by L. L. Raand
Sophia.
“Angela,” Sophia said softly, her throat so dry the words were barely a whisper. “Angela, we’re not going to hurt you. Angela.”
The female tilted her head, eyed Niki and then Sophia, growled.
“Let us help you,” Sophia said, her voice stronger. “We’ll find a way—”
Angela jerked forward in Sophia’s direction, and in the instant when her focus shifted away from Niki, Niki launched herself at Angela’s throat. The kill was quick and certain. Angela fell and lay still, blood pouring from her gaping throat. Niki howled, a mournful, lonely cry.
Fiona snapped to the second sentrie, “Call for reinforcements.” She swung her weapon to the restrained female who had yet to show signs of waking and glanced at Sophia. “Should we execute?”
“No,” Sophia whispered, still stunned by how wrong she’d been. Angela was dead, and she might not have been if she’d been restrained long enough for them to sedate and possibly treat her. Her parents might have been injured or killed. And Niki had been forced to kill another Were—an ill and possibly feral one, but still, the cost of executing one of their own cut deep. “We don’t yet know what will happen to her. Just—be ready.”
Cautiously, Sophia approached Niki, who had backed away from the body but still crouched, body shivering with battle frenzy. A steady warning rumbled in her chest.
“Niki. Niki, it’s Sophia. It’s all right now.”
Niki’s sides heaved and saliva dripped from her muzzle. Her eyes were shadowed slits, her lips peeled back and jaws agape, showing her teeth. She was deep in frenzy, her wolf completely dominant. Everyone was the enemy. Sophia crouched down a few feet away and extended her hand.
“Niki, love. It’s me. It’s all right. I’m fine. There’s no danger now.”
Niki’s head lowered and her shoulders bunched as if readying to spring.
Leo murmured, “Sophia, come away. She’s guarding her kill. She’s dangerous.”
“No. She has more control than that. She just needs to know she’s not alone.” Sophia crooned, “Can you hear me? Niki? Everything is fine now.”
A long moment passed and then Niki’s wolf shuddered, shed pelt, and Niki crouched naked in front of Sophia. Her head was down, her hair soaked with sweat, her body dripping with pheromones.
“Niki,” Sophia breathed in relief. “Are you all right?”
“Don’t come near me,” Niki said.
Sophia’s belly tightened. “Let me get you some clothes. You need to eat.”
“No.” Niki looked up, her eyes swirling with pain. “Fiona, take me to the holding cells and confine me. Now.”
The sentrie stared. “Imperator?”
Niki rose and Sophia gasped. Blood ran from a long gash on her right side and trickled down her thigh. The skin was torn in a jagged line and the deeper muscles shredded. Sophia reached out and Niki jerked away.
“No. She bit me. I need to be isolated.” She gestured to Fiona. “Do it. Quickly.”
Fiona brought her assault pistol up and aimed it at Niki. “Come with me.”
Sophia cried out, “No. You need treatment.”
“I need you safe. All of you.” Niki staggered slightly and headed for the door, Fiona close behind. Callan appeared in the doorway, followed by two more sentries.
“What happened?” Callan snapped.
“Get Max back here,” Niki said. “I’ve been bitten and need to be isolated.”
“Form an escort,” Callan said, his voice hard and flat. “One on either side of the imperator. Keep everyone outside away.”
Wordlessly, the sentries did as he had ordered, and the cadre of armed Weres led Niki away.
Sophia said to her parents, “I’m going with her. She’s hurt. She needs to be tended to.”
“The wound isn’t fatal.” Nadia grabbed Sophia’s arm, holding her back. “Niki is right, she needs to be isolated. If she’s been exposed to the fever, she’ll show symptoms soon.”
“She’s my mate,” Sophia blazed, jerking free of her mother. “Would you have me abandon her?”
Nadia’s expression softened. “No, but I would have you safe. And so would Niki. You heard her say so.”
“I’ve been listening to and watching Niki put everyone’s life before her own since the day I arrived.” Sophia showed her teeth, her wolf in a fury. “Enough.”
