by Chloe Cole
Wolves, like dragons, healed fast and lived extraordinarily long lives, but they weren’t immortal. If the connection between brain and body was severed, healing would be impossible.
“You’re crazy.”
A nervous, mirthless laugh bubbled behind him and Etienne looked around just in time to see the bear shifter backing toward the door, hands raised in surrender.
“Look, I’m not in it. The guy was kind of an asshole anyway, but just a warning. The wolves are serious around here and I think you’ve done rung a bell you can’t un-ring, stranger.” He wheeled around, his boots thundering as he strode through the door back into the bar.
Etienne considered following him, but common sense prevailed. First and foremost, he had to get Mikhail out of here ASAP. He had no doubt that word would get around in the shifter world fast, but there was no point in alerting the humans or causing a scene.
Bending low, he tossed Mikhail’s slack body over his shoulder and made for the fire exit at the back of the game room. He’d almost made it out when a low voice called out to him from the door that led to the bar.
“Everything okay, there, Mister?”
Etienne slowed to a stop, worked up a rueful grin, and peered over his shoulder at the bartender who had waited on him.
“Yep, all okay here. Our friend had too much to drink and face-planted on the floor. Just going to get him home safe so he can sleep it off.”
To his everlasting relief, the bartender’s frown melted away and she nodded.
“I hear you there. He was hitting the whiskey pretty hard.” She glanced at the overturned chair in the corner and the spilled beer, and waved Etienne toward the exit with a shooing motion. “Go on, I’ll take care of this. You get him home and tell him not to come back at least for the rest of the week. I’m sick of cleaning up after his drunk ass anyway.”
He kicked the fire door open with one foot and crossed the parking lot, ears and eyes attuned as he made his way into the woods.
Once Mikhail’s partner had given up the information, he’d dispatched him much the same way. That was two down, now. And if it was yesterday, he would’ve called that a win.
But Taya had gained so many new enemies in the past twenty-four hours, he was going to need help. He wouldn’t be able to protect her alone. If he could get Mina to stay the course, along with the help of Drake and Willa, they might have a chance.
By the time he dumped Mikhail’s body deep in the woods and got back to the château, night had fallen. His scraped and battered knuckles had already healed and the adrenaline had drained from his blood, leaving him calm and clear-headed for the first time in days.
When he stepped into the house, all was quiet.
So quiet, a ripple of fear shuddered through him. Surely Mina wouldn’t have betrayed him and taken Taya out of the house?
He was just about to bellow her name when he heard it.
A low grunt in the distance. He closed his eyes to focus on the sound as it came again, followed by an answering feminine groan. They were downstairs.
A sense of relief washed over him, but it was fleeting. Mina was unpredictable on her best day, and Taya had reached the end of her rope. He only hoped they weren’t trying to kill each other down there.
He let out a muffled oath, taking a moment to yank on a pair of gym pants and a shirt before heading toward the stairs and taking the steps two at a time.
He stopped short of going in and stood just outside the gym door to see Taya standing there in a pair of his boxers and a T-shirt. The shorts were clearly too large for her waist, but she’d folded them in a way that had them resting on her rounded hips. The shirt should’ve been swimming on her, but she’d knotted it at her side, baring a two-inch swath of flesh that had his mouth watering and his dragon breathing fire.
Those plain-ass clothes had never looked so good.
And while you stand here like an idiot drooling over the shape of her breasts, she remains in mortal danger, asshole.
He swallowed the rush of bile that rose in his throat at the thought and stepped into the room.
Just as he was about to call her name, Mina came into view, moving at a steady clip and then launching herself into the air, right leg extended toward Taya.
His whole body went into fight mode as a rush of fury swamped him, but before he could react, Taya had lifted her arm and let something fly that hit Mina right in the gut. She dropped to her feet with a muffled “ooph”, before breaking into a wide grin.
What the fuck was going on here?
