Blood Bearon (High House Ursa Book 5)

by Riley Storm

  Gun in hand, he crept out from cover, scanning the upturned tables and shadows, looking for movement.

  There!

  Khove fired twice, and was rewarded with a shriek of pain as his enemy rolled back behind a table and then one of the cinderblock walls.

  A standup fight with the mage was a quick ticket to death, which meant he would have to hunt him down and surprise him. The various weapons and trinkets he’d packed would help even the fight, but there was a reason Khove had hoped to sneak up on the Traitor instead of confronting him like this.

  Moving quietly, he darted from one circular piece of cover to another, crouching low as a blue spike whipped at his head from an unexpected direction. Khove put his back to the cinderblock wall, looking up as the thick leafless tree absorbed the blast. The bark blackened and died as the magic robbed it of life, spreading up and down the trunk, eating it almost before it could fall.

  Fall it did, however, crashing amidst the tables as the spell ran out of juice, leaving the upper two-thirds untouched. Khove shuddered as he imagined what one of those deadly bolts would do to him or Rachel. Even his shield might not be enough to shrug it aside.

  Korred was playing for keeps.

  A glance upward showed the red energy still blocking the hotel room, with no sign of Rachel. If she was smart, she would be long gone by now.

  Which means she’s probably trying to find a way down here to help. You need to end this. Now.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Korred taunted.

  His voice was closer than expected, and the noise didn’t bounce the same off the walls. Khove grinned with evil and rose from cover, firing as he came. The first two bullets missed, but the third exploded on the table next to Khove, splashing him with uranium dust, blackening the skin on his arm and killing the spell he held ready to launch.

  “You sonofabitch!” Korred shouted. “That hurts.”

  Khove breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. He’d ended the fight, and Korred was still alive. Perhaps he could find a way to end this without killing him.

  “Of course, it hurts,” he said, gun unwavering as he stepped closer. “That’s the point. You don’t think magic would have hurt if it had hit me?”

  Korred sniffed. “Of course not. You would have been dead before the pain registered.”

  Rolling his eyes at that logic, Khove called up to the room. “The handcuffs if you don’t mind!” he shouted.

  “Handcuffs?” Korred asked. “Why are you asking for handcuffs?”

  “Because it’s over, Traitor. You’re done. Finished. You lost.”

  One gray eyebrow rose in surprise. The other half of his face didn’t respond, the nerves clearly dead as well. “I lost? Oh no, Khove. You are sorely mistaken.”

  Khove went to full alert. What was he talking about? “You’re hurt. I fire this at your chest, and you go down. Painfully.”

  The evil mage chuckled. “You forgot one tiny little thing. So shortsighted of you. Typical.” Then he snapped his fingers.

  Flames erupted from the rooms surrounding the one he’d left Rachel in. Watching in horror, Khove stared as the heat started to batter at the magical protection, forcing it to defend her from all sides.

  “Thank you for the distraction,” Korred mocked. “It’s been fun.”

  Khove tightened on the trigger, but he’d been distracted, and the mage used his free hand to open a rent in reality underneath him. He fell into it even as the bullet whizzed by overhead.

  “Run, Khove!” a voice echoed up from the rent. “Run to the Manor. I’ll be seeing you soon!” Maniacal laughter filled the air until the rent closed up and cut it off.

  “Khove!”

  He whipped his head back around to see Rachel at the window. Black smoke was beginning to fill the air as the hotel went up in flames.

  “Back up!” he shouted, lifting the gun.

  Rachel’s blue eyes went wide and she ducked for cover as he fired. The bullet exploded against the shield and the uranium did its job, taking it down.

  That meant it could no longer hold against the fire, however, and flames started to lick inward, just as he was sure they were eating through the walls. This was no natural fire. It was already burning bright and hot, not needing any time to reach that level.

  “Jump!” he shouted, rushing closer to the edge. “I’ll catch you.”

