by Kimber White
His blood filled my mouth. There was just an instant of pain. Not even for a second. Then, a release, as if he knew he was born for this too.
Viktor came to my side, his eyes glowing as bright as the sun. His hunger fueled mine. This was our kill, but he let me have it. The more I took, the more I wanted.
For the first time in my life, I had at least a fleeting feeling that I knew where I belonged.
I shifted. Still covered in the deer’s blood, I turned to Viktor. He bared his teeth, then shifted alongside of me.
“You’re good at this,” he smiled. “You don’t need me. Someone taught you well.”
“No one had to teach me,” I said, a little defensive. That was a lie, and he knew it.
“No,” he said, dropping his voice. “I suppose not. You just needed someone to let you.”
We dragged the deer back to our encampment. This far into the valley, there was little risk of someone seeing smoke from a campfire. We didn’t chance even that. Our full feast could wait until later when the sun went down.
Viktor came to me. I went into his arms without even thinking. It came as naturally as hunting the deer. As natural as breathing. In the back of my mind, I knew that’s why I should fear it.
“I want you,” he whispered.
“I know,” I answered. His was a question. Even as he had to have felt my desire as his, he asked. It mattered.
I went up on my tiptoes and found Viktor’s lips with mine. He groaned and slid his arms around me. With one swift movement, he got his arms beneath my thighs and lifted me off the ground. Our lips still locked together, he carried me back down to the stream.
He laid me down along the banks, then cupped water in his hands. Carefully, gently, he poured it over me, washing away the hunt. I did the same to him.
Then, he came to me tenderly, with soft kisses along my neck. As always, I felt that aching throb at the base of my skull. It pulsed in time with my sex. I wanted. I needed.
And yet, I wasn’t ready.
I laid on my back and spread my legs. I would take my Alpha in another way. He knew. He understood. But his desire reached its peak.
I gasped with pleasure as Viktor rooted himself inside of me. Out here, I could scream. I could howl. I could rut with my mate and no one else could hear.
God, he felt so good. Every movement, every touch felt perfect. He knew what I craved. He gave it to me. I did the same for him. He went gently at first, finding an ancient rhythm. Then, as my desire built, we both became more primal, more animalistic.
I drew blood along his back as I cried out my orgasm and sank my nails into his skin. His eyes flashed gold as he felt the delicious pain and found his own release inside of me.
As the noon sun rose high again, it felt like time no longer existed. There was just Viktor. Just this place. Just this feeling. Only I knew it couldn’t last forever.
We fell asleep together, tangled in each other’s limbs, coated in each other. Later, a different hunger woke us as afternoon settled into evening.
“Come on,” Viktor said. Winking, he planted a quick kiss on my shoulder. “Time to make my lady a feast.”
We washed off in the stream and headed back down to the campsite where dinner waited. Something else waited as well. We both needed answers from each other. Though it would have been so easy to forget, time was not on our side.
Chapter 16
Mia
“How do you do it?” he asked. He’d carried the question since the moment he laid eyes on me. I couldn’t read his mind, but I knew it now, plainly. I could have played coy. But he knew my mind. And that was the danger.
“Mia,” he said. “How? I know female shifters don’t have a scent like Alpha males do. I mean, I’ve heard that. But that’s not what I’m talking about. You have different magic. What is it?”
I sat against a tall tree, drawing my knees up to my chest. “You said a lot of things to me about things you’ve done to survive. This is just one of mine.”
“It’s different though,” he said. “Now that we’ve...now that I know you better, I can scent your wolf. Mia, I’d know it anywhere. And I know that whatever you’re doing, it’s part of you. It’s not some spell you picked up or trick you learned from a mage.”
“Not like your little fae charm,” I said, leveling a stare at him. I wanted to forget. Out here, I could almost pretend we came from different worlds. Almost.
He grimaced. “I told you. I wouldn’t have used that on you against your will. Not after I met you. Not after I knew. But it’s my job to protect you now. To do that, I need to know everything.”
