Spoils of War

by Susan A Bliler

  War’s answer was a mere shrug.

  “But I . . . He . . .” He what? Was she about to tell War that she’d saved Reign and that he owed her? Reign hadn’t asked for her help at the masquerade ball, she’d offered. Reign owed her nothing, and she should have known better than to trust a vampire. Still, she couldn’t help the bitter sting of betrayal that ripped through her.

  “Calm down.” War frowned at her, nostrils flaring as he scented her. “Reign did what he thought was best for you.”

  “By bringing me to you?” she scoffed. Eyeing the room she bit out, “I’m assuming this is the Fortress?”

  A satisfied smile crawled up War’s face, and Nora was surprised at the change it made to his appearance. It was sexy.

  “It is,” he answered.

  Tearing her attention from her inappropriate thoughts, Nora huffed, “Great.” Turning her head away from the distracting Alpha, she muttered more quietly, “Just great.”

  Beside her, War chuckled. “Not sure if I should be offended or flattered.”

  “I’m sorry,” she offered lamely, turning her head to look up at him. “I apologize for being here. If I could have prevented it, I would have. I should have! If I could do anything about it now, I would. Reign wasn’t supposed to take so much from me. He swore to . . .”

  She didn’t finish. She couldn’t. How did she tell the most dominant wolf shifter in the world that she’d believed the word of a vampire and had willingly offered up her throat? It went against every part of their animal’s nature.

  “It’s alright, Nora.” War’s tone was oddly soft and had her staring at the sudden change in him as he explained, “Reign and I are friends. Have been forever. He didn’t mean to take so much from you. He had no choice. In order to get you both out of his tomb, he had to drink deeply, which meant he was closer to death than I’m sure he let on. You did save him, and his blood oath to you was genuine. It’s why you’re here. He brought you to the safest place he could think of because he fears Castamere will be hunting you. You are safe here. Castamere wouldn’t dream of coming to the Fortress, and if he did”—a sinister grin tweaked his lips—“well, let’s just say that’s a fight my pack and I have been itching for.”

  Standing, he bent over Nora and gently pulled her to a sitting position. Using his shoulder to prop her up, he piled the pillows behind her back and then eased her onto them so she was sitting up.

  “Let’s get you fed.”

  Nora’s heart was thumping in her chest. When her face had been pressed against War’s strong shoulder, she couldn’t help but breathe in his scent. God, he smelled good. He was all moss and sap and ponderosa pine mixed with campfire smoke. The forest. War Vox smelled like the damn forest, and Nora swore her inner wolf stirred at the scent.

  No, no, no, no, no! she self-admonished, eyes glued to Vox’s back as he bent over the tray. Don’t you go getting the hots for the king wolf, Nora! He’s probably got a harem of women. He doesn’t need to add some lame she-wolf with baggage to the mix.

  The thought of him having a harem had her wondering. “Why don’t you have one of your females feed me? As Alpha, I’m sure you have better things to do.”

  “There are no females here at the Fortress.”

  Lifting a bowl off the tray, War held it in one hand and grabbed the spoon. Lifting a bite of steaming stew to his lips, he blew on it before offering it to her.

  The gesture seemed oddly intimate and had Nora wondering if she should even accept the bite. Vox was staring at her expectantly, and when her stomach growled loudly, Nora was left with little choice but to let him feed her. Parting her lips, she accepted the bite of stew and tried not to stare at Vox as she chewed.

  The soup was an explosion of flavor, and Nora doubted she’d ever eaten anything so delicious.

  Lifting another spoonful of stew to her lips, War fed her as he talked. “We can’t welcome females into the pack right now.”

  Odd. Why?

  As if hearing her unspoken question, War explained, “Females are a distraction to my men. We’re trying to accomplish something here, and a Spartan lifestyle works best when a leader and his soldiers are attempting to conquer the world.”

  Turning her chin away from the next bite he held up, Nora asked, “Is that what you’re doing? Trying to conquer the world?”

  War’s eyes met hers and held a minute before dipping to her lips. Shifting his eyes from her mouth to the bowl, he commanded, “Eat, woman. You need to get your strength back.”

