Strategic Vulnerability

by Mandy M. Roth

  “Virginia. You?”

  “Ohio now. Or at least I did. I was—am—attending grad school there. My father and I have lived just about everywhere.”

  “You’re close to your father, I take it.”

  Kim stared up at the canopy of trees above her and sighed. “Very. We’re all we have. I grew up wishing he’d marry again, give me brothers or sisters, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Wouldn’t even entertain the idea of dating. He seemed to think any women he met would be suspicious as to why he doesn’t age, and when the time came for him to move on, to keep his secret, I’d be too attached to them to let them go.”

  Wilson snorted. “I can relate. So why didn’t he just raise you among your own kind…among Fae?”

  She stared at him, trying to figure out just how old he was. “I don’t know. He has his reasons, I guess. I can’t wait to get back and see him, but a part of me is scared to death of what he’ll think of me for ending up pregnant.”

  Wilson scratched his scruffy chin. “That’s hardly your fault, Kim. He’ll understand. I’ll explain it to him and make him understand that I won’t let you or the—”

  She put her hand up, halting him. “I appreciate that you think you can help, but you can’t. He won’t accept you into my life. You’re not Fae and there is no way my father will be all right with everything.” She closed her eyes. “He’ll have to accept the baby, but he won’t accept you.”

  “Kim.”

  “We need to get through the here and now before we worry about what’s to come,” she said, averting her gaze.

  Wilson backed away from her and set about getting her something to eat. He placed cooked meat on an oversized leaf and put some chopped fruit next to it. As he handed it to her, their hands skimmed but he remained silent, alerting Kim to the fact she’d upset him. That hadn’t been her intent, but in the end, if they did survive, her father’s wrath would be far worse than anything Krauss could do to him. As Kim watched Wilson take his breakfast and sit at the far end of the camp, her chest tightened.

  Unsure what to say to make it right, she focused on the food instead. She took a bite of the meat and, much to her surprise, it wasn’t too bad. Her stomach gurgled, threatening to react violently if she dared put too much in, so she took it slow. “Thanks for breakfast. I’m a little scared to ask what kind of meat this is.”

  Wilson didn’t respond. He stared at something far off in the distance, blatantly ignoring her. Normally, she would have walked away and allowed the person to act as childish as they wanted, but this was different. She and Wilson had managed to survive something horrific and shared, not only that, but the aftermath of events as well. She still couldn’t believe she was pregnant.

  He’s probably just as shocked he’s going to be a father as you are about being a mother.

  Her inner voice had a valid point, and it also had a way of making guilt creep up on her. Kim forced a bit of the fruit down before making her way toward Wilson. She held the leaf full of food out to him. “I’ve eaten as much as I can. Would you like the rest?”

  His dark gaze danced over her quickly before he shook his head. “No. I’m fine.”

  “Wil, talk to me. You’re upset and—”

  He stuck his bottom jaw out a bit. “Nah, I’m not upset. I’m used to it. I mean, who wants the wererat around any longer than need be? I didn’t sign up to be what I am.” He slapped his chest. “I signed on thinking I’d be something else.”

  The raw emotion in his voice stung. Kim did what felt natural. She bent and caught his wrists in her hands. She slid down and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. She hugged Wilson tight and rocked him gently. As the tension began to leave his body, she started to hum lightly, needing to make things right with him but not understanding exactly why.

  It took a moment for Wilson to warm up enough to hug her back, but when he did, Kim ruffled his shaggy hair. “I think you misunderstood, Wil. This has nothing to do with you being a rat shifter and everything to do with you not being Fae. My father couldn’t care less what kind of shifter, if any, you are. Even if you were only human, he’d have issues. I don’t know the hows or whys, but I think it has something to do with my mom. I think it’s why he hasn’t raised me around Fae. My gut says my mother wasn’t Fae and that caused backlash with the Fae, and I think my father worries that I’ll have an even bigger mark against me if I’m with anyone who isn’t full-blooded Fae. Of course, I could be wrong. But that is what my gut says.”

