“How’d you know they were going to attack me?” Confusion tangoed with Tania’s normal deductive reasoning.
“We didn’t.” Breede strapped Eva in beside Tania.
“Then how’d you know we needed rescuing?” Eva asked. She looked none the worst except for a couple of scrapes on her forehead.
Tania explored her aching lower lip. She glanced at her fingertips. A few specks of blood stained her forefinger.
“There’s no time for explanations now. We have to get out of here.” Breede and Mishe shut the back doors.
“Nooooo,” Eva wailed. “My sister, Fyrne, is here somewhere. We were supposed to meet her inside the Wal-Mart.”
“The one with the red hair and freckles?” Mishe peered at Eva.
“Yes. She called me not an hour ago. She ran away from New England Preparatory.” Eva tried to squirm out of Breede’s hold. “Put me down.”
“It’s the third Sunday in October. The annual Wylfen picnic and sports day was yesterday. Your red-haired sister won both the long jump and the hundred meter hurdle competitions for the sixteen to eighteen age group.”
Eva gaped at Breede. “No. She called me an hour ago, I tell you. It was her voice. She used our code word. How would you know Fyrne won those races? You wouldn’t notice a girl that age.”
“I was the MC of the event. I gave your sister her trophies. Is that why you two are here? I cannot believe you’d fall for such an inane ploy, Tania. You should’ve known better,” Mishe barked and got all in Tania’s face.
Tania shrunk into the leather. Total embarrassment charged with acute humiliation had every inch of her flesh on fire. Mishe was so right. She should’ve known better.
“I’m not going anywhere until I know for certain that Fyrne’s safe,” Eva declared.
Mishe had been busy with his cell. He reached across Tania and handed Eva his phone. “Speak to your brother. He just face-timed Fyrne, who was with her principal.”
Crap. Tania so didn’t want to have to face Axe after he found out about them leaving the ranch. She knew he’d be furious, and was prepared to cope with his anger. But, he’d also be disappointed in her, and that had her stomach rioting.
Too deep in wallowing in self-pity, Tania didn’t pay attention to Eva’s conversation with her brother. She flinched when Eva let out a stream of imaginative invectives.
“Dax is going to murder me. And I have only myself to blame. You were right, Tania. We should’ve gone to Lycus. It’s all my fault. Don’t worry, I’ll take the blame when Dax and Axe get back,” Eva muttered, her eyes downcast.
Tania gave Eva’s cold hand a quick squeeze. “We’ll face them together.”
“Get a move on, Mishe. We need to head out pronto.” Breede vaulted into the driver’s seat.
Mishe took the front passenger side.
Eva fumbled with her belt. “Where are you taking us?”
“To a place where you’ll both be safe.” Breede started the car.
Eva yanked her door open and hopped onto the ground.
“What the fuck?” Mishe whirled around. “Get back in here.”
“Nope.” Eva stood, legs braced apart, arms akimbo. “Tania, they’ve come to rescue us all right. But not from the Jäeger. They’re here to take us away from our mates. Isn’t that right?”
Tania’s stomach hollowed. Eva was right. She unsnapped her seatbelt.
Breede twisted back. He glared at her. “You’re Wylfen. You cannot mate with a half-breed. And as for you, Eva, your brother will decide your fate.”
Eva took off at a sprint. She yelled, “Run, Tania!”
Tania jerked the door handle down, threw the door open, and jumped out of the pickup. She tugged the baseball cap off and swept her hair to one side baring Axe’s claim mark. “I have mated with a half-breed.”
Breede slammed out of the vehicle and grabbed Tania’s shoulders. He sucked in a deep breath and focused on her neck. Slammed the side mirror with a closed fist. “Shit. We’re too late.”
“I left voluntarily, Breede. Axe didn’t claim me. I claimed him. Please don’t force me to leave my one true mate. I need him. He’s my other half.” Tania balled her hands and prayed with a fervor she’d never felt before.
“Well said, mate.” Axe stepped out of the shadows, he marched to her side, and draped an arm around her shoulder.
