by Young, S.
When it faded, the cage was gone.
Sakura and Astra had stopped their fighting to stare in wonder.
Astra grinned, pride in her eyes. “There she is.”
A growl ripped through the air and Sakura raced for Niamh, canines out.
Kiyo’s heart lurched into his throat and he rushed forward, pushing Niamh out of the way.
But there was no need.
Astra appeared on Sakura’s back, her arms wrapped around the alpha’s neck. With a hard twist of bones, muscle, and tendons, she tore Sakura’s head from her body. They collapsed in a heap of wolf remains.
“That was unpleasant.” Astra threw Sakura’s head from her hands. She looked down at the carcass she was still sprawled atop and beamed. “But worth it. This is just what I’ve been looking for.”
Gold and green gleamed from beneath fur and gore.
Neither he nor Niamh were fast enough.
Astra picked up the jade pendant and stepped away from what was left of Sakura. She shot Niamh a satisfied smile. “I told you we’d be together finally.”
Kiyo blinked.
A mere blink.
And Niamh was gone from his side and standing behind Astra, one hand gripping her by the hair, the other hovering above her chest. She wielded one of the iron daggers she’d conjured back at the hotel room.
“Give me the pendant or I’ll kill you,” his mate promised.
Astra laughed. “Oh, Niamh … you wouldn’t hurt your sister.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I’ve seen it.”
“Yeah?” Niamh leaned closer, the iron dagger now touching Astra. “That’s the thing about visions … they’re only guides to what can be. They’re not absolute. Do you know why?”
Astra winced as Niamh pressed the dagger deeper.
“Because none of us are Fate’s bitch. Even true mates make the choice to be with each other. And I choose Kiyo. It’s the kind of choice that leads to other choices … and if you don’t hand over that pendant, I will choose to end your pathetic existence.”
Of all the many emotions Kiyo was feeling right then, pride was at the forefront.
His mate was the most majestic female on this world, or any.
Astra, sensing Niamh’s sincerity, lifted the pendant. Niamh let go of her hair to grab it, and the pendant immediately disappeared.
Now it’s somewhere no one can find it, she told Kiyo telepathically.
He wanted to feel relief, but they still had a pyschotic fae to deal with.
“You’re coming with us,” Niamh ordered.
Something glittered in Astra’s eyes, something that had Kiyo lurching forward, alert. Her lips curled as she glanced down at the iron still hovering above her chest. “One last thing before we go … a confession, really.”
The hair on the back of Kiyo’s neck rose in warning.
“Why do you think a seemingly good coven would kill an innocent human, like Ronan, knowing that one human couldn’t create enough power to take out a fae?”
Niamh’s eyes hollowed. “What?”
It wasn’t us. She made us do it.
Realization dawned on Kiyo as he remembered Meghan’s babbling. “Niamh.” He took a step toward her.
“I got inside their heads,” Astra grinned. “Just like I got inside yours, sister. I needed Ronan out of the way. I don’t like to share.”
Niamh’s eyes flared bright gold as a wave of fury blasted out of her. She lifted the dagger as if to plunge it into Astra’s chest and suddenly, Astra was gone. She reappeared behind Niamh with the dagger in hand, and his mate whirled in outrage to face her.
“You would have done it.” Astra seemed pleased. “You would have taken that final step into the shadows for vengeance.” She looked at Kiyo now, smug. “One day … she will choose me.”
Then she was gone, Niamh’s cry of frustration ringing across the basement as she stumbled back from clasping at air.
Before she could do or say anything else, Kiyo breached the distance between them and gathered her into his arms. His nose hit her throat, right at her pulse, and he trembled against her to feel her alive and warm.
Niamh held on to him, her voice soothing in his ears, even as he heard the tears in them.
A shift in the surrounding space caused him to lift his head just as everything went dark. Then color blurred, and they were in an unfamiliar room. His arms tightened on Niamh as his questioning gaze found hers.
