Scions: Revelation

by Patrice Michelle

  “Yes, the prophecy.” Roland nodded solemnly. “After everything that’s happened these last several months, we have come to believe it is true, and that the last part was about the Velius.”

  A leader is needed, you know this is true

  Look not to one, but two.

  A lesson was the goal you sought

  You too must learn from what you taught

  Layers of deception must be unveiled

  For three to become one and peace to prevail.

  While Roland recited the last part of the prophecy—that Emma remembered hearing Caine, Jachin and Landon discussing while she was injured—she’d already gone over the entire prophecy in her mind three times. “Look not to one, but two,” she whispered in a hushed voice.

  “Yes, two. You and Hawkeye,” Jade said with excitement.

  “A lesson was the goal you sought. That fits with the Velius hoping to slow down the vampires, not destroy them,” Roland added.

  “You too must learn from what you taught.” A derisive smirk lifted the corner of Jade’s lip. “We’ve certainly had our own issues with Malac—who apparently wanted to rule everyone. It’s ironic, I know. I’d hoped he would come around to our way of thinking once we found you, but now I know that’ll never happen.”

  “For three to become one and peace to prevail.” Roland repeated the last line of the prophecy and spread his hands wide, staring at each of them across the table. “And here you are side by side—Lupreda, Velius and Sanguinas—discussing strategy to keep the peace. I think a round of beer is in order while we discuss how I’m going to help Sanguinas and Lupreda arrive at this meeting without being detected.”

  Emma met Caine’s gaze briefly and put her hand over his on her shoulder. Tension flowed from him in intense waves of musky heat. He’d curled his hand into a fist and strands of her long hair were tucked in a possessive hold between his fingers. The moment her skin touched his, electricity zinged between them and her stomach knotted.

  Duty and desire twisted and tugged her heart in two very different directions. This can’t be happening. My race needs to propagate or risk extinction. To strengthen our pride, they want—no…expect—pure panthers from me…and I want only Caine.

  Chapter 12

  “I’ ll meet you back at the house,” Landon said, tapping the open truck window next to Caine.

  Caine rested his wrist on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. “We’re going to my cabin.”

  Emma put her hand on his thigh, hoping to dispel some of his tension. He’d stayed tightly wound the entire time they were in the pub. Caine didn’t look down as he reached for her hand and gripped it tight.

  “Your cab—” Landon dipped his head and stared past Caine to their clenched hands for a second before he spoke. “I’ll post guards around the cabin’s perimeter. Come by the house tomorrow morning so we can discuss more details about how we want to approach this meeting with Malac. By then we should know the location.”

  Lifting his gaze to Emma, Landon grimaced and pushed a fist against his chest. “That pill you took didn’t make you feel like there was a lump sitting in your chest?”

  Roland had given them enough pills for every Lupreda and Sanguinas who planned to be involved in the meeting with Malac tomorrow, saying, Take them now and have the others take theirs as soon as you arrive home. It’ll take the pills eighteen hours to neutralize your scents. The medicine will start to leave your systems once another pill hasn’t been taken within twenty-four hours of taking the last one.

  “Roland said it was safe for the Lupreda and Sanguinas to take—” Emma started to say.

  “The rest of us took it with our beers.” Kaitlyn stepped close to her mate, gazing at him with a smirk. “You’re the only one who swallowed it without anything.”

  Caine snorted and tossed Landon a spare bottle of water from inside his truck door. Landon caught the bottle with a grunt, his gaze zeroing on his Second. “Be at the house by ten.”

  The Alpha and his mate walked back to their truck. Kaitlyn was talking to someone on her cell phone as they met Laird and Roman, who were waiting for them beside their vehicle. All the other Lupreda, Jachin and his Sweeper team had already left.

  Caine started the truck, and as the engine rumbled to life, he gripped Emma’s hand and kissed the back of it. Soon, the truck was sloshing through the dirty, partially plowed snow, eating up the miles back to the mountains. There was so much Emma wanted to say, and yet she was afraid to speak. Her emotions were all jumbled. Like a ball of yarn batted by a playful cat, her insides were knotted and twisted up beyond hope of ever being straightened out again.