Out of nowhere, Dax appeared carrying Eva in his arms. “In case you’re wondering, Eva also bears my mark. Until the Jäeger kidnapped her, she was carrying my child. They cut her. Kicked her in the stomach. She lost the pup.”
“Fucking Jäeger psychopaths. They answer to no fucking one.” Breede spat the declaration.
Tania had never heard Breede curse before. She tried to suppress her shock.
Axe narrowed his eyes. “The Senior Council commands the Jäeger.”
“Their command isn’t as complete as it used to be. Mishe and I are on a committee charged with reining in the Jäeger. I can assure you that neither Eva’s family nor ours condoned the Jäeger attacks. In fact, our father defied Viktor’s orders and utilized his verbetend to ensure that Tania’s sole punishment for breaking the mate alliance laws is exile.”
“Verbetend?” Dax, who had remained silent until then, inquired.
“Every male Wylfen can, once a lifetime, rescind a Senior Council decision. Dad used his to protect Tania,” Mishe explained.
Inordinate joy seeped into Tania’s pores. Dad hadn’t abandoned or condemned her. “How’s Mom?”
“Devastated. I’ve asked Jaz to set up secure communications between you and Mom, and the two of us.” Mishe gave her a what-else-could-I-do shrug and headshake.
“Fuck it, Mishe. We’ve no time for this sappy shit,” Breede snapped. “We need to wrap this up ASAP. Tania, if this a-hole forced you—”
“He didn’t. I swear.” She crossed her heart.
Mishe, lawyer that he was, honed in on her earlier statement. “If you claimed him, why do you bear his mark?”
“He didn’t claim me until I claimed him first. See?” She tiptoed and brushed aside the hair at Axe’s nape.
Both Mishe and Breede examined Axe’s half-moon bite.
Tania’s brothers exchanged wary, puzzled glances.
A tentative silence descended.
She held her breath. Begged God to make Breede and Mishe understand. To let them not kill Axe. To let her stay with her mate.
“Never saw an alpha with a claim bite. You gave him that?” Mishe used his cross examination voice.
“I did. Voluntarily. I asked him to claim me. More than once. He refused. It’s a Prymal law. The females must claim their mate first.” Tania saw a flicker of uncertainty flash in Mishe’s blue eyes.
“Prymal?” The question came from Breede.
“A new pack formed of Wylfen, Feral, and Rogue wolves. You’re right. We need to come to a resolution. As I see it, you have two choices. Leave us in peace. Or battle to the death.” Axe tucked Tania behind him.
She poked Axe in the back and peeked around his side. “Just so you know Breede and Mishe, I won’t go without a fight. And if you separate us, I’ll find a way to get back to Axe.”
Axe and Breede stared each other down.
Breede blinked first. He dragged a hand through his hair. “If. If I agree to leave my sister with you. I insist on surprise visits as I see fit. Until Tania convinces me she’s happy and that you’re not forcing her into staying with you.”
Tania gasped. She sidled to Axe’s right. “Really? But, what if The Senior Council finds out that you’re in contact with me?”
Mishe grinned. “That’s our problem.”
“They won’t. Not with Jaz running interference for us,” Breede stated. “Are you positive this is what you want, Tania?”
“I’d waste away if I couldn’t be with Axe. You’ve no idea how potent the need to be with your mate is.” Her earlier kernel of joy morphed into a wild elation. Talk about having your cake and eating it, too. She
and Axe were going to be together and she didn’t have to lose her family.
Mishe bounded out of the pickup and sprinted around the vehicle. He opened his arms wide.
Tania flew into his embrace.
“You sure about this, sis? About him?” Mishe inclined his head in Axe’s direction.
“Oh yeah. I love him, Mishe. I know it’s happened lightning fast, but it’s real.”
He caught her chin and she nuzzled his palm. “Don’t take any chances just to check up on me, okay?”
“Always worrying about everyone else.” He gripped her hand and she felt something hard and metallic bite into her flesh. Mishe warned her not to utter a word with an imperceptible no-headshake. After kissing her forehead, he stepped back.
Breede bear-hugged Tania so hard her lungs burned. “Jaz will preprogram our cash non-GPS phones into your new cell. All you have to do is call and one of us will be at your side.”
