by Tamara White
We’re about halfway back to the hotel when my beast stirs to life. I inhale deeply, catching the scent of vampires around us, and curse my rotten luck.
How the fuck am I going to handle them while protecting Britt? Her magic won’t work unless she’s in direct danger and she’s still not completely sober.
“Britt, can you fight?” I murmur into her ear, flicking my gaze around us.
The vampires are not quite on us, so I move us a little faster, hoping the closer we get to the hotel, the more chance we have that one of the guys will pick up on my thoughts.
“You mean physically? Why?”
“Vamps are hunting us,” I whisper, a low growl rumbling in my chest as my beast notices a scent I can’t quite believe. It’s enough of a shock that it sends me stumbling, and I would have fallen to my knees if Britt hadn’t had a good hold of my arm.
“Mer? What is it?” Britt shakes my shoulders as blood rushes in my ears. It can’t be.
I turn slowly, and Britt follows my gaze, cursing loudly.
“What the fuck? Talon? That’s who’s stalking us? Why the hell didn’t you say so?”
Britt seems relieved by his presence, but there’s something off, a lack of emotion in his eyes that tells me there is something not quite right about this situation.
Well, that and the fact there are at least thirty vampires behind him, and surrounding us from the shadows.
“Britt,” I warn, as she moves to take a step away from me. I grab her arm and refuse to let her leave my side.
“What is it? Are you seriously scared of Tal? You know he’d never hurt you. He’s the reason we’re here, Mer. Why are you acting like a skittish kitten?”
Talon is watching our exchange with no emotion and my heart weeps, because I know the queen has done something to him. He doesn’t know us. And if he does, he’s a really fucking great actor.
“Britt! Look at him. Really fucking look at him.” She frowns, but does as I say, as I utter words that rip me to pieces. “That’s not my soul-tie anymore.”
Twenty-Seven
City of Wolves and Vampires
Emerald
A man I never thought would cause me harm is staring at Britt and me like he’s never seen us before in his life.
Britt, of course, is freaking out, her breaths coming in short pants. No doubt she’s losing it because she’s finally grasped the seriousness of our current predicament.
If it was the Talon we both know in front of us, then we’d have nothing to fear. But this man is nothing but an empty shell, one who seems to be unaware of who we are to him.
Talon suddenly moves, and my eyes lose track of him before I’m slammed into the wall of a building. Britt screams in terror at the attack, but is defenseless to help me. Without magic, there’s no way she could take on a vampire and live to tell the tale.
A dagger is pressed to my neck and the man who was once my soul-tie is staring at me with nothing but my death in his eyes.
My heart races in panic even as my beast goes wild, demanding to be free to destroy the threat to us. But I can’t allow that.
“Emerald of the St. Louis coven, you have violated the protocols set forth by Queen Maria of the French Coven. You have entered her lands without announcing yourself, and therefore your life is forfeit. It is my duty as her loyal prince to rectify this issue.”
What? How can I break protocols when I’m not officially the princess in title, only in name? I open my mouth to ask such exactly that but my logic has escaped me as what he said finally sinks in.
“Prince?” I sputter out, shock rocking me to my core. Of all the things I thought he would say, that’s not it. “What the hell, Talon? I’m here to save you, you dick!”
My words take him by surprise and the dagger is lowered slightly as he blinks once, not comprehending my words. “Save me? You must be mistaken. I am the queen’s loyal servant. I live for her commands.”
I exchange a worried glance with Britt. “What the hell is going on?” she mouths at me, just as confused as I am.
Talon’s gaze followed mine like he only just noticed Britt, and I do my best to draw his attention back to me. I wiggle in his grasp and immediately his eyes are back on me. The vampires he has at his command are surrounding us, but they don’t attack, waiting for his signal.
