by H. D. Gordon
Asha slammed a fist atop the carved wooden table around which we all sat. All eyes in the room went to her. “Of course she hasn’t found anything,” she snapped. “There is nothing to be found. The only way to accomplish our ends is through blood and violence. That is the only language our enemies understand.”
Silence fell for a moment while Asha waited for someone to dare to disagree. When no one spoke for several heavy beats, Bakari said, “My spies have been looking for a way to reach any of the five Pack Masters,” he said. “They know we are after them, and all but Benedict and Ryker have gone underground.”
Asha threw a hand up. “Then let’s start with them.” The Demon’s eyes went to me, a challenge clear in hers, as was always the case when Ryker was mentioned in these meetings. I only held her glare, hoping that the fuck off expression on my face was clear.
Bakari responded with the patience of an old teacher. “Both Benedict and Ryker are literally within fortresses. We would have to storm the gates, and even with our entire force, we likely wouldn’t get through.”
“So that’s it, then,” Asha said, her lips twisted in distaste. “We sit on our asses and do nothing while the five of them come up with a new way to break into Mina again and attack us when we least expect it. That’s your plan?”
Bakari only raised a brow at her.
Asha stood abruptly, the wooden legs of her chair scraping against the ground as she pushed back from the table. “Let me know when you all are ready to fight,” she said, meeting the gaze of everyone present individually. Then she stalked out of the hut and across the long dock that led out over the surface of the lake.
Once she was gone, Adriel finally spoke.
“She’s right about one thing,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time before the Pack Masters find another way into Mina and attack again. Now that they know where we are, they won’t stop until they kill us and everyone who stands beside us. The magic surrounding the city can only protect us for so long.”
“We need to find a way to remove those damn collars,” Aysari repeated.
“There is one way,” Adriel said.
“No,” I said, flashing him the same look I gave him every time he mentioned the possibility of sacrificing himself to meet our ends. His magic could remove collars individually, but if he tried to do that on a massive scale, it would likely kill him.
His face was so beautiful it almost hurt when he gave me one of his half smiles.
“It may come to the point where it’s the only choice we have,” he said. “So we all might as well brace for it.”
There was no point in disagreeing, because we all knew he was probably right.
4
There didn’t seem to be much more to say after this, and everyone dispersed in what was becoming an increasingly tense fashion.
We were all too aware of a clock ticking over our heads. Whereas before, Adriel and his team had been rescuing slaves and pups on the sly, disappearing altogether as far as the Pack Masters were concerned, now, the Masters not only knew who they were, but where they were. The situation had gone from dangerous to downright deadly, and like those thunderclouds that were gathering in the distance this morning, we could feel the approach of what would surely be a long and bloody war.
The trouble was, some of those among us, including Adriel, honestly believed that there had to be a less violent and bloody way to liberate the Wolves and take control from the Pack Masters. As much as I had fallen in love with the male in the relatively short amount of time I had known him, this seemed wildly naïve to me. Asha and I may not get along, but we agreed wholeheartedly on the idea that doing what needed to be done required the death of certain individuals, and possibly many more than that.
Ultimately, power was what we were playing for, and the Pack Masters would not let it slip from their grips without a hell of a fight. In fact, I was sure they would fight to the death in order to keep it.
Adriel and I were alone in the meeting hut after the others took their leave. He sat leaning back in his chair, his posture relaxed as always, but small creases appeared on his forehead that revealed his perplexed mind. He was never more beautiful than when he was deep in thought, and I found myself wanting to kiss those small creases away.
Standing from my chair, I crossed over to where he was sitting. When I reached him, he opened his arms to me immediately. This tiny gesture never failed to make my heart flutter, and as I climbed into the warmth of his arms, into that cocoon of safety, I released a sigh as his unique power wrapped around me.
I laid my head on his shoulder and stared at him as though there were stars in my eyes. The single dimple in Adriel’s cheek appeared when he saw me looking.
“Like what you see, Rukiya dearest?” he asked.
“Mm,” I said. “Very much.”
He adjusted me so that I fit comfortably on his lap, and placed a small kiss on the sensitive skin on my neck, making heat spiral low in my belly.
“You agree with Asha,” he said, his lips against my skin.
It was not a question, but I knew he wanted an answer. I sighed again as I breathed deeply of his peppermint soap scent. “You know I do,” I replied. “I think we need to attack them before they attack us.”
Adriel reached up and tucked a lock of my dark hair behind my ear. “You heard Bakari,” he said, kissing me again. “Three of the five Pack Masters have gone underground, and the other two are holed up. We don’t have the number of bodies we’d need to get past their forces.”
“So then maybe we slip around them?” I suggested. “Maybe we don’t storm the gates, but instead, we sneak in and take out the Masters like assassins.”
Adriel’s scarlet gaze flicked to me again, and I knew his expressions well enough to know when I spotted a little guilt there.
“What?” I said. “You’ve already done this?”
When he didn’t answer, only continued to look at me, I sat up in his lap and narrowed my eyes on him.