  Caine seemed deep in thought the whole time he drove. Yet even though he didn’t smile, didn’t say a word, he never let go of her hand. Instead, he conveyed his feelings about them through his touch, running his thumb along her palm in slow, mesmerizing circles. Each circular swipe sent erotic tingles flowing through her, shooting to her breasts and her core, spiking her need for his touch. If he paused, even for a second, her heart dipped a little. Emma realized with a start that she’d become addicted to their electric connection, like a junkie, looking for her next rush.

  By the time Caine pulled his truck up to the cabin, Emma’s heart felt truly ripped in two. How can I feel so divided? I’ve known Jade for even less time than I have Caine, yet I still feel deeply responsible for the Velius’ future and for my aunt’s well-being. They’re depending on me.

  They sat for a moment in the quiet darkness of the truck’s cab. When she looked at Caine, his brooding hazel-green eyes were staring back at her and her heart swelled with deep emotion. She’d come to care deeply for this man, more than she ever thought she was capable of. They would find a way to make it work.

  Caine climbed out his truck door, opened the passenger door and lifted her down in his arms in mere seconds. The frigid wind whipped around them and Emma wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, tucking her nose under his chin.

  Kissing the top of her head, Caine cradled her close and carried her inside the cabin. When Caine kicked the door close behind them, they both stared in shock at the transformation the cabin had undergone.

  A new rug had been added to the entire expanse of the room and the exposed wood flooring around it had been polished to a shiny sheen. The single bed was gone and a couple of end tables and lamps—which currently gave off a soft yellow glow—flanked either end of the couch. The set of furniture had been rearranged on the new carpet, making the living room look much larger. Soft jazz music played on a stereo against a far wall and a fire roared in the stone fireplace, giving the room a cozy, lived-in feel.

  “Wow, talk about a transformation,” Emma murmured as Caine set her on the floor.

  Caine hadn’t said a word. She looked over to see his throat working, his expression full of surprised, pent-up emotion.

  Shrugging out of her heavy coat and the cardigan, Emma set them on the back of the couch. Gripping his biceps through his sweater, she said, “Hey, are you okay?”

  “Kaitlyn,” he mumbled, his attention focused on the transformed room.

  She tried to be lighthearted. “I wish I could command a remodeling team like your Alpha’s mate apparently can. Man, what Aunt Mary and I could do with our small house.”

  Caine’s gaze finally pulled away from the room, but before his hazel eyes locked with hers, he’d moved with lightning speed. Emma found her face pressed against his hard chest and his hand fisted in her hair. Inhaling along her jawline, as if he couldn’t get enough of her scent, he rasped, “You’ll have an entire pride at your beck and call very soon, sweetheart.”

  His comment made her tense before her body instinctively yielded to the possessive slide of his other hand down her spine. Emma folded her arms around his wide shoulders, reveling in his hard-muscled frame and the arousing feel of his erection pressing against her. Caine’s belief in her as the leader of the Velius kept echoing in her head until she finally confessed, “I�
��m no leader. Jade—and the other Velius—they’ve got it all wrong.”

  Caine wrapped a strong arm around her waist, fitting her body fully against his. He kissed her nose, then her chin, before moving to her jaw, leaving tiny sparks behind. “Leadership radiates from you in every action you make, Emma, whether you realize it or not,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Wh-what are you talking about?” She tried to pull back, to meet his gaze, but Caine held fast, refusing to let her budge. His lips slid down from her ear and along her throat, sending tantalizing fiery sparks zinging through her body.

  Sliding his hand up the back of her shirt, he flattened his palm against her back. Skin to skin. “You stepped in and took over when your aunt needed interference to keep her healthy and safe, you run the show at work in the café—the workers there looked to you for direction. You kept Jachin from killing Roland on the spot, you refused to let Jade believe Malac can be redeemed—”

  “I’ve seen—experienced—what that sadistic maniac is capable of,” Emma shot back as Caine’s touch continued to turn her body to butter.