  “It’s three stories up!” Rachel protested, covering her face with one arm. “Are you nuts?”

  “No. Are you? You’ve already jumped off a two-story building in my arms. What’s one more?”

  “It’s one more story!” she shouted back.

  Something exploded in the room to the left, a fresh burst of flames spewing out the window. Rachel yelped and backed into the room.

  “Are you ready?” she screamed.

  “Just jump!” he bellowed, then cursed as her figure came flying out of the window.

  He backed up, running twisted like a football receiver until he was underneath her, his powerful arms absorbing the force of the impact. He lost his balance and fell, landing on his side, but somehow managing to keep Rachel safe.

  “Are you okay?” he asked to be sure, sitting up with her on her lap.

  In the distance, sirens began to scream as the Plymouth Falls Fire Department came to the rescue.

  “I’m okay. Are you? I saw what that blue thing did to the tree,” she whispered, looking back at it with horror on her face. “What was that?”

  “Magic,” he said. “Powerful magic.”

  They sat still for a long moment, neither talking. Eventually, Rachel stirred in his arms and together they got to their feet, arms linked around one another. He hated to see such devastation but knowing Rachel was safe allowed Khove to feel a slight amount of relief. She was what mattered most to him. Buildings could be rebuilt.

  “What about the people in the rooms?” Rachel asked quietly.

  “There weren’t any,” he rumbled.

  “What? How do you know?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You really don’t think that much of me, do you? Do you think I would choose this as a potential battleground while leaving innocents around to get hurt? I rented every room for four times the price this morning and had management kick everyone out, paying them as well if need be. There’s nobody in the building at all.”

  Rachel sagged into his side, fitting nicely. “I’m sorry I doubted you,” she whispered.

  “It’s fine. But I can’t stay.”

  “Why not?” she asked. “I’m not about to leave a crime scene, Khove. Not when it’s still on fire. We’re staying!”

  “Korred’s going after the Manor,” he explained. “And I need to be there to help stop him. And you’re coming with me.”

  He scooped her up into his arms, ignoring her protests. He’d almost lost her once. He wasn’t about to do so again. Not now that Korred knew she was important to him. There was no way Khove was risking her life.

  His mate was going to be safe, whether she liked it or not.

  35

  “I can’t believe you,” she snapped. “Forcing me to abandon Plymouth Falls. I swore to defend it, and the people. You’re preventing me from doing my job. My duty!”

  “The people are safe,” he rumbled, staring at the road, ignoring the glare she was sending his way.

  Rachel bared her teeth and flopped backward into the seat. Ow. She rubbed at her head where it had hit the back of the seat. Khove had been right, the back seat of the cruiser was uncomfortable.

  She recognized the irony of him stuffing her back here to ensure she cooperated, after how she’d done the same to him, but it still infuriated her.

  “The people are scared,” she countered. “One of two hotels in town just went up in flames. It’s still light out. People are going to notice that. They’re going to need protection.”

  “Then help me protect them. Korred is going to strike the Manor. If we can stop him, then his ability to terrorize the populace w
ill be finished. They will be safe, and no more attacks will occur. Isn’t that what you want?”

  Rachel fell silent. That wasn’t fair, because he couldn’t know that, not for certain. She would be of no help to him surrounded by a veritable army of shifters. So why was he so insistent on bringing her?

  “Why do you need me to come along?” she asked. “You’ve said it before, I’m human. This is out of my league. Can’t you and your kind stop him together?”

  “I want you safe,” he admitted with a sigh. “There. I said it.”

  “Yeah, now I’m even more confused,” she said, sarcasm filtering into her voice. “You want me safe, so you’re taking me and putting me in harm’s way?”

  “The Manor is where you’ll be safest,” he repeated. “The soldiers are ready. The defenses raised. I’m bringing you there because I want to keep you close. With me.” He focused on driving, giving Rachel the sense he was hiding something, or had come uncomfortably close to saying something he didn’t want her to hear.