“I don’t know what happened to you, Tal, but I swear that the only reason I am in this city is to save you. Maria took you from St. Louis after the meeting that was held between the witches, wolves, and vampires. The one where we told everyone of my hybrid status.” He cocks his head, as if trying to remember something that simply doesn’t exist. “Please, you have to remember,” I plead softly, hoping my words will trigger a sense of familiarity, to bring his memories to the forefront of his mind.
How the hell am I supposed to even begin to solve this fucking problem? I thought for sure I’d simply need to come here to Paris and challenge the queen for my soul-tie. Then once I whooped her ass, we could all go home and forget about her. But the bitch has decided to play dirty and do something to my soul-tie. She took his memories of me.
I decide to push, to try and trigger some kind of memory, even if it’s not of me. Who knows how much Maria took from him?
“Do you remember Nikoli? Or Devin? You turned them and left here a long time ago. All three of you are mine. Please, Talon, I need you to remember us.”
He doesn’t say anything, his body suddenly going still as if hearing something that isn’t there. His eyes clear and his grip on me tightens.
“My queen told me you had developed an elaborate fantasy in where I was your mate and that you were some kind of mythical hybrid, but I thought she must have been mistaken. No creature is that warped.” He shakes his head sadly. “No matter, I will make your death quick.”
“Like fucking hell you will!” Britt cries lunging to her feet, but another vampire is suddenly there, holding her by the throat.
My beast lunges at the confines of my mind, begging to be free. “If you don’t let her go, I will be forced to kill you,” I growl, ignoring Talon who presses the dagger to my throat, drawing blood and enraging my animal side.
Before either Talon or the vampire holding Britt get a chance to react, a dozen or so wolves are swarming the alley. Mason appears in human form, his eyes glinting the yellow of his wolf as it rides his skin.
“Talon, fancy seeing you out of the queen’s estate. I figured you’d be on lockdown for years before Maria would ever let you out again.”
Talon looks at the Alpha in confusion. “Who are you?”
Mason looks past Talon to me with a raised brow. “She truly fucked him up, didn’t she?”
I give one brief nod, and it’s all the distraction Mason needs when Talon turns to watch me. He slams into my soul-tie and rips him away from me. The wolf who was sent to protect me uses his body to shield me from Talon’s view, even as his hands shake from holding back the change. Mason calls over his shoulder to me, his voice deep and guttural. “Take your friend and run. I won’t be able to hold him off for long.”
His wolf has had enough of being held back and breaks out of his body, his clothes shredding as a large, grey wolf takes his place and lunges at Talon.
Fuck! My gaze lands on Britt who is cowering against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible as vampires and wolves battle it out with each other in an attempt to get to either of us.
As I take a step toward her, I notice the wolves are protecting Britt as best they can, keeping vampires away from her, something I’m thankful for. I owe Mason for this.
My beast is quick to spring forth when I let go of the control on my humanity. I bound over to Britt, shoving any vampires out of my way to get to her. Dropping down beside her, I nudge her with my snout.
Get on! I tell her telepathically.
She quickly scrambles onto my back, gripping my fur tightly. I don’t even care about the pain, eager to get home.
I turn to take off, unabl
e to look at the carnage the vampires and wolves have wrought in this city. I just hope none of the wolves died. The vampires, well, they work for the queen bitch so I’m not too worried on their fates at the moment.
We make it three streets away when my beast can no longer retain control. Fuck, I didn’t feed enough. I can feel my energy waning quickly and know we won’t make it back to the hotel in one piece. My body shifts back to human and Britt quickly wraps an arm around me when I stumble.
“We’re so fucking screwed,” I growl, as exhaustion tries to sweep through me.
Britt keeps hold of me while I send out a telepathic message to my guys and Britt’s. If one of you can hear this, we’re in deep shit. Two blocks from the hotel.
No one answers immediately and I curse this stupid ability. I never know whether my messages are received or if they even sent.
“Come on, the closer we get to the hotel, the more likely it is one of the guys will feel our fear and come running,” Britt urges helpfully, as she tries to drag my heavy ass down the street.
