Claiming Valeria