by Emma Carter
“I can’t just enter the home of a stranger.”
He jerked to a stop and faced me, his face registering disbelief. “Really? You just asked me, a stranger to help you locate your sister, tackling the most powerful vampire that exists this side of the hemisphere. You also hopped onto the motorcycle of said stranger and rode off into the sunset. Lady, I sure as hell ain’t gonna sit around for you to make up your mind about me.”
True to his word, he didn’t wait on me. He continued his trek to the elevator. I had a second to make a decision and my sister’s life would always be priority in everything. I hurried after him, a second time that night. Or was it the third?
4
Ralf
Hovering in the living room, I debated whether or not I should wake the woman sleeping on my pullout couch to let her know I was going out. On one hand I didn’t want her to wake up and find me gone and on the other, she finally looked at peace and carefree, sprawled out as she was on the couch. Last night she had been full of anxiety and pent-up emotions stemming from her fear for her sister. I hadn’t wanted to get involved. She seemed impulsive and there was something about her that I couldn’t put my hands on. At least, not yet. But, there was more to her story and I was just the right amount of intrigued to find out the rest.
Move. I sent the message to my brain, but it didn’t react. I studied her while she slept. She was wearing one of my over-sized shirts since there had been no time to stop by her apartment last night. If she was hunting for Sinn, there was a strong possibility Sinn was having her watched. The fact that she came to me, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I left her, a defenseless human to face the vampire prince all by herself.
Sure, she acted the tough girl routine, but he had seen the fear in her eyes. She might know a thing or two about killing vampires but that wouldn’t help her much when she faced Sinn. I had tried leaving her last night and not making her my problem anymore, but I hadn’t been able to. The guilt that I would let another person down and to their death had taken me right back to her.
What she had told me last night when we got to my apartment still troubled me. She claimed Sinn kidnapped her sister simply because she knew about him and he feared she would expose him. That didn’t sit well with me at all. If that was all, Sinn could have killed her and then there would be no one left to disclose their nature to the outside world.
She was hiding something.
I tore my eyes away from her and decided not to wake her after all. Last night I had assured her I would help and collect my finder’s fee as well. I didn’t need the money but the exchange of cash solidified this for what it was, a business transaction. So what if I noticed how adorable her freckles looked? What if smelling her scent still made my mouth water? And what if I had woken last night, drenched in sweat because I had dreamt of her beneath me, my hands entangled in her curly red hair?
This was all business and not pleasure.
Once I was out the apartment, closing the door softly behind me so I didn’t wake her, I took my phone from my pocket and punched in the last number I had dialed. Reagan’s number appeared on the screen before ringing.
“I’m on my way,” I told the other man without even allowing him to speak. I hung up and got on my Harley.
Reagan lived twenty minutes away from my apartment. I hit the highway and headed north. The sun rose late this time of the year and was just climbing the sky in all its fiery glory by the time I pulled up at Reagan’s house. The door to the garage automatically lifted which told me that Reagan had heard my arrival. I rode inside, cut the ignition and removed my helmet. The door closed behind me and I headed for the opened one to the side of the garage which led inside the house. I had done this routine so many times that it was second nature.
I found Reagan seated in the living room, watching yoga on the television and imitating the instructor. I knew better than to interrupt him while he was doing his morning exercise, so I sat on the couch and retrieved my phone. I sent a text message to my best friend Luke who was in charge of our pack since I stepped down as their alpha.
Hey. I’m on a new mission and this time it’s going after Sinn.
I didn’t expect him to respond right away but he did in less than a minute after I sent him the message.
Why Sinn? And why now? Do you want backup?
I thought hard about his questions. Sinn had been a thorn in our sides for a very long time. He’d crossed the line when I stepped aside as the alpha and was one of the reasons my own people now felt skeptical toward me. He should have paid for his crimes a long time ago, but our elders hadn’t wanted a retaliation. Many more would die, they had argued.