  He tipped his head and the action left her lips brushing his. Kim drew in a deep breath as her entire body heated. As their gazes locked, she knew he felt it too. She also knew she was powerless to fight whatever the attraction was between them. “What does your gut say about me?”

  “To hold you close and never let you go.” She kissed him, and the minute Wilson’s tongue dove into her mouth, Kim surrendered herself fully to him. He ran his hands up her sides, coming to a stop just below her breasts. Kim cupped his face, eating at his mouth, needing more than he was giving.

  “Uh, Kim,” he whispered, tightening his hold on her rib cage.

  “Please.”

  Wilson’s gaze softened. “Well, if you insist.”

  She grinned. “I do.”

  “Then who am I to argue?” He lifted her off his lap and handed her a gun. “Hold this a minute. I need to unload.”

  She licked her lips and laughed. “I thought that was the point of me trying to seduce you. You know, so you can unload in me.”

  It was Wilson’s turn to laugh. He chuckled as he pulled a knife from his side. Kim spotted a discarded snakeskin behind him and gasped. “You fed me snake!”

  Wilson jolted and caught his hand on the knife. The second she spotted his blood, she felt faint. She pointed at him, not thinking about the fact she still held one of the many weapons he’d taken from Krauss’s compound. “You’re hurt.”

  He put his hands up. “Just a scratch, hon.”

  Shots rang out and it instantly felt as if she’d been punched in the chest. Fire seemed to consume her upper body and time slowed. She glanced down and noticed blood spreading quickly over her shirt. A wave of dizziness washed over her and the next thing Kim knew, Wilson had her pinned to the ground, covering her body with his.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Wilson’s entire body was on high alert. Someone was shooting at them. He glanced around and then down at Kim. “Stay down. I need to… Kim? Kim, honey?”

  She stared up at him with wide eyes.

  “Kim?”

  “Wilson!”

  The sound of his name being shouted by a familiar voice grabbed his attention. He turned and couldn’t believe his eyes as he found three women standing in a row. Each one was armed to the teeth. “Melanie? Peren? Missy?”

  Melanie grinned and rushed toward him. He pushed up and off Kim, still shocked the women were there. His eyes widened as he realized what that meant. “Oh shit, you three went against your mates.”

  A short raven-haired hottie with the ability to kill just about anything waggled her brows. “We came to get your sorry ass. We missed it.”

  Melanie nudged her. “Missy.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine, we missed you too.”

  A medium-height, auburn-haired beauty smiled. “How bad are you hurt?”

  He lifted his hand. Still in shock to see his friends had come for him. “Just a scratch.”

  Missy snorted. “You must bleed like a madman then, unless the blood on you is from the chick who was holding a gun on you.”

  “What?” he asked, glancing down and noticing for the first time that he was indeed covered in blood.

  Peren glanced at Melanie. “I still can’t believe you took the shot. I thought it was too far to make, but the moment she pulled a gun on Wilson, I knew you’d do something incredible to save him.”

  Confused, Wilson shook his head. “No one had a gun on—” He froze. “Kim!”

  Turning slowly, he felt his stomach d
rop as he saw Kim’s lifeless, blood-covered body lying on the jungle floor. He rushed to her side, screaming her name the entire way. He did his best to assess the damage, but his mind was spinning with the knowledge he’d left her lying there to greet his friends’ wives, all the while she was bleeding to death. “No, honey, no. Talk to me. Kim. Please, Kim.”

  “Wilson, what’s going on?” Peren asked. “Who is she and why did she have a gun on you?”

  He lifted his blood-covered hands as hot tears streamed down his face. “She didn’t have a gun on me.” He closed his eyes tight, hoping it was all a nightmare, that she was really fine. “She was holding my gun—for me, not on me.”

  “You three are going to be the death of me,” a familiar male voice said. “I swear if this is another wild… You found him?”

  “Eadan, hurry,” Missy said. “Can you help her?”

  A blur of blond moved in next to Wilson. He looked up to find Melanie’s brother Eadan kneel beside him, touching Kim’s neck, looking for a pulse. When his blue-gray gaze moved upward, Wilson knew it was bad.

