Mating Hunt

by Bonnie Vanak

  But it didn’t matter. Only Ari’s safety and happiness did.

  Chapter 17

  SUNLIGHT STREAMED INTO her bedroom as Arianna awoke. She blinked, glanced at the bedside clock.

  Nine already?

  Bounding out of bed, she took a quick shower, rubbed a towel over her hair and dressed. Dread gathered in her stomach. She’d remembered enough from last night.

  Scared as she was of Kyle turning into a Satyr, she was more terrified of losing him. They could never make it work unless he finally accepted himself, and she accepted him into her body when he transformed.

  Smells of frying bacon teased her nostrils as she hurried down the hallway. Shirtless, Kyle stood at the stove, turning slices in the frying pan. Breath caught in her throat. Smooth muscles in his back rippled beneath his sun-darkened skin. His thick brown hair was tousled, and jeans rode low on his lean hips.

  He looked sexy, relaxed and delicious. Arianna licked her lips.

  A crooked smile touched his full mouth as Kyle looked up. “Morning, little pint. Figured you’d enjoy some bacon with your eggs. Found some rashers in the fridge.”

  “You let me sleep?”

  His heavy-lidded gaze swept over her in a slow caress, making a shiver race down her spine. A look like that signified tumbles between bed sheets and long, slow hours of pleasure.

  “Figured you needed the rest. I told you, Ari, I’ll always take good care of you.”

  Warmed by the thought, she took a slice of bacon cooling on a paper towel and nibbled it.

  “Tried calling Aiden again, but cell service sucks up here.”

  “Not the only thing that sucks,” she murmured and saw his quick grin. A heated flush spread over her face.

  Kyle turned off the heat beneath the frying pan. Fascination filled her as he turned. She stared at his bare chest, the dark dusting of hair feathering down to his hardened torso and dipping into the waistband of his jeans.

  “Ari?” He snapped his fingers. When she glanced up, he looked amused. “Up here.”

  Blushing more, she rummaged in the cabinet for a mug and filled it from the coffee pot on the counter. “Sorry. Just remembering last night.”

  “It was special, wonderful, but we need to talk,” he said quietly.

  Talk meant dragging out the baggage between them, baggage she knew he’d end up packing and taking with him. A new fear arose. “I don’t want to hear what you have to say. Because I know it’s about what happened in the shed.”

  He braced his hands on the sink. “It’s my fault. I should have known you couldn’t handle it.”

  Arianna seized on the words. “Give me time, Kyle. I need to adjust.”

  But every muscle in his body tensed. “Everything in my blood screams and rages to keep you at my side.”

  A shiver of sensual awareness, twined with relief, slid down her spine.

  “But I can’t give you what you want most. A real home and stability...” His voice thickened. “Children.”

  “You don’t want them.”

  Kyle’s gaze darkened. “The instinct to mate and breed runs thick in my blood. But I won’t risk passing on my tainted bloodlines and siring a son who’d never fit in.”

  Her throat tightened. “When Beth becomes a mom, I’ll be a great auntie. I don’t need young. Deal?”

  But he stiffened and refused to look at her. Oh damnit, why wouldn’t he look at her? And then she knew it was worse, much worse. Arianna put a hand on her neck, realizing he had not marked her as his mate.

  “You’re leaving me,” she whispered. “That’s why you didn’t put your mark on me.”

  At his nod, panic rose in her chest. He couldn’t leave her, not now. “When?” If they had enough time, damnit, she’d work on overcoming her fear.

  Kyle’s jaw turned to stone as he stared out the kitchen window. “Soon as we return to the ranch. It’s best. Before the full moon rises, and I transform into what I truly am.”

  “I’m not afraid,” she lied.

  Finally he turned around. Bright amber flared in his gaze, the same as last night. A low growl rumbled deep in his throat.

  Arianna shrank back against the cold refrigerator door. His gaze returned to normal.

  “You are afraid,” he said softly. “I saw it in your eyes when you were fifteen, and I see it now.”

  Misery curdled her stomach. Arianna stroked a sunflower on her mug. So pretty, joyous and yet flat. It wasn’t real. Neither was her dream of settling down with Kyle and having a real family at last.

