Closing her eyes, she forced herself to succumb to the exhaustion that was plaguing her. Making a break for it took a lot out of a girl. Nora fell asleep to thoughts of mistrust, escape, hope, and War.
Chapter 18
Readying his men, War tried to ignore Nora. She’d come down to the yard about an hour ago and was watching with nervous eyes as the WG loaded weapons and supplies into the line of trucks lined up in the yard. Damn, she was hard to ignore. He felt compelled to go and soothe her, to smooth those little frown lines that were burrowed between her brows. He wanted to tell her not to worry because he and his wolves didn’t lose, ever! He ignored the urge to go to her.
Tallius passed by her, and her hand shot out and caught his sleeve. It had War turning to watch the exchange. He didn’t like her touching other males. It was windy, so he couldn’t pick up much of their conversation, but it looked like Nora was pleading with Tallius. It pissed War off. If she needed something, she needed to come to him for it. To his credit, Tallius shook his head and pointed at War.
War’s gaze sharpened on Nora as he drank her in. Fuck, she was hard not to stare at. He didn’t remember ever being this mesmerized by anything or anyone. Hell, even his wolf’s fascination with the moon had nothing on his obsession with this woman. The wind picked up, and the sweet, addictive scent of her carried to him as her hair blew forward and swirled around her delicate features. Before he’d met Nora, brown hair was just brown hair, but it was different with her. Nora’s hair was so much more than just merely brown. Her satiny strands were hazel and caramel and the color of warm chocolate interspersed with occasional strands of gold that held him enraptured. She was beautiful. Everything about her was beautiful. Even the fiery glare she was shot him had his balls drawing up tight.
Soon, he promised his wolf. Swallowing hard, his gaze bore into Nora as he considered what tonight could mean. Eyes dipping to the delicate column of her throat, they locked on where his bite was still stark against her pale skin. It should have faded by now. It had been days, and with her shifter healing, it should have disappeared. It hadn’t. Jamming a finger toward the keep in a silent command for her to go inside, he turned his back on her as her brows snapped down. He couldn’t help but grin as he cinched the drawstring on the duffle he held. Something about getting Nora all riled up riled him up too. It had this excited almost giddy feeling shooting through him. Maybe it was the gift he’d gotten for her. Yeah, against his better judgment he’d gone and done something stupid and sappy. To himself he could admit how excited he was to give it to her, but it’d have to wait until he returned.
Today he and his pack set off for Imperial pack territory. Tonight Castamere Croy was brought to heel. Tonight this war fucking ended, and he found out once and for all where Nora stood.
Shooting a glance over his shoulder at her, he knew that she didn’t realize how much her life was about to change. He had every intention of returning home victorious, and his hope was that Nora would still be here when he came back. If she was here when he got back, it meant she wasn’t an Imperial, and if she wasn’t an Imperial, then she was fucked, literally, because War had every intention of claiming her!
Tearing his attention from her as she stalked across the yard right for him, he wondered at the fluttering sensation that hit him low in his belly. Stifling a grin, he tried to focus on stowing the duffle in his hands into the back of his truck.
“I’m coming with you!”
He chuffed a laugh and slammed the back door of his Dodge. “Denied.”
“I’m not asking!”
Turning, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared down his nose at Nora. “No.”
“Why? One more wolf couldn’t hurt!”
“A she-wolf could.” Lowering his arms, he brushed past her and stalked down the line of trucks. “You’ll distract the men, get someone hurt.”
“But . . . but . . .”
Turning, he frowned hard. “You’re staying. That’s final.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” she snapped. “I’m a grown-ass woman, and not yours!”
Brows spearing down, War lowered his head and growled, “You’ll do as I say, Nora.”
“The hell I will!”
She made to spin away, but War caught her arm and pulled her body hard into his. Head lowered, his nose was pressed nearly into hers as his eyes flashed a fierce yellow. “Don’t force me to make an example of you.” More quietly, he snarled, “If I have to make Tally lock you in my chamber, I will.”