Then, the answer struck me, and I scoffed. “That’s where Goldie and Yarik went.”
It was not a question; I knew immediately from his expression that I was correct.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Your best friend promised to castrate me if I did,” Adriel said, and I knew that was also true, because it sounded like Goldie.
“What did she say?” I asked. When he didn’t answer, I added, “Adriel, tell me what she said.”
He released a low breath. “She said, and I quote, ‘Yarik and I are going after Benedict. You are not to tell Rukiya. If you do, I will remove the part of you she surely likes best.”
I shook my head. “What was her reason for not wanting me to know?”
I knew the answer to this, too, but I wanted to hear him say it.
Adriel’s handsome face looked mildly exasperated as he obliged. “She said if you knew you’d insist upon going with her, and that you’re not ready to go on such a mission. She said you froze when you saw the Hounds… That you should be kept to the library to continue your work in the stacks, looking for answers. She also suggested that I keep you occupied physically, which I valiantly agreed to.”
“Gods damn her,” I said, even as my stomach heated again at the prospect of Adriel ‘occupying’ me.
“You admitted to me that you froze,” he said gently. “You know she’s only looking out for you.”
I nodded. “And, yet, I’m still pissed.”
Adriel smirked, but I could see that he was weary of all the fighting, all the strategic meetings that ended fruitlessly. That made two of us.
“Yes, I can see that,” he said, and stood, cradling me in his strong arms as though I weighed nothing. “Let us see if we can remedy it.”
In one moment, I was sitting on Adriel’s lap in the hut. In the next, we were in his bedroom inside the library.
I had still not gotten entirely used to the magic that allowed us to pass through space and time at small leaps, but when he set me down on the bed and
hovered over me, any inkling of queasiness was replaced with a far more insistent feeling.
“Relax, Rukiya,” Adriel whispered, and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.
My body arched up into his, and he chuckled lowly against my mouth.
My hands laced through his thick black hair as he placed another kiss on my chin, and another on my throat, which was fully exposed. Adriel was the only male I had ever willingly given my open neck to, as doing so was a gesture of the ultimate submission to a Wolf. But there was no hesitation as I tilted my head back and let him trail his lips slowly down me.
His tongue flicked out and tasted the sensitive skin there, making a shudder wrack through my body. He moved down further still, his tongue trailing between my breasts as I lifted my body and pulled my shirt over my head. He kissed the toned muscles of my stomach, taking his time, moving at a pace that felt almost agonizingly slow.
I bit my lip to stifle the moan that wanted to escape me. The heat of the fireplace crackling in the center of the room was nothing compared to the heat building within me, and as it always did, the entire world melted under the sensation, until there was only Adriel and me and this beautiful thing that had been growing between us.
In these past two moon cycles, I had become all but addicted to the way he made me feel, to not just the raw power that always surrounded him, but the sound of his voice, the touch of his hands and lips. I’d been with several males in my lifetime, because as a Wolf, I was a creature who did not deny my impulses, but never had I felt like this. Being with Adriel was not like being with anyone else.
Being with Adriel felt like being home.
His tongue trailed down below my belly button, and now the fire burning within me was an outright blaze. I arched up again, unable to suppress a moan this time, and Adriel’s deep chuckle sounded again against my skin.
The Alpha in me perked up at this, and when I sat up and pushed him back a bit, the perplexed face he gave me made me grin. He began to retreat, assuming wrongly that that was what I wanted, but before he could do so, I took him by the shoulders and forced him back to the bed.
Then, I crawled atop him.
This was something I hadn’t done before with him. In every single sexual encounter, save for those with Adriel, I’d always taken the position on top. I’d never allowed any males to dominate me in that way, and none of them had ever complained. But, with Adriel, I trusted him to take the dominant position, and so until just now, I’d been selfishly enjoying allowing him to do all the work when we came together.
So it was no wonder he looked so surprised when I traded places with him, and it was my turn to chuckle when he gasped as my hands freed him from the confinements of his pants, letting him watch me as I stroked the proud length of him.
His eyes flared the deepest of scarlet as he watched with an intensity that matched the rush of magical power blooming around him. It was intoxicating, to both of us, if the expression on his handsome face were any indication.
When I lowered myself slowly, and kissed the tip of him, his muscular abs flexed and his fingers threaded through my hair. Now it was my turn to let my tongue explore him, and I did so with more enthusiasm than I would have thought possible.
He only let me continue for a handful of moments before he sat up, flipped me over to my stomach, and entered me from behind. My back arched as I cried out his name, pleasure unlike any I had ever known coursing through me.
We both finished at the same moment, and he reached around to grip my stomach, pushing deep enough inside me that I would have sworn he touched my soul.
When we were done, we fell asleep in each other’s arms, another thing that I had never done with a lover.
And if only for a handful of stolen heartbeats, everything was right with the world.
5
Later that evening, I found myself deep in the stacks of the library, as I often did when sleep escaped me.
I’d untangled myself from Adriel’s strong arms, stealing a moment to stare down at him before slipping out and wandering amongst the shelves of tomes.