  “You’re leaving, and everything will work out fine for you. Roaming from town to town, finding new Skins to screw while you leave me behind.”

  “Leaving you is the hardest thing I’ll ever do, because it’s burning in my blood to hold you close and never let you go. I’ll die a little each day, fighting the compulsion to return to you. Craving you in my bed, always. And it will get worse, until I can’t control myself. But there is no way in hell I’d allow that.”

  “I can go with you...”

  He put a finger to her lips. “Shhhh. You have a pack who cares for you, adores you. My place is out there.”

  “But where will you go?”

  Kyle did not answer. A haunted look entered his eyes and shattered her heart. She had pack who loved her. Her proud, confident and extremely virile guardian would set his cowboy hat upon his head, tug up the collar of his sheepskin jacket, sling his backpack over one shoulder and walk alone into the cold, uncaring rain, never looking back.

  Alone, once more, just as he’d been at 12 when his alpha branded him and kicked him out.

  “ Kyle, you can’t give up this easily.”

  “Nothing about this is easy. It’s burning in my blood to haul you into my arms, march you into the bedroom and ravish you until you scream.”

  She spread out her hands. “So? Sounds like a plan to me.”

  A bitter laugh rose in his throat. “If I touch you now, I’ll never release you. It’s best this way.”

  “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been such a chicken last night...”

  “Don’t blame yourself, Ari. Your innocence was stripped from you long ago. It just...” He lifted those broad shoulders. “It is what it is.”

  “But you want me.” She slid a hand along his arm. “I know you do, and the craving only intensifies during the full moon. What if you return to the ranch to find me?”

  Gently, he removed her hand, kissed her knuckles. “I can’t return, sweetheart.”

  Moisture stung her eyes. “Kyle, please, there has to be another way.”

  “I can’t control what I am. No more than you can stop being a blooded Lupine. Please, don’t cry, sweetheart.”

  But the tears finally came as she choked back a sob. “I’ll never see you again.”

  He ran a thumb tenderly over her cheek. “I’ll always watch over you from a distance. I’m hunting down that bastard in the cave, and when I find him, he’ll pay. No one hurts my woman.”

  Kyle leaned close, brushed a kiss against her lips. “You’ll always be my woman, Ari, in my heart and my soul. Until the moon no longer rises, and the stars never shine. Forever in my heart.”

  “But you won’t be here.”

  “Aiden will and...” His voice thickened. “And your new mate, when you choose one. They will keep you safe from anyone who dares to hurt you, including me.”

  She set down the mug with a shaky hand. “So you run. Because that’s the only way you can avoid the risk of someone hurting you, isn’t it? Someone who may not hold a branding iron to your cheek, but do much worse, break your heart.”

  Kyle hissed. She’d hit him hard and fast. Damn, she hated it, but had to coax him into trusting her once more.

  “We can make it work. Please, let me try again. You can blindfold me, do whatever you want.” She stood and clasped his hand, running her fingers over the small nicks and scars of a Lupine who never refused hard work or getting the job done. No, he only shied away from relationsh
ips.

  Gently he pried her fingers loose and then kissed the corner of her mouth. “Eat your breakfast. We have to make it back to the ranch before sunset.”

  About an hour later, she followed Kyle on the ribbon-thin trail snaking down the mountain. Gusts of cold wind slapped her cheeks and sent grit stinging her eyes. Blinking back the moisture, she stumbled down the trail. Kyle hadn’t spoken since they’d accessed the narrow path winding down the mountain. The painful silence scraped across her raw nerves.

  She concentrated on navigating down the rock-strewn path. Sun dappled the thick pines and the forest floor, as a crisp wind ruffled her hair. Beautiful day for a break-up, she thought, her chest tight.

  They’d shared a wonderful intimacy, a physical pleasure she’d never imagined and bonded together in the flesh, even if he didn’t give her his mating mark. Her guardian had forced her to push past all her fears and reach the heights of pleasure. She felt as if he’d shown her a beautiful palace, and then told her it was a mere mirage.

  After a few miles, Kyle stopped for a break. Arianna sat on a flat rock, sipping from her water bottle. His male fragrance seemed stronger today, and she could not ignore it. Tendrils of spice wrapped around her body, teasing her flesh, licking between her legs...

