Blood Red Kiss

by Kresley Cole

  Her leg . . . it wasn’t covered in fur. It was the wrong shape. The wrong size. It was a human leg.

  Panicked, her heart racing and her breath coming in panting puffs, she held her hand in front of her face. Her hand, not her paw. Every coherent thought scattered as she scanned her naked body over and over, unable to believe she was looking at herself no matter how many times she counted her fingers and toes.

  Could it really be that after twelve winters of living as a wolf, she was human again?

  She licked her lips, catching her tongue on sharp fang tips. Right . . . not human.

  Vampire.

  Her mind spun as she tried to corral the memories that had grown distant over the years. She’d been human once, working as a dental assistant while attending college to become a dentist. And then her mom had died, and she’d been bitten by a vampire. She’d gotten sick, had spent weeks in a haze of nausea and fever as she transitioned into a vampire and then, shockingly, into a wolf.

  After that . . . She shook her head, hating how clear her memories were now that she was no longer canine. It was as if someone had remastered an old, staticky black-and-white movie to make it ultra-high-def, with hypervibrant color. There was so much pain in her past, and without the filter of her wolf-brain to tone it down, it was nearly overwhelming.

  But she supposed that at the moment her past was the least of her concerns. Right now she was in a strange place, she was naked, and she was freezing her bare butt off.

  Shivering, she attempted to wrap one of the blankets around her shoulders. It took three tries and way too much concentration to make her hands behave like hands and not like paws, but she finally managed to cover herself.

  But she was still on the floor.

  Awkwardly she reached up with one hand to grab the edge of the counter. Her muscles, stiff and unaccustomed to this new form, seized in protest as she hauled herself to her feet. She swayed violently; thank God for the counter, or she’d have keeled over.

  She stood there for a moment, sweating and wheezing, allowing herself time to adjust to standing upright and seeing things from twice the height she was used to. What now? She wasn’t sure what to do besides run in a blind panic around the room.

  Just breathe. You’ve been through worse.

  Yes, she had. And as her mother used to say, “Panic leads to mistakes. Know your surroundings. Get the lay of the land, and always have a plan to escape.”

  Her mother should know, given that she’d been on the run from the government since the day Tehya was conceived.

  Tehya willed herself to calm down and look around. There were rows of counters and tables covered with machines, computers, and lab equipment, but not a single window and only one door. She got the uneasy feeling she was underground. But where?

  Tentatively she released her death grip on the counter and took a step toward the door. Then another. And another. Her first steps on two feet in more than a decade.

  Her feet padded unsteadily on the hard floor as she shuffled across it. If she could just peek outside the room, maybe she’d get a better handle on her situation. But before she was even halfway across the room, the sound of voices drifted through the closed door.

  “I’ll tell Riker you’re looking for him,” a female voice called out. “He’s meeting me here in a minute.”

  The door whispered open.

  With a startled yelp, Tehya hit the floor, taking cover behind a cabinet.

  “Oh, shit,” the newcomer gasped. “The wolf.”

  Suddenly a strawberry-blond woman came around the corner, stopping short and gasping again when she saw Tehya crouching on the floor. For a few terrifying heartbeats, Tehya stared at the other female, unable to move. More heartbeats. More staring.

  “Who . . . who are you?” the other female asked, and that fast, Tehya snapped out of the grip fear had on her.

  She leaped to her feet and darted toward the door, but the woman moved like a snake. Her fingers dug into Tehya’s shoulder and spun her hard into a wall. Terrified and confused, Tehya went on the attack, sinking her teeth into the other woman’s arm and shaking hard. Blood spurted into her mouth, and even as her mind registered disgust, she moaned as the rich, silky nourishment coated her tongue.

  The female screamed in pain, and Tehya went into a fresh spin of panic. People were bound to hear this, and then what? What would happen to her?

  Who were these people?

  Shoving with all her strength, Tehya slammed the female into what looked like an X-ray machine, and then she watched in horror as the woman crumpled to the floor, her mangled arm cradling her swollen belly.