  His fingers cinched tight in her hair and he growled, “No more after tomorrow. No matter what, I promise you Malac won’t make it out of that meeting alive!”

  His vow scared her. He almost sounded like he didn’t plan on surviving tomorrow night’s encounter with Malac, either. Emma’s heart jerked and she tried to pull back, but Caine held her against him while he nipped at her collarbone. Her heart thumped in fear, even as her body betrayed her mind, responding to his dominant aggression. “Caine, I want to talk to you. Let me go.”

  “I can’t. Not right now,” he grated out, his voice rough as his fingers dug into her rear, tilting her hips, hitching her closer. “Tonight is all we have.”

  True fear rippled through her, the kind that left her hollow inside. Emma gripped his shoulders and pushed back until she met his gaze. “What are you talking about?”

  She saw streaks of light green in Caine’s eyes before he lowered his gaze to her lips. “I might not be able to use my Musk form tomorrow night, but I will make that bastard pay—for you, for your aunt, for the zerkers—”

  When he trailed off, Emma cupped her hands around his stubbled jaws. “Don’t you dare put yourself in harm’s way or go and get yourself killed. I told you, I need you. Nothing has changed!”

  Caine’s lips kicked up just a bit and his gaze slowly lifted to hers. The sadness in his eyes tore at her heart. “Everything has changed. Your pride needs you more, Emma. You know it. And I know it. I’m an Alpha to the core, and if it weren’t for the fact I could go zerker at any time, I’d be the next Alpha of my pack.” Big warm hands encircled her wrists and his black brows knitted together. “I understand duty and responsibility to those in your care…and that’s why I can see it in you. I felt it in your reaction to Jade when she told you that you were their leader, expected to help carry on the pureness of your breed. I saw it in your eyes when you looked at me. I know your heart will lead you to do what’s right by your pride. It’s ingrained in you.”

  Tears burned Emma’s eyes and the pressure inside her chest was almost unbearable. “How can you just let me go? My heart hurts so much I can barely breathe!”

  Caine closed his eyes and planted a tender kiss on her palm. “If I were a whole man, I’d be one selfish bastard, demanding we find another way. We’d merge our races…I wouldn’t give a damn—” Fire lit in his eyes when they met hers. “I’d rip any panther apart who dared touch you or think for one second you’d agree to be his mate. But I’m not a whole man, Emma. I could go zerker any day. My Musk form is that much a part of me. I won’t tie you to me. You don’t deserve that and neither does your pride.”

  Tears spilled down her cheeks and her voice quavered with desperation. “Did—didn’t Jachin mate with a human? And isn’t Kaitlyn human, as well?” Emma argued, feeling as if she were stepping into a pool of thick quicksand that was sucking her down into suffocating darkness. “Hybrids are a possibility.”

  Hard lines creased either side of his mouth. “Your pride needs your offspring. I can’t promise you a future, which children should be a part of.” Touching her chin, he ran his thumb along her bottom lip. “All I can offer you is now.”

  It sounded so final, Emma had been breathing so hard, she suddenly lost her ability to catch her breath. She just stared at Caine, her chest caving in on itself, her heart shattering. “I—” She wheezed, trying to catch her breath.

  “Emma?” Caine tilted her chin upward, concern etched in the hard lines of his face.

  “I—can’t—” She tried to inhale, but her breath just wouldn’t come.

  “Emma!” Caine scooped her up and carried her to the couch. Sitting down, he cradled her with one strong arm while he gripped her jaw, his fingers turning her face to his. “Breathe, damn you!”

  He looked so angry and all she could think of was losing him. He was her rock in all this chaos. “Can’t—” She shook her head and clasped his wrist, gasping for air again.

  Caine kissed her and sparks shot between them. His fingers speared through her hair at the same time his lips pressed hard against hers, forceful and dominant, just as dominant as the voice in her head. Breathe, sweetheart!

  His intimate kiss opened up her chest and Emma inhaled through her nose as she kissed him back with all the passion, all the wrenching physical connection she could give.