  Arianna wiped a bead of perspiration from her brow. Expression intent, Kyle glanced at her.

  He felt it as well. With a start, she realized the full moon rose tonight.

  She capped her bottle. “Any chance of making it back to the ranch before moonrise when I come into my heat? I really don’t want to be stuck in the forest after sunset.”

  Unable to help herself, she added in a bitter tone, “I need to be some place where I can lock the door. Since you insist you’re so damned dangerous.”

  Kyle’s mouth flattened. “We’ll make it.”

  Shouldering her pack, she followed him down the trail, misery curdling her stomach as she stared at his broad back. Last night she had stroked those smooth muscles, filled with a possessive pride. Kyle was all hers.

  But he wasn’t. Some other female would take him into her bed, make love to him and feel his hard body pressed against her. An unbearable ache tensed her body as Arianna imagined Kyle’s memory of their time together in his cabin turning dim and fading.

  Suddenly her guardian stopped. Arianna’s pulse quickened. Senses highly attuned, she knew what he scented.

  Two Skins approaching from the east, both stinking of the metallic tang of dark magick.

  Arianna held up two fingers. Kyle’s expression tightened as he shrugged off his pack and motioned for her to remain.

  Oh, hell no. She wasn’t letting Kyle take them solo. This was her fight, too. She set down her pack.

  The Skins crashed through the woods, branches cracking beneath their heavy feet. As the men entered the clearing, they ground to a halt. Shock spiraled through her.

  Skip and the tall Skin Kyle had killed. It made no sense, yet she recognized them.

  A low growl ripped from Kyle’s throat as the Skins paled and backed off. The two turned and ran. Kyle shifted into a wolf.

  “Stop! It could be a trap. Kyle, wait!”

  He bolted, chasing after the Skins. Damnit! Arianna shifted and followed.

  Through the thick pines and oaks, they chased the men, Kyle nipping at the Skin’s heels. Arianna felt the rush of terrible joy as she hunted.

  They entered the dark woods where she’d first sent the Ogre and vanished near some rocks. Kyle’s front paws dug into dirt and pebbles as he skidded to a stop. He whipped his massive head around. Arianna nearly collided with him.

  Where were they?

  She scented nothing but cool air, pine and damp earth. Fur rippled along her spine.

  Awareness flickered in Kyle’s green eyes as he turned. As Arianna started to shift back, the ground rumbled beneath their feet.

  The rocks yawned open. Fear razored through her as she yipped a warning. A blue-white glow encased them like a net, dragging them inside, the rocks sealing closed behind them.

  Chapter 18

  ARIANNA LANDED ON a cold, hard floor. She groaned, every bone in her body aching. Nearby, Kyle lay motionless.

  They’d changed back to Skin form, not through their own magick. Someone had forced the change and left them naked. Eyes gummy, she blinked, struggling to assess their surroundings.

  Glittering crystal surrounded them, on the ceiling and the surrounding walls. Doorways cut into the rock wall appeared to tunnel deeper into the cavern.

  Dazzling light sparkled, making her eyes water and her skin hurt. Brilliant crystals of ice blue and emerald hung in jagged spikes from the cavern’s ceiling, their low, screeching music bouncing off the walls and rasping on her sensitive eardrums. The bite of snow and crispness invaded her senses.

  As she inhaled through her clenched teeth, Arianna’s breath fogged the air.

  She moved toward Kyle, only to be pulled up short. An iron manacle circled her wrist, its chain hooked securely to the rock wall. A deep chill raced down her spine, but she forced down panic and analyzed the surroundings.

  Her guardian remained unconscious, a similar iron manacle around one ankle, chained to a hook set into the rock floor. They were lying near a raised platform of white crystal. Glowing white crystals embedded in a rock wall lit the platform like a stage.

  In the center stood a tall man, his long, lean face silhouetted. Shimmering blue robes covered in glittering white crystals draped his body. White-blond hair hung in a straight line past his shoulders.

  The man gave a little bow.

  “Welcome to my world,” he boomed in a deep, mocking voice. “The crystal palace has been specially prepared for your stay.”

