by Zoe Forward
She pulled the huge hoodie she’d borrowed from Lexan tight to her head to avoid the harsh rays of flagging sunshine and hugged herself against a gust of wind. Of course, the weather decided today to be a more typical October chill. The hoodie wasn’t much of a windbreaker. Dead leaves swirled across the road. Cars whizzed by. A mental scan detected no vamps or wolves in the vicinity, not even Blay’s soldiers. Either they were invisible somehow to her scanning, or this wasn’t about to happen the way she’d imagined. She had envisioned a sit-down in Ambrose’s parlor surrounded by very angry vamps and an army of wolves outside.
A dark SUV pulled up. The vamp with the ability to render her unconscious by touch jumped out of the driver’s seat. She backed away from him. “Don’t knock me out. I’ll go with you. I won’t argue or fight. That’s why I’m here.”
“Get in the car.” He held open the door.
She gazed at the open backseat door. This wasn’t the plan. Like everyone in this game, Ambrose also had an agenda. She had to trust his plan didn’t involving killing her right away.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lexan waited in the SUV with Eric and four other Elites for fifteen minutes before weaving through an upscale neighborhood to an isolated house buried deep in the back. All stared at the small dot on the cell phone, which had been parked in the cup holder. It flashed a red dot for Vee’s location. In the passenger seat, Eric lit a cigarette. The flick of the lighter broke the tense silence inside the SUV.
“I thought you quit,” TC said.
Eric took a puff. “I figure we’re about to walk into a fucking trap, asking to get my ass killed…all of our asses killed.”
“Pass me one,” TC requested.
Eric held the pack out to Lexan, eyebrows raised.
“No snipes for me.” Lexan waved it off. A cigarette wouldn’t make this any easier. He didn’t like the diluted tobacco used these days anyway.
“Snipe?” Eric asked, laughing. “That’s so last century.”
Lexan flashed him a middle finger.
Eric laughed harder.
Their target house was in the middle of an upscale neighborhood of mini-mansions. The neighbors were within one or two acres. He gazed down the dirt drive at a well-lit, white Colonial-style house that looked new.
He reviewed in his mind the hundreds of deaths that had resulted from Ambrose’s killing of Vee’s mother. To what end did he incite a war in the States?
Text from Blay: In position. Will secure entire area as soon as you’re at the front. She’s inside.
Lexan crawled the car up the drive, the crunch of gravel under the tires the only sound. They got out and silently marched up to the front door.
Eric knocked.
The dark vampire who answered bowed his head. “Your Majesty. An honor.”
“I will speak to Ambrose,” Lexan ordered.
The door guard opened the door wide. “You were expected.”
Of course they were.
Lexan glanced around, counting six vampires hovering. Most acquiesced to him, but no respect came his way in their dark glares. They were directed into a downstairs sitting room.
“Good evening, Lexan. I see you survived after our last…meeting.” Ambrose grinned a cold smile.
“As did you.”
Ambrose waved at a chair in invitation. “I suspected you would follow her here.”
“I prefer to stand.” Lexan folded his arms across his chest.
“Suit yourself.” He sat, crossing his legs with a smug smile. “I was surprised to see a wolf marked Vee. But then, your theatrics to rescue her were quite interesting. So fascinating the king of werewolves wants a vampire.”
“Where is she?”
He waved his hand. “She’s here. We will get to her and your mysterious fascination with her. So, why use her as bait to speak with me now? I figured we’d see each other on opposite sides of the war. Please tell me this isn’t some political apology visit.”
“You killed Arie Scarpa and incited this Stateside skirmish. Why?”
The skin around his mouth tensed. Subtle. Otherwise, no outward emotion. “You have no proof.”
“I repeat, why?”
“I owe you no explanation.”
Admission of guilt. “On the contrary. You caused the deaths of hundreds of my people. You sought to ignite this skirmish into a worldwide war by shooting at me. I shall give you a chance to defend yourself before I pass judgment.”
