by Leia Shaw
Her eyes narrowed to cruel slits. “And how do you plan to make me happy, Cristian? Love? Is that all you have to go on? Warm fuzzies? You’re dumber than I thought if you really think that’s all it takes.”
She was baiting him. He knew it. But it still stung. He closed his eyes and fought back the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss the fight right out of her. There was only one way to get through to her. He was risking his heart, but as he’d heard recently, love was for the brave.
He put his arms out to the side and swallowed hard. “I’m not perfect. I’m pushy and protective and I make mistakes. But I know you. I see you. Likely better than anybody on this earth. And I love you, Natalia. I don’t know if it’s enough, but I do know this” – he paused and choked back the emotion lodged in his throat – “there will never be anyone who can love you like I do.”
He thought he saw her eyes glisten with moisture and her lower lip tremble, but she blinked and was deadpan again.
“After everything we’ve been through,” his voice was a raspy whisper, “can you honestly say you don’t love me too?”
She stared at him, her face so strained he feared it might crack. “No, I don’t.”
He bit back a growl. “You can lie to yourself, Talia, but you can’t lie to me!”
“I won’t give up everything for you. I’m sorry.”
Her words hit him like a kick to the teeth. She may love him but she’d never acknowledge it. She was done and there was nothing he could do about it. It was like a knife to his heart. He almost sunk to his knees. All this time he’d thought there was hope. But he was wrong.
Anger built inside him. He’d pushed so hard, believed in her, fought for her, and all of it for nothing. She was never going to change. Claws extended from his fingertips. He could feel fangs pushing on his gums. Natalia took a step back.
“I thought I knew you,” he snarled, stalking toward her. “I believed in you. I thought there was something there you didn’t show the world. I thought you showed it to me because we had something special.” Her eyes widened and he forced his feet to remain in place. “I can’t believe how wrong I was. There’s no hope for you after all. I give up. I’m done following you around. If, a few months down the road, it finally gets through your stubborn head that I’m the best thing for you, don’t bother trying to find me. Consider me off your leash.”
He stormed out of the cabin and slammed the door behind him.
***
Natalia flinched when the door slammed. Well, that didn’t go quite as planned. She’d expected him to be mad, yes, but not….not…aw, fuck! Not heartbroken. Not torn apart with sorrow. Her eyes stung with unshed tears.
And now he was gone. Just like she wanted. A cold shiver swept through her body.
Yes, this was what she wanted.
She pushed one curtain back and glanced out the window. The first streams of sunlight peeked over the mountain ridge. She was bone tired and an emotional wreck. Sliding into the bed, she burrowed under the covers and wept. Come morning, the woman who smiled and laughed and made love in the mountains would be a memory. When she stepped out of the chalet and into the snowy woods, she would be the Huntress once more.
Chapter 19
A week after leaving Natalia alone in the chalet, Cristian finally went back to his pack’s home base in central Yellowstone. The familiar smells warmed his heart that still ached from Natalia’s rejection. He’d run as a wolf for the last week to calm himself. But he’d been away long enough. The pack needed their alpha.
An inner peace settled over him as he strolled through camp. The love and support from his pack swept through him. He inhaled and soaked it in. But it still couldn’t fill the giant gap left in his heart. Part of him wanted to sneak by and hole himself up in his cabin for a few more days. But his pack needed to know he was there. They needed to know they could lean on his strength. Always dependable, that was him. Halfway through camp, after stopping to catch up with a few people here and there, he caught Sorin heading toward him.
Cristian did a double take. Something was off about his best friend. Sorin, the formidable pack beta, had a spring in his step.
“Welcome back,” Sorin said with a handshake and a grin.
“Good to be back.” It sounded like a lie to his own ears. Sorin’s grin widened and his eyes glittered with…joyfulness? Cristian studied him with narrowed eyes. “What’s going on? You seem different.”
He took a deep breath. “I have something to show you.” He motioned toward the edge of camp and Cristian followed. “Where’s your vampire?”