  Oh, shit. Pregnant. The female was pregnant.

  Torn between wanting to make sure the female was okay and wanting to run, Tehya hesitated. The pounding of feet outside made her decision. She tore out of the room, bounced off a big guy who was heading for the lab at a dead run, and skidded around a corner, belatedly realizing she’d lost the blanket and was as naked as a newborn.

  Whatever.

  She sped blindly through the maze of hallways, careening off walls and people as she ran. She came to a Y split in the passage and, fighting her instinct to keep running, forced herself to slow down and take a deep breath. A million different scents filtered through her nostrils, from the musky tang of sex and the succulent odor of cooking meat to the crisp, green scent of outside fresh air from the tunnel on the right.

  The sound of running footsteps once again spurred her into action. She sprinted down the right tunnel and followed the fresh air until she burst into the welcome sunshine.

  She didn’t stop. She didn’t think she’d ever stop. Accompanied by the chirps of birds high in the trees, she bolted into the forest, easing up only when she caught the scent of smoke and roasting meat and realized she was running toward a human campsite.

  Okay, chill out. Think. Get your act together.

  Her mother hadn’t merely been full of good advice; she used to make Tehya practice using her brain during an emergency, and as Tehya crouched against a fallen tree she took back every complaint she’d ever uttered during those exercises.

  Think. Breathe. List your options.

  That last thing was easy, because she had very few options, and only one of them made sense. She had to find Lobo.

  But how was he going to react? He knew her only as a wolf. He’d even named her Tehya. She had basically been his pet for twelve years, and now . . . now she was a vampire. A vampire who had been human until only a month before she shifted into a wolf and couldn’t shift back. A vampire who was in love with a man who knew her only as a canine.

  God, how was she going to explain this?

  Her stomach contracted sharply, reminding her that she was truly a vampire, and she needed blood. Desperately. But did she dare risk approaching the human campsite by herself? She didn’t know how to hunt or feed. She’d only fed from one human, a sleeping homeless man she’d attacked during the mindless insanity of her transformation. The campers would be healthy, awake, and perhaps even armed.

  Worse, something besides hunger was gnawing at her. A need she couldn’t quite identify, one that required blood, but also . . . something else. A . . . male?

  An instant ache bloomed deep in her chest and in her pelvis at that thought. Of course! If what she’d learned about vampirism was true, it wasn’t human blood she would crave during the new moon phase. She automatically looked up at the sky, but the only celestial body hovering overhead was the sun. Still, her instincts were telling her what she needed.

  She needed to feed from a male vampire.

  Lobo’s handsome face filled her vision, his glossy black hair pushed away from his neck so a female could feed from his vein. Possessive anger clawed at her the way it always had when she found him with a female from one of the nearby West Coast clans. Even as a wolf with dulled vampire senses and memories, she’d understood that he needed the blood exchanges to survive . . . but that hadn’t meant she’d liked it.


  Cursing, she started toward his cabin. This was going to get interesting.

  4

  Two days spent with GraveBorn clan’s chief had given Hunter a powerful need for a shot of whiskey and a few hours in bed with Aylin. Ever since the battle involving humans and multiple vampire clans had shifted the balance of power within the vampire community, the clans had been attempting to set aside their differences and build alliances . . . with Hunter taking on the unofficial role of leader.

  But despite the growing call to unite the clans, the process wasn’t an easy one. Too many egos, too much distrust and bad blood, and too many different lifestyles made it nearly impossible to put together a coalition to defeat the humans who had enslaved so many of Hunter’s people.

  At least GraveBorn, like MoonBound, followed the Way of the Crow instead of the Way of the Raven, so ideology hadn’t gotten in the way of negotiations. In addition, GraveBorn’s leader knew as well as Hunter did that their ideology was false; they were both aware of the truth behind their origins, and both thought it was bullshit that, with the exception of their mates, they couldn’t reveal it even to their own clan members.