“I shot at you? You stole my future bride from me. I was justified to protect and defend what is mine.”
“You never wanted her,” Lexan said.
“That actually isn’t true. She served a purpose. My father wanted our family united with the Scarpas so he could control them and this country.”
“Why are you working with a biotech firm in California?”
He smiled. “Had me checked out. I am impressed with your intel. I’m sure you can guess what we’re up to.”
“What are you planning to do with the virus?”
“There are some things I can discuss and some I cannot.” He shrugged.
From the upstairs came the noise of several men moving downward. Vee was pushed into the room, landing on her knees. One of Ambrose’s top guards pointed a gun at her head.
Lexan’s mind hazed as he assessed her puffy lip and the bit of dried blood from her nostrils. He wanted to rip every vampire around her to shreds.
“You’re going to walk out of here and leave my fiancée with me. You’re going to forget about her. If you don’t, if I get even a sniff of a wolf near her, I’ll have her killed.” Ambrose smiled as if he held all the cards. He rose and sauntered to Vee and helped her to stand up.
“Darling, who hit you?” asked Ambrose. He touched her puffy lip. “Who do I need to kill?”
She cringed. “The asshole who picked me up slapped me. We had a little disagreement when I exited the car.”
Ambrose’s gaze frosted as he glared at one of the vamps nearby. “You had directions not to harm her.” He touched her cheek. “She has such beautiful skin.”
“She bit me. I got angry.”
“We’ll deal with this later.” The chill of his tone indicated it wouldn’t go well for the other guy. His tone returned to the seductive smoothness. “I apologize, darling. But don’t change. I like you feisty.” He traced a finger along her chin.
“What’s this about a virus?” she asked.
“Nothing you need worry your pretty little head about.” He fingered the side of her neck and glanced at Lexan. Even if his brain recognized that Ambrose wanted to make him jealous by this display, it didn’t stop his base desire to chew out his throat.
“He wants to bite me, and I’m going to let him,” Vee said telepathically.
A sultry smile transformed her face. “We were on opposite sides last I saw you.” She touched him back, a few fingers on his cheek. “I was trying to explain that the werewolf over there just bit me, and I didn’t know what to do. Then they took me again.”
“You didn’t go with them willingly?” Ambrose met Lexan’s gaze. Lexan knew he probably looked murderous and damn if Ambrose wasn’t getting off on it. Ambrose’s pupils dilated. He ran a finger down her pulsating jugular vein again while staring at Lexan.
She said, “Did it look willing when someone slung me over his shoulder? I’ve been trying to get back here since. They say you killed my mother.”
Ambrose touched his lips to her neck, his eyes searching for Lexan’s. Yeah, he bet the jealousy was all over his face. “She was a traitor to our species and a necessary means to an end.”
“What end?” she asked but then added, “You wanted the war here? You’re one of the vamps who want werewolves enslaved again.”
“Enslaved?” He laughed. “They’ve been free too long. This is about eradication. The good king over there couldn’t even do me the honor of dying from my assassins, or my bullet.”
“Why do you hate them?”
Ambr
ose frowned. “You’re trying to get information from me…for him?” His gaze met Lexan’s. “Of course you are. You can’t think I’m that stupid. Yet, you’re mine. You’ll never be his, and he doesn’t like that.” He snaked his arm around her shoulder, tilted her head to the side, and slid his nose along her neck, deeply inhaling. “She smells amazing, doesn’t she, Lexan? I think I’ll have a small taste now. Maybe I’ll let you watch me fuck her while I drink.”
“Don’t,” Lexan growled. He wasn’t faking the anger.
Ambrose tilted her neck and licked. He bit. It wasn’t a delicate bite, but a viper strike. His huge fangs were lodged deep into the flesh of her neck…so easy to make it a fatal bite if he took too much of her blood too fast.
She whimpered, which twisted his gut. Fuck patience.
Eric stepped forward and put a hand on his arm.