My vampire. He snorted to cover the stab to the heart. “Gone. And she’s never been mine.” Wasn’t that the God honest truth?
“Hm. I’m glad you got your sense back.”
He ignored that comment. “Anything happen I need to be aware of?”
“We took out a vampire coven in our territory.”
“A whole coven?” Maybe Sorin could take over if Cristian ever went rogue. “Is everyone all right?”
Sorin shrugged. “A few injuries, no casualties.”
“I’ll visit them when I get settled.”
Sorin led him across camp to the flat dirt clearing that served as a combat training ring. With a glowing smile uncharacteristic of the beta, he said, “I’d like you to meet my mate.”
Cristian exhaled a laugh then stopped when he saw the dead set look on Sorin’s face. He wasn’t joking. “You? A mate?” He looked toward the kitchen. Must’ve been a brave woman to court him. “Well, where is she?”
To his surprise, Sorin pointed to a young woman sparring in the training ring. Though small, she was doing a hell of a number on her partner, a male werewolf at least a foot taller than her.
Cristian looked from the young woman to Sorin and back again. “You’re kidding.”
The female in the ring was no submissive wolf. He never thought his best friend would take a mate who didn’t fit the fifties version of the marital life he valued.
Sorin looked offended at Cristian’s dubious expression. “I’m not joking. Harmony!” he called to the girl in the ring. “Come here, baby.”
The woman landed one more roundhouse kick then jogged to Sorin’s side. The petite blonde looked nothing like a fierce warrior. And if he hadn’t already known her, he never would’ve pegged her for one. She had an innocent look that contradicted her job as one of his best rangers. Sorin kissed her sweetly then turned her head to the side and pointed to the dark bruise on the woman’s neck. She rolled her eyes and slapped him away.
Cristian eyed the new mark. “Is the mating recent?”
Harmony scowled. “The bastard keeps marking me every morning before I leave for work.” She half-heartedly shoved Sorin.
“You know you like it.” He grinned like a lovesick puppy. “Harmony, this is Cristian, your pack alpha, but I’m sure you already know that. And Cristian, this is Harmony, my mate.”
Cristian shook her hand. “Harmony, good to meet you again, and congratulations on mating the ornery bastard who can’t keep his teeth to himself.”
She laughed but Sorin’s brows furrowed. “Wait a minute. You’ve met before?”
Harmony’s laughter died as her cheeks turned pink and her gaze dropped to the ground. Not wanting to embarrass her, Cristian gave a loose version of their first encounter. “There was an incident involving a few turkeys freed from their pens before Thanksgiving last year. Harmony was…kind enough to help me replace them with frozen ones from the grocery store.”
Sorin narrowed his eyes. “Uh-huh. She does have a knack for trouble. But don’t worry. Now that I’ve taken her in hand, she will be a shining example of pack obedience.”
Harmony’s eyes widened then narrowed and she lunged at her mate. He laughed and leapt into the training ring. They launched into an impromptu sparring session, more playful than serious.
Cristian was thrilled for his friend, but jealousy ran icy cold in his veins as he watched the newly mated pai
r. He’d once played like that with Natalia.
He sighed and walked toward his cabin. Best get her out of my mind. The vampire was gone and he was alone. Again.
***
Crouched close to the ground, Natalia crept silently through the leaves, her sharp gaze focused on her target. The wolf pulled at the deer carcass, his pointed teeth stripping the meat off the bone. Sword at the ready she ducked down, ready to pounce. The clouds parted and the moon lit up the plain. She stopped. The wolf’s coat shone a sandy blonde, reminding her of Cristian.
Her brief hesitation cost her the hiding spot. A gust of wind blew her scent straight toward the rogue werewolf. With a menacing snarl, he shifted to his crinos form. Natalia rose up from the ground and gripped her sword loosely with both hands.
“Come on, fucker,” she murmured. A good fight was just what she needed.
