by Gaja J. Kos
Pain shot through her chest, talons slicing at her heart. She doubled over, but as Pia’s voice wove through her mind, she managed to breathe.
Letting go of a child is difficult, Evelin. But it’s nothing compared to losing him…
The were had been right. Taking the cubs away didn’t mean she was losing them. The latter would come only by the hands of her enemies.
Something, Evelin was adamant to prevent at all costs.
It was that thought that had given her the strength to get into Tim’s car.
She exhaled, extracting herself from the memory and focused on the road before her.
As the woods began to rise on her right, she pulled her car over on the shoulder and unstrapped Rafael from his seat. She wrapped him in her arms, savoring the gentle presence of her cub.
Perhaps for the last time.
Sander was waiting for Evelin next to a small stream, his bronze skin shimmering even in the shadows of the treetops. He took a step towards her as she angled around the bushes, cradling Rafael closely to her body.
“What happened?” the Koldun asked before she had the chance to thank him for meeting her on such short notice.
Evelin opened her mouth to reply, but the blunt concern on his face rendered her speechless.
Although Sander had shown willingness when it came to helping Rafael, any kind of emotion had been related purely to the cub. What Evelin saw now was worry for her.
And despite what her original intentions may have been, she couldn’t bring herself to lie. Not to him.
“Rafael’s guardian killed the Keeper that came for him.”
Instantly, the Koldun was by her side. He was still keeping his distance, but she could feel the heat of his body pressing against her even through the warm, magical air of spring that surrounded them.
“And the guardian?”
Evelin stifled a sob then shook her head. “I don’t know if there’s anywhere Rafael will be safe… Except with you.”
Those last words were a bare whisper, but as she said them, the Koldun’s finger brushed against her cheek, tentatively, caringly. She leaned into his touch without thinking about it, drinking in the consolation the caress offered.
Bronze eyes met hers as she looked up.
“I will keep him safe, Evelin. With my life, if I have to.”
Daylight weaved through the trees, casting bright, yellow rays across the tombstone. Rose stood a short distance away from the main gravel path with Veles by her side, monitoring the surroundings as Tim and Nathaniel said their final goodbyes.
To her left, Zarja lingered next to a line of low bushes. She was battered from the encounter with the vamps, but already starting to heal. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, gaze slowly drifting across the horizon and scanning for possible threats. The twins stood on the other side, each on his own end, doing the exact same.
It was a werewolf cemetery, private and closed off from the majority of the world, but the pack didn’t want to take any chances. Not when the person they were burying had brought down a Keeper.
Rose’s chest tightened at the thought. But as she glanced over to the god, the pain began to subside. He had done so much for the Vidmar brothers; he had reassured them of Pia’s new home, of her comfort there, and shared enough information of her passing that her grandsons knew it had been a deliberate action on her part. Protecting Rafael had been Pia’s highest priority, and even as the essence of life slowly seeped from her body, the only sensation the old were felt was the deepest kind of content.
The werewolf had entered the underworld at peace with herself.
She had saved the cub. And for Pia, that had been enough.
The other details, Veles had left out. Only Rose had seen it all, and the more she thought about it, the more the memory haunted her.
Veles had still been too drained from battling the vampires when Pia’s soul entered his realm to be actively aware of it. Her passing had been without complications, a smooth transition the god’s power had been able to supervise on its own.
Though the death had touched Veles, it had been—like all others at the time—lost in the constant presence of sorrow, pain, or bliss each new soul carried with it. Pushed into the background by the god’s own exhaustion, the specific details of it had escaped him.
It wasn’t until the twins had reached out, breaking the news to them, that Veles had stepped into the underworld. Although his strength had still been weakened, he had shown Rose Pia’s soul without a second lost.
The fight she had seen through the memory was bloody, ruthless. The werewolf had sustained enough injuries that it made Rose wonder just how strong Pia’s will to save Rafael must have been if it kept her body working through such damage. She was tougher than all of them. Tougher than Rose had ever thought possible.
Veles had collapsed after he used too much power. Zarja had been a mangled mess when she half dragged herself out of the lair before Rose snarled at her to wait for Katja to pick them up. And Rose herself was doing only a little better. She had healed faster, but if Veles hadn’t been there, plucking the vampires from life like blades of grass on a field, the werewolf wasn’t certain she would still be standing.
But Pia. She had endured it all.
Yet it wasn’t the bloodshed from the memory that caused bile to rise up Rose’s throat.
The Keepers were a constant presence in their world. But they had always existed as stories, as a punishment that came if you didn’t abide by the rules. They were the embodiment of a punishment nobody had ever seen. Only its consequences.
The so-called guardians had made themselves into a myth, and myths were dangerous opponents.
Rose didn’t know their numbers. Neither did Veles, nor Sebastian, despite their high status in the hierarchy. The Keepers were a shadow with no discernible end in sight.
