Eternal Embrace

by Billi Jean

“Absolutely.”

  She grinned, but quickly sobered and frowned over at Viktor. “What gives? Why are you still”—she waved to his wolf form—“like, uh, that?”

  Jaxon frowned and Viktor walked up, not changing form. Jaxon bent and examined the collar around his neck. “Shit, this is some kind of trap around his neck.”

  “Trap?” Her breath caught and she knelt to examine the silver circling the wolf’s neck. Viktor didn’t move. “Is this stuck on you?”

  He nodded his wolf head and sat with a low growl.

  “So you can’t lose the wolf?” Jaxon demanded.

  The wolf snorted like Jax was stupid and she fought a laugh. Jaxon caught it, though, and bent to kiss her. “Not funny.”

  “Wait, can you shift now?” she asked Jaxon.

  Jaxon’s eyes grew distant and she sensed he was trying to do what she’d already learned by instinct, to move somewhere else. “Shit, no, I still can’t.”

  “Should I try to shift us, all of us?” she offered.

  Jax shook his head and Viktor backed away from her.

  “No, wildcat, you could shift only part of us, you know?”

  “Oh, man, that is not something you should have told me.” Images of body parts rose in her imagination.

  He grinned and pulled her next to him. “Don’t let it freak you out,” he told her. “We need a witch to get that off, Vik. Right now, we’re lucky just to be free.”

  “But what is stopping you from, you know, using your gifts?”

  “I have no idea, baby. It could be something they gave me, something to do with those chains—shit, it could be anything, but it won’t last. Vampires are resilient. Once I feed and sleep a few times, nothing will remain.”

  In her mind, he showed her what he was talking about and the double dose of hearing him and seeing what he was talking about thrilled her. He grinned and smacked her on the butt. “Let’s not push it.” He turned his brilliant gaze on Viktor. “Do you sense a way out?”

  Viktor stared at Jaxon, then her, then behind them. Cells—more like ancient holes in the stone—lined the corridor. All of them were empty.

  “I can sense this floor is empty.”

  “Yes, you will be sensing life now, or if not life exactly, the presence of others. You can scent evil, too. Like you did at the warehouse.”

  “Gerald.”

  “Yes.”

  “Which way, Lykae?”

  Viktor trotted a few feet to their left then back past them heading downward. He stopped there and turned to look back at them.

  “That’s the way then,” Jaxon said, tugging her into moving. “How did you get those fucking—?”

  “Jaxon, really, you need to cut the swearing.”

  He stumbled and gave her an incredulous look. “Fine, okay, how did you get those locked manacles off me?”

  “You told me to!”

  “I know that, baby, I’m asking how you did it.”

  “Oh. I called them—kinda like you take my clothes off, right? But I wanted them so I could kick them. You wanted them off, you said, and I wanted those chains off.”

  “Shit, you’re so fuc—so damn hot.” He frowned and turned to stop her. “Can you call my sword? Do you remember the one? In the library, next to the fireplace, hanging below the battle axe?”

  She thought on it, glanced at the wolf watching her, then at Jax’s expectant face. The sword. She’d seen it, had even held it once when Jax saw her interest. The long silver blade held spells in flowing script along the sides and Jax had told her he’d wrapped the hilt in plain, black leather. The weave he’d used reminded her of Celtic knots. She concentrated on wanting to hold the hilt again and gasped, nearly dropping the heavy thing when it fell in her hands. The wolf yipped softly and Jaxon buried her against his chest.

  “That’s my fucking girl,” he said, kissing her soundly. “Now we get the hell out of here. If you so much as scent that evil bastard, you latch onto my arm and picture us in bed, okay?”

  “That’s all? It’s that easy? What if I lose a part and—”

  “You just shifted my sword to us. I think you can do a shift to the one room we used the most. Just don’t picture us naked with the wolf, okay?”

  Blood heated her face and she shook her head at him in exasperation. “You’re impossible.”

  He gave her a big, shit-eating grin and smacked her butt again. “I’m more than that,” he murmured in her ear, then straightened and nodded to Viktor. “We need to run, wolf. Let’s get out of here. Come on, Joey, baby.”