  So you can get out! she finished inwardly for him.

  When he held out the last few bites of stew, she took them without further question. Honestly, she didn’t know why she’d asked any in the first place. She knew all she needed to know about War and his pack of Gods. They were revered and feared in equal measure. Rumors swirled about how War was fighting to cow every other Alpha. The reason? Supremacy. Shifters said that War wanted wolf shifters to be the superior species, and in order for that to happen, they all needed to be on the same page, which meant following one singular Alpha. Him!

  Setting the bowl on the side table, War stood and planted his hands on his hips. He concentrated a little too intently on the bowl, and it felt like he was avoiding looking at Nora as he said, “My wolves need to believe you’re here because I’m considering you as a mate.” His dark eyes slid to hers. “It’d be in your best interest to help me make them believe it. It’s the best way to keep you safe while you’re at the Fortress.”

  His mate? Holy hell!

  Why did things just keep getting worse for her? An immediate denial sprung to Nora’s lips, but she bit it back. Temporarily paralyzed, she had no choice but to do as War commanded. Still, it was difficult to just accept her fate.

  “When’s Reign coming back?”

  When War frowned, she asked, “Is he coming back?”

  “I don’t know when he’s coming back, but he always does. But when he dumped you here, it’s the first time I’ve laid eyes on him in several months.”

  When he dumped me here? His harsh words had her feeling more than unwelcome. She felt like a burden, and it had her biting back stinging tears of humiliation and helplessness as she closed her eyes and attempted to compose herself. Did she agree to this? Could she? It’d be her second marking in less than twenty-four hours, and look what the first had already done to her wolf. What do I do?

  Chapter 7

  War was confused. From the second Tallius had let his name slip, the scent of Nora’s fear had slowly filled the room. She hadn’t faked her reaction when she’d realized who he was. She’d been genuinely surprised and—dare he say—worried. Her reaction to him didn’t make sense if she was working with Castamere. If she was Castamere’s spy, then she should know exactly who he was. Wolf shifters couldn’t fake fear, and the scents still coming off of her told him she knew exactly who and what he was.

  He could be wrong though. She could have been chosen by Castamere because she was really good at faking her emotions, and if that was the case, War couldn’t afford to get caught up in her trap.

  Shhhhit! This was getting frustrating. It’d be easier just to interrogate her, but how did he do that now? She couldn’t even lift a finger, so him intimidating her right now didn’t feel right, especially if he was wrong. What if she had zero ties to Castamere other than making an ass out of the fuck to save Reign. He couldn’t be certain if she was friend or foe, which meant there was only one thing he could do. He needed to keep her close to keep an eye on her, and the only way to make that happen without having one of his wolves fall for her or try to lay a claim was to fake one himself.

  War’s nose was twitching. He couldn’t seem to shake Nora’s delicate scent. Christ, she smelled like pure moonlight, and it had his wolf pacing just beneath the surface. Absently, he wondered if her scent was why he’d chased Tallius off as quickly as he had. It’d been out of character for him to issue an Alpha order to his Beta. They were close, and War didn’t like to pull the Alp
ha card unless it was absolutely necessary. Eying Nora, he wondered why he’d felt the compulsion to chase Tallius away from her, because that’s exactly what he’d done. He’d acted just like his three mated males and had postured up to keep an unmated male at bay. It wasn’t like him. He didn’t lay claims. Hell, he didn’t have to. If he wanted Nora, it was a matter of simply taking her. Still, he’d barked at Tallius and then told him to spread the word.

  Spread the word. He shook his head with the hint of a grin. Out of fucking character! Perhaps it was because he knew that if she was a traitor, a spy for Castamere, then she’d do great damage by making one his wolves fall for her. He’d have to keep her close, keep an eye on her until he knew for sure.

  “And if I don’t want to play this game? If I don’t want to lie?”

  He shrugged. Annoyance bunching his brows, he frowned at Nora. “Then don’t play.” He slid his eyes slowly down her curvy frame and then back up, making a point to let his eyes linger on the swell of her breasts that were all but pouring out of her dress. “But I hope you’re prepared to fend off advances, because they will come.” Jerking his chin toward the window, he explained, “I’ve got nearly a hundred males beneath me, and not a single one is mated. You know what that means?”

