Hard as Rock

by Stephanie West

  “I learned a little something about Nicolas while you were sleeping,” Roc spoke in hushed tones.

  “Really?” She turned away from the chilly wonder to focus on him.

  As Meline stared at his ruggedly handsome face, she could hardly believe the twist of fate that brought them together. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined her boring little vacation would drop love in her lap, much less someone so unique. Her heart swelled, and she sighed happily.

  “Apparently the harsh stuff in the journal was all a ruse to throw off the church and keep Nicolas safe.” Roc paused and took a second look at her. His eyes crinkled up as he grinned. “Your head is elsewhere, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but that’s nice to know.” A flicker of green caught her attention over his shoulder. “Oh. Are those the northern lights?”

  “Yes, ma’am. You picked a good time of year to come see them,” the pilot replied over his shoulder.

  “They’re gorgeous.”

  “I can think of something lovelier,” Roc whispered suggestively into her ear.

  “Stop,” she giggled and elbowed him gently, then cast a glance at the rangers.

  Oh my god, they’re staring. It was so embarrassing the way they smirked at her. She could almost hear the pair telling them to ‘get a room.’

  Meline shoved down her embarrassment. She was too giddy to really care what the grumpy rangers thought. They were probably just sour they had to go back to work, and their job was in the deep freeze.

  She glanced back out at the glorious sight and nearly squealed in shock. Silhouetted against the wavering green lights was a giant winged creature. The dark shadow of Petronus looked like something straight out of the Jurassic era.

  Oh fuck! Think fast before anyone sees.

  “You know what I have planned when we get to the lodge?” she whispered loud enough the others could hear as she licked the shell of Roc’s ear.

  He pulled back and cast her a shocked questioning glance.

  “Petronus,” she mouthed and overtly glanced toward the window.

  Roc closed his eyes in frustration for a moment.

  “No, what?” he husked, playing along.

  “Well, I won’t be needing all these layers, ‘cause we won’t be going out much,” she purred into his ear.

  “My angel is wicked.”

  Meline didn’t need to cast a surreptitious glance at the others to know her little act had their attention. She could hear their heavy breathing and something else, something subtler, like rapid heartbeats. Even Roc’s had kicked up in tempo. It was so strange that she was able to hear all that.

  “He’s gone,” Roc mouthed after glancing out the window, drawing her attention back to their dilemma.

  That was close. She sighed in relief.

  “But I wouldn’t mind if you continued telling me all that you have planned,” he whispered into her ear, too quiet for anyone to hear.

  “Oh. That’s for me to know and you to find out,” she giggled.

  When she squeezed his thigh, she felt something thick jump beneath her palm. Her mouth parted in surprise as her gaze flew to his. She knew he was turned on but didn’t realize how much.

  “That’s my tail,” Roc whispered in her ear as he twitched it again. “I think what you’re looking for is over here.” He moved her hand to his other thigh, and she felt a thick, warm bulge through his pants.

  “Oh my god, you’re awful.” She laughed and smacked his knee.

  “Yeah, but you like it,” he chuckled.

  “Oh, look, we’re getting close to the mountains,” she redirected the ornery beast.

  “I bet my father would love seeing this.”

  Meline repressed a snort at the unexpected reference to the man who instigated the rowdy banter.

  “Your father would be nothing but trouble if he were up here with us. But I’m starting to question who’s the bigger pain in the ass.”

  “Who, me?!” Roc’s eyes widened and his mouth gaped in mock innocence.

  She shook her head. From the moment she met Roc her life had been anything but dull.

  The sudden gust of wind behind them caught her by surprise. She glanced back, and her eyes widened just as the second ranger jumped out of the plane. She had no idea they had to leap out in the middle of nowhere for their jobs. If she did, she wouldn’t have been so critical earlier.

  “What the fuck?!” the pilot barked, and she realized this wasn’t normal.

  Her gaze swiveled to Roc and panic struck seeing the dark expression on his face.

