The alpha’s lovemaking contained an element of pure animal intensity, all wolf. He was gentle, but once she’d displayed her own ferocity, he met her evenly. His eyes glowed amber, showing his wolf surging to the surface, displaying an eroticism she found impossible to resist. He’d coax her to the brink of climax with his gentle hands, and then urged her to turn over onto her knees, and then he’d enter her from behind. Dripping wet, ready to receive him, she’d moan as their bodies became one, the sweat slicking them as his male flesh thrust hard into her, his body slapping against hers.
He’d touch the back of her neck with his tongue, licking her skin, flicking over the sensitive part of her throat where he gave her his mating mark. And then just as she exploded into rapturous bliss, he’d gently clamp down on her neck, his big hands holding her still as he nipped at her skin, the ultimate alpha move of a male claiming his mate.
It was if spending time with Rickie had sealed his own longing for a son.
Nia lay in bed, exhausted as Aiden went into the kitchen for more food. She rolled over and hugged the sweat-dampened pillow.
It was nice to stay here and dream they could have a normal life.
For in a short time, she knew reality would intervene once more.
***
Two nights after the Banshee Winds, all of Aiden’s pack returned to the Blakemore Ranch and joined with her people in the large dining hall of her lodge for the first formal, celebratory dinner between their two packs.
Thanks to Aiden, she felt energized and more alert. He’d kept feeding her fresh, raw meat and for the first time in months, she felt Lupine.
Now as she sat beside him, she felt ready to tackle whatever came her way. After the dinner, she would talk with Aiden and tell him the full truth about the disease. He needed to know.
The thought of breaking her father’s promise had torn her apart, but she couldn’t risk any more lives. Rickie had refused to leave the ranch. He was in awe of Aiden, and wanted to stay close. And every minute the boy stayed on the ranch, he was more in danger of catching the disease, especially now.
Tonight’s dinner was a joint celebration, served by both their packs. To show their loyalty and appreciation for the newly mated alphas, their people had joined together to cook dinner. The prime rib, new potatoes and mixed vegetables smelled terrific, but she had no appetite. As they ate dinner, surrounded by the one hundred and forty-seven members of their pack, she felt the ruse she’d woven begin to crumble, the mortar of the foundation of secrets turning to mud. How much longer could she continue to hide her twin?
It had been a delicate balancing act with her pack alone, but they had respected her privacy and obeyed her edicts. Aiden’s pack?
They respected her, but they were everywhere since arriving for the dinner.
Nia touched Aiden’s hand. “After we eat, send all your people home.”
To her surprise, he didn’t protest or question why. He simply nodded. “Good idea. But I’ll keep Garth here with me. He and Roxanne are showing a deep interest in each other.”
Relief filled her. At least she’d get the guys out of here. Most of them. She glanced at her beta, who was leaning toward Garth, her face alight with interest as he talked. It would be lovely to see Roxanne settled and happy.
“Maybe you should send Garth back, too.”
“No. He’s one of my best hunters outside of Kyle and Arianna, and the best cowhand I have at assessing repairs. I need him to work on the barn.”
Aiden gave her a steady look. “Dale’s also staying. And so is Beth.”
She craned her neck, looking at the pretty, dark-haired Lupine who was a biologist. “Why?”
“I want her to examine the rabbit carcass Darius and the others found. If your land is stricken with disease, she can determine what kind.” He rolled his shoulders. “She’ll need a place to set up a lab, put her equipment. I thought that basement beneath your cottage would suffice.”
Panic clogged her throat. “No!”
Heads started. She smiled at everyone and lowered her voice to Aiden. “If there is something dangerous that could affect Lupines, shouldn’t the lab be someplace where the specimen can be quarantined?”
Aiden raised his brows, considered. “Of course. What do you recommend?”
Goodness, the alpha was actually asking her advice. “I’ll find a private cottage for her. Maybe the old one by the barn.”
Aiden slid his hand over hers. “Thanks.”
She gave a relieved smile and returned her attention to the food she didn’t want.