Mishe and Breede backtracked to the side of the pickup. “Understand this Smith. The only reason we’re letting Tania stay is because Jaz swore to protect her to the death.”
Tania bristled. “The only reason? My reasons aren’t good enough?”
“It’s alpha posturing, Tania.” Eva jutted her chin. “Breede, Mishe—is there any chance that my father used his verbetend for me?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Axe couldn’t decide whether to tar Tania’s luscious backside or to fuck her senseless. From one inhale to another, he vacillated from fury to relief, from seething rage to heartfelt gratitude.
To save his sanity, he’d planted Tania in the shower under a hot, steaming spray, ordered her to wash the Jäeger stink off her skin, and retreated to the master bedroom. He paced the hardwood floors relentlessly. How could she have risked her safety? That of the cub growing in her womb?
She had been careless with the most precious of all treasures, her life.
Choking back a snarl, he snatched a pillow, and pummeled the soft down until feather-wisp flurries flew blizzard-thick above his head. He flung the battered and defeated casings to one side.
Noticed a folded piece of paper propped against the wooden base of the lamp standing on the bedside table. Stretched and retrieved the note, flipped it open.
Eva and I went to meet her little sister, Fyrne, at the Wal-Mart near Ouzo. She wouldn’t listen to me when I begged her to tell Lycus. I couldn’t let her go alone. Please don’t be angry with me. Tania.
P.S. I think I’m in love with you.
P.P.S. That’s not meant as a bribe.
P.P.P.S. Or an excuse.
P.P.P.P.S. It’s an in-case. You know, in case something happens.
P.P.P.P.P.S. How lame would it be if something happened and I left you with an ‘I think’? I love you. Plain and simple.
The anger that’d been coiling and boiling in his veins dissipated.
He re-read the note three times. On his fourth go-through, he heaved a long, huge, sigh, and any lingering remnants of his wrath evaporated. She still hadn’t grasped the whole enchilada. What being mated meant. But, the note was a gigantic stride in the right direction.
The pipes reverberated when Tania yanked the shower knob to the off position.
Axe stuffed the note into the drawer of the bedside table. He sat on the mattress and rested his elbows on his thighs. No way could he let her disobedience go unpunished. She had to realize that when it came to her safety and that of their cubs, his word was absolute and utter law.
He didn’t react when her bare, still-damp feet slapped the hardwood. Ignored her when she halted right in front of them. Studied her toes as she flexed and curled them.
“I’m sorry.”
“Doesn’t cut it, Tania. Your risked your life. You risked the life of our cub.”
“I’m not pregnant,” she muttered under her breath.
“I’m half-wolf. I can hear your every whisper.”
She sank onto her knees. Rested her hands on his thighs. “I tried to talk Eva out of it. I really did.”
He gripped her chin and trapped her gaze. “No excuses.”
“Okay. No excuses. I made a mistake. A big one. It won’t happen again.” Her throat worked, but her stare didn’t waver.
“Promise on the life of the child growing within you.” He waited for her automatic denial.
In the tangible quiet coating the room their rasped breathing resonated like Congo war drums pounding a war call.
The tight purse of her mouth relaxed. She blinked. “I am. Pregnant. Oh wow.”
Her eyes had gone so wide they threatened to dominate her face.
She sat back on her haunches. Glanced down at her towel-wrapped body. Set a palm to her belly. Peeped up at him. “How? I’ve been on the pill since I was fifteen.”
Axe’s chest ached when her eyes brimmed with dawning awareness. “I’m going to have a baby?”
He captured her hands, kissed first one palm, then the other. “We’re going to have a child.”
“I know nothing about babies.” Her breathing quickened. “Really, Axe. Nothing. I’ve avoided them like the plague. Jesus.”
“Easy, easy.” He pulled her up onto the bed. Framed her face. “No need to panic. Your maternal instincts will kick in.”
“You don’t understand. I deliberately refused to have anything to do with babies and kids. I hated the way my girl cousins lost what few brains they possessed when it came to bawling wrinkled newborns. I wasn’t ever, ever going to be like them.” She shuddered. “I almost dropped one when they made me hold it. They have these weird floppy heads. Oh gawd. Suppose I drop our baby? Or drown it in the bathtub?”
