by Jeni Burns
"Bullshit." She bounced to the balls of her feet and readied her fists. There was no way she was letting him take her down like one of his kind had gotten to Nana. She'd go down swinging and take pieces of him with her.
"Kara, listen to me. I've been trying to protect you for decades. I need you to hear me out."
"Sure, I'll sit down and share a blood bag with you just as soon as I stake you like a damn shish kebab." She cursed the sleek lines of metal racks and hangers. Why didn't they have more wood in the store? I mean, shouldn't people who knew vampires existed be prepared for a vampire attack? Her brain reeled. Nana was dead. Lindsay and Julia were safe now that Ronin was there, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they would all be pushing up daffodils in the family plot. The three of them were targets just like their mothers had been. And her being careless brought the bloodsuckers to their door. She needed to find her ring if she got out of this alive.
Their whole life had been about staying isolated and protected, but ever since Lindsay met Ronin and began talking about moving out and getting married, the overall feeling in the house tended toward dread. She'd begun dream walking more frequently, Julia had taken to mothering more than usual, and Nana had been ranting and raving about their treasures as if she was stuck on some demented replay loop in her brain.
Fresh tears formed in her eyes and the vampire raised both hands in surrender.
"I promise, I'm not going to hurt you. If you stop for a moment and listen, I can prove it."
Her vision blurred as the tears fell, ruining her badass image. "You're a vampire. I know how this ends. You drink my blood. I die. You live." She blurted out the words without any restraint. "Just get it over with," she challenged as she readied herself for a counter attack. If he thought she was frail and fragile, she'd use that against him and make him think twice before trying to bite her.
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you," he promised and made a show of displaying his lack of fang. "I heard you outside and knew something was wrong. I'm here to offer my help. Whatever you need." He took a step back from her and shrugged as he dropped his hands to his sides.
"What kind of vampire doesn't bite?" Of all the thoughts running through her head, that's not the one she expected to come out her mouth.
"One who's pledged to protect a human."
His simple answer disarmed her. "Pledged to protect who?" She raised her eyebrow and stared him down looking for any visible signs of deceit.
"You, Kara. You probably don't remember me, but we've met before."
She squinted and tried to remember a time they would've met.
As if reading her mind, he clarified, "Not in this lifetime, but in your past lives. Each and every one of them contain memories of us."
"That's not possible. You're crazy. Look, I have somewhere to be if you don't plan on killing me." She squared her shoulders and slid away from the counter, careful not to turn her back to the vampire.
"Leopold Bromfeld. Does it sound familiar?"
"No, Leo, it doesn't," she replied as she neared the back foyer. He hadn't moved and she was considering locking him in the store as the brightest smile she'd ever seen on a man, lit her vampire's face. "What?"
"You called me 'Leo.' You only ever call me that. In all the times we've met, you've never said my full name." A chuckle left his lips. "So, even if you can't pull memories of us from the dark recesses of your mind, I'm still there."
"You're crazy is what you are." She shook her head and pulled her keys out of her pocket. "I've got to deal with a family matter and need to lock up. You plan on staying here and playing dress-up or you ready to go on your merry way?" Her courage kicked up a notch when he had the good grace to look amused at the idea of sticking around in the shop.
"I'll follow you out," he responded through ground teeth. "But I would feel a lot better if you let me come with you."
"Why would I let you come with me? You've already admitted to being a killer. I don't need another monster chasing me." She stepped out into the early morning dawn. A smug sigh escaped her lips. The sun would rise soon. Her vampire problem wouldn't last much longer by virtue of the new day and she would have time to find her ring. This time she'd even keep it on her finger and kiss her creatures of the night problem goodbye.
Kara watched him exit the store without even a passing glance at the light breaking on the horizon. He eyed her as he stepped out of range and gave her space to lock the door behind him.
"Look, I appreciate you wanting to 'protect' me," she began as she felt the lock slide into place with her turn of the key. "But, I don't need anyone to keep an eye on me. I've spent a good deal of my life learning how to deal with the big bads of the world."
Before she could meet his gaze, her back slammed against the door and Leo flinched as the impact from a bullet tore into his flesh. She tried to shake away the shock of seeing the man standing where she'd been only seconds ago, bleeding.
"Stay still," he ordered.
Seven heartbeats later, the sound of snarling reached her ears and set her flesh on fire. Instinct took over and she darted toward her car. Her family needed her. And sticking around here wasn't an option with bullets, vampires, and who-knows-what-else lurking in the shadows.
She wrenched the driver’s door open and tumbled into the seat as she stabbed the key into the ignition. The sound of the engine catching synched with the door slamming into place. One touch of the lock button secured her inside. She careened out of her parking spot and shot down the alley toward the street. A figure landed in front of the car and she jammed both feet on the accelerator as the drive for survival won over the need to not kill someone. She squinted against the inevitable impact but it never came. Instead, the man launched himself over the car and she hear the scrape of something sharp against the roof.