When the plates were cleared and they awaited dessert, the speeches began. Most were brief and courteous, acknowledging Aiden and Nikita’s new roles among both packs. Then Aiden stood and told them how they would take time to assimilate both packs together, but for the meantime, they would still operate under the old system each alpha had set into place.
Nia stood to make her speech. She gazed around the room and then cleared her throat.
The door to the dining hall burst open. Nia’s heart dropped to her stomach as Carl Chandler strolled inside. She had not seen the troll since her wedding day.
Aiden frowned. “What the hell?”
“Excuse me, everyone! I hate to interrupt your little feast, but I have a matter of importance to address with the alpha.” Carl looked at Aiden. “The male alpha.”
Nia’s pulse raced. Aiden frowned as her pack gave questioning looks. How could she tolerate such rudeness?
It was easy when she owed the man five figures for the past six months’ worth of groceries.
“I hope that now that Nikita is mated, you’ll pay the little lady’s debts. Finally, I’ll get the money I’m owed.”
Face flooded with heat, Nia stared at the floor. Could she be any more humiliated?
Aiden tensed. Oh hell, he looked ready to beat the crap out of the troll. If she let him interfere, she’d lose what little respect she’d had among both their packs.
Nia put a calming hand on Aiden’s arm, feeling him tremble with rage. “I’ll take care of this.”
She stood back up and faced Carl. “You’re rude and boorish and trespassing on my land. I’ll give you two minutes to get your hairy ass off my ranch.”
She glanced at the clock. “I’m counting.”
Cheers went up from her females.
Carl sneered. “You can’t order me around, Blakemore. You owe me $45,000 for the unpaid bills you ran up for your groceries. If I weren’t such a generous male, I’d demand you give me the cash right now.”
He headed over to Lucy, who shrank back. Sitting next to her, Stephen growled at Carl, the sound rippling through the room.
Carl ignored him. “But the real reason I’m here now is to make an offer. Give me Lucy here as my mate and I’ll forgive the debt. She’s a young, pretty thing. Should be good at warming my bed.”
Stephen jumped out of his seat. Red-faced, he looked ready to slug Carl.
“Stephen, stop it,” Nia ordered. “This is my business.”
She raced over to the table, and put a comforting hand on Lucy’s shoulder. The poor girl looked pale and ready to retch at the thought of mating with Carl. “You’re not going to mate anyone you don’t want, sweetie. Especially not this hairy-assed troll.”
With a nod of thanks, the younger Lupine seemed to relax.
Carl began to tremble, his bony shoulders shaking. “How dare you-”
Nia looked at the clock hanging on the dining room wall, thinking of all the insults she could pile on Carl. Perverted troll came to mind. “One minute. You have one minute left.”
“You’re a loser, Nikita Blakemore. You couldn’t succeed at running anything, let alone this ranch. If not for mating with Aiden, you’d kill your pack. I wish you’d shut the hell up and let your man talk for you, bitch.”
Aiden stood so quickly his chair fell “You bastard. That’s it. You’re going down.”
Carl’s insult stung the heart of her. Nia trembled, fistin
g her hands, struggling to leash her temper. As Aiden advanced, she went to him and put a hand on his chest.
“Please,” she said in a low voice. “Let me handle this. I must.”
The alpha’s face grew red with rage, but he took a deep breath and steadied himself. Nia faced Carl, lifting her chin.
“My pack is my business. My people are loyal, and they will stand by me, as I will always stand by them. As for you… I wish you’d drop dead, you bastard.”
Shaking his head, Carl laughed. He opened his mouth as if to speak. Then suddenly his face went pale. Staggering backward, he groaned deeply.
Then Carl dropped to the floor with a groan and lay still.
Darius, nearest to him, bent down and felt his pulse. The beta looked up, shock rippling over his handsome face.
“He’s dead.”
Carl had done exactly as she asked. He’d dropped dead.
CHAPTER 13
Pandemonium erupted. Several members of Niki’s pack and his started for the door.