  Really, what had caused the most tension between MoonBound and GraveBorn was that Hunter had refused to force one of his warriors to wed the other clan chief’s daughter. For now, though, GraveBorn would support Hunter’s authority and had pledged to fight as part of a united front against humans if—when—the time came.

  Hunter was pretty sure that the time would come far too soon.

  The entrance to MoonBound’s headquarters was a welcome sight, especially given the timing. Tonight was the new moon, and even though it marked the time of month when females needed to feed, males felt the need like a vibration in the soul. It was an instinct not only to feed, but to provide. It was an instinct so powerful that the moment he and his contingent of warriors stepped inside the safety of MoonBound’s earthen walls, they went their separate ways instead of holding an arrival briefing, with Hunter making a beeline to his quarters to surprise Aylin.

  He found her curled up on the sofa reading a book, but she bounded to her feet and threw herself into his arms before he even closed the door.

  “Now, that is a greeting.” He swung her into his arms and spun her as she laughed. Damn, he loved the sweet sound of her voice. He hated being away from her, but until she’d perfected the art of summoning portals, he didn’t want her to accompany him on missions that could potentially be dangerous.

  “I’ve missed you,” he said as he set her down and bent to nuzzle her neck.

  “Not as much as I missed you,” she said into his ear, her voice dripping with unspoken naughty promises. “But you’ll be happy to know that when I checked on your wolf earlier this morning, she was still alive.”

  Frowning, he pulled back and stared down at her. “My . . . wolf?”

  “Well, I know it’s not your wolf, but she’s hanging on. For such severe injuries, it’s amazing she’s survived this long. Nicole hopes—”

  “Aylin.” He shook his head, utterly lost. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “The wolf.” Her smile faltered a little and her brow came down in confusion. “The one you brought to Nicole yesterday.”

  “I didn’t bring Nicole a wolf. It must have been someone else.”

  She looked at him as if he were crazy. “I saw you with that wolf’s blood all over you. We talked about it. Don’t you remember?” She reached up and pressed her hand against his forehead as if checking for fever. “Are you okay?”

  Was he okay? Aylin was the one who should have her temperature checked. “Aylin, honey, I wasn’t here yesterday. Maybe you had a really vivid dream?”

  Shadows flickered in her eyes as her concern for him grew. She probably saw the same shadows in his eyes. “Maybe we should go talk to Nicole.”

  “I think that’s a good idea.” What was wrong with her? Maybe opening portals came with side effects. If so, she was never doing that again.

  As they walked toward the lab, Aylin’s limp keeping the pace slower than he’d have liked, Hunter watched her warily, and she eyed him with just as much concern. “Aylin, are you sure you saw me yesterday?”

  “Not just saw. Touched.” She took his hand, and he found more comfort in that small gesture than anything else she could have done. “I know the feel of your lips on mine, Hunter. I felt you.”

  A knot formed in his belly as his alarm grew like a fast-moving cancer. Something was very, very wrong here. “I swear, it wasn’t me.”

  Aylin, her skin already pale thanks to her mother’s Scandinavian heritage, lost even more color in her face. “You’re starting to scare me, Hunter. It was you. Ask Nicole. Or Grant. You talked to both of them when you brought in the injured wolf.”

  Criminy. Had he crossed into an alternate universe somewhere between GraveBorn’s territory and here?

  “Aylin—” He broke off at the sound of pounding footsteps coming at them and pulled Aylin to a halt as Aiden, one of MoonBound’s best archers and senior warriors, rounded the corner at a dead run.

  “There’s an intruder in the compound.” Aiden skidded to a halt and paused to catch his breath as Hunter went on instant alert.

  “What happened?”

  “It was a female. She attacked Nicole.” He cursed, his frustration putting a sharp edge on his words. “We’ve been searching for the last fifteen minutes, but we haven’t turned up anything. I’m sounding the alarm.”

  Fuck. “Initiate the intruder protocol.” Hunter seized Aiden’s arm before he could take off. “Where’s Nicole? Is she okay?”