  18

  Roc

  The two rangers had been grim from the moment they got onto the Cessna. He should’ve suspected something was wrong.

  “Oh God,” Meline screeched and scrambled to put her seatbelt on as the suicide door beside her flew open.

  He gripped her jacket to keep her from falling as he leaned over and reached for the red door handle.

  The sudden explosion in the engine rocked the plane.

  “Fuck!” the pilot yelled as smoke and fire burst from the nose of the aircraft.

  Roc looked in horror at the rapidly approaching mountainside the stalled Cessna was diving toward. He couldn’t get his coat off fast enough in the cramped cabin. There wasn’t enough time. Swiftly he grabbed Meline, but only got a grip on her thick coat before leaping out the open door.

  “Roc!” she screamed, the arctic wind battering them as they free fell. It threatened to tear her from his grasp.

  “Grab onto me!” he yelled over the deafening torrent.

  He tugged Meline closer, but her oversized coat was slipping. He clawed at his jacket, desperate to release his straining wings while struggling to hold on to her. He only bought the damn thing to keep up appearances. He couldn’t even free his tail.

  “I'm trying.” Meline’s clasping fingers grabbed ahold of his pant leg.

  The explosion as the plane struck the mountain sent a hot shockwave reverberating through the air, and Meline lost her grasp on his leg.

  “Fuck,” Roc growled.

  He let go of his jacket and used both hands to tug her against him.

  “I’m good.” She tackled his waist with a death grip that was surprisingly strong.

  Roc glanced down at the rapidly approaching treetops. He grit his jaw in determination and shred the remains of his jacket, letting his wings burst free. They rustled the upper most branches of the towering pines as he churned the air, bringing their downward descent to a halt.

  “Oh God,” Meline sighed in relief when they started to climb again.

  “You can say that again.”

  His heart was pounding so hard in his ears that he didn’t hear the steady drone of the helicopter blades until it was too late. Suddenly something tangled in his wings. Meline’s eyes widened as they started falling again. Roc desperately tried to envelop her in his pinions, but the net had them completely ensnared. Meline was vulnerable.

  He clutched her close, his palm cradling the back of her head as they hit the forest canopy. Roc twist, trying to angle himself as they struck the branches, snapping several limbs as they fell. He fought the temptation to harden his duramna. If he could wrap his wings around Meline, shelling would protect her, but that wasn’t an option. He couldn’t risk wounding her if they landed wrong.

  Roc tried to grab the first big limb, but it gave way. His back slammed into the next thick bough forcing the air from his chest. He pitched forward and had to release Meline entirely to shove off the trunk before crushing her.

  “No!” he roared as she lost her hold on him and fell.

  “Roc!” she screamed then went quiet when she hit a branch.

  He watched in abject horror as her limp body tumbled the rest of the way to the ground, landing amidst the brush. The second he hit the ground he raced over and picked his way through the thick undergrowth to find her face down in the snow.

  “Please be okay,” he prayed. “Angel,” his voice broke as he gently turned he
r over then saw blood in the snow. There was a nasty gash on her forehead.

  Roc panicked. He couldn’t hear her heartbeat through all the thick layers and the thundering of his own. His hands shook as he unzipped her coat. Just as he was about to feel for a pulse, the snow crunched behind him and he froze. Through the thick brush, he watched a man in all white creeping slowly between the trees. He didn’t need to see the face beneath the ski mask to know Nightshade was behind this.

  It was dark, but the moonlight cast enough light that the armed man quickly located the branches he’d broken during the fall, and was about to find his footprints leading to Meline. He couldn’t allow that. Roc hardened his duramna as rage burned through his veins.

  This ends today.

  He burst out of the brush, launching directly for the mercenary. Before the man could get off a shot he was on him. Roc wrenched the bastard’s gun away and tossed it.

  “Where is that asshole?” he snarled.

  The man refused to answer. Roc gripped the fucker’s head and twisted without a second thought. But the crunching sound of his neck breaking wasn’t nearly satisfying enough. His angel lay battered in the snow. Every last one of these psychopaths would pay.

