“Learn to control your anger, Lass,” Shamus chides, and I turn my inferno of a stare on him. He just shakes his head, dismissing me to look back to Siobhan.
“Dear,” her voice pulls me back to her, and my heart can’t help but calm as her look bathes me in caring and love. “To rightfully claim your mates and keep the dark from your life, you must look beyond the magic; look beyond the wolf and see the man. See who they really are and know that their love lies deep enough to break every wall you’ve ever put up. Their hearts will stop at nothing to show you love.”
Siobhan’s voice starts to fade, and as I look down at my feet, I see that I’m floating backward away from them. I try and pull away from the invisible force pulling me back, but it holds me fast, picking up speed as I see her stand and wave.
“We will always be watching. We will see you in Montana!” She yells, and then she’s out of sight. I’m flying through the meadow, the dark storm clouds surging above. Raindrops hit my face as the wind picks me up, spinning me in a circle as if I am trapped in a tornado. Lightning flashes, blinding me just as a loud crack of thunder strikes me deaf; my flames are still burning bright, trying to fight off this invisible force.
The swirling winds stop and I can feel that I’m floating, my vision still spotting and trying to recover from the lightning as I begin to fall; fast. I hit something hard and cold, forcing the breath from my lungs, and my eyes fly open to stare at a ceiling, glowing with bright sunlight.
“Fuck, Row, wake up! You’re gonna burn the damn place down; wake up!” I hear the shouts and grunts of pain through the high pitched ringing still buzzing through my mind from the thunder, and my vision clears totally. I’m on the floor of our hotel room, the charred bed sheet tangled around my body as Blaine and Penton are jumping around the bed, trying to smother the stray flames.
I shoot to my feet, reigning in my flames and patting out the nearest smoldering spot on the bed. I’m breathing so hard; I feel as if I might pass out, and I brace myself against the mattress. Letting the familiar after burn tingle roll over my skin and through my joints, it causes a thin layer of sweat to cover my flesh. I close my eyes and take a calming breath, the conversation and words of advice from my dream powering through my mind like a freight train.
“Row, are you okay?” Blaine’s voice breaks through, and I snap my face up to see both Penton and him staring at me, their eyes wide and a slight feeling of fright rolling around the room. “You were screaming and thrashin’ around. Are you alright?”
“I…um,” is all I can get out as I slowly move my eyes to Penton. His white-blue eyes are roaming me slowly, and I quickly realize I’m standing bare naked in the middle of the room, panting like a cat in heat. His stare comes back up to mine, and I can clearly see the desire hidden behind the ghostly color, burning as bright as my flames, and it pulls at something deep inside, sparking a flash of desire that rolls through me like a landslide. My legs tremble and my breath catches in my throat as our eyes remain locked, his scent finding me and wrapping me in a blanket of lust and longing.
A sharp, shrill howl breaks through the silent moment and my attention goes to the men before me, the tension in the room appearing and thickening instantly. As I remain frozen in place; both from the intense moment shared with Penton and still trying to recover from my dream, I see from the corner of my vision as Blaine yanks his leather bomber jacket from the closet, hopping to the door as he tugs on his boots.
A panic fills me as he reaches for the door handle, and I rush to his side, covering his hand with mine and putting my body between him and the door. His wolf growls, the sound vibrating in his throat as the smooth material of his jacket brushes lightly against my bare breasts, sending a silky wave of lightning through my chest down to my core, and I have to squeeze my thighs together to keep from jumping in his arms and straddling my legs around his waist, demanding that he take me up against the door.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I manage to get out after swallowing hard, forcing the need to have his perfectly pierced cock buried deep within me aside, for now. There are Berserkers close and looking for us, we need to focus on surviving. I can’t have him going out there and doing anything foolish just for me.
“I’m going out to draw them away from the Inn,” he gives me a slight grin, meant to reassure me, but it doesn’t. He’s cocky; thinking he’s invincible, but he’s not. His big head might get him trapped and losing him now after what Siobhan advised me of—well, I don’t know if I would get through that.