Everyone who came to Mina was provided with a warm bed and private quarters, and while there were surely several bigger and newer rooms Adriel could have chosen from, it was no wonder to me why he’d taken the tiny room in the back of the library.
It was always quiet here, for one thing, and always warm for the various fireplaces set throughout the room. The ceiling was high and vaulted, and someone had painted supernatural creatures of every sort in a mural that looked down upon visitors.
There were enough books that I could read three a day for the rest of my life, and still only work my way through a small portion of them. I’d never had access to enough books to develop a real taste in reading material, but I was surprised at how combing through the histories was so intriguing. I was still looking for something that might lead us to a clue about how to remove the magical collars around the Dogs’ necks, but I was also learning various other details along the way.
Like the fact that Firedrakes were the natural enemies of Harpies, and that Mermaids, while beautiful, were deceitful creatures that lured sailors out of their vessels and drowned them in the depths of the cold seas.
The details and stories seemed endless, and I would lose myself in them as though they were long, dark hallways, eventually wandering back out again bleary eyed and only semi-present in the actual world.
When I’d mentioned this to Adriel, he’d only given me his perfect smirk. “Such is the power of the written word,” he’d told me, and returned to reading his own book as we’d lain together in bed.
And he was right. The more I read, the more I understood why the Pack Masters denied the Dogs the benefits of reading. Not being able to read kept us ignorant, and even if we did somehow learn (as I had) we had no access to reading material that had the power to remold our minds.
I’d decided to add this to the list of reasons why I hated them.
Among those reasons, of course, was Ryker. It had been two moon cycles since I’d stood on that dock in Marisol and defied him. Two moon cycles since he’d locked me in that room in the tower and tried to force the Mate bond on me. Two moon cycles since I’d decided that I was going to kill him, that I was going to kill all the Pack Masters and free the Dogs, no matter how impossible those tasks still seemed.
I finished thumbing through one of the books I’d plucked from the shelves and tossed it on the low table in front of me before grabbing another from the stack beside my chair. All of the chairs in the library were big and fluffy, and I twisted sideways and draped my legs over the armrest, laying back and propping open the book.
This one was about the Gnomes of the Northern Forest, and I stared at the creature depicted on the front page before flipping to the next.
I was about a quarter of the way through the book when Asha’s face appeared above me. For as silent as she moved, I didn’t know she was there until she was standing right behind my chair. I blinked, looking past my book and into her dark eyes.
Asha stared down at me, her pretty face clearly not too impressed with what she saw.
I loosed a low sigh and returned my gaze to the book still propped up over me. “Can I help you?” I asked.
Asha glanced around, and when she spoke, she did so in a whisper. “That’s what I’m coming to find out,” she said.
Something in the tone of her voice made me sit up and take notice. My brow furrowed as I closed the book about the Gnomes and swung my legs back around to the front, placing my feet on the ground.
Asha walked around to the front of the chair and took a seat on the low table in front of me, knocking off a few of the books I’d stacked there and pretending not to notice.
I watched the Demon female in curious silence. In the relatively short amount of time I’d been in Mina, she and I had not been on the friendliest of terms. She’d made it very clear when we’d met that she did not trust me for the relationship I’d had with Ryker, and was s
till unhappy about the relationship I’d formed with Adriel. In fact, from what I’d seen from her, Adriel seemed to be the only person Asha actually liked.
As she sat before me now, her dark eyes were narrowed, her assessment of me obvious.
“What are you talking about?” I said, when it was clear she was waiting for me to respond.
Asha glanced around as if making sure we were alone, and spoke in a low whisper. “As much as I hate to admit it,” she said, “you and I seem to see eye-to-eye on the way we should be handling the threats of the Pack Masters.”
I only looked at her. That was true, but she was going somewhere with this, and I wanted to know where.
Reaching into her black jacket, Asha removed a book that I had not seen before, and tossed it onto my lap. I looked down at the title, running my fingers over the slightly raised words. In a fancy silver script that curled at the edges, it read: Secrets of the Seers.
“The Seers?”
“Shh,” Asha snapped, glancing around again. I noticed for the first time that she looked a little nervous, which was something I’d never seen from her. I hadn’t been aware Demons were even capable of being nervous.
My brow furrowed and I sat up a little straighter. “Asha,” I said, “just tell me what this is about.”
She rolled her dark eyes, leaning forward now so that our faces were only a handful of inches apart.
“I came to see if Rook the Rabid was down for an adventure,” the Demon said, and a wicked grin spread slowly across her face.
We took our conversation to one of the gardens in town, which was empty of people for the late hour. Overhead the moon peeked down through the clouds, and I saw that the thunderheads I’d glimpsed in the distance must have veered away in a different direction.
When I was sure we were alone, I stopped walking through the rows of vegetation and folded my arms over my chest, my expression making it clear that I was waiting for her to explain.
Asha plucked a mint leaf off a nearby vine, popped it into her mouth, and faced me. “If we don’t find a way to remove those collars, Adriel is going to sacrifice himself to the cause,” she said at last.
