse.”
“Not entirely. We saw him turn away about a dozen hunters who attacked our village. That’s why I intended to bring the girls back here.”
She set a hand on her hip. “Yes and no. You saw Les’s shadow. The real Les hasn't left his house since Marco fought him.”
“Shadow?” What the fuck? Shit just got heavy on the Les front.
Selene clucked her tongue. “Yeah, his abilities range from being able to project himself anywhere he chooses and make that image corporeal, to even greater things we’ve yet to understand about him. But that shadow is far less powerful than the real Les.”
“Shit. So he can be in two places at once?”
“Yeah,” Józsi nodded. "I had no idea. Selene told me when I came back. Even Lukina hadn’t a clue. We do know that both existence and Shadow are weakened but for how long this will last is a mystery. Les has always had complicated designs for the world.”
“So, we're kind of fucked.”
Katarina stood beside him, took his hand in hers. She mouthed something he barely heard.
“You didn’t do anything to him?” Nicholaus wrapped his arms around Katarina.
Selene sighed. “No. After my…” She let that thought trail off, looked away, then back at Nicholaus, “He ran. I did search him just after Marco defeated him and found something of interest to those of the Craft.”
“What?”
“He wears the mark of the Maiden.”
Katarina and Józsi gasped. Obviously, Nicholaus had been out of the loop too long to know what any of this shit meant.
“I don't understand.”
“Unfortunately,” Selene coughed, “neither do I. I need to read more of my mother’s books to figure this out. This pack is not only a large mess, but an even bigger mystery. I can only tell you if Les were honest and true with what he’d said to all of us, things are about to get interesting and bloody.”
“Great.” Józsi nodded.
“Yeah. That means I'm supposed to put more things in motion. That phrase has repeated in my head more times than I care to count. What am I supposed to be doing? How are my actions going to impact our pack?”
“Sweetie, you’re going to have to trust your mates on this one. Krystyna is in danger. Worry about the rest, later. Save her.” Selene's eyes closed. “Don’t worry about the body count. Just save her. It’s vital to our existence, this pack’s existence.”
Great. More cryptic answers. Like he hadn't expected them. Something on the wind set Nicholaus’s teeth on edge. “Fuck. We’ll figure it out later. We need to get going. I smell foreigners.”
Józsi stroked his chin. “What bothers me is that they’re making an open attack on American soil with American wolves. Why would Savas do something like that?”
Selene shook her head. “Beats me.”
Nicholaus put a hand behind his head, looked away. “Maybe this is an attempt at getting to me? He said his pack doesn’t have a healer. Challenge us, take one of ours. But what good will that do if she can’t belong to his pack?”
“It’s certainly unsettling. Krystyna can heal the wolves in his pack but those who start to exhibit signs of Lunar Flower disease will not take the magical treatment as her own pack would if we detected the insanity early enough. She’ll only prolong their suffering.”
“Doesn't Savas know that?” Józsi leaned back against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest.
“No,” Nicholaus shook his head. “I’ve looked into his mind, through Katarina’s magic. He’s blinded by what he wants, what he thinks he deserves but cannot have. Why do I get the feeling shit's about to go down?”
Józsi stretched his arms out wide. Cracking his knuckles, he looked directly at Nicholaus. “That’s because they’re outside the loft.”
“I bet they won’t wait to be buzzed in.” Nicholaus snickered.
Selene and Katarina glared at him.
“What? They won’t.”
Józsi sighed. “Come on. Let’s go meet our guests.”
“I hope they brought beer.” Nicholaus led Katarina by the hand to the door.
“I hope they brought something stronger than that.” Józsi caught Selene's hand and followed them out.
Chapter 10
The elevator doors opened and Nicholaus heard the sound of glass shattering. The noise filled the hall and shards splintered everything in the walls including the paintings.
The smell of gunpowder seared the air.
&
nbsp; “Attention ladies and gentlemen, I think we’re going to have a problem.” Nicholaus waited a beat.
“I know you’re there. Come out Magyars. Meet your death.”
Savas's deep voice couldn't help the delivery of that cheesy threat. “Corny shit from the Turk. How did you find us?” Nicholaus stepped out from the elevator. His nerves hadn't been on edge until he locked eyes on the general. Then his jaw tensed, muscles flexed. He had to remind himself a show of force would be bad if he started things off the wrong way.
Savas stood at the entry way dressed in black. His thick beard had been trimmed neatly. Light reflected off his polished boots. The sheath of his sword gleamed in the daylight.
“Savas. Couldn’t you have come up with something better than ‘meet your death’?”
“How about, prepare to die?” Savas cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head.
Józsi snickered. “Still cheesy.”
He sighed. “My English is…how do you say, it sucks?" He blinked. "Oh well. I found you through following your mate, Katarina. She led us right to you, as we knew she would. Here,” he snapped his fingers, “You want this?” Savas waved a hand and a soldier shoved Krystyna forward. Her hands and feet had been bound together. Her eyes were swollen, lips puffy and bruises marked her skin.
Clothes had been tattered and Nicholaus smelled dried blood.
A hand settled on his shoulder. Katarina.
Nicholaus clenched his fists but kept them at his sides. He planned to remain calm despite festering anger threatening his sanity. “Yes, I do.”
Savas sneered. “You can have her. She truly is tainted now that you’ve touched her before she gave me a child. And she cannot help my pack.”
Nicholaus forced himself to focus on the pain and sorrow in Krystyna's eyes before paying mind to the blinding rage that threatened to consume him.
"What have you done to her? I'll make you pay dearly."
“And you accuse me of corny lines? Nothing.” Savas chuckled. Drawing his sword, he pointed the long blade at Nicholaus. “Bring the others out of the elevator. I know your witch is there. I feel her.”
Selene stepped out of the elevator followed by Józsi.
Raining Kisses (The Opeth Pack Saga Book 2) Page 17