She’s right, so I focus everything into putting one foot in front of the other. I’m naked and walking the streets, unsure why my clothes didn’t come with me this shift.
“I’m gonna die naked, aren’t I?” I moan, wondering how that will look to Melanie. She’ll see me and probably be shocked into silence.
“Why are you naked? Is it because you want to jump Talon’s bones and woo him with your body?” she teases, trying to make light of our situation, but it’s not even remotely funny.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m tired. Who knows,” I grumble, wishing she would just drop it.
It’s bad enough to be naked, but pointing it out makes it harder to bloody ignore. If she were a wolf, she’d just pretend I had clothes on, but no, Britt has to make an occasion out of my nudity.
“Oh, come on, Mer, even you have to admit it’s fucking funny that you’d shift back naked when you have a homicidal vampire you love chasing us. I mean, seriously, whoever it is that controls our futures must have a fucked up imagination to put us in this situation.”
Ain’t that the fucking truth. I swear, if I ever meet Hunter’s mother, Fate, I’ll be having some serious words with her about the kind of situations she keeps thrusting me into. I get she must have some higher purpose she’s leading us to but still, this fucking sucks. Any human could appear now and see me in this state. I imagine explaining my nudity to French police officers is not gonna be a fun conversation, especially since neither Britt or I speak French.
“Do you think Talon is completely lost?” I ask Britt, unable to hide my pain.
She squeezes me closer as we stumble down the streets. “I don’t know, Mer, but I have to hold out hope that it’s nothing a little magic can’t fix.”
As if simply thinking of him, my soul-tie appears in front of us with an excited smile. “Well, aren’t you two a bit of fun. I haven’t had that good of chase in a very, very long time.”
I push Britt behind me, knowing that at least if I die, I’ll come back. We haven’t had a chance to discuss what will happen to Britt since the Guardians have come back. I know they said they could bring her back from the in-between once they’d bonded, but we still haven’t talked specifics, like whether or not the magic I undid on her memories returned her bond to Chase or not. And I’d rather not risk it until I’m sure.
Talon’s holding a sword loosely at his side and I summon one of my own. His smile is wiped clean with its appearance.
“No more running, no more distractions, and no more tricks.” Suddenly, he uses his impressive speed, and I see his sword swinging at me. Part of me is screaming to lift my own, to defend myself, but another part of me is hoping he will stop, that he won’t let his blade hit me.
When it becomes clear he doesn’t plan on stopping, and actually plans on killing me or be killed, it’s like a shift happens within me. Is this what the queen wanted all along? For him to kill me? Or does she think I’d kill the man I love?
No matter what he does to me, I could never take his life so if the Queen is set on him taking mine, then what more can I do? Will he leave Britt if he does what he was sent here for?
Rather than fight him, I simply close my eyes and wait for death, hoping that Britt will run when he takes me down. If I die to protect the two of them, then it’s a good death in my eyes.
Before death can take me, the sound of steel ringing against steel startles me into opening my eyes.
Mere inches from my neck, a sword is stopping Talon’s from cutting into my skin. My gaze goes to the side and relief overtakes me.
My grandmother is standing there in nothing but a shirt and jeans, with her hands firmly gripped on her sword. Even dressed as she is, there is something almost magnetic, powerful about her, which you can see with just a glance.
She uses Talon’s surprise to push him back and moves to stand in front of me protectively, much the same way I did to Britt. She growls, her sword raised before her.
“You dare to attack my granddaughter? Your soul-tie? Do you have no honor, Talon Durand?”
Talon seems at a loss for words. When he finally gathers his wits, he asks not who she is, or why she defends me, but something completely unexpected. “How do you know my name?”
He looks shaken that Jeannie knew such a thing. Even I didn’t know his last name until earlier. I kinda thought maybe he didn’t have one, being as old as he is. And if someone had mentioned it before this trip, it must have skipped my notice.
