Arctic Bite

by N. J. Walters

  “Older they are, quicker they crumble,” he told her. His claws retracted. “You okay?”

  “Am I okay?” Even to her own ears she sounded a tad hysterical. She sucked in a breath. “Calm. Stay calm, Cassie.” She flinched when Alexei reached for her. He frowned, and a profound sadness filled his eyes. “Sorry, but you just destroyed a vampire in the middle of the bar.”

  His brows lowered and he appeared deeply concerned. “There wasn’t time to take him outside.”

  God, her bear was so literal. And when had he become hers?

  When he’d killed for her. Maybe it was all an elaborate ruse so she’d drop her guard, but it was a chance she’d have to take. A death would bring one of her people to the area. They didn’t have much time.

  “We need to get out of here. Now.” She ran for the door, but somehow he beat her to it. He really was fast.

  “Let me go first.” He opened the door and peered out. “Clear. Let’s go.”

  She’d never been more grateful to live above where she worked. She raced up the stairs with him right behind her. Her hands shook as she dug out her keys. Alexei simply reached around her, gripped the handle, and gave it a hard push. The door cracked, and the lock snapped.

  As soon as it opened, she was inside. It took only seconds for her to grab the knapsack she kept packed for such an event. She took the time to scoop up her collection of earrings and toss them into an outer pocket of the bag. Then she quickly pulled on a heavy coat and slipped the bag over her shoulder before bolting down the stairs once again.

  “Hurry.” She lengthened her strides, her boots crunching against the snow. She could almost feel a reaper breathing down their necks. The urge to use her abilities was almost more than she could resist.

  Vampires might be considered undead, but their souls didn’t leave them during their transition to creature of the night. Now that his body was ash and his existence ended for good, his restless spirit hovered nearby, waiting to be shown the way.

  If one of her kind didn’t show up quick enough to an unscheduled death—and it was unscheduled, otherwise someone would have been there when it happened—the restless spirit called. Sometimes the person’s essence slipped away, going into an in-between world where they’d be trapped. It wasn’t pleasant and was something everyone wanted to avoid.

  Once again, Alexei asked no questions. The air around him shimmered. What was happening? His body began to change shape, his clothes ripping and falling away. He fell forward, and by the time he hit the ground, he was a massive polar bear with thick white fur.

  Whoa. Talk about impressive. Fast, too.

  She threw her hands out in front of her as deadly paws—the size of large serving platters—enfolded her and took her to the ground. The breath was knocked out of her, but she fought.

  He simply chuffed so loudly her hair rippled and the snow around them swirled like the inside of a snow globe.

  She stopped beating at his arms long enough to realize his razor-sharp claws were tucked away and his hold was protective, not crushing. He covered her like a big, furry blanket. With his head tucked down in the snowy landscape, he’d appear to be nothing more than a snowbank.

  What is he doing?

  Deciding to trust him, she went limp in his grasp. He pulled her under him, sharing his body heat. Barely daring to breathe, she waited and waited and waited.

  There was a ripple in the air. Something called to her.

  They’re here.

  And they were trying to draw her out of hiding.

  Instinctually, her body moved toward them. But Alexei wasn’t letting her go anywhere. With his huge furry arms around her and the bulk of his massive body resting on her, she couldn’t move.

  And if they became aware of her presence, Alexei would be the one to pay the price. His death would be viewed as acceptable to keep this incident quiet.

  She couldn’t allow that.

  She tucked her face against his chest and clung to him, burying her fingers in his thick fur. He was all dense muscle and heavy bone and was very careful not to crush her. He didn’t move, staying as still as a corpse. More like a rock. Was he even breathing?

  Finally, after what seemed an eternity, but was probably only several hours, he shifted, his fur receding, his limbs reshaping. Naked, he was as impressive as he’d been as a giant polar. The wind whipped through his hair. At least his beard would keep his face warm. But the rest of him…

  She shivered and scrambled to her feet.

  “They’re gone.” He stared down at her. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Not particularly.” She rubbed the toe of her boot against the snow. Once she told him what she was, everything would change. He’d leave her and she’d be on her own again.

  But it was the right thing to do.

  Alexei was still waiting. He was good at it. She, on the other hand, was more impulsive.

  One final time, she took him in from head to toe, enjoying the rippling muscles and especially the appendage between his legs, which wasn’t bothered by the cold one bit. She briefly regretted not sleeping with him last night when she’d had the chance. Now she’d never know what it was like to have sex with him.

  And that was tragic.

  Hands on his waist, he stood in the snow like another man would stand on a tropical beach. His blue eyes studied her intently.

  She took a deep breath and gave him the truth. “I’m a reaper.”

  Chapter Seven

  Holy shit! He’d heard about reapers but only rumors. There wasn’t much information about them out there. When one appeared, someone was dead or dying, which was why anyone with any sense avoided them.

  It had been reapers he’d sensed earlier. He hadn’t smelled them, but his hybrid senses had detected…something, so he’d followed his instincts and hidden them both in plain sight. Something no one would be expecting.

