Beyond the Darkness (14 page)

“I may have been raised by a pack of curs instead of your precious purebloods, but even I know that true matings disappeared centuries ago,” she charged. “Caine always claimed that they were nothing more than a myth to begin with.”

Salvatore’s temper flared. Until the mating bond was complete, even the mention of another male was enough to stir his Neanderthal urges.

“What would a cur know of our history?”

“So he lied when he said that Weres no longer mated?”

With an effort, he reined in his overly possessive wolf. “It’s true that matings were thought to have faded, along with many other Were abilities.”

“Then obviously you’ve made a mistake.” She licked her lips, her voice vibrating with unsettled nerves. “We can’t be mated.”

He smiled wryly. She’d helped him escape from Caine with unwavering courage. She’d faced a demented Briggs without flinching. But the mere mention of being his mate tweaked her out.

Should he be offended or pleased he could inspire such a violent reaction?

“I didn’t say we were mated,” he corrected, deliberately stroking his fingers up her bare arm. She shivered beneath his touch, her sweet vanilla scent mixing with his musk in a combination that set his blood on fire. “I said you were my mate.”

“Is this some sort of trick?”

“More like the irony of fate.”

Not amused, she glared at him. “Would you just tell me what’s going on? Why do you think I’m your mate?”

“When a male pureblood discovers his true mate, he produces a very specific musk to mark her.”

There was a short, dangerous pause. “Mark her?”

“It’s a warning to other males to back off.”

“You covered me in your scent to scare off other men?”

He skimmed his fingers back down to her wrist, unable to pretend even a token of regret. If he had his way, Harley would be carrying his scent for the rest of eternity.

“It wasn’t intentional.”

“Bullshit.”

He shifted until he was pressed against her hip, able to feel her searing heat through the comforter.

“Harley, as much as I hate to admit it, there are a few forces beyond my ability to control.” He brushed his finger over the lush curve of her lips. “Besides, the scent will fade in time.”

Her glower remained, but the gold flecks in her hazel eyes shimmered with potent awareness. Salvatore was instantly erect and ready to please.

“You’re certain?”

“So long as you don’t complete the mating bond or haul me back to your bed.”

“It just disappears?”

His gaze drifted down to the pulse hammering at the base of her throat.

“Si.”

“And I’m no longer your mate?”

“You will always be my mate,
cara.
” He bent forward, his lips touching that fluttering pulse with a stark yearning. “For all eternity. Nothing can change that.”

For a crazed, breathless moment Harley melted beneath Salvatore’s experienced touch. She was beyond denying that she wanted this Were with a hunger that was on the wrong side of obsessive. Even after three first-rate, heart-stopping orgasms, her body was ready to go for number four.

Her mind, however, was in stunned mode.

God Almighty.

Was Salvatore completely nuts?

The mere thought she could be his mate took insanity to a whole new level. Not only were true matings nothing more than an urban legend, but they barely knew one another.

No, that wasn’t entirely true. A liquid ache between her legs reminded her that they knew each other intimately. But mind-blowing sex didn’t equal soul mates.

So why wasn’t she laughing it off as a bad joke? Or sympathizing with his obvious descent into raving lunacy?

This thundering panic implied an emotional reaction she wasn’t prepared to admit.

Not even to herself.

With a sharp motion, she pushed off the bed, keeping the damp towel wrapped around her shivering body. In silence she paced from one end of the black-and-gold room to the other, intensely aware of Salvatore’s searing gaze following her every move.

At last he rose to his feet and crossed to stand directly in her path, his body gloriously naked and his expression somber.

“Harley?”

She jerked up her head to meet his brooding gaze. “You can’t just assume I’m your mate because I smell like you,” she abruptly informed him. “I mean, the past few days have been crazy. This could all be nothing more than stress.”

“Male Weres produce musk only when in the presence of their mates,” he said. “But it’s more than just the change in my scent. I knew you were my mate the moment we met.”

“How?”

“Here.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his chest, directly over the steady beat of his heart. “You’re stealing my powers. Along with most of my sanity.”

She eyed him warily, wondering if this was all some bizarre joke.

“I believe the sanity thing, but I don’t know what the hell you’re babbling about with your powers. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t know how to steal them.”

A wry smile curved his lips, but the golden eyes remained watchful, closely monitoring her reaction.

“You don’t have to do anything but be yourself,
cara.
It’s the nature of the mating bond to weaken the male.”

Harley abruptly recalled Salvatore’s unexpected bouts of weakness during their flight from Caine. And his obvious weariness after being attacked by Briggs.

At the time, she’d put it down to the endless battles and the silver that had been lodged in his shoulder…

Now her heart slowly squeezed at the realization that if Salvatore was actually telling the truth, she’d been responsible for the chinks in his considerable armor. For God’s sake, she could have gotten him killed without even knowing it.