My grandmother lowers her sword with a sympathetic smile. “It seems your mistress has gotten some stronger witches since you left her side. I suggest you run back home and tell her that I, too, have witches with me.”
Talon stares at my grandmother, unsure of his next move. “I’m sorry, but you hold no power here. I’m here for the woman who crossed into the queen’s territory without invitation. We have intel that she’s planning a coupe. My orders are to eliminate her.”
Jeannie’s eyes glitter dangerously as she takes a threatening step forward. “Well, young man, you’ve been given incorrect information. I am the former matriarch of the St. Louis coven and this woman you seem hell-bent on eliminating is the princess of the coven. We announced our presence to the queen as procedure dictates. We have even agreed to attend a ball at her estate tomorrow night.” My grandmother pauses to give him time to digest that before carrying on. “I believe the only reason you were sent out tonight is because your queen is scared of just how strong a soul-tie is, even one that is no longer complete.”
“She was telling the truth?” His gaze flits to me with curiosity. “How? I don’t have her name anywhere on my body.”
For the first time since seeing him again, I have hope that maybe we can get through to him. Show him that he doesn’t belong here, but with me and my other ties.
“Maybe you don’t have her name on you now, but you once did. The only reason it doesn’t remain on you is due to a few witches who decided to interfere and forced the tie to be broken. Although, Emerald still holds evidence of your soul-tie, if you wish to see?”
Talon has completely lowered his weapon, and looks past my grandmother at me in complete awe.
My grandmother turns back and nods softly. I know she wants me to show him, but I’m naked in the middle of the damn street, so it’s not exactly comforting.
Still, I do as expected and lift my neck, brushing my hair back so Talon can see the barely-there mark. He approaches slowly, and I put all my trust in the fact that my grandmother will protect me if he attacks again.
Fingers brush against the mark and I shiver, unable to hide the feelings his touch stirs. I miss him, as does my body.
“How is this possible?” He breaths out with awe. His eyes meet mine and I see the confusion, longing, and anger battling from within. His hand clasps my neck firmly and I fight not to panic at the hold he has on me. He may recognize me as his soul-tie now, but he still doesn’t remember me. I
’m not willing to put all my faith in him so long as he’s at the queen’s beck and call.
My grandmother must sense my unease, because she removes Talon’s hand from my neck and steps between us, obscuring his view of me. I sink into Britt who stands behind me, offering what comfort she can. My eyes prick with the tears. What the hell did Maria do to him? He seems so unsure who to trust and it hurts my heart to see him like this.
“As I said, your queen wishes to make you compliant to her wishes. I would offer for you to return with us so we could explain the circumstances fully, but I sense your distrust. I suggest you go back to your queen and play the loyal servant, but don’t let her fool you. Open your ears and eyes. If she has spelled you, she won’t suspect you of being aware of her lies.”
“And what of the girl?”
My grandmother glances back at me, finally seeming to notice my nakedness. She turns back to Talon, her voice soft. “Tell me the truth. Were you surprised by her shift? The pure size of her wolf and the way with which she was able to remain undetected in that form?”
Huh, I didn’t know my shifted form could go undetected. I make a mental note to ask my grandmother another time exactly what that means.
“I was not expecting something so monstrous, nor so beautiful.”
My heart softens and I pull away from Britt to peek around my grandmother. I need to see him, to make sure he understands I will do whatever I can to help him.
When his eyes meet mine, a determination settles inside me. I straighten and move away from Britt, taking a step toward Talon.
“She may have taken your memories, but I swear to you, I will get them back. I will die if I have to, but I will come back. I will show your queen exactly what happens when someone tries to take one of you from me. I will make her pay for hurting you.”
His lips twitch slightly. “I think you would make a good mate for me.” He glances back to my grandmother. “I will heed your advice, but know that when we meet next, I will not stop in my duty.”