  A sharp pain struck his back. Roc glanced down to see what looked like a harpoon protruding through his shoulder. He roared and spun on his assailant. Roc started tugging the chain attached to the harpoon, reeling the mercenary in. Five more men stepped into the small clearing and leveled their rifles at him. Among them, the two park rangers.

  “No! I want him alive. Secure that chain to a tree.”

  Roc recognized the voice muffled by a ski mask. His gaze swiveled toward Nightshade.

  “You want me? Come and get me yourself!” he bellowed, his voice so deep it brought snow cascading down from the branches above.

  The mercenary holding the chain couldn’t pull hard enough. Roc ignored the stabbing pain radiating down his arm as he stormed toward the megalomaniac, dragging his would-be captor behind him. Someone else grabbed the net tangled in his wings. The butt of a gun struck the back of his head. Roc staggered but nothing would distract him from his goal. Nightshade’s eyes widened. He knew death was coming and nothing would deter it.

  “Shoot him!” Nightshade yelled.

  The bastard on his back swiftly retreated as the men on either side of Nightshade raised their weapons. Roc paused, though not because of the threat they posed. He started laughing. Nightshade held his hand up to halt the mercenaries before they opened fire.

  “Obviously you see the futility of resisting. At this range even you are no match for semi-automatic weapons,” Nightshade smugly boasted.

  “Hardly,” Roc laughed like a mad man, then nodded to the trees.

  Petronus leapt down behind the two gunmen. Nightshade spun in time to witness his sire lunge, wings extended. It was a gruesome, satisfying sight, watching the way his sire stabbed the two lackeys in the back, the talons on his wingtips bursting out the front of their chests. Their blood sprayed everywhere, staining the pristine snow as they dropped to the ground. Nightshade took off running when Petronus grabbed one of their guns.

  “Fuck!” the mercenary who’d been on his back yelled.

  It was a dumb move. Petronus swung toward the fool and opened fire, killing the man instantly. Roc felt the pressure on the harpoon in his shoulder go lax and heard his assailant take off. Petronus took aim.

  “No. I’ve got this,” Roc said as he snapped off the protruding end of the harpoon.

  He took aim and launched the barb. It hit its mark, spearing straight through the final mercenary, pinning him to a nearby tree.

  “Very nice aim.” Petronus glanced around in satisfaction at the dead gunmen.

  “You have to go after Nightshade, before he reaches the helicopter. I refuse to let that fucker get away. I need to get Meline. She’s hurt.” His face twisted into a grim frown.

  Lar, please let her be okay, he begged the Khargal deity he never saw cause to worship before today.

  “I am sorry. I kept my distance when I realized you spotted me from the craft. By the time I saw what was going on I was too far away to help.” Petronus’ brow furrowed. “Let me help you.”

  Petronus carefully pulled the rest of the harpoon from Roc’s shoulder. Even without the barbed tip it stung like a bitch.

  “Thank you, sire,” Roc said as Petronus untangled the net from his wings.

  “It does not look bad. Clean through.”

  “I’m fine.” Roc flexed his arms and wings. “But Meline’s not.” He rushed back to the tangle of undergrowth at the edge of the clearing. “Please, go kill that asshole.”

  Roc wanted to see Nightshade’s life as it fled his body. But he needed to see to Meline first. She meant far more to him than vengeance.

  “He will not get far. This is more important.” Petronus helped him pull back the brush.

  Roc was stunned for a moment by his sire’s consideration then returned to his task of clearing the growth.

  “She’s gone!” Roc looked around in confusion.

  meline

  Meline came to. She batted away the brush and sat up. Her ears were ringing, making it hard to get her bearings. It was taxing crawling through the snow, out of the undergrowth. She was so dizzy she had to pause and steady herself against a pine tree. There was something crusty when she felt the sore spot on her forehead. She pulled her hand away and stared at the dried blood.

  Roc!