She stabbed the beast in the stomach when he leapt at her, but he managed to swipe his claws across her neck before falling into a roll and running away. A strangled grunt escaped her at the painful burn. Collapsing on the ground, she clutched her bleeding neck and tried to regain her breath. Red stained the half-inch of snow around her. Her eyes watered and weariness overtook her as she stared at the starry sky. Her body ached from hunger and exhaustion. The eastern Idaho sky didn’t look much different than Wyoming, she noted deliriously.
She’d hoped her life would return to normal once she got back into her routine. But she was wrong. Cristian had done something to her – changed her irreversibly.
A painful spasm rocked through her stomach, which made her neck throb as the blood flowed from the gashes.
Goddamn it, Cristian! You’ve undone me. She’d damned him over and over again the last four weeks. Sleep was next to impossible. When she tried to eat, she could only think of Cristian’s blood. Anything else made her want to gag. Her body was wasting away. Her mind was following in its footsteps. Face it, Natalia, you’re a hot mess.
She rolled to her side, resting her head on her arm. She was the Huntress. Hunting rogue werewolves was more than just her job. It was her purpose. It was everything.
It didn’t feel like everything anymore.
It took three weeks of dragging her ass all over the western United States before she admitted she missed Cristian. A week later, bleeding in the snow, starving to death – maybe it was time to admit she couldn’t live without him.
But he’d made it inexplicably clear he wouldn’t take her back. “If, a few months down the road, it finally gets through that stubborn head of yours that I’m the best thing for you, don’t bother to try to find me.”
Yep, crystal clear. And she wouldn’t beg.
Tears slid down her cheeks. Worse than feeling hollow and empty, she was full of despair. Humility wasn’t her strong suit, but maybe she would beg. Anything was better than this. After a hundred and fifty years of being alone, she finally felt lonely.
All she needed was one more chance. She would show Cristian she was ready this time.
***
Two days later, Natalia stood in the lowest point of a deep ravine smack dab in the middle of the Colorado Rockies. The only reason she could stand at all was because she’d forced blood down her throat, and despite gagging a few times, she kept it down. The hazy shape of a doorway flitted in and out of sight as she worked up the nerve to walk through it. The door to the Underworld.
She gulped. What’s the matter, Natalia? Scared of a few werewolves in a new realm? It wasn’t just the packs of werewolves that lived here willingly – where they could be themselves without human involvement – it was all the other…things that lived there as well. The Underworld acted as a sort of prison system for supernaturals who’d caused a scene Topside. Unseelie fae who practiced dark magic. Demons that could control people’s minds. Even some particularly violent vampires had been banished to the Underworld. So, no, it wasn’t just the werewolves that made her nervous.
She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Come on, you have to do this. It’s about time you made things right. Just a few steps and she would make her peace with Marcelo, and be that much closer to redemption. He deserved it. This was about closure, confronting the sins of her past. And Cristian deserved a woman who was whole, someone without eight hundred years of dark stains on her soul.
She watched the door, suddenly unable to make her feet move toward it. Last she’d heard, Marcelo was in league with the Dark King – a sorcerer turned vampire who ruled the Underworld with an iron fist. Rumors of war spread across the supernatural world, aimed at ridding the Underworld of this king, as well as vampires and werewolves. She couldn’t imagine her doting husband having anything to do with a king supposedly gone mad with power. Still, this was her only lead. So with a deep breath, she stepped forward.
A thick black mist swooped in, swirling around her body. Her hair stood on end and she spun around, trying to make sense of it. The mist gathered in front of her, taking shape, and in only a few seconds, a man stood between her and the door. With short blonde hair and brown eyes, he was clothed in an Indian style tunic and matching cotton pants. He didn’t look very impressive.
Then it hit her. Raw, unbridled magic. She almost choked on it.
He smiled. She grasped her knife.
“Are you the Huntress?” the strange man asked, still grinning.
“Yes.” Maybe her reputation preceded her and he’d step aside.
His eyes flared, possessive desire bursting in them. They flickered a golden yellow then back to a dull brown.
Dragon. Oh, joy.
A sharp pain exploded in her belly and she looked down. He’d stuck her with a throwing knife. “Hell of a greeting.” With a grunt she yanked it out.
