He had a big head, and huge teeth. His eyes glowed, cruel and fierce, and full of hunger.
His eyes glowed!
He began to move in for the kill.
Chapter Twenty-five
S weetheart, you were doing so well, too, Jason thought as he jumped off the roof behind the werewolf.
He’d kept his fury in check while monitoring Sofia’s confrontation with the werewolf. Pride and hope warred with anxiety until she absolutely needed him.
Now he gave in to the fierceness of his nature and grabbed the creature from behind. His claws dug into soft fur and tough skin as he lifted the werewolf high over his head. It snarled and bucked in his grasp.
He ignored the struggling creature while he looked at Sofia’s blank expression. “Come back, hon. You’re fine.”
She blinked and shook her head. Then she looked up at the werewolf before meeting Jason’s gaze. Puzzlement and anger replaced the shadows of the past that had consumed and crippled her.
“Try again,” Jason said, and dropped the werewolf.
It instantly leapt at Sofia.
He hadn’t expected the animal to be so fast. When he grabbed it again, he broke its neck. It was inches away from Sofia’s throat.
“Nobody touches that neck but me,” he said as he dropped the werewolf.
Sofia looked from the body at her feet to Jason. “You killed him.”
Jason took her by the shoulders and drew her close. He gave her a hard, tight hug, then turned her, keeping an arm around her waist. How good she felt next to him! She quivered with tension, radiated shock and growing disgust, but she didn’t try to pull away from him. Whether she acknowledged it or not, she needed him as much as he needed her.
“Look,” he said. He leaned so that his cheek touched hers. “Watch.”
Her attention was riveted by the large body stretched on the concrete in front of them.
The transformation of the yellow wolf took place with quick, magical grace. Reality stretched and briefly blurred, and became different. The sharp muzzle and pricked ears melded into a human head covered in long blond hair.
The human body that emerged was hard-muscled and huge, the same size as the wolf’s but a different shape. She could clearly see him breathing.
“He’s not dead.”
Sofia looked over her shoulder at Jason. “You didn’t kill him?”
“It takes a lot more than a broken neck to take out one of the werefolk.”
He let her stare at her unconscious attacker for a few moments. She shuddered and he pulled her closer. A police siren sounded in front of the motel.
“You wanted me to see it—him—change.”
“You needed proof.” He turned her to face him. “You needed to believe.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. They flashed with anger when she opened them. “You knew I’d be attacked.” She sneered, “You wanted the chance to act the hero.”
“No!” Her accusation stung. “I gave you the chance to save yourself. To prove to yourself that you could—”
She tried to struggle out of his embrace. “You let me face that—” She gestured wildly toward the werewolf.
He realized that she was still on the edge of panic and nothing would be settled until she calmed down. And they weren’t going to be alone for long; there was a great deal of excitement about the wrecked car out in the street. He heard people shouting about having seen a huge dog running from the wreck.
Jason let Sofia go and bent to sling the werewolf over his shoulder.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
He didn’t ask her to come with him, but was glad when she followed him to the other end of the alley. He’d left his truck parked where Sofia wouldn’t notice it when she left her room. He carried the prisoner to the vehicle and shoved the werewolf inside the empty wolf pen. The wolves were happy to keep away from the prisoner.
“The lock ought to hold him when he wakes up,” Jason told Sofia. “I can’t question him until he comes around.”
“We’ve got to find out what they’ve done to Cathy.”
“Right now, we have to get out of here.” He took her arm, but she shook him off before he could lead her to the truck cab. He gestured back toward the motel. “We don’t need mortal interference.”
“I need my stuff,” she answered, heading off.
He caught up with her. “Why?”
She gave him an angry look. “I need my laptop for school. I left it in my room. At least I wasn’t stupid enough to have it in the car.”
“Waiting in the car was a good plan,” he told her. “I wondered what you were up to when I saw you running around marking the place.”
She blushed.
“You did great, Wolf-Tamer-in-Training,” he assured her. “And right now, you have to keep thinking like what you are and get out of here.”
She shook her head. “Do you think I can afford to run off and leave what little I have? Even if I’m supposed to save the world, I’m still on a budget.”
Jason supposed that telling Sofia that he could fulfill her every material wish wasn’t the way to win this independent woman’s heart.
“Fine,” he said, and took her into an empty motel room, with the wolves following at their heels.
Once inside he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her, and after a moment her mouth opened beneath his and her arms came around his back. They clung together in an eager, hot embrace for a few moments before Jason reluctantly drew away.
“I’ll get your stuff for you. Stay right here,” he ordered. “All of you.”
“Wait a second,” she insisted as he started to leave. He glanced back. Arousal stretched across the room between them. She touched a finger to her sensitized lips, but her gaze was sharply questioning. “How did you get that door open?”
He smiled. “It’s just a little trick my people have.”
“You’re not a werewolf, right?”
“Right.”
“I saw how fast you moved, how strong you are, and you’ve got all that”—she tapped her forehead—“telepathic talent. What are you?”
