Twice Cursed

by Marianne Morea

  “It is one thing for this human girl to be kept in her natural state while her blood is of use to us. On that point, I do not argue. But what I find abhorrent is our Alpha’s unwillingness to agree to an acceptable timeframe for her to be turned. She has seen too much, knows too much. I tell you this, gentlemen, if we allow the threads of our covenant as a species to unravel, so then follows the entire fabric of our society!”

  Oh, he was good…the son of a bitch.

  Sean shook his head. His exhaustion was clear, regardless of his calm exterior, and Lily’s heart broke for him. He’d been fighting windmills and getting nowhere.

  “She has a name, Edward. It’s Lily! And your disrespect sets my teeth on edge every time you refer to her as the human. Everyone is quite aware of her humanity; however, let’s not forget what she has done for us. We have given you irrefutable proof that our very survival depends on Lily’s blood. There is no alternative. You speak of timeframes, but the doctor’s at Leighton Research have already given us one, and they were exceedingly specific. One year. That is the time required for the vaccine results to be conclusive.”

  “Rubbish.”

  Sean’s jaw tightened. “Rubbish? You’re a superb orator, Edward, but it’s obvious your listening skills need work. Not more than eight hours ago, Ernst Volkmann himself said we need the year to be sure. Or is the word of our head geneticist not enough for you?”

  With a smug look, Parr spread his hands. He was in his element, with all eyes, including Lily’s, focused on him. His self-righteous expression said it all. “What our intrepid leader doesn’t yet know, is that I’ve since spoken with the good doctor. While it’s true, he would prefer to have the girl’s blood intact for a year, Dr. Volkmann admitted by the next full moon, enough time will have elapsed from her initial contamination, that a forced transformation would most likely be without incident. Therefore, I’ve more than proven my argument. You, however, have proven nothing except your desire to keep your human pet.”

  Pet? Throwing back her covers Lily stood up, ignoring the shiver that jolted through her exposed flesh from the chilled air. Well, fuck you very much! And what was all that other crap…most likely be without incident? Didn’t they realize they were playing with fire? Doctors warned in no uncertain terms what would happen if they let Parr have his way, forcing the Alpha to change Lily prematurely. Not to mention, it wasn’t what she wanted. It was obvious no one gave a goddamn about that minor detail—except Sean.

  After everything that happened—the horrible deaths, the living in fear—these fickle Weres were willing to put clannish pride before their own safety. Fists clenched, she needed to calm her anger in order to maintain focus.

  Sean stood slowly, his face grim. Even through his block, Lily sensed every muscle in his body pulse, down to the little muscle in his jaw as he bit back on his anger. Lily could almost hear the blood pounding in his head. Even without the benefit of her psychic sense, she knew exactly how Parr had coerced, if not out and out threatened, Volkmann. The little doctor may have been a heavy weight in the medical world, but against Parr and his henchmen, he didn’t stand a chance.

  Sean’s eyes were as black as his mood. “Edward, everyone here knows what you’re capable of, even if they won’t admit it. I don’t have to venture much of a guess as to what you said, or more likely did, to get Dr. Volkmann to give you what you wanted.”

  Parr opened his mouth to argue, but Sean held up his hand. “Enough! This discussion is over.” In the tone of the Alpha, he gave his edict, his voice never faltering as he stared down Edward’s glare.

  Lily was not to be touched.

  Parr’s entire diatribe on tradition and law had just backfired. The alpha had ruled, and according to their laws and the precedent Parr had just spent days expounding, the matter was now closed. Or was it? Lily could see the backpedaling scheme hatching behind Parr’s narrowed eyes.

  “This human has our Alpha wrapped around her finger, even as her legs are wrapped around his back! Our laws vary for no one. I have declared it unequivocally, she must be changed or cast out…but…under these extenuating circumstances, and considering the Alpha’s unwillingness to rescind his verdict, there is only one choice left. The human must be imprisoned until she is no longer of use to us.”