Dragons were the most powerful supernaturals on earth and most of them were as old as the dirt she stood on. With all that time on their hands, they either went mad from boredom or they played power games, using humans like pawns on a chessboard. Either way, they were not to be trifled with.
“So it’s true,” he said, eyeing the wound in her stomach. “You are immune to silver.”
She arched a brow. “You could have just asked me.”
“Yes. I could have.”
She waited for more. He just stared at her, grinning. So she was dealing with one of the insane ones. Lovely. “I’m guessing you want something from me.”
“I’m the guardian of the door to the Underworld. I’d be doing a piss poor job of it if I wasn’t careful who I let in.”
She sighed. Dragons were also notorious for their wealth, which they acquired in spades, though they always craved more. “What do you want? I don’t have much money but I’ll give you all of it.”
“I don’t want your money. I want a favor.”
Owe a dragon a favor? How novel. “What kind of favor?”
“I’ll tell you when the time comes. For now, I want your vow that you will aid me when I ask it.”
She watched him, feeling more unsettled with each second that passed in his presence. “That’s a little vague, dragon.”
“Gethin.”
“Whatever. Can you be a little more specific?”
He clasped his hands behind his back. “It won’t cause you harm. And it will take no longer than five minutes.”
Suspicion flared but she wasn’t exactly in a position to be stubborn. “Okay. You have my vow. I will help you with one favor that won’t cause me harm and will take shorter than five minutes. Can I go through now?”
Gethin bowed slightly. “Of course.”
She stepped forward.
“Marcelo isn’t there.”
She froze then turned slowly to face him. “What?”
“You’re looking for Marcelo, the vampire second to the king, right? He’s not in the Underworld.”
He couldn’t have mentioned that before she’d given her vow? She closed her eyes and muttered, “Fucking dragons.” This was a bad joke, wasn’t it? Some god was pointing and laughing at her from the heavens rig
ht now.
His eyes narrowed with calculating intelligence. “But since you’re such a kind-hearted vampire, I’ll tell you where he is. He’s in Las Vegas, paying my good friend Nyx a visit.”
“Nyx? The goddess of night?”
“The same.”
“I heard she stole a dragon’s treasure.” She pieced things together in her head. “Was that you?”
Gethin’s eyes glowed yellow, and his black pupils narrowed into slits like a cat. “Yes. But not to worry. Very soon Nyx will become the cautionary tale about why it’s unwise to steal from dragons.”
A goddess, even one kicked out of the heavens, was also a force to be reckoned with. Goddess versus dragon. Now that would be a fight she’d pay to see. “Vegas. Got it.” She turned to walk away but Gethin cleared his throat and she swung back around. “Something else?”
“I’m ready to call in my favor.”
She sighed. “Of course.”
He stepped forward and pulled a round object from his pocket. “Nyx built a casino. It’s called The Dragon’s Lair.”
Natalia exhaled a bark of laughter. Nyx was asking for it.
Gethin raised a brow. “The irony is not lost on me. And she’ll get what’s coming to her. Her vault is under the casino, containing my wealth. You manipulate metal as well?”
She nodded.
“Good. Take this.” He handed her a vault combination dial. “Replace it with the one that’s there.”
So he planned to get his money back. Natalia took the dial and studied it. “Won’t the vault be guarded?”
He smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were the Huntress. As in the lethal assassin with a hundred-thousand-dollar bond on her head, who makes werewolves tremble –”
“All right. I get it.” She rolled her eyes.
He flashed another beaming grin then began dissolving into black mist. His voice carried over as his body fell away. “Remember who you’re dealing with, vampire. It will not bode well for you to idle.”
She looked down at the dial and mumbled, “Yeah, yeah, don’t piss off the powerful dragon with the creepy grin.” She shoved the dial in her pocket and glanced at the Underworld door. A shudder rocked her body and she was almost grateful the dragon prevented her from going through it. If only she didn’t have to piss off a goddess instead.
