Oh, what the hell? I think to myself as I reach out and grasp it. My breath catches in my throat as his fingers link around mine, lightning bolts flowing out and over my skin, gathering in my core, and I can feel the familiar tingle of my fire roll over my body. If I’m not careful, I’ll burn down this entire forest in a second, so I let him pull me from my hiding spot.
Trying to keep my weight on my uninjured leg, I stumble and fall into his chest. Oh God, it’s rock hard. I try not to let his body heat get to me as his arms go around me to keep me on my feet, but damn does he feel good. He even smells good.
As he holds me to him, I spare a look up into his eyes and see that he has a small smile on his lips. Perfect lips; luscious even, begging me to bite them, and I have to look to the snow and suck in a breath to reign in my raging desire.
“I know an awful lot about you,” he whispers, his eyes roaming my face as I look back up at him. I need to step back before my flames burst out and hurt him, so I jerk from his hold, wincing as my injury burns through my calf muscle. He keeps his hand wrapped around mine, and I see his attention float to my leg.
“What?” I have to pause and take a second as my head spins, and I’m cursing those wolves for shooting me again. The man’s arm wraps around my waist, tugging me into his side. “What’s your name?”
He smiles sweetly, and my heart feels like it might burst at the sight. His face is so handsome; strong jaw and nose, no facial hair, and close cut midnight black hair wet with the falling snow. He almost seems too perfect to be real. I cock my head in an almost awe like state and notice that his ears have a slight point to them, spiking my curiosity.
“My name is Penton,” he says as I reach my right hand up slowly and hesitantly brush my fingertips along his ear. His eyes flutter shut as I run my fingers over his skin and through his hair, the smell of apricots filling the air around him as his eyes fall on me again, bathing me in un-restrained lust and desire. The degree of it almost frightens me as I move my hand to his cheek and feel him lean into my touch.
As I see a naughty little grin play across his face, I feel the dizziness and weight of my blood loss and I teeter in his arms, almost falling, but he catches me by shooting his hands into my armpits. I can hear myself let out a strangled laugh, but my mind is floating, the darkness filling my vision.
“Were you the voice? The voice I heard?”
“No,” he chuckles, his smile seeming brighter than the mid-day sun, and I can’t take my eyes from it, the sway deepening in my stance and the blurriness in my vision fading in and out. So he wasn’t the voice I heard on the wind, but who was?
“Take me back to Blaine,” I manage to get out as I feel him lift me into his arms, holding me tight to his chest. “Take me to Blaine. He’ll help us.”
Then I’m out, the only feelings rolling through my body is the heat from his closeness and the inferno threatening to burst from my core. My libido wars with my mind for the split second before I’m out, this stranger pulling at every fiber of carnal need within me.
What have I gotten myself into?
CHAPTER TWO:
Penton
I’ve waited thousands of years for this moment. The moment when I have my mate in my arms, and here she is; in pain and I can’t do a damn thing to help her. I gave my last ounce of magic in trade for my transportation here, and I can’t have it back until Rowena is claimed by both of her mates and the circle is closed.
Her body is dead weight against mine. I need to find where Blaine is hiding out before she loses much more blood. I can smell the silver burning through her veins, the metallic scent lined with her own of what seems like cloves and maybe oranges, I’m not quite sure. I stop in my hurried journey from the woods to press my nose to her silver hair, taking a deep breath and letting it mingle in my lungs.
My mate. My future, that’s what she smells like. Curse the universe; she is what I need, I think and shake my head, picking up the pace as I trudge through the ankle high, and rising, snow.
It’s different having to actually walk everywhere and not use my magic to just transport, but it was my trade for love. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still as strong as any supernatural and fast, but the void within me nags at my mind. The missing tingle from my magic leaves me feeling like half of a man. But I’ll deal with it for her, until she sees that I’m her mate.
The dark night is only lit by the huge moon, and it lights my path to the rural road, the loose gravel mixing with the snow as I start to run, tucking Rowena tighter to my chest. No doubt there will be more wolves looking for her, if they aren’t already out here, so I need to find Blaine.