Pia had been able to bring down one of them, but she had been driven by an almost demonic strength. Anything less and the Keeper would have destroyed the werewolf before she even had the chance to take a breath. Rose had seen his strength through the memory, felt the unusual power that violated the very air in the room.
A dozen, the pack could perhaps handle. They were motivated, and that thread of determination could fuel them enough for them to last through the fight. But even so…
Rose closed off her mind to the images. To the fear.
As if sensing her discomfort, Veles slid closer and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.
“Thank you,” she whispered, letting go of her fears. “For Tim and Nathaniel.”
The god’s expression remained serious, gaze fixed on the white tombstone. “Pia will always receive special treatment inside my realm. It’s the least I can offer for her sacrifice.”
A long, sorrowful howl sounded into the air. Rose’s eyes welled with tears as they wandered to Tim. The werewolf placed his hand on the top of the tombstone, craned his neck back and howled once more.
This time, the pack joined in.
Their voices weaved through the trees, spreading across the small graveyard and into the sunlit sky, so that the winds would remember Pia for eternity.
Epilogue
Rose put her cigarette out in the ashtray she had been keeping on the nightstand for the past few months. Handy, in times of crisis. Her strawberry blonde curls fell over her shoulder like a curtain, shielding her from the sunlight streaming through the window. She felt the mattress beneath her shift slightly, followed by the touch of sophisticated, long fingers brushing away the loose strands and tucking them safely behind her ear. She leaned into the caress, allowing herself to be small, fragile, as Veles wrapped his arms around her. Here, she felt safe.
The warmth of his chest pressed into her back; she molded herself against Veles’ body, listening to the calming heartbeat alive beneath the skin.
“How are you holding up?” the god asked, his voice still that seductive, beautiful melody, even when the words carried so much w
eight.
Rose closed her eyes, indulging in the god’s alluring scent for a moment before she asked the question that seemed almost unnecessary, “This is it, isn’t it?”
The subtle shift in Veles’ energy didn’t escape her even as the god laid them both down on the mattress, his hunger sending shivers down her spine. She rolled to her side, nestled her head in the nook of his shoulder, and peered up at him.
She knew the answer.
Had felt it the moment those vampires attacked in Tignes, broadcasting loud and clear that there was nowhere she could hide.
Or maybe she’d known it even sooner, had seen the premonition written in the horror that had surged in Dragan’s eyes as he looked at her that day in the hospital, recognizing Rose for who she was.
“There will be a war,” Veles finally said, meeting her gaze. “But it won’t be our deaths the world will celebrate in the end…”
“How about in-between?” she breathed before she was able to stop the words from spilling out.
Vampires. Upirs. Vedmaks. Perhaps even Kresniks.
And worst of all, the Keepers.
Rose wasn’t a fool to believe the shadows of self-served justice wouldn’t retaliate for the death of one of their own. Not when the pack would never hand Rafael over to them willingly.
The Keepers would keep coming for the cub.
And this time, they would have to go through Tim and Evelin both.
A shudder ran down Rose’s skin, hackles rising. But the soothing pressure of Veles’ lips on her forehead acted like a lifeline, protecting her from being dragged deeper into the darkness of her own thoughts.
“You are pack, and you are The Dark Ones,” Veles whispered into her skin before he rested his head back on the pillow. “The people around you have chosen to stand by your side. I wish I could say there won’t be any casualties, but I’m not the god of war, nor am I your beloved Sebastian that can see into your futures.”
His lips curled slightly at the remark, and Rose couldn’t help but smile, if only a little. The grip of Veles’ fingers on her arm told her how much that small gesture meant to him.
“Any death Morana will claim, any soul that will come into my eternal care… Those individuals will pass over with fulfillment. Although given the company you keep, I strongly believe you will be the only takers on that battlefield.”
Rose molded herself even closer to Veles’ body, willing his warmth to take the persistent chill away. “What about you?”
“What about me?” the lord of the underworld asked, the lazy smile that spread across his face speaking of all the gods-damned things that simple question could mean.
Facing what was coming wasn’t any easier for him than it was for her. Yet he was trying to divert her attention. The god was pushing past his own discomfort, working to return that humor the pack always held on to during difficult situations. For her.
She bit him playfully on the shoulder, adding just a little bit of elongated teeth in the mix.
“Naughty wolfie,” Veles crooned and trapped her lips in a deep, sensuous kiss before she had a chance to object.
Heat spread through her body like fire, curling her toes and bringing color to her cheeks. As their flavors mixed in a whirlwind of passion and intimacy, she opened herself wider for him, allowing Veles to take her mouth. To take her whole.
Fangs grazed her lips, the delicate pain coaxing a moan to slip from the confines of her throat. The god drank the sound, a feverish shudder running down his body in response. The inviting thickness of his demand pressed against her thighs, the need to have him inside her becoming almost overwhelming.
But the god pulled back, leaving her gasping for air as he gracefully propped himself on his side. A slow smile spread across his lips, and those olive green eyes fixed on her spoke plainly of just how well aware he was of her desires.