  “Nice,” she said, wheezing, her ribs aching with every breath. “I’d rather go to a hotel.”

  Kyle groaned and stirred. Thank the gods. Extending the chain as far as she could, she crawled over to him, wishing she could reach out and touch his sweating brow. “Are you all right?”

  “Fine. You okay?”

  At her nod, he exhaled and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “Damnit, I’m sorry, Ari. Should have listened to you, but my animal got the best of me.”

  Now wasn’t the time for her to point out the irony.

  He looked around and tugged at the chain. “Where the hell are we?”

  “Some place called the crystal palace. It’s no Vegas, but the dude running it looks like a bad reincarnation of Liberace.”

  He shielded his eyes with a hand and peered at the stage, directing his question to the wizard. “Who are you?”

  “You should know, hunter. I assisted you when you were but twelve, upon the orders of the one who thinks himself my keeper.”

  “Elric? The Coldfire Wizard? Tristan’s aide?”

  Arianna’s blood ran cold as Kyle spoke the name. Elric... she knew this one.

  Crystals hanging in stalactites above him shimmered, flooding the cavern with white light, bringing his face into plain view. The wizard waved a hand and an ice pick of agony slammed into her skull, making her whimper.

  “I am so heartened to see you again, Arianna.” Elric smiled, and a shiver snaked down her spine. The smile spoke of ice crystals, jagged spikes of cold, and pain.

  Oh, such pain.

  Terror seized her limbs. Now she knew why the numbness, the crystals and the stony floor felt familiar.

  Arianna scuttled away from Elric as he descended the crystal steps. Suddenly she became immobilized. Teeth chattering, she could not move, her limbs heavy with sharp needles of cold. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and turned into crystal shards, tumbling down her cheeks, their jagged edges scraping her skin.

  “How long I’ve waited for your return. You were such an exquisite prospect. Such a pity I allowed you to escape, but I knew I would capture you when the time was right.”

  “Ari,” Kyle said urgently. “The more you pay attention to him, the more power he has over you. He’s nothing more
than Tristan’s little bitch.”

  “Such disrespect.” The wizard made a tsking sound. “I shall have to discipline you, hybrid. Oh, I shall have such fun with you. I no longer serve Tristan. And these walls are thick. No one can hear you.”

  The icy terror began to melt as Arianna riveted her gaze to Kyle’s deep green eyes as he gave her a reassuring smile.

  “Tristan is a fool, taking me for granted and thinking I was suited only to serve him,” Elric continued. “He took my powers of replication and used them for his own purposes, never acknowledging my own greatness and skill.”

  What an ego, Kyle mouthed. Makes even Darius look humble.

  Arianna managed a wan smile.

  Loud voices echoed in the enormous cavern. “We did our part,” one protested. “Where’s our pay?”

  The two Skins they’d chased emerged from one of the doorways. The taller one scowled.

  Kyle fisted his hands, his entire body trembling. “I killed you once, you son of a bitch. But I’ll enjoy doing it again.”

  “Ah.” The wizard tapped a finger against his pointed chin. “You believe you killed them. You did, only a version of them.”

  Gorge rose in her throat as a distant memory tugged. “You replicated them.”

  Elric shrugged. “Cloning Skins is quite simple, for humans are organic beings. Tristan taught me the skill. I tried it with OtherWorlders, but failed. Humans are unique.”

  His smile turned nasty. “Besides, I prefer to breed them.”

  The sickening feeling in Arianna’s belly turned into pure nausea.

  The taller Skin said, “We brought them here as you asked and now—”

  Skip interrupted. “Give us our due or we’ll hurt you.”

  The wizard laughed. “You cannot hurt me. But I do tire of your whining.”

  He stretched out his hands. Icy blue fire shot from his fingertips. The two men screamed as the energy engulfed them. In seconds, they turned to piles of gray ash. Arianna shoved a fist into her mouth to suppress a whimper.

  Must not let him see her fear, hear her screams, or he would hurt her, like last time...

  “Humans are so tiresome, are they not?” Elric asked conversationally. “OtherWorlders are much more sophisticated and unpredictable. It’s why I captured you both. You’re perfect for my breeding plan.”