“We’re in a hotel as close to the station as possible,” she explained. “It was as far as I could get us. We need somewhere safe where I can recharge and we can heal from our wounds before we get the hell out of here.”
Kiyo was lost for words. Where did he begin to apologize for Sakura? He was supposed to protect Niamh from the people who wanted to use her, and he’d led one of them right to her.
“None of that.” She seemed to sense his thoughts, nestling against his chest in weariness. “No guilt, no blame. Just healing and sleep. Please.”
“What about Astra finding us … What about Ronan?”
Niamh’s face crumpled. “I don’t … I can’t think about that right now. As for her finding us … something happened to me tonight. Like some part of my power unleashed that’s been sleeping. I can feel her, Kiyo.”
His arms tensed around her. “What do you mean?”
“I think that’s how she’s been able to keep tabs on me. Anytime we’re in the same city, she’s been able to feel me. It wasn’t about my scent at all. You changed the alchemy of my very being when our souls bonded. That’s what threw her off. Now she knows how this new me feels, she can sense me here. It’s how she found me in the basement.”
“But you can feel her now too?”
“Yes. It’s hard to explain. I just know that she’s here in the city, but she’s not near us.”
A sense of relief moved through Kiyo. “So you’ll know when she approaches.”
“Exactly. She’ll be watching the station, the airport, so I think it’s best we travel onto a bullet train going to Osaka Airport.” Niamh yawned. “Let’s sleep, Kiyo-chan. You need to heal.” She kissed his chest and slumped against him, abruptly passing out.
Kiyo pressed his fingers to her pulse, even though he knew nothing but iron through the heart could kill her. He needed the reassurance. With a sigh, he swung her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
Drawing her close, he tried to sleep but couldn’t.
Kiyo didn’t think he’d be able to sleep until he knew for certain they were as far away from Astra as they could get. But perhaps what they should be concerned about was Pack Iryoku. Once they realized their alpha, her mate, and her most loyal beta were dead, as well as the pack members Sakura had used to test the extent of his powers … they’d do whatever they could to stop Kiyo and Niamh from leaving Tokyo.
36
Niamh’s scream wrenched Kiyo out of sleep.
Heart in his throat, he reached for her and found the bed empty where she should be. “Niamh!”
“In here.” Her head appeared around the doorjamb of the hotel bathroom. “Are you okay?”
His relief was so intense, he could have wept like a goddamn babe. “Bad dream.” He exhaled shakily.
Niamh’s expression was one of understanding. “Come shower with me.” Her head disappeared.
Needing to feel her beneath his hands, Kiyo swung his legs out of bed, his eyes dropping to the new scar near his hip. The wound was completely healed. Touching his neck, he felt the raised skin of the scar there too. It wasn’t the first time someone had tried to take his head off. It was the first time they’d tried it with silver.
Stepping into the dimly lit bathroom, he drew to a halt at the sight of his naked mate.
She had her back to him, angled toward the mirror above the sink as she stared at herself.
Or more precisely at the scar on her spine. Her eyes flew to his in the mirror and then moved to the scar on his neck. “What a pair we mak
e, covered in battle scars.”
Kiyo divested himself of his jeans to join her in her nakedness. Then he moved to her, every part of him aching with a strange emotion that almost felt like grief. What happened to her last night had yet to leave him. He didn’t know how long it would take, if ever, for him to recover from it. Lowering to his knees, he clasped her warm hips in his hands and kissed the scar. It was nestled on her spine just above the sexy dimples on her lower back.
Goose bumps pebbled her skin as he brushed his mouth over the raised area.
“Does it hurt?” he whispered.
“All healed,” she replied, hoarsely.
Kiyo pressed another kiss to it, wishing he had the power to erase the memory for her. With that feeling of powerlessness came an urgency to make her forget. If only for a while. He caressed her hips, trailing his fingers downward until they reached her gorgeous ass. He squeezed her cheeks as he rose slowly upward, peppering wet kisses all the way up Niamh’s spine.