  He let out an ear-piercing cry before pushing Eadan away from Kim. He pulled her limp body into his arms and rocked her gently. “No! We didn’t make it out of there for it to end this way. Kimberly, please look at me. Please, honey.”

  “Honey?” Eadan asked as he put a hand on Wilson’s shoulder. “Who was she?”

  “My mate,” he whispered, still rocking Kim’s body.

  The females behind him all gasped.

  “Ohmygod no,” Melanie said, her voice low. “I didn’t know. I thought… Wilson, ohmygod no.”

  Thunder rolled and wind whipped all around them. At first, Wilson thought it was Melanie’s or Eadan’s doing since they were Fae. As the heavy press of darkness swept in, he knew better. He also knew that whatever was coming was pissed and headed straight for them. He tried and failed to hold on to Kim’s body as the wind ripped him away from her.

  He blinked, unsure he was seeing what he was. Hundreds of black birds amassed above Kim’s body and instantly formed into the figure of a man who was as big as Green, their largest I-Op. The man’s jet-black hair hung just past his ears, and he had a goatee that was cut close. He wore leather pants and a black t-shirt. He looked down at Kim’s body and an explosion went off behind him, causing dirt and leaves to go everywhere. He looked up and out from emerald green eyes. “Who harmed her?”

  Eadan let out a slew of curses before dropping to one knee and bowing his head. “Lord Culann of the Council. I’m Eadan Daly, son of Medward and Tatianna. We’re not the enemy here.”

  The man put his hand out and over Kim’s body. It lifted as if on strings and Wilson tried to charge the man, but Eadan tackled him. “Let go of me!” He struggled against the Fae to no avail. He wasn’t at full strength. “Don’t touch her! Don’t you lay a fucking hand on her.”

  Melanie and the others were suddenly next to him, yanking on him.

  Culann glared at him. “Who are you and what have you done to her?”

  “I’m her—”

  Eadan elbowed him in the face, silencing him. “He’s just trying to protect her, my lord.”

  Culann put his hand over Kim’s chest and hissed. “She’s been shot twice. One pierced her heart and the bullets are lead!” He shook his head. “She was here to study plants, not to…” His jaw set and he narrowed his gaze as he moved his hand down more, stopping just above her abdomen. “I will gut the man who dared to touch her! I will—”

  Kim’s body jerked violently a second before white light engulfed it. Wilson struggled to get to her, but with four people on him, each possessing varying levels of supernatural powers, he wasn’t going anywhere until they decided to let him up.

  Culann’s gaze softened as he stared down at Kim. He swept his hand out and over her once more, and Wilson watched in awe as the blood on her chest vanished. Her eyes opened and she screamed.

  “Shh, I am here now. All is well,” Culann said, his voice deep.

  She looked up at him, appearing confused. “Daddy?”

  Daddy?

  Her father was some bad-ass council guy? Wilson had half a second to think on that fact before his mind and body told him to go for his mate. He struggled against the people holding him. “Kim!”

  She glanced in his direction, appearing slightly disoriented.

  Culann touched her cheek. “Is he the man who dared to touch you?”

  “N-no. Wilson has never done anything but try to protect me, Daddy. Don’t hurt him. Please. He got me away from the men who—”

  “Men?” Culann shot magik out, striking a tree and uprooting it from the ground. “I will kill every one of them.”

  Kim flinched, reaching for her father. “Daddy, please. Listen to me! Wilson stopped them from being able to hurt me. He saved me. He saved the baby.”

  Culann spun, glaring down at his daughter. Wilson struggled harder against the people holding him. “You were pregnant to start with? By whom?”

  “By me,” Wilson said, his teeth clenched and his body strained.

  Kim, along with everyone else, gasped. She pushed away from her father and ran toward Wilson, putting her body before his. “Daddy, no!” She put her hands up. “Don’t kill him. He’s my…” She glanced back at Wilson. “…my mate?”

  Culann let out an ear-piercing cry as he shot power out and over the area. “Like hell! My daughter is not mated to a shifter. I will kill him and then you will come home with me.”

