Stomping toward his own truck, Aric knew revenge would have to wait. He needed to regroup and gather assistance. His pack had ways of tracking people that were more advanced than his own. Not everyone in the pack relied on their instincts. For the first time, Aric was thankful for that.
The short drive to the pack alpha’s home did little to ease Aric’s nerves. Not knowing his mate’s whereabouts gnawed at him. With his body wound tighter than a two-dollar watch, his wolf paced within him impatiently. The mate ache was in full force; it took much of his energy to ignore it and push on.
Using heavy, determined steps, Aric approached the expansive, hunting lodge–style cabin that housed his alpha pair and other important members of the pack. Smoke plumed from the chimney, and the windows glowed amber from the light inside. The rustic décor and earthy nature of the cabin should have offered a cozy, warm feeling. Unfortunately, Aric’s tension prevented the feeling of sanctuary in his alpha’s home from easing his mind.
Aric purposefully ascended the stairs to the wraparound porch. There was no knocking on the alpha’s door. Knocking was for guests, and pack members were not guests; they were welcome at any time in the alpha’s home.
Majestic oil paintings of wolves adorned the walls of the landing—not just any wolves, but alphas of years past. A wide wooden staircase led to the alpha’s private space, with a few bedrooms, a couple of bathrooms, and a reading area. The first floor was all for the pack. Several of the elders—advisors to the alpha—housed themselves in rooms on the main level. The top enforcer, the beta of the pack, also resided in the main cabin. As the alpha’s right-hand wolf, he needed to be at the ready just in case.
The cabin was more than a residence. Sorting most pack business occurred there. As a meeting place and source of recreation for pack youth, the steady hum of conversation was constant. When Aric entered, the muffled sounds of members offered him a hint of comfort considering his current state.
Glancing to the right of the foyer, he caught a peek at the kitchen and dining area. The clatter of pots and pans told Aric dinner had passed. Heading to the left, he made his way toward the conference rooms, the lounge area, a library, and a den. The elders’ private bedrooms and bathrooms lined the back of the first floor.
On his way through the expansive home, Aric spotted several younger pack members, barely in their teens, horsing around while a movie played. He did a quick scan and found no one of interest to him there. He didn’t need youth; he needed knowledge. Attempting to disrupt the younger members as little as possible, he continued on his way to the conference room.
Empty.
Down the hall, Aric found three elders in the library. With a sigh of relief, he felt some tension leave his body. He had a starting point. The elders would be able to guide him.
Bruce, a stocky man in his fifties with salt-and-pepper hair, held a large text and turned as Aric approached the doorframe.
“How unexpected,” Bruce commented, drawing the attention of the others.
Gregory, a silver-haired man, sat at a table with several books laid out before him. He lifted his steely gray eyes to Aric as Bruce spoke. “We had assumed you had better things to do than come to visit us.” There seemed to be accusation in his voice.
Shifting uncomfortably, Aric scrubbed at the back of his neck with his gaze cast down to his feet.
A third voice—Paul, the youngest of the elders but still Aric’s senior—came from behind a bookshelf. “Perhaps she wasn’t a witch,” he offered, his voice filled with hope.
“No.” Aric toed at the hardwood floor like a naughty child about to be reprimanded. “She is,” he admitted.
The silence and the expected gazes from the elders caused Aric to take a step back.
Bruce was the first to speak. “Shouldn’t you be”—he waved a hand, looking for a tactful way to say it—“busy?”
Aric snorted and lifted his head. “She took off,” he explained.
The three men exchanged weighted glances. The room filled with a heavy silence as Aric witnessed their tense reactions. Through what seemed to be a silent vote in the form of nods, they elected Gregory to speak. “What? Did you think this would be easy?” He laughed.
The whole room erupted.
Aric peered at him, lost for words. The shift in the room’s atmosphere had caught him off guard. He hadn’t been prepared for laughter. Aric looked from one to the other. What the fuck had he missed?
“Did she take your balls with her, too?” Paul asked, spurring another roar from the elders.
