Sapphire Flame: A Paranormal Romance (The Flame Series Book 7)

by Caris Roane

  But the penguins moved right through them.

  They were definitely on a different plane.

  “That was so strange. But that means we could get as close as we wanted.”

  “I think so.” He began directing the dreamglide to a large group of penguins and for the next few minutes, often at Natalie’s direction, he took her around the beach, up and over boulders and once into the water to see them swim below the surface. The latter had to be the strangest experience. It was a though the dreamglide allowed them a perfect experience without any of the downsides.

  After a few minutes, he returned to the dreamglide on an empty space of beach several yards from the nearest penguins. He stood beside her watching their antics, when Natalie asked, “How did Renee die?”

  Grant drew in a long, deep breath. “In my arms after a brutal attack by rogue wolves. It wasn’t far from where Talya was attacked.”

  “Renee mentioned her death when she sent me to the Graveyard. I take it the wolves didn’t survive.”

  He frowned at the memory. “I was armed with my Glock because I was on duty when I got the call. I fired three times and took them out, but it was too late. They’d disemboweled my wife and sliced up her throat. I didn’t care about the blood or anything. I just held her and wept. I remember thinking my life had just ended.” Maybe he shouldn’t have told her so many details. He frowned, “Yes, it was savage.”

  She took hold of his arm. “I wasn’t thinking that. I’m just glad you got to hold her. I was in too much pain when Aaron passed. I regret that I couldn’t have held him and comforted him more. He died during his transition.”

  He turned to face her, wanting to comfort her, maybe wanting comfort for himself. But without warning, his desire for her returned like a powerful Tsunami that picked him and carried him straight into her.

  He slid his arms around her and pulled her tight against him. What he’d been craving was suddenly in his arms.

  He waited, though. He wouldn’t do this without her permission.

  “Yes,” slid from her throat, low and husky.

  He crashed his lips down on hers. She slid a leg close and connected tighter to his body. When she parted her lips, he drove his tongue inside.

  He was hard as any of these boulders and arched his hips to let her feel him. Her arms wended around his neck as a softly murmured groan surrounded his pulsing tongue.

  He could lay her down on the sand and take her. It would be quick, a hasty shoving aside of clothes and he’d be inside her.

  Do you want this Natalie? Right here and now?

  He wouldn’t do anything without her complete willingness, even if it meant living with a throbbing hard-on.

  ~ ~ ~

  Grant’s lips were like fire against her mouth.

  Natalie drew back to meet his gaze. She had a death grip on his arms and couldn’t seem to let go. She had never felt this way before in her entire life and she’d known a passionate relationship with Aaron.

  Grant’s eyes had changed color as well, almost gold-rimmed. She’d heard this could happen with wolves. His lumberyard scent had her abdomen rippling with pleasure as well as a powerful need that would require so little to put her on her back.

  Yet, she hesitated. “What is this between us?” she whispered.

  A small smile played at the edges of his lips, “A Five Bridges kind of torture.” He leaned close then nuzzled her hair very wolf-like, just at her shoulder. He dipped his nose and lifted as though pushing it away. His breath was warm on her skin.

  He tilted his head a little more then pressed his lips to the tender part of her neck just below her ear.

  A series of small gasps left her throat as shivers played leap-frog down her throat and side. Her nipples grew peaked and desire danced over her sex. In that moment, she felt her faeness reaching for what was his most essential wolf: Her alter nature wanted his.

  She felt it again, how being in the dreamglide had removed much of her inhibitions, her rational thought.

  As he placed a series of warm erotic kisses down her throat, she forced herself to remember that above all, Davis Grant was a wolf.

  This thought had a sobering effect. “I think you should take me home. This is all too much. I’ve done a good job charting my course in Revel until now, doing some good I hope, with my investment in Kiara’s refuge and avoiding the pitfalls, at least most of them.”

  “Like dating wolves.”

