“H.I.A. Human Intelligence Agency.” Nadja paused. “My lord, Ulyssa is an undercover government agent sent here to stop my father from selling these types of weapons. She’s in deeper than most men are in the Federation Military. I don’t know much, but I do know that most HIA agents never leave the Agency. I honestly don’t think they can.”
“How do you know all this?” Kirill asked.
“You don’t grow up a Mafia boss’s daughter and not pick up a few things about the government.” Nadja patted his arm lightly. Sighing, she strode across the campground to her husband.
A slight commotion to the side caught Kirill’s attention. Pia whispered angrily at Zoran before pointing at Kirill. The Var King stiffened. Zoran growled at his wife, who merely smiled and batted her lashes. Storming over to the Var King, he stated, “Lady Ulyssa is under our protection. Harm her...”
Kirill snarled. Zoran nodded as they came to a silent understanding. For a moment, they held each other’s eyes before Zoran stormed back to his wife. Her squeal resounded over the campsite followed by her husband’s laughter. Sweeping her up over his shoulder, Zoran carried her into their tent.
Jealousy hit Kirill in a hard wave. He’d never seen or felt such happiness between a man and a woman as he saw in the Draig Princes and their wives. His eyes turned to his own tent, to where Ulyssa slept. It was likely he’d never feel such happiness as long as he lived. Perhaps the Var weren’t made to love. Attor had seemed to think so.
“Come, brother, let her rest,” Falke said coming from the trees. Kirill hadn’t even noticed he left when he spoke to Nadja. Falke stretched his arms wide and noisily yawned. “Come. Join me by the fire.”
* * * *
Ulyssa groaned, opening her eyes. The sound of laughter drifted all around her. Sitting up, she saw the reflection of orange fire on the wall of the tent. Beneath her was a padded sleeping mat. For a moment, she blinked, trying to get her bearings.
The laughter again sounded, louder than before followed by quiet murmuring of conversation. Crawling to the front flap, she pushed it aside and looked out. To her amazement, everyone was gathered around a campfire. Very cautiously, she stood, taking a wary step forward.
“We’re dead, aren’t we? I’m stuck in hell.” Ulyssa watched all eyes turn to her. The laughter died somewhat at her words. Nadja and Pia were nestled in their husband’s arms. Falke and Kirill were opposite the fire. Kirill stood as he saw her. “You’re all getting along, so either we’re dead or I’ve been asleep a really long time.”
“Yo—” Zoran began, his word hard.
“Shh,” Pia hushed him. She smiled, and drew his face to her. As if it explained away Ulyssa’s lack of manners, she whispered, “She’s pregnant. Leave her alone.”
Ulyssa grimaced. Kirill stiffened. His eyes dipped to where his child grew in her stomach.
“How do you feel?” Nadja asked, politely ignoring Ulyssa’s rude outburst. She rested her head on her husband’s shoulder and smiled knowingly. “You had us worried.”
Ulyssa didn’t answer, as Kirill’s gaze captured her. There was no malice in his penetrating look. He almost seemed like his old self, before their duty got between them. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She swallowed, nervous. His mouth curled up slightly, very handsome the way it pulled up at the edge. She knew that look well. He wanted her.
“You should try to eat, Ulyssa,” Pia asserted into their trance. “It’ll make you feel better.”
Ulyssa blinked, her eyelids still feeling heavy as she looked around her. Everyone stared back, their gazes full of questions, pity, understanding. She nodded in agreement, still feeling like she walked in a dream. The motion was only half finished when she gradually turned and moved to the forest, not saying another word.
Chapter Thirteen
Kirill exchanged looks around the campfire as Ulyssa walked away from them. He didn’t know how it happened, but somehow having a joined purpose had helped relations between the Var and Draig. He even suspected being out of the palace and on neutral ground also made it easier for them to set their differences aside. Even Falke and Zoran, longtime enemies, made civil comments to each other. It wasn’t a signed peace treaty, but it was a beginning—a good beginning.
Falke frowned and motioned his hand that Kirill should follow Ulyssa.
