Arctic Bound

by Tigris Eden

  What about her way of life? What about making concessions for what she would call normal? These were all valid thoughts, but at the end of the day, she’d moved into his world. Not the other way around.

  “You don’t need to be so damn touchy, Victor.” Sasha tried pouting. A few weeks ago it would have worked to her advantage. Now, not so much.

  “Take off your dress and get on your hands and knees, up on the bed.”

  She didn’t waste any time. She shredded the dress and stepped out, revealing she wore no undergarments.

  “Shoes too. Hurry up.”

  He could smell her arousal and it was both tart and strong. Not heated and sweet like Nerina’s. Eventually he was going to have to get used to coming to this one nightly, otherwise their couplings would be brutal.

  The air vents came on then, cooling down the room. Something Victor found odd. Blue only ever turned on the air conditioning when the club was packed. Most everyone would have gone home by now. Sasha was in position on the bed, and he quickly joined her, wanting to get this over with so that he could go back and explain things to Neri. Gripping the back of her hair with one hand and her waist with the other, he thrust forward. Sasha let out a cry of pleasure and then she was grabbing her neck as if something was stuck in her throat as she began coughing.

  “Sasha, what’s wrong with you?”

  That’s when he smelled it. AgNO3. Someone had pumped silver nitrate into the vents. It was deadly if inhaled in large doses. The amount was so small that he doubted it would truly cause panic. It was more of an irritant than anything else. But then he smelled the smoke. Before he was able to pull out of Sasha, they both collapsed to the bed, choking on silver. Guess their attackers knew the correct dosage to put them down after all.

  Chapter 17

  Nerina jolted awake in bed, soaked in sweat. Only she hadn’t been dreaming of fire. She hadn’t been dreaming about anything at all. Kicking the sheets off she realized that the room was in complete darkness, but she could see. There was an orange glow beneath the door, and she knew without even having smelt the wood charring or the paint melting off the walls, that on the other side of her bedroom door was a raging inferno.

  Fuck!

  How could this be happening? Her mind needed a moment to catch up with her brain. But she didn’t have moments. Another second spent in this room meant her life. Nerina quickly ran to the bathroom, soaking her robe as best she could and soaking two towels. One to breathe with, the other to wrap around her head. There was no one calling out for help. Not one single person. In the darkness she could see what she thought were specs of silver light. The smell of silver assaulted her nostrils and the distinct smell of Nitrous oxide was next. Someone had pumped silver nitrate into the vents. Somehow she knew this had everything to do with her. Not caring if the doorknob to her freedom was sizzling hot, Nerina pulled on the knob, opening her bedroom door. The flames from the fire were hot. The blaze alone danced skyward as it tipped the tops of the walls with its heat. No one was in the hall. This boded badly. Werewolves could be killed by silver. That much she knew, and anyone could die from fire. At least she thought that was true for werewolves. There was white smoke coming from underneath the door to her right. She knew there was very little hope for whoever was on the other side. But she couldn’t leave them behind. They’d protected her.

  Placing the wet washcloth over her mouth and nose, she ran to first one door, kicking it in. She saw Blue passed out on the floor, his pants still on, his feet bare. His furniture slowly catching fire as the fire crawled down the sides of the wall. Nerina didn’t waste any time dragging Blue out into the hall and slamming his door shut. She needed to get him out and then check to see who else was left.

  “Come on Blue, work with me here,” Nerina hissed as the heat from the fire continued to rise. Her cloth was almost dry which meant she could suffer from smoke inhalation. Blue was big and by no means light as she fireman carried Blue down the hall and up the stairs into the clubs main area. Everyone was out cold. Everyone but her. How the hell was she going to get them all out to safety?

  Sweat from her hair ran into her eyes, stinging and clouding her vision. When she finally pulled Blue outside, she went back in and started dragging bodies out. As long as she got them to the outside of the club she could go back in and continue rescuing the rest. Her limbs hurt, and her legs felt numb from the weight of each person she had to carry, or drag outside. On her third trip out she noticed that Blue was coming to.

  “What the hell happened? What’s going on?” Blue coughed and wheezed as he tried to sit up.

  “I don’t have much time to explain, but if you have the strength, I need your help.”

  Blue’s eyes cleared and she could see they were turning yellow. Shit, she didn’t have time for his wolf tantrum, and apparently neither did he. As he stood, his body began to convulse. The seams of his pants separated to allow his muscles to bulge and contort. Nerina could hear bones cracking as Blue roared. His entire body bent submitting to the change. His knees hit the ground as his form grew three times the size of his already massive frame. His vertebrae cracked and grew as he hunched forward. His arms looked longer than his body, but then his body quickly caught up, hair sprouting on every inch of his skin until the man was gone and only the beast stood in its place. This change was completely different from Victors. Steel strong arms and legs brought him to his feet. His abdomen covered in a smattering of hair did not hide the true power underneath as each ab muscle protruded, showing casing his armor made of muscle and veins. His mouth full of razor sharp teeth, howled towards the night sky. His electric blue eyes scanned everything around him as he pushed past Nerina and into the blazing fire that had taken hold of his club. He was too tall to clear the door, and instead of ducking to get in, he lifted his massive clawed hands to the archway and pushed it out of his way. The frame cracking and groaning as it broke easily under his power.