He fisted his hands, his nails elongating as the wolf within fought to kill the male touching his mate.
Ambrose muttered, “Mmm. Amazing.” He took several more deep swallows and pulled away, letting blood continue to dribble down her neck from the open holes.
She jerked against him. He didn’t release her.
Seconds later, Ambrose stumbled as if drunk and let go of her. She held a hand to her neck as she backed away. Her gaze met Lexan’s.
Ambrose whispered, “What is this? What did you do to me?” Tremors wracked his body.
She stood tall. “My father is Blaylock Lazlo. The werewolf.”
“No…” Ambrose wailed as he wiped blood from his nose and eyes. It was ugly and violent.
The other vampires attacked.
Lexan’s heart rate slowed as he allowed the trained warrior in him to take over. His vision narrowed onto the targets around him, and those around Vee. He tossed two knives in rapid succession. The first hit the gun arm of the vamp closest to Vee. The gun fired before he released it, but the bullet landed well out of range of Vee. The second knife he threw landed deep in the same vampire’s neck, knocking him backward.
Eric attacked two of Ambrose’s men, and TC took out the other two. His other boys flanked Lexan, protecting. He scooped Vee into his arms. She breathed. Her heart rate steady.
He shook her gently until her eyes opened. “How much are you hurt?”
“I’ll be fine. That was…disgusting.”
Vamps suddenly dropped to the ground, bleeding and dead as if killed by ghosts. Then, Blay and his men became visible. Blay prowled toward Ambrose who had not moved from where he knelt on the floor. Not quite dead but well on his way.
“You killed Arie.”
“Blaylock?” Ambrose gasped, his hand on his chest. “But you were gone. Dominic said he…”
Blay leaned toward Ambrose. In a low mesmerizing voice asked, “Why did you kill her?”
Vee rolled in Lexan’s arms to see.
His eyes glazed over. “A means to an end.”
“Did you intend to start this war?” Blay asked.
“Yes.”
Blay gazed at the ceiling and took a deep inhale and exhale. “Is Viktor involved?”
“He knew.” Ambrose laughed. “But now with the new and improved version of the virus we don’t need to fight you in battle. You’re all going to die.” He coughed and fell to the floor as seizures took over.
Blay walked away.
Lexan nodded. “We are leaving the country, going home. Tonight.”
Blay halted as he passed by Lexan. “I leave her to your care, but—”
“No buts. She will be safe with us,” he interrupted. “Don’t be a stranger. If you want to keep your public status as dead, then that’s fine. Jacob gave her all the information, and I want her to use it. Sounds like this is going to be about the virus. We’re going to need something to fight it. We should also speak on…issues.”
“I won’t take your place as king. Do not even think to ask.”
Lexan chuckled. “The thought might’ve passed through my mind. Then visit, because Vee needs to know her father.”
Blay reached out and touched her cheek. “I would like that.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Vee wrapped one arm around Lexan’s neck and leaned into him for the slow song. “You haven’t told me you love me today.”
“I’m in a damned tux. That should tell you everything you need to know. Only dead men wear suits.”
“You look handsome.” She leaned in and kissed his mouth. Not a real kiss, but a tease.
“I’ve asked you three times since the start of this debacle if you’re wearing underwear.” His hand moved low on her back to pull her tighter against him. He spun her out of the way of two couples on the dance floor while struggling to define the emotions churning in his brain. The ceremony, although purely symbolic, made their married status official. She’d been right to push for the event. At least he wasn’t the only one forced into a tux. All of his guard had been stuffed into penguin suits as well. The guys had moved beyond discomfort only when Vee caved and let them be armed.
“You and thongs.” She rolled her eyes. “This tells me you’re thinking about sex, not that you love me. By the way, I am wearing one, and it’s skimpy.”
“You’re killing me.”
She giggled and waved at Eric as he twirled a pretty brunette wolf nearby. The wedding reception was small. “Eric looks like he’s having fun.”