  Cassie shifted nervously from one foot to the other. He didn’t scare her. Neither did a vampire of some age. But others of her kind did.

  There was a lot he didn’t know. But now wasn’t the time to get into things. “Let’s go.” He held out his hand, but she gave her head a quick shake.

  “You’re safer away from me.”

  She was trying to protect him. If someone had hit him in the side of the head with a baseball bat he wouldn’t have been as shocked.

  “I’ll keep you safe.” Screw killing her. Whatever was going on, he believed she was innocent of any wrongdoing. That was all that mattered. His skills worked both ways. He was a professional killer. He could be just as deadly as a bodyguard.

  “You can’t.” Her words were blunt, her tone clipped. “Not from them. And if they know you’re with me, they’ll target you.”

  “I know somewhere you can stay.” The words spilling from his lips shocked him. But it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. He’d take her to his home. His real home.

  The smile she gave him was tinged with such deep sadness it made his heart ache. “There is nowhere safe. If someone dies, they show up.” She peered at the roadhouse in the distance and shivered. “If there is an unexpected, unscheduled death, they come running.”

  “That’s what the contract was all about.” Now it all made a convoluted kind of sense. He was nothing more than bait to whoever tried to hire him. And if it was one of her people, they certainly wouldn’t be worried about incurring the wrath of the Brotherhood.

  “Contract?” She took a step away.

  Fuck! He hadn’t meant to say that. “Someone wants you dead and is willing to pay a lot of money to make it happen. Supposed to be exclusive. Not sure how the vampire got involved, but I’ll find out.” He’d start researching as soon as they were somewhere much less exposed. “I have contacts.”

  “Just who are you, Alexei?”

  He dragged his fing
ers through his hair, enjoying the way the cold air brushed over his skin. He was aroused, not exactly something he could hide, and it probably wasn’t helping the situation.

  She took a quick look at his erection and eased farther away. Yeah, definitely not helping.

  “Look, I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “But you’d planned to.” The grim acceptance in her voice bothered him. Her face was expressionless, but pain flickered in her eyes.

  “No.” That was the honest truth. “I came here to check out the situation. I never take a job without doing my own research. I don’t hurt innocents.”

  “Well, isn’t that big of you.” The sarcasm was so thick he could choke on it, but he figured it was justified. “Just what are you? Some big-time assassin?”

  “Yes.”

  She swallowed heavily. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

  “No.” They really needed to get moving. He couldn’t stand around all night without any clothes. Someone was bound to come along and notice. Not to mention the reaper might double back for another look.

  “I can’t believe this.” She spun around and began walking to town. He hurried to catch up with her. She ignored him, her focus on the road ahead.

  “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

  “Why, you trying to find out how to kill me?”

  “No. I want to know how to destroy any of the fuckers who come after you.” His vehemence stopped her dead in her tracks. He rammed into her, sending her flying forward, but rescued her before she hit the ground.

  “Are you okay?” He hugged her close.

  Peering up at him, she shook her head. “I don’t understand you.”

  “That makes us even. I don’t understand you, either.” He brushed a lock of hair from her forehead and sighed. “But I have a deep need to protect you.”

  Don’t be stupid. Don’t be stupid, he chanted over and over in his head.

  But logic flew by the wayside. Nothing could stop him from what he was about to do.

  He slowly lowered his head. Cassie’s eyes widened, but she stood her ground. He pressed his lips against hers while inhaling the sweet fragrance of flowers that seemed to cling to her.

  She pressed her gloved hand against his face and stroked his beard. Even though a layer of leather separated her skin from his, a low growl escaped him. She drew back and licked her lips. Her sweet, full, delicious lips.

  “Why am I so drawn to you?” She asked the question he’d asked himself a dozen times since he’d first laid eyes on her. “This isn’t right. I can’t pull you into my mess.”

  “I’m already in it.” There was no stepping back from her, not any longer. “There are rules for hiring one of the Forgotten Brotherhood.”

  She paled and dropped her hand. “You’re one of them?”

  His guts clenched when he caught his first whiff of fear. “Yeah, I’m one of them.”

  …

  Alexei was one of the Forgotten. Even she’d heard of them. It was suddenly difficult to breathe. Her chest constricted and her heartbeat sped up.

  No wonder he’d ashed Damian so easily. The power behind what he’d done, the quickness of his actions, spoke of experience. Now she understood why.

  Every paranormal had heard of the mysterious and dangerous Brotherhood. Most prayed never to meet one. They were a reclusive bunch, spoken of in hushed whispers. They were the bogeyman, the paranormals that others of their kind feared. They were the ones you contacted when a nonhuman went rogue and needed to be put down.

  Was that how her family saw her?

  It was disheartening.

  They were legendary in their ability to get the job done. Word was, once they took a contract, they were unstoppable. But you’d better be sure the job was righteous, or you’d be the one facing the assassin.

  She couldn’t imagine getting up enough nerve to actually try to hire one, but someone had done it. Maybe even Death himself.

