“I said he’s not taking calls.”
Rodrigo knew damn well who she was and it cut like a knife that he had permission to deny her the chance to speak to her father.
But the pain gave way to anger.
No, he didn’t actually have that right. Who the hell was he? She was the Alpha’s daughter. He was Beta. Not Alpha.
Something strange and new stirred in her chest. “Put my father on.”
Her voice was not her voice. It was deeper, and it sounded like it had echoed from the depths of hell instead of her throat.
Rodrigo howled in pain.
“Maribella? Are you alright?” Her father’s voice came on the line.
“Yes, Papa. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“What did you do to Rodrigo? His ears are bleeding.”
“I’m not sure. Things are changing. Something’s happened in the north and I’m going.”
She waited for her father to tell her she shouldn’t go, that she should stay safe in Aphelion, to leave the fighting to the warriors, but he didn’t.
“Oh, my little princess. It’s happening.”
“You know?”
“I wish I could help you. I wish I could tell you, but I’m magically bound. All I can tell you is that you must listen to your wolf.”
“Papa, I’ve never been able to hear my wolf.”
“I know. You didn’t need her until now. But when she’s ready to come out, you trust her. You give her the reins. It’ll save your life.” He sounded so full of regret.
She wanted him to say it, so she had to ask for it in the only way she knew how. “Westwood said I should call you before I left. I wanted to tell you that I love you and I hope you can be proud of me.”
“I’ve always been proud of you, princess. Always.” He was silent for a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity. Until he finally said, “I love you.”
Something unwound inside of her and tears pricked the back of her eyes.
“Thanks, Papa.” She sniffed. “Tell Rodrigo not to deny my calls anymore.”
“He and I will speak on this. I would never allow him to deny your call. Has he done this before?”
“He has.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She swallowed hard. “You have responsibilities, I’m not unaware of that.”
“There is no responsibility more sacred to me than that which comes with being your father. I hope you’ll understand that in time.”
Yes, she knew he loved her, but it was something altogether different to hear him speak the words.
“I know,” she whispered.
“Then believe me and the voice inside of you.”
“I’ve got to go.”
“Call me when you return. If the magick binding has been broken as I believe it will be, I’ll tell you everything then. If you still want to hear it.”
“I will.”
She hung up the phone.
That was when her skin began to burn.
And she knew that she had to get to Warner.
His presence was the only thing that would soothe the fire, the volcanic heat that bubbled in her marrow and the raging beast that now clawed at the edges of her mind
6
Not for the first time that night, a strange premonition skittered down his back and something whispered inside the shadows that Mari was coming.
Except she wouldn’t do that.
She’d stay where she’d be safe.
I’m coming.
It was louder this time and it wasn’t only a fey whisper, it was as if Mari stood in front of him.
He perked his head up and his ears twitched. Warner scented the air, but the only creatures in this part of the forest aside from him and Lenore were small woodland animals. There were a few hikers several miles away, but they were no threat and they weren’t Mari.
“What’s up?” Lenore asked. “We got company?”
“Not yet, anyway.” Warner sighed. “I think Mari followed us.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I just… it’s a feeling.”
“You know how those Woolven Mates are. You can’t keep them out of the line of fire.”
“Lenore, you know this is different.”
“I’m sure that Blake thought it was different with Randi, too.”
Lenore had him there. He for sure thought the same thing.
“Maybe I should call Tirigan and see if he can catch up to her and take her back to Aphelion.”
Lenore made a disapproving face. “Why would you do that? You don’t get to make her choices for her. Just like she can’t make yours for you.”
“It’s different.”
“How?”
“It just is.”
“So, you know I have a wolf mate.”
“This is news to me.”
“Well. I keep it on the DL. But I thought all immediate Woolven knew.” She suddenly became very busy with her camping gear. “Anyway,” she continued, not looking at him, “if he tried to keep me from what we’re doing, I’d skin him alive.”
“You’re Lenore Breslin.” As if that was all the answer anyone needed.
“My name didn’t always inspire fear and awe. I had to earn my cred. Just being Diana Breslin’s daughter and Peter Breslin’s sister didn’t earn me anything I wanted.” She looked up to meet his gaze now. “And if you’ll recall, you tried to protect me, too. You tried to keep me from coming with you. What if I was your mate? What would you do to keep me from this threat in the north? Especially if you weren’t you. You’re here with me. You can defeat these things. What if you were… say… Luchtaine? What if you were the oldest and your power had gone unchallenged for millennia? What if you were the demon wolf who died only to be reborn with a human mate you couldn’t protect?”
“I’d…” he began. Warner had been about to say that he’d wrap her in bubble wrap and chain her to the wall. But he wouldn’t. He’d want to. But he wouldn’t.
Then the deeper meaning behind what she’d said kicked him in the balls.
“Luchtaine is your mate?”
“Yeah. I mean… it’s not really a big deal.” She folded, and refolded her sleeping bag.
“Mari is soft and sweet. And utterly breakable.”
