At the Viking's Command (Warriors Unleashed Book 2) (10 page)

When the sun rose and she shifted back, the low rumble of male voices reached her from the other room. She grabbed the stack of neatly folded clothes from beside the bed—Calder’s work—and dressed while she listened for clues about their visitors. Although her Pack was fine with casual nudity, strolling out naked in front of a bunch of Vikings would be stupid. Their orgies were legendary, after all. Their dynamic was also strangely, comfortingly Pack-like. They cared about each other even as they fought, but there was also a clearly established dominance order.

When she tried the doorknob, she half-expected it to be locked. Instead, it turned easily and she padded out. The guard to the left of the door was a surprise.

Shit. So much for convincing her Viking to trust her. After all, she was
pretty
sure she hadn’t gone for his throat when she shifted.

Almost certain.

Maybe.

The guard spun her around and ziptied her wrists before she could protest. “You don’t want to trade names first?”

He didn't mention an all access pass to the outside for her, or even toss her a greeting. He just tightened the set of plastic zipties manacling her wrists together. Unfortunately, the plastic zipties would likely stick with her through her shift.

When the Viking guard leaned down, his mouth by her ear, she felt unexpectedly small and feminine. Damn it. “Var,” he growled. “Consider us acquainted.”

Nope. Knowing his name didn’t help at all.

He pulled her effortlessly along after him, and she went because there was no choice. This was all his way and she couldn't stop him. Cold snaked through her belly. There was no way this ended but badly. Var took her straight to the same living room she'd been in before, a room that now held six males.

Her first impression of the Vikings waiting for her as that their reputation as the fiercest of the pit fighters had been well-earned. None of them looked happy to see her, either. Surely, offering their boy a paying gig had to count for something? A quick look turned up no Calder, although she sensed he was near. Interesting, too, that he’d chosen to absent himself. It probably didn’t bode well for her.

Show no fear.
“Do you all tie up your lovers?”

Vikar didn’t move from his position on Calder’s sofa. “Are you volunteering to take on all of us?”

At the moment, given the look of icy focus on Vikar’s face, that was a resounding
hel, no
.

Vikar motioned to Var. “Untie her.”

The way the blade cut through the plastic ties scared her, too. The cold metal pressed against her skin and there was an ominous pressure and then the pop of relief as the ties gave and spilled her wrists into Var’s hand.

He gave her a little shove, just hard enough to send her stumbling into the center of the room where she was exposed and vulnerable. Viking eyes assessed her like she was a problem they were going to solve. Which she probably was, since these boys wouldn’t be thrilled she’d breached their defenses.

Vikar was the indisputable leader of the pack, although she would have bet that the other males chose to follow him. They could have gone their own ways, led their own teams—but they had chosen this man. Instinctively, she recognized his alpha behavior, her wolf fighting its own instincts to whine and lower her gaze.
No
.

Be strong.

So she didn't like the cold curiosity on Vikar’s face. It was better to be here to be as Calder’s lover, tucked away in the bedroom because girls didn’t get to play war games. The wolves’ shared a close-minded attitude toward female participation and her instincts screamed that being the focus of attention was very, very bad.

Before she could stop herself, she looked around the room because she wanted,
needed
, to know if Calder was here. If he was going to be a part of whatever bad thing was about to unfold right here. It looked like he was, because he stepped into the room and dropped into a chair on edge of scene.
They’d had a deal.
Those dark eyes didn't give away any secrets, though. She couldn't tell, from looking at his face, if Vikar had decided to pull the Alpha card and undo that deal.

She got that answer all too quickly.

Var moved behind her, pulling her arms into the small of her back and dragging her body up against his. Her heart started beating like a trip hammer. It was like hitting a wall. A large, immovable wall. Her gaze shot to Calder, before she could stop herself, but he hadn't moved from his lazy sprawl. This was okay with him.

She sucked in a breath and reminded herself she was holding herself together. She didn’t have to fall apart just because the men surrounding her were a pack of mean-ass bastards. Her Pack was every bit as bad.