Aric narrowed his eyes. Their laughter caused his jaw to tick, and the tension in his muscles returned. They may be his elders, but he wasn’t a goddamn joke. His mate was a vulnerable witch with a vampire hunting her. She was out there, and he couldn’t find her.
The pang of mate ache tore through him again, sharp, like a spear through his heart. His hand sprang to his chest, hoping to rub it away. The bursts of pain came quickly, lingered, then dissipated into a dull soreness he could ignore if he tried. Though the more time that passed, the more intense and frequent his pangs became.
Aric slammed his fist down on the table so hard the wood groaned and threatened to crack, causing the books to jump. Immediately the raucous laughter ceased. The men’s gazes fell to the books first as one text slipped and thudded to the wooden floor with a clatter. The amusement from moments ago was forgotten when their joint attention shifted to Aric.
Aric cleared his throat. “There’s a vampire who thinks he can take what’s mine.”
Glances were exchanged between the three men. Bruce pursed his lips and put his book on the table. “You’re a predator. She is prey. Another predator is after your kill,” he explained. “The question is where will you place your focus? Your rival or your prey?”
The other men nodded sagely.
Aric shifted his jaw, trying not to clamp it shut. “He doesn’t stand a fucking chance. She ran ’cause of him.”
“Seems like you have your answer,” Gregory chimed in.
“So why are you still standing here?” asked Paul.
“He’s a wolf,” Bruce answered for Aric. “He needs his pack to hunt.”
The tightness that held firmly to Aric’s body abated, and he glanced from one elder to the other. They understood—he couldn’t do this on his own. As a pack animal, it was in his nature to hunt with them, and that was what he had to do. He had to hunt Divina down and reclaim her so she never forgot again to whom she belonged.
“She took off in a truck, an old heap if I ever saw one,” Aric explained. Pushing the pain from his consciousness, he continued. “I need one of our fancy-pants computer wizards to help me find where she went.” He tapped his nose with a finger. “A sniffer can only go so far when vehicles are involved.”
Flipping an old, discolored page, Gregory nodded and returned to his book. Computers weren’t his thing. Aric couldn’t blame him. There came a time in everyone’s life when keeping up with technology lost its appeal.
Paul, the youngest, would have been the logical choice. However, Bruce cleared his throat. “My nephew Zeke’s big into computers. He’s been handling a lot of pack stuff for us in that realm.”
Aric quirked a brow at Bruce. Zeke couldn’t have been more than nineteen. Considering the extended life of wolves, he was practically a toddler. Sure, an adult physically, but to a wolf he was immature. It seemed odd to Aric that so young a wolf would be trusted with such things.
Aric sighed and nodded in agreement. “Okay. When can we start? I don’t want her to get too far ahead of me. I’m pretty sure she left a few hours ago.”
Nodding, Bruce put his book on the table. “I’ll get in touch with Zeke tonight. We can start tomorrow.”
Aric shook his head. “I can’t wait that long. Do you know how much ground she could cover in that time?” The more distance between them, the more pain from the mate ache. He could tune it out, though he hadn’t a clue how it felt for a human. As much as he wanted her
to be his mate, he would never force her. If she wanted, he’d come up with a way to dull the mate ache for her even if she didn’t want him.
Clearly not amused by the demands placed upon him, Bruce set his hard glare on Aric and lifted a brow.
Aric bit back a growl, the vein in his neck protruding as the tightness in his chest and body returned. As an elder, Bruce had earned more respect than Aric had shown. Not to mention he had offered to help him find his mate. The brow lift said more than any words could.
Grinding his teeth, Aric bowed his head, acknowledging his submission to the elder in his pack.
Bruce nodded. “Right then. Tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 3
The salted breeze coming from the ocean tickled the warm skin of her bare shoulders. Sand covered her feet as she stood in front of the dune, an expanse of unoccupied beach in front of her. Staring out as the waves broke on the shore, Divina couldn’t remember a time when the moon had been so large. Dipping down onto the horizon, the moon met its rippled reflection.
Familiar cool fingers trailed up her arms. Coming from an unknown direction, Rori appeared in front of her. The pale light of the night illuminated his boyish features and highlighted his charming smile.