“Excuse me,” Kirill said, standing to move after her. He wasn’t sure what he’d say to her when they were alone. He was still angry at her for leaving him in the first place, for not trusting him to be a better man, for questioning his honor, for thinking that he could massacre innocent people—whether they were Draig or not.
Sniffing the air, it didn’t take him long to detect her scent. Jogging forward, he saw the outline of her body in the dusky light of evening. She leaned against the trunk of a tree, staring absently at the ground. Her face was sad and it tore at his heart to see it.
“Lyssa?”
Ulyssa turned. Her wide eyes looked at him. Slowly, she pushed away from the trunk. Swallowing, she answered, “This doesn’t change anything.”
Before Kirill could respond, Ulyssa’s hands were on his face, pulling his mouth to hers. The first touch in what felt like ages exploded through them, tearing over their flesh like lightening. Ulyssa’s loud moan joined his, the sound agonizing. Her hands dug beneath his clothing, pulling desperately to free him of it.
When he would pull back and speak, she kissed him harder, thrusting her tongue into his mouth almost desperately as she drank of his taste. Her teeth nipped his lips as she devoured him in the kiss. He didn’t resist, returning her passion full force, letting her take whatever she wanted from him.
“Just kiss me, Kirill,” she said into his mouth. “I want to feel anything but this fear and uncertainty. I don’t want to die here.”
“We’re not going to die,” he answered hotly. He pulled back to look at her face. She was vulnerable, fragile as she looked up at him. “If it goes wrong, there is an antidote. I will make sure you are amongst those who get it. I promise.”
“No, you don’t understand. If it goes wrong my bosses won’t let anyone off this planet alive—antidote or not. They can’t afford to stop and ask questions. They’ll kill us all. If we fail, we’re dead.” Ulyssa moved to kiss him again. He still held her, but he moved his head back to study her.
“Kirill—?”
“Why did you stay? Falke said you were ordered to leave by your boss.” Kirill’s eyes searched her. He waited a long moment for her answer.
“I stayed because it’s my job. I was sent here to stop Doc and whatever it was he planned. I never quit a mission.” Ulyssa shook violently, but her words were calm. “I couldn’t leave just to watch innocent people die—not if there was something I could do to stop it.”
“Is that the only reason?” he demanded. Even though his head stayed back, his arms held her tight to his body.
“What other reason could there be?” she whispered.
Kirill groaned a low throaty sound as an answer, no longer able to hold back. Tugging her tight pants off her hips, he stripped her of her clothing, as if he wanted desperately to be buried inside her.
Ulyssa kicked the pants off her feet, helping as he undressed her as he pulled at her shirt. Reaching for his waist, she freed the hard length of his arousal, gasping in pleasure as she caressed the smooth shaft.
Kirill grunted, forcing her back against the tree. Eagerly, he lifted her up, parting her wide to accept him. He’d missed her so much. The perfume of her longing filled his head, calling to him like a drug. He was helpless against her and he no longer seemed to care. There was no point in fighting their desire.
Without needing to test her depths, he plunged himself forward. His body slid deeply into hers, conquering her. Ulyssa cried out, urging him on with her soft pants and whimpers of pleasure. Kirill answered her call with one of his own. Animalistic grunts of pleasure escaped them. His hips rocked into her, pumping fast and deep, as he tried to brand her to his touch.<
br />
Ulyssa’s back rubbed against the bark of the tree, but she didn’t care. She’d missed him, as if a piece of herself had been missing. His hands gripped the cheeks of her butt, holding her firm as he filled her completely, sliding in the cream of her body. At their fevered pace, it didn’t take long for the trembling of climax to seize them both. Her body clenched his hard, milking the seed from him as he came inside her.
Ulyssa moaned, leaning forward to bite lazily at his shoulder. Kirill’s palm cupped her face, urging her back to his mouth. He kissed her gently, still buried deep, still trembling, and held her tight. In this moment of ecstasy, nothing else mattered.
Ulyssa let him kiss her for a long moment before drawing back. A look of pain crossed over her features, as she demanded, “I need you to tell me you had nothing to do with this.”