Long story. Will let you know if I need back up. Thanks.
I exited the messaging app when I saw Reagan unfurling himself from his pose. He muted the television and stretched, turning toward me. Tall and lanky with a chalky complexion, he was Sinn’s half-brother, as ostracized by his kind as I was. We should have been enemies but our similar estrangement from our kind had been a mutual ground from friendship. Sort of.
“Sorry about that,” he said, waving at the television. “If I don’t get my yoga going the first thing in the mornings, my day is ruined.”
“That’s fine. I intruded.”
“I must say I was surprised when you called me last night,” he remarked, taking a seat on the matching couch across from me. “You said you had a favor to ask.”
I nodded. “I’m just going to come straight out with it. I want Sinn.”
A brief flicker of pain flashed in his eyes before he glanced away from me. “Everyone wants a piece of him, isn’t that so?” He rubbed a hand over the stumble of black beard on his chin. “What did he do now?”
“He kidnapped a mortal,” I explained.
He shrugged. “What’s it to you?”
“It’s against the rules,” I said, a little more snappish than I meant to sound. “But then, the vampires have always bent the rules when it came to humans.”
“Kind of hard to do when we need them to survive,” Reagan reminded me. “In any event, you’re not saying anything now that we’ve not already known. Let’s just be honest that you’ve been waiting for the slightest reason to go after Sinn.”
“I had a reason to go after Sinn before,” I reminded him. “Over two dozens of our wolves, dead, mainly defenseless children and women. He got away with it. I won’t let him hurt another innocent.”
“I presume someone is hiring you to go after him?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” I recounted to him the tale Lilly had told me. “If Sinn really does have her sister and I believe he does, then it’s my job to get her back.”
Reagan rose to his feet. “And if Sinn does have this girl, what makes you think she is still alive?”
“Her sister seems to think so. She’s adamant to go after Sinn, herself. I can’t allow her to do that!”
His eyebrows rose and I flushed, realizing how personal I sounded. It was too much to hope he hadn’t picked up on it.
“Interesting,” he observed aloud. “Seems this woman has gotten under your skin.”
“Nobody is getting under my skin,” I growled at him. For the first time since we’d met each other, I was infuriated with his diplomatic responses. Sometimes it was hard to gauge which side he was on.
“I’m not too sure about that.”
“I just want any information you can give me on Sinn’s whereabouts,” I told him, dropping the argument. “Where can I find him?”
“Why would I give you my brother’s location for you to kill him?” he asked with a frown.
“Come on, Reagan. We both know there’s no love lost between you two. You are the rightful heir. You should be their leader and he took that away from you because you’re half-blood.”
“True. But still, I cannot tell you his location. And even if I did, he would know you’re coming before you get to him.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Then it
shouldn’t be a problem if you tell me his whereabouts. Look, you have my word, I will not lay a finger on him unless provoked. All we want is the girl.”
“Very well, if you give your word.” As beings with extraordinary abilities, we were governed by the principles of honor and our word was our bond. There was nothing deadlier and more hated than a man who didn’t stay true to his words.
“He stays in the Mountain Ednor,” Reagan said.
I frowned. “That’s just a myth. It doesn’t exist.”
He smirked at me. “It exists alright. Let me highlight the directions for you. Some of the way you’ll have to go by foot.”
He led me over to the table in the dining room and for the next ten minutes, he sketched out the rough draft of a map, highlighting key landmarks to the destination. If I didn’t trust him, I would have thought he was leading me down a merry chase to give his brother time to do what he wanted with the girl. The Mountain Ednor was spoken about a lot in the vampire legends but no one thought it was real.
“I cannot say for a truth if this is the real Ednor,” Reagan said, passing me the sketch. “It might just very well be Sinn’s discovery of a new lair and branding the place as Ednor. The place is heavily guarded as I said, and I’d think twice before going there alone. Vampires might have gotten tired of the war between Lycans and moved away but Sinn still has several pawns at his disposal. Besides, are you sure this woman you are working with isn’t working with Sinn to lead you into a trap?”