Closing the small gap between them, Rori took Divina into his arms, pressing his body against hers. She had never been more aware of their contrasting body temperatures. He tilted her chin upward, and she closed her eyes, expecting a kiss.
Her breath caught when his mouth did not seek hers but instead went to her neck, trailing chilling nips along the hollow of her throat as he pulled her tight against him. Snaking her arms around his neck, her head fell back with a shiver.
Wincing, she felt the first sharp prick of his canines piercing her skin. She moaned as his tongue lapped at the warmth of her blood, dripping from the puncture. Her hands slid up the nape of his neck and through his short-cropped hair. Deft fingers dug into the globes of her behind, sparking thrums of need in her core. As the intensity of Rori’s sucking increased, Divina’s heartbeat pounded in her ears. Writhing as she stood in the sand, she tried to lower her head. She pressed her cheek against his, urged him to kiss her, to stop draining her.
She stared at her fingers and toes, the cold awareness of loss of blood seeping into her consciousness. If Rori didn’t stop, he’d kill her.
“Rori,” she rasped.
A wall of red-hot heat pressed into her back, startling her.
Rori’s fingers kneaded the flesh of her ass as his hips bucked against her. Leaning back into the heat, she pulled her neck away from him, and he brought his mouth down to her chest, tugging down the elastic top of her dress. Rori’s tongue circled the top of her breasts while he trailed kisses along her now-cool skin.
Dizzy from his attentions to her neck, Divina reached up to the other, much taller man behind her. The stubble of shaved chest hair prickled against her back. The top of her dress, now at her waist, exposed her to him—to them—and the warm night. Goose bumps broke over her body.
“Aric,” she cooed, reaching up behind her to stroke his face.
Moving from her ass, Rori’s hands cupped her breasts, lifting them slightly as he crouched, his mouth finding her hardened nipples.
With blood trickling down her neck, her head fell back against Aric’s shoulder. Large, callused hands gripped her hips. Tingles radiated from where he touched her, spreading out over her body, headed straight to her sex.
Aric pulled her ass back against his stiff, generous erection, and her breath caught in her throat. She needed him. Bombarded with sensations, her body craved his heat to combat the cold Rori gave her. The wolf growled in her ear, his warm lips sucking on her lobe.
With a slight tug, Rori pulled her dress down over her hips. Aric released her to allow the dress to fall in a pool at her bare feet. Hooking his fingers into the waistband of her panties, Rori pressed tender kisses along her belly as he slid them down her legs. Wide palms covered her breasts as Aric kissed along the line of her collarbone. Closing her eyes, she lost herself in the feeling of Rori’s mouth as it traveled up her legs, while Aric pinched her nipples into sensitive peaks. Overwhelmed by the sensations and attention of the two men, Divina felt intoxicated.
The heat Aric offered channeled straight to her sex. Divina burned when the cold of Rori’s lips met her pussy. Parting her thighs, opening herself to him, she leaned back farther against Aric, needing him to keep her up.
Losing her ability to focus or breathe, she whimpered as Rori’s tongue expertly explored her folds, searching out her sensitive nub. Digging her nails into Aric’s shoulders, she panted, curling her toes into the sand.
Aric bit hard into her neck, the opposite side to Rori’s bite. Though his didn’t pierce the skin, he sucked hard and Divina swooned. A wave of pleasure rocked through her when Rori found her spot, and she bucked against the two men.
Pinned between them in the throes of ecstasy, Divina’s world spun on its axis. Rori sucked, lathed, and pressed against her clit. Aric pinched, plucked, and palmed at her breasts. Her skin was on fire. She couldn’t take much more. Legs shaking, muscles tightening, she felt the approach of her orgasm.
Then…nothing.
Opening her eyes, gasping for breath, she gripped Aric while Rori rose and stepped back from her. Rori’s hands rested near the buckle of his black belt, but instead of making to open it, he continued to move backward.
Confused, Divina licked her bottom lip, still trying to catch her breath. “Rori?” she questioned.
He only smiled and backed away, holding her gaze.
