Daughters of the Morrigan Boxed Set: (Books 1-3)

by Nina Croft

  If he survived.

  Oh God.

  She sank to her knees and prayed.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Regan stepped out of the portal, flanked by Satan and Diablo. The two hounds had been incredibly needy since they’d returned the previous evening and refused to be left behind. She wasn’t sure how they would deal with a pack of werewolves, but she was about to find out.

  The long day had been spent praying and brooding, worrying about Catrin, searching the library at the Council for anything about Sardi, and trying to think what his next move would be. She’d had seen the way he looked at Caleb and suspected he would somehow make her choose between Caleb and Catrin.

  She’d thought about staying away tonight. Maybe if she distanced herself enough, then she could keep Caleb out of the inevitable showdown with her old boyfriend. But deep in her heart, she knew it was too late for that. Knew that Caleb was tied to this, and they had to play it out. Besides, she wanted to be here, her wolf wanted to be here, to see Caleb take his proper place in the pack.

  The house loomed in front of her, huge and shadowed but empty, and she knew the wolves would be in the dark forest, waiting.

  A waning moon hung in the clear sky, and the night hummed with magic. In the distance, a wolf howled, and she followed the sound. She paused at the edge of the forest and breathed in deeply, her nostrils filling with musky scent of wolves. Among the many scents, she caught Caleb’s, and her heart lifted. Wolf woke within her and howled joyously at the thought she would soon be free.

  If they were to die, then let them have this one night.

  She stepped under the canopy of trees and made her way to where she could hear the noise of many people. Her hounds pressed close, whining softly, and she ran her hands over their heads, soothing them.

  The forest opened into a wide clearing. Torches hung from the branches all around, casting a flickering orange light. A few wolves milled around, but most of the pack were still in human form. She recognized a number of them from the night before, but there were many more, close to a hundred. She hadn’t realized there were so many.

  Her gaze was drawn across the clearing to where Caleb stood alone. His eyes lifted to meet hers, and she saw something close to relief in his expression, followed by a bright flare of joy.

  Obviously, despite the fact that she’d promised, he hadn’t expected her to come. He didn’t trust her, and why should he? Still, this was his night; she would do nothing to spoil that. Their problems could wait. She walked across the clearing toward him, her eyes never leaving his.

  He was dressed in black pants and a black button-down shirt. He was beautiful, his dark hair brushed back from his face; his skin pale with shadows beneath his eyes and in the hollows of his cheekbones. She had an urge to stroke away the shadows, tell him everything would be all right, but how could she when she didn’t believe it herself? She pushed the thought away.

  She came to a halt in front of him. The relief was gone from his eyes—they were guarded once more, and she gave in to the need to touch him. Lifting her hand, she stroked along the line of his cheekbone. His skin was hot, and the faint rasp of whiskers scraped beneath her fingertips. She cupped his jaw in her palm, stood up on tiptoes, and placed her lips against his.

  For a brief moment, he stood motionless, then his arms came around her, and he pulled her to him and deepened the kiss. It felt like coming home, and Regan allowed herself to melt into him. She opened her mouth, and the warm, wet velvet of his tongue slid against her own. One hand slipped into the silky hair at the nape of his neck, the other gripped his shoulder, her nails biting into the hard muscle, and she pressed herself to the long line of his body as though they could somehow become one.

  He kissed her for endless minutes, then his mouth left hers, and they stood foreheads touching.

  Caleb took a step back, and Regan glanced up and around the clearing. The pack surrounded them. She caught sight of the blond werewolf, Sophie, watching them through narrowed eyes, and inside her wolf growled softly.

  Under the watchful gaze of the pack, Regan pulled Caleb to her and kissed him again.

  When he raised his head, his expression was rueful. “Staking your claim?”

  That was exactly what she was doing. She nodded, and Caleb smiled.

  “I think you’ve made your point,” he said.

  “Well then,” she murmured, “this one is just for me.” She leaned up and kissed him quickly on the lips.

  As she stepped back, he was watching her cautiously. “I wasn’t sure you would turn up.”

  She shrugged. “I told you I would. Now let’s get on with this. What’s supposed to happen at a new pack leader meeting?”

  “Actually, I’ve never been to one before. Neither, for that matter, has anyone else here.” He gestured to the surrounding pack. “My father murdered everyone who existed before he became pack leader. Tom was the last.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “They must swear an oath to the new leader. Anyone who doesn’t want to has the right to demand combat.”

  “You have to fight?”

  “Or I can let my mate fight in my stead.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Your mate?”

  “Is that not what you just staked claim to?” He looked at her long and hard. “Are you willing to fight for me, Regan?”

  She glanced around the circle of watchers; she held each gaze, and one by one, they fell before her. She came last to Sophie. The blond woman stared back for longer than most, before she nodded and lowered her head, breaking the contact.

  “Yes,” Regan said, “I’d fight for you, but I don’t think it’s going to be necessary.”

  “So, you’ll fight for me now—what about tomorrow.”

  “I don’t know about tomorrow.”

