by Bonnie Vanak
Xavier looked directly at Nia. “He felt it would not be appropriate to show up on this joyous occasion since his appearance has the tendency to cause Lupines distress.”
Distress? How about a heart attack?
The Crystal Wizard reached into his jacket and withdrew a quartz crystal the size of a man’s thumb. It was filled with red fluid. He tossed it upwards and it spun in the air, above his outstretched palm.
“Tristan wished me to give you this as a mating gift. This magick crystal contains the tears of the dragon. A most rare, and precious gift. It enables you to bring someone back from the brink of death. But beware. The price can be deadly.”
Aiden looked at the spinning crystal. “Interesting. Never heard of it. How does it work?”
“You hold the crystal next to your heart, and it drains your magick and infuses the tears. Then you place the crystal into the mouth of the dying person. It will dissolve, releasing the potion.” The crystal spun faster, tossing off brilliant sparks of light. “It can only be used once, and the one using it to save a life risks his…”
The wizard focused his burning blue-gray gaze at Nia. “Or her life, for a Lupine without magick is doomed. A Lupine without magick cannot live with other Lupines, for he…or she…will be seen as a weakness in the pack.”
Nia almost felt as if this wizard could see inside her soul. She gripped Aiden’s hand, wishing she could flee. Sooner or later the deception would be unveiled. And then what?
“Thank you,” she managed to say in a somewhat steady voice.
The crystal stopped spinning and Xavier placed it on the table before them.
“Yes, thank you.” Aiden’s dark gaze sharpened. “But why did Tristan send you instead of one of the other wizards?”
Xavier gave a humorless smile. “I offered to do this for Tristan because I wanted to check on one of my people. A troll.”
Nia turned in the direction of his pointing finger and saw Carl, who was eating his food as if it were his last supper. “He’s a troll? He told me he was Lupine.”
More surprises. And please, no more. She wasn’t certain her racing heart could take any more shocks.
Xavier nodded grimly. “He has mixed blood, but is more troll than Lupine.”
The band struck up a slow dance. His mouth tight beneath his dark beard, Xavier watched as Carl tugged Lucy onto the dance floor. Nia tensed, seeing how unhappy the girl looked. Leaning against the bar near the dance floor, a cowboy named Stephen sulked as he glared at Carl.
“Lucy is far too young for Carl,” Aiden murmured.
“And she likes Stephen from your pack. I tried to seat them together, but that rat bastard Carl switched places.” Nia sighed. “Aiden, will you rescue her?”
But before Aiden rose, Xavier gave a grim smile. “Excuse me. I am in the mood for a dance.”
Suddenly Carl stumbled over his own feet, and released Lucy. Xavier cut in smoothly and began dancing with her.
Aiden grinned as he looked at J.J., who grinned back.
“Oh, this is going to be good,” J.J. said. “Xavier doesn’t mess around.”
Xavier whirled Lucy around, who looked immensely relieved to be rid of Carl. He danced her over to the glowering Stephen, practically throwing her at the cowboy. Stephen recoiled and caught Lucy in his arms. She looked up at him with a wide smile.
Xavier gave a little bow. “My apologies, fair maiden, but I am exhausted. Perhaps this handsome young man can take my place.”
He winked at the blushing Lucy. Grinning, Stephen led her onto the dance floor. Carl started toward them, but then Xavier blocked his way.
The wizard suddenly flicked a finger and Carl’s trousers vanished, leaving him clad only in his underwear. Red-faced, Carl bolted, fleeing as if the hounds of hell pursued him.
Xavier returned to stand before the head table, his smile grim. “It appears Carl will not be able to dance with Lucy nor eat dinner next to her any longer. He suddenly remembered he was not properly dressed.”
Aiden and J.J. laughed, but Nia felt confused. All her life she’d been told the wizards were cold, uncaring and dangerous. This kind gesture contradicted everything her father had said.
“Why did you set up Lucy and Stephen?” she asked.