“I can protect myself,” I said. “I’ve been doing it so far. I even protected myself from you!” I turned away from him. A wave of homesickness washed over me. I’d given up so much. I wanted to trust him completely. Was I losing my mind?
His anger made his eyes flash gold. In spite of myself, that stoked my lust too. God. It overpowered me. I knew what this was. So did he.
The Rise. Or damn close to it. It happened that way with fated mates. As soon as they coupled, it set off a chain of events that culminated in something inevitable. Soon, I would go into heat. The urge to have him mark me burned so strong. It would have been so easy to give in to. But I couldn’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I just didn’t know if any shifter had ever been strong enough to deny it. The longer I stayed with him, the harder it would be to turn away. And yet...I had to turn away. Didn’t I?
“Fine,” I said. “You want to talk secrets? Then you tell me all of yours. Don’t pretend you don’t still have them.”
“This!” he shouted, spreading his arms wide. “This valley. This is my most valuable secret. Or it was. Until you came along. I told you. Not even Luka knows about this place. I have nowhere left to hide. Not as good as here, anyway. Do you know how valuable this place is?”
“Yes!” I hissed. “I of all people know how valuable this place is. My family has made a fortune out of places just like this. We’ve been helping shifters get to them for fifteen years. So they can escape people like you.”
“I’m not the enemy!” Viktor’s voice boomed, sending a shockwave through me. He sat down hard and buried his face in his hands.
“I’m not your enemy. I am not going to let the Ring or anyone else anywhere near you, Mia. I swear it on my life. Take anything that I have. Take my blood. My heart. My soul. You have all of that, anyway.”
My own heart twisted. I wanted to go to him. To comfort him. To bring him into me. But I still had so much to protect.
Men like Viktor trafficked in the secrets I still possessed about my dragon family. I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t trade it.
“There’s nothing I want more than you,” he said quietly.
I believed him. At least...I wanted to. And I knew there was only one way to know his heart and mind for sure.
I could become his mate. All the way. I could let him claim me once and for all. Then he could hide nothing. My hunger for it flared, nearly driving me mad. It would feel so good.
But it would expose everything inside of me to him, too.
“We can’t stay here forever,” I said. It was both a question and a statement. “It’s been weeks since my family had any word from me. By now, they’ve likely figured out I didn’t just voluntarily go into hiding again. We have a system. Ways that I get word to them so they know I’m okay. It’s long past the time I should have done that. They’ll come looking. It could get ugly. People I love will get hurt.”
“So will mine,” he said.
“Do you think…” I hated to even say it. “Do you really think they let Luka and the others live?”
Viktor winced. I felt his pain. Without even thinking, I took his hand and brought it to my breast.
“It’s not your fault, what happened,” I said. “You chose…”
“You,” he finished for me. “I chose you, Mia. I will always choose you. God help me.”
Tears sprang to my eyes. He had. And
yet I couldn’t let go of the lessons my father had ingrained in me.
The Ring was strong. Evil. Cunning. Was there something else Viktor wanted even more than me?
“I don’t even know who you are,” I said. “You know I’m Mia Brandhart. Who is your family, Viktor?”
His expression turned to stone. “Luka was my family. Is. He’s my cousin. The rest of them? My father? Mother? They’re all dead, Mia.”
“The war,” I said. “Were they killed in the first wave after the shifter attacks? We knew so many who disappeared.”
My whole life, I’d perfected my shield. It seemed Viktor had one of his own. Anger rolled through him. At me.
“What?” I asked. “Viktor, you don’t get to hold my family against me. I’m not sorry that we survived. I won’t feel guilty for that. We’ve tried to help. Hell, if you’d come to us, my father and uncles might have been able to get you someplace safe. Somewhere you wouldn’t have had to run or make the kind of sacrifices you have.”
He curled his lips, exposing his fangs. Just as quickly, he softened his face and brought my hands to his lips.