Leo joined Nadia. “At least wait until they have her safely in a holding cell, then go to her, talk to her. But wait before you put yourself at risk.”
“Like Niki waited to risk herself?”
Sophia turned her back on her parents and went to gather what she needed. She would not be kept from her mate. What Niki needed, she would give.
Callan blocked the stairs down to the holding cells, an assault pistol holstered on his thigh. Sophia hadn’t seen armed warriors inside the Compound since Sylvan’s mother had been assassinated. Every dominant in the camp would be on edge and ready to fight at the merest hint of challenge. She needed to lend her energy to the Pack, but she couldn’t. Not until she saw to her mate.
“Let me pass.”
“The imperator—”
Sophia snarled. “I don’t care what she said. The sooner I see to her, the better.”
Callan stared, his jaw clenched, and finally nodded. “She’ll have me on my back for this.”
“No, she won’t.” Sophia stroked his arm until his wolf quieted. “I’ll call you if I need anything.”
The passageway was narrow and dim, lit only by torches set into the wall. She knew her way—she’d been here before, tending a few captives and fewer feral Weres. She hated the place and what it represented—failure. Failure of hundreds of Were scientists over half a century to isolate and counteract the Were-fever contagion. Failure of all the Were medici to cure the illness once contracted. And failure of the Weres to unite and live in peace.
Today she would not fail.
*
Torren wondered briefly if Cecilia was about to make a gift of her to Francesca as she’d done once before. They were Earthside, and she considered where in case she needed to make an escape. She’d accepted imprisonment once to gather intelligence for Cecilia, but she would not do so again. They had to be somewhere close to Francesca’s previous territory, since she doubted the hunted Vampire would want to risk traveling far from her new hiding place. And somewhere near a Faerie Gate, likely in one of the riverfront mansions on estates that friends of the Fae had held and quietly passed down for hundreds of years. Torren bowed to Francesca. “I’m sorry I left without thanking you for your hospitality. My apologies.”
“I’ll admit I was disappointed.” Francesca sighed, her blue eyes cold and hard. “I rather thought you enjoyed the entertainment we provided.”
“Daniela was most…accommodating,” Torren said, referring to the Vampire who’d fed from her regularly while she’d been imprisoned. Francesca had meant to use Torren as a blood slave, but she was largely immune to Vampire thrall, something Francesca had not known and Daniela had been too young to recognize. When the time had come for her to shed her prison chains, Daniela had easily fallen under her persuasion and unwittingly aided in her escape. “I’m most grateful for that.”
“And I understand you’re now in Sylvan’s debt,” Francesca said, “since she helped you escape.”
“The wolf Alpha was gracious enough to provide me sanctuary when I requested it, but she had nothing to do with my departure.” Torren smiled faintly. “And I am in no one’s debt except that of my Queen, for failing to gain her permission to depart your lair.”
Francesca waved a hand. “That’s of no matter now. Everything’s changed, hasn’t it, now that Sylvan has declared herself to be less of a friend than we once thought.”
Cecilia murmured, “I’m not convinced of that.”
“No?” Francesca’s eyebrow winged up as if she were astonished, but Torren doubted anything could take her unawares or surprise her. “She led a raiding party into my
lair, killed many of my guard, and aided Zachary Gates’s heir in attempting to steal my throne.”
“An attempt it appears was successful,” Cecilia said mildly.
Francesca hissed. “What has been stolen can be recovered.”
“Do you have the power to take on Zachary Gates and perhaps all the other Clans?”
“The Clan leaders are sheep,” Francesca said. “They will follow the strongest, and if Zachary is defeated, they will flock to whoever defeats him.”
“Then you will need an army, because Zachary’s heir is allied with Sylvan.” Cecilia paused, a look of consternation crossing her carved porcelain features. “Or so I’ve been told.”
“I shall have an army,” Francesca snapped in a rare fit of temper. “We are even now bringing Weres who are tired of Sylvan’s rule into our fold.”
“That is very good news.” Cecilia sat in one of the large leather chairs and crossed her legs, her gown sliding up her full, milky thighs. Torren stepped behind the chair and her guards fanned out to stand between her and the Vampire soldiers. “Even with Weres in your forces, you will still have to face Zachary’s allies, and they will outnumber you.”