“Because Lucy wants Stephen, but she is too shy to admit it. Stephen wants Lucy, but he’s bashful as well. Sometimes young love must be coaxed to blossom.” Xavier’s gaze twinkled. “We wizards are not all bad, my lady.”
“I’ll say,” J.J. put in. “If not for you, my cousin would have died a terrible death.”
The Crystal Wizard nodded at J.J. Then he turned his attention back to Nia, his gaze softening. “Do not fear me…Aiden’s mate. I am here to help you. Again, my congratulations on your union. May you have a long, happy and fruitful mating with the one your heart desires. Cherish each other and always be truthful.”
The irony of his words was not lost on her.
Aiden stood and offered his palm. Xavier shook it.
“Will you stay and have something to eat and drink?” Aiden asked.
The wizard gave a formal bow. “Thank you, but I am required elsewhere.”
“Stay,” J.J. urged. “You’re dressed for the occasion. And we never did formally thank you for saving my cousin.”
Xavier shook his head. “I have a car show to attend. There is the sweetest red Mustang convertible I’ve had my eye on for some time.”
He waved a hand and the formal wear vanished, replaced by a black leather jacket, white T-shirt and blue jeans with the cuffs rolled up, exposing white socks and shiny loafers. His hair was slicked back and the beard had vanished. He looked like a teenager instead of an ancient wizard shimmering with power.
“The Fifties was a wonderful era. My favorite. Tristan accuses me of living in the past. But at least I am living in the last century, not the Dark Ages like he does.”
Then he winked at Nia, and some of the tension fled her tight muscles.
Waving a hand, the wizard disappeared.
Nia dragged in a deep breath and then gulped down some water. Gods, that was intense. Aiden shook the crystal, and the liquid inside it seemed to glow.
“Interesting gift. Hopefully we’ll never have need of it.” He placed it inside his jacket.
She managed to take several bites of her dinner. Then Nia brightened as her niece, Lexie, approached the head table with her mate, Jackson. Nia stood as Lexie rounded the table and then engulfed her in a tight hug.
“Congratulations, Aunt Niki. I hope you’ll be as happy with Aiden as Jackson and I have been.” Lexie’s gaze grew troubled. “You should have more family than just me to celebrate your special day.
Nia’s throat tightened and she squeezed Lexie’s shoulders affectionately. Nia had never known her older sister, who had left the pack before the twins’ birth in order to mate with a wild, rugged Lupine their father disapproved of.
Nia held out her hand to Jackson, watching him with a guarded look. “Welcome to my ranch,” she told the tall, lean cowboy.
Jackson pushed back his black Stetson and shook Nia’s hand. “Thank you for having us,” he said in an equally polite voice. “I hope you’ll be happy.”
Nia smiled, and her expression softened as she gazed at her beloved niece. She tucked a strand of hair behind Lexie’s ear. “You’ve taken good care of my niece, Jackson. That makes me very happy.”
As Jackson and Lexie returned to their seats, Nia sat and watched the dancing. Suddenly Aiden stood and pulled her to her feet as the band played a slow song. She went into his arms and everyone respectfully walked to the side to give them the entire dance floor.
Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his broad shoulder, moving against him in time to the music. Aiden held her close, humming along.
Being in his arms threatened to make her lose all common sense. Nia felt the pressure of pretense slip away.
Aiden began to sing in a low tenor. Nia’s entire body relaxed. She moved in rhythm t
o his swaying hips, cherishing his touch.
And then she realized how dangerous this was, how she was letting down her guard. Bad idea. Would she next start blabbing secrets?
Hey, my sister is the eldest twin, but my father told everyone she died and only the younger twin survived. I’ve pretended to be her since birth to protect her from the Silver Wizard. See, there’s a prophecy in our family that the eldest girl twin will be spirited away by the Silver Wizard, who will take her away to the afterworld and then she’ll die. So my parents hid Nikita from birth and I just pretended to be the only female all these years. No twins. Just me.
And as a nice bonus prize, our whole damn pack is cursed because of Pandora’s Chest. All our males die when they reach puberty. Guess you didn’t realize all this was part of the package, huh?