“Well, shit. Finally,” Mina said, clapping her hands together with a glee that he’d rarely seen her display.
She wheeled around to face him and offered a wave. “You’re just in time.”
While Mina had clearly sensed his presence, Taya had not, and her whole body seemed to stiffen as she turned slowly toward him.
Her arm was still extended, and in her hand was clutched a crossbow, the likes of which he’d never seen. The puzzle pieces clicked into place and the instinct to commit murder began to recede.
“Training, yes?” he asked Mina, tearing his eyes from Taya’s face.
Jesus, that hurt. Just seeing the pain in her eyes when she looked at him made him want to howl at the moon and he wasn’t even a fucking wolf.
“You bet your ass we’re training. She’s got to be able to protect herself. She’s scrawny,” Mina wiped her damp forehead and eyed Taya, “but she’s scrappy. And if Van Helsing could do it, I figure it’s worth a shot.”
Taya lowered her arm and cleared her throat. “Wait. Van Helsing was a real person? Does that mean vampires are real too?”
Etienne scowled at Mina and stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him.
“Don’t listen to her. She’s messing with you.” He crossed the room until he and Taya were just a few feet apart. “But the basic idea is a good one.”
He tried to shut off the emotions swamping him as he breathed in her scent. Warm and sweet, mixed with clean sweat and, now, as he drew closer, fear.
Of him?
His stomach clenched and he reached out a hand for the crossbow, determined to diffuse the emotional turmoil.
“What have you got there?”
She wet her lips and shrugged, focusing her gaze somewhere over his shoulder.
“Mina says if we load it with poison-tipped arrows, they’ll stop most shifters in their tracks long enough to get away.”
He nodded, running a finger over the lines of the stealthy little weapon. He knew as well as Mina did that it sure as hell wouldn’t stop them for long unless she managed a heart or head shot, but it was something. At the very least, it would serve to make Taya feel empowered and a little more secure.
It was a start.
He sent Mina a nod of thanks before turning back toward Taya. “Good idea. I have some more stuff in my study I can show you how to use.”
She seemed to hesitate and sent Mina a desperate stare, a silent May Day.
“It’s for the best,” Mina said quietly, her face as soft as he’d ever seen it. “We’ll be able to teach you a lot faster if Etienne is here to help.”
She didn’t need to add that time was of the essence. Everyone in the room had to be able to feel it breathing down their necks, like the grim reaper, just an arm’s length away.
Taya’s eyes clouded with indecision but then she squared her shoulders and nodded.
“Whatever you guys think is best.”
She didn’t need to add the “for now”.
They would need time to talk, and soon. There was too much left unsaid between them. But for the moment? They would put that on hold and work together to prepare for the fight ahead.
Which reminded him…
“Mikhail is dead. And so is his partner.”
“Oh my god.” Taya’s face went bone white but then she seemed to center herself, a grim acceptance falling over her face. “I’m sorry. Thank you, Etienne. I don’t mean to seem ungrateful
. It’s just…hard to get used to all the violence.”
Mina sauntered over, stretching her arms high over her head before cracking her neck, readying herself for more action. “Got to get past that. Those bastards would have killed you the second they got the chance and you wouldn’t have been their last victims. It was them or you, and many more of your kind.”
To Taya’s credit, she didn’t dwell. She seemed to take their words as truth and nodded curtly, squaring her shoulders. “Agreed. And again, thank you, Etienne.”
He opened his mouth to respond and then let it close with a snap. There was no point in telling her that he would kill for her a thousand times over. She wasn’t ready to hear it. Not yet.
“Okay, so now what?” Taya asked, flicking a glance between he and Mina. He took that as a sign of trust and he vowed to make certain she didn’t regret it.
“Now, we prepare for the first wave of assassins and say a little prayer that it takes the wolves some time to figure out that we’ve taken out two of theirs. One set of enemies at a time.”
“Those two were rogues, though. Nothing but trouble,” Mina all but spat, her eyes going icy. “Why would the area packs even care if something happened to them? Seems like you did them a favor.”
