by Amber Kallyn
“Thank you, Dear.”
Niki nodded and started the fire. Once head began spreading through the room, she rubbed her hands together, not sure what to do or say.
“How is my grandson’s deputy?”
“Not well, Ma’am.”
Morning Dove chuckled. “Call me Dove. Anything is better than ma’am.”
While Niki personally agreed with the sentiment, she couldn’t quite see herself calling this ancient woman Dove.
“Have the two of you made love yet?” she asked.
Niki stared at the old lady, mouth agape at the question. “Excuse me?”
“Ah. You have. Good for you both. That will encourage the Fates.”
Still stunned at the topic of conversation, Niki could barely speak. “Encourage the Fates what?”
“Why, to make sure the two of you stay together. Don’t you realize your souls complete each other?”
“Look...” Niki stopped, trying to keep her tone level and non-snarky. “I don’t know what you think, but there’s nothing going on between Shane and me.”
His grandmother raised her eyebrows and laughed. “So it’s just good sex?”
Heat crawled up her face. “Um, I need to go. Thanks and all, but... I need to go.”
As Niki walked to the door, the old woman said, “The men in this family take a while to find their soul mates. But girl, once they do, they refuse to let go.”
Niki strode out of the room, edged around the kitchen and headed down a hallway. She needed to find Shane, otherwise, she’d lose it and run away without him.
His voice came from a door ahead. It was cracked open an inch, so she reached to push it the rest of the way. A girl shouted and Niki hesitated.
“I don’t care what you think. I love Blake, and he loves me.”
“Glory,” Shane replied. “He’s a monster. You can’t trust a werewolf.”
A table rattled and glass crashed to the floor. Niki pushed inside, stopping short in the doorway. A young woman held a vase, hefted above her head, ready to fling it. “You don’t even know him.”
She was a feminine version of Shane, with long dark hair, tanned skin, and golden eyes.
Shane, his back to Niki, shook his head. “You can’t trust anyone paranormal. They’re all beasts, unable to truly love.”
Niki couldn’t stop her gasp as something within her cracked and pain bled into her chest.
Shane turned, paling when he saw her.
Without a word, Niki headed back down the hall. She didn’t know what she felt for him. Not after making love, or his nutty grandmother talking about soul mates. Now, through the pain spreading in her heart, her mind was clear. She’d allowed herself to get involved with a man, a human.
She raced into the trees, trying to lose herself in the running. She didn’t know how it had happened, but she must harden her heart. He too easily distracted her from thoughts of revenge.
Even as she thought the word, her ghosts rose and ran with her.
Far behind her, Shane screamed her name over and over. It took all her will, but she ignored him and raced faster.
She only had one purpose in life. It was to kill Thomas, find the peace for her family they so desperately needed.
She couldn’t afford any more distractions with Shane and what he made her feel.
***
Shane fell to his knees, gripping the dirt and crumbling it in his fingers. He hadn’t seen how his argument with his sister reflected on his growing feelings. Hell, he’d made love to Niki and had been more connected to her than any other in his life.
Yet when Glory confronted him in their father’s study, he’d fallen back on his same argument. Now he knew how false it was.
And he would do anything, pay any price, to have never caused the look of devastated hurt on Niki’s face.
The ripping pain in his chest told him he might not ever be able to make it up to her. A voice whispered to him to let it be. She was a complication to his life, and was it even worth it? Could he be Keeper, neutral between the pack and the clan, and have her too?
Shane roared into the night and the voice disappeared.
A soft hand fell on his shoulder. “Let me guess. You made an ass of yourself.”
He glanced up at his grandmother. “Yes.”
“Let’s hope you’ve learned your lesson and haven’t pissed the Fates off, boy.”
He continued to kneel, looking up into her kind face. “What do you mean, the Fates?”
“You felt it. Don’t ask me stupid questions.”
It dawned on him. “She’s my soul mate.”