Jason knew he’d put this off too long, but he couldn’t help but smile wider and show a great deal of fang. “I’m a vampire, sweetheart.”
He closed the door behind him, but he still heard Sofia’s stunned whisper. “Vampire?”
He laughed out loud as he ran toward her room.
Chapter Twenty-six
S ofia looked at the wolves that had jumped up on the bed. “He’s a vampire. Did you know about this?”
Not that the wolves answered. They were, after all, just plain fierce, huge Arctic wolves, not vicious telepathic mean werewolf scum. One of them yawned at her.
She turned away from George and Gracie, unable to muster any fear of natural canines anymore.
Sofia began to pace around the small room, seething. She had to get rid of all the pent-up frustration and confusion somehow.
Not to mention anger. I’ve got quite a few things to say to that man. Vampire.
“What does he mean, he’s a vampire?”
The wolves refrained from commenting.
Why did she believe him? And where was he? Why wasn’t he back yet?
Oh, please, it’s only been about thirty seconds.
Her back was to the door when the wolves began to howl. As she turned, they jumped down to cower beside the bed.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sofia shouted at the three black werewolves that rushed through the doorway.
For the first time in her life, she was too angry to know any fear. “I am not putting up with this anymore!”
She swept them with a glare. All three beasts had bright blue eyes, full of intelligence. Sofia’s were full of determined fury when she took them on. They surrounded her in an arc and began to stalk slowly forward.
She stomped her foot. “Oh, no you don’t.” She pointed to them one at a time. “Stay right where you are.”
She repeated the order as a thought, a firm mental command spoken directly into their minds.
They froze.
Two of them looked surprised. The third growled and bared his fangs at her.
She felt him trying to change, and she stopped him. She wasn’t sure how she did it, but the control came as naturally as breathing. They fought her, pushing at her mental control, and she pushed back. She smiled as the tug-of-war accelerated.
She was utterly and completely pissed off, and that was a good thing. Jason paused outside the door to savor the triumphant fierceness of his soul’s equal. Her power and strength filled him with a pride and love he’d never experienced before. What a woman!
And she was his.
Every possessive fiber of his being insisted on the truth of their bonding.
But right now, police officers were going from room to room looking for the owner of the squashed vehicle in the street. A small crowd was gathered in the parking lot. Jason had already had an encounter with a female officer whom he’d telepathically convinced hadn’t seen him, and that the room where Sofia waited had already been searched.
They needed to deal with the latest batch of werewolves, get back to the prisoner, and get out of here. He tucked her suitcase and laptop under one arm, and eased into the room.
Sofia didn’t glance around when he entered, but all three werewolves growled. George and Gracie whimpered from the far side of the bed.
“Wimps,” Jason told his wolves. He looked at the big, black werewolves and spoke to the snarling one in the center. “Hi, Mike.”
Mike Bleythin snapped his jaws angrily.
“We haven’t been introduced, but I assume you two are Harry and Joe,” Jason went on.
“Do you know these creatures?” Sofia asked without taking her attention off her captives.
“This is Sofia Hunyara,” he told the Bleythins. “She’s Cathy Carter’s cousin, and I just now realized who Cathy must be.”
“What do you mean?” Sofia asked.
Two of the wolves tilted their heads curiously, as well.
“I’ll explain when we can all have a civil discussion.”
He put Sofia’s stuff down by the door and came up to put his arm around her slender waist. Her head barely came up to his shoulder, but her newfound strength of will filled the room.
“She’s mine,” he informed the Bleythins, who knew better than to mess with a vampire. “You can let them go, sweetheart,” he told Sofia. “These are the good guys.”
Sofia was trembling enough for him to feel it even as she showed a brave front to the werewolves.
“Good guys?” she questioned. “They’re werewolves! They broke in!”
“Which was quite rude of them,” he agreed. “I’m sure they’ll apologize if you let them turn back into humans.”
It’s all right, he whispered into her mind. It truly is all right. They’re Cathy’s friends.
She hesitated, but decided to trust him.
He held on to her when she let go of the mental leash. The rush of released energy would have knocked her to her knees if he hadn’t been there to hold her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder, spent and breathing heavily.
It was too bad her eyes were closed, because she missed the quick transformation of Mike, Harry, and Joe, and the looks of shocked outrage they turned on the woman who’d held them at bay.
Jason smiled proudly. “Yep, she’s good. Her people would call her a Wolf Tamer.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
J ason’s words were a soothing balm to her soul. She had a family. She had a place in the world. A purpose. And it was Jason who had brought her to this place.
But it was a stranger’s angry shout of “What the hell is going on here?” that brought Sofia’s attention back to the situation.
When she opened her eyes she saw three naked men. Large, well-made, black-haired men with the blue eyes she’d stared into when they were in wolf shape a few moments before. Two of the men looked so much alike they had to be twins. The third was younger and more slender, but enough alike the twins that he had to be their brother.
The one who’d shouted was standing right in front of her, body tense, fists clenched. His fury was barely held in check, and for a moment she wanted to slink behind Jason.