Before she could consider the source of the sound, Leo came into view bloodied and limping. He shot her a look, practically imperceptible, before launching himself at her still moving vehicle, a flash of fangs all she registered in her conscious thoughts as her foot floored the accelerator. This time the thud on the roof made complete sense when a yowling answered. She slammed the brakes. The two men tumbled off and banged on hood. She swallowed the scream threatening to break free from her chest. Leo's cafe colored gaze met hers in the second before he sank his fangs into the other man's neck, ripping through tendons and muscles.
He held eye contact as blood ran down his chin and dripped onto her windshield. She shuddered and stared unable to look away. The man beneath Leo's grip, raised what she could only describe as a paw and swiped long claws toward her vampire's face. The scream she'd been suppressing sounded loud and clear as her mind raced through all the possible scenes to come, all ending with the man who set her blood on fire dead. The images following added her lifeless corpse to the growing heap of bodies in her mind. Each image racing through her burned with the brilliance of repressed memories. Shit. Leo had told her the truth; they'd known each other in a past life and she knew without a doubt, she'd died after meeting him.
"Kara!"
Leo's voice silenced the yells echoing in the car and brought her back to the moment at hand. Leo knelt on the hood and unceremoniously threw the half-transformed werewolf off the car, the wolf's heart still bleeding in his left hand.
Her pulse raced as relief flooded her system. Regardless of what he was, he'd been true to his word, taken a bullet for her, and ripped the beating heart of his enemy straight from his chest to ensure her safety. She unlocked the car and put it in park.
"Don't."
A single word.
A demand.
A plea.
She shook her head and reached for the door handle.
"Kara," he warned with a shake of his head.
"Leo." His name tasted like the sweetest fruit on her lips, a prayer waiting to be answered. Her feet touched the pavement and he was off the car in and instant, wrapping her in his strong arms. The scent of cigar and cloves t
wisted with the coppery scent of blood and broke some internal dam holding her emotions in check.
"My love, don't cry,' he soothed and ran a hand through her hair. "I won't allow anything to take you away from me again."
With a tenderness she'd never experienced, he angled her chin exposing her tearstained face to him and placed his lips on hers.
"Mine."
The whispered word calmed her, set her world back on its axis and settled the simmering symphony of sensations in her blood stream. Kara melted into the embrace and nestled her lips against the pulse point in his neck as if it called to her from far away, begging to be acknowledged. Her lips worked over the scruff-covered skin--her tongue darting between them to capture the taste of him. Cooper and sin twined over her tongue. Enthrallment settled over her. A shudder wracked Leo's body and the scrape of something sharp slid against her temple, shattering the silent moment.
"No. No, no, no. I'm not yours." She staggered back. Away from him and the spell his touch wove around her. "You're a killer. You just ripped that dude's heart out. Literally," she added for good measure. She took another step back and bumped into the still-open car door. "I've got to go." Words tumbled from her mouth without her restraint as she slid behind the wheel and took a breath. Leo didn't move from his spot beside the car. Unnerving as it was, she peeled her gaze from him and slid out in the flow of traffic.
The hospital was only a few miles away and at this time of day, traffic wasn't bad even by Vegas standards. Her cell buzzed in her pocket with a text. At the next light, she wiggled it from its denim prison and glanced at the screen while trying to ignore the blood stained skin on her hand. A shiver ran down her spine.
Julia.
Wondering where she was.
Her fingers flew across screen as she keyed a response before the light changed. The passenger door opened before the light turned green and Leo slid into the seat looking none the worse for having killed someone only minutes ago. Not a single trace of blood could be found during her quick inspection.
"Before you tell me to leave, let me explain."
"No." She wrenched the wheel toward the curb. "Get out of my car now."
"I can't. If the wolves already found you, it means that your bounty is high enough to motivate any asshole to come after you-- supernatural or not and I can't let that happen again."
"Sure. That doesn't sound absolutely crazy or anything." Sarcasm laced every syllable of her retort.
"You know it's true. Try to remember."
"Remember what? There's nothing to remember other than how you ripped that dude's heart straight outta his ribcage, Leo." A pang of guilt shot through her system as flashes of old memories assaulted her brain.
He grabbed her flailing hands as she talked and stilled them. "You know that's not true. Your body remembers mine. I felt it in your touch. You tasted my blood."
It was as much an accusation as it was a challenge. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and captured another taste of him on her skin. She closed her eyes against the taste and pushed the thoughts creeping from the dark recesses of her mind back to wherever they were threatening to escape from.
Her entire life had been one big lesson in how to avoid the creatures that went bump in the dark and how to protect herself from the threat that had left her virtually an orphan. One hunky vampire who took a bullet that maybe wasn't even meant for her wasn't going to so easily unravel over twenty years of training. Even if he was looking at her with the sweetest puppy-dog eyes she'd ever seen.
"Please, Kara. Trust me. I don't want to hurt you. We're destined to be together and if you'll give me a few minutes, I'll explain everything." He released her hands and caressed her cheek.
She froze at his touch.
"Don't be afraid."
She brushed his hand away. "I'm not scared," she countered. "Vampires can't be trusted. I'm all too aware of what you desire and let me be really clear on this - I'm not yours. Not now. Not ever. Never in a million lifetimes would I be yours."
A flash of hurt turned his mouth downward before it was replaced with what she could only describe as anger.
