“It’s over, Renata,” Melinda’s voice called from behind her. “If I should even call you that. If you don’t come willingly, you will be forced. Even with your royal blood, you will not overpower ten men.”
She turned to face Melinda and lunged, but bodies collided with hers before she got within ten feet of the alpha female. Pavement rushed to meet her and she grimaced as her face hit the cold concrete. Four bodyguards held her down. She heaved back, throwing several off, but a needle prick in her neck was followed quickly by black spots in her vision, a wave of nausea, and loss of motor function. Fucking bitch was ready for me. No one knew where I was going …
“Get her inside before the authorities arrive.” Melinda’s voice barked out commands. Renata was aware of being picked up and moved, but she couldn’t tell where or what direction.
“Glad to see the draft worked. Is she out completely yet?” A vaguely familiar voice resonated from across the room. Renata searched her mind for the connection, but drew a blank. Whatever they had injected her with was making thinking difficult, too.
“No. She flexes her arms from time to time, testing our hold,” the guard on her right responded.
Fucker. I’ll be sure to rip out your throat first.
“Not before I rip out yours, bitch,” the familiar woman’s voice hissed in her ear.
How had she gotten across the room so quickly, and how did she know? Fuck. What was she doing here?
“Remember me, Renata?”
“Vampire bitch,” she hissed, trying to lunge, but the guards easily held her back. “How did you know?”
“You let your guard down after you bashed my head into the counter a few times. I got to see all the gory thoughts in your nasty, little brain.”
Renata roared, throwing off one of the guards. Three more rushed in to push her to the ground. “I’ll kill you this time, witch.”
Someone’s hand dug into her hair and pulled her head forward. She saw Melinda through the dark spots and curled her lip. The alpha female tugged her head up and met her gaze, hate seething from her ocean blue eyes. “I should kill you for all those innocent humans lying dead on the sidewalk outside my building. You insufferable bitch. I should kill you for murdering my brother. I should kill you just to make sure you never try again.”
“But,” Renata murmured. It was coming. Someone or something had ordered her caught instead of executed.
“But, I promised Hallie and Tess I would catch you instead.”
“Awww, that’s sweet. My girls think their mother is still inside me somewhere.” Her muscles were starting to come back to life. She just needed to keep Melinda distracted long enough.
“Open it!” Melinda snarled.
Open what? Her foggy brain tried to focus, but her vision was still blurred.
Metal creaked from across the room. One shove from Melinda sent her hurtling through the air. Her back connected with several metal bars and she groaned. Those broken ribs would hurt for a while. Or longer.
Why wasn’t her magick surging to heal her? She crawled to her knees, her fingers finding cold metal plating beneath her. Straining her eyes, she saw bars blocking her way. A cage? Fuck that! She gathered her strength and lunged at the wall, screaming in pain as her shoulder connected with the metal.
It should have moved or bent. Something!
“What have you done to me?” Her shoulder throbbed and her magick receded even further, refusing to protect or heal her body.
The smell of vampire grew less. Camila, Kate’s vampire witch friend had left the room.
“Enjoy your cage, Renata,” Melinda sneered. “You won’t be going anywhere. The Council can just forget about its little revenge-filled minion. You know they were going to kill you anyway, right?”
“I would have killed some of them first,” she snarled.
“Between the Originals and the lower Council members, you wouldn’t have done shit, Renata. You may have royal blood and magick flowing through your veins, but none of us are any match for the Originals or our elders, except maybe your daughters.”
“The Council deserves to die for what they did to me.” She sank to the floor in the center of the cage and wailed. Everything was for naught. She’d let her guard down and a filthy vampire witch had wormed her way into her mind. “I deserve my revenge.”
“Not today you don’t.” Melinda said.
Metal hinges twisted, and everyone else left the room except two of the bodyguards. She could smell their presence and hear their heartbeats. She was a prisoner trapped by her blind rage. How had she not seen this? They’d tricked her. No one had ever tricked her before.
She screamed and threw herself against the bars again. They didn’t give and her shoulder ached even more, bringing tears to her always-dry eyes. It wasn’t fair. She’d planned everything so carefully. Vengeance was her reason for existence. Why wouldn’t they just kill her?
“Because I’m still in here.” Renata’s weak voice whispered in the back of her mind.
They’ll never forgive you.
“They might.”
CHAPTER TWO
Nicole sat curled in her chair. The plane’s rumbling roused her from sleep. The leopard had left her alone with her thoughts and she’d drifted off, dreaming she was back in Woodhaven. With everything that had happened over the last year, she considered it more of a home than her parents’ place in Vegas. Sam and Chase had taken up residence in the downtown mansion. They were doing a good job running the casino and keeping the pack running smoothly. Her brother-in-law, Chase Michaels, was a pretty good alpha.
The change had been good for the pack. Her soul still cried over the loss of her father. Peter Demakis had been there for all of them as much as he could. She knew now the delicate fence he’d been straddling, attempting to placate the Council and break away without rousing suspicion. With the rebellion now in full force, the Vegas pack was on constant alert against Council agents sent to convince them of the error of their ways.
Now, here she was, headed to the heart of where everything started. She was literally going to be thrown to the wolves.