Vikar nodded. “We're going to try a little conversation about the end of the world. Now that you’re in human form, I'm hoping you'll be reasonable.”

Calm
. The spike of fear was a liquid sensation shooting through her stomach and down to her knees. Her skin prickled hot and then cold.

“Or what?” There. Her voice sounded thin, but there was no shake. That was good. That set the tone.

“Show and tell. Rad here is going to show you how to play.” Vikar nodded and Rad stepped toward her, his knife in his hand. Nausea seared her stomach like he’d ordered the bile up. Shit. The Vikings played every bit as nasty as the werewolves did.

Rad’s blade flashed toward her. The scream was out of her mouth before she could bite the sound back. She pressed hard against Var, but with no give in his hold, she wasn't going anywhere. The blade retreated and her cardigan hit the floor. She sucked air in.

“If you want to play games, I’m voting for Parcheesi.”

“There's your
show
.” Vikar steepled his fingers. “Now, let's try
tell
. You know something about the end of the world. One of your people has a plan and you’re going to tell us what it is.”

“No,” she said instinctively, but Vikar was already nodding his head toward Rad again.

“There's no room in this room for
no
, wolf.”

The blade came for her again, a cold whisper against her skin as the sharp edge pressed in and then down her thigh. She jerked backwards and Var’s legs hooked around hers.

“Don't move, darling.” Oh, God. She could
feel
the rough growl from that mouth pressed against her ear. "Rad here likes things a little rough. You don't want to make this too much fun for him.”

Vikar kept right on talking. “Everyone knows the wolves are responsible for kicking off Armageddon. The signs are all present.”

“My Pack didn’t do it.”

But you will,
a little voice screamed in her head.
That’s why you’re
here. Her Alpha had plans and that was why she needed to put him down.

Vikar’s flat voice reached her from a distance. “Come now, Tyra. Everyone in this room, including you, knows the answer to this one. It’s a simple one. This one is a definite
yes
and all I need from you are some more words to go with that truth. Fill in the blanks for us on how you plan on getting the Ragnarök party started.”

She didn’t have an answer, couldn’t, wouldn’t. She didn’t know which, just tumbled headlong into animal panic at the soft slide of the blade coming for her again. So much for all of her tough girl moves. All she could do was wait, helpless and pinned between the heat of the man holding her in place and the icy coldness of the one coming for her. The impossible awareness of her body and what they could do. This was as bad as her worst moment in the pit and then with the Pack. She was so very tired of being at someone else’s mercy.

The knife trailed up her thigh. Those were her own bare legs she saw, with Rad’s blade pressed against skin of her inner thigh. He moved his wrist, just a little flick of sinew and muscle, and the blade stroked lightly against her skin.

She whimpered.

A second small stroke, higher this time.

She couldn't think, couldn't find her voice. Her throat dried up, closed in and every part of her wanted to speak out, to give Vikar the words he wanted, but she couldn't. She was locked down tight.

“Alpha hasn’t done it yet,” she finally got out. “He wants to, but he hasn’t done it yet.”

From a distance, she heard the Alpha voice asking more questions, but she couldn't stop watching Rad. She pulled hard, bucking against Var’s hold, but he held her effortlessly in place.

“Shhh,” he crooned. “I told you this one, sweetheart. You don't want to move for this one. You give our Alpha want he needs now, or Rad is coming back for you.”

“I can't.” She couldn't, wouldn't. The world was all mixed up and that blade just moved, coming back when she wanted it to go away. Wanted this all to be over. She didn’t want to die here—or worse. The blade's edge traced the valley between her breasts, parting the fabric.

The lacy cups of her bra separated, exposing her breasts. Heat washed over her, followed by cold. The terribly gentle, careful, inexorable pass of the blade made her frighteningly aware of what these men were capable of.

Then Rad flipped the blade in his hand, the knife's handle tracing the path the wicked edge had just taken. Fear had her nipples puckering and her throat drying up. This time, she got her mouth open, but there was no sound to come out. That handle smoothed a path down her stomach, toward her panties.