  Her perfect pink lips parted, and he knew she understood what he was trying to tell her. Still, he pressed it home. “It means I have a hundred horny wolves who haven’t had a female since before we started this campaign. Battle gets them riled up, and we’ve been fighting a lot this past month. My men are—” he stalled to lick his lips “—hungry. I’m too busy to watch you twenty-four seven, and because Reign and I are old friends, I am willing to make the sacrifice of pretending you are a potential mate until you’ve healed enough to take care of yourself. But if you’d rather go it alone . . .” he lifted his hands in a show of surrender “. . . by all means.”

  Turning, he paced to the door, and just as he pulled it open, he heard her soft voice call out.

  “Wait!”

  A triumphant grin stole his lips a moment before he cleared his expression and turned to face her.

  “Wait, I’m sorry. I . . . I didn’t mean any disrespect, Alpha Vox. I appreciate how busy you must be and how inconvenient my sudden arrival is. It’s just that shifters can scent lies, and I’m worried that keeping up a false pretense would be easily detectable. I’m just . . .” Lifting her eyes to stare at the ceiling, she felt helplessness wash over her. “I’m just trying to make my unwanted presence as easy as possible until Reign comes back.”

  That had War’s eyes narrowing on her. “Reign’s not coming back,” he explained. He studied her intently, gauging her reaction.

  “But he brought me here! He wouldn’t just dump me off and leave me, not after what I did for him, not after his vow!”

  War tried and failed to keep the snarl from his voice as he asked, “Are you infatuated with the vampire, Ms. RedRun?”

  “No,” she breathed. “Of course not.”

  “If you are, it’d explain why you saved him.”

  “I’m not interested in Reign,” she snapped, and when her eyes shot to War, he swore he saw a little fear there before she amended more calmly, “I don’t like vampires. I saved Reign because it was the right thing to do. Period. And if your offer still stands . . .” she pinched her eyes tightly closed “. . . I’d appreciate it very much if you’d make the sacrifice of pretending I’m your potential.”

  When she blinked her eyes open, War swore they were glassier than they’d been moments earlier.

  “Just until my she-wolf rouses.” Nora glanced down her body. “Just until I can move.”

  Seeing her emotion, War felt some of the triumph drain from him. Surrounded by men, he didn’t experience weakness often. It rattled him a little to see it now and had his inner wolf posturing, displeased with his lies and how harsh he’d been to Nora. Still, he said, “It’s settled then. So far as my pack is concerned, you’re here as a potential for my consideration.”

  Saying the words out loud had a spike of excitement spearing through him even though he was aware of the fact that there was the difficult task ahead of explaining to his men why he could have a woman and they couldn’t. It was a headache he was only willing to tolerate for Reign’s sake. War made a mental note to ensure the vampire paid for forcing War to deal with this shit right now.

  Turning for the door again, he grabbed the handle then stilled with the door half open as a thought struck.

  Glancing at Nora over his shoulder, he faced her again slowly as his inner wolf rose quickly to his feet. He liked War’s train of thought and was fully on board.

  Making a show of crossing his arms over his chest, War raised one hand to pinch his lips in a feigned gesture of contemplation. “You know, you’re right. They’ll scent the deceit.”

  Instantly, his ears picked up the rapid increase in Nora’s heartbeat.

  “For all intents and purposes,” he explained calmly, “it’ll have to be real.” Inside, he was anything but calm. His wheels were spinning, and the more he thought on this idea, the better it sounded.

  “Wh-what?” she stammered. “What’ll have to be real?”

  This could work. If she’s working for Castamere, this’ll surely flush her out. Won’t it?

  Slowly crossing to the bed, War lowered himself until he was seated on the mattress near Nora’s hip, facing her. “You’ll have to be an actual potential,” he explained.

  Because her dress was so tight and her breasts were pushed so high by the form-fitting bodice, War could see how fast she was breathing. Pretending to lick his lips, he let his tongue linger on his bottom lip a moment so he could taste the potent emotions wafting from Nora. She was curious and worried.