Nia lifted her head and looked at him. He stared down at her, still singing the love song. She didn’t love him, couldn’t love him and this was a match of convenience and power, not feelings. Gazing around the room, she saw several satisfied smiles that told her several Lupines thought she was smitten with Aiden and he had her wrapped around his finger.
No way.
She threw back her head and released a long, mournful wolf howl.
Everyone laughed. Aiden’s expression shuttered but not before she glimpsed the heat in his gaze and a promise.
“I’ll get you for that later, Blakemore, when I make you howl for a much different reason,” he murmured.
Finally the music ended and they returned to their table. Nia wriggled her toes inside the white shoes.
Now that she’d had plenty of raw meat to consume, she felt the influence of the full moon coaxing out her wolf. Who needed absinthe when one was fully Lupine, and the moon caressed them with her silvery glow?
Careful. Don’t drop your guard lest he find out who you really are.
Darius and Kyle came to their table. “Aiden, it’s time,” Darius said, giving him a significant look.
Aiden picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, his lips warm and firm against her knuckles. “Stay here, enjoy. I have some matters to attend to. I’ll be back soon.”
He rose, all power and grace, and walked off with Darius and Kyle. Watching him, she felt desire, and apprehension, flood her body. Privacy for an alpha was rare in a pack; she had guarded hers with zeal over the years. Now she would have to share her bed, her home and her body with this big alpha.
And mate with him before their combined packs. Nia fingered the glass of absinthe. Maybe she should indulge. Take the edge off her nervousness. She picked up a cube of sugar to place on the slotted spoon, put the spoon over the glass and then reached for the nearby pitcher of ice water to dilute the mixture.
Hair rose on her nape. She turned her head, noticed there were several males from Aiden’s pack watching her carefully.
A real alpha, like Aiden, would not dilute the mixture. Neither would a female alpha determined to match her man’s strength when they consummated their union.
Nia removed the spoon and the sugar, set them aside. She took a small sip, grimacing at the sickly sweet licorice taste. She set down the glass.
Holy crap. The tables before her began to grow blurry. This was a sip? What would happen if she downed the entire glass without diluting it? Would the tables and their occupants start whirling around like spinning tops?
She couldn’t risk it. But she had spent her entire life pretending to be something she was not and knew she could continue to pull this off.
Nia poked at the glass with a little sniff. She said in a loud, clear voice, “No wonder Mitchell didn’t touch his. It tastes like old socks mixed with gasoline. And they call this Viagra for Lupines? I don’t need this. If Mitchell can’t get my motor running, no drink is going to help.”
Someone snickered and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few male nods of approval. Sitting nearby, Sam shook her head, then moved over to sit next to her.
“Those guys,” she said, waving at the males in Aiden’s pack, “think that they are walking Viagra. It’s a trait in the Mitchell pack. But they’re good men, all of them. They work hard and they will fight to the death for Aiden, and now that you are mated, they will do the same for you.”
Nia thought of how her brothers and father would have done the same and a lump rose in her throat. Her family should be here at her mating day, and most of them were buried beneath the cold, uncaring earth.
She traced a line on the tablecloth, trying to remember the last time she’d attended a festive pack event. Unfortunately, those had been rare over the past few years. “It’s a challenge, leading a pack. I’m certain it’s been even more of a challenge for Aiden with struggling to control his males. You always have to consider your people’s welfare before your own.”
The absinthe was making her tongue loose. Yet for once she longed to confide in a female friend. Her twin didn’t understand the burdens Nia carried, and Nia never wanted Nikita to worry about anything. Nikita had spent her entire life in the shadows, hiding, and her twin’s lack of a real life was a burden enough.
“I know the main reason Mitchell wanted me was for my pack and all the females in it. This is a mating of convenience more than anything.” She lifted her shoulders. “And you can tell that we have no males in our pack. I miss having them around, miss their humor, and how protective they were of us, their wisdom and their caring.”
Sympathy filled Sam’s eyes. “Did you lose your father?”
The lump in her throat threatened to choke off her breath. Nia nodded, struggling to maintain her composure. “And my two brothers. They were good Lupines.”
