Hunted dp-3

by Rebecca Zanetti

  She accepted the help, sliding from the vehicle. The nearby ocean sent salt and brine to fill the air—heavier and somehow sweeter than the scent of her ocean at home. Nothing could’ve prevented the sigh that escaped her.

  Conn shut the door and the driver drove off. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  She needed time to think before they discussed their future. But the vampire wasn’t her only immediate concern. She bit her lip. “Anyone with half a brain knew the second the hundred years expired, you’d be trying to take me from Ireland.” Whether he truly wanted her or not, a Kayrs protected his mate. And she was beginning to hope that Conn did want her—a fact that delighted and scared the crap out of her.

  “Yes.” His arm dropped around her shoulders, providing warmth and a new sense of security.

  A sense far too tempting to sink right into with relief.

  Even her mother had allowed her to leave the homeland with him. “Yet the council ordered me to your country ... with you ... and Daire let you take me from New York.”

  Conn tugged her toward the solid oak door. “Yeah. I caught that, too.” His smile screamed sin. “I don’t suppose they thought to make it easy on me as a reward for following the treaty all these years?”

  Her own smile felt raw. “The last thing the Nine wants to do is make it easy on you, Connlan.”

  “I know. Well, I assume the reasoning was twofold. First, this is a clear sign the Nine isn’t going to withdraw from the Realm.”

  She barely kept from shaking her head. Not true. This move might be the first strike in withdrawing from the Realm. “Are you sure?” The man should know by now she’d been raised in a political family and could see past the obvious.

  “No. But I thought you might think so.”

  Her hand on his arm stopped him from opening the door. He pivoted, giving her his full attention.

  She lifted her gaze. “I’m not the naïve girl you mated, Conn.”

  “I know.” One gentle knuckle ran down the side of her face. “I’ve seen you fight, sweetheart.”

  Warmth filled her at the pride in his masculine voice. “You said the Nine’s reasoning might be twofold. What’s the second fold?”

  “You’re the Seventh, Moira. They must want you protected.”

  The door swung open and a little girl hurled herself at Conn. “Uncle Conn!”

  He caught the rushing bundle, swinging the child around to smack loud kisses on her cheek. “I wondered if you’d be the welcoming committee, sweetheart.”

  The five-year-old levered back, mahogany curls bobbing, and put both tiny hands against his cheeks. “I wanted to see you first before you got all mad.” Sparkling blue eyes turned their focus to Moira. “Hi, Aunt Mowra.”

  What a stunning child. “Hi, Janie. It’s wonderful to finally meet you in person.” She’d been e-mailing and videoconferencing with her young niece for the last eight months. “Why is Conn going to get mad?” The little psychic owned the future.

  The five-year-old smiled, showing a gap in her front teeth. “Not ’cause of you, Auntie. This time, anyways.”

  The door opened all the way and six and a half feet of hard muscled male stepped into the sun. “Welcome home, Moira.” The king extended a dozen yellow and white calla lilies. Their sweet scent hung in the air. He’d tied his thick black hair at the nape, throwing the hard angles of his face into focus.

  Pleasure warmed Moira even as a tickle of unease wound through her from the word home. She accepted the fragrant flowers, burying her nose before lifting up and forcing a smile. “Thanks, Dage.”

  Conn tucked Janie against his side. “Why am I about to be angry?”

  Dage lifted an eyebrow at his niece. “Someone been predicting the future?”

  Janie giggled. “Things gotta happen the way they gotta happen.”

  “Profound words, little one.” Dage gestured them inside a spacious gathering room fronted by floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the churning gray Pacific Ocean. Couches and chairs sprawled in organized chaos around two pool tables and a massive brick fireplace, reminding Moira of Kell’s dining room. No table for eating, but a lot of area for playing.

  “Everyone is off working right now, but we’ll have a family get-together later tonight.” Dage tugged Janie away from Conn, tossing her in the air before landing her next to Moira. “Show Moira the game room, Janie. Emma should be along to take Moira to the lab soon.” His eyes shot warm blue through the intense silver. “I, ah, should apologize now. My mate is rather, er, single-minded in her battle against Virus-27.”