Tania’s voice ratcheted three pitches with each jerky question. His mate rode a hysterical edge.
Axe tugged and dragged a dead-weight Tania until her terry-clad bottom cradled his groin. He gave her a little shake. “To me, mate.”
“What am I supposed to do now?” she wailed.
“First. Calm down. We’re in this together.”
She clouted him. “Fine for you to say. You’re not the one who’s going to get fat and ugly. You’re not the one who’s going to have to give birth.”
Her face greened. She sprang off his legs and raced to the bathroom.
It was a wonder the towel still clung to her body.
Axe caught Tania just as she dropped onto her knees and threw the toilet seat against the tank. He held her waist until she stopped heaving.
“I never vomit. Jaz always teases me about my cast iron stomach,” she declared.
“It’s probably the start of morning sickness.”
She scowled at him over one shoulder. “That. Does. Not. Help. In the least.”
His explanation had the desired effect. A swath of color returned to her cheeks. She gaped at him. “This is the third time I’ve thrown up in the last few days. God help me. I’m going to have a baby.”
Axe helped her to stand and then squeezed toothpaste onto her brush.
She accepted his proffered offering, but glowered at his reflection in the mirror. “You did this deliberately, didn’t you? You whisked me from the east to the west coast with nothing but the clothes on my back. You confused me with incredible sex to make me completely forget about my birth control pills.”
“All part of my diabolical plan.” He steadied her.
She hung her head. Twisted around to face him. Swallowed once, twice. “I’m guessing human birth control doesn’t work with us?”
He shrugged. “I grew up without a pack. My only female reference was my human grandmother. I know as much as you do.”
“But, you knew I was pregnant. Right away. How?” She waved the toothbrush and the paste slid to one side.
“Your scent changed. Dax told me it was the same for him. He knew the moment Eva conceived. He’s been researching mate recognition. Apparently, mates can’t disguise their scents from each other, and the slightest change in your mate’s aroma is like a fire alarm.”
“Disguise a
body odor? How’s that possible?”
“The higher a person’s body temperature, the more pungent that individual’s unique odor becomes. I can lower my body temperature at will.”
“Oh. I get it. That’s why I couldn’t resist you that night of the graduation. I was mate-smelling.” She cocked her head to one side.
Mate-smelling, he couldn’t stop a slight grin. His Tania had the most beguiling way of vocalizing things. “It wasn’t my SEAL bod?”
She pursed her lips. Did a cute eyebrow wiggle. “Oh, there was that, too. But, I swear Axe, you smelled so incredible the night of the graduation that my mouth watered.”
Axe shook his head. “I wore Eva’s scent mask that night. You shouldn’t have been able to scent me.”
She nodded. Licked her lips. “Trust me, I did. It was like you were all that I could smell. Hey—wait a minute. I wore Eva’s scent mask that night, too. She’d begun experimenting with it when we were at boarding school. A few months ago, before her exile, she gave me a bottle of it. Asked me to experiment and write down anything I noticed.”
Axe’s mind raced. “By rights then, I shouldn’t have been able to pick up any aroma from you. Yet, I detected each nuance in the most minor change of your emotions.”
“My emotions? You smelled what I was feeling?” She frowned up at him.
“That first day when we got to my suite and I picked you up—you were afraid—just for a few seconds.”
“Yes. I was. I had a flash of every episode of Law and Order SUV I’d ever seen. For a moment there, I thought I was nuts to go ahead and…”
“Mate with me.”
She scrunched her nose. “At that moment, it was more of have a hook up. Do you think we’ll ever know who was behind the Jäeger attack?”
Her abrupt change of topic had him stymied for a few moments. He grazed his lips across her temple. “Eventually. Right now Lycus is working on eliminating who wasn’t behind it. That list is very short. Your immediate family and every Prymal member. You understand, Tania, that from now on until I give you the all clear, you will be guarded constantly. I must know where you are at all times. No going behind my back for anything.”
Prymal Lust Page 19