All because of this one fucking agent, who just happened to be her true mate. Fate couldn’t have slapped her in the face any harder. He was smart, cunning, and willing to play dirty. But so was she, and she had more leverage. She had her body … and Kate.
So far, the seduction angle wasn’t working on him. He either had a will of iron or wasn’t interested in females. The latter … just wouldn’t be fair. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel.
That left a will of iron. She could work with that.
First on the agenda was getting a name out of him. He’d yet to divulge that personal tidbit and she desperately needed something to call him in her daydreams besides hot guy or sexy man.
“Adonis worked quite nicely, I thought,” her wolf added to her stream of consciousness.
You would.
Clouds drifted past the small oblong windows. I need him to trust me. I will try to help him rescue his sister.
“He has more to lose, Nicole. Give him time. You are a royal wolf, his mate, and his target. It’s got to be a lot to process.”
Well he needs to start processing faster. We are running out of time.
To be forced into a marriage to someone other than her true mate was the worst fate imaginable to a shifter. Losing a true mate had practically destroyed her mother, Renata. Nicole wasn’t about to make the same mistake. If need be, she would die to have him. The trick would be convincing him she was willing to go that far. He refused to speak to her, keeping his distance since their first encounter.
He wanted her. She could feel that much. The bond was trying to settle into place, but he kept pushing it away. It needed more contact between them to truly begin the process. Unfortunately, he was making sure there was enough distance between them so she couldn’t throw herself into his lap again.
A smile played across her lips at the thought of his lap. His hard, muscled thighs
and rich, sandalwood scent toyed with her memories. Her pulse raced and nerves tingled across her body, sending pleasurable impulses to her sex. Her breasts hardened and her nipples rubbed against the constrictive lace of her bra.
The door at the end of the cabin opened. He came through and sat in the chair opposite to hers. She refused to look at him. Two could play the ignoring game. Plus, she was still pissed. Whether or not he’d been hired to kidnap her, she was his mate. He should be willing to fight for his mate. Wolves always fought for their mates, but he was a cat. A leopard. A species of shifter she knew nothing about.
“We’ll be arriving soon.”
“I don’t give a fuck if we’re arriving soon!” she barked. “I need to know if you are on my side or if you’re just going to hand me over to my grandparents and ignore me—ignore our connection.”
“I can’t risk my sister’s life.”
“But I can help!”
“I kidnapped you. How can I trust that you would actually follow through?”
“First, my word means something. Does yours? Second, don’t you get it? You’re my fucking mate, you oversized kitty cat!”
He snarled, his knuckles turning white against the brown leather of the chair arms. Muscles tensed in his neck and she listened to his heartbeat quicken ever so slightly. He was fast at masking it, but not fast enough.
Worked like a charm.
She bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling. The scent of his arousal filled her nostrils. Her libido kicked into overdrive. Gods, she just wanted to plaster herself against him, peel off his clothes, and taste him from head to foot. She had no idea what catnip smelled like, but he was hers for sure. If pissing him off was the way to turn him on, she was going to enjoy this.
His eyes widened and his lips parted. No doubt he could smell her arousal, too. Not that she was trying to mask anything. She was being quite upfront about her needs.
He glanced at the door and then to her.
Damn. He’s just going to leave me out here … again.
“Don’t leave. I promise to behave.” She smiled and licked her lips. “You could at least tell me your name.”
“Aaron Katsaros, and I don’t believe you know how.”
“I know how to behave … Aaron.” She let his name roll off her tongue, enjoying the texture of the letters. “It’s just a matter of convincing me it’s worth my effort.” Just get over here and touch me. She smiled, twirling a strand of blonde hair around one of her fingers. “I don’t suppose you have any donuts on this flight.”
A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. His eyes twinkled with amusement. Her reference to her earlier comment was not lost on him.
Good. She couldn’t stand a man without at least a mild sense of humor.
“No donuts, but I can make a sandwich for you.”
She shook her head. “I need sugar.”
“I’ll see what’s back there.” He got up from his chair and left the cabin. Cabinets opened and closed in the back. She could hear the sound of boxes and bags being moved. Something fell to the floor and he cursed under his breath, bringing another grin to her lips.
“He can’t be that bad if he’s willing to dig through the whole pantry to find you something sweet,” her wolf pointed out.
True. We’ll see, though.
He returned with a bag of chocolate chip cookies and offered it to her, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
Nicole nodded and accepted the bag from his outstretched hand. She pulled a cookie from the bag. As she bit into it, she savored the sugary sweetness and the chocolate. It was good, but a donut would’ve been better.
“I don’t know what to do with you,” he said, shaking his head.
The comment piqued her interest. What did he mean? He was taking her to Greece under orders from her grandparents. Of course he knew what he was going to do, unless he was considering helping her after all.
The plane rattled and lights came on above the chairs, signaling it was time to put on the seatbelts and prepare for landing. She leaned over to look through the windows. Small islands dotted the ocean. Greece was such a beautiful country. It was a shame she wasn’t visiting under better circumstances. She’d never met her grandparents. Her mother never spoke kindly of them. Most of the time praising the fact that there was an ocean between Carlotta Antipas and herself.