  The others were coming to as well. She didn’t have to ask for help as each of them changed in a somewhat similar fashion and headed inside the burning building. Nerina followed. None of the other wolves were as large as Blue. He dominated in sheer size alone as he carried four injured wolves on his back. Neither Victor nor Sasha were anywhere in the group.

  Downstairs, they have to still be down there.

  Motioning for one of the wolves to follow her Nerina battled her way back down the stairs using her new sense of smell to search for Victor. There were others down there as well. Two other wolves had followed her down and they quickly tore the door off their hinges pulling Cherry from a room, and the twins from another room. It was the door on her left, the one that she could hear falling to pieces was where Victor and Sasha were.

  Emotions were trying to get the best of her, but she refused to let that get in her way. This was about saving lives. People were going to die. It didn’t matter if they were human or not. The handle was molten red, and she knew she couldn’t touch it. Fear gripped her chest and made her lungs burn from the smoke as she kicked the door in. Everything was up in flames, the walls, the paintings, the wood on the four-poster bed, and there in the middle was Victor and Sasha. He was lying on top of her, his body covering hers as if to save her. They were both naked. She felt sick, sick to her stomach at what was in front of her but couldn’t let it slow her down as she first pulled Victor off the bed and then Sasha. She couldn’t carry them both out, but if she didn’t get them to safety, one of them would die.

  “Somebody help me! Help me please! We’re in here!” She screamed, hoping someone would come to her rescue. But no one came. She tried pulling them both at the same time, but her body was weakening. It was useless. She got as far as the opening of the door when the beam from above came crashing down, blocking their escape.

  

  Victor came to with a roar. His body had been trying to fight off the AgNO3, but he’d been helpless to do anything about it. The room he was in with Sasha was up in flames, both of
them were naked, and in his clouded vision, he could see Nerina trying to unblock the door. Her smaller frame not strong enough to get the beams out of her way. She could have escaped if she’d only been concerned with herself, but she hadn’t left. She’d come for him and Sasha.

  “Nerina, stop.” Victor tried to get to his feet, but found he was very weak himself. Her whiskey brown eyes pierced him with disdain and hurt before turning back to her task of kicking the thick piece of wood. He could hear the others above the roar of the flames. They were trying to find a way down to get to them. “Nerina, the others are coming for us.”

  “Well, while they’re trying to work on that, I’m going to work on this. If you want to help then help. Otherwise, shut the hell up.”

  The towel he’d worn earlier were burned, and normally he wouldn’t give a care about his nudity, but the situation that he found himself in was one of shame. She’d found him, probably still balls deep inside of Sasha, and she pulled them apart to get them to safety. He was all kinds of fucked up, but he couldn’t dwell on that now. His strength was slowly returning and he planned to use every ounce to help save their lives. He could tell the strength in her legs was waning. Her thighs shook and her hair and robe were soaked in sweat and soot. Victor made his way over to the beam and with every cell in his body, he slowly lifted, instructing Nerina to grab Sasha and pull her through.

  “Pull her through, I’ll be right behind you.”

  He watched as she dragged an unconscious Sasha through the door. He could feel the wood crumbling against his hold as the fire licked at his skin. Before it was too late, he dropped the beam and followed Nerina up, taking Sasha from her arms and leading the three of them outside. The air was crisp and cool as fellow Pack members all gathered in front of the burning building and taking stock of their injuries. Nerina walked over to a tree behind the club and collapsed. Her head between her legs as she took in large gulps of air.

  Victor sat Sasha on the ground with the others and walked over to where Nerina sat against the tree.

  “Are you alright?”

  She didn’t answer at first. Gritting his teeth he prayed for patience. They’d just suffered a near death experience; the least she could do was speak to him.

  “Nerina, I asked if you were alright?”

  “I’m fine Victor, just trying to catch my breath. Go and see to Sasha, she needs you.”

  She was being rude to him. Verbally brushing him off as if he wasn’t any one of importance.

  “I’m checking on you right now. Sasha will be fine.”

  “Oh she will, will she, and how do you know?”

  “Because she’s a Werewolf that’s how I know.”

  Nerina’s eyes widened significantly, as if the words he said had slapped her across the face. He didn’t see why she was getting so upset. It was true what he said. She was human, and Sasha wasn’t. It was only natural that he tend to her needs first to make sure she was okay. He checked her for signs of burns, and noticed that her hands were raw. There was a gash on the inside of her thigh. The robe she wore was singed, its frayed edges sticking to her sweat-soaked skin. His skin would heal. Hers wouldn’t unless he gave her more of his blood. Bringing his wrist to his mouth, he bit down placing his open wrist in front of her. She stared at it for long moments before looking up at him.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Drink Nerina. It will heal your burns.”

  “I said no! What part of no don’t you understand, the N or the O?”

  “Stupid girl, fucking drink the blood!” He roared getting everyone’s attention.

  “Fuck off, wolf boy!” She spat back before standing up and making her way over to the others. Blue walked up to him then, no longer in his beast form.