  When she sobbed her happiness, Caine nipped at her bottom lip, making her gasp with pleasure. He took advantage and slipped his tongue inside her moist lips, thrusting deep, tasting, taking, exploring and seducing her with every sensuous swipe, every decadent thrust and parry.

  Emma melted into Caine’s fierce embrace. She ran her fingers across his stubble and memorized every contour of his face with her hands before threading her fingers into his thick black hair to pull him closer. And when she did, his kiss slowed, turning seductive and enticing as his hand slid up her rib cage, his palm grazing the side of her breast.

  Kissing the side of his mouth, Emma tugged at his sweater, whispering, “I can’t lose you…I…can’t.”

  Swiftly pulling off the sweater and tossing it to the floor, Caine smoothed his hand along her face, pushing back her hair. “Shh.”

  Emma couldn’t stop touching him. She ran her hands over the muscles in his shoulders and along his arms and down his chest as he kissed her temple. “I’m here, Em.” Moving his lips to her ear, his voice lowered to a husky register as he slid his thumb over her sensitive nipple. “Slow down, my little wildcat.”

  Emma moaned and arched her back, pressing her breast into his hand.

  Caine’s low laugh made goose bumps skitter across her body. But he didn’t take any prisoners when he suddenly rolled her onto her back and settled his hips between her legs. Pulling her hands above her head, he locked her wrists with one hand in a vise hold.

  Emma panted in anticipation, butterflies of excitement dancing in her belly as he ran his teeth along her shoulder and rocked his hips in the cradle of hers, pressing his hard cock against her sex. “Damn, I can smell your sweet musk. You’re ready.”

  “I never stopped being ready.” A desperate gust of breath rushed out with her honest words. Her sex was already throbbing, her breasts tight and swollen, and with only a thin tank top separating her breasts from Caine’s hungry gaze, his enticing touch and warm mouth, her nipples were more sensitive than they’d ever been.

  Emma pressed closer, enjoying the pressure of his rock-hard chest against her nipples. Pushing her back to the couch, Caine’s teeth blazed a teasing trail along her neck while the intimate slide of his thumb under the curve of her breast sent arousing jolts through her body. “All I’ve thought about is feeling your hands on me, your nails digging deep into my skin and that sexy purr growing louder right before I make you come again and again,” he said, the rough rumble of his voice vibrating against her throat.

  Emma’s fingertips tingled as if her hands weren’t get
ting enough blood flow, but this time she recognized the sensation for what it was. “Then let me go so I can accommodate your wishes,” she said in a husky voice, tugging against his steel clasp.

  His gaze darkened and a dangerous smile tilted his lips. He cinched his hand tighter around her wrists. “Not yet, my sexy little kitten.” When Caine dipped his head and bit at her nipple through her shirt, sharp desire shot through her, centering between her legs. Before she could react to the pain, his lips latched on to her nipple through the shirt, sucking hard, rolling her nipple with his tongue. Emma mewled her pleasure, rocking her hips against him while her body clenched in heated response.

  Her heart rate thundered in her ears and just when she thought she couldn’t take his teasing torture any longer, Caine moved to her other nipple and began the pleasure-pain all over again.

  Emma panted and pressed her sex against his erection to relieve the tingling painful throb building inside her. She couldn’t get close enough, anything to relieve the pressure.

  When Caine groaned and shoved her hips back down to the couch with a downward thrust, his heavy weight pinning her still, the pressure felt so good, Emma whimpered.

  Caine lifted his head from her breast and stared at the two wet spots his kisses had left behind on her cotton shirt. The air cooled the damp material clinging to her, making Emma shiver and her nipples stand out, hard tips begging for more. Male satisfaction flitted across Caine’s face right before he leaned close and breathed out across one damp tip.

  Warmth skittered across her breast, flitting through her body. Emma quaked with pent-up arousal. “I—can’t take it. I’m on fire, Caine. God, do something!” she demanded, her voice pleading and frustrated at the same time.

  Eyes locked with hers, Caine’s thumb slid slowly down her belly and then his hand was on the waistband of her jeans. He moved so fast, Emma barely felt the yank, but all that was left of her pants and underwear was shredded denim around her thighs.