  His words made her think. “That’s just it, Grant. This doesn’t feel like dating. Maybe I could handle that. But this feels like getting sucked into a sexual vortex with no guarantees it won’t end in death.”

  He shook his head. “You always have a gloomy perspective? What if this is something we both need?”

  New tears bit her eyes. She wanted to hope, to believe something good could come of the miracle around her. “I’m cynical because I live in Five Bridges. I’m cynical because three wolves nearly killed one of my fellow fae late last night. I’m untrusting because every day I live with a sense I’m being watched, my movements tracked.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She felt Grant’s sudden tension. The same sensation had been there the night she became an alter fae six years ago. She said as much then added, “I’d brought my husband, Aaron, his favorite strawberry pie from a bakery far away from any outbreaks of alter serum transformations. I was out at Cave Creek. In the parking lot, when I could have sworn someone was there. But as hard as I looked, I didn’t see anyone. I’d had a similar moment in the bakery. I became a fae that same night, which meant that I’d been right. Someone was there, with me, in that parking lot. But off and on, through the years, I’ve felt the same presence as well. Always briefly, but it’s been there, haunting me.”

  “What about any time while you’ve been with me?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  Grant released her and the tense, sexual moment evaporated. He even turned in a slow circle. “I’ve heard rumors over the years of invisibility potions and spells that some of the more powerful wizards can concoct.”

  “I’ve heard rumors as well, but never anything concrete. So are you thinking I’ve been tracked by an invisible entity? A person? A wizard, maybe?”

  “It’s hard to say, but my best guess is that you have.”

  “Agnes thought so as well, but neither of us knew what to do about it. The moments were always fleeting. By the time I became aware I was being watched, the entity was no longer there.”

  He nodded and appeared somber. He’d gone from ready to jump her bones to serious advisor in less than half a minute.

  She became acutely aware that he was a man of great worth. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she realized the time had come to make a clean breast of things.

  She straightened her shoulders. “There’s something you have to know. I’m not proud of this, but I participated in the Fae-Wolf Wars of three years ago. That was when I’d used my futurism to locate where a team of enemy wolves would be. I know at least two wolves died because of my information.

  “I’d lost a good friend the night before and my judgment wasn’t at its best. I let my emotions rule my decisions and agreed to help. It only happened once, but I was sick afterward.”

  A bucket of ice water couldn’t have had a greater impact. He compressed his lips, his nostrils flared, and the sweet smell of cut-wood dissipated as though a strong wind suddenly carried it away.

  “You used your futurist abilities to secure our locations.”

  “As I said, only once then I came to my senses. But you’ve already told me you participated as well. So, I’d say we have a difficult history between us.”

  He nodded gravely, a slow dip of his chin. Lines of honey-gold fur appeared on his cheeks. “This will be hard to forgive, Natalie. I don’t know if I’ll be able to trust you.”

  “I understand. It’s why I brought it up. We both lost people we cared about during that time. We can’t do this, Grant. Any
of it, can we?”

  He looked away from her, his gaze tracking several penguins that dove into the water. “You’re right. We can’t.”

  He sighed and for a long moment was silent. Finally, he turned to her and said, “There’s just one thing. The next time you have the sense you’re being watched, call me. I’m not sure, but it’s possible you’ve been targeted.”

  Natalie stared at him dumbstruck. “For what and by whom?”

  “I don’t know. But you need to be careful. It’s even possible this entity provided the alter serum that made you fae.”

  Until this moment, Natalie had never considered that she might be in some kind of danger. She’d always assumed the sensation of being watched was part of her alter experience. Or maybe that was what she wanted to think.

  A certain doubt entered her mind. “Are you suggesting that when I was at the bakery in Cave Creek before my transformation that I was targeted? Someone wanted me specifically to become an alter fae?” The serums that turned humans into any of the five alter creatures were specific to that species. She could only have become fae with the fae serum.

  “I think it’s possible. But you need to be on your guard if you’re not already.”