  Interesting.

  “Wh-what does that entail?” she asked quietly.

  War’s jaw ticked once before he answered. “Male wolves are a lot like dogs with a bone. Because I’m bigger and meaner, they tend to do as I say, but you’re just too damn delectable to chance it. I don’t doubt that if my back was turned, any one of them might try to take a bite out of you.”

  Nora’s eyes rounded.

  Without meaning to, War leaned a little closer to her. “The only real way to keep you safe is to show them that you’re my intended.”

  “P-potential.”

  Pulling back a fraction, he frowned. “What?”

  “Potential,” Nora repeated. “I’m not your intended, I’m your potential. R-right?”

  Fuck! Just being near her was messing with his head and making him say shit he didn’t mean.

  “Yeah,” he cleared his throat and sat up straight. “Yeah, potential. That.” Shoving up off the bed, he said, “When you’re healed from Reign’s teeth, I’ll need to mark you.” His eyes stayed locked on hers as he gauged her reaction. “Similar to what he did, but not for feeding.”

  “For show?”

  “Yeah.” War shoved a hand into his hair, and his chest expanded with the deep breath he took in. God, this woman smelled too damn good. He needed to get away from her to clear his head for a minute. “You’ll stay in my chamber until you’re ready for my bite, so you won’t have to worry about my men messing with you. Then, once you’re marked, none of them would dare. But for now, just rest.” Backing away from the bed, he repeated, “Rest, Nora.”

  Inwardly, he was praying he was wrong about Reign. He was hoping the vampire came back and took Nora before he had to follow through on his promise, because he wasn’t sure that marking this woman was a good idea. Her reaction to his intention to mark her wasn’t one a spy would have had. A spy would have argued, denied the need for it. Nora hadn’t done any of that. No, she seemed fully prepared to let him do as he pleased. And worse, she’d saved Reign from death, she’d stood up to her own kind, she’d made an enemy of an Alpha Lord to protect a fellow misshape, and then she’d been reluctant to lie to his wolves. Fuck! Reign was right. This woman was too good to be true. If Reign was to be believed
, that meant there was an actual Alpha She at the Fortress and she was unmated. And, War had just promised to give her his mark.

  Fffffffuck!

  He needed to get away from Nora for a minute to try to contact Reign. That asshole needed to get back to the Fortress so he could take Nora someplace else. Anyplace else!

  He grabbed the door handle in a death grip and was just about to jerk it open when Nora’s sweet voice said, “I’d prefer you do it now.”

  Shooting her a stunned look over his shoulder, War thought he’d heard her wrong, but when Nora repeated herself, she shocked him to his marrow. “I . . . I want you to mark me now. If you would, Alpha Vox.”

  Chapter 8

  Nora was shocked at her own words, but if she was going to be in, she was going to be in all the way. With her declaration out in the universe now, the only thing to do was to justify it. “I don’t want to wait,” she rushed to explain. “I don’t want to chance it.” Staring at the shocked expression on Vox’s face, she continued, “I’m pretty helpless here, and if I’m honest, you walking out right now has fear filling me up something fierce.” She glanced at the door. “Anything could happen. Someone could come looking for you. One of your men could come and find me here defenseless, and then what? I’d be helpless to fight them off or even try to get help.” She gave her head a little shake. “Not that I think your males are rapists or that I’m desirable in the least. I just . . . My mind instantly goes to worst-case scenario, and I’d like to avoid those scenarios and the fear of them if I can.”

  War was quiet a long time as he studied her. Nora couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking as his eerie yellow gaze bore into her.

  “I’m sorry if I insulted your men. It’s just that . . .”

  “You’re right.” He cut her off. “I shouldn’t just leave you here like this. It was thoughtless of me to even consider it. I just thought you might want sleep.”

  “I need sleep,” she admitted, not denying the weariness that was plaguing her. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to rest knowing I have zero defenses. Again, no offense to you or your pack, War, but I don’t know you. I don’t know them. I don’t know why Reign brought me here and abandoned me. I mean, he doesn’t owe me anything, not really. I did what any decent shifter would do.”