  Chaos exploded, with the majority demanding that Lily stay, in essence, under house arrest, but also demanding that Sean distance himself from her in exchange for a quorum and a temporary peace. The Alpha’s ruling may have been absolute, but the decision had come at a price. In their eyes, shunning her was the only way Sean could prove he had the Compound’s best interests at heart, and not his own.

  Grabbing the first thing she could find, Lily hurled a delicate, porcelain egg against the wall like her own personal grenade. Severing her hijacked mind link, she picked up a pair of sweat pants from the end of the bed but threw them down in disgust. Did they honestly think she was the type of woman who sat around waiting for her fate to be decided? Yeah right, when pigs fly.

  Stalking across the room, she picked up her leather jeans from one of the club chairs facing the fireplace, and jammed her legs into them. She threw on a plunging, black v-neck sweater and her leather jacket, stuffing her feet into her biker boots as she mumbled to herself. From the side table, she grabbed her black wool scarf and her gloves, and was out like a shot, slamming the door behind her. Hell hath no fury? Bullshit! Forget scorned, and try threatened and pissed off. They hadn’t seen anything yet.

  She looked like something out of Hell’s Angels, as she stalked across the frozen snow toward the great hall. Without stopping, she kicked open the double doors. Sweeping the room with a single glance, no one had to guess who she’d come for.

  In one fluid motion, Lily grabbed a ritual lance from the sidewall and sent the lethal, steel tipped spear racing toward Edward Parr’s head. Fear flashed across the man’s face and he jerked sideways, barely avoiding the razor sharp edge. The lance grazed his sleeve, tearing his robes and pinning the shredded material to the center of the chair behind him. The spear pierced the wood to its core, impaling the painted crest on the back of the chair, Parr’s crest.

  Visibly paled, the man grabbed the hilt, but the lance wouldn’t budge. Throwing his hands off in disgust, he narrowed his eyes and took a step toward Lily. Sean growled, moving away from the Alpha’s chair closer to Lily, but she put up a staying hand. This was her fight.

  Parr stopped, his eyes darting around. She could see his Machiavellian mind clearly weighing the pros and cons of harming her in plain sight. Rearranging his robes, he shot her a slow, arrogant smile. “Hot-blooded. I’ll have to remember that,” he said, as his eyes swept Lily’s body.

  “In your dreams, old man. The only thing you need to remember about me, is to watch your back.” Lily’s gaze swept the room. “I have to thank you gentlemen for including me in your deliberations. It’s such a comfort knowing my well-being is so high on your list of priorities.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

  “These proceedings were closed! How dare you!” Robert Stanton, delegate from the Avian collective, yelled, as he came to stand beside Parr.

  “Oh, come on,” Lily shot back, cutting the man off midsentence. “You can spare me the self-righteous outrage and the surprised face, Robert. While you and the rest of your cronies were busy deciding my fate, you forgot I have my own specialized set of skills. Did you honestly expect me to accept whatever you dictate and come quietly? I mean, really—do you know me at all?” Lily’s tone was matter-of-fact, but her gaze was deadly.

  Parr’s face was a mask of indifference. “Don’t look so annoyed, my dear. We mean you no harm, and let us remember that evolution is a painful business, and that’s all this amounts to, really, the advancement of our kind,” he replied, his voice like silk.

  Staring him down, Lily crossed her arms in front of her chest. “We both know that’s not the case here, you pompous gasbag. You’re not looking for these people to progress; you’re looking to rev
ert them centuries. How does that qualify as evolution, or are you really as deluded as you sound?”

  Parr’s face hardened. “Weres need a blunt reminder of the rich and powerful culture we once had. We are completely different from your kind, superior in every way. Unfortunately, allowing such proximity to humans and, of course, the resultant fraternization, has all but obscured that fact. Eventually, you’ll understand. But don’t be dismayed. Weres have always had a weakness for humans, titillating creatures that you are.” His eyes drifted over Lily’s lush curves.

