He shook his head. “Not until I heard the howls.”
The howls had come when the werewolves attacked her. “What happened to them?” Jane whispered.
“Three are dead.” The lines near his mouth deepened. “The fourth
will
be.”
The dangerous intent in his voice made goosebumps rise on her arms.
“All right, she’s strong again. Not get away from her.” Ryan’s words rapped out. “It’s time for us to leave, Keira.”
“Jane,” Alerac corrected in a hard, tight voice. “She wants to be called Jane now.”
Ryan blinked. “What? Jane isn’t her name. It’s—”
Her shoulders straightened. “I don’t know Keira. I don’t…I don’t know you.”
He blanched.
“I’m Jane, and—” Oh, crap, this could be one huge mistake. But with his blood strengthening her, with his arms still around her, with Alerac’s eyes on her in that intense look that seemed to be breaking her heart, she could only say, “And I’m not leaving him.”
She couldn’t tell who was more surprised by her announcement.
Ryan.
Or Alerac.
Or, hell,
maybe even me.
***
“Alerac O’Neill has Keira at his compound. The wolf has his whole pack around her, and they’re going to be guarding her constantly.” Lorcan Teague stalked around the small room, circling the human. “It’s now show time for you, Heath. Time to prove just how much you want that precious immortality.” Heath Myers was sweating as he sat at the small table. “I can do this,” the doctor said, his words a fast rush. “If I can talk to her, I can convince her that I’m on her side. That I’m trying to help her.”
They were only an hour away from Alerac’s home on the mountain. Lorcan didn’t dare go any closer. He wasn’t sure where Alerac would have his guards positioned. Some of those dogs could catch a scent from miles away.
“It’s not going to be just a matter of walking to the gates and getting instant admission,” Lorcan murmured.
Heath’s shoulders straightened. “I-I don’t smell like a vampire.”
Don’t you?
“I’m just human. All I need to do is get close to them. If Jane sees me, she won’t let the werewolves hurt me.”
The guy was an idiot. “You think that woman controls the werewolf alpha?” Laughable.
“I think—I think Jane will listen to me.” Sweat leaked down Heath’s temple. “Just give me this chance, okay? I can get to her.”
Lorcan stilled. Then he leaned over the table. He made sure that Heath saw the threat in his eyes. “It’s not about getting to her. It’s about Keira coming to
me.
” They needed to be very, very clear on this point. In two hundred years, no other blood princess had been born to his clan. They were too damn rare.
When he’d first learned that Keira had defiled herself with that wolf, his rage had nearly driven him mad.
But two hundred years had passed. The world had changed. There had been a few more werewolf and vampire matings over the years. He’d heard of those instances.
And been surprised by their results.
It seemed that when a vampire and werewolf bonded, when they shared blood, they also shared power.
Lorcan liked power.
I will be the strongest vampire to walk this earth.
He’d ruled his clan. Now it was time to rule all the vamps. It was
his
time.
He needed Keira back under his control because he wanted to study her. Heath wasn’t the only doctor at his beck and call. Sure, magic was still his favorite pet, but Lorcan had also learned the value of science.
On its own, Keira’s blood was useless to him. The power was only active when she bonded with the werewolf.
So I let the werewolf have you, for a time.
He could have taken Keira from that little bar at any point. He hadn’t. He’d waited. He’d
let
Alerac get to her because he needed for those two to exchange blood once more.
He was sure that the werewolf had given into his hunger for Keira by now.
So I have to get the blood now.
The blood, and Keira.
Since making the discovery about the vampire and werewolf matings, Lorcan had drained his share of werewolves. He had received a slight strength increase from that wolf blood, but nothing like what the stories
said
the mated pairs enjoyed.
Lorcan didn’t want a sliver of power. He wanted everything.
Keira was his key.
“You get to her,” he told Heath and he smiled, letting his fangs flash. “Or you die.” Simple fact. Either the werewolves would kill the doctor for stumbling onto their land—
Or I’ll kill the fool when he fails.
Heath jumped to his feet. He hurried for the door. But then, he stopped. Glancing over his shoulder, the doctor said, “When I do this, when I bring her to you, promise that you’ll turn me then.”