She bit her lip, knowing she must not say more. “We fell on very hard times.”
“And you kept your people together. That takes tremendous strength,” Sam said, touching her hand. “I’m glad you have Aiden now at your side.”
Nia gave a small smile. “I don’t really ‘have’ him. He’s very much an alpha who will do as he pleases.”
The half-Lupine, half-Elf looked solemn. She gazed around the tent at the couples on the dance floor. The males from the Mitchell pack had begun to pair off, a fact Nia planned to use for getting them off the ranch. The fewer males who were on her property, the fewer worries she faced.
“Aiden is a good male,” Sam said quietly. “He’s tough, but fair. I’m sure it won’t be an easy adjustment, but it never is with a male of great worth because they all come with their own traits. I hope he will make you as happy as Darius has made me. Aiden’s suffered a lot in the past, and he never talks about it, but you can see it in his eyes.”
Nia’s heart softened. She had seen the same torment shadowing the alpha’s eyes once in a while, but he always masked it with cool indifference.
Sam smiled. “I can also see how much he cares about you.”
That wasn’t affection. It was lust, but she could handle lust. Primitive, carnal desire. Love? She loved her twin, and her pack, and had sacrificed too much in life to share her heart with Aiden. Love was selfish. It demanded attention, and falling in love with a powerful alpha like Aiden could be her downfall. Love would derail her fierce devotion to her twin, her desire to save her pack, and maybe even loosen her tongue, unveiling the deception necessary to keeping her twin’s existence a secret.
Nia took in a deep breath. She had lost every single male she’d ever loved. She had to mate Aiden to save her ranch, but she could not love him and risk her heart. The emotional demands of love were a trap. You fell in love and then grieved when you lost that person.
Still, a small part of her longed to know what it was like to be cherished and cared for the way Darius cared for Sam.
Sam squeezed her hand. “Let your inhibitions go and release your inner wolf. Darius and I had a very, um, primitive first time together. We had to endure a Mating Rite. It was savage.”
Nia stared. A Mating Rite was brutal, even for a full-blooded Lupine. “You’re very brave.”
“No.” Sam gl
anced up and her expression softened. Nia watched her look across the tent as Aiden approached, flanked by Kyle and Darius. “I’m very much in love with my man. Love makes all the difference in a very public and primitive ceremony like a Mating Rite. Or a Mating Challenge.”
But Aiden didn’t love her. Nia’s heart squeezed tight in her chest as Darius reached the table and picked up Sam’s hand, gently kissing it. His eyes were filled with tenderness and desire as he gazed at his mate.
Aiden’s gaze was filled with heat as he held out a hand to Nia. “Come. It’s time.”
She rose, took his hand, knowing her duty, knowing this was another role she must fill. Deep inside, she wished she could glimpse a little of the love and tenderness in Aiden’s eyes that Darius showed for his mate.
His palm was strong, yet his grip gentle as Aiden led her into the main lodge. Nia had read about this for many months, had mentally prepared herself for the eventuality of the challenge.
Mandy had turned a guest bedroom into a dressing chamber for the event. It was carpeted, had pegs for clothing, a small bathroom with a shower, and a dressing table with a lighted mirror. When she went into the forest to mate with Aiden, nothing could be on her skin. No lotions, powders or scents other than her own.
The rules were quite specific. If she violated them, she risked someone from Aiden’s pack complaining, perhaps even enough to draw the attention of Tristan, the Silver Wizard.
No thanks. She’d play by the book.
But now as she and Aiden entered the room to shed their clothing before they would walk to the forest for the consummation of their union before their packs, Nia felt no confidence.
All she felt was a terrible sense of loss.
Her twin should be here, reassuring her. Her mother. Someone from her family who would make her laugh, ease her apprehension.
Instead, she faced Aiden, her new mate, who turned and closed the door behind them. Lights from the overhead fixtures filled the room with glaring white light. Nothing to hide. Mandy had tried to make the atmosphere softer by burning several candles in jars upon the shelves, but the lighting made the room cold and impersonal.