by Susan Bliler
He shut the door and Aries shot Cindy a scathing look.
“What?” Cindy shrugged her shoulders to her ears. “I just wanted drinks,” she said quietly.
Chapter 21
Monroe wanted to hold back, but he couldn’t. Cindy and Aries’ actions had delayed his leaving the Estate to hunt the Megalya, but worse, the thought of what could have happened shot fear through him with such intensity he couldn’t help but to lash out. “You’re either on my side, by my side, or in the fucking way. Choose!” He barked.
Aries and Cindy both cringed, but after a moment, and to her credit, Aries lifted her chin, hands twisting together behind her back. “I’m with you, my Dominant.”
He took a challenging step closer to Aries, and Eden lost it. “Monroe, stop it!”
His gaze cut to hers, where she stood near the empty hearth in their quarters.
“Cindy and Aries took me for drinks. Period. They weren’t trying to offend you, they weren’t trying to get away with anything, and they certainly weren’t trying to put me in harm’s way.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Christ! We’ve done this a dozen times! I don’t see what the problem is, or why you had to accompany the Sentries this time!”
Suddenly, Aries broke her posture, staring gape-mouthed at Eden.
“Holy shit!” Cindy whispered.
Monroe took in both their expressions, and suddenly, he knew. He knew that something Eden said was her remembering. His eyes sliced back to Eden when she mirrored Cindy’s, “Holy shit.”
Brow furrowed, Eden lifted a hand to her temple and looked at Monroe. “I remember that!” She was blinking rapidly now. “I remember sneaking off the Estate and going into town.”
She paced away from the group, and Monroe followed.
“We like to start out at that classy place, Dante’s.” She chuffed a laugh and turned to point at Cindy and Aries. “And by the end of the night we’re at that loud-ass biker bar that smells like piss…the Loader!”
Cindy and Aries both smiled and nodded in unison.
“Yeah,” Cindy beamed through tears.
“What else,” Monroe prompted, rushing to her and grabbing her hand.
She looked down to where their hands met, then slowly up at him. “They’re always worried. The girls. They’re afraid that you’ll send Sentries and drag us back home.”
Monroe watched her intently, his eyes never leaving hers.
“But I’m…” She rubbed the hand at her chest over her heart. “I’m always excited.” Her head snapped up as recognition hit. “My stomach always gets all fluttery, and I’m always hoping you find me!” She canted her head, looking from him to the girls. “Is that right?” Then to herself, “It feels right.” She turned to stare at Monroe with wonder on her face. “You loved me!”
She said it with such disbelief that Monroe frowned at her. “Is that so shocking?”
“No.” She was shaking her head. “It’s the way you loved me. You-you loved me more than anything!”
His frown slipped. “I still do, Eden.”
“Did…” Eden’s brows furrowed as she rubbed her chest absently. “Did I love you like that? The way you loved me?”
“Yes.”
His rapid response had Eden smirking. “Don’t you mean you hope I did?”
Monroe didn’t even grin. “I know you did, Angel. You told me I was him.”
“Him?”
“The man you were waiting for, the man you hoped for, the man you prayed for. Not a day went by that you didn’t tell me how much I meant to you, and how grateful you were that the Gods put us together and gifted us our beautiful children. No one on this Earth was happier than we were, and no man alive has ever been, or ever will be, luckier than I. There has never been a love like ours. Ever!”
Something inside her warmed at his words, and she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from his.
“What else,” Cindy interrupted excitedly. “Do you remember anything else?”
Eden’s brows scrunched further, and she pulled her eyes from Monroe’s to puff out her cheeks. She was quiet a long time, finally lifting the hand from her chest to her forehead. “Getting a headache.”
“Everyone out,” Monroe barked turning to Cindy and Aries. “You live to drink another day, ladies!”
Cindy and Aries didn’t hesitate to flee the room.
Eden kept her head in her hand, sighing wearily before moving to follow. Monroe’s hand held firmly to hers though.
“Not you, Angel. You’re here with me from now on.”