“Are you crazy? There are probably more than two, like there was last night. They’ll surround and trap you. You can’t go out there alone; wait for me to get dressed.” I start to turn to throw on some clothes when Blaine’s large, work roughened hand wraps around my forearm just above my elbow. He pulls me flush to his chest, his body heat seeping into my naked front and making me want to melt from the inside out. His hazel eyes roam my face, and a sexy little smirk lifts up the one corner of his perfectly luscious lips.
“Don’t worry ‘bout me, kitten,” he whispers, pulling my face up to his and erasing all the worry I had with one swipe of his lips along mine, then nipping on my ear as he pulls me into a hug. “Penton and I talked over a plan while you were healing. I’m gonna take them out into the woods, find your scent, and lead them off in a confusing path. Then I’ll meet you two on the road.”
“But then where will we go? Are we going to just walk out of town?” We don’t have a car or money to buy a car, so where do these two jerks think we are going on foot?
I remove my ear from Blaine’s teasing and look him in the eyes again, seeing the mischievous glint and the smirk still on his lips. I swing my head over to Penton. His tall, lean, and muscular figure is just standing by the window, his arms crossed over his chest as he grins at me, shaking his head and looking back out the window.
“What?” I say, as Blaine slowly pushes me away, straightening his jacket and reaching for the door handle again.
“The Inn keeper is going to, kinda, loan us her car.” Penton tries to hide his smile, but as I come up to his side, the silly little grin is on full display as he looks out the frost covered window.
Stepping in front of him, I’m all too suddenly reminded that I am still naked as the chill seeps through the panes and hits my skin, giving birth to goose-bumps all the way down to my toes, and I shiver. As I peer out the window to the driveway below, covered with at least two feet of freshly fallen snow, I see a brand new looking Landrover sitting there, just waiting for us.
“I really don’t want to know what you guys did or said to that nice old lady to get her to give us her car, do I?” I spare Penton a quick look before I feel his arms wrap around me, his fingers lacing together over my shoulder as he pulls me into his chest. His touch alone sets me on fire, and I take a deep breath to keep the flames from bursting onto my skin.
“I just used my charm.” Blaine laughs from the doorway, and Penton swings me around just in time to see Blaine wink and shut the door behind him. I hear his footsteps fade down the hall and then the stairs, his running form disappearing into the swirling tornadoes of snow as he hits the driveway, headed for the trees. Just as the black leather of his bomber jacket fades into the pines, another shrill howl echoes through the room, seeming to vibrate on the panes of the window, and I can’t help but shiver slightly from fear as Penton squeezes me.
“He will be just fine,” he whispers, his voice low and laced with a deep caring; so deep it makes me turn and look up at him. I search his face for who this man is and what he means to me. He’s still watching the snow out the window as I take in his regal looking features. The dark, short, and kind of spiky hair that matches the color of the five o’clock shadow on his face; the perfect nose, void of any breaks or scars, sitting between those dark lash framed eyes. Then there are his lips… hell, just looking at them quickly makes me want to take a serious chunk out of him right here, right now.
I’m dreaming a
nd lusting over what I can do to him when I snap out of it and he’s looking down at me, smiling wickedly. I realize that I’ve sunken into his arms, my bare chest resting against his dark green thermal shirt and my breathing is rapid, my heart beating like I’ve just run a marathon.
I can feel his is doing the same, and as I look back up at him, I see his want to give into the lust warring with his self-control, his pupils dilating and then shrinking, his nostrils flaring, no doubt taking in the scent of my desire as it grows with the heat between my legs. My leopard is purring and slightly chuffing, telling me she is content and safe with this man, or whatever he is, and before I know it I’m up on my tiptoes with my lips only a whisper from his.
“Rowena,” he whispers, a strange thick, Scottish like tinge coming to his voice as he cups my cheek, brushing my hair behind my ear. I lean into his warm touch, closing my eyes as his thumb runs over my bottom lip. His touch quickly leaves me and I’m left with the cold breeze from the window, and I open my eyes, seeing him an arm’s length away. “We need to…uh.” He clears his throat as he adjusts the waist band of his jeans, no doubt trying to make the enormous bulge I can see more comfortable to deal with. “We need to get going. Blaine will be stranded if we don’t get a move on.”