“What kind of stupid tradition is that?” she muttered sourly. “Haven’t the Weres heard of the Darwin theory? Males should get stronger, not weaker, when they have a mate.”

A dangerous smile curved his lips as his hands grabbed the top edge of her towel and yanked her against him.

“It’s to keep him from taking his mate by force,” he growled, his eyes darkening with a slumberous invitation. “The female must be willing or the bond can’t be completed.”

She studied his lean, beautiful face, searching for some sign of resentment. Surely he had to be pissed at having his powers hijacked?

If he was, he hid it well. At the moment there was nothing but a blazing hunger that smacked into her with delicious force.

Suddenly she was acutely aware of his fingers that curled beneath the towel and branded the upper curve of her breasts. The hard, ruthless lines of his bronzed body. His intoxicating musk that seeped through her skin and flowed through her blood.

With an effort, Harley held onto a thin strand of sanity.

Dammit, Salvatore was being stalked by a crazed psychopathic Were and a pack of crazed curs with regicide on their minds. He should be concentrating on staying alive.

“And once she agrees to the mating, his strength returns?” she demanded.

He lowered his head to trail his lips over her temple, the satin curtain of his hair brushing her cheek.

“It returns even greater than before.” His mouth traced the line of her brow. “There’s also a legend that ancient mated pairs were once capable of sharing their powers, so they were all but invincible.”

The heat shimmered through her body, the potent force weakening her knees. Instinctively she grabbed for his shoulders, her nails digging into his rigid muscles. He growled in approval.

Dammit, he wasn’t going to distract her.

This was too important.

“So how does the female complete this mating bond?”

He teased at the corner of her mouth. “I don’t know.”

She pulled back to glare at him. “How can you not know?”

“It’s not a ritual the female performs. She doesn’t dance around a bonfire or sacrifice small animals.” His lips curled in a smile filled with wicked promise. “Of course, if
you
wanted to dance around the bonfire naked…”

“Salvatore.”

He heaved a sigh, his hands shifting to frame her face, his gaze stabbing deep into her wide eyes.

“Either the female accepts the male, or she rejects him. It’s as mystical and unexplainable as falling in love.”

“And if she doesn’t accept him?”

“Then he’ll devote the rest of eternity to changing her mind.” With a powerful motion, Salvatore swept her off her feet and headed to the bed. Harley’s stomach clenched at the focused intent engraved on his face. “Like this.”

“Wait,” she breathed, her voice already thick with a pulsing need. “Your powers…”

The golden glow of his eyes spilled through the room. “Are ready and willing to please you.”

“I’m serious, Salvatore. You can’t go against Briggs while you’re weakened,” she protested, her breath tangling in her lungs as she landed spread-eagle on the mattress, Salvatore covering her with his heavily aroused body.

“Harley, the last thing I want to think about right now is Briggs.”

“This conversation isn’t over…”

He slid into her with one smooth thrust, and not only was the conversation over, but so was all rational thought.

Wrapping her legs around his hips, Harley closed her eyes in exquisite pleasure, settling for communicating in a more primitive language.

Harley hadn’t intended to fall asleep. One minute she’d been floating on a cloud of postcoital bliss and the next she’d been snuggling into Salvatore’s arms and drifting into unconsciousness.

She didn’t know how long she’d been out when she was awakened by Salvatore whispering in her ear.

“Harley.”

“Hmmmm?”

“Harley, I need you get out of bed and dressed as quickly as you can.”

It was the tension vibrating in his voice that had Harley’s eyes snapping open with sudden alarm.

“Are the vampires here?”

Salvatore eased from the bed and tugged on a pair of jeans. “No.”

Harley shook off her lingering glow and crawled out of bed to pull on her own clothes, shoving her fingers through her hair before fastening it back with a scrunchie. No one wanted to face trouble naked.

“What is it?”

Salvatore absently slipped on a black satin shirt, leaving it open as he sat on the edge of the bed and shoved his feet into a pair of black biker boots. A far cry from his tailored Gucci suit, but still sexy as hell.

Lifting his head, he revealed a grim expression. “Briggs.”

Harley’s blood ran cold. “He’s here?”

“Outside.”

“Shit.”

Standing, Salvatore crossed the room to grab her by the shoulders.

“Find Santiago and stay with him,” he commanded. “Styx should be here within the hour.”

Her mouth dropped open with disbelief. Did he really think she was going to be treated like some swooning female who had to be protected by her big strong male?

“No.”

“
Cara,
don’t argue with me,” he growled. “Not now.”

She stubbornly held her ground. “You’re not facing that lunatic by yourself.”

“I’ll be fine as long as I know you’re safe. Do this for me.” His jaw tightened, his eyes dark with concern. “Please.”

“Salvatore…”

Putting an end to the argument, Salvatore wrapped an arm around her waist and tossed her over his shoulder. Then striding across the floor, he yanked open the door and set her down in the hallway.

“Go.”