***
Sucking back stinging tears, Nora glared up at War a moment longer before she tore her eyes from his and stared at the pack. They’d stopped loading the trucks and were watching the exchange intently. She knew she was making a scene, but this felt like her battle, and it felt cowardly to let War and the guys go fight it without her.
She tossed out one last argument. “He’s my enemy too!”
“So you keep saying.”
When she looked up at him, War was grinning, but it wasn’t one of those ones that carried any delight. No, this grin was full of menace and the promise of pain.
“And for that he’ll die.” Capturing her jaw in one strong hand, War dipped his head low and brushed his lips across hers once then twice. It wasn’t a kiss, just a mere swipe of his lips against hers, but damn if it didn’t feel just as intimate as any kiss she’d ever had. It stole her breath and any argument she’d been holding.
“Be a good girl and do as your Alpha asks.” Releasing her, he jerked his chin toward the keep. “Get back to the Fortress, beautiful. Let me go kill your enemies for you.”
Without waiting to see if she’d do his bidding, War gave her his back and stalked toward the front of the line of trucks where his was parked. His men had gathered there and were waiting on him, and they’d all seen the kiss.
Shaking herself out of her stupor, Nora watched War walk away from her. With each step, she felt her blood pressure rising. She felt dismissed. She felt unneeded and overlooked, but there was something more that was slowly rising to the surface. War’s tone had been almost mocking and laced with doubt, especially when he’d said the word enemies. Even after all this time, he still doubted her.
When War reached his men, Nora screeched, “War King Wolf Vox!”
War and his smiling group of men quieted and turned to look at her.
Hands balled into tight fists, face red from anger, Nora yelled, “I am not working with Castamere! I deserve your trust. I wanna fight too, and I deserve . . .”
Her words died off as something in the air shifted and had an eerie feeling pressing against her skin. There was a definite pulse of power that had the air rippling. Face blanking, Nora looked to the side, and before she could even react, a body appeared beside hers. A large hand shot out of nowhere and caught her around the throat pulling her into the tall hard frame of the unknown man beside her. Sucking in a breath, she caught his scent and knew in an instant that he was a vampire.
Nora lunged forward, but the long, sharp nails of one clawed hand dug into the tender flesh of her throat while the claws on his other hand sunk into the soft skin of her inner arm. The nails went deep and had her releasing a gasp as she froze. Eyes flooding with pain-filled tears, they locked on War’s shocked expression. His stunned surprise lasted all of a minute before his face contorted in rage.
“War God,” the vampire snarled. Squeezing Nora’s throat tighter, he forced a cry from her before he said with a smirk in his voice, “This is for you.”
Nora expected him to snap her neck. She thought he was going to force War to watch her die, but it didn’t happen. Tearing his nails from her arm, the vampire fumbled with something near his waist before her body jerked as he threw something toward War.
To his credit, War and his pack didn’t even flinch as the bowling-ball-sized bag made of what looked like black crushed velvet hit the ground with a dull thud. Something rolled out of it, and Nora’s eyes rounded when she realized it was
a head.
Behind her, the vampire huffed a laugh. “We’ll send you hers when Castamere’s finished with her.”
A vicious snarl wrenched its way up War’s throat as he hunched his shoulders and bowed his thick arms, hands curling into white-knuckled fists as he growled, “Don’t you fucking dare!”
Panicking at the threat, Nora clawed at the hand on her throat and reached for her wolf, but it was too late. Before her animal could rip free, the air shifted again, and just before she and the vampire disappeared, her fear-filled eyes pleaded with War as she screamed, “Waaaaaar!”
Chapter 19
In a blink, War was gone and Nora was shuttling through the black tube that she remembered from when Reign had teleported them out of his tomb.
Fuck, fuck, fffffuck! The vampire had taken her from War and was taking her to Castamere!
Nora’s belly dipped at the sensation of being rapidly hurtled through the air, and then when she blinked, her knees crashed into a hard surface that sent exploding pain shooting all the way up to the top of her head.