  He took her hand and kept her close as they began running. All around her evil waited to attack them like some monster hiding under her bed, but with Jaxon near her, she knew she’d always be safe.

  They ran for several minutes before turning right, then right again, almost like they were going in a circle, she thought. Every turn headed downward, and the thought of all that earth above her head started to freak her out. After what felt like forever, but was more like a half an hour, Viktor let out a deep, menacing growl. He slowed at what looked like another hallway intersecting theirs.

  Jaxon slowed them as well, and pulled her until she paused. He tilted his head and stared at her while he listened, then grimaced.

  “Shit, they’ve found us gone. Hear that?”

  She listened too, and faintly she heard the sounds of shouting.

  “Lead the way, wolf, we don’t have time to play around.”

  The wolf snorted and tore off faster, but not before Joey heard the yells behind her and the sound of a wicked siren splitting the air.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jaxon dragged Joey along with him, suddenly the rush of fresh air hit his face like a welcome caress—almost. Joey held his left hand and that caress was more welcome than anything he’d ever had the chance to experience.

  She’d bonded to him.

  The first draw of her blood had nearly been his undoing. He’d wanted to pin her to the wall and take her body as he shared blood with her for hours. Instead, he’d had to swallow only a mouthful, and slow the sudden blast of her—her thoughts, desires and her very essence—from overwhelming him. She shone bright, so brave and trusting, whole and free of evil that she humbled him. The love coming off her only made it worse. There was no one else for her—there never had been. He’d been isolated most of his existence, but so had Joey. She’d never had a solid foundation to build on, no one to lean on outside of her grandfather—a frail old man. She looked to Jaxon now, saw him as some hero mixed with just enough of a bad boy to drive her wild.

  He could have fallen into her thoughts of him and stayed there forever. He’d never let her go.

  She knew he wasn’t perfect and he sensed in those first seconds they’d shared that he’d have never gained her love if he had been. She wanted him—Jaxon—the man he’d feared showing her.

  What did he do with that? With her? When all around them, danger waited to rip her from him.

  Never give up, boy. When you do, that’s when you’ll feel more pain than you’ve ever experienced before.

  His uncle’s harsh words made sense to him now. As a child, he’d not understood, but now, with Joey a sparkling, bright presence near his heart, he knew that if he ever gave up the fight to keep her safe and lost her, he’d not survive the pain.

  Next to him, she ran, breathless from his longer stride, not a single part of her about to quit though. He squeezed her small hand and she smiled, but didn’t take her eyes off Viktor.

  Since they’d fallen into what had to have been a spell trap back at the warehouse, too many things were going wrong. The Lykae. The collar. His inability to shift. His phone was missing. Joey didn’t have one on her, and Viktor sure didn’t. He sensed they weren’t in the States. If he was correct, that meant they could be anywhere in the world—and no one would know. This wasn’t like the salt mine. There would be no rescue. They’d have to get out of here on their own. Chances were the place was locked tight.

  They v
entured a few more feet and thick iron bars from the dirt to the low archway blocked their way.

  “Fuck,” he grumbled and glanced at Viktor. The wolf gave him a quick look, then tossed his head back the way they’d come, clearly unsure what to do now.

  “We can get it open. We just have to think of something.” Joey gripped the rusted metal and gave it a tug.

  Okay, any other time that would be cute, but right now, that metal stood between him and his woman’s safety. She loved him. She loved him. He needed to hear that when the words were just between the two of them while they were intimately entwined.

  “Well?” she asked after giving the metal another tug. “It seems solid. Can’t you, well, mist out and kinda work the lock with smoke?”

  He grinned at her. “I’m not the Mummy, baby, but thanks, I like your confidence.”

  Joey tilted her head, then with a big grin, she stepped back and the pipe from the warehouse appeared in her hands.

  “Damn, you’re getting good at that, I might have to watch my stash of Bailey’s, huh?”

  At the mention of her favourite drink, she leant forward and kissed him. “You better watch a lot more than that, babe.”