We were quiet for a time. Easy with each other.
“You’re right,” he said. “We can’t stay here forever. I need to know what happened to Luka. If there’s even a chance he’s still alive, I need to come up with a plan.”
“A plan?” I asked. “You can’t take on the Ring all by yourself, Viktor.”
“I need you to stay here!” he snapped. “God. It’s bad enough living with the fact I broke a promise to Luka. He’s the last one I swore to protect.”
“He made his own choice,” I said. “I felt it. So did you.”
“I just need you to stay here. I’ll come back for you. I’ll only need a day.”
Panic gripped my heart. “No!” I shouted. “No way. You’re not leaving me here by myself. I won’t stay. Unless you plan on tying me up...I…”
Lust flared in my core. I felt Viktor’s as well.
“Sorry, baby,” he smiled. “I’m all out of Dragonsteel today.”
My face dropped. Viktor saw it. He knew I was hiding something.
“I told you,” I said. “I have to get word to my family that I’m not dead. Or worse. And you’re not the only one with a good place to hide.”
“Mia…”
“No,” I said. “We’ve done things your way. Now it’s time for you to trust me. You’ve made your vow to protect me. Well, I’m making the same one to you. We need help, Viktor. You may not want to admit it, but even if you find Luka, you can’t be sure he hasn’t been compromised. It’s been days and we know the Ring has him. There’s a way out of this. It won’t be easy or pretty, but now you need me more than I need you.”
He opened his mouth to argue. Then an exasperated look came into his eyes. I was right. He knew it. He took my hand and helped me up.
“We’ll leave at first light,” I said. “And if you try to betray me, I swear to God the Ring will be the least of your problems. I’ll kill you myself.”
Even as I said it, renewed desire coursed through me. Viktor pulled me to him and found my lips.
“I’d like to see you try,” he whispered, then nipped my bottom lip, sending a flash of pleasure through me.
Chapter 17
Viktor
“You want to go where?” I asked. We stood at the apex of the smallest mountain. Beside me, Mia stood sure and tall. She sniffed the air. The wind picked up her hair, making her look even more like the glorious goddess of the hunt she was. My Artemis. My heart.
There was something so different about her, and I didn’t even know if she realized. For weeks, maybe for her whole life, she’d had to hide who and what she was. Now, power poured through her. It thrilled and scared me all at once. I prayed whatever magic she used to hide her wolf nature was strong enough to conceal her from everyone but me.
“Mammoth Forest,” she said.
“That’s two hundred miles from here,” I said. “There’s nothing there.”
She tucked a hair behind her ear and looked at me with that fierce determination that stirred my blood.
“There’s everything there,” she said.
“I mean, I’ve heard rumors,” I said. “Legends, really. What? Thirty years ago? A group of Alphas overthrew a Tyrannous? The Kentucky War.” I was hiding things from her again and hated myself for it. I was well versed in what happened in Kentucky. I’d thrown it back in Danell’s face just days ago. I don’t know what made me play dumb with her now. But I wanted to know her mind. If Mia was connected to the wolves of Kentucky, I needed to know how. I needed to know where my enemies might come from.
“Yes,” she said, starting down the steep, rocky path. I was at her side. “It was one of the Ring’s first moves against shifters,” she said. “Only nobody knew it at the time. They backed a Tyrannous by the name of Able Valent.”
“The Kentucky Chief Pack,” I said. “Everyone knows that story, Mia.”
“They only think they do,” she said. “The men who finally overthrew him have never stopped fighting. It was just one battle in the war we’re still waging, Viktor. At least...some of us are.”
Her words stung. “There are many ways to fight a war,” I said. “So what am I walking into?”
Mia stopped. She shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at me. It was so damn hard to concentrate with her so close to me. It would have been easier maybe to just throw her over my shoulder and lock her away at Clairmont or down in the secret valley.
“Men and women I trust,” she said, continuing on.