“Calder,” she whispered. She wasn't sure what she wanted him to do or why some primitive part of her thought he'd respond. He was familiar, though, and he hadn't hurt her, not yet. He'd made her feel good.

Safe
.

The blade reached her hip. He wasn't coming, was going to let this happen while he watched from the side like she was a dinner show he'd bought a ticket to. But then, suddenly, he shoved himself upright, all that raw, leashed power vaulting the table. She watched him come, racing the blade coming back for her, tucking under the thin ribbon holding her panties together.

The ribbon snapped, Calder’s fist came up and Rad’s head flew back.

Thank god thank god thank god.

Var’s hands dropped away, Calder’s arms surrounded her, wrapped her up in his scent and heat, and then he was carrying her out of the room. Out and away.

6

“What the hell was that?” Tyra took refuge in anger.

“A mistake,” Calder answered, taking her into the bedroom. As soon as she’d dressed in the new clothes he handed her, he took her out the front door. He had seven snowmobiles parked in his front yard, each loaded with packs. Maybe they were going after her wolves after all.

His vocabulary needed some work however.

“A mistake implies that somebody misjudged somebody else. Mistaken identity. Some kind of confusion. That seemed pretty
on purpose
to me.” She twisted in his arms. She liked having him hold her, but
like
wasn’t the same as
need
or
must
. “Put me down.”

“In a moment.” Still holding her, he dropped down onto the front step of his porch. Her heartbeat slowed some, tuning itself to Calder’s. Now that she was away from his scary-as-shit family, some things were becoming clearer. Whatever had gone on inside his cabin, it had been part of a larger strategy. She just needed to figure out what it was.

“Tell me the truth,” she suggested. “Tell me why that was a
mistake
.”

“It was a set up.”

Well. Shoot. “You did that on purpose?”

“You just defined
mistake
for me,” he pointed out, humor ghosting his voice. God. She’d never understand Vikings.

“Why?”

“Vikar needed to make sure you’d told me the truth about the Pack job. That it wasn’t a ruse to get us involved in an assassination attempt on Odin. That you weren’t keeping information from us.”

She elbowed him. Hard. “I’m not the one who was keeping secrets there, big guy. My Alpha is planning to try to assassinate Odin. The key word being
try
. His plan isn’t worth shit—it’s a Hail Mary pass at the power end zone and he’s going to take the entire Pack with him. Remove him from the equation and there’s no risk my Pack goes after Odin. We’re not crazy and we actually don’t want to trigger the end of the world—whether anyone believes that or not.”

He shrugged. “Yeah. I get that now. You want a free shot?”

“Excuse me?”

“At me,” he said. “You want to take a shot at me, you take it. I owe you. I shouldn’t have let Vikar push so hard or so far.”

She heard the unspoken words.
So
far. He was still okay with investigating her claims and doing some strong-arming. If she was being honest, now that her heartbeat had settled back into a nice, steady plodding beat, he’d be perfect for her Pack. He was ruthless and manipulative. He did what had to be done and he didn’t let feelings or sex get in the way. If anyone could take down Leif and then hold the Pack together, it was Calder.

“I’m not firing you,” she said. “You don’t get off that easy. I still want your help with my Pack.”

“And you’re still mine,” he replied roughly. “I’ll remember my job if you remember yours. Mount up in ten. Mine’s the ride in front.”

She slid off his lap and he let her go. “So which one’s mine?”

“The same one as mine,” he said tightly. “Go grab your things.”

“I don’t get a snowmobile of my own?”

“Nope.”

“You don’t think I deserve it after that rope-and-knife stunt?”

He didn’t trust her. If she was being honest with herself, he was right. She checked. Nope. Internal honesty didn’t make her feel any better.

“I have my own ride off-island.”

He shrugged again. “Don’t care. Hop on or get left behind.”

He patted the seat with his hand. God. That hand in the black leather glove gave her all sorts of ideas. One leather-covered finger pushing into her core. Two. Three? She could almost feel the vibrations of the engine throbbing through her pussy. Sexy times on the snowmobile were definitely next on her to do list. She could hold a grudge later.