“You should know that answer for yourself. I shouldn’t have to tell you. Why did you leave me?” Kirill asked. “Was it because you’re pregnant?”
“I left...” Ulyssa took a deep breath, before starting over. “I left because of the biological weapons.”
“I don’t believe you,” Kirill growled. He pulled his body from hers and laced his pants. Ulyssa stepped away from the tree and retrieved her clothing. Her legs wobbled, as she dressed. When they finished, he stated, “I can sense you’re lying to me. Please, Lyssa, for once, trust me. For once, tell me the whole truth.”
“I left because it was my duty to go. I was never shipwrecked. I was sent by the Human Intelligence Agency to stop Doc Aleksander. I hid on the Galaxy Brides ship with the other Draig brides and when it landed I made camp in the forest. But, before I could get to him, Nadja killed Doc. I thought my mission was over. I called the Agency for a ride and found out I was going to be stranded here for awhile.” Ulyssa’s tone was hard, matching her expression.
Kirill had figured much of the puzzle out already, but nodded anyway.
“I didn’t lie about Attor kidnapping me. That much was true. The night you found me wandering the halls I was trying to escape.” Ulyssa pushed wayward strands back from her face and sighed. It felt good to be telling him the truth. “Any idiot could see the Var and the Draig were at each other’s throats. I wanted to stay out of it.”
“So why then did you agree to stay with me?” he asked.
“What would you have picked? Three months in a forest being eaten alive by bugs, or three months in the lap of luxury?” The answer was honest, but it wasn’t the whole truth. It barely even skimmed the surface of the whole truth. Before he could probe further, she said, “I ran across the trade agreement by accident that night in your office. I thought you had something to do with it, so I waited for my opportunity, and left.”
“And do you still believe I am capable of such things?” he asked.
“No,” she answered, knowing she never really had. She’d been confused, mostly because of how she felt. But, it wasn’t the trade agreement that sent her fleeing the palace—not really. It was seeing Linzi by his side in the hall, before all his people—a position he’d never allowed her to take. It was knowing he could, and probably did, take others to his bed.
“And your Uncle Frank?” he asked unnecessarily to see if she would lie to him.
“My mission director,” Ulyssa said. “I have no family. I was raised in a home for children who have no family, called an orphanage.”
Kirill’s hand lifted as if he would touch her, glad that she was being honest. When she didn’t move, he let it fall back to his side. “And what will you do now?”
“My mission,” she stated simply.
“And if we survive it?” he inquired.
“Then I’ll go on to my next mission,” she answered. “And after that the next one. It’s what an agent like me does.”
“What about my child?” Kirill’s expression hardened. “Do you think that I’ll just let you leave with my heir inside you? Doesn’t the baby deserve a father? A home?”
“Like the father you had?” she questioned. It was a low blow and she knew it, but his questions were only bringing her pain because she didn’t want to think about the answers.
Kirill’s dark features turned red with anger. His jaw tightened and for a moment, she thought he might actually hit her. She wouldn’t blame him. Part of her wished he’d hit her so hard she never woke up.
“Don’t worry about the baby, Kirill. The Agency will take care of it,” she said. Tears threatened her eyes at the prospect, but she knew she wouldn’t be given a choice. The Agency was her whole life. She knew it signing up, knew she was giving a piece of herself over, and hadn’t done so blindly. For the first time in her life, she regretted that decision.
“What do you mean?” he demanded hotly, gripping her arm.
“I mean they’ll take care of it!” she yelled.
“You would kill my son?” His face drained, leaving his dark features ashen.
Ulyssa couldn’t bear to look at him. The raw hurt in his eyes tore into her gut, making her ache. She wouldn’t, but the Agency just might.
“It’s... it’s not really a baby,” she whispered, nearing tears. She couldn’t think of it as real. She turned her back on him, trying to hide how she felt. “It’s just a cluster of cells right now.”
“He’s my son, Lyssa. Our son.”
“I can try to have it—the child sent to you after his birth,” she whispered. “But, I can make no promises. The Agency will view it as a liability to my concentration. They will see it as impeding my work.”