I can get a hint of him off of her, a strong earthy feel almost like wet dirt, so I’ll track him down that way. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I let the wind hitting me in the face carry his scent to me. I scare some white tail deer from their midnight feast, and they go leaping off into the trees just as I round the corner, spying a small gas station up ahead.
The bright lights shining from the Texaco sign flickers out just as I reach the pumps, and I keep running, feeling prying eyes following me from inside the little shack storefront. I can feel the hate, the fear, and the disgust rolling like waves on the ocean from the occupant hiding in the shadows, but I keep my focus on Blaine’s scent and finding him.
The wind shifts, blasting me in the side of the face just as the bright sign comes to life again at my back, casting my shadow out in front of me, and I can’t help but chuckle to myself. The ignorance and discrimination that some people have against what they don’t know or understand is unbelievable at times. They hate what they fear, and they fear the abnormal.
I am definitely abnormal.
Born the Prince of Elves, I had everything handed to me. People feared me; supernaturals bowed to me, and at first I loved it. I relished it. I couldn’t get enough of getting whatever I wanted; women came to me in droves, getting on their knees whenever I bade them to.
But then, something happened. In the highlands of Scotland, in the high of medieval era, I met a woman. A red haired beauty name Helen who stole my heart, and at the time I wanted nothing more than her. She chased away the darkness that my blood, my Elvin heritage, held around my heart just with her laugh, and I was ready to make her my wife; to spend a mortal life time and trade my magic in for love.
My brother, Bronton, had other plans. He was a vindictive and purely evil soul, and he took Helen away from me in a horrible way that still haunts me at times to this day. The bright sunny day that I had arrived in her village to find her parents mourning, her body already up on a funeral pyre with her body wrapped in cloth to prevent the horror of her mangled body from being seen. He had skinned my Helen alive, leaving her bleeding and tied to a tree while he and my other brother had their way with her, ruining her.
My brother gloated and celebrated his little triumph for keeping his brother tied to their heritage, but I vowed to have my revenge, and I did last summer. I helped my savior, Queen of the Fae Siobhan, and her offspring, Siofra, defeat my brothers and parents, ridding the world of their presence, and lifting the cage around my heart.
Now I have to save Siofra’s sister, Rowena, and claim her as my mate before those that are chasing her catch up and take her for their own. Together with my mentor, Siofra, and Rowena’s father, Shamus, the F.S.S.C.A., and other contacts, we’ve traced those chasing her back to the sire of the Master Vampire Rowena had burned down.
I have a deep feeling, a dark feeling, that this goes way beyond that, and it makes me sick. Livius’ sire, Rodnal, doesn’t seem like the kind to hold a grudge, and he doesn’t carry enough influence to wage war against a daughter of Fae.
A strangled moan rips through Rowena, tugging at my heart, and I hold her tighter, trying to keep away the wind as I spot the lights of the small town ahead of us. I pick up my pace as she tries to squirm. “No, no,” I whisper into her ear and she stills, sagging back into my arms with her lips just a hair away from my neck,
lighting me on fire.
“We’re almost there. Hold on; don’t move. I’ll fix ya up when we find Blaine.” I kiss her hair, and I feel her hands grip into the front of my jacket tighter.
“The hotel, he’s at the hotel,” she breathes out before falling slack in my arms, her head lolling back and taking my breath away.
My heart feels like it’s frozen as I feel hers slow; the beat an erratic, uneven rhythm, the pulse I see running through her neck almost fading altogether. I start to run, looking frantically side to side for a sign of the hotel. In a town this small I doubt there is anything elaborate, so I focus in, searching everywhere in the blustery snow.
I can feel her heart slow even more. Thump thump………..thump thump…………. The sound resonating in my head, and I feel like screaming. I can’t lose her now; not after just finding her.