Her gasps of excitement were the equivalent of her soft hand wrapped around his dick.
His hands followed his rise, chasing around her silken stomach. As his lips reached her shoulders, he palmed her breasts, catching her taut nipples on his thumbs.
“Kiyo,” she panted, arching into his touch as she rested her head against his collarbone.
Catching the erotic sight of them in the mirror, Kiyo turned her gently toward it. Her eyes were closed as she mewled at his fondling. “Open your eyes.”
They flew open, bright gold with arousal.
His reaction was immediate. All blood shot south.
They looked phenomenal together. Her golden paleness against his dark fawn. Their eyes locked in the mirror. Kiyo released one of her breasts to skim his hand down her belly, and he felt her tremble with anticipation. Her gaze dropped to follow his hand and her mouth parted on a quiver of want as his fingers found her clit.
“Kiyo.” She bit her lip, pushing into the touch, as he rolled hard circles over the peak of her while massaging her breast with his other hand. The act of watching her watch him bring her to climax had him so ready, he could feel the wet leak from his tip against her ass.
Niamh’s hands came to his outer thighs to steady herself as she rocked against his fingers, her moans and cries of pleasure echoing around the bathroom. Then she tensed. “Kiyo!”
She shuddered as the orgasm rolled over her.
Barely giving her a moment to process it, he grabbed her hair in his hands and twisted her head to kiss her, his tongue licking at hers, needing her taste and scent and sweat on every part of him. Breaking the kiss, he growled against her lips, “Bend over the sink.”
The gold that was bleeding back to aquamarine drenched her irises in liquid sunlight. She nodded, a little unsteadily, before she pulled away from him to bend over, hands to the sink.
Kiyo took her perfect rump in his hands as their eyes locked in the mirror again. “Spread.”
Niamh’s breathing grew shallow as she did what she was told.
His body was hot with anticipation. His mate hadn’t been joking when she said he was welcome to order her around in the bedroom. It was something he was definitely going to explore to its limits. Later. Right now, he just needed inside her.
Without another word, he tightened his hold on her hips and thrust hard into her, groaning with sheer bliss at the feel of her wet warmth clasping him so tight.
“Ahh!” Niamh’s back bowed at the intrusion but she kept her eyes on his.
He stayed still, giving her a moment to adjust until he felt her desire for more seep through the bond. Sliding a hand up her spine and beneath the strands of her long, pale hair, Kiyo found and gently gripped the nape of her neck. Holding her at the hip and the nape, he kept her locked there, unable to move, only able to take.
And he fucked his mate, holding her gaze in the mirror so she could see the savage possessiveness darkening his face as he pumped into her in powerful, hard strokes.
Niamh’s eyes fluttered closed as she lost herself to pleasure.
He smacked her ass and gritted out, “Open your eyes. Watch me fuck you. Watch how you belong to me.” He bent over her as her eyes opened, the change in angle causing her to moan in desperate want. He held still inside her, feeling her throbbing need, as he murmured in her ear, “Watch how I belong to you.”
Her inner muscles tugged around him as Niamh cried out his name in orgasm.
He grunted in surprise at her sudden climax and straightened to pump his hips against her ass, riding her through it until he couldn’t hold back any longer. Kiyo’s flooded into his mate with a yell of her name, his hips jerking and shuddering against her as she wrung every last drop out of him.
Every last drop of his essence, of his soul.
Of his fucking heart.
Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled out of her but only to bring her down to the floor with him. Niamh turned in his embrace, straddling him so she could kiss him. Soft, lazy, sexy kisses that worked like an aphrodisiac until he was hot and hard and wanting against her soft belly again.
Niamh moaned, feeling his arousal, and pressed kisses down his chin until she reached the scar on his throat. She kissed it sweetly then met his gaze.
Her fingers sifted through his hair. “That was the sexiest thing you’ve ever done to me,” she admitted.
“I got that.” He grinned, his arms squeezing around her. “There’s more where that came from.”