He’d known, just hadn’t faced it. But Niki had caught him from the first time he’d seen her. She was smart, brave, beautiful. Everything he’d ever wanted in a woman.
“Only if you haven’t screwed it up. I suggest you find that woman and fix it.”
Fix it. Yes. He had to, because if he lost this precious woman... “How?”
His grandmother flicked his ear. “Figure out a way.”
Shane got to his feet and after giving his grandmother a quick hug, he headed for his truck, started it with a roar, and sped towards town.
At the Inn, he was disappointed Niki wasn’t around. The chill night air helped cool him off, so after he started the tracking spell, he decided to walk. Shane had just cleared the parking lot when his instincts alerted him to trouble. He laid his hand on the butt of his gun, but didn’t see anyone. Cautiously, he continued down the sidewalk. His spell finally found Niki, jerking him in the right direction.
Ten minutes later, he was in the small warehouse district. He was still being watched, but it didn’t quite feel malevolent. Besides, his only thought was on finding Niki. He had to find her, explain he’d been an idiot, and his words so wrong--not about her. The magic tugged him in a circle around the block. He searched the night, but couldn’t focus enough to see her aura.
“Niki! I’ll follow any goose chase you send me on. I’m not giving up until we talk.”
The hair on the back of his neck rose. A huge wolf stepped into the streetlight, blue eyes blazing, lips curled back over long teeth.
Behind Shane, something clattered. He turned, keeping an eye on the wolf and the two men coming up from his other side.
Vampires.
What the hell had he walked in the middle of?
“There will be no fighting between you,” he commanded.
“Says who?” the wolf replied gruffly.
“I do.”
The vampires chuckled. “And who are you to order us around?”
“Keeper of this territory, that’s who.”
The vampire on the right paled, but the other just grinned.
The wolf padded closer. “Who said we were going to fight each other?” it asked in its gravelly, distorted voice.
Shane read the intent in its eyes. He slapped his hands together, drawing on the magic beneath his feet. The concrete beneath the wolf’s paws erupted in thin, silvery strands. The vines curled up its legs. The wolf howled and began chewing on them to escape.
Shane spun back to the vampires, but they had disappeared. He held his power tight, blinked to clear his mind and his vision. When he searched the darkness, he pinpointed one dark maroon aura.
With his vision attuned to the natural world, the magic he sent at the vampire was visible. Green light flashed as if moss rapidly spread across the street. It touched the dark aura of the vampire. The man screamed as it ate up his shadowed form, encasing him in a web of vines.
Steps raced up behind him. Before Shane could turn, the other vampire slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.
The vampire stood over him, red eyes flashing, fangs bared. Beside him, the wolf, now free, growled low and jumped on Shane.
Its muzzle slipped beneath his chin and its jaws opened, teeth on his throat.
Shane reached up and shoved his hands on the animal’s chest, then pushed power out.
The wolf flew back, squealing i
n pain as it crashed against the side of a building.
Jumping to his feet, Shane turned on the second vampire, but again, the guy was hidden. He unholstered his gun, searching the night. He didn’t want to kill them, but if they weren’t going to give him a choice, he would do his duty.
“This is loaded with Keeper bullets,” he warned. They would stop both shifter and vampire. The air stirred. The second vampire flashed through the night, racing for him.
Shane fired.
The bullet exploded in the vampire’s chest. He dropped, rolling and screaming for a long second. Soon, he stilled. The other vampire cried out, tearing from the vines, flying at Shane. He cocked his gun and waited.
The air crackled with power. It washed over Shane, making his skin itch. This wasn’t any ordinary vampire. It was a Master--and not Jordan.
He turned to face the new threat, only to find the area filled with maroon auras. The man had brought backup. He pinpointed the darkest shadow and fired.
He missed.
The Master was faster than the bullet.
He slid the gun in his holster and called his magic. He sent a blast out through the ground. The vampires rushing at him began to stumble, one crying out and falling. Another crashed backwards into the surging group.
