by Tigris Eden
It took them both a while to recover. They were still connected, sweaty, and their breathing labored. The bite at her shoulder was leaking blood and Nerina couldn’t be bothered to care. Too tired from their fucking.
“That was new.”
“Nah, it was just like it was supposed to be.” Victor said against her sweat soaked shoulder. Gently he separated himself from Nerina, pulling her up his chest. With his claws, he began cutting away the ropes that held her in place.
“This is what I wanted to see.” He said as his hands ran over the marks left on her skin by the rope. The blood rushing back into her skin made her hiss, but once the initial pain ebbed, it was replaced with warmth and tingles.
“You’re a kinky bastard.”
“Yeah, but you love it.”
“I have to admit, I do.”
“So,” his fingers traced the marks on her skin as he peered down at her with warmth in his eyes.
“So,”
“We need to talk about the Reaping.”
“Okay, talk.”
“It’s going to happen Nerina, don’t say it won’t. It will. I don’t care what you think you know, but this thing between us is real. I said I’d give you time, and I meant that, but you have to know it’s going to happen.”
“What happened to buying a girl dinner?”
“That’s not how it works with us.” Victor grunted.
“Well, it’s how it works with me.”
“Improvise. Adapt and assimilate.”
“Sounds very cultish to me if you ask.”
The smile he graced her with made her heart smile. He really was a beautiful man. Rugged, but beautiful all the same.”
“Favorite color?”
“Green.”
“Last girlfriend?”
“I don’t have girlfriends.”
She wasn’t about to ask about who he slept with last, she already knew the answer to that question and although it pissed her off, she wasn’t going to dwell on it.
“How many lovers have you had?” Victor questioned.
“None of your damn business. That will start all kinds of trouble.”
“That many?” he joked.
“Shut up!” Nerina tried slapping him in the chest but he caught her hand, kissing each finger.
“My Neri.”
“Yeah, you keep saying that, but are you mine?”
“Completely.”
“The Reaping?”
“It happens only once a year, and hasn’t happened for over a millennia. It can only happen at the end of spring when we have our blood hunt. During the hunt, you will be taken deep into the forest and tied up. One of the women will cut you, taking a sample of your blood.”
“What the fuck for?” Nerina turned to look up at him.
“Tradition. Rites of passage, who the hell really knows anymore?”
“Yeah again, this all sounds cultish.”
Victor smiled.
“No baby, there’s a reason for everything. You’ll be cloaked and I won’t catch your scent. I won’t be allowed to search you out until I’ve completed three tests. I will also be purposely put on the wrong trail.”
“To confuse you?”
Victor nodded his head before leaning forward to rub noses with her. He took a deep breath before he continued.
“Yes, I have to prove myself worthy of our union. Once I do that, the cloak will be removed and I’ll come running fast.”
“That’s it?”
“No. There’s a ceremony after, vows are exchanged and then a celebration.”
“So what happens if you fail these tests?”
“I’ll die.”
Nerina’s eyes widened, her heart skipping more than one beat.”
“Die?” Well that wasn’t going to fucking happen. Not on her watch. “You better not fucking die.”
Victor laughed, squeezing her tight.
“I guess not.”
Their entire conversation did not make her feel better. But sleep was pulling hard on her body. She was exhausted.
Her limbs were heavy, making her feel as if she had too much to drink. Victor caught on immediately wrapping her in his arms and getting up from the bed.
“Hold on tight little one. We’re going to the hot springs.”
“Hot springs?” She yawned.
“Yes, your muscles are tight. I need to increase your circulation. Otherwise you’re going to crash and burn. I used you hard tonight.”
That he did. That was the last thought she had before she lay her head on his chest and passed out.
Chapter 23
Victor carried a sleeping Nerina in his arms to one of the many hot springs inside of the mountain. He passed other Pack members as he walked, realizing he hadn’t dressed her or himself. He wasn’t too worried so much about himself, as wolves had no such notions about nakedness, but Nerina, she would freak. Pulling her tighter to him, he tried to cover what parts he could as he made his way down to a more private spring. They’d talked about the Reaping and he knew without a doubt she had complete faith he’d pass the trials. It made Victor feel empowered. It was exactly what any Alpha’s mate would say. Like his mother, she would be an amazing Luna. The way was lit by the gemstones embedded into the rock and the dim lighting his father had installed into the floors. The spring was empty when he made it there. No one had yet to use it, which was perfect for what he had in mind for him and Nerina. He needed to care for her. Binding her was something she’d grow accustomed to. He could still feel the marks indented into the flesh of her skin by the hemp. Leaving behind a beautiful pattern that enticed him to do more.
His mind was overflowing with the different ways to manipulate her body. She was so pliant to his touch. She bent to his will without hesitation. Nerina was the kind of woman that would see him through the longest of winters. Victor stepped into the warmth of the hot spring, she barely stirred as he held her with one arm and cleaned her with the other. She hissed and moaned as he bathed her.