“Right,” I mumble, not hiding the deflated feeling that fills me. I see the hurt look in his eyes when I walk past him, not sparing him a second as I pull on the warmest clothing I have; throwing everything else into the few grocery bags that we have laying around.
Pulling on my non-blood stained pair of knee high boots, I feel the soreness of my calf, but ignore it and grab the bags, following Penton out into the hall and down the stairs. The sweet, elderly Inn keeper, Ruby, is sitting at the front desk, knitting what I think might be the hundredth pair of mittens I’ve seen her work on in the last forty-eight hours. She looks over the glasses on her nose, and a wide smile fills her face.
“Leavin’, dears?” She grins, standing slowly and sliding a set of keys across the mahogany top as Penton gives her a handsome grin. Her hand covers his as he takes the keys, and she gives him a gentle pat, bringing her big brown eyes to me. “Now, you take care of these two handsome men, Hon. See that they never leave the house hungry, or the bedroom, you know,” she elbows me slightly while lowering her voice, “un-satisfied.”
“I won’t.” I almost choke on air as she pats my hand, kissing me quickly on the cheek as Penton waves from the front door. I turn back before hitting the cold, and give the sweet lady a final wave. She smiles, picking up the unfinished right hand of the mittens she is working on and settling back into her chair, giving me a picture of the grandmother I had always wanted when I was a child.
As I hear the door close behind me, I turn my face up to the white sky, feeling the flakes of snow hitting my cheeks as I silently pray. I don’t really know who I’m praying to, maybe Siobhan and Kade, but it’s just to anyone who will listen. I ask them to make sure this sweet lady, and anyone else who has and will help the three of us get to wherever Penton is taking us safely, don’t come under any harm for doing so.
A sharp, bitter wind kicks up around me, forcing the flakes against my face and neck as it flings my hair wildly. I swear I can hear an “I’ll do the best I can” on the breeze, and as I look to the Landrover, Penton has his eyes closed, his head cocked to the side, as if he hears it too. He eyes snap open, locking on me, and he smiles softly, nodding for me to hurry up. I do, jumping from the steps and making it to the passenger door before he starts the engine.
Settling into the heated leather seat, I snap the safety belt into place. I don’t know what I did to whatever force created the universe to deserve this fucked up, gypsy, dangerous life, but it’s what I have, and I need to make it right. I need to make sure no one else gets hurt because of me.
“It’s not your fault,” Penton says, covering my hand with his and squeezing my fingers. “The vampire, he tried to hurt you, right? He deserved his death. There really is no call for retaliation like this. Whatever, or whoever, is behind the Berserkers, and whatever else might come after us, isn’t just because of the Master’s death.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles lightly, sending a ripple of warmth that travels right down to my core, making me squirm a bit in my seat, and making him laugh.
“Let’s get out of here,” he grins, throwing the SUV into reverse out of the driveway, and then flooring it in drive, heading out of the quaint little town toward the rural highway to meet up with Blaine.
He may say the words, but this is my fault. If I had kept my temper and powers in check, we wouldn’t be in this mess and we could just be happy. But no, I always find a way to fuck everything up.
That’s me. Rowena “Fuck Up” Byrne. Happy to meet you.
~~~~
Penton
“Where is he?” Rowena hisses, squirming in the passenger seat beside me with her face almost plastered against the window, her breath fogging the cold glass. She puts her hand up to the glass as if she is reaching out into the woods, searching for Blaine, and I can feel the hurt running through her from the worry.
I’m feeling it too. He should’ve met us by now, and I’ve been out in the surrounding tree line, searching for his scent but finding nothing. Nothing on the wind either. No howls, or even growls. Absolutely nothing, which worries me even more. I take my eyes off of my beautiful mate for only a second and peer out the windshield to the still rising sun, seeing it almost at the ten o’clock position.