Jumping a short hedge, I almost trip and fall, but I catch myself on a large pine and spot something glorious. A wooden sign, swinging in the wind, stating ‘Pine Ridge Inn’, and I thank the heavens silently. Blaine’s scent is all over the front door, along with the strong odor of humans, but I’m not about to try and shimmy up a tree into a second floor window, so I swing the front door open and quickly step in.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Honey, but we’re closed for the…” The sweet old woman comes around the corner, curlers in her hair and her glasses down on her nose, only to freeze when she sees me, my chest heaving in and out, moving the lifeless Rowena in my arms. “Oh my,” she whispers, her hand going to her lips in shock.
“I need to see a man who’s staying here; his name is Blaine,” I breathe out, and all the woman does is nod, looking over her shoulder and pointing me up the stairs.
I walk past, stopping to cast my white-blue eyes down into her warm brown ones, trying to convey my thanks and calm her. “Thank you. Please do not tell anyone we are here.”
“I..I..I won’t,” she stammers, shaking her head as she pushes her glasses back up her nose, and she straightens, pulling her shoulders back, letting me know my calming effect is working on her.
Spinning and taking the stairs three at a time, I turn on a landing and reach the second floor. The warm reds, oranges, and golds give me a false sense of security, and I follow the strong scent of wolf down the hall and to the right, coming to the last door.
I should knock, that would be the nice thing to do, but seeing as I’m feeling Rowena’s heartbeat stutter, niceties are not needed. I can hear him snoring on the other side of the white wooden door, and I say a silent prayer for him to not have a gun as I back up a few steps. Bringing my leg up and planting my boot right by the door handle, I send the wood cracking and groaning on its hinges into the room.
~~~~~
Blaine
“Why are you lookin’ at me like that?” I ask Rowena as I cup her cheek and she snuggles into my side, her perfect naked body pressed tight to mine. Her amazing eyes smile at me as I brush a lock of her short hair behind her ear, grinning at her.
“I’m jus’ thinkin’,” she says, smiling and leaning her cheek on my chest while running her hand over my shoulder, down my arm, and entangling our fingers.
“’Bout what?” I pry, pulling her on top of me as she squeals, trying to squirm away. I pull her face to mine with a low growl, and she freezes like she always does, giving in to my more dominant animal as I see her eyes flash to feline for a split second.
“I was thinkin’ ‘bout us,” she whispers, looking me right in the eye while tracing the tattoos on my chest and shoulders. Her light touch seems to vibrate on my skin, sending the heat of desire that always burns for her down to my groin, and I give her a wicked smile, pulling her hips down and grinding into her.
“Don’t worry ‘bout us, Darlin’,” I say, pulling her lips to mine and claiming them, sweeping my tongue out and over her bottom lip, hearing that sexy as hell purr rumble in her throat.
I get lost in her kiss like I never have in any other woman, which is how I know she is mine. My one and only. My true mate; the one all souls search for but only some are lucky to find. She moans into my lips, and I grind her hips down onto mine, digging my fingers into her bare ass and smiling at her movements against my growing need for her.
Her knees squeeze into my sides and she pulls her lips from mine, sitting up and bathing me in a breathtaking sexy stare. I reach up and run my hand from her neck, down between her beautiful breasts, to her stomach; circling my finger around her navel and seeing her eyes roll back in her head. I’m about to tell her to slide down on top of me so I can make love to her when I see a strange pair of arms encircle her waist; the masculine hands roaming all over her naked front, with one of the hands sneaking down to dive in between her legs, the fingers brushing my abs, and I almost jump out of bed.
“What the hell!?” I yell, jerking them off of me and falling to the floor. The scene before me wavers. What the fuck? I think to myself, seeing my room shake along with Rowena and this strange man disappearing from my bed. It turns from light to dark, and I really am lying on the floor; the door to our room barely hanging on its hinges as a dark haired, white-blue eyed man stands on the threshold, holding my mate.
Letting a possessive growl rip from my body, I shoot to my feet, ready to fight. I feel my hands shift from human to Berserker wolf, my fingers elongating and my claws growing razor sharp. My teeth shift and my canines grow; my nose and jaw jutting out to form a snout.