“He wants to get laid.”
She hit him playfully on the arm. “He probably heard that.”
“I’m counting on it. He negotiated hard with TC to be off duty tonight. He needs a woman to help him relax.”
Eric winked at Lexan and dipped his dance partner, who squealed in delight.
She leaned in and kissed Lexan’s throat. “I love you a lot, by the way. Thank you for all this. It means so much to me that you’d put on the tux, which looks amazing, and get up in front of people to say vows. Thank you for taking me on a honeymoon in Brussels. I know it’s not glamorous, but it’s got the best virologist at the university—”
“No science talk tonight. You promised.”
“I did.” She beamed and kissed him again. “Thank you.”
She was his wife. His other half. In such a short few weeks, she’d become home for him. He leaned in close to her ear. “I want more children. At least one miniature version of you.”
“Kids might be a hindrance to your obsession with kitchen sex.”
“I can be creative. There are many rooms in the house.”
The song ended. Couples shuffled on and off the dance floor. They hadn’t broken apart.
TC stepped forward and bowed. “Thank you.”
She rolled out of Lexan’s arms to hug TC briefly, which was a miracle since the guy hated to be touched. “Why are you thanking me? It’s I who thanks you for saving Lexan’s stubborn butt all these years, and for sticking by him.”
“This last Stateside visit was the most challenging. He didn’t let us know anything before it happened.”
Lexan glared. “I had a purpose.”
“I’m glad you were stubborn. She was worth the stress and every moment of four assassination attempts.” TC grinned and addressed Vee again. “Thank you for standing up for me against the vampires.”
“You didn’t deserve to be in the middle of that.”
Lexan glanced around at the six other wolf guards now surrounding them, all bowing.
She said, “Thank you, all of you, for being there for him. Thank you for not condemning me for what I am. We’re going to fight together to preserve the werewolf people.”
Lexan said, “They’ve accepted you. My people must accept you or they can find themselves a new leader.”
“I understand if they don’t, but it won’t stop me from working toward a cure for the virus. I only hope we can find it before they release their weaponized version.”
He kissed her again, this time with a long lingering kiss that stole her breath. “There’s no one better for the job. I love you more than anything
in this world.”
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Acknowledgments
With immense gratitude to my readers who welcomed my characters into their lives and imaginations!
Thank you so very much for all the support and guidance Laura Bradford.
Tera Cuskaden, you are editor extraordinaire and I cannot express how lucky I am to have you in my corner. A huge thanks to the entire Entangled team. There are so many talented people behind the scenes who helped make this book happen.
Thank you to Nichole Severn for your friendship and support, and a general get-it-done when needed.
None of this would be possible without my husband, family and friends. We only had one Misty sock ingestion incident during the editing of this book, although this time she didn’t require surgery.
About the Author
Zoe Forward is a hopeless romantic who can’t decide between paranormal and contemporary romance. So, she writes both. In addition to being a mom to one rambunctious first grader and wife to a conservation ecologist who plans to save all the big cats on the planet, she’s a small animal veterinarian caring for all the small furries, although there is the occasional hermit crab.
When she’s not typing at her laptop, she’s tying on a karate belt for her son or cleaning up the newest pet mess from the menagerie that occupies her house. She’s madly in love with her globe-trotting husband of ten years, and happy when he returns to their home base in North Carolina.
Also by Zoe Forward…
Protecting His Witch
His Witch to Keep
Playing the Witch’s Game
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Archeologist Sam Bellamy doesn’t believe in dragons, but the secret society called the Knights of the Dragon do, and if she can get one of the artifacts they’re searching for away from them, she’ll consider it payback for killing her mentor. Four-thousand-year-old water drakon Ezra Easton knows just because he pulled an injured woman from the ocean, doesn’t mean he gets to keep her… When she wakes up, she has a tall tale to share, and it seems the Knights are after her. But this drakon won’t give up his treasure.