  “What if he attacks while I’m here with you?” she asked sullenly. “How do you think I’ll feel?”

  “He won’t.”

  She glared at the back of his head. Khove was as stubborn as she was, and there didn’t seem to be any fighting it. They were going back to the Manor together, it seemed.

  Outside the window, the land flowed by, most of it covered in white powder which had started falling before they’d even left the edge of town. It was getting worse the farther they went, limiting visibility and making the road slippery. Khove had slowed down to a crawl, and she let him focus on driving. The only thing worse than being forced into confinement at the Manor would be getting into an accident halfway there.

  “I’m just glad he didn’t send those nightmare beasts after us again,” she muttered.

  “The Fae? It’s still too light out, and Korred’s going to need to heal a bit before he launches the attack. We have time enough to get there and sound the warning.”

  “We could have stopped to use a phone anywhere along the way to get the word there earlier. You know that, right?”

  Khove’s cell had been crushed when he fell after catching her, and Rachel’s had fallen out when she jumped, leaving them without a way to contact the Manor ahead of time.

  “I know, but that would have risked exposing ourselves.”

  “Khove, you’re being ridiculous!” she shouted, slamming a palm off the grate that separated the front and back. “What the hell has gotten into you? I’m not made of porcelain, damn you. I’m a trained police officer. Why are you so adamant on sheltering me?”

  The huge shifter cringed at her words.

  Rachel saw that and paused, her mouth hanging slightly open. She’d not expected such a reaction from him. What was he hiding from her? What was he so desperate not to tell her?

  “Khove, are you doing this because you see us as partners on a criminal case?” she asked, approaching it from a different angle. “Or because of another reason?”

  Broad shoulders hunched forward as Khove leaned over the steering wheel, clearly uncomfortable with her line of questioning. Which meant she was onto something.

  “Whatever it is,” she said, lowering her voice and speaking in gentler tones, “you need to tell me, Khove. You can’t keep me out of the loop and expect me to trust you. I thought we’d already established no more secrets. Why are you keeping one now?”

  Khove made a pained noise, shaking his head, but she knew she’d trapped him. There was no way he could say no to her now.

  “Khove,” she pushed, using his name again like a battering ram against his defenses.

  “It’s more than just partners,” he said at last. “We’re more than that.”

  Rachel leaned back, pondering the words. If she was forcing him to be open and honest, it was only fair she do the same, after all. He deserved that much from her, if she was going to force what was obviously a sensitive subject.

  They were more than partners, it was true. Something had passed between them during the whirlwind few days since she’d arrested him at the crime scene. For the most part, she hadn’t spent much time thinking about it, and realizing just how close a bond she felt with him scared her now she thought about it openly.

  “Maybe you’re right,” she admitted. “There’s more going on. Or was.”

  “Was?” he asked quietly from the front seat.

  “You intend to commit murder. I…I don’t know how I feel about that.”

  Khove sagged even more. “I tried,” he said, his voice lower than a whisper, barely audible over the engine and the blowing snow outside. “I argued in front of everyone, forced them to research it, to come up with some other way that would work to keep him contained. It doesn’t exist.”

  “You tried to get the rest of your family to spare him?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “Why? I thought you were set on killing him.”

  Khove shrugged. “I did it for you. I thought that would be obvious.”

  A giant fist slammed Rachel back into the seat. A fist made from guilt and surprise. He’d gone to bat for her sake? Because she believed in something so strongly, that he was willing to change his attitude and seek a different resolution?

  “Khove,” she said at last. “What do you mean when you say there’s more between us? Is it just because we slept together?”

  “No,” he said quickly, with a fierceness that surprised her. “It’s…more.”

  “More how?” she pressed.

  The car slowed to a halt and Khove turned to look back at her, his gray eyes snaring hers, keeping her attention directly on him. She could see the emotion mixed with restraint. What was going on in that mind of his?