Still more advanced. None of Shane’s traps even came close to touching the Master. His magic came slower, responding sluggishly. He was tiring.
He rubbed his hands together, letting the vampires draw closer. Fifteen feet away, they all stopped. Two men in the middle stepped back and Thomas emerged.
He held Niki in his arms, a long, curving blade at her throat. Eyes wide, she looked at Shane with desperation. Her soft whisper carried on the air.
“Let her go.” Shane took a step forward, but the Master tsked.
“Come closer and I will remove her head.”
Shane straightened. “As Keeper of this territory--”
Thomas interrupted, “Why should I care about such things? The Council is nothing to me.” His grip on the knife tightened and Niki gasped.
“What do you want?” Shane’s heart pounded. He stared at Niki, everything inside him wanting to rush forward and jerk her from Thomas’ hands.
But the Master was fast.
He’d never make it.
He slowly edged his palms together.
“Uh, uh. No magic either.” The knife cut into Niki’s neck just enough for a thin red line to appear. “Now, as to what I want. Why, I want you.”
“Fine,” Shane stated without hesitation. “Let her go and you can have me.” Not that he was idiot enough to believe the man would free Niki, but he had to try.
The Master waved at the vampires around him. They crashed into Shane. It took every ounce of willpower not to fight as clawed hands grabbed his hands, his legs, his head. His gun was torn away and pushed out of reach.
The Master strode over and stared down at him. “Humans are so easy.”
He let Niki go. She rose into the air, her body disintegrating into smoke. Shane watched, stunned, then stared at Thomas.
“You’re a mage?”
“Why, yes.”
It had all been illusion. This vampire didn’t have Niki. Shane had given himself up for nothing. The earth pressed against his back and Shane tried to draw on its magic. He didn’t even have time to blink as the Master reached down, arm a blur, and slammed a fist against the
side of Shane’s head.
Chapter Sixteen
A scream rang out a few blocks away. Niki dashed down the street, sniffing the air. Vampire, shifter. Blood.
Red droplets scattered the sidewalk, leading into a shadow filled alley between two warehouses. It had trap written all over it. Yet she had no choice but to enter. She smelled Thomas. If whoever screamed was hurt or in danger...
Power hummed through the air. Shane. He was fighting. Niki’s fangs extended as her blood pumped hot and fast. He might not want her, or trust her, but that didn’t mean she would leave him to fight alone. Besides, this was her fight.
She raced into the darkness of an alley. Nothing moved. Then, a burst of light drew her gaze to the other end.
Shane fought a group of vampires. Wolves circled him, snapping at his legs. He blasted magic at one and the guy fell back. Vines twisted around the wolves’ feet, but they jumped out of reach. Someone rushed in and scratches appeared on Shane’s neck.
Niki screamed in fury and ran forward, barreling into a vampire at Shane’s back.
The creature vanished. She crashed through nothing but air and slammed into a brick wall. Stumbling back, she wiped blood from the corner of her mouth, staring at the fight. When she reached out for Shane, he too disappeared.
“What damn magic is this?” She could smell them. Shane, the wolves, vampires and blood.
The ground was soaked red, littered with patches of fur. Shane had been here, yet all that remained was some strange visual remnant of his presence.
Niki sorted out the scents and found Shane’s, man tinged with magic. She followed it out the other side of the alley and onto Main Street.
He’d been captured.
And she knew exactly who had him. Who’d left the little droplets of blood like bread crumbs for her to follow. The crimson trail stopped at the pharmacy. Niki stared into the dark windows. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the unlocked door.
A little bell jingled, announcing her arrival.
So much for being sneaky.
Silently, she slid the short sword from the scabbard on her side and held it by her thigh. The store was empty. Shane’s blood trailed toward the back. She cautiously headed through the pharmacy, alert for those who would be waiting.