“Dammit.” The door was shut in her face, followed by the distinct sound of the bolt being thrown.

She stood for a minute, weighing the pleasure of kicking down the door and teaching the damned Were a badly needed lesson in pushing her around against accepting that she was wasting time.

Salvatore was just idiotic enough to face Briggs on his own, regardless of the fact that he wasn’t firing on all cylinders.

So freaking, typically male.

Turning on her heel, Harley headed down the stairs and back across the wide lobby. It was late, but she could still hear the muted roars from the nightclub below. Obviously blood and sex were a big draw in the ol’ demon world.

She was nearing the stairs leading back down to the pit when a female form detached from a shadowed alcove, and the scent of plums swirled through the air.

Tonya, the royal imp.

Or more likely, the royal slut, Harley cattily decided, her gaze skimming over the red microdress that had been lacquered on the lush body, and the heavy layer of makeup on the pale, perfect face.

“You shouldn’t be wandering around on your own, sweet thing,” the imp drawled. “There are all sorts of beasties roaming around who don’t mind if a woman goes furry once a month.”

Not bothering to react to the insult or correct the assumption, Harley stabbed the imp with an impatient glare.

“I need Santiago.”

“The King of Weres isn’t enough for you?”

Harley stepped until they were nose to nose. “Don’t. Screw. With. Me. Where is he?”

The woman swallowed, her eyes suddenly wide. “His office.”

“You see, that wasn’t so hard.”

With a pat on the imp’s cheek, Harley headed for the back of the lobby, not missing a step as the angry woman called out behind her.

“Bitch.”

Reaching the office, Harley shoved open the door and stepped over the threshold, indifferent to the dangers of intruding on a vampire without invitation.

“I need your help.”

Seated behind his desk, Santiago gave a lift of his brows before slowly rising to his feet.

“Of course. I am at your service.”

“Salvatore is going outside to meet with Briggs.”

“Briggs?”

“A psychotic zombie pureblood who’s filled with black magic and sporting a nasty temper.” Her voice was clipped with impatience. “He’s convinced himself that he should be sitting on the Were throne.”

With fluid, almost dizzying speed, Santiago was moving toward a far wall, pressing his fingers to the frame of one of the paintings. With a small swoosh the wall slid inward, revealing a hidden tunnel.

“Wait here,” the vamp commanded, disappearing into the dark.

“Where are you going?” Harley threw her hands in the air as the demon ignored her, continuing on to his bat cave and leaving her to twiddle her damn thumbs. “God. Men are so freaking annoying.”

She glared at the opening, but she wasn’t stupid enough to follow. Entering the private lair of a vampire was a death sentence. Pure and simple.

Instead she anxiously paced the floor, cursing the dampening spell that made it impossible for her to sense whether Salvatore had already left the building.

How had Briggs managed to find them? And how had he broken through the enchantment to contact Salvatore without alerting Santiago?

Still pacing the floor, her stomach clenched with a fear that sparked her temper.

She curled her hands to fists. Why did she even care what happened to the arrogant King of Weres? Just a week ago he’d been the boogeyman that Caine used to keep her prisoner. Okay, she didn’t think he was out to kill her anymore. And he most certainly was the kind of take-no-prisoner lover, one that any woman would have to be an idiot to kick out of bed.

But he wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a means to getting to her sisters, right? Ships passing in the night…yadda yadda.

Dammit.

She was counting to one hundred and if Santiago wasn’t back, she was going to look for Salvatore without him.

She reached twenty when Santiago made a silent reappearance, his long hair tied into a braid, carrying a leather satchel.

A vampire ready for action.

“We’re leaving.”

“Leaving?” She frowned at his abrupt command. “No frigging way.”

His long strides never broke as he crossed to grasp her arm and steer her toward the door.

“Styx and his Ravens are fifty miles north of town. We’re driving to meet him.”

She dug in her heels. Not just a figment of speech. She might be tiny, but she was all Were.

An irate female Were with combat training.

One of the most dangerous creatures in the world.

“We’re not going anywhere until we’ve stopped Briggs from slaughtering Salvatore,” she hissed.

Coming to a grudging halt, Santiago met her angry glare with an unyielding expression.

“My orders are to keep you safe.”

“I don’t give a crap what your orders are.”

“Harley, you are currently my guest, but if you insist on putting yourself in danger, then I’ll make you my prisoner.”

She didn’t miss the silken warning in his dark voice.

“It doesn’t matter to you that Salvatore is in danger?”

“Not in the least.”

Harley clenched her hands, knowing she couldn’t force the vampire to help Salvatore fight Briggs.

“If you don’t care about Salvatore’s safety, then why are you so determined to protect me?” she snapped.

“You’re mate-sister to my Anasso. He was very clear in his command to bring you to him without delay.”

Perfect.

The nightclub was overflowing with powerful demons and not a cursed one would lift a finger to help her without the say-so of this vamp.