  “You’re my mate, Rachel,” he said, the statement filling the car, like it had some power of its own.

  “Your mate,” she echoed after several long moments.

  “Yes. Fate has drawn us together. Literally.” He blinked and looked away for a second, then his gaze returned. “Shifters only mate with one person. One, Rachel.”

  She didn’t follow. “You mean I took your virginity? I find that hard to believe. You were…good. To be mild.”

  Despite the gravity of the moment, they both snickered and shared a laugh.

  “No, not that kind of mate. A life-mate. One person to be with for the rest of my life. One person I will know better than any other, with whom I will connect on an instinctual level, without even understanding it.” His eyes bore deep into her. “That person is you.”

  “Me.” She was skeptical.

  “Yes. That’s why I can’t risk letting you go alone. I…I need you Rach. I need you close by. I need you with me.”

  Rachel let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “I had no idea.”

  “It sounds crazy, I know,” Khove started to say, but she waved him off.

  “Khove, I’ve seen you do things no human can do. I’ve watched you turn into a giant bear, and today I saw a guy hover in mid-air and throw what looked like energy around at random. Trust me, after all that, you claiming we’re meant to be together is actually pretty rational.”

  He smiled, and she let herself share in it. “I’ll admit something exists between us. I’m not naïve, I can feel it. And I’m touched by your attempt to find another way to resolve this conflict. But I can’t get behind your need to kill Korred. I don’t understand that. And until that’s resolved, I…I don’t know.”

  Khove nodded and kept driving, returning his attention to the road. Rachel watched him drive, and she started thinking.

  Could we truly be meant for each other?

  The only answer she could come up with, was maybe.

  36

  No attack had come by the time they reached the Manor, and the first thing Khove did was sound the alarm. Everything was as ready as it was going to be, and a third of the Manor went immediately to Alert status, manning the outer defenses and scouting the walls, while the oth
ers tried to rest.

  Everything else came to a grinding halt, except for food and medical divisions. Those continued to operate normally. Otherwise, the shifters of High House Ursa ceased their normal daily activities and hunkered down, waiting for the assault they knew was to come.

  “Shouldn’t you be out there?” Rachel asked as he followed her into his quarters.

  “My priorities are you, and my Queen,” he said. “Once we’ve rested, we shall join her.”

  “Rested. Right. Um, how do you expect me to be able to sleep, knowing that at any second Korred and his army could come blasting through the walls?”

  “He can’t do that. The Magi has activated the magical defenses. The entire property is surrounded by wards preventing him from using magic. Until those come down, he has to come at us the normal way. Over the walls.” Khove shuddered at the thought of what that would cost, both for him, and for the Fae that had been enthralled by the evil mage’s spells.

  After all, it wasn’t as if the Faeries were here by choice. They were as much victims as Khove and his House. The only way to sever that link was for Korred to cut it himself, or to kill him. Then, and only then, would they be released and able to return home.

  Khove had no love for Faeries. They were far from good on their own, but even he did not wish for them to be used as cattle fodder to protect Korred as he tried to destroy Ursidae Manor. Nobody deserved to be used against their will.

  “Right. Because that makes me feel so much better about all this,” Rachel said, sighing. “Sorry. I know his actions aren’t your fault. I just wish I didn’t feel so impotent. I’m not in Plymouth Falls protecting the people, but I’m just as useless here.”

  Taking a chance, Khove walked over to Rachel and stood behind her.

  “What are you…oh,” she said, voice dying in a satisfied burble as his fingers found the tense muscles of her shoulders and dug in. “Khove, should we really be doing this?” she asked cautiously. “Is this the best time?”

  “We might never have another time,” he countered, leaning in and kissing just behind her ear.

  Rachel shivered in his hands, tilting her head slightly to the side, opening her neck to him. “You don’t seriously think that, do you?”