Aiden whistled, and his pack went still. He held up his hands. “Everyone! Calm down and go downstairs to the living room while we figure this out.” He glanced at Darius. “Dar, you, stay here with me. J.J., Rafe, get them all settled downstairs.”
“What about her?” One of his pack pointed at the pale-faced Niki, who kept staring at the dead Carl. “She has dark magick in her words.”
“You’ve had too much damn whiskey, Paul. For that remark, you’ll repair all the north fences for the next two weeks.”
“Paul’s right,” said John, another of his pack, who gripped the hand of an attractive female. “How do we know Nikita didn’t wish him dead?”
Aiden growled and John shrank back. “You’ll join Paul in repairing those fences. Now get your damn asses downstairs and see to the others.”
They scurried away. Aiden went to Niki and settled his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him.
“You okay?”
His first concern was his mate. A hundred obnoxious males could have dropped dead before him and his first concern would always remain Niki.
She gave a little laugh. “That’s the first time I actually wished for something that came true. Maybe I should have wished for other things, like money to pay the damn grocery bill or for the barn to get magically fixed by itself.”
He gave her shoulders a light squeeze. “That’s my girl. Always putting up a brave front.”
Niki went to the sideboard, grabbed a tablecloth out of a drawer.
“What are you doing?” Aiden asked, glancing at Darius, who shook his head.
“Covering the body. I know that he’s probably not worth it, but-”
She gasped and dropped the cloth as the “body” began to stir.
“He’s not dead!”
Darius went over to Carl with a thoughtful look, then glanced at Aiden. “I could arrange it.”
“No.” Aiden crouched down by the “body.”
“Don’t touch him,” Niki shouted. She bolted over to them, and hunkered down. “He could be very ill. And contagious.”
She lifted the Lupine’s arm. Aiden felt his blood pressure drop.
On Carl’s arm was a large black patch of what resembled fungus.
“Damn,” Darius muttered. “The same stuff we saw on the wildlife. What is that?”
“It’s contagious. We have to get him into quarantine. But only the females can touch him.” Niki whipped out her cell, called her beta.
“Roxanne, I need you, Mandy and Carol up here, stat. Carl’s not dead. He’s got the disease.”
As she pocketed the phone, Aiden gripped her wrist. “What disease?”
She looked at Carl. “I have to take care of this.”
“Forget him for now.” He signaled to Darius. “Help the women with whatever they need, but keep it quiet! I don’t want anyone else panicking. It’s a goat-fuck already.”
Aiden guided her out of the dining room to the porch outside. She plopped into a rocking chair and gripped the armrests, her face pale, sweat beading on her forehead.
“What made him this sick?” She shook her head. “He had a compromised immune system. Carl was weak.”
“How do you know?”
“I like to check out my creditors. When I found out he’d been sick on and off, I learned to time my visits to the grocery store to avoid running into him.”
He had a bad feeling her creditors weren’t limited to Carl. And why? There was little overhead on this ranch. No stock anymore. Mouths to feed, Lupines to shelter, yes, but none of the expenses his ranch incurred.
None of that mattered now. He searched her face. “Do you know what sickened Carl?”
She said nothing for a minute, but torment flickered in her deep blue eyes. “Mitchell, you and your men need to leave here. This place isn’t safe for you. It’s filled with darkness and death.”
“Tell me what you know. Something in the water, the lodge, the air? What the hell is going on at this place?” He struggled to leash his temper.
Niki’s shoulders slumped. “It’s time you know the truth. The full truth about why I want you off my ranch.”
“Well, it’s about godsdamn time you told me the truth. After you’ve been fucking lying to me all this time. You can start by telling me who the hell you are.”
Nia paled. “What?”
He drew in a deep breath, tempted to pound his fist into the wall from sheer frustration. “I know your secret. You have a sister. A twin sister.”
***
Nia felt all the blood rush out from her head. She stared at Aiden, who looked like a wolf ready to tear her into pieces.
Holding her head between her hands, she moaned. “You know.”
“Damn straight I know,” he growled.
“How, how long?”
“Long enough.”
She lowered her hands and stared at him.