Aaron’s brown eyes stared at her intently. So much for her seduction not working. She could smell his arousal. He was just denying the inevitable. They were true mates, destined to spend their lives together. He just needed to accept it.
She let a smile turn up the corners of her mouth. “These are pretty good, but donuts are better.”
He snorted and turned his head, focusing his gaze out the window next to him. Chicken. This was never going to work if he didn’t at least speak to her.
She put down the bag of cookies in the seat next to her and latched the seatbelt over her hips. It wouldn’t be long now. Her grandparents would carry her off to their mansion and give her over to some stranger, but only after he’d endured a bloody fight to win the right to fuck her, bite her, and claim her as his mate.
No one should have to fear their grandparents or deal with such a screwed up, twisted society. Damn. She just wanted to go back home. Spending centuries with a man she didn’t want was not in her life plan.
Her aunt dealt with the situation well, but Uncle Marrock was a special kind of jerkwad. He hated New York and spent his life gallivanting through Europe, sleeping with whomever he pleased while Melinda ran the pack. Of course, as far as the Council knew, they were a happily married pair. They showed up to functions when called upon and did their best to hide that they lived completely separate lives.
She didn’t want that. She wanted a mate to love. She wanted a friend and companion. Their lives were too long to spend pining away for something that should have been. Her mother was living proof.
Nicole Demakis decided she wasn’t going down without a fight. She couldn’t imagine spending her life with anyone other than Aaron and she didn’t even know him. Not really.
“But you can’t wait to get him naked.”
Being attracted to someone and actually liking that person are two very different things.
“Sure.”
Shut up. If you want to help me, figure out how I can get him on my side.
“I’m still voting for the seduction angle. Keep showing more skin.”
She rolled her eyes. Sex was all her wolf ever thought about. Nymphomaniac. It didn’t help that her sister and two good friends had already found their mates. Why did he have to make it so hard?
“I thought you wanted him hard?”
You’re terrible.
“Just trying to be helpful.” Her wolf’s laughter echoed in the back of her mind.
She grinned inwardly, refusing to let Aaron see her amusement. She was very attracted to him and wanted to know more about him. The primal need to be close to him was the magick calling their four souls together. It would only get stronger as they spent more time together. How he was dismissing it so easily, she couldn’t imagine. Maybe he was torturing himself just to torture her.
The plane jerked and slowed, touching down. They rolled to a stop on the tarmac and the engines cut off. Time was up. They were here.
She followed him to the opening door and paused at the top of the stairs. The bright light made her squint and wish for sunglasses, but the warm salty breeze was very pleasant. She raised her hand, shielding her eyes and saw several people standing next to a black limo a dozen yards from the plane. One was a woman who looked strikingly similar to her mother. The other was an older gentleman. Her grandfather. Another man stood near the front of the vehicle and another near the trunk. Hired muscle.
“You’re just going to let me go, aren’t you?” She whispered. “We’ll both be miserable for the rest of our lives because you won’t even try to fight for me.”
“I can’t fight this,” he snarled. “I c
an’t even ask to fight in your hunt. I’m not a wolf. The same rules don’t apply. I’m just a soldier, a slave to your grandparents. I’ll not endanger my sister’s life. She’s all I have left. Wolves killed our parents. I’m all she has left in this world.”
The pain in his eyes and his loyalty tugged at Nicole’s heart. She understood family loyalty. It’s what made her agree to come with him without a fight to begin with. She couldn’t fault him for being loyal to his family. He didn’t have a pack—he only had a sister. He had been alone for so long, forced to do whatever her grandparents asked, just so they wouldn’t kill his sister. God, what kind of monsters are they?
“Not the friendly kind. Be careful.”
Aaron descended the stairs and she followed only a step behind. Something within her said meeting Carlotta and Reginald Antipas would be easier if the big leopard was at her side.
They crossed the pavement and Aaron dropped to a knee in front of her grandmother.
“Mistress, I have returned with your granddaughter, as promised.”
What the hell? Did we just regress to the Middle Ages?
“Your grandparents are part of the lower Council. Everything here has a lot more ritual and formality,” her wolf answered calmly.
Nicole glared at her grandfather and then her grandmother. She didn’t take after either of them. They both had dark hair, dark olive skin, and honey brown eyes. She and Samantha looked more like their father—blonde, fair-skinned, with blue eyes. The twins had the looks of the Antipas side of the family.
“You never disappoint me, Mr. Katsaros.”
Nicole shuddered at the icy sound of her grandmother’s voice.
“Nicole. It’s so good to finally have you home.”
Irritation flamed. “This is not my home! I was forced here against my will. You two are by definition the worst grandparents ever!”
“Yeah, don’t hold back. Tell them how you really feel. Watch them lock you up with his sister.”
Fuck it.
“You already did,” her wolf growled.
Carlotta smiled at her mate and Nicole’s grandfather spoke for the first time. “You have your mother’s temper, Nicole. That’s good. It means you will have her determination, too. You will be a good mate to one of the men who will succeed in taking over your father’s lower Council seat.”
Taking Nicole (Vegas Mates Series)(#4) Page 2