  Grant shifted his gaze to the sky overhead. She did as well. All that blue, something she hadn’t seen in six years.

  “We should head back.”

  Natalie felt it as well, the need to be going. “Being here has been wonderful. I want you to know that. We probably won’t see each other again, but I want to thank you for this brief adventure.” She could even offer a half-smile as she took one last look at the penguins.

  Chapter Four

  “We can’t find Kryder. He’s disappeared again.”

  Grant heard Ryan’s words. But they didn’t register. From the time he’d finished his shift at two am, his thoughts had been fixed on Natalie. He couldn’t shake the sensation something was wrong.

  Ryan sat next to him at the rowdy bar in the center of the pine forest. They were both on stools. Grant faced out, his unseeing gaze settled on the shallow sandpit where two drunk wolves stumbled around throwing wild punches that rarely landed. The crowd was laughing hard.

  He barely saw any of it.

  “Your shirt’s on fire.” Ryan spun on his stool, mug in his left hand, to face the pit as well.

  Grant knew Ryan had said something. But his words once more grazed his ears then slid off. Grant wasn’t drinking. He wasn’t interested, which was a first. He liked tossing back a few at the end of his shift. His wolf metabolism took care of the effects of alcohol quickly. He’d always considered it one of the best parts of his alter status.

  Not tonight.

  Instead, his thoughts were focused on something Natalie had said, that someone might have targeted her specifically to become an alter fae. He believed she was right, but who had done this to her and why?

  Ryan again. “You have flames shooting out of the top of your head.”

  This time, Grant heard his friend and turned to him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He scowled.

  Ryan put his mug to his mouth and took a big drink. He glanced at Grant. “I wondered what it would take to make you surface. You’ve been scowling, arms-crossed over your chest and your mind fixed elsewhere from the time we arrived. I need your attention.”

  Grant forced himself to concentrate. “Fine. What’s going on?”

  Ryan grimaced. “Kryder’s been gone again, two nights now from the pack, and you’ve been absent longer than usual as well. Our wolves are getting restless. So, what’s going on with you?”

  Ryan was the perfect beta wolf. His role fit him like foam on beer. He kept the pack’s machinery running smoothly. Yet, even as he spoke, even with important info to communicate, Grant couldn’t seem to think about anything other than Natalie’s invisible stalker. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  Ryan quickly drank the rest of his beer. Grant headed outside and heard the thump of Ryan’s boots as he fell in behind him.

  He led Ryan out the less-used east exit by the bathrooms. The trash bins were out there forcing him to close his sensitive wolf nose.

  “This is a real treat,” Ryan said.

  Grant chuckled and walked faster to get away from the middle-of the-forest bar.

  When all he smelled were the pine trees, he looked up and caught sight of a star or two. There wasn’t much visible given Phoenix’s light-pollution, but they were still stars. From how many continents had he and Renee looked up at the night sky? All of them, including a trip to the Antarctica Peninsula.

  Ryan stood a few feet away and did a slow pivot. “We’re alone.”

  “Good.” He then outlined what had happened with Natalie and the dreamglides.

  Ryan didn’t say anything for a long moment. Finally, he stroked his narrow chin and smiled. “You know what this means.”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “Big picture, Grant. You can finally take on Kryder.”

  This was the last thing he’d expected Ryan to say. “How do you figure?”

  “Think about Fergus and Mary. He only learned to build dreamglides once she showed up in his life. It’s possible Natalie has done something similar for you, somehow ignited a similar ability. Fergus and Mary thwarted an entire territorial takeover because they worked together. That’s why I’m thinking you’ll be able to defeat Kryder.”

  Ryan had a made a few mental leaps Grant wasn’t prepared to hear. “The point I’m trying to make is that Natalie has sensed an invisible presence. We’ve been worried about something like this for a long time, wizards selling invisibility spells and making our jobs even harder.”

  “And you’ve missed my point. If you bond with Natalie, you’d probably be able to figure out who’s shadowing her and maybe even why.”