“And don’t you think the child deserves a mother?” he asked, ignoring her statement about the Agency. He didn’t give a damned about the Agency. They had no authority on his planet.
“I know the Var ways, Kirill. He would have a mother, it just wouldn’t be me.” Ulyssa stalked back toward the campsite. His low words stopped her.
“I never went to the harem, Lyssa. I haven’t been with anyone since you. I know you don’t care, but I wanted you to know that.”
* * * *
Ulyssa expected knowing looks when they walked back to the camp, but everyone had retired for the evening, except for Falke. The Commander merely nodded at her in greeting. As she watched, Falke easily shifted into the form of a large white tiger. His bright blue eyes blinked at her before he lifted his clothes into his mouth and took off into the forest to sleep. Since there were only three tents, she guessed he went to lie in the trees.
When Falke was gone, Kirill lifted the front flap. He eyed her warily, as if he expected her to refuse to share his tent. She said nothing as she brushed past him. Coming in behind her, Kirill kicked off his boots and pulled his shirt over his head. Crawling forward with his usual liquid grace, he stayed on all fours as he came over her legs. He looked at her for a long moment. His dark gaze penetrated into hers. Slowly, she rolled onto her back and he crawled forward over her.
Kirill’s eyes went to her lips. Bending at the elbows, he brought his mouth to hers in a light, tender kiss. Ulyssa met him willingly, not protesting. They didn’t speak as Kirill made love to her slowly, worshiping her body with his hands and mouth. And, when they finally met their earth-shattering release, Ulyssa fell asleep in his arms. She spent the whole night with Kirill by her side.
The next morning, camp broke early. They didn’t speak as they quietly dressed. A somber mood came over the group, as they mounted up and rode deeper into the marshes.
Kirill traveled by her side, not speaking. He wasn’t sure what he should say to her if he did. Ulyssa was just as quiet.
The further they journeyed, the darker the marshes became until it almost looked like night. The stagnant smell only got worse. Kirill frowned, pulling his ceffyl to a stop. He looked around the marshes, before pointing up toward a rocky incline next to the path they traveled.
Turning to Falke, he nodded. They were on Lord Myrddin’s land. Neither Falke nor Kirill had been surprised to discover the old noble had something to do with hiding the biological weaponry.
S
winging down from his mount, Kirill drew the attention of the others. Instantly, they followed suit and did the same. Pulling the paper from his pocket, Kirill looked it over. A slight frown marred his brow as he again pointed up. No one spoke as Kirill shifted to panther form. His clothes fell on the ground, next to the paper. Leaping with his mighty paws, he moved from ledge to ledge, up the stop incline until reaching a small cave. After a short time, he poked his human head over the side and unrolled a rope ladder down over the edge.
Ulyssa grabbed Kirill’s clothing and bundled them beneath her shirt to free her arms for the climb. Without waiting to be told, she started up the ladder first. Reaching the top, she felt Kirill’s hand on her arm, helping her in. She stood, her eyes searching for him in the dim cave light. Her eyes instantly moved down over his naked body. At her attention, his loins twitched and filled.
She blushed in embarrassment that she could be thinking of such things at this moment. Her gaze flitted up to his. He stared at her protruding stomach where she hid his clothes. His hand lifted as if he would touch her and a look of longing passed over his dark features.
Ulyssa looked down, realizing it looked as if she were pregnant. Swallowing nervously, she pulled the clothes out and handed them to him, meeting his searching hand. For a moment, he stood, arm extended. But, as the ladder wiggled, signaling that the next person came to join them, he quickly slid into his clothing and didn’t say a word.
“Kirill, listen,” Ulyssa rushed to his turned back. “I have to tell you something.”
He pulled the laces on his shirt and moved to look at her.
Ulyssa glanced over her shoulder. A hand poked up from the side. “I never thought you had something to do with this... not really. It’s not the exact reason why I left. I just wanted you to know that in case we don’t make it—”
Shifter Fated Mates: Boxed Set Page 53