“Calm, Blaine,” the man shouts, kicking the door shut behind him. I feel a wave of urgency, asking me to calm down roll over me, telling me to quit the macho act.
The metallic scent hits my nose, and I stop the change, looking from the dark clothed man to Rowena, lying slack in his arms with her head lolled back and her neck exposed. I tune into her breathing, and it’s weak, barely raising her chest, and I throw my masculine need to possess aside.
“What happened?” I get out in a husky growl while shifting back to all human, cracking my neck and arms to relieve the pressure. Shaking the vibrating pressure from my body, as if I was shedding water from the midnight black coat of my wolf, I rush to the side of the bed just as this man, or whatever he is, sets Row down on the bed.
“No time for that now,” the man says, shooting his white-blue eyes my way before ripping Rowena’s jeans from her body, exposing her still bleeding leg. I can’t stop the growl that rips through my body as I see his hands hover over her bare flesh, and he locks his eyes onto mine, a feeling of anger and frustration rolling over me and causing my wolf to pull back; to whimper and whine slightly.
“What are you?” I can’t help but say in a harsh whisper as I squint my eyes at him when I think I see the air around him waver, his skin showing a green tinge and then disappearing again back to normal. He is something; not animal or vamp, because I’d be able to smell it on him. He isn’t just human, the eyes giving him away, and I get this strong pull from him, as if he has a magic aura or something.
“No time for that now,” he grinds out, returning his attention to Row’s leg, and she groans loudly as he turns her leg slightly, her blood spilling out over his fingers. “Do you have a first aid kit?”
Row thrashes her head against the pillow when the man prods what looks like a bullet wound, and her pained moans pull at my heart, making it jump up to a dangerous beat. “Yeah,” I finally answer him and turn, sprinting into the small bathroom.
My chest is hurting; the sound of Row’s whimpering and the slowing of her heartbeat filling my head as I rip open the medicine cabinet, practically pulling it from the wall. The stranger’s voice reaches me as I find the little white case with the red cross, and I have to pause, listening to the soothing words he’s issuing to my mate, making me feel better, as if he’s talking to me.
Wait, I shake myself, why the hell would I want him talking to me like that?
“It’s not that you want me talking to you like this; it’s that you like that I’m soothing her.” His voice is calm and even as I rush back into the
room, the small first aid kit clenched in my hand. The scene before me makes me pause, my hackles rising and a low growl rumbling through what seems like my entire body.
He’s got her flipped over on her stomach, her cheek pressed into the pillow as a pained look covers her face. I would normally jump on her in a moment like this, her lace panty covered behind on full display, but the sight of her blood smeared and soaking into the white bed sheet makes my stomach turn. I hand the stranger the small kit and grab Rowena’s hand, feeling the cold replacing her normally warm skin.
“I’ll explain everything, but I need to get the bullet out so she can start to heal.” He gives me a serious look, and I skirt my eyes from his to her leg, seeing the mangled and irritated flesh. I take a deep breath, letting the scent of her blood linger on my senses and I close my eyes, squeezing her hand in mine. My heart aches when she doesn’t react, not even a little twitch of the fingers. I slip my hold to her wrist to find her pulse.
Slow, but there. It’s a good sign. She’s still fighting.
“You’re gonna have to hold her still for me. Once I dig the blade in, her body is bound to react.” I’m about to ask him ‘What blade?’ when I see him produce a large hunting knife from his waist, flipping the blade down, aiming it at her skin, and I feel the anxiety rise within me; my wolf standing at attention and starting to pace, making my skin warm with anticipation of a shift. I don’t want him to hurt my mate.
“Hold her down, please, Blaine,” he says with a pointed tone, snapping me from my angry musing, and I lean over Row’s back, pressing my arm over her shoulder blades. I don’t need to apply much pressure; Rowena is strong, but not nearly as strong as me, and I let the memory of our wrestling escapades this morning play through my head.
Rowena's Revenge (Broadus Supernatural Society) Page 2