  “Council tenets may have made our illustrious Alpha inaccessible to you for the time being, but I’m sure another, more satisfying proposition can be arranged.” He hissed out the ‘S’ in satisfying, the lascivious tone making Lily’s skin crawl. His snakelike tongue darted out wetting his thin lips. He smiled arrogantly, sending her a mental image of her, naked and submissive, kneeling before him.

  A heavy oak chair hurtled past, splintering just inches from where Parr stood. His arm shot upward, shielding his face from the debris. Across the room, a menacing growl pierced the air. Sean’s gaze seethed as his eyes shifted from blue to yellow, his body crouched, seconds from phasing.

  Deadlocked, Lily’s eyes moved quickly from one man to the other. This was exactly the reaction Parr wanted, and Sean was playing right into his hand.

  “He’s baiting you, Sean,” she said, keeping her voice steady and calm. “Don’t give him what he wants. He’s no threat to me. You know it, and he knows it.”

  Sean’s muscles rippled and constricted beneath his skin. If he phased and attacked, everything they hoped to accomplish would be lost. Lily reached out to him with her mind. In his anger, he let the wall keeping her out of his head crumble, and Lily saw the effort it took for him not to kill Parr right then and there. His protective fury raged red and black, and her heart squeezed. “Don’t do this, Sean. Can’t you see it’s a trap?” Her voice was like a feather as it floated across his churning mind.

  His eyes flashed to hers, and his mind calmed. She sent all her love along their shared mind link, leaving the channel open for every telepath in the room to see and feel the depth of their commitment.

  Sean straightened. His eyes were still narrowed and furious, but at least now, they were blue.

  Mitch tossed Lily another lance. She caught it with one hand, and stood with her legs shoulder width apart, twirling it once front of her, like a Japanese bo staff. Council members shifted nervously in their places, clearly uneasy at having her this close and armed, especially after her obvious show of solidarity with the Alpha and his hunters.

  Lily brought the lance to a halt, the sound of the blade a sharp whoosh as it cut the air. Her gaze swept the room. Most expressions were anxious, but Sean’s lips curved upward. The words, ‘that’s my girl’, feathered across her mind, and she blew him a mental kiss.

  A few of Parr’s men took a step forward, but Lily stood her ground, sliding into a defensive stance and holding the lance across her body with both hands. Sean and Mitch moved in, flanking her sides. “Not everyone’s drinking the Kool-Aid, Lily. Problem is, they’re just too chicken-shit to stand up to Parr,” Mitch offered. “But the rest of us have got your back.”

  Lily pushed the lance out from her body, its bladed edge pointed right at Parr. “I know that Mitch, and I won’t forget it.”

  Moving a step forward, Lily skillfully twirled the lance once more, bringing it up and over her head in one graceful motion. Holding it aloft it with both hands, she paused for effect. Smiling coldly, she quickly swept its blade within inches of Parr’s men in a deft downward pass. As they jumped back, she caught the lance’s shaft with a practiced hand and brought its blunt end down with a bang. “I’m out gentlemen, and if you’re smart, you won’t try to stop me.”

  Fixing Parr with a hard stare, she continued. “And just in case the pack blowhard here decides to twist my words when I’m gone, I want to set the record straight. I intend to do whatever I can to help your doctors fight this virus. I will make myself available to them should they need me, but I will do so from a distance. By turning your back on a leader whose loyalty is apparent in everything he does, you’ve done nothing but prove to me how fickle you are.

  “If all it takes is someone to wave nostalgia and fear mongering under your noses for you to turn on each other, then you don’t deserve the leader you have, or his allegiance. I have no intention of allowing myself to be turned, ever…and for anyone who thinks otherwise…” Lily tilted the blade of the lance toward her hand. Without flinching, she slowly ran her thumb over its sharp edge, her eyes never leaving theirs as blood tricked down her wrist. “Well, I think you get the picture.”

  Lily stormed off, feeling dirty. Sean had his hands full with only a select few to help him. She was truly on her own. Had she been foolish? No. She had made her point, and everyone there knew it. Now all she could do was hope common sense would prevail, and that things would get back to normal—well, as normal as things could be in a community of supernaturals.