We’ve sat here, making small talk and it’s been nice, but her worry has been growing. Even through me telling her a little about her half-sister, Siofra, and her family, I could tell that Rowena was only half listening, but her heart did skip a beat when I mentioned that Siofra is anxious to meet her. I can sense that Rowena is nervous about all of this information being thrown at her about having a family now, and two mates; I can’t imagine the questions she must have.
I also revealed that I am an Elf, but said nothing more, and she hasn’t asked. She can probably sense the reservations I have about telling her my dark and blood stained past. It will have to come out eventually, but right now we have to focus on getting out of here safely.
“I think we need to go out and look for him.” Her voice is on the edge of crying, I can hear the waver and feel the tension rise as I look to her, her eyes watering as her fingers tap on the glass slowly, almost as if she is already mourning.
I want to hold her and chase away the fear that I know is gripping her heart, but I settle to cup her cheek, running my thumb over her warm skin and smiling when she leans into my touch. “Please,” she whimpers, her eyes meeting mine as her free hand rests on my chest.
“I’ll go again. Stay here.” I start to reach for the door handle, but her fingers grip into my shirt. I give her a serious look, leaning in just a whisper from her lips. “You will stay here. You will not get out of the car for anyone or anything. If I am not back in twenty minutes, no matter what, drive away and head for Montana.” She nods in agreement, her body betraying her to what remains of my magic as the tears finally slip out, and I feel her heart breaking, causing mine to skip a beat.
I turn on her and grip both of her shoulders, squeezing them hard but without causing pain. I just need to get my point across. “Listen to me, Rowena. Promise me.” A flash of fear rolls through her, followed quickly by one of longing. It’s the same feeling resonating deep within me. I want her; I need her, but I will wait until she is ready to claim me as her mate to have her.
“I….I promise,” she stutters, nodding her head up and down blankly again, and I smile down at her, knowing she will listen. The Elf blood that still flows through my veins gives me power over her weaker Were, and I kiss her forehead somewhat apologetically. I know she will be angry the second I get out of the car for using what power I have left over her, but it’s necessary.
I give her lips a quick, chaste kiss and step from the Landrover, slamming the door behind me to try and drive m
y point home, as I know she will be snapping from the haze right about now. I hear her screaming in frustration and see her kicking at the dashboard as I step around the front of the vehicle, zipping my jacket up to my neck and taking a deep breath of the freezing wind blowing from the north.
A sharp howl echoes off the trees just in front of me and I freeze, trying to zone in on the original direction as I squint and try to see something through the snow and pines. Looking back one more time into the passenger window, I see the worry and fear displayed all over Rowena’s beautiful face, and it makes my steps falter. Her hands are up against the glass, cutting out the shapes of her fingers and palms through the steam and her lips move, mouthing a ‘Be safe’, and I nod.
The snow pelts my face as I sprint into the woods, dodging the large pines and birch trees. Another earth shattering howl fills the air, and I stop, getting my bearings and searching the wind for Blaine’s scent. The strong earthy scent hits me like a freight train and I turn south in the direction, leaping over a group of left behind logs and coming to a thick patch of pines as I hear shouting.
“Where is she, pretty boy?” A harsh, deep rumble flows over the tree branches I’m hidden behind, and I can see Blaine just in front of them, cornered by four half shifted Berserkers. They are all ready to fight; their hands and feet morphed into claws and their snouts elongated, baring sharp teeth. Mongrels, I can’t help but think, shaking my head, trying to toss the wet dog smell from my nose. I reach into my jacket and grasp the grip of my sword, pulling it from its sheath just a tad when I hear Blaine reply.
“She’s probably three quarters of the way south. You assholes will never find her.” The cocky smirk on his face makes me want to laugh, but I tense as one of the Berserkers attacks. Blaine easily tosses him aside, throwing him into one of the large pines as the Were yips and the others growl. My hand twitches on the sword handle, itching for a fight, and I can’t wait any longer.
Rowena's Revenge (Broadus Supernatural Society) Page 4