  Conn couldn’t help the chuckle rising in his throat. “That is the understatement of your reign, King.” He dropped a kiss on Moira’s smooth forehead. “Good luck, sweetheart. You’ll be donating some blood for the cause.” He rubbed his chin. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken any on the plane. Not that he regretted a second of their trip.

  Moira frowned.

  Janie took her hand with a happy hop. “You’re gonna love the new checker set Uncle Conn bought me. When he loses, he has to play tea party and wear an apron. He looks so good in the pink one.”

  Moira laughed low and husky as Janie continued. “We have a whole room to play games, and there’s a television in there to watch movies. Oh, and you gotta see the new classroom my teacher Sarah set up. Sarah came home with Max ...” Her voice continued down the hall until they took a left turn.

  Conn pivoted toward his brother. “Well?”

  Dage smiled. “Let’s go down to the gym. You haven’t seen it yet.”

  “I designed it.” Conn fought irritation and the need to punch his brother in the jaw. “Am I going to hit you?”

  Dage shrugged, loping toward the stairwell and jogging down steps. “If you do, I’ll hit you back.”

  Wouldn’t be the first time the two of them got into it. Last time Conn had had to break his own nose three times to fix it right. He followed Dage, fighting unease. He didn’t like being separated from his mate. A laughable fact considering they spent the first hundred years of their union on different continents.

  Now she was right where he wanted her. A tickle at the back of his neck warned things weren’t so easy.

  He followed his brother through a doorway leading to a room packed wall-to-wall with tumbling mats, adjacent to the gym. One of many in the community he’d designed. His ire rose at finding Jase and Talen waiting, sprawled on the floor with their backs against the wall.

  Talen grinned. “Welcome home.” The second oldest and the strategic leader of the Realm, he nevertheless kept in close proximity to his pregnant mate, Cara. The fact that he was downstairs, away from Cara and their daughter Janie, didn’t bode well.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Conn leaned a hand down and yanked Jase to his feet. “What happened to the training schedule?” He’d left Jase in charge of training their men while he’d gone after Moira.

  “Nothing. The training is going well.” Jase’s lips tipped in a smart-ass grin, his maroon eyes remaining serious. An arctic breeze whipped through the room. The youngest of the brothers, Jase harnessed control of the elements in a manner none of them could explain. He scratched his chin. “Kane is in the middle of an experiment right now or he’d be down here to welcome his wayward brother home as well.”

  Dage cleared his throat. “I’m getting married next month and all my brothers are standing up for me.”

  Conn raised an eyebrow toward Talen. “Isn’t he supposed to ask us?”

  Talen stood. “Sometimes he thinks he’s the leader.”

  Dage settled his stance. “I wanted to get the brother stuff out of the way first, before I had to speak as the king. And I am the leader.”

  This was going to be bad. Conn settled his own stance. “You ready to do the king stuff now?”

  “Yes.” Dage’s silver eyes narrowed. “The war with the demons has heated up. We need to take the front line.”

  Conn’s shoulders relaxed. He’d been expecting the order. While he didn’t
want to head to the trenches so soon after getting Moira home, he understood the need for him to go. More unease crawled up his back. He hadn’t had time to properly train for mind-war with the demons. “I understand. When do I go?”

  “You don’t.” Dage’s words hung in the air. “I’m sending Jase.”

  Chapter 15

  The air heated in Conn’s lungs. He frowned. “No, you’re not.” No way in hell was his youngest brother going into a mind-battle with the demons. Jase still carried the scars from fighting and killing when a mere teenager—a fact that plagued the king daily. “My job is on the front lines, Dage.”

  “I’m aware of that.” Dage flicked his gaze to Jase and then back to Conn. “Unfortunately, we have more than one front line going on right now. I need you here.”

  “No, you don’t.” He’d hit his brother before, but never when Dage acted as King. This would be a first. “I planned this development. You’re protected, as is everyone else here. The greater threat lies in the Baltic States.” The demons had centralized their location during the last several decades, and the war needed to go to them.