I hadn’t thought of that but I wasn’t about to let Reagan know this, so I just nodded. ‘Thanks, I’ll take everything you say into consideration. And I promise, I won’t break my word.” As hard as it would be when I confronted Sinn.
Reagan asked if I wanted to stay for breakfast, but I turned him down. I was in a rush to check on my guest. I wasn’t certain what she would do when she woke up and found herself alone. Maybe she would take that to mean I had abandoned this “mission” I had found myself on. Shit, I probably should have left her a note.
I rode home and made it in record time. I told myself I wasn’t eager to see the girl for any other reason than that she was an impulsive sort. I could just see her leaving the condo when she didn’t find me when she woke up. She could be already on her one-woman expedition to see Sinn which she had threatened to do last night. Truth was, I didn’t want to see Sinn’s fangs sinking into her neck. Why that bothered me, I wasn’t keen on examining in that moment. As far as I was concerned, I was defending the ten thousand dollars she was willing to pay me to complete that mission.
She seemed a little too young to have that kind of cash at the ready. I had failed to ask her about that last night, but I wouldn’t forget this time. Before going on this journey with her to rescue her sister, I wanted to know the truth.
5
Lilly
I reluctantly turned off the tap and pulled back the glass doors to leave the shower. I was dripping wet from the tips of my hair to my toes. I didn’t quite want to leave the shower yet. The showerhead was strong with massage force and the water beating down onto my skin had pounded some of my tension away. I didn’t know what to expect since waking up to find myself all alone. I had thought at first that he had dumped me but then I remembered that I was in his home and sooner or later, he would have to return.
My tummy rumbled as I snagged a clean towel from the cupboard under the vanity. Everything in his bathroom was in order which was surprising. Not one thing was out of place and I wanted to ensure I left it that way. I dried my skin then wrapped the towel about my body in the form of a sarong.
Prior to using the bathroom, I had dropped my clothes in the dryer and figured it would be ready now. I padded barefoot from the bathroom, leaving a trail of wet footprints that I planned to dry up once I was in clothes once more. The laundry room was down the hall and as I walked from the bathroom, I froze at the sound of the front door opening.
My brain panicked which could be the only reason I stood there gawking as Ralf walked around the corner and encountered me. He paused, one foot in front of the other. He stared in surprise and heat suffused my cheeks.
“I-uh I-I took a shower,” I said, releasing the section of the towel I had tucked in to keep it together. I pushed my hair back from my face, licking my lips. He was looking at me with intense heat in his eyes. Warmth flooded my belly and I shifted my leg to wrap around the other and squeeze hard at the ache that had formed between my thighs.
“Umm, you-the-towel-”
I squeaked when the tucked in portion of the towel came loose at the shifting of my legs. The towel unraveled from my frame and slipped downwards. I grabbed it with both hands, jerking it back up to cover my full breasts. My eyes flashed to his, praying he hadn’t seen anything but his face had turned ruddy. He had seen enough.
Embarrassed, I ran. At least I tried. It didn’t work so well because my feet slipped out from beneath me and I found myself falling. Just what I needed to be added to my humiliation. Sprawling at the feet of the werewolf. I closed my eyes and expected to meet the hard floor but instead connected with a hard chest and surrounded by strong arms. I grabbed onto his arms to steady myself, more out of reflex and forgetting about decency all together. Time stood suspended as we both tried to find a non-embarrassing way out of the situation we were both in.
I felt the hard swallow that he did and was pretty sure he could hear the pounding of my heart as well. I peered up at him from beneath my lashes and found him staring back at me. Our eyes met and clung. I sucked a deep breath into my lungs, knowing I would be deprived of air for the next precious seconds. His skin was hot to the touch and his muscles felt amazing. It took all the restraint I had not to squeeze his biceps just to watch him flex those muscles.