  She knew what he wanted, and she wasn’t going to promise him forever. Even if she had been willing to commit herself, how could she when tomorrow they might all be dead. She pushed the thought aside. “I can’t give you any more right now. Not until we have Sardi sorted out.”

  “And after that.”

  Anger flashed through her. “It’s probably not going to be an issue as we’re all going to be dead. Or worse.”

  For a moment, she thought he was going to push it. Then he grinned. “Or worse?”

  “You don’t want to know,” she said darkly.

  “No, probably not. Then we’d better make sure it’s dead then.” He gave her one last long look, and then sighed. He held out a hand to her. “Let’s do this.”

  One by one, his people came to stand before Caleb. They spoke an oath of allegiance and then stripped and transformed until a circle of wolves surrounded them. When the last wolf had made her vows, Caleb stepped forward still holding onto Regan’s hand. He raised it up.

  “Our lives for yours!”

  The wolves howled in unison, and Regan felt the pride rise up inside her.

  “Shall we give them a show,” she murmured.

  He glanced at her a startled expression in his eyes. “What?”

  She whispered a word and their clothing vanished. A ripple of awed sighs ran through the pack. For a brief moment, they stood naked, then they were gone, and it was the time of their wolves.

  Caleb threw back his head and howled, and Regan joined him as all around them the pack took up the song. He leaped forward into the forest and she followed as the pack streamed after them.

  The sky was showing the first faint signs of dawn when Regan awoke. To the east, the darkness was fading. She stretched, then pressed back against the solid length of Caleb behind her, curling into the curve of his body. His cock rose and stiffened against her, and she moved, rubbing her bottom against his hardening erection. His hand came up to cup her breast, and she pushed into it. Then he went motionless, and his hand fell away.

  She lay still, waiting for him to move. When nothing happened, she rolled over to face him. Stubble darkened his jaw, but the shadows were gone from
beneath his eyes, the tiredness vanished. He looked vital, gorgeous and … something else.

  She frowned and peered into the darkness of his eyes. Identified the something else—he looked pissed off. She leant over to kiss him, but he pulled away, and sat up so he was facing her.

  “No,” he said.

  Uncertainty washed through her. “No?”

  “You’re using me.” His eyes met hers briefly, then slid away. “And I don’t like it.”

  Irritation flicked at her nerves. “Using you? In what goddamn way am I using you?”

  “Have you realized we only ever make love after the change?” His eyes ran over her, coming to rest on her face, and she could almost see the thoughts turning in his mind. “You think that way, you can blame your wolf. That as long as you only make love after we run, then it’s nothing to do with you or me, just some sort of animal urge.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “Don’t lie. You’ve made no secret of the fact that for you this is only a short term.”

  “No, I—” she made to interrupt, but then fell silent. The truth was she had always intended to reverse the effect of the werewolf bite. But things had changed.

  Hadn’t they?

  She forced herself to think about it, to acknowledge the thoughts that had been lying in the back of her mind. He was wrong. She wanted him—not just wolf—the man as well, but the feelings were too strong, and she was scared of how vulnerable they made her feel. She was starting to realize that life without Caleb was not an option, but how could she endure it if she allowed herself to love him, and then she lost him or, worse, was responsible for his destruction as she had been with Sardi.

  She’d been subconsciously reasoning that if she was no longer a wolf, perhaps she could keep her feelings under control, keep him at some sort of distance. She could still have some part of Caleb, but when the end came, as it inevitably must, she could survive it.

  She looked up to find him watching her, waiting. She needed to say something, anything. “Maybe we’ll never get Catrin back.” She forced the words out. “Maybe I’ll never find the spell myself.”

  “We’ll get her back, and besides—do you think I want you under those conditions? You’re so goddamn arrogant. You think I’ll take you on any terms, any little part of you I can get.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve been rejected by just about everyone that mattered to me in this life, and I’ve come through it. I’ll come through this.”

  Regan swallowed and blinked back the tears that pricked her eyes. She thought about all those people who had turned their backs on him when he needed them. She couldn’t bear him to think the same of her. “It’s not arrogance.” She bit her lip, then made herself go on. “I’m scared.”

  Shock flared in his eyes.

  “I’ve never been scared before—not even with Sardi. I was hurt, furious, but never scared. Now I think about losing Catrin and”—she broke off, then looked into his eyes, allowing him to see her fear—“losing you, and it locks up my mind, so I can’t think. And I need to be able to think. So maybe I was trying to keep a little distance, but wolf won’t let me do that. She makes me forget what I need to remember.”

  He searched her face, and then reached out his hand. She took it in hers and he pulled her to him.

  “I’m scared too,” he murmured against her hair. “But we’ll save Catrin”—he paused—“or we’ll die trying. As you said, there are worse things than death.”

  With his words, a measure of peace stole over her. She relaxed into him as his fingers combed through the tangle of her long hair.

  He went still against her, tension radiating through his body. She raised her head, his eyes were fixed on something behind her, and she turned to look over her shoulder.

  The air shimmered, and as she watched, a portal formed, and Gina stepped out. Regan pulled out of Caleb’s arms and turned to face her sister, saw the lines of strain etched on her face.