His mind drifted to their current state of affairs. Her father was going to be a problem. Nerina had a small artillery back at her cabin, and he’d been glad of it. Not every Hunter was a true Hunter. Majority supported the cause, but there were still Hunters out there that were human as well. Offspring of the original strains that were spawn from Ambrogio’s original six. Her father would regroup and come back. Victor just wasn’t sure how long that would be, or how short lived their small measure of peace was. It had been two days since the incident in Talkeetna. So far nothing had come of it. The Silver Bow of Artemis was safe. Locked away and only two people knew the location. It was the safer that way. The Bow was an instrument for control. Something Red had agreed would not be put to use. If that was the case, why was Roman after it? Why would she promise it to him?
No one could deny the coincidence that he’d stolen the Bow from the Mistress, only to have Nerina show up a few weeks later. Then six months down the rode her posse coming to town to take him out. Now her father was in town. Victor looked down at Nerina who was beginning to stir in his arms. Her body stretching languidly as she opened her beautiful eyes to peer up at him.
“Where are we?”
“One of the hot springs.”
She purred. Actually purred like a cat, and the sound went straight to his dick.
“This is lovely. I could stay here all night.”
“It’s day Nerina.”
“Is it? How long have I been out?”
“Not long, but because we’re in the heart of the mountain, we’ve switched our schedule to be more on alert when it comes to intruders.”
“Makes sense I guess.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Deep in thought now about this new revelation, he eyed Nerina. Watched her, as he let her wade deeper into the water and away from him. She seemed harmless enough, but could that really be it. Hunters were skilled in the art of deception. What if she was sent here from the beginning to entrap him? Infiltrate his Pack
?
No, she’s your Eros. The Goddess wouldn’t be so cruel to have you fall for the enemy.
“Moody now are we? Is my true Victor back already?”
He smirked at her as her breasts bobbed above the surface of the water. She was quite the temptress.
“Am I back? What’s that mean?” “
She shrugged, before submerging herself underneath. When she came up for air, he eyed her beautiful skin. Victor immediately knew where he wanted to put his Alpha mark on her. Her shoulders. Damn, she had him by the balls and probably didn’t even realize it. He swam over to where she was in the middle of the pool grabbing her around the waist and pulling her against him. He searched her face. He needed to know if there were secrets behind those brown eyes of hers. The iris was mostly brown, but now with sparks of silver. It made her alluring and enticing. A rarity for sure. Victor searched her face, looking for anything that might give him answers to the questions he had. When she smiled up at him, her lashes were thick with droplets of water. He couldn’t help it. He had to kiss her. She yielded to his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.
“Seriously, this can’t be all our relationship is based on Vic. I’ll hand it to you, you got the moves, but I really want to get to know you.” She said against his lips.
“You will. Let’s get out and dry off.”
“I want you to change in front of me.”
“Change?”
She couldn’t mean what he thought she meant.
“Yeah, change. I want to see all of your forms.”
Well this wasn’t something he was expecting her to ask of him. But if that was what she wanted, he’d do it.
“Right here?”
“Why not here? Just be you. Or are there only certain instances where you turn into your true self?”
She had a point, and that was one of the reasons he was so drawn to her. She allowed him to just be him. Victor pulled himself out of the water and turned to stand in front of her. If he was honest with himself, he was just a tad bit nervous.
“It’s going to look painful. It’s a bit uncomfortable but other than that I’ll be fine.”
She nodded once and then Victor went into his first transformation. That of a huge white wolf. That’s when the walls shook with such a force that he almost went into the pool face first.
Nerina jumped from the water, motioning with her hand for him to follow. She didn’t hesitate as another blast rocked the mountain.
“Just like dear old dad. He’s come at us with almost everything he’s got. How he found us, I don’t know how, but he did.”
Victor quickly changed back into his human form and as he followed Nerina back to their quarters, he wondered the same thing. Who the hell had given up their location?
Chapter 24
People were scattering everywhere. Some were running deeper into the cave, and Victor explained there was a place to hide the women and the children. Which made no sense whatsoever in her book. They needed another entrance. If her father had the ability to take the mountain to the ground, he would.
“You need to get them out. There has to be another exit.” Nerina was strapping up to take the high ground. She had her two sigs, one shotgun, and then her long range modified sniper rifle. Anyone else that was able to shoot a weapon she was giving them guns as well. One of them being Teak.
“You know how to shoot, right?”
“Yeah, Rina. I got this. Just tell me where you want me.”
“You’re with me, the rest of you need to take up positions around the opening of the mountain and hold off as many as you can. We don’t want them breaching the inside of the den.”
Another blast hit the mountain, loosening the sharp rock embedded into the ceiling as showers of pebbles hit the ground. Victor came back suited up in something that looked strangely like a bulletproof vest, only it went all the way up to his neck.
“Don’t I get one?” She asked.