She knew he was worried about her sneaking off again, but her temples were beginning to pound. “I’m sorry we…”
“It’s alright,” he soothed as he led her from the sitting room. “You’ll lie down for a bit. I’ll get you some water and aspirin.”
Too worn to argue she nodded, following him to the bedroom.
Something about the way he’d let her off the hook though, had her asking, “Did you know I left with the girls?”
A corner of his mouth kicked up. “Maybe.”
She was fighting a grin. “So… why all the hullabaloo if you knew?”
His grin disappeared. “They didn’t know I had eyes on you. It was dangerous for them to take you from the Estate, especially when you’re like this. What if you’d gotten separated? What if you’d been taken?”
“Who in the world would want to kidnap an old woman?” She’d meant it as a joke, but Monroe jerked to a halt, catching her before she slammed into his chest.
“You’re extremely powerful, Eden, and that alone makes you valuable. Add to that the fact that there isn’t any length I wouldn’t go to in order to keep you safe, and that puts a target on you. It’s one of the reasons I balked at a relationship with you.”
“You…you didn’t want me?”
The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Oh, I wanted you more than I wanted to breathe. Still do. I just knew that, if I were a better man, my avoidance of you would have been to your benefit.”
“Soooo,” she prodded, evoking an outright grin from him.
“I’m smart, but marginally more selfish. I wanted you so damn bad I couldn’t see straight. Couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep.” He shrugged negligently. “I had to have you. There was no denying what was between us.”
When he made to pull away, Eden caught his forearm with both her hands. “Hey.”
Monroe looked down at her hands, then back to her face.
“Maybe we should…” Eden sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, the action drawing Monroe’s gaze jerked to her mouth. She released her lip. “Is it okay if we, um… Could we try…?”
“Stop,” he growled, the sound more animalistic than he’d intended, evoking a startled gasp from Eden as she tried to pull her hands away. He placed his hand over both of hers, making sure she kept touching him. “The answer is yes. Whatever your need.”
Heat suddenly stained her cheeks, and Monroe canted his head, his curiosity piqued. The Eden he knew, his Eden, only ever blushed when they were engaged in, or discussing, something sexual in nature. Hope flared to life. “Eden?”
She dipped her eyes, but then looked straight up at him, lifting her chin with confidence like she used to. “I thought that, maybe if we kissed it might…you know.” She licked her lips. “Conjure something.”
It felt like his heart slammed into the wall of his chest. Without hesitation, he caught Eden around the waist and pulled her to him, ignoring her nervous laugh and reveling in the feel of her hands as they splayed across his chest.
One strong hand lifted and collared her throat in a gesture he’d done a thousand times.
Eden frowned a little and then blinked, a smile ghosting her lips as if she were about to protest the move, then suddenly recognized something in it. Lifting a hand, she traced her fingers gently over Monroe’s where he held her throat. “This.” She licked her lips. “This means something, doesn’t it?”
He stared down at her, knowing his clear blue e
yes had transitioned to his black when Eden’s lips parted and a faint gasp left her. “It means you’re mine.” Then his lips were on hers. Unlike the last time, this kiss was gentle. His lips brushed against hers, and when he licked at the seam, her lips parted to grant him access. Elation soared as his tongue found hers and he kissed her deeply, pouring all his love, adoration, and need into the kiss in hopes Eden would feel it.
Monroe kissed her long and deep, and a satisfied growl rumbled in his chest when her arms wrapped around his neck. He pressed his body into hers and devoured her mouth.
They kissed for long minutes, his erection pressing into her belly. The scent of her arousal bloomed and nearly buckled him, but then she was pulling back from their kiss.
Eden looked up at him, a tinge of awe in her expression. She parted her lips, and was about to say something, when the silence was broken by a nearly inaudible, high-pitched whine. A bright flash of ethereal light exploded from the halo around Eden’s neck, and she gasped as her body bowed, forcing Monroe back. He barely caught her around the waist before her knees gave out and a loud scream escaped her. “AGHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“EDEN!”