Aric’s hands slid to her hips, reminding her of his presence. Holding her firmly, he bit her again, pulling her back into the hedonism of the moment. With her gaze still focused on Rori as he retreated from her, Aric urged her to turn. Closing her eyes, she went with it. He felt like lava against her naked form.
Tap.
Rough hands cupped her face. When she opened her eyes, she was staring into beautiful hazel pools rimmed with gold. His hungry mouth came down over hers as he pulled her harder against him and claimed her with a rough kiss. He turned the two of them together while his tongue slipped past their joined lips. Taking two short steps, Divina felt the dune against her heels as they kissed. His hand at the small of her back, he guided her down onto the sand.
Tap.
His free hand ran up her thigh, sending shivers through her. Her body grew hungry again, needy. She bit his bottom lip, eliciting a growl from him.
Tap.
With the dune at her back, Aric lifted one of her legs over his bare hip so the bulbous end of his cock pressed against her opening. Arching her back, she gasped, preparing to take him.
Tap.
The repeated rap at her truck window woke her, ripping her from the erotic dream. Flustered at first, Divina blinked as sunlight strained her eyes. Just after dawn, the sky still held the pinkish hue of the sun cresting. A man in uniform stood outside her truck wearing a frown. With heat in her cheeks, embarrassment washed over her as though he’d been able to see into her dream.
Divina righted herself and rubbed her eyes. Clearing her throat, she pushed the dream from her mind. Rolling down her window, she coughed, attempting to wake her voice. He responded by tapping his badge with two fingers. When she glanced down at the shield, the sun reflected off it, and a rather sharp beam of sunlight bounced into her eyes. Blinking spots away, she returned to focusing on his face.
Groggily, Divina complied with the cop’s request for her license, registration, and insurance card. He eyed her suspiciously. As he looked over her documents, Divina took in the patches on his uniform—Mississippi. Surveying her surroundings, she spotted a gas station sign for Pearlington Petrol. So far, the people of Pearlington, weren’t very welcoming. Apparently a woman napping in her truck at a gas station was suspicious in these parts. The way the cop looked her over gave her the sense that he thought maybe she’d been shooting up in the parking lot or something.
The whole ordeal took about forty-five minutes to resolve itself. The cop let Divina off with a warning about trespassing and told her about a shelter and a motel in town if she needed a place to stay. Attempting to be polite, she said she’d consider it. She wasn’t sure what the future held for her.
The small town seemed quiet, the type of place where it would be easy to disappear from the outside world. While that greatly appealed to Divina, she wasn’t sure if it was far enough from the Ember Witches, Rori, Aric, and the prophecy she fled. If she wanted to reset her life, she needed to sort out what she wanted to do and who she wanted to be. Even if Pearlington, Mississippi, wasn’t far enough, it was a decent place to start.
Once the cop returned to his patrol car, Divina set the truck in gear and decided to find breakfast. Coffee, food, and major life decisions about magic and the undead would be worked out in that order. A woman had her priorities.
A small chrome facade of a diner came into view to answer Divina’s grumbling stomach. A quick trip to the bathroom allowed her to comb out her hair, splash some water on her face, and make herself a little bit more presentable. Upon exiting the bathroom, she looked more like a college student and less like a homeless person.
The dull pain in her chest pulsed. Splaying a hand over the area, she tried to massage it away. Willing it away sure hadn’t worked, and ignoring it seemed effective only about 50 percent of the time.
As the ache subsided, emptiness spread through Divina. She was homeless. Having left her vardo behind, she had run from her place, her first home that was all her own, and now she had nowhere to go.
Sliding into the vinyl booth of the 1950s-themed diner, she shook her head. Scrubbing her hands over her face, she felt the burden of the mess that was her life. No home, an ex-boyfriend hell-bent on dragging her into matters that were not her concern, a wolf-man who she’d just fucked and had bitten her, and a prophecy spouting nonsense about how her love life controlled the fate of all supernatural kind. Oh! Lest she forget, the group of powerful, manipulative bitch witches wanted her to join them. Yep, her life was cupcakes and rainbows, all right.
The Wolf of the Prophecy Page 2