  Maybe Alexei could kill her.

  “Were you given anything by whoever hired you?”

  “Tried to hire me,” he corrected. “I’m still in the investigative stage. And no.”

  A wave of relief washed over her. It would take a very specific weapon to end her. He didn’t have it. That was good.

  Her breathing leveled out and some of her anxiety receded.

  Alexei was an apex predator to almost any creature. But there had to be more to him than that if he was one of the Brotherhood.

  They were a law unto themselves.

  “We gotta move.” He took her hand and started towing her behind him.

  She tried to pull away, but he wasn’t having it. When she yanked again, he gave another growl—was it so wrong that she found that hot?—and lifted her right off her feet. He never even broke stride.

  I’m being carried across the snow by a naked polar shifter.

  My life is so weird.

  Alexei had found her. A vampire had found her. And because of his death, the reapers had found her. Or would have if it hadn’t been for Alexei’s fast actions.

  Still, whoever hired him would know she was in the area.

  “You’re nothing more than a means to an end to them.” And she hated them for that. They had no right involving innocent people in their dispute. Okay, so maybe the vamp hadn’t been innocent, but whoever had put the price on her had placed the people of Nome at risk. And that was unacceptable.

  “That just pisses me off.” His feet crunched against the snow. She marvelled that he didn’t seem to notice the cold at all. With her gifts locked down, she was freezing. And she was fully dressed.

  “Um, what about your clothes?” It belatedly occurred to her that they were in shreds back where he’d shifted.

  “I buried what was left.”

  “You did?” She’d missed that when she’d been lost in thought.

  He grunted again, and the lights of the town grew brighter. “Someone will see us,” she pointed out.

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  She rested her head against his thick shoulder, allowing the heat from his skin to radiate into hers. It was like snuggling against an electric blanket. “Can you talk in more than two-word sentences?”

  “Yes.”

  She waited and waited. Her lips twitched. Then she started to laugh. This entire situation was absurd.

  The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He really was handsome. She touched his face, stroking her fingers over his thick facial hair. It was soft, not scratchy against her skin. His arms tightened around her, but he didn’t tell her to stop.

  “Where are we going?” Time to be proactive. She’d been independent a long time. It was what had allowed her to break away from her kin and try to make her own way. “I moved around a lot until I landed here. I figured keeping myself isolated was key. Fewer deaths meant less chance of being discovered.”

  Alexei kept to the shadows, moving stealthily behind a group of houses. “I can walk, you know.”

  “Faster this way.” He picked up speed, becoming a blur. Then they were inside a house and he was lowering her to her feet.

  “Wow.” The room spun slightly, and she blinked several times to right it. What he’d just done was similar to what she did when she was on the job. Her kind could go from one side of the world to the other in a split second. She hadn’t had any trouble with speed since her first trip. Maybe because her powers were muted it was different. Or maybe it was the man himself making her head spin.

  “Why didn’t you move that fast from the beginning?” They could have been here much quicker, even if it wouldn’t have been safe to do with them being hunted.

  His cheeks turned a faint shade of red. “Liked walking with you.”

  It was hard to reconcile the lethal assassin who’d killed with such speed and accuracy—all without b
reaking a sweat—and who’d had the intelligence and quickness to hide from a reaper—no easy task—with the slightly embarrassed male who’d carried her here, all because he’d enjoyed being with her.

  Alexei was a contradiction, a complex man with many layers. She’d known it, but there was even more to him than she’d imagined. What she’d witnessed only touched the tip of the iceberg.

  He made his way into a bedroom and quickly dressed, pulling on jeans, boots, and a sweater. Once he was clothed, he jammed a laptop into a pack before returning to her side.

  “Wait.” She stopped him before he could open the door.

  “Why?”

  Her physical and psychic skills might be unavailable to her, but she could still use her brain. “If I was searching for me, I’d watch and see if anyone was making a run for it. We’re lucky we weren’t spotted on the way here.” Easing back the curtain, she peered out the window into the darkness. “It’s probably a good thing you took things slow on the way here. Too much of a burst of speed might have gotten attention.”

  “I don’t know anything about reapers.” He set his pack down and motioned to the sofa. His was newer than hers. Bigger too. And a pleasing shade of gray instead of the hideous pattern she’d lived with.

  She was going to miss that ugly sofa. It had been hers, at least temporarily.

  She slipped her bag from her shoulder and dropped it beside his before taking a seat. “We only have contact with other species at their time of death.” She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Doesn’t make us the most popular of folks.” That was an understatement. She was usually met with fear and anger.

  Alexei sat and bent one knee so it was resting on the sofa and his body was turned toward her. She fought the urge to throw herself into his arms. The only person she could depend on was herself. She had to remember that, which wasn’t easy with him sitting beside her and practically radiating concern.

  “How does it work?”

  “Reaping?” When he nodded, she decided to give him a condensed version. “When someone is supposed to die, one of us is sent. Our purpose is to guide the newly departed soul to where it needs to be. We never take a life. And we never interfere. Those are the two cardinal rules.”