  Eadan, Missy, Peren, and Melanie released him and stood, blocking Culann’s path to him. Wilson grabbed for Kim, needing to see she was indeed healed. He looked her over carefully, checking her chest and realizing he was crying as he pulled her close to him. He kissed her temple. “Oh gods, honey, I thought…I thought… Don’t ever scare me like that again. We didn’t make it past Krauss and his men to have it end like that, Kim.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and let out a shaky laugh. “I don’t know what happened. I was upset you fed me snake, and then it felt like someone hit me in the chest. I woke up to find Daddy…oh no. Daddy.”

  Kim tried to pull away from him but Wilson refused to let her go. “No. If he wants me dead, fine, but I’ll be damned if I let go of you right this second.” He ran a hand down her torso and touched her stomach. “The baby? Is he safe?”

  She nodded, her gaze going to her father. “It’s not what you think, Daddy.”

  Wilson waved a hand in front of her face. “Kim, I don’t give a shit if the man can turn water into wine. I want to know that my son and my mate are okay. Is the baby hurt?”

  She touched Wilson’s cheek. “He’s safe. Daddy saved him.” Tears welled in her eyes. “He didn’t have to, but he did.”

  Wilson understood what she was saying. Her father held the power to have saved her life and allowed the baby to die. He didn’t. Wilson yanked her into his arms and held her tight before turning his head to look at Culann. “Thank you.”

  The man glared at him.

  Eadan made a move to step forward. “Lord Culann, Wilson is a good, honorable man who would never harm your daughter. He’s a member of the I-Ops team and has dedicated his life to protecting those who can’t protect themselves.”

  “Honorable?” Culann asked, his gaze sinking to Kim’s stomach. “So honorable that he plants his seed in my daughter before coming to ask permission for her hand first? Before marrying her? He spent his dirty shifter seed into—”

  Kim pushed away from Wilson and pointed at her father. “Daddy, not another word!”

  The power in her voice shocked Wilson.

  Apparently, from the look on Culann’s face, it shocked him too. “Kimberly?”

  “No. You will apologize to Wilson this instant. I woke to find myself chained to a bed, after having been a lab rat—” She cringed and stared back at him. “No offense.”

  “None taken.”

  She looked at her father. “I woke up pregnant, Daddy. Professor Krauss wasn’t who he
pretended to be. He’s an evil man who wants to make a new generation of genetically altered super-soldiers. He had Wilson chained to the wall.” She choked back a sob and Wilson went to her, rubbing her shoulders. “Wilson didn’t get a choice. They took sperm from him and implanted it in me. He didn’t ask to be a father. He didn’t ask for me…and he didn’t walk away and leave me to fight my own battle.”

  Wilson sensed her stress levels rising and rubbed her arms. “Shh, it’s okay, Kim. He’s welcome to think I’m a piece of shit. I don’t care. You need to calm down. You’ve been through enough already.”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s not okay for my dad to think the father of my child is anything less than what he is—a brave man with a big heart who had a chance at freedom but who refused to leave without me and without his son.”

  “Stop crying, Melanie,” Peren said. “You’re leaking power and Krauss’s men are combing the area.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kim stiffened as the name Melanie rolled from the woman’s tongue. She looked over to find a tall blonde woman staring at Wilson and sobbing. Jealousy flared through her. She tried to step away from Wilson’s hold, but he refused to let her.

  Melanie stared at her. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were trying to hurt him.”

  Kim wasn’t sure why the woman was apologizing and she didn’t care.

  Melanie swallowed hard. “You’re right, you know. The baby is a boy. He’s very healthy. Very strong. A survivor.” She glanced between Kim and Wilson. “Like his mommy and daddy.”

  “What the hell is going on here?” a deep voice asked.

  Kim looked up to find four men standing in a line. Each dressed as Wilson had been when she first saw him, only they weren’t filthy. She took one look at the man in the center, his dark wavy hair tied back at the nape of her neck, and she gasped. “Lukian?”

  The man smiled. “Kimberly, what are you doing in South America? Does your father know you’re down here?”