“I’m sure that Luchtaine sees me the same way. Utterly breakable, even though I bested him. Don’t you think the Goddess knows what she’s doing by now? Do you think you’d be given a mate who couldn’t match you?”
“She’s not my—”
“Yeah, totally not.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s why you know she’s coming. That’s why your skin is on fire and your teeth are getting too big for your mouth. That’s why you think about devouring her in every way you can.”
“Lenore, don’t trespass where you don’t understand.”
“But I do. Luchtaine has told me about all the darkness inside of him. He’s told me how it wants me in… I guess you could say ‘unholy’ ways, if you subscribe to that way of thinking. How it wants to taste me in every way. Devour me. Sound familiar?”
Warner scrubbed a hand over his face. “Too familiar. But again, you’re Lenore Breslin.”
“And you don’t know who Mari is. Not yet. She hasn’t had to prove herself. Can you imagine who I’d be without my training? Without being tested in the Dark Woods at the age of sixteen? I’d be… I don’t know. I haven’t even thought about what I’d be if I wasn’t a hunter. If I had the kind of resources DeVaughn has, maybe I’d be a lot like Mari.”
“I have a hard time imagining that.”
“Which is why you have a hard time imagining that Mari could be a strong wolf. Strength isn’t born without strife, Warner. It’s like your muscles. You can’t build them without tearing them apart. You have to work them. You have to give them something to push against before they rebuild and grow.”
“There’s logic in what you say. I understand this, I really do. But my gut refuses to accept logic. It refuses to allow that this darkness
will do anything but destroy.”
Lenore reached out her hand and put it on his shoulder. “This darkness in you was born to destroy. It’s why it was created. To eliminate the unnatural threat of Peter’s get. You will be an unstoppable force of destruction, but I fully believe it will be only to those who need destroying. You won’t hurt her. Trust yourself.”
Warner wanted to believe the hunter’s words more than anything. They were the easy answer to the rift inside of him. They soothed his fears and made it so much easier for him to surrender to the dark beast.
“I wish I could believe that.”
Lenore studied him for a long moment. “Okay, Warner. If you’re all darkness and terror, tell me, what does your darkness want right now?”
“Mari. Blood. Bone. Flesh. Mari.”
“Mmhmm. Look at me.”
Suddenly, Warner, who’d never really been afraid of anything in his life was terrified to look at Lenore. He didn’t want her to see underneath his skin. Didn’t want to show her what he knew she was looking for with her too keen eyes.
But he was never one to cower.
So he looked at Lenore, met her gaze and let the chips fall where they would.
Not wanting to look at the monster inside him didn’t make it any less real. It didn’t take any of its power. It didn’t save anyone.
Except Warner’s own idea of self. His pride, honestly.
“What do you see when you look at me?”
He hadn’t been expecting that question. Warner didn’t know what she hoped to gain from this little game, but fuck it. He’d play. He stared at the hunter. He saw that she was a woman, a beautiful woman. A strong woman. A human who walked two paths. A human who was pack.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “You’re Lenore. You’re my great nephew’s aunt. You’re my friend. You’re my family.”
“Are you hungry?” she grinned.
He scowled. “I’m always hungry.”
“You know what I’m asking. Does your darkness want to tear me to pieces? Do you want to eat me?”
“Don’t ever say that to a werewolf,” he growled. “Especially one you know has eaten more than animal flesh.”
“Answer the question.”
“No. I don’t want to hurt you that way and neither does whatever is inside of me.”
“I think you’re still adapting to this. Your brain is rewiring. You don’t know the darkness yet. What it wants. How it wants. It’s going to be okay.”
“Or maybe my darkness knows better than to express any dark desires for you, Lenore.”
She snorted. “An ancient so-called evil isn’t going to be afraid of little ol’ human me. Regardless of whose ass I’ve kicked.”
“I don’t know. You’ve got bone fairy backup.”
She laughed. “If it’ll make you feel better, I can consult the Three. They have volumes of Old Lore that might bring more clarity to the situation.”
“I don’t know. I’d rather eat my own tail than go to other witches after Westwood.”
“You’re not going. I am. But if you trust Westwood so much, why are you doubting her word on this?”
Warner didn’t have an answer.
“I think you’re afraid of being special. I think you’ve been in the shadows so long, you don’t know how to be anything else. You’ve never wanted to be anything else. I know you always said that Sterling needed the mantle of Alpha more than you did, but I think you never wanted it. I think it was a relief for you to abdicate to him.”
Warner roared. “I did what was best for the pack.”
“Of course you did. It just also happened to be what was best for you, too. No shame in that, Warner. And don’t roar at me, for fuck’s sake. We’re trying to be stealthy.”
“Don’t piss me off.”
“Uh, no. You have control over your actions. Regardless of what I say or do.”
He huffed. “You’re right. About a lot. Stop shining lights on things better left in the dark.”
“Can’t do it, my friend.”
“Damn it,” he grumbled.