  Gina’s gaze wandered over their naked forms, and she raised an eyebrow. “Sorry for the interruption,” she said, “but we’ve had a message from Sardi.”

  Fear shot through Regan, and she held her breath waiting for the bad news.

  “I can’t stay,” Gina said, glancing up at the eastern sky where the sun was almost peeking over the horizon. “Catrin is alive, but you must get back to the Council as soon as you can.” She turned to go then glanced back, forcing a weak smile. “You might put some clothes on first though.”

  Then she was gone.

  ***

  Caleb stared at the spot where Regan’s sister had vanished. Regan’s vampire sister.

  Would he ever get used to this new world? He really hoped he was going to be given the chance to try.

  Beside him, Regan scrambled to her feet. She whispered her magic and their clothes appeared in a pile beside him. He rose and pulled them on, glanced across as he was tucking his shirt into his pants to find her watching him, a hungry expression in her eyes.

  “I wish it could be different,” she said. “For the first time in my life, I wish I was normal, that we were normal and could have a normal life together.”

  He searched her face. Her eyes were filled with pain and the beginnings of despair.

  “And for the first time in my life, I don’t wish for a normal life,” he said. “Don’t give up. There’s always hope.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t know Sardi. He’s strong. If I couldn’t defeat him with my mother’s help, what hope do I have alone?”

  A flash of anger burned through him at her words. “You’re not alone,” he said.

  Her eyes widened at his tone. She stared into his face, and some of the darkness lifted from her expression. Her lips curled into the faint semblance of a smile, and she held out her hand.

  “Thank you.”

  He took it and squeezed her fingers. “So, how do we get back? Can you do one of those things, like your sister?”

  “A portal? You sound like you’d like to try,” Regan replied. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with magic.”

  “It’s a little late for that.”

  “I’m glad, and when this is over I’ll take you on a trip around the world, but not today. Today, I need to conserve my strength.”

  “So you only have so much—then what? It runs out?”

  “Something like that. The spell of destruction we did on Sardi drained me, and that was with my mother’s support. The price was high.”

  “The price?”

  “I told you, there are two types of magic. The simple tricks and glamours, like fetching things”—she gestured to their clothes—“or making things appear different from how they are.” She whispered a word and she vanished to be replaced by an extremely ugly toad. Caleb smiled, despite the situation, and then she was back. “They aren’t real,” she said, “and cost little. Then there is the earth magic. Earth magic changes things. With the earth magic, we can open a portal anywhere in the world, we can even open them between worlds. With the earth magic we have the power to stop the earth turning and the sun rising.”

  Caleb sensed she was telling the truth, and a sense of awe rose up inside him. “Have you ever done that?” he asked.

  Regan smiled. “Ask Gina to tell you the story of how she became a vampire,” she said. “The price for such magic is high. Sometimes the price is even a life. So I will save what strength I have and hope it is enough.”

  “You’re right,” Caleb replied. “We’ll drive.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Kael met them as they came out of the elevator and led them to a large, comfortable office.

  “Sit down,” he said.

  Regan did as she was told, which showed Caleb just how shaky she was feeling. Caleb sank down onto the black leather sofa next to her and took her hand.

  “Tell me,” Regan said when Kael remained silent.

  He shrugged and strode over to his desk. He picked up a small, wooden box and carried it over to them.

&
nbsp; “Sardi sent this,” he said and handed the box to Regan.

  Caleb watched as she looked down. All the color fled from her face. She bit down hard on her lip, and tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked, and they rolled down her cheek. More followed.

  She didn’t move, just sat staring at the contents of the box. Caleb didn’t want to look, but he knew he had to. He held out his free hand. Regan glanced at it. She straightened her shoulders, gave one last look at the box, then placed it on his palm.

  Nestled on a bed of white silk lay a severed finger.

  Shock raced through him. For an age, his brain refused to accept what he was seeing. He released his breath and forced himself to think.

  “Is it definitely hers?” he asked.

  Regan nodded. Her expression had been haunted; now, the hatred rose up in her eyes.

  “This time he dies,” she snarled.

  She pulled free of his hand. Caleb didn’t try to hold her, sensing she needed to move. She leapt to her feet and paced the room, came to a halt and slammed her fist into the wall.

  Caleb winced but remained silent. Catrin was her sister. He had seen how much they cared for each other, and he could only imagine what she was experiencing now. If it had been Regan’s finger lying in that box…

  After a minute’s silence she turned to Kael.

  “How did it get here?” she asked.

  “It was left, with a note. Nobody saw who brought it.”

  She held out her hand. Kael handed her a piece of paper. She read it, then came over to Caleb. She took the box from him and gave him the note. He scanned it quickly. It was brief and to the point.

  “He’ll release Catrin if we meet with him tonight.”

  “Or he’ll send her back in pieces.”

  “So, we meet with him then.”

  Regan looked at him. The hatred was still there seething beneath the surface. “I don’t want you going anywhere near him,” she said.

  She still didn’t believe he could help her. Caleb stifled his disappointment. She was hurting right now, not thinking straight. He remembered back to the forest and Regan admitting she was scared—such an admission must have cost her dearly. He needed to give her space, but there was no way she was meeting Sardi alone.