"Fine, Kara. Keep me at arm's length. Get yourself killed again. Maybe your next lifetime will turn out differently. Maybe I won't even bother trying to find you." His fist dented the dash as he released the hold on his frustration. "Good luck, Kara. Have a good last few days. Because that's all you have left." Leo shouldered the door open and left without even looking back.
Guilt soured her stomach. As much as she knew pushing him away was the right thing to do, she couldn't help but feel like maybe she was making the biggest mistake of her life. When he was out of her line of sight, she checked over her shoulder and eased the car into the lane and continued toward the hospital.
The empty corridors echoed with the too-loud clacking of her heels on the linoleum floor. The feeling of being watched clung to her skin as if the stock wall art had all sprouted eyes and tracked her movements, reporting back to some unseen entity. There was no denying Leo's veiled threat had shaken her.
She breezed past the empty nurses station and continued down the hallway until she spied room 305.
The sound of quiet sobbing reached her ears. Her feet froze and refused to move. The hallway felt too narrow. Air caught in her lungs and stuck. No matter how much she'd already lost in her life, knowing once she crossed the threshold, her life would never be the same kept her rooted to the spot.
A hand caressed her shoulder. She whirled on the perpetrator, her heart jumping to action, ready for a fight.
Ronin stood behind her, brought a finger to his lips, and nodded as he finished up a phone call.
“Sorry to be the bearer of the bad news, Trevan. I know Francine has been a friend of the pack for a long time, but now that she’s gone, we’ll have to make new agreements with the girls.”
He nodded again before continuing, his voice lower. “Yeah. I’m going to stay here for a while and look after things. I have a nasty feeling this wasn’t an accident.”
“What?” Shock rolled over her. “What wasn’t an accident, Ronin?”
“Nothing,” he answered with a shake of his head. “I was talking about a work thing.” He pocketed the phone and shrugged. “I’m sorry for your loss, Kara." Ronin stood fast and offered her an apologetic smile.
She relaxed her stance and returned his wolfish smile. "Thanks. How's Lindsay holding up?"
"Better than I think she should be," he answered with a shrug. "Maybe later it'll hit her harder. The police were here and took statements. They think she might've fallen and hit her head, but they want to see the backroom to make sure there isn't evidence of a crime."
A shiver slid over her body. She nodded and peeked through the doorway. Julia and Lindsay both sat vigil on the bed. She couldn't see Nana, but the lump beneath the covers said all she needed to know. "I'll do what I can to ensure it doesn't look like a crime. But we need to make sure Dr. Henderson has a chance to examine her. He'll be able to tell us what we're dealing with."
"They called down to the morgue about a half-hour ago and requested him at Julia's insistence. Must still be waiting." He lowered his voice. "You know how flighty fairies can be."
"Yeah." She took another look in the room. Acid churned in her abdomen and threatened to burn its way up her throat. "I don't think I can go in there." The honesty of her words broke whatever strength she'd been using to keep her moving as tears slipped unchecked down her face.
"It's okay." Ronin tucked her beneath her his arm and hugged her close.
"Let her go, vermin."
Kara's spine went rigid. No. It couldn't be.
"The morgue is in the basement, bloodsucker."
Instinct drove Kara from Ronin's embrace and between the men, a warning hand on each man's chest. While Ronin's muscular chest wall rippled beneath her fingers with his every breath, Leo's sat eerily still due to the lack of a beating heart and expanding lungs. Her head swiveled to meet his gaze and stop
ped, struck once again by the way his sharp features sent her heart fluttering.
"Stop." Her words were meant for both men, but she couldn't escape the feeling that she was pleading with the vampire before her.
"You know what he is, right?" Ronin pointed a finger in Leo's face.
"I do." A pert nod was all she offered.
"Then you know what you're dealing with. Just keep him away from my Lindsay. We both know how your family's last encounter with bloodsuckers ended." He shook his head and stepped around them, but not before puffing out his chest as he glowered at Leo. "Make sure Henderson gets a good whiff of him for evidence." He disappeared into the hospital room.
As soon as the door to the room closed behind him, Leo grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway.
"What the hell is your problem?" She attempted to shake off his hand.
He cut her with a glare, tightened his grip, and steered her farther from her grandmother's room.
5
Crying Wolf
If he had a heart, it would be pounding through his chest as he dragged his mate through the labyrinth of hospital corridors. What the hell was she doing associating with wolves? Didn't she know her life was at risk?
"Shhh," he hissed and continued his quest toward the farthest corner of the building he could find. He needed her out of the wolves reach. Needed her safe. Needed her to be his for the rest of eternity.
A jab in his ribcage halted his progress and he swung on her. "If you value your life, you'll stop fighting and come with me." The familiar tingling in his gums threatened his exposure once again, but he didn't care. Kara needed to understand the seriousness of the situation one way or another. And if he wasn't mistaken, his mate wouldn't be too thrown by the sight of a little fang.
A supply closet at the end of the hall would suffice. He palmed the black digital card reader and ripped it from the wall. The resulting click of the released lock sounded like music to him. He dropped the reader into a bin against the wall before opening the door. Once inside, He released Kara's arm and pressed her back to the door.