Francesca studied Cecilia with a dark, unwavering stare. “You could remedy that imbalance if Sylvan were to disappear.”
“I have nothing to gain by destroying Sylvan, except the destruction of the Coalition. With her gone, the others will listen to reason, and we can stop asking humans for what is already in our power.”
“Your goal as well as mine,” Francesca pointed out.
“True. But you have more need for Sylvan to die than I.” Cecilia delicately fingered the hem of her gown, an innocent movement that drew the attention of every Vampire in the room save Francesca. She was in high glamour, glowing, seductive, mesmerizing. She smiled and sunlight filled the room, dispelling the night’s gloom. “What if I were to give you Sylvan, and you in turn demonstrated your power to all those you wish to rally behind you. If you are the one to destroy the Alpha, you can call the Weres and Vampires to you as you once did.”
Cecilia was ancient, older than Francesca, and remembered the days when the Vampires commanded armies of Weres. Without a leader as strong as Sylvan, she could install a weak Alpha who was willing to do her bidding, and she could have her army again.
“And what is the cost for this…gift?” Francesca said.
“Your promise to destroy the Coalition or what remains of it, and once you have established your power, you grant me privileged land to create a Faerie Mound Earthside.”
Francesca laughed. “There hasn’t been a Faerie Mound Earthside since before you ascended to the throne.”
“This is true,” Cecilia said. “But all things change.”
Chapter Eighteen
“We’ll sit in the back,” Luce said as she, Dru, and Veronica left the lair. They’d managed to escape Nocturne with only one of Francesca’s heavily shielded vehicles, and it sat idling a few steps from the door under cover of the portico. The sun had just set, but even the little bit of UV radiation scattered in the twilight would have been intolerable for Luce. She’d be comfortable enough in the vehicle with its UV-filtering tinted windows and fire-resistant body. And she’d have Veronica at her disposal during the brief ride. She’d just recently awakened and she wanted to feed. Dru got behind the wheel and pulled out onto the heavily wooded private road leading toward the winding river road into the city.
“Are you ready?” Luce murmured, stroking Veronica’s neck as she kissed her.
“Oh yes.” Veronica reclined on the seat, drew her black skirt up high on her thighs, and tilted her head back against the door. Her lids drooped as she watched Luce lean forward and slowly slide her incisors into the artery on the inside of her thigh. The sight was almost as exciting as the jolt of heat that shot through her with the burst of feeding hormones Luce injected into her bloodstream. She arched and moaned softly as the orgasm exploded in her depths. She’d been waiting all afternoon for this moment, waiting for Luce to come for her, pacing in her room, the tray of food a human servant had delivered untouched by her bedside, her body and her blood burning. This was all she’d needed. Now at last, as the terrible pressure eased, she would be able to think, be able to work. Luce sealed the wounds and sat up.
“You are beautiful. And delicious.”
“Finished so soon,” Veronica said, not nearly satisfied. Each day she seemed to need so much more to erase the constant urgency that pounded inside her. “You must still be hungry.”
“I am always hungry for you.” Luce hovered above her, her body weightless, floating, and kissed her. “Any more and you’ll need to rest, and I know you want to work.”
Veronica stroked Luce’s face, sliding her fingers into her hair and drawing her down for another kiss. She pressed upward but could not feel Luce against her. “I do, you’re right. But again soon?”
Luce smiled. “Soon. I promise.”
Veronica straightened her clothes and tried to ignore the heavy ache in her loins. Luce would take her again soon and the pressure would ease. First she would work. The idea of what she planned gave her another kind of pleasure, and her clitoris twitched. Yes, soon.
Dru pulled the SUV around behind the factory that Nicholas Gregory had retrofitted as a laboratory for Veronica after Sylvan Mir and her filthy Vampire allies had destroyed Veronica’s previous laboratory. Actually, Nicholas had destroyed it, but they’d had no choice but to abandon the facility once Sylvan knew of its location and what they had been doing there. The Were was to blame, regardless of who ordered the explosions.