  Aiden jerked his thumb behind him. “In the lab with Riker.”

  Hunter and Aylin hurried to the lab, where they found Nicole sitting at her desk holding a cloth soaked in blood against her head. Her other arm, bandaged from wrist to elbow, cradled her belly as Riker held a glass of water to her lips.

  Rage bubbled up in Hunter at the idea that someone had assaulted a pregnant female. Right here, inside the clan headquarters, where everyone should be safe. This was his clan, his people, and ultimately his failure. If anything happened to Nicole or the baby, he’d never forgive himself.

  Whoever had done this was going to pay in blood.

  “Tell me everything,” he ground out as he stopped next to Riker and Nicole.

  Riker’s silver eyes burned like steel shards of murder. “Someone broke into the lab and attacked Nicole when she came inside.”

  “Aiden said it was a female. Did either of you recognize her?”

  “I’ve never seen her before,” Nicole said, her voice laced with pain.

  Riker shook his head viciously. “I didn’t get a good look at her. The bitch nearly ran over me in the hall.” He set down the glass hard enough to splash water all over the counter and floor. “I should have grabbed her. I should have fucking questioned why anyone would be running naked from a lab where there’d been a shit ton of noise and screaming. But all I could hear was Nicole crying for help, and—”

  “Hey.” Nicole took Riker’s hand and brought it to her cheek, calming him with her touch. “It’s okay. This will all heal. The baby and I are fine.” She shifted around to talk to Hunter, wincing as she moved, which only made Riker go taut again. “The wolf is missing too. The woman who attacked me might have set it loose in the compound. I’m sorry, Hunter.” She smiled weakly, and Hunter cursed silently. She shouldn’t be in this position. “But the good news is that if the wolf is running around, it’s on the mend.”

  Okay, so the wolf Aylin had mentioned was real. But he knew damned well that he wasn’t the one who’d brought it to MoonBound for help.

  “Nicole, this is very important,” he said, kneeling so they were at eye level. “Aylin said I brought you the wolf yesterday. Did you actually talk to me?”

  “You don’t remember?” Nicole looked at him the same way Aylin had, like he was crazy, and frankly, he was starting to feel that way. “You were very insistent that
Grant and I save the animal.”

  For just a moment he considered the possibility that he’d somehow spirit-traveled in his sleep. But seeing how he’d never manifested himself someplace else, not to mention that the ability was considered myth in native and vampire communities, he quickly dismissed the idea.

  Which meant that either Nicole, Grant, and Aylin were suffering from a shared delusion, or someone had impersonated him using one hell of a disguise.

  “Whoever it was you both talked to yesterday,” Hunter growled, “it wasn’t me.” He straightened, his gaze drawn to a bed of bloodstained towels and blankets on the floor next to a dish of water. Must have been the wolf’s bed. “I was with GraveBorn’s chief all day. Whoever brought in the wolf tricked you into thinking they were me.”

  But why? And who was the female who had assaulted Nicole?

  “Oh . . . shit.” Aylin’s fingers trembled as she touched them to her lips. “I . . . kissed him.”

  Instant, white-hot rage seared his skin. Someone had dared to touch his mate? To kiss her? To—

  “What else,” he barked. “What else did you do with him?” The blood drained from Aylin’s face, and he backed off, kicking himself for being such an ass. But the thought that someone could so easily take advantage of Aylin left him so angry he was shaking with the force of it. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Aylin.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to yell at you. None of this is your fault.”

  “No,” she rasped. “It’s not you. I just . . . I was thinking about what I would have done with him if he hadn’t been in a hurry to go. I wanted to go down to the river. Where, you know . . .”

  Yeah, he knew. The fact that she might have recreated a recent, especially raw, primal lovemaking session with the bastard was tempered by the fact that she hadn’t; so instead of blowing a gasket, he drew her against him and held her close.

  “Excuse me,” Nicole said, “but how is any of this even possible?”