Her body writhing in agony, he lowered her to the floor trying to hold her still with his hands on her shoulders. It didn’t work. She thrashed, and then clamped both arms around her middle before curling into a tight ball with a loud, anguish-filled moan. “UGHHHHHHH!”
Monroe summoned Jenny through the mist and picked Eden up, rushing her to their room to settle her on the bed where she rolled to one side and rocked herself, still holding her middle.
While he waited for the Jenny to arrive, Monroe raced to the en suite and came back with a damp cloth. He tried to hold it to Eden’s forehead, but she shoved his hand away with a groaned, “Nooo.”
What felt like an eternity later, Jenny rushed into the room.
“We kissed, and then this!” Monroe thrust his hands toward Eden. “Do something!”
Jenny hurried to the bed, her nurse Stoney coming into the room carrying two medical bags. All the while Jenny took Eden’s vitals, Monroe paced, both hands dug into his hair as fear assailed him.
“Holy shit,” Jenny gasped, turning from where she sat on the edge of the bed to stare, slack-jawed and in clear awe at Monroe.
He felt dread pit in his stomach. “What? What is it?”
“She’s…” Jenny blinked hard, shaking her head. “Eden…Eden is afflicted.”
Shock tore through Monroe, to be quickly replaced by wild desperation. “Me? She needs me?”
Jenny slowly nodded, still blinking rapidly as if in a daze. “She’s human,” she muttered, as if to herself. “And she’s afflicted!”
The doctor’s disbelief was warranted. There was no documented case of a human ever experiencing the affliction. No, it was a phenomena that had only ever affected Skin Walkers when they’d come to recognize their mates.
Relief overwhelmed Monroe, and he longed to sink to his knees and toss his head back with a triumphant roar. Concern for his mate was the only thing holding him back. He’d been afflicted, and it had been horrendous. His body had needed the one thing his heart wouldn’t permit him to force. And while Eden had just asked for his kiss, she still wasn’t convinced that she was his, which meant that she certainly wasn’t ready for what she needed to curb the affliction.
Chapter 22
Remy didn’t bother taking a vehicle to Conn’s mountainside bunker. He didn’t have the patience for that, and besides, Delain would have a vehicle there and Remy planned on using it to get his Angel back to StoneCrow. Currently shifted into golden eagle form, he was soaring high above the earth. Eyes steely, darting back and forth as he searched once more for the hidden bunker, he tried to stifle the rage that was coursing through him. Images kept flashing through his mind of Delain attempting to woo Harlow, trying to touch her, and it made him beat his massive wings all the harder. He prayed his fellow Walker hadn’t tried to force Harlow into anything, because if he had he would die.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him. Another Walker had kidnapped his Angel, and had taken her to the bunker to claim her. It was the exact same thing he’d done to Conn Drago. He’d taken Aries in an attempt to hurt Mason EnemyHunter, and Conn had made sure Remy paid for that bad decision with blood.
Cold air bit at him. October had just come and gone, and while the snows had been sporadic in October, Remy’s inner beasts could sense an onslaught coming. Winter was officially here.
Diving down from the clouds, he tucked his wings tight to his body and narrowed his eyes to thin slits. The mountainside came into sight, and he didn’t spread his wings until the last second, maybe a little too late, but desperation was ruling him now.
His wings caught the wind as he broke through the canopy, jerking his body backward, his talons heaving out in front of him, and he shifted. Mid-drop he transformed, regenerating clothing on the way and, as he crashed to the ground, he slid on one knee, the other leg attempting to brace him on the ground. It didn’t work, and he ducked his chin and rounded his shoulder, tucking into a ball and rolling once before hurtling upward. His hands slammed into the trunk of a tree that he would have crashed into had he not used the roll to slow himself and get better footing.
His head snapped toward the area where the bunker was hidden and he shoved off the tree, a snarl taking his lips.
As he raced toward the bunker, still dressed in his black BDU’s, he knew he could make the journey faster if he took animal form, but he knew if he went charging in as a beast, there’d be little chance of keeping said beast from killing Delain on principal alone.