Etienne nodded his agreement. “Right. That’s what I would’ve thought too, but there is already a lot of dissent here in Montana. According to Willa, skirmishes between packs have been breaking out left and right. The elder alphas of some of the packs are trying to hold on to old ways. If they see wolves being slain in retribution for attacks on humans, they will revolt if only out of principle. What I did wasn’t sanctioned by the wolves here or by the European Council. This could be viewed as an act of war. A line drawn in the sand.”
Mina bit out a curse. “Yeah, well, let them come, then.” She turned her attention to Taya. “Reload and let’s try again.”
Taya bent and retrieved one of the rubber-tipped arrows Mina had given her, and loaded it into the chamber.
Etienne watched as her eyes narrowed in concentration. Already, she looked stronger to him. Like she had a purpose and it was lending her an extra jolt of confidence that she’d been floundering to find since the initial attack. He made a mental note to thank Mina.
“Ready?” Mina asked Taya, her features growing fierce as she jogged lightly to the far side of the room.
Taya’s throat worked, and she sucked in a gulp of air before nodding. “Yup.”
Etienne watched, breath suspended, as Mina came toward Taya at a dead sprint that topped the speed of any human on earth by a mile. It happened so quickly, he almost missed it, but right as Mina flicked out a fist that would’ve knocked Taya out cold, she feinted left and fired.
The blunted arrow hit Mina in the shoulder, just left of center, and she stumbled back. Her feet flew out from under her and she hit the ground for a second before rolling to her feet in one smooth motion.
“Yes. Yes!” she crowed, pumping her fist. Her long, sure strides brought her toe-to-toe with Taya and she leaned in to grab her. “That’s it. You’ve got it now.” She shook her by the shoulders to punctuate each word. “If you can fine-tune it, just a little, and hit the heart of something coming at you at that speed, we’re in business, sweets.”
Taya’s face went pink at the praise but Mina didn’t let it sit for long.
“Again!” she demanded.
Taya shot him a hooded glance and he gave her a thumbs up before backing out the way he’d come to collect more weapons, his step just a little lighter than when he’d walked into the house.
He might be a sky king, and he had swagger to spare, but he wasn’t stupid. A collective of shifter assassins was nothing to fool with. If they could get past this first wave, though, just maybe…
He shut down those thoughts and focused on the now.
Because if they had even a prayer of making it out alive, it was going to be a very long night.
Chapter Eighteen
“Jesus, Taya, pivot!”
Taya swiped at the sweat stinging her eyes and nodded wordlessly.
Pivot, she repeated in her head. Right.
As Mina’s flying back-fist came at her, her brain made the command but her weary body didn’t roger that, and she took the stunning blow full to the solar plexus.
One second she was standing, the next she was flat on her ass, mouth opening and closing as she gasped for breath while simultaneously wishing for death.
“What the fuck was that?” Etienne bellowed, charging toward Mina, face screwed into a mask of fury.
“Calm your tits, Etienne. I didn’t hit her full force,” she grumbled.
The words penetrated Taya’s temporarily paralyzed brain and she blanched. Thank god for small favors.
Etienne pulled her gently to her feet, his hand resting on her shoulder for a moment before drifting lower to rub her back in comforting circles as he encouraged her to breathe low and slow.
“Shh, you’re all right,” he murmured.
When the weight was finally lifted from her chest, she sucked in a gulp of air and stepped away from him. He felt too damned good to be that close.
“Holy shit, that hurt,” she croaked.
“Yeah, sorry,” Mina said, wrinkling her nose. “But to be fair, you were supposed to pivot.”
Right.
And duck.
And roll.
And kick.
And scratch and bite and eye gouge and junk-punch, apparently.
She’d been doing everything she’d been asked to do, but they’d been at it for six—she glanced at the clock overhead and let out a weary sigh—make that seven hours now, and she had nothing left in the tank.