  Jase stepped into danger range. “What about Moira, Conn? What about the swirling vortex of possible pain hunting your mate?”

  Conn rounded on his younger brother. They stood eye to eye, both packed hard. Jase had always known how to aim for the jugular. “Fuck you.”

  Jase smiled. “You’re the only one with the ability to utilize quantum physics and practice magic. Even Dage can only use string theory by teleporting.” He tucked his hands into the back pockets of faded jeans. But not before Conn saw the purple painted nails on his left hand. Obviously he’d lost to Janie at Go Fish again. “What if this vortex, or whatever it is, hinges on magic? You’re it, brother.”

  The logic in Jase’s words slammed Conn’s temper even closer to the surface. He had to protect Jase. He couldn’t let the demons rip into Jase’s mind. His youngest brother should be playing games all the time, having fun and being young. Not facing death or insanity. “Just because you’ve immobilized your hands doesn’t mean I won’t hit you.”

  Jase shrugged. A wall of shimmering ice rippled through the air between them. “Try it.”

  Conn could. A plasma ball would destroy the wall. But hurting his brother seemed counterproductive to the conversation. “You’re forgetting about the magic, asshole.”

  “Am I?” Arrogance coated Jase’s low voice.

  Conn flashed back to the time he’d taught his brother to drive their first Model T Ford, which of course, they instantly modified into a beacon of speed. “I like you fine without your mind all warped.” He pivoted to face Dage. “How can you order this?”

  Blue shot hard spikes within Dage’s silver eyes. “Duty’s a bitch, Conn.”

  Emotion turned the king’s voice raw in a tone that actually slammed pain through Conn. He struggled to reason with his brother. “My job is to face the biggest threat, and that comes from the demons.”

  Talen stepped closer. “No. The biggest threat is someone using the ability to take our mates right out from under our noses”—he crossed his arms, his golden gaze narrowing on Dage—“which is why Conn stays here to figure out how to counter them, and I go to the Baltic States.”

  Jase growled low. The wall of ice shattered. “You know, this lack of faith is starting to piss me off. Talen, your mate is due to give birth this month. You’re useless away from here.” He ignored Talen’s dropping into a fighting stance. “I may be younger than all of you, but I’m three hundred years old. The elements follow my orders, which will be invaluable against the demons and their mind tricks. I’m going, so deal with it.”

  Good God, Conn might actually have to beat the crap out of him. Conn turned to face Jase. “What if the demons are the ones controlling the vortex, Jase? Frankly, who the hell knows?” The demons destroyed minds, but maybe they’d learned to harness the dimensions, which was necessary in teleporting.

  “Not a chance.” Jase yanked his hands out of his jeans to cross his arms. “Vampires are the only species known to teleport, and merely a select few can do so. The Kurjans are genetically similar with their thirty chromosomal pairs, so chances are the Kurjans have developed this talent along with developing the virus that takes our mates back down to human form.” He cleared his throat. “Kane and I are the only brothers without mates. The rest of you need to stay close to yours.”

  “No.” Talen’s eyes shot green through the gold, guaranteeing his temper would soon blow. “We need to ensure our women are safe, which they are. These women are strong and knew our jobs and duties when agreeing to be our mates.”

  “Like Cara had a chance to disagree.” Jase stepped to the side, closer to Dage.

  Humor tipped Talen’s upper lip as he mirrored Jase’s movement, creating a square of power between the brothers. “I’m sure I asked at some point.”

  “You can’t leave her when she’s so close to giving birth.” Jase dropped his voice to a softer tone.

  Enough. Conn focused on Dage. The king needed to be convinced. “My mate isn’t with child, Dage. She’s worked as an enforcer the last few decades and understands the life of a soldier.” Probably with more clarity than he’d like. “She’s safe here with you.” He pressed the advantage when Dage didn’t reply. “What if Jase and I go together? With our combined skills, we’d be back in no time.”

  “I don’t need your help,” Jase murmured. “And now you’ve done it.” He turned his gaze on Dage.