He tossed her a jacket and she grinned pulling it on. It was surprisingly light. Blue and a few men he’d gathered from other Packs were in their Werewolf form and they too wore a sort of armor. It was designed for their changed state. As they made their way through the tunnels, Victor showed her the spot her and Teak could exit through in order to gain a vantage point on the Hunters. It was strategically around the front opening of the den. Nerina knew how her father worked. She’d help him plan a number of ambushes, had even accompanied her uncle on a couple of the raids. Although this wasn’t abandoned warehouses that were used as a front for shops, or even the projects. This was a mountain filled with people. Some who could fight, others who could not. She wasn’t about to let anything bad happen to them.
Teak and Nerina made their way to a break in the mountain. The ledge was low enough for them to get a straight shot at anyone that tried to make it inside the den, but hidden enough that no one would know their location. Nerina positioned her riffle, setting out enough ammo to take out a dozen armies.
“I want to be down their fighting.” Teak grumbled, plopping down into the dirt next to her.
“Don’t worry kid, you’re going to see plenty of action up here.”
“Bullshit.”
“Hey!” Nerina snapped. “Watch your mouth.”
Teak laughed.
“You think I’m a child. I’m probably the same age as you.”
Nerina looked back over her shoulder at the boy that looked so much like his mother. He couldn’t be more than sixteen if even that.
“Yeah, okay Teak. We don’t have time for this.”
“Yeah well,” Teak grabbed her and turned her so suddenly that Nerina didn’t have time to anticipate his move. One moment his eyes were playful and the next minute the kid was laying a kiss on her that could rival that of his uncles. Jerking away from him and wiping her mouth she stared wide eyes at the boy. She could see it in his eyes now, the man, lurking just beneath the surface. It was quite the transformation. She’d never noticed it before, but she could see it now. Nerina wasn’t sure how to handle the situation.
“I’m almost thirty, Nerina. This time next year, I’ll look just like my uncles.”
The hell.
“Well you definitely fooled me.”
“Yeah, well that was the point right. We all thought you were human. To human’s I still look like a child, but to my kind, they know. I’m a man.”
“Well, man. Lock that shit down. We have Hunters to shoot.”
Teak nodded his head grinning and lowered himself to the ground next to her. In the clearing below she could see her father’s men. She couldn’t tell who was an actual human versus a Hunter.
“Can’t tell the difference?” Teak asked.
“No, can you?”
“Nope, otherwise we would have pegged you from then jump. Look for the one with silver eyes, they would have just fed.”
Nerina rolled her eyes at him before looking into the scope of her riffle. She didn’t see her father anywhere. She saw her uncle and a couple of the guys she worked with in the past. But Roman was nowhere in sight.
“I’ve come for my niece and the Bow.” Nerina’s uncle said, stepping into the clearing. Victor could see there were at least a dozen of them in plain sight. There were six Packs here and he knew there would be losses on both side. Victor stood out in the open. He could smell the silver in their bullets. A highly concentrated dose that would be lethal if more than one bullet embedded into their skin.
“You’re asking for way too much, Oscar.” Victor said back.
“Am I? Well Nerina belongs with her own kind. You stole the Bow. I think what I’m asking for is right in line and should even the score.”
“I don’t see how, considering the Bow rightly belongs to us. The only reason Red had it was to keep it from filth like you.”
“How do you think she got it in the first place? Roman and Red have been in league for centuries. We’ve just been sitting tight, waitin
g for the right moment.”
Well that answered one of his questions.
“How did you find us?”
“Oh that was easy. A dog will always stray from its master.”
Oscar turned and when he did, two men stepped forward. Sasha between them. The moment she stepped forward he was immediately relieved and saddened at the same time. Sasha would be a lone wolf now, assuming a Pack member didn’t kill her. Her father Eric stepped from the folds of the pack that was still behind him. He’d volunteer to act as a healer should anyone fall during battle.
“Sasha! What have you done?”
“She doesn’t belong here father. I did this for the Pack. No harm will come to any of us if you just hand her and the Bow over.” She pleaded with her father. She truly believed what she was saying. She hadn’t been harmed yet, but she would be. They would never let this go. Her actions were considered treason, and could result in death if exile was ruled out.
“You don’t know what you’ve done.” Eric said sadly, before turning and walking back toward the others.
“Father, where are you going? What I’ve done is saved the Pack.”
“No child,” Victor’s father said now. “What you did was shame the Pack. Furthermore you’ve made yourself an outcast. Turning on the Pack is punishable by death. You’re dead to us Sasha.”
As if to drive the point home, there was a piercing howl that went up into the darkened sky. Eric’s pain could be felt by all. She struggled between the two men trying to get to her father, but the men restrained her.
“Sorry doll, you stay with us. Until they hand over my niece, and the Bow.”
“That’s not going to happen, and you know it.”
“Well, then I guess there is nothing more to say.”
“Guess not.” Victor said, turning to head back toward the den.
“Gus, take the mountain down.” Oscar ordered.
Victor heard the sound of the bullet, before he saw it. The man Oscar called Gus was standing in front of what could only be the trigger for a larger explosive that would have indeed taken the mountain down.
How did he not smell the plastics?