If she’d ever wondered exactly how physically superior her shifter companions were to the average human, she wondered no more. While she was bathed in sweat, entire body trembling with exhaustion, Etienne wasn’t even breathing heavy and Mina was still only slightly dewy, looking gorgeous.
Taya turned, catching sight of herself in the gym mirror, and winced.
Drowned rat didn’t even scratch the surface. Sea hag was more like it.
Red-faced, sopping wet, stringy haired sea hag.
Even if Etienne could be with a human, why would he want to be? Her two companions were fresh off the lot Lamborghinis and she was a rusting, nineteen eighty-three Nissan Sentra.
She swallowed the lump of self-pity clogging her throat and blinked back tears.
There was no time to worry about the state of a relationship that had been cut short before it had even really begun. She had to be focused on survival.
But god, was she tired and her whole body ached nearly as much as her heart did.
“I think that’s enough for tonight, Mina,” Etienne said softly. “She’s going to hurt herself if she pushes any harder.”
Taya looked up just in time to see a look pass between them before Mina nodded grudgingly.
“Yeah, all right. We’ll break for a few hours, let her catch some z’s, but not a full night’s sleep, Etienne. I truly think we’re on borrowed time here.”
He murmured his agreement, and it took all Taya had not to pitch forward and collapse against him in relief. She could feel the warm strength of his body still just a few inches away and the lure was almost too strong to resist.
“I’m going to go make some calls and see if I can find out who they’ve sent and how much time we have before they get here. Then, I’m going to get a couple winks myself,” Mina said with a muffled yawn. “Wake me up in a few hours and I’ll spell you so you can get some rest, too,” she said to Etienne.
She seemed to melt from the room as Taya turned to face Etienne. “I wanted to thank you both for trying to teach me. You’ve gone above and beyond to help me, and I really appreciate it.”
He pursed his full, firm lips and raked an agitated hand through his hair. “Look, Taya, about what happened this morning and the stuff Mina told you—”
She met his golden gaze and shook
her head sharply. “Please, don’t. I can’t have this conversation right now. I’m running on fumes and I can barely think straight.”
And if he kept talking, she was liable to dissolve into a sobbing mass of goo right on the floor.
He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger like he was fighting a headache and then rolled his shoulders before locking gazes with her. “Okay. Can I make a suggestion, then?”
She nodded reluctantly and tucked a damp strand of hair behind one ear.
“There’s a hot tub and steam room through that set of doors. You’re going to be sore as hell tomorrow and it probably wouldn’t hurt to make use of one or the other.”
She thought about the hot water on her tired muscles and swayed on her feet. That sounded like heaven. Then, she cocked her head and eyed him warily. “And where will you be?”
She was okay with a truce for the time being, but sharing a hot tub was the worst idea in history when she needed to do everything in her power to fall out of love with him.
“I’m not going to leave you down here alone, but I’ll give you some space. I can hit the shower in the next room and, when you’re ready, I’ll take you upstairs and you can sleep for a while.”
She averted her gaze, refusing to think about the way his white T-shirt clung to his muscled chest, or the way that chest had felt beneath her fingers less than twenty-four hours before.
“Okay, yeah.”
He reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder, but she sidestepped him and headed toward the door across the room. She was one touch away from breaking into a million pieces and that was the last thing she wanted him to see.
She yanked the door open and stepped through, eyes on the hot tub that took up the majority of the room. It was huge, big enough for half a dozen people, and she couldn’t wait to get in and let the heat and bubbles go to work. Maybe it would clear her head some, because as it stood, she was a wreck. And even still, she couldn’t stop imagining she and Etienne tangled together in that water. His hands on her. Taking and giving and—
“I’ll be right in the next room,” Etienne said gently from behind her as the sound of a switch clicked and the surface of the crystal clear water began to roil. “Towels are on the rack to your right. Just give a yell or a knock when you’re ready, yes?”