  The memory of falling flashed through her mind. Mostly it was the horror on Roc’s face she recalled. Meline pulled herself off the ground and staggered forward, looking left and right for evidence of where he landed. She grabbed ahold of a tree as another round of dizziness hit her. Meline growled in frustration. She needed to find Roc. The double vision and the ringing in her ears weren’t helping.

  Meline pushed on, despite being disoriented, grabbing the trees she passed to keep from falling down. Every step she took she grew more worried and determined to find Roc. She knew she wasn’t well when she crossed Roc’s path and instead of one set of footprints she saw several. Meline blinked to clear her vision and rubbed her ears to get rid of the annoying popping, but it persisted.

  I hit my head good. She wasn’t sure how many more knocks she could take before something rattled loose in her brain.

  She followed Roc’s tracks, eager to find him. He had to be frantic, desperately looking for her, like she was him. As it was, he blamed himself for every little thing that happened to her. She couldn’t let him worry. Meline reached the river and stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at the helicopter sitting on the bank.

  Shit! The rest of what happened to them flooded back like a nightmare. Roc!

  Meline whirled around and gaped at the tracks she’d followed. She hadn’t been seeing things. Those weren’t Roc’s footprints in the show. Her breath sped up as she realized what the loud popping had been. It was gunfire. How had she not recognized that?

  I have to do something. But what?

  Her first instinct was to race back the way she came. The people after them had obviously been shooting for a reason. She couldn’t leave Roc to defend himself.

  What exactly are you going to do? You’re unarmed.

  She warily looked around, seeing no one guarding the helicopter, Meline raced toward it. She opened the door and climbed into the back, looking for a weapon.

  “Dammit. Surely you brought more guns.” But all she found was camping gear.

  Rustling in the tree line captured her attention. She peered out the helicopter window then quickly ducked back down behind the pilot’s seat when she saw who was emerging from the woods.

  Nightshade! Shit. Shit. Shit!

  Frantically she grabbed a sleeping bag, unrolled it, and pulled it over her, then piled several packs on top. She’d barely covered her head when Nightshade flung open the helicopter door. It was dark but not nearly dark enough. She repressed a startled sound when she heard him t
oss in his rifle then climb into the pilot’s seat. Meline forced her breathing to slow as she huddled beneath the pile of gear. Her heartbeat was pounding a mile a minute, but she heard Nightshade flip several switches.

  Oh crap! He’s going to take off with me stowed in the back.

  “What the fuck?” Nightshade cursed.

  He slammed the door as he got back out of the helicopter. Meline poked her head up and saw the harried man throw open the engine hatch. Obviously, something was wrong. Her gaze flew to the rifle in the front seat. Now was her chance, while Nightshade was preoccupied. Ever so carefully, she rose and reached for the rifle, keeping a nervous eye on the window.

  Her fingers grazed the cold metal when Nightshade abruptly stopped fiddling with the engine and turned toward the woods. She ducked back down and hid again before he opened the door.

  “I don’t care how valuable those monsters are. I’m not about to sacrifice myself for anything or anyone,” Nightshade muttered as he rustled around the front seat.

  He cocked the gun, chambering a bullet. The sound was so close she started to tremble, wondering if her hiding spot had been discovered. But when he didn’t yank the sleeping bag back, she gathered her courage and slowly lifted the edge to peer out. She breathed a sigh of relief to find Nightshade standing in the open door, his back facing her. He was pointing the rifle at the woods. That could only mean one thing.

  Anger filled her as she thought about what the evil man had done to her family and planned to do to the man she loved. Her gaze drifted to a hunting knife strapped to the side of a backpack. There was movement in the tree line and Nightshade took aim.

  You will not hurt my man!

  roc

  Panic filled him as Meline’s tracks merged with the others.

  “They are going toward the flying vehicle,” Petronus noted as he studied the snow.

  “It doesn’t look like she struggled.” Roc tried to make sense of the footprints.

  “Maybe the vile Earthian did not capture her.”