  “Give her time. She’s not handling all of this well. We need to figure out who torched my club and then we need to see to it that they never do it again.”

  The sound of a branch breaking beneath feet, alerted them that they weren’t alone.

  “Step out of the darkness. Come into the light where we can see you.”

  The fire blazed low behind them as the wolves worked to get the fire contained. There would be no firefighters coming to the rescue. Not at Eden’s Den. Some type of ward Blue had put up to keep things quiet for emergencies just like this one. To a human the club would look closed down.

  Out of the shadows came one of the girls that has showed with Nerina that night at the club. Raven he thought she was called.

  “What do you want? Are you responsible for this?” Blue asked.

  “Yes and no. Oscar set the fire, I only meant to knock your asses out with the silver nitrate so that we could get our hands on Mr. Canidae there, and take our girl home where she belongs.”

  “Nerina stays here with me.”

  Raven looked over to where Nerina stood. She looked between her friend and then back to Victor. Something desperate clouding her face as she took a limping step forward.

  “Rina will be coming home with me. Her uncle has promised her safe passage back to New York. She’s no longer implicated in her parent’s death. They know she didn’t start the fire.” Raven looked at his Neri with beseeching eyes. “Rina come home with me, I promise all will be safe.”

  When she still didn’t move towards her friend, Victor let out a sigh of relief.

  She’s not leaving with them.

  It wasn’t until a man he had never seen before stepped from that shadows that the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

  “Bella?”

  

  Nerina’s entire body froze. She could see him as clear as day. Nothing on him had been changed. It was like his ghost had gone and gotten a complete makeover. The man that stood next to Raven was her father. Her motherfucking father who was dead! DEAD! How in the hell could he be standing not five feet away from her? She was so into the scene in front of her she wasn’t paying attention to the scene behind her. Numerous growls were emanating from every single Werewolf that stood behind her. The blood in her veins was starting to heat to an almost unbearable level.

  “Bella, you reek of dog.” Her father commented as he wrinkled his nose and stepped closer. The growls behind her got louder.

  “Neri.” Victor growled. She could barely make out her name his voice was so gruff, “Who is this vermin to you?”

  Completely ignoring Victor, she continued to stare at the man that looked to be her father.

  “How is this possible? How are you here?”

  “Bella, there is so much we need to discuss. I need you to come with me, away from this place, away from these despicable flea bags.”

  Nerina wiped the soot from her arms on her robe and realized she was barefoot, in less than thirty degrees weather. The fire behind her was now just black smoke and burning wood. A strong arm grabbed her from behind. She was pulled into the arms of a naked Victor, who had no shame about his nudity as he stood in front of her father.

  “Nerina isn’t going anywhere with you. You tell her highness that if she wants the Bow back too damn bad, she can’t have it. Nerina is staying with me.”

  Her father threw back his head and laughed. It was a deep laugh she knew very well. It was a laugh that wasn’t meant to comfort. It was a laugh meant to demean.

  “If you think my daughter is going to stay here with someone like you, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  “Daughter?”

  The hand wrapped tightly around her arm loosened. Nerina turned to look at Victor who was staring at her as if she were a stranger. His eyes roamed her face, her neck, going the length of her body.

  “Impossible. She’s human.”

  “Of course I’m human. What the hell are you going on about Victor? Let go of my arm.”

  “Little one, come away with me now. I have a jet waiting and there is someone that wants to see you badly. We’ve been searching everywhere for you.”

  Victor was still eyeing her as if she were an anomaly when she turned back
to face him. The others behind him were still on the defensive. Some of them were mumbling. She heard words like, bloodsucker, Hunter, and the one that sent a chill down her spine, Vampire. Pulling herself from Victor’s grip she took a step towards the only man she ever trusted.

  “How can you be here? You’re dead.”

  The smile her father gave her was one she’d seen a hundred times before. The one reserved for only her and her mother.

  “All will be explained when you come with me. This creature you’re keeping company with does not want you Cara. I smell his mark on you. It won’t be what he’s promised. I bet there is someone else he has ties to. Some other dog among his Pack he’s to be mated to.” Roman pierced her with knowing eyes. He knew he’d hit his mark dead on. She was never one to hide anything from her father. She didn’t even have to say a word, but he knew.

  “Let her go and be with her kind.” Someone from the crowd shouted, “She’s not one of us, Sasha is your chosen mate Victor, let her go.”

  There was some growling and more talking when Sasha parted the crowd. She too was still naked. Her long blond hair parted to cover her breasts as she stepped forward and stood to Victor’s right.

  “They are right, Victor. She’s the enemy.”

  The enemy? She wasn’t the enemy. Victor stepped anyway relinquishing his hold. He didn’t even fight for her. As weird as the situation was, she at least thought he’d protest. He’d done nothing but let her go.

  Nerina walked into the arms of her father, who embraced her pulling her tight to his chest. He smelled different. His skin, which she remembered, being warm, was cool to the touch. The grey that used to color the sides of his hair was a healthy black. It all had to be some strange nightmare.

  Wake up now. She thought as she held fast to the only true anchor she’d ever known.