  Since Ryan wouldn’t let go of this bone, Grant addressed the issue. “That’s not going to happen for Natalie and me. Ever.” Saying the words caused his chest to ache.

  “Why not?”

  “She participated in the Fae-Wolf Wars. She’s a futurist and she provided intel about our activities.”

  “Jesus.”

  “Exactly. She said she only did it once and regretted it.”

  Ryan filled in the real problem. “But some of our people died.”

  “She said they did, and it made her miserable. The truth is, I wasn’t proud of my role in the wars either. But it’s a big chasm.”

  Ryan nodded several times, his gaze intense. “All right. But I don’t think you’re going to like what I’m about to say.”

  Grant sighed. “Then just say it.”

  “Neil.”

  “Fuck. I’m not doing that.” Neil was an Elegance warlock of great power who was on the verge of becoming a wizard.

  Ryan summed things up. “Take him a bottle of his favorite cognac and make peace with him. It’s time. You and I both know we need to follow up on this invisibility thing and Neil will know something. You’ve got a ghost giving warnings to Natalie, she’s a futurist probably of some ability, and she thinks she’s been stalked for years. This isn’t a coincidence, not if Renee is involved.

  “Besides, Neil reminds me of you and Alpha Warren. I suspect, if given a chance, Neil could become a real force for Elegance and for Five Bridges.”

  Grant was always surprised when Ryan compared him to Alpha Warren or to Fergus. These wolves were heroes in Savage Territory. Grant wasn’t even powerful enough to take on Kryder. In that sense, Grant was still a beta even though his pack looked to him for leadership and direction.

  Despite his self-doubts, he knew Ryan was right about Neil. The warlock brimmed with emerging wizard-power and he was one of the good guys.

  “You were both drunk,” Ryan added. “And that vampire female you were both chasing went home with a deadtalker anyway.”

  Neil had gotten under Grant’s skin and Grant still held a grudge. He’d bought the plump vampire female several drinks but had come back to find Neil with
his tongue down her throat. He’d sensed the spell Neil had used and Grant still bristled when he thought about it. Neil hadn’t played fair.

  There had to be someone else he could contact about the invisibility spell. “Who else do we know in Elegance? I don’t trust Neil. He used a spell when he shouldn’t have.”

  “The man apologized. You’ve been an ass all this time.”

  Grant’s temper caused lines of fur to rise on his cheeks.

  Ryan didn’t back off. Instead, he got close and puffed up his chest. “You’re still an ass on this one. The pair of you were drunk as hell and nearly tore the White Flame apart. Make peace with Neil. He’s who you need at your back right now. You know it and I know it.”

  The dominant wolf-part of Grant caused his snout to elongate and fur to show at his throat and along the backs of his hands and wrists. If a beta was going to challenge him like this, he had to answer.

  “You need to back down. Now.”

  The words, misshaped by his snout, sounded demonic.

  But Ryan didn’t step back, didn’t lower his gaze. He did nothing to alter his challenging posture, not even when Grant started to growl.

  Instead, Ryan smiled. “Yes, I know you want to rip my throat out, but I hope you don’t. Instead, use your brain and your instincts on this one. When you said Natalie was being watched by an invisible presence, I sensed you were right. I even thought Kryder might be behind it. But you need proof and Neil’s our best shot. I trust him and despite what you say, so do you.”

  Grant felt the fear in Ryan. It was taking him a shitload of courage for the lesser wolf to stand up to him like this.

  Grant stepped away from him and took deep breaths. Ryan had an annoying knack for being right ninety-nine percent of the time. He was also right about something else. Grant felt it as well. Every wolf instinct he possessed told him Neil was the one they needed in this situation.

  “Shit.”

  He heard Ryan’s heavy sigh of relief.

  Grant paced and shook his head about a dozen times. Finally, he barked, “Will you set it up? I doubt he’d take my call.”