“Ralf,” I said softly, wanting to ask him to let me go now but the way his name came out sounded more like a moan. I wondered if it only sounded that way to my ears but doubted it because the next thing I knew, his head was lowering to mine.
No, don’t kiss him. You can’t kiss him. You’re his enemy. Little help was that voice of reasoning to me as I shifted forward to meet his kiss. His lips settled over mine and gave me little time to get used to the warm sensation before he was kissing me harder than I had ever been kissed before in all my life. Given my status as a witch, boyfriends hadn’t been a high priority. Secrecy had been. Now I wondered just how much I had missed out on when I succumbed to his kisses.
I moaned and shifted in his arms. One of his hand found my naked breast and it was like a bucket of ice cold water had upended over my head. I jerked away from him though my lips took a little longer before getting the message that the kiss had done its time. He allowed me to pull back and I released his arms to clutch the towel to my frame once more. I couldn’t look at him, so embarrassed was I at the entire thing.
“I-I’m sorry,” I apologized, not sure what exactly I was apologizing for.
He didn’t respond but straightened and pulled me upright along with him. He released me as soon as I was steady on my feet. “Go get dressed. We need to talk.”
I nodded and scurried away to the washroom. At the end of the corridor, I glanced back and found him still standing in the same spot where I had left him. He was watching me and my legs went weak at the open look of hunger on his face. He wanted me. Knowing that was a little thrilling but also frightening.
“You need to get a grip,” I muttered to myself once I was in the laundry room, the door safely closed behind me. “He’s no different than any other guy who has expressed interest in you in the past. Just tell him you’re not interested.” Except all the other times I had meant it and now I wasn’t so certain.
“I’ll just pretend it never happened,” I said and walked over to the dryer which had already stopped. I took out my clothes that I had on from the previous night and slipped into them. I had felt comfortable in them last night but now I was aware of how bare I felt. I folded his shirt that I had laundered as well and after talking to myself
for five minutes that I could do this, I left the laundry to find Ralf.
The aroma of fresh coffee and bacon hit my nostrils. I was too hungry to avoid the kitchen, so I relaxed my face in my ‘pretend-you-didn-tjust-kiss-my-lips-off’ look and entered.
“I made us breakfast,” he announced. “Have a seat. There are some things that we need to go over before we leave.”
So, he’s playing the ‘forget-it-happened’ story as well. Good. That I could deal with. Then why did I feel so disappointed that he wasn’t pressing the issue? Did a guy just kiss a girl the way he kissed me then forget all about it in five minutes? As thoughts of Annie resurfaced, reminding me of my true purpose here, I pushed what had happened between us from my mind.
I took up the cup of coffee he offered me but made no attempt to avail myself of the breakfast he had quickly whipped up for us. He did the opposite, piling strips of bacon on his plate as well as eggs and toast. I tried not to stare at him, but it was hard to. I was guessing the animal that lived inside him also had to be fed which, was the reason he ate so much.
“Aren’t you eating?” he finally paused to ask.
I turned up my nose at the breakfast. “I wish I could, but I can’t. I’m too worried about Annie.” As I said it, tears pricked my eyes and I lowered my eyes. It didn’t stop the tear drop on the table. I used my index finger to wipe it away. I never thought I would miss Annie this much, but she was always there. We argued a lot, about everything, boys, clothes, school, curfew but I wouldn’t trade her for the world. Now I would have to trade myself for her.
“Tell me about your sister,” he said.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to say. Annie is…well, Annie. She can be rebellious but thoughtful but mostly rebellious. You know, sixteen-year-old girls and hormones. But she’s the only family I have left.”
He frowned at the strip of bacon he was popping into his mouth. He chewed carefully, and I followed the movement of his throat as he swallowed. I was being pathetic but I was drawn to him in a way which was inexplicable. It felt like the pull of magic was drawing me to him but that was ridiculous.