Blinking against the pain-filled tears that stung her eyes, she tried to jerk her head around the dark room she was in, but the vampire still had his nails deep in her throat. It hurt to swallow, it hurt to breathe.
Behind her, the vampire made a leisurely show of pulling his nails out of her flesh before he shoved the back of her head hard. Nora had to shoot her hands out onto the hard stone floor to keep from falling on her face.
“I remember you.”
That voice sent chills blasting up her spine. Slowly lifting her head, she panted and swallowed down blood as her eyes landed on Castamere.
Draped across a green-and-gold brocade chaise lounge, the piece of furniture was out of place in what looked like a dungeon. The small room reminded her of Reign’s tomb and had Nora worried she was back underground. There was no furniture in the small space other than the chair, and there were no windows. One large metal door sat next to the chaise lounge, but it couldn’t hold Nora’s attention because her eyes were on Castamere. The Alpha looked different since she’d last seen him at the masquerade ball. It was probably the clothes. He was dressed in dark slacks and a ridiculously feminine silk blouse, and his short blonde hair was slicked back. Lips thinned into a line of disgust, his eyes took in Nora before he said, “Honestly, I don’t know what he sees in you. You’re rather plain.”
Beside her, the unknown vampire flashed a toothy grin and shrugged as he licked her blood off his fingers before purring, “I’d drink her dry.”
Castamere’s eyes stayed on Nora as he drawled, “All in good time, Othello. All in good time.”
On her knees, Nora tested her voice. It came out a traumatized rasp, but she was proud it was absent of any quiver. “Do you know what you’ve done? War will end you for this!”
Castamere chuckled. “End me? Right now, he’s trying to explain to his pack how his enemy defeated him without ever even laying eyes on him. Right now, his wolves are wondering if the mighty King Wolf is the right choice to sit on their throne. Right now, he appears weak and confused. You see, once I found out that Reign could teleport, it was just a matter of finding my own vampire who could do the same. I did. You know what else I did?”
Shoving up from the chaise lounge, Castamere slowly crossed the small room and squatted in front of her. Canting his head from side to side, he studied her. “I found his spy, I delivered his head, and then I took you from him.” Lip curling up, he groused, “It was all pathetically easy.” Rising to his full height, he stared down his nose at Nora. “Anti-climactic really.” His eyes sliced to the vampire, Othello, as he flashed sharp teeth. “How did the mighty King Wolf enjoy his gift?”
Nora tried to turn her head to look up at Othello, but it hurt too much, so she simply listened.
“No words for his dead spy. He seemed too concerned with the Alpha She.”
Castamere’s thin brows speared down as his lips flattened. “Alpha She?”
Nora’s heart stuttered to a halt.
“The female’s an Alpha She. At least that’s the rumor swirling about the streets.”
Refusing to look at Castamere, Nora blinked at the wall hoping he’d ignore the comment but knowing he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Not only was he an unmated wolf shifter, but he was also an unmated Alpha, and to an Alpha—especially one trying to strengthen his pack—there was nothing more desirable than an Alpha She.
Dropping onto his knees, Castamere fisted the front of Nora’s shirt and jerked her into him. His nose was everywhere: her hair, her throat. When it dropped lower, she shoved him hard with a snarled, “Get the fuck off me!”
Castamere pulled back, and his eyes rounded in disbelief a moment before a sinister grin wrecked his face. “It’s true!” he breathed in astonished surprise. “And he hasn’t claimed you!”
Nora shoved at his hands and leaned back trying to break his hold, but his hand connected solidly with her face. He didn’t hold back an ounce of his shifter strength, so she was knocked sideways. She hadn’t expected the hit, and she landed hard on her side.
“Should you be doing that?” Othello asked curiously. “I mean, you already took her from him. Won’t hurting his mate serve to piss him off more?”
“She’s not his,” Castamere hissed maniacally as he grabbed Nora’s shirt and pulled her to a sitting position. “He didn’t claim her!”
“Will you?”