  Yesterday, she had been certain it eventually would. Now, not so much. But it no longer mattered. Either way, she was headed home to the New York. Problem was, this time it no longer felt like home.

  ***

  Lily sat up. Bleary eyed, she peered around the darkened room. Outside, the sun crept its way over the horizon, cutting a pink and gold swath through the dark landscape. Her mind was silent, except for the dull ache that had settled behind her eyes from lack of sleep, and the dull throb in her hand where she had sliced her thumb open on the lance.

  Running her fingers over the white gauze, she thought about how bandaged up she was when Sean had first brought her here, after Jerard’s attack on the cliffs outside the town of Ogunquit. A little over eight weeks, that’s all it had been since her life had changed irrevocably.

  The Council’s debate had broken after her little display. In all honesty, she was a little surprised they hadn’t tried to stop her, but then again, it was still early. Sean had showed up at her door a little while after, but she had refused to see him. She knew if he asked her to stay, she didn’t stand a chance.

  Her bags were packed and stacked in the corner near the door. Not that she had much, but whatever she had, it was coming with her, except for the red velvet gown she wore the night of the Wolf Moon Ball. Had it only been days since Sean twirled her around the dance floor? Their new world had seemed so full of hope and magic—that is until Edward Parr ruined it for them, again. She had reason to hate him before, but after tonight, the gloves were off.

  Stretching, she tensed and released every muscle in her arms, legs and torso. Opening her senses to their shared mind link, she felt for Sean, but only sensed the wind. He was in animal form. A soft whoosh always replaced the usual onslaught of thought whenever Sean phased, and he always took to the woods whenever he needed focus.

  A slight tapping against the window broke the silence, and Lily turned toward the darkened glass. An owl was perched on the sill, its large eyes peering in at her from the gloom. Sean.

  She shivered getting out of bed, and padded across the cold floor to open the window. A blast of icy air gusted in as she did, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest in a feeble attempt to ward off the chill. “Sean, what are you doing? Are you crazy?”

  The owl hooted low, spreading its wings. The majestic bird launched itself from the sill and did a single lazy pass around the ceiling before setting down on the bed. In a snap of electricity and ozone, it was gone. “And I thought you’d be happy to see me, especially now that you’ve calmed down,” Sean replied, stretching his full six foot, three inch frame out on the bed.

  Still standing with her arms folded, Lily smirked. “Aren’t we a little old to be playing cat and mouse? Sneaking into my room like a horny teenager isn’t exactly your style.” Turning, she closed the window and grabbed a throw blanket from the chair in the corner. “And it’s not going to do any good. I’m still leaving in the morning
,” she added, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, waiting for him to reply. But the battle was lost before it had even begun.

  “You know,” he said, with his head cocked and a suggestive smile on his lips. “I can do a better job of warming you up than that blanket ever will. And in case you didn’t notice, it’s morning already.”

  “Well then, you can just morph into a sparrow or some other innocuous day bird, and fly out the way you came. I guarantee the Council had no clue what they were getting themselves into when they gifted you with the power to shift into any form, wolf boy.”

  “They knew exactly what they were doing.”

  “Hmmph. Like they know what they’re doing now?”

  “Different times, different circumstances. Besides, I’m still in control, remember?”

  “Sean…”

  “Shhh… I am the Alpha Council, Lily. No one is going to question me regarding you. Trust me.”

  “But…”

  “Lily…” he said, pushing himself up and off the bed. “I’m not going to just let you walk out of my life.” He stood there in all his naked glory, purposefully not having manifested any clothes when he phased back to human form.

  Lily couldn’t help it, she licked her lips. He walked toward her, lean muscled, and as predatory and graceful as ever, and her heart skipped a beat.

  “I did a lot of thinking out in the woods tonight. I’m done with trying to bend just to be politically correct. If Parr wants things to be the way they used to, then so be it. Whether he likes it or not, I’m the Alpha. My will must be obeyed or otherwise challenged, so if it’s a challenge he wants, then bring it on. Now, the only bending I plan on doing is bending you over till that gorgeous ass of yours is in the air.”