Now she was forced to work in hiding in a building that looked, to anyone who cared to notice, like it should be condemned. As they neared the building, Dru used a remote to open a double-wide metal delivery door and drove inside, slowing at a security station where Luce ordered the armed guard to open a second reinforced door. Veronica had only been absent for a week—at least she thought it was only a week, perhaps it had been longer—but without her, active investigation was on hold. Only a few vehicles were parked in this section of the underground garage—those belonging to the mercenary security teams and the select technicians responsible for maintaining the test subjects. The guards were cat Weres, who were easy to buy. The technicians, who also had a price, were humans.
Dru stepped out of the vehicle and waited while Veronica and Luce exited. “How sure are you of the loyalty of these guards?”
“They’re mercenaries,” Luce said. “They have no loyalty.”
Dru smiled, since she was a mercenary herself. “I’d like to interview them. We can use cats who still have connections to the Pride. It would be good to know what Raina is planning.”
“The new cat Alpha hopes to unify the Pride.” Luce laughed. “That should keep her busy for quite some time. But go ahead. We’ll be a while.”
Dru nodded and walked off in the direction of the guard station. Luce and Veronica strode to the elevators that only Veronica or Luce could activate. Technicians were escorted to their posts through a separate entrance and required visual confirmation from Luce or Veronica, who cleared them and buzzed them in remotely. The technicians had been recruited from among the HUFSI members with the promise of a large salary paid in cash. For most the monetary incentive was secondary to their zeal for working on projects they believed would protect the human population from mutant diseases. As far as their loyalty was concerned, Luce made it clear that any hint of a security breach would result in the untimely and painful demise of both the individual responsible and anyone they might have shared information with. No one complained about spending weeks sequestered in the high-security lab, and no one ever talked about it and lived.
Veronica slid her hand through Luce’s arm as they exited the elevator into a long, brightly lit hallway leading to her office and adjoining conference rooms. “You will stay, won’t you?”
“Of course. I did promise you again soon, didn’t I?”
Need
, her own and others, was a tool Veronica had come to appreciate very early in life. Luce’s ready availability assured her she and not Luce was in control. “You did. I have to examine the subjects and be sure they’re still fit for the studies I have planned.”
Luce pulled her near and kissed her throat. “Waiting for you is no hardship. I’ll be in the lounge.”
Trembling slightly, Veronica let her go. “I’ll find you.”
Luce disappeared and Veronica entered the code for her office. The stacks of files on her desk, the computer monitors, the lab coat hanging on a coat tree by the door were all a welcome sight. This was her world. She’d missed being here. She shed her suit jacket and donned her lab coat and left the office through a private entrance to the labs. The bright lights and clean, sterile surfaces created a sense of order and purity she found comforting. A female lab technician in her midthirties wearing pale blue scrubs and a green cover gown hurried toward her with a look of expectation and mild apprehension.
“Dr. Standish, we didn’t expect you back from the conference until the end of the week.”
“I left early,” Veronica said. She, or Luce, must have explained her absence with a cover story, but she couldn’t recall the details. Not that it mattered. She was back now. “Do you have a progress report for me?”
“Several. We’ve been running baseline labs as you requested, and the printouts are collated for your review.”
“Good. I want to see them.”
“The reports have already been uploaded to your—”
“No. I want to see the subjects.”
The lab tech flushed. “Of course.”
She hurriedly stepped aside as Veronica brushed by her and strode down the aisle, between long counters laden with equipment, to an airlock. She keyed in her security code, leaned down for the retina scan, and waited while the outer door to the airlock opened. She stepped in, the door closed behind her, and the second door slid open. Her nerves tingled pleasantly as she moved into the controlled chamber where the subjects were held in separate isolation cubicles. She stood at the observation window and watched for a moment. The subject, asleep according to the EEG electrodes taped to the scalp, looked deceptively human—a smattering of black hair on the head, surprisingly discrete features at only a few weeks of age, a healthy flush to the tan skin. Noticeably larger than a human of the same age, however.