She lifted her chin and asked the werewolf, “Are you really Cathy’s friend?”
“I’m Mike Bleythin,” he said. His next words were low and threatening. “I’ve never heard of a Tamer, but perhaps you’ve heard of the Tracker?”
Jason’s embrace tightened protectively, but it wasn’t the reassurance of his being there that kept her calm. Though she did appreciate having him beside her.
“No, I haven’t heard of any Tracker. I just found out about werewolves, actually. I take it Tracker is a werewolf title,” she said to Mike. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“What was your question?” Mike’s twin asked. He shouldered his threatening brother aside. “I’m Harrison, the sane member of the family. Let’s talk.”
“We’re looking for our friend,” the youngest werewolf said. “So far, following the trail to you has been all we’ve been able to do.”
“My lady was attacked by a werewolf before you arrived,” Jason said.
“One of the Hunyara pack?” Mike asked.
“I seriously doubt it. A Hunyara would recognize a vampire’s scent, but this feral had no clue I was around. Don’t tell me you didn’t pick up his scent? It must be all over the neighborhood.”
All three Bleythins looked shocked. Harry shook his head. “Not a whiff.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish we were. That’s why we haven’t been able to find Cathy. There’s no fresh scent of her anywhere.”
“What happened to this invisible werewolf?” Mike asked.
“I have him locked up in my Denali,” Jason said.
The brothers exchanged looks. Harry spoke to Sofia again. “To answer your question, all of us are friends of Cathy’s. More than that, we’re her pack brothers. May I now ask you some questions?”
Sofia wanted more explanations, but nodded.
“Do you know why you were attacked?”
After thinking about it for a moment Sofia came to a dreadful conclusion. “He wanted to turn me into a werewolf.” She looked at Jason. “Why would he do that?”
“I think I’ll go ask him,” Mike said, and suddenly the big naked man turned into a huge black wolf.
“Mi—” Harry began, but Mike was out the door before he could finish.
“He’s the Tracker,” Joe said. “Let him do his job.”
Sofia waited for an explanation, but all Jason said was, “I hope he doesn’t leave any blood in my truck.”
Sofia decided she didn’t want any more information. If she thought about it she might be sick, which she did not want to do in front of the werewolves.
Harry reclaimed her attention when he asked Jason, “What did you mean about knowing who Cathy must be?”
“I just remembered that the name of the woman Mike brought to my cousin’s wedding was Cathy. I hadn’t associated her with the woman Sofia is looking for, until the three of you showed up. To tell you the truth, I’ve been thinking so hard about not getting Mike involved in Hunyara business that I forgot he’s based in San Diego.”
Sofia’s head spun with confusion once more. “Vampires have cousins? Werewolves go to weddings?” She looked into Jason’s amused gaze and telepathically said I don’t know anything about your world.
And now isn’t the time to discuss it, he answered as the door burst open again.
Sid would not let Daniel drive.
“Becasue I’ve seen you do it with your eyes closed,” she told him when he protested that he knew where they had to go.
Daniel gave directions while Sid sped her sleek black Mercedes skillfully through heavy traffic. He did it with his eyes closed.
“I hate hav
ing one more thing to worry about,” Eden said from the backseat.
Sid gave a quick glance back at Eden’s worried face. “I’m sure we can get the boys out of whatever trouble Dan’s seeing.”
Eden sighed. “I was talking about finding out my daughter’s going to be a vampire.”
Sid couldn’t see this as anything but an occasion for rejoicing, but she tried to get a mortal mother’s perspective on it. Especially a mortal who’d been trained to hunt vampires. She couldn’t do it.
“You object to a miracle?” she asked after making a quick left turn at Daniel’s direction. Tires squealed and horns blared in her wake.
“I can’t object to biological fact,” Eden said. “But I need some time to wrap my mind around it.”
“We all do,” Sid said. “As soon as we get Cathy home.”
“Right,” Eden agreed. “But Laurent and I aren’t your average vampire couple, and if Lady Juanita thinks we’re going to raise our kid as a proper little vampire princess—no offense—”
“None taken.”
“—she’s got another thing coming.”
“Spoken like a true hunter.” Another turn. More offended drivers. At least no cops had noticed yet. “I’ll do what I can to help. So will Antonia.”
Eden reached forward to pat Sid’s shoulder. “Thanks—we’ll take all the help we can get. Speaking of Lady Antonia,” she added, “I approve of that bit of matchmaking you pulled on her and that dishy Berus Prime, even if you did use my daughter as your excuse. Your mom could use someone nice.”
Sid drove in flabbergasted silence. She’d only been trying to duck out on a date with destiny with David Berus herself. She hadn’t been trying to dangle her own mother as bait to attract the Prime’s attention away from herself.
Though come to think of it, that wasn’t a bad idea.
No, no, no! Sidonie Wolf, you will not think like that!
Daniel broke in, “Traffic will be blocked up ahead. Turn right at the next light. We’ll come around from the back.” After a couple of minutes he said, “Left here. Stop.”
Primal Desires Page 11