He was taunting her, daring her to drop the subject and enjoy what she truly craved, instead. Yet he had stopped to give Rose her choice.
She bit her lip. The offer was tempting, but she needed to hear the answer first.
“What I meant was,” she began, voice hoarse with lust, “where do you stand?”
It was the one thing she had been afraid to ask. There was no denying that the past few weeks were a breeze compared to the hurricane looming on the horizon. That evening, when Veles had waited for her in the parking lot, she had confided in him, told him so much, and the god hadn’t given her a single reason to doubt his intentions. And when he accepted that they were consorts, equals, locked in a partnership that was meant to last an eternity… Rose understood those words for the vows they were.
Yet this was different.
The balance of the world hung by a thread, and he was a god.
Not some newly, not even yet instated deity like she was supposed to be. But one of the pantheon.
Consorts or not, she didn’t dare presume his love for her was larger than what he represented within the world. She wouldn’t blame him if he decided to let her go. Not this time. She simply needed to be prepared.
He pursed his lips, the lines of his face devastatingly handsome as his gaze met hers. Her breath hitched. There was nothing but absolute conviction pooling within the olive color.
“I stand by your side, Rosalind. Chernobog should have damned me for leaving you this winter—but alas, he can’t.” He smiled softly. “I stand by your side. And when the world burns, when it all crumbles, I will watch it fall with you.”
She stifled a sob, those final remains of fear within her disintegrating.
Languidly, Veles’ smile grew, gaining a different edge. “Since we’re discussing the end of the world… You do know everybody is fucking right now like it’ll be their last time?”
Though she truly should have seen it coming, the change of subject caught her by surprise. She let out a husky laugh but quickly regained her composure and clicked her tongue at the god. “Don’t make assumptions based on yourself.”
He arched an eyebrow and gave her a pointed stare.
“Or me.” She chuckled.
She didn’t want to think about the truth lurking in those words. Instead, she trailed her finger down the god’s chest, slowly progressing across his chiseled abdomen.
The moan that slipped from his lips warmed her very core.
She smiled.
“But if what you say is true,” she purred, her tongue now following the trail her finger had outlined, “I guess we should make the most of it, don’t you think?”
“Srček,” was all the god could say before Rose’s head slipped beneath the covers.
Keep on reading for a bonus chapter!
Bonus Chapter
The room was stuffy, what with all the windows being closed—or perhaps it was simply Katja’s nerves that were making the wait so dreadfully long. Her fingers were entwined with Jürgen’s, the werewolf’s grip strong enough that it would have easily broken a human’s bones. She hid away a small smile.
It seemed she wasn’t the only one anxious.
Noticing Katja’s attention, the werewolf turned towards her, flashing that handsome grin she fell in love with time and time again. Truthfully, there were more than a few times she had difficulties grasping this charming, sexy, perfect person had chosen her to be his.
She returned the smile and leaned in. The softness of Jürgen’s lips stole her breath away, the kiss tentative, gentle, but there was fire beneath it, a wild passion that was their own. Unique and everlasting.
She wouldn’t mind losing herself in his caresses for eternity.
He pulled back, his blue gaze drifting from her eyes to her mouth and up again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Katja whispered, the words made even softer by the smile that cupped her lips.
He continued staring at her until a gentle blush warmed her cheeks, his look one of hunger, disbelief, and the purest affection. It was something she understood, something that she still couldn’t believe to be t
rue, either.
A grin stretched across her face. “What?”
The only reply she got was a low growl and the pressure of his lips as they found hers once more.
She chuckled mid-kiss, shifting her body until she rested in his embrace. “This all feels like a dream.”
“Waiting like assholes in a bloody empty room?” The were snickered.
She punched him in the shoulder. “You’re the asshole.”
“Nothing new.”
Chuckling softly, she watched as the door to the adjacent room opened. The secretary who had disappeared upon their arrival emerged into the office. She was in her mid-thirties, sporting a sleek updo that went perfectly with the well-trained smile she gave the pair as she motioned them to enter.
Jürgen’s grip on Katja’s hand tightened even further and continued to hold even as they veered around the large desk and made their way past the woman and into the office next door.
“Please, sit down,” a female vampire said from her executive swivel chair. The smile on her face was warm, fine wrinkles creating beautiful patterns in the corners of her lips and eyes.
The pair obliged, Katja barely holding back a laugh as she saw the slight stiffness in Jürgen’s posture. The were was nervous. And it was too bloody adorable for words. She gave him a light squeeze before focusing her attention on the woman.
“We’d like to get married,” she began, the words ricocheting off the walls in a wild dance.
“Just give me one moment,” the vampire replied, procuring a massive folder from a drawer on her right.
She placed the monstrosity on the desk with a thud and pulled out a large ledger, filled nearly to the brim with dates. As she began turning the pages, Katja felt her pulse hasten.
They were really doing this. They were actually doing this.
The vampire looked up. “Did you have a specific date in mind?”