Nora let the blood that was seeping into her mouth gather, and when Castamere reached for her jaw, she lunged forward and spit in his face.
Instantly, his smile vanished. For just a heartbeat he stared at her in disbelief before his lips twisted cruelly. “First,” he declared, “I’ll find out if she’s a true Alpha She.”
Nora’s heart was hammering now. She knew what that meant. In the world of wolf shifters, females were either submissives or Alphas; there was no in-between. Right now, a submissive would be cowering, maybe begging even, but her spitting in his face was a direct challenge. It should have been all the answer he needed, but Castamere was a fucking coward, and cowards liked to hurt women. Right now, he was telling Othello that he was going to try, and that’s all it was going to be because Nora didn’t bleed easy for any man!
As Castamere reared back with his hand closed into a fist, Nora’s eyes didn’t leave him, not when her wolf exploded from her, not when he shifted, and not when their wolves tied into each other.
Chapter 20
He took her! He actually fucking took her!
War was stuck in wolf form; he couldn’t shift back. He’d been trying, but his animal wasn’t giving up his skin. Barreling headlong toward Imperial pack territory, he ignored most of the communication carrying to him through his pack ties. His wolves were trailing behind him, most in wolf form and some trailing behind in trucks. They were all struggling to keep up with War’s break-neck pace.
“War!” Tallius forced himself through the ties. “You gotta slow the fuck down, man. Let’s think this through. You tearing into Imperial pack territory is exactly what the fuck Cas wants!”
It was true, he knew it was true, but he couldn’t seem to calm his wolf enough to stop and think. They both knew that in order to get Nora back they had no choice but to play Castamere’s sadistic little game, and getting Nora back was War’s only goal right now.
Overhead, the sky was dark with rain-bloated clouds that hung menacingly low. A loud clap of thunder broke the silence, and it felt like the sky was mirroring the tumultuous emotions roiling inside of War.
Nora. Gotta get to her. Gotta save her!
Just thinking about her in Castamere’s hands had his heart clenching painfully. He couldn’t stop thinking about the look on her face seconds before that fucking vampire showed up and took her. He knew the instant she realized why he didn’t want her accompanying him to Imperial pack territory. Her expression when she realized that he still didn’t fully trust her was hard to relive. He’d been pretty certain she wasn’t o
ne of Castamere’s wolves, but a good Alpha never let his guard down. Now, he realized he hadn’t ever truly let his guard down with Nora, and it had cost him. Him, hell, it had cost her! She was the one in enemy hands. She was the one who’d pay for his mistrust, and that was something he just couldn’t live with. Just thinking of her being hurt was gutting him, but knowing it was going to happen because he’d refused to keep her close was devastating in a way nothing had ever been. Castamere was going to hurt Nora, and he’d do it for the simple reason that doing so was the only way the fuck could hurt War. The thought spurred him to run faster.
“Shit, War! We can’t keep up with you. Slow the fuck down!”
Tallius’s voice faded to nothing. So did those of the rest of his pack, but he didn’t care. He had to get to Nora, and he had to get to her now.
He’d been running for what felt like forever, and his wolf scented the change as soon as they stepped foot onto Imperial pack territory. It reeked of potent piss. Apparently, Castamere’s wolves felt the need to mark their territory a little too heavily. It was a testament to the lack of respect Castamere was afforded. War didn’t have to resort to such bullshit tactics because shifters knew him well enough and respected him enough to come into his territory the proper way, not sneak in through the back door.
Unsure where exactly Castamere’s stronghold was, War was forced to slow down. It was hard to pick through the scents because everything smelled heavily of wolf. It told War that there were many shifters in the territory. It had him glad that his wolves were following close behind. This would be a war, and as enraged as he was, even he couldn’t take on dozens of wolves alone.
A sound behind him had War whipping around with a snarl.
Tallius broke through a line of trees a couple hundred yards behind him and slid to a halt in wolf form. Panting, he looked at War and shook his head before shooting through their ties, “Fuck, man! You’re losing it! You gotta calm the fuck down!”
Spoils of War Page 12