Hell, no, he wasn’t turning this prick. But he vaguely remembered making some sort of offer, so he just said, “Of course.”
Heath’s eyes became suspicious slits. Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as he appeared.
“You’ll live forever, never aging, never changing,” Lorcan murmured, with a bored wave of his hand, “once Keira is brought back to me.”
Heath nodded and reached for the door once more.
“Not so fast,” Lorcan said. This was going to be the fun part. “If you go running to them with a sob story about me, you have to at least look as if you suffered a bit while in captivity.”
The color bleached from Heath’s skin.
“If you go to them all hale and hearty, then they’ll never believe you were my prisoner.”
The human’s pulse was racing.
“So, let’s make sure they believe,” Lorcan said. “Let’s make real sure.”
He attacked.
***
“We have traitors in our midst.” Alerac’s voice boomed out into the night. He wanted to clear the air, fuckin’ then. If any others had turned on him, Alerac wanted to face them.
The werewolves—all in human form—were gathered around him. At his announcement, there were uneasy murmurs from the group.
Jane stood just behind Alerac, with her brother close at her side.
Ryan.
That man was going to keep being a fuckin’ thorn in his side.
But Alerac owed him. Because it seemed that Ryan had saved Jane’s life at that stream.
“What do you mean, traitors?” Finn demanded, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed.
“Liam attacked my mate tonight. He took her blood. He tried to take
her
from me
.”
The rage was still there. The rage and the pain of betrayal. Liam had been at his side for so long. How had he missed this?
How?
“Three werewolves were with him. Saul. Benjamin, and Mitchell.” He let his gaze sweep the group. “Those three are dead, killed by my claws, but Liam escaped.”
Because Alerac had made a choice. Track Liam or follow Jane’s scent. He’d followed Jane.
More murmurs and whispers swept through the group.
Did they doubt what he was telling them?
Yes.
Fuck, yes, they did.
Finn stepped forward. “We don’t like having vampires in our midst!”
There were nods. Growls of agreement. They growled, even when in the form of men and women.
Suspicious stares were cast toward Jane and Ryan.
“Maybe Ben and Saul were the ones attacked,” Finn added. “Maybe your vamp was the one to—”
Alerac had him by the throat before he could say anything more. “You question my word? The word of your alpha?”
Finn couldn’t speak to respond, mostly because Alerac was crushing the guy’s windpipe.
But Finn did manage to shake his head—
no.
“No one threatens Jane and lives.” Simple. His word—his pack law. He released Finn. The guy sucked in a deep breath.
Suspicion churned within Alerac. He’d been blind to Liam’s betrayal. Was he still being blind now? “If there are others helping Liam, siding with him, I will learn the truth.”
There weren’t any murmurs then. Just considering glances. No, those were suspicious glances. The wolves seemed to weigh each other.
“I brought you here,” Alerac said, voice strong and cold. “I created this pack. If any of you think to turn on me—then challenge me,
now.
Come at me. See if you have what it takes to be alpha.” Because he was sure ready to kick the shit out of someone.
Only none of the wolves approached him.
Their heads lowered in submission.
He’d found these wolves over the years. They’d been alone, lost. He’d brought them together.
No, not just me. Liam was at my side.
Would the wolves feel they owed their allegiance to him?
Or to Liam?
His gaze swept the group once more. Stopped on a pair of angry brown eyes.
Zoe. She and Finn were the two newest members of the pack. Finn had seemed to fit in with the others instantly, but Zoe had remained aloof.
Zoe wasn’t like the others. She was a werewolf who couldn’t shift. The beast within her had never been able to push its way out, not completely.
Zoe’s dark hair was still wet from the storm. The rain had stopped just minutes ago. “You called her your mate!” A faint southern accent whispered beneath Zoe’s words. “Is that what she is?”
To Alerac, Jane had been his mate for centuries. But he glanced back at Jane.
She was staring at him in confusion.
“Vampires make us nervous,” another werewolf called out. “We follow your orders, but, alpha, we need to know just who you are bringing into our pack.”