  He shut down the instant need for her for the more pressing desire to get her out of the tunnels. “Joey, you can get this lock off, like you removed my chains. Think on it,” he added when she blinked and a blush stole over her cheeks. “It’s all new to you, but try. If you can’t, I’ll use the pipe while you call something to change into. The skirt is hot, but those heels need to go if we’re running.”

  She smacked her forehead and winced, so damn cute he ached.

  “I keep forgetting—”

  “Don’t apologise, just try, for me,” he urged her.

  Victor yipped softly and Joey smiled. “For all of us, huh?” She grew quiet immediately after the smart remark and seconds later the lock clinked open.

  “Damn, that’s good,” he told her. He jerked at the door, but the hinges didn’t move. “Rusted shut,” he grumbled at her look of concern.

  “You mean I opened it for no reason?”

  “Practice. Now change those clothes while I use your pipe, okay? Boots, jeans, top, jacket too. You should grab a hat or hoodie in case it rains. Something to protect you in case we need it.”

  He tried to use his own abilities but they were sluggish, as if the blow to the head still scattered his senses. He worried it was a bit more than that, but took the pipe from Joey and started to use it to pry the ancient metal gate open. He kept his thoughts to himself. Joey only sent him the urgency to get out of here. She didn’t need to worry about his doubts. The chains they’d used took time to shake off. That might be what was wrong. The lingering of those spells might still be weaving their nastiness too.

  “How long will you be unable to shift, Jaxon?”

  He knew she wasn’t in his mind, so he shot her a grin.

  “Shit you’re too smart sometimes,” he grumbled, then shoved at the gate until with a loud screech of metal on rock two bars broke. “That’s it,” he panted. “Get your asses out there.”

  Joey slapped him on the ass, then traced her fingertips along his spine. His body, already tuned up for her, shifted into high gear.

  “Shit, don’t do that. We get free, then we can see whose ass needs paddling.”

  She laughed and brushed a kiss over his jaw, but ducked through the bars, dressed in a black hoodie, black skin-tight jeans and black boots. Viktor followed her and Jaxon was a second behind. As soon as he straightened, Joey took her pipe from him and he took his sword from her.

  “Head off after Viktor, baby.”

  “Here, wait,” she murmured with a small frown. A second later one of his shirts appeared in her hands. “You need this, I think, although you look pretty hot,” she said, handing him a long-sleeved T-shirt and one of his hooded sweatshirts.

  He took the time to kiss her firmly, before he pulled the clothes on. “We need to get out of here. There will still be spells guarding the place, so listen to me, your instincts, and follow the wolf.”

  “I will,” she said, sounding so calm and trusting he wanted to kiss her again.

  His instincts shouted that this wasn’t over. Not even close. He grabbed her hand and they raced off after the wolf, through another crumbling archway. He caught a glimpse of the starry sky and cursed. They were in Russia. Or near enough. Shit, that did not make their situation any better. The ruins around him appeared ancient. If he had to guess, humans had deserted this place long ago. But he feared it wasn’t empty any longer. There was no way Gerald had captured them only to leave them here alone. Besides the obvious men chasing them, there had to be more to this place.

  Viktor took a left ahead of them, running under a low open-air building lined with ancient trees. From the distance, he could still hear the alarms and closer, he suddenly heard the sound of men shouting.

  Joey shot him a fearful look.

  “Just stay close and use that pipe. Shift if they try to grab you, even if it’s only a foot away.” He’d never tell her to leave him again. She’d nearly bitten his head off the last time. He’d never leave her again either. “Stay close to me, do you hear?”

  She nodded, not slowing her fast run. The wolf suddenly skidded to a halt ahead of them, growling low in its throat, and launched into the air, tackling a red-bearded man to the ground before the guy had even fully come into view around the corner. Two more men burst through arches on the opposite side of the crumbling ruins, shouting a warning over their shoulders to more men, he presumed.

  “Shit, just stay safe,” he growled to Joey, and shoved her behind him, scanning the area quickly. “There, go up there and if any of these assholes get close, bash their heads in,” he said, lifting her easily to the high arch between two griffin statutes.