Crashing through the clearing, Remy made no effort for stealth, he didn’t need to. There would be no finesse here. He was coming with bad intentions, and he didn’t care one way or the other if Delain knew.
Remy rounded a hillside and the tail end of a StoneCrow issued Humvee came into view. Good. At least the asshole was taking precautions with Harlow. If the Megalya were in fact hunting her, it’d be Remy’s choice of vehicle out here too. Armored, yet fast.
Jerking his eyes from the Humvee, he looked to where the large metal door to the underground bunker was nestled in the mountainside. Slamming to a halt, Remy didn’t move a muscle. The door was wide open. Why? His nostrils flared as he partially shifted to bear and scented the area. The icy bite of frost hit him first, followed by the scent of pine and earth. He scented again, and his eyes closed as he picked out the sweet caramel scent of Harlow. He savored it a moment before his eyes slammed open, transitioned to a full black he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. There, beyond all the other scents, was the acrid tang of Harlow’s fear.
Remy rushed the bunker, prepared for the worst. The door would only be open, exposing them, if the Megalya had found them!
Inside, he found Delain wheezing on his knees, both hands at his throat. He didn’t care, he couldn’t. His eyes scanned the long narrow room, but there was no sign of Harlow. He turned to the left and his booted feet echoed loudly as he hurried to the door leading to the single bedroom. He kicked the door open and his heart seized. No Harlow, and worse, no scent of her. He crossed the room in the space of a few steps and used a shoulder to shove open the door leading to the bathroom. Nothing.
Panic setting in, he spun and ran from the bathroom, through the bedroom, and out into the main area, where Delain was trying to get to his feet. Remy was happy to oblige.
Bending, he fisted both sides of Delain’s shirt and hauled him up. The Walker was large, but Remy had fear and rage on his side. Turning, he slammed Delain into the wall, the Sentry’s feet dangling an inch from the floor. Instinctively, Remy’s incisors elongated and he went nose-to-nose with Delain as he snarled, “Where. In the fuck! Is my Angel?”
Delain fisted the front of Remy’s shirt, frowning hard. “I-I don’t know!”
A growl rattled Remy’s chest, and he was barely holding back his beasts. “The fuck you say?”
Dela
in tried to shove Remy back, but he didn’t move an inch. “She… She sucker-punched me in the throat and made a break for it.”
Remy released him so fast that Delain barely caught himself when his feet hit the floor.
Turning to leave, Remy took one step and, when Delain ghosted, he spun and fisted the Sentry’s shirt again, growling, “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
Delain was angry now as well. “I’m assuming you’re going to want my halo off her!”
And oh yes, he did. Releasing Delain, Remy turned and sprinted from the bunker. He rushed to where he’d scented Harlow earlier, and once he picked up the scent he partially shifted to ensure he didn’t lose it. Jogging, he paid little attention to the pulse of energy he felt behind him indicating that Delain had shifted. He heard the flap of wings and knew he had taken to the skies. He’d need to. He didn’t know Harlow’s scent the way Remy did. It was ingrained in Remy’s very soul.
A few hundred yards into the forest he saw her.
“HARLOW!”
She had one hand braced against a tree, her other arm wrapped around her middle. She was doubled over and breathing hard. Something was wrong.
Remy was to her in a blink, and when he gripped her shoulder to turn her to face him, he stepped back in shock. Her pupils were blown out, and she was blinking and squinting like she couldn’t focus on him. “Remy?” Her hands were shaking, and she smelled off.
Without a word he picked her up and turned to hurry back to the Humvee. “What’s wrong, love? Talk to me.”
“I don’t feel good.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “Something’s wrong.”
Damn right something was wrong. She was wearing dual halos, and the Megalya fuck who was hunting her had also placed a claim. She had three unfinished claims battling for dominance, and she was the one bearing the strain.
Hearing a crunch behind them, Remy spun and snarled. “OFF! NOW!”
Delain’s jaw worked, but he stepped forward and lifted his hands to Harlow’s throat. “I’m sorry, Harlow.”