“Unfortunately, I think we better get a move on.” She pouted and then kissed him again. She grinned, pulling back. “You need to shave. I’ve never felt you all prickly before.”
“Been kinda busy.”
She rubbed her cheek to his like an animal bussing into its mate. “I like it,” she whispered in his ear, deliberately pushing her hips into him.
Kiyo smoothed his hands down her spine until his palm rested over her scar. “As much as I want you again, you’re right. We need to move. The pack are probably already maneuvering against us.”
Niamh exhaled and reluctantly stood. “Then you better call Bran and ask him to book us flights out of Osaka. Do you have a destination in mind?”
Kiyo shook his head as he got to his feet. “Up until now, we’ve been following your visions.”
“There’s nothing new on that front.”
“Why don’t I just ask Bran to book wherever he thinks best,” he suggested.
She chuckled. “It might be fun to see where he sends us. I’m not sure he likes you very much.”
“It’s better than no plan at all.”
“True.” Her amusement died. “And for now, we need to get the hell out of Japan. As much as I’ll be sad to say goodbye.”
While he was pleased his mate felt such an affinity for his homeland, she was also absolutely right. They couldn’t return to Japan for a while. Maybe years. A feeling akin to homesickness touched him. Sensing it, Niamh cuddled into him in comfort.
“We’ll find a way to come back,” she promised. “I won’t let the bastards take your home from you.”
Overwhelming emotion for this woman sought to rob him of words. But he needed her to know exactly what she meant to him. “They won’t ever take my home,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her hair. “They can’t when my home is right here in my arms.”
“I love you, Kiyo,” she said in answer.
He tilted her chin to look into her eyes. “If you need those words, I will give them. I love you, Komorebi. But know this … what I feel for you is so much bigger than three words.”
She smiled, understanding him completely.
37
Piling her now-dry hair up into a loose knot, Niamh listened from the bathroom as Kiyo finally called Bran. She’d conjured their things from the other hotel. This was after they’d taken a shower that had quickly turned into the kind of lovemaking that made her tingle from the tip of her toes to the ends of her hair.
Niamh shivered in renewed want.
Her m
ate definitely knew how to go beyond satisfying her.
And distracting her.
Finally, they’d tumbled out of the shower with more urgency to get out of the city than they’d displayed heretofore. Niamh could forgive them for losing themselves to the bond, though. After what happened the night before, they both needed to feel the other alive in their arms in the most primal way.
Upon pulling his cell phone out of his bag, Kiyo had called out to Niamh that he had five missed calls from Bran that morning.
Kiyo rang the vampire; the line picked up after only two rings. “Where the bloody hell have you been?” she heard Bran ask over the speaker.
Frowning at Bran’s urgent tone, Niamh hurried out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorjamb to listen in.
Kiyo wore a concerned scowl. “Hiding. Why?”
“Hiding where?”
“In the city.”
“You’re in Tokyo still?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You’re in Tokyo and you have no bloody idea what’s going on? Where the hell in the city are you?”
“I don’t know. Niamh took us to a hotel we could hide out in.” Kiyo marched over to the window and opened the blind. As soon as he did, he let out a curse of shock.
Rushing to his side, Niamh looked out at the city and saw the plumes of smoke buffeting into the sky from several points in the distance. “What is that?”
“Maybe you should turn on the TV,” Bran suggested. “News channel.”
Without searching for a remote, Niamh used her magic to power the TV on the wall, flicking to the news. A female reporter was standing in the middle of the city while all the emergency services could be seen moving through the streets behind her. There was smoke and rubble everywhere. “Kiyo, what’s she saying?”
Kiyo stared flatly at the TV but she could sense his inner distress. “A suspected terrorist attack in Shinjuku. Several buildings were bombed this morning, including the Iryoku Towers.”
Horror and understanding flooded her. “The Pack.”
He turned to her. “All the buildings she mentioned … pack. Their businesses, their apartments … all of it gone. Along with thousands of innocent tourists and bystanders.”