“You still don’t trust me,” I said. “Mia, whether you like it or not, I’ve been out here, fighting against the Ring more directly than you have. And I’ve been doing it mostly on my own. I know more about the way they operate than you do. I haven’t survived this long without knowing exactly who I’m dealing with.”
“Well,” she said. “You’ve never dealt with me.”
“How do you know this place, Mammoth Forest, hasn’t been compromised? You said yourself your family would have expected you to check in weeks ago. How do you know…”
“Because I know,” she snapped. “They’re never going to abandon me. No matter what. This was the next checkpoint. Now we can walk it. Or go down to the nearest main road and steal something. Or...we can do what you know we have to. We shift. We run. We can make it before morning.”
I smiled. “You ever run in your wolf that fast for that long? You have any idea the kind of control that takes? You sure you’re ready for that?”
“I got here with you, didn’t I? Besides, I know a shortcut.”
God, I loved the fire in her eyes when I challenged her. She flared so hot. I felt the pulse of desire burn through her. She would have me. Just a touch or the crook of my finger and she’d go to her knees without even thinking. And I would do the same for her.
“Enough!” she said, exasperated. I loved that in her too. “I’m ready.”
“I know,” I said, drawing her to me. “Mia...I’m sorry. For so many things. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that to you if you’ll let me. But one of the main things I’m sorry for is that you’ve had to live in the shadows. That you’ve had to push aside what you really are. I feel your need. And it’s my need too.”
She kissed me. She tasted like honey and cinnamon and all the wild things I knew she could be. I hadn’t yet asked her the one thing that mattered above all else. I hadn’t yet asked her to let me mark her.
I ran my thumb across her swollen bottom lip. “I’m sorry too,” she said. “I know you’ve lost something. I feel it in your heart and see it in your eyes. I know there are still some secrets you haven’t shared with me.”
I felt my whole body go rigid. Kalenkov. Even now, I could see him in her eyes. His blood ran through hers. Only now, I couldn’t find it in me to hold her to account for what he’d done. It didn’t matter anymore. I had the thing that would matter most to him. That mattered most to me
.
“Come on,” she said. “As far as I see it, your main problem is just going to be trying to keep up.”
“Keep up?” I smiled. But Mia wasn’t playing. She shifted in an instant. God. I’d never seen her do that before. She’d been hesitant before, the way young shifters were. Untrained. Still a little wild. Now, Mia had grown into her wolf. So fast. So natural. And dammit. So fast.
Within the span of a second, she was hundreds of yards away from me and running in a blur. Laughing, I shifted and gave chase.
I caught up to her quickly, but not without effort. We fell in step. Stride for stride she matched me. More power. More strength.
She let me take the lead a bit. Though she better knew our destination, I could keep us hidden. The Ring set up checkpoints along the southern border with Tennessee. Mia shrewdly kept far away from it. This was Oasis Territory, mostly. But they paid other shifters handsomely for intel on any trespassers. Once again, I prayed Mia’s magic would hold. If anyone got word of a female wolf shifter, it might be more than just the Ring on our tails.
We stopped just a few times to rest and get water. The hardest part was not taking her again and again as the moon rose. We needed our strength to run.
Chapter 18
Viktor
Mammoth Forest was only something I’d ever heard about. The stuff of legends. Five brave Alpha fighters taking on an intricate network of Ring-backed shifters. Impossible odds. Impossible choices. They didn’t all survive. It was as Mia said. Back then, the war had already started, only we didn’t know it.
We were complacent, thinking just one Tyrannous Alpha had risen to that kind of power. We didn’t know he was merely a test. An opening salvo. Every move made in Kentucky a generation ago had been planned by the Ring. They learned. They adapted. Then, when the time was right, they struck.
By the end of the second day, we reached our destination. I could still sense the faint echoes of the battles fought here when I was just a little boy living on the other side of the world. The air was thick with death. Shifter death. Ghosts.