He should have known that it would come to this. Fear could live in the heart of any man. Or beast.
“Is she your mate?” Zoe pressed. “Because I don’t remember a claiming.”
“Maybe that’s why Liam went after her.” The words came from another werewolf. Denton. “Maybe he wanted a claim. I can smell him on her.”
Claws burst from Alerac’s hands. In an instant, he’d slashed that jerk. Denton had always been a mouthy SOB. “The only
scent
on her is mine. Just because Liam attacked her, it doesn’t give him a claim.”
“Alerac…” Jane’s voice was soft, worried.
But it was Zoe’s hand that reached out to Alerac. She touched his shoulder. That light touch stopped him from killing Denton. “Maybe you should make a claim them,” she told him quietly. Her eyes were worried. “A claim would reassure…” Zoe swallowed, and said, “
all
of us.” Her eyes sent him the message that he needed to heed her words. “A public claiming is the way of the pack.”
It was.
But he couldn’t claim an unwilling bride.
“Oh, the hell,
no,”
Ryan snarled, leaping toward them. “This dog isn’t mating with
my—”
Four werewolves closed in on him.
Alerac lifted his hand. “Stop.”
They stopped.
Dammit. He should have seen this problem before. Zoe was trying to help him. He got that. To reassure his pack—the pack that remained in the middle of this freakin’ mutiny—he needed to claim his vampire. Then the others wouldn’t be so worried that she was going to turn on them.
Or…um, feed on them.
She only drinks from me.
“Jane.” He hadn’t meant to shout her name but this wasn’t exactly the time for endearments and soft promises.
He wasn’t the type for those promises anyway.
Jane didn’t step toward him. She just stared back at him. Hell, if she rejected him in front of his pack, what would he do then?
He turned his back on the wolves. Then hesitated. “Don’t kill the male vampire. Not yet.”
“Don’t worry.” Zoe pushed through the crowd that had surrounded Ryan. “I’ll keep him alive.” She positioned herself in front of a frowning Ryan.
“I don’t need
your
protection,” Ryan muttered.
“Right, Drac. Whatever you say.”
Satisfied that Ryan would keep living—for the moment—Alerac eliminated the distance between him and Jane.
“What’s going on?” Jane asked him. Her neck had healed, but Zoe was right. Liam’s scent was on her.
Bastard. You will suffer for this.
Liam had gone right after the one thing that Alerac valued most.
Why?
“I called you my mate in front of the pack.” He wasn’t even sure that had been an accident. Maybe he’d realized, deep down, exactly what he was doing. “The wolves are nervous about having a vampire here.”
“Two vampires,” she said, voice soft.
He nodded. “And with three of their own dead, they need reassurance.”
Her lashes lowered, concealing her gaze.
“If you accept my claim, then you’re part of the pack. You’re part of
me.
”
“And if I don’t?”
He’d look like a fool. He’d also have to fight all of the werewolves who wanted to go for her throat and for Ryan’s. “Then I’ll make sure you get a safe escort to wherever you want to go.” There was no need for her to know the rest.
Her lashes lifted. “What is a werewolf claiming? Does it mean we’re—we’re dating?”
No. “It’s like marriage.” Only there was no divorce for them. No out clause. The claiming was forever. Beyond life and death.
“You’re asking me to marry you?” He could see himself reflected in her eyes. A scary sight. Why the hell would she want to be saddled with him?
She was already afraid of him, and she didn’t even know half of the things that he’d done in his life.
“I’m asking you to trust me.” His voice was low, but he knew the others would still be able to overhear him. “I’ve protected you so far. I want to keep you safe.”
But then she made the breath leave his lungs. Made his heart damn near burst from his chest.
She shook her head. “I want more than safety.”
Hell. “What do you want?” He would try to give it to her. He would try—
“I want my life back.”
Ice encased his skin.
The werewolves began to whisper behind him. He prepared for battle. The first wolf that attacked her would lose a limb.
He straightened his shoulders. He’d been the one to take her life away. He’d be the one to make sure she got it back. That she got everything back. “Just stay behind me,” he told her. “It’s about to get bloody.”
He turned away.