Lenore laughed. “But listen, if you can hang out here, I’m going to the witches. I shouldn’t be gone very long. I spotted a fairy ring of mushrooms not too far back.”
He briefly considered forging ahead on his own. This would be the perfect way to keep Lenore out of the line of fire.
“I know what you’re thinking and if you ditch me, I will kick your ass.”
He laughed. “No.”
“I thought wolves couldn’t lie?”
“We can. We just don’t. But no could mean any number of things.”
“Jesus Fucking Christ, Warner. Will you just accept the help? We’ve all been through some shit. You think yours is bad? All of us have shit we have to deal with. You suck it up and work through it and go forward the best you can.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t eat—”
“I’ve had enough of this. If eating my brother’s head would’ve helped me defeat him, I’d do it in a second. If your gift came to me, I’d fucking take it. Because this is what we do. So you ate a bad guy. Big fucking deal. I did too.”
“What?”
Lenore coughed, after she seemed to realize what she’d said. “Yeah, I mean… whatever. No big deal. I ate the demon wolf in a stew. I didn’t know it at the time, but I did it. So whatever. Shit happens, Warner.”
“I don’t know this story.”
“No one does. Not really. And I don’t care to tell it. But here we fucking are. So can you please get on board.”
It wasn’t actually a request.
And Warner realized that he’d been wallowing. He’d been hanging himself up like some kind of martyr when no matter the cost, he had actually been given a gift.
It wasn’t a gift he wanted.
But it was one that he, his pack, and the world as they knew it needed.
So for all of his posturing, it was time to suck it up.
Although, he reserved the right to do what he needed to do to protect the people he loved. He still thought the beast was a threat, and he’d continue to treat it that way until it was time to loose it on the world.
And hopefully, those he loved would be far, far away.
Maybe the witches would have some ideas for that.
“Alright, Lenore. I’ll wait for you.”
“You better. Warner Woolven’s word is gold. We all know that.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Try to get some sleep. We’ve got some long days ahead and who knows what this is going to take out of you. And before you argue, a good night’s sleep is just as important as any weapon you could take into battle. My mother said that all the time. So if you don’t listen to me, listen to her. She’s the Hunter of Hunters, after all.”
“I’d rather listen to Lenore. Diana isn’t half the hunter you are.”
Lenore swallowed hard and stuffed her hands in her pockets. “I mean… okay. I’ll be back soon.”
She darted off into the woods, leaving Warner alone.
Without Lenore’s presence to distract him, he couldn’t stop thinking about Mari.
She drew ever closer and every cell in his body demanded he run to meet her. That he Change and cover every inch of ground between them until she was in his arms.
And his jaws.
The beast burned beneath his skin, demanded to be freed, but somehow, he locked it down.
There was still a chance Mari wouldn’t find him. Although, the very idea sounded hollow to him. She’d find him as sure as the sun would rise in the east.
But he still had this idea that he could protect her from all of this.
Especially himself.
Fuck, but he wanted her. He wanted to be inside of her in all ways. His cock, his teeth, he wanted to taste her blood with his mate’s mark and he wanted her to taste his.
His body began to twist and contort into the unnatural Change.
Agony stabbed through him as muscle and sinew stretched a
nd snapped, but he dug his claws deep into the rich, dark earth and demanded his body obey him.
Demanded by the powers of the Goddess above, and the earth below. He called out to every power he could think of and none answered.
But he didn’t expect that any would.
He knew that this was a matter of will.
And he locked it down without mercy.
As his body returned to his control, he knew at some point, he would have to let it free. And he promised himself that he would.
Only when it was time.
Only when utter destruction was the only answer.
He lay there, in the dirt with the night sounds of the forest echoing around him—something that surprised him.
Usually all the night animals went quiet in the forest when a werewolf walked in his warrior form or something unnatural stalked the area.
Yet, the frogs still cried out for their mates, the crickets sang their songs, and foxes and owls still darted about.
Perhaps it was because they knew he was no threat to them.
He clenched his hands in the dirt, loving the feel of the cool earth on his skin. Warner wanted to bury himself in the reprieve it offered and he found himself digging deep and fast until he burrowed underground like some kind of vampire.
The comparison revolted him, but not enough to make him crawl from his nest.
Here, the darkness was safe.
Here, the darkness was comfort.
And he slept.
Warner Woolven did not find the respite he needed.
In his dreams, he walked a desert landscape with red and orange ridges and deep canyons. Where clean, sweet streams should have been were rivers of blood cutting through the rocks and gorges.
Packs of wolves roamed—no, they didn’t roam. They fled. They ran from him in great, stampeding numbers but he ran them down like deer. He ate them like he would any other he’d run down.
He devoured them all.
That wasn’t the worst part of it though.
It was that he wasn’t alone.
Mari ran not only at his side, but her appetite was as ravenous as his own. Perhaps more.
And he ran her down, too.
She let him.
When he caught her, he fucked her hard and slow and they reveled in the sensations of flesh, blood, and the utter destruction of all life that stood between them.
Stealing the Heiress Page 5