“I want the truth. The full truth.”
“I suppose I should start at the beginning.”
“A good place,” he said dryly.
Stricken, her heart still racing, she licked her lips. “How do you know about my twin?”
“Met her, while you were at the graveyard. Now who are you? Are you Nikita?”
“No. I’m Nia, her twin.”
Aiden rubbed a hand over his face. “Knew it. Knew that sly wizard wasn’t only messing with me.”
“What wizard?”
“Tristan. He was here the other night. Hinted that he knew what was going on, but didn’t tell me.”
Now she gripped the armrests of the chair in sheer panic. Her blood pressure plummeted. The wizard here on her property? He knew. He knew and he would take Niki away from her.
She struggled to breathe, to find her voice. Emotions in turmoil, her whole world in chaos, she reached deep inside for the control that had seen her through one tragedy after another.
And found nothing. Nia felt as if someone had turned her upside down and emptied her out. All her strength was gone.
I can’t take anymore.
You must.
Rocking back and forth, her arms wrapped around her stomach, she stared at Aiden. “Is he here to take Niki away?”
The words were a bare whisper. Aiden shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
She began to pant, desperate for air. This was insane. Her people would see her, think she was falling apart. She had to hold it together. Get a grip, get a grip.
Aiden immediately left his seat and stood. In one swoop, he lifted her into his arms and headed inside to the kitchen. He set her down upon one of the chairs at a small table where her pack’s children occasionally sat and watched the women bake cookies.
Nia felt almost childlike herself as she kept hyperventilating. Aiden sat beside her and gripped her hand. “Deep breaths. Control yourself.”
Nia took long, calming breaths as he went and fetched a glass of water. She took the glass and drank deeply. Finally she set it on the table and felt
more composed.
He gave her a steady look. “Ready to level with me? Let’s start with the reason why there are no males on your land. And why Rickie is terrified to die.”
She nodded, struggling to rein in her emotions. “As you’ve seen, we don’t have a single male over the age of 12. The boys who experience their first shift into wolf die shortly after. We’ve lost two and I can’t bear to lose anymore. I don’t want anything to happen to your men, or you.”
“Shit.” Blood suffused his face. He looked ready to tear her head off. “You don’t want anything to happen to my men? Or me? What the hell’s going to happen to us?”
Nia’s temper rose. “Calm down, Mitchell. Don’t go all alpha male on me.”
“Oh yeah? I am a fucking alpha, damnit,” he said, his voice growing quieter and more deadly. “Go on. What is it that kills the males?”
“Disease. The land is riddled with it and it’s only on my pack’s land.”
Aiden went very still. He searched her face. “Why only your land?”
She struggled to find the right words. After years of being insular and protecting her pack, Nia didn’t want to share their inside information. Her father had drilled it into her that no one must know. But Aiden and his men were at risk. And he deserved to know the truth.
She slumped against the chair, unable to meet his eyes. “My father took Pandora’s Chest.”
A low curse filled the air. Aiden sagged against his chair. Now she did lift her gaze, saw the bleak despair on his face. “Fuck. That chest is cursed.”
“You know of it?”
“Every sane werewolf from here to the east coast knows of the legend, and the dangers. Only a truly mad, or greedy alpha would allow his pack to acquire such cursed treasure.”
The chest possessed the power to grant an OtherWorlder’s dearest wish, but at a great price. Once the chest was opened, it released tendrils of magick to lure more victims into seizing the chest for themselves, igniting the hope that their wildest dreams were within reach.
“My father was neither. He was desperate.” Nia pushed a hand through her long hair. “My mom died in childbirth after having us. Niki was older. I’m the youngest. I’ve kept my sister’s existence secret since birth. There’s a prophecy spoken in our family for three generations that the eldest girl twin in our family would be claimed by the Silver Wizard. He would come to get her and spirit her away to the afterworld, where she would perish. So when we were born, Dad hid Niki and pretended there was only one girl, the younger twin.”
Bad Boys of the Night: Eight Sizzling Paranormal Romances: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set Page 140