No hint of movement broke the air, no sound came to her. But she didn’t buy it.
Near the pharmacist’s counter in the back, she finally heard the tale-tell sounds of others. Below the floor. She reached to push the counter up when a dark shape barreled over it and crashed into her.
Claws slashed down her shoulder, ripping her shirt and gouging her flesh. Musty fur brushed her face. She cried out, stumbling, trying to stay on her feet with the weight of the wolf pushing her back.
Paws scrabbled on the slick, tile floor and she shoved the wolf away.
Niki swung at its face, cutting deep into its silver-furred muzzle. It yelped, backed up, and glowered, lips curled to show long, sharp teeth.
She gripped a silver dagger from her boot and rushed the animal. It chuckled, leaping to meet her charge. She thrust the sword into its belly and let go, then grabbed the scruff of its neck and slid the silver dagger along its muzzle.
The wolf whimpered, in pain from the blade sticking from its belly, but more so from the touch of silver on flesh.
“Where are they?” Niki demanded.
The beast whimpered again, rolling its eyes as if searching for help.
“Tell me.” She rubbed the silver blade over its muzzle.
“Down.” The words were garbled coming from the wolf’s throat.
“How do I get down there?”
Its paws flashed out, claws scratching along her belly and thighs. It twisted against her hold and Niki lost her grip.
The wolf fell on the sword, plunging it all the way through its back.
Niki pushed the stupid thing to its side. Its eyes were glassy from pain, but it would live. Her short sword wasn’t silver and she didn’t plan on finishing the creature. She yanked out her blade, sighing as the wolf passed out.
In the pharmacy’s bandage isle, Niki grabbed a couple rolls of surgical tape and hogtied the wolf’s paws.
One down, who knew how many to go.
Heading through the pharmacists area, she found the office. And inside, on the far wall, stood an open door. Niki crept down wooden stairs, cringing at every squeak and groan. As she reached the bottom, light flooded over her.
***
Shane drifted in and out of consciousness. Around him, others cried out in pain. Someone sobbed and
an animal whimpered. The air was stale with the stench of vampire, wolf and blood.
He pried his eyes open, realizing magic held him captive.
Shane concentrated, blinking to see the power. It was dark and sickly, tinged black. Not his pure earth magic, but something corrupt and evil.
His hands were bound and hooked above his head to a concrete wall. Numbness spread from his fingers to his back and chest. He called for his magic, but either this place was warded or the power around him was too thick, he couldn’t feel his ties to the earth.
Something brushed against his side and he lifted his heavy head. An emaciated vampire crawled blindly, dry, thin lips drawn back, teeth snapping.
Someone shouted. The vampire was yanked back into the surrounding darkness.
A wolf howled, the sound all pain. Then a vampire began feasting. The slurping sounds made Shane’s stomach shudder.
“She’s here,” a young girl whispered.
“He’ll kill her,” a boy replied.
“No. Niki can beat him.”
“Niki?” Shane yelled.
“Shh.” Soft hands reached above Shane and began tugging on the ropes. “If he hears us, we’ll be in trouble.”
“Where’s Niki?” he growled.
The tugging at his ropes grew more insistent. “Shh.”
The knots loosened and Shane pulled at his numb wrists.
“Stop it,” the girl said. “I’m trying to get you free. She’s going to fight the Master.”
“She’ll die,” the boy keened.
“No, she won’t,” Shane replied, trying to stay still so the girl could release the ropes.
“She might,” the girl said. “But if you help her, maybe the two of you can kill him.” Her hands stopped. “You’ll help us, then, won’t you? You won’t kill us too?”
“Of course not.”
“Master says you’re a Keeper. You’ll kill us all,” the boy cried.
“And Master is a liar.” The girl’s hands brushed Shane’s face. “You smell of truth.”
She yanked hard and the ropes fell from his arms. “I can’t get you out of the magic circle, you’ll have to do that.”