  “Right, and don’t get hurt again,” she said fiercely. Her hazel eyes burnt into his for a space of a few heartbeats. With his throat tight, he turned away from her and met the men with a quick, deadly offence. There wasn’t time for this—he knew it, felt it in his bones. The longer this took, the more of a chance they’d be back in those cells. There was no chance he’d let that happen.

  He cut one man’s leg out from under him with a downward slash of his broadsword, switched hands, decked the other man in the chin and brought his sword around to cut into his torso.

  The man fighting off the wolf screamed gutturally until with an audible snap of bones his neck broke under the pressure. Another man entered the little area and immediately backed away, but he lifted his hands and a green haze blurred him from head to toe.

  Shit. Magic.

  The burnt brimstone and evil smell of death clung to the guy. Before Jax could manoeuvre to him, the mage shot out a bolt of red at Joey. Heart in his throat, Jax turned with a yell, but Joey deflected the shot with her pipe and shifted to his side with a stumble and cry.

  The return shot didn’t hit the mage, but both he and the mage froze, staring at Joey for a few seconds.

  “What? What was I supposed to do?”

  The wolf snarled and saved his life by giving him enough warning to duck and spin to face a tall, dark haired man. Jaxon grabbed a handful of dirt, threw it at the mage’s eyes and drove his shoulder into his stomach followed by a quick vicious punch to the mage’s nose. As soon as he backpedalled with a muttered oath, Jaxon hauled him close and bit into his neck, draining him to a dangerous degree, then dropped his unconscious body with a growl.

  “Shit tastes like garbage.”

  “Oh!” Joey stared over at him with a shocked look, but wiped his mouth with her sleeve. “I can’t believe you just did that! He could have killed you,” she spluttered.

  He didn’t bother telling her the same. He grabbed her hand and started running again. The blood worked to ease some of the residue left by the magic, but he still couldn’t shift them out of here. Viktor broke out into an open area again, but dived past an archway between two long, tall shrubs. Imm
ediately, the hedges on each side surrounded them, and ahead he spotted more.

  “Wait, wait.” He stumbled to a slow lope. “This is a labyrinth. Are you sure you know the way through this?” he demanded.

  Viktor snorted as if he’d lost his mind to question him.

  “Fuck that, are you certain? Because…” He broke off at the sound of running feet. He glanced at Joey’s expectant face. She watched him with complete trust. Shit killed him. He turned back to the wolf. “All right, but if you fuck this up, I’m going to leave that collar on.”

  The wolf sneezed.

  “Jaxon,” Joey laughed. “Stop threatening him. He’s helping, right?”

  The wolf grinned.

  “Sure thing.” He drew his finger across his throat at the smartass wolf when Joey turned to look behind them. “Let’s go then.”

  Viktor took off. Jaxon urged Joey ahead of him, watching as the wolf took several rights before slowing at a fountain to sniff around the ancient carving, then loped off down another right again.

  So far, Jax figured they’d been free for twenty minutes. Gerald had to know where they were, yet he’d sent his men and not shown up. It made no sense.

  The maze had to be a trap, but the farther they got into it, the faster the wolf ran until Jax was side by side with Joey, tugging her along the twisting path after Viktor.

  Joey stumbled next to him, and caught his arm to stop from falling. She barely missed a step. He considered tossing her over his shoulder, but one look at her determined face and he ditched that idea. She wanted to do this and, so far, she’d been one hell of a teammate.

  “You’re doing great, Joey. We’re somewhere in Russia,” he told her.

  She gave him a shocked look, then glanced around the maze. “How can you tell that?”

  “The stars. Always know where you are, darlin’. When we get out of this—”

  The wolf yelped ahead of them and Jax dropped Joey’s hand to get in front of her. No one stood in the maze, but Viktor limped over to him, licking at his front leg. Along the ground, Jax spotted a wire, blood red now where Viktor had hit it and sliced his leg.

  “Trip wire,” he muttered, squatting to see the line better. Viktor stalked up next to him, nosed the line and growled deep in his chest. “Not good, but I don’t think you tripped it. Any other way out?”