  “I’m going.” Dage hardened his jaw. “Your reasons are valid and apply to me more than you. We have three hours to put contingency plans into place before I go.”

  Irritation battled with anger down Conn’s spine. “You can’t go.”

  Dage raised an arrogant brow. “Why the hell not?”

  “Because you’re the fucking king.” A fact his brother would like to forget more often than not. “We have enemies on all fronts, and we need a face as well as a centralized location. You’re needed here, Dage. Like it or not.” Conn didn’t need to turn around to know Talen and Jase nodded in agreement. “Do your job. Let me do mine.”

  Dage sighed. “You’re right. My job is to lead.” His lip curled. No doubt he’d rather face all the demons at once than sit in place for the good of the Realm. He turned toward Jase. “You leave for Russia first thing in the morning.” The blue shoved silver out of his eyes. “Stay safe and kick ass.”

  Jase straightened to his full height. “I’ll submit a plan within two hours.” Without another word, he pivoted and strode from the room.

  Conn didn’t move when Talen shifted his weight to face Dage alongside him. “He’s not ready.”

  Dage’s nostrils flared when he sucked in air. “You both need to go over his plan—look for ways to keep him safe.” He ran a rough hand through his hair, the only sign of distress he showed. “If I was somebody else, if we were somebody else ... I could send a different soldier to lead.”

  Conn shook his head. “You’re not. We’re not. As the ruling family, we’re the first to go, the first to bleed if necessary.” The first to die. He didn’t envy his brother in having to send one of them to possible death. How the hell did Dage sleep? Or did he? “Let me go with him.”

  “No.” Lines etched into Dage’s face that hadn’t existed the year before. “I need you here. Work with Moira, figure out who has learned to force others to teleport. And keep the Nine from withdrawing from the Realm. We have enough enemies.”

  Indecision kept Conn in place.

  Fire leaped into Dage’s eyes. “I’m ordering you as your king, Connlan.”

  Conn met Dage’s gaze squarely. He’d do anything for his brothers. He’d taught Jase to fight and had made sure to protect him at all times during the last war—amid blood and carnage. But Dage had taught Conn and had always protected his back. As rulers, as brothers, they needed unity. “I understand.” He made his statement, his vow. There’d be no turning back.

  Dage focused o
n Talen. “And you?”

  Talen gave a short nod. “We’ll come up with a solid battle plan.” He rolled his shoulders, heading for the door. “I need to check on Cara and then will give Jase a hand with strategy. We should ask Caleb to go with him.”

  “Already did.” Dage’s eye color returned to normal. “Caleb has been fighting the demons for a century, and this will give him more time to deny he’s now a prophet.” The prophecy mark had appeared on Caleb’s neck after Dage had killed one of the three living vampire prophets to save his mate Emma. The prophet had had some crazy idea that Emma and Cara would bring down the Realm.

  Talen nodded, then disappeared down the hallway.

  “Fair enough.” Conn relaxed his shoulders, his gaze remaining on Dage. “The Coven Nine is concerned about their soldiers training under ours—more specifically, Trevan Demidov is concerned their soldiers will follow you and not the Coven Nine.”

  “All I need is that brainiac arguing philosophy rather than battle strategy. Let’s put that guy on the training field.” Dage rubbed his chin.

  Conn snorted. “Yeah, right. The Nine is also worried about humans finding out about us, as am I. We had a close call not too long ago and Max saved our butts.” Not only did the vampires employ humans, but Emma wanted to use their research to help cure diseases, which might open them up for exposure.

  “We need the human researchers.” Dage shook his head. “We haven’t been studying biology the last century like the Kurjans. We need the researchers just for sheer numbers.”

  Conn didn’t like humans anywhere near their genetics. As the king’s soldier on the front line, the whole idea made him twitchy. “Emma wants to share our research with human geneticists.”

  “Emma will keep silent whether she likes it or not.” Dage used his king voice.

  Conn bit back a grin. As far as he’d noticed, the queen didn’t give one hoot about Dage’s orders or king voice. “If you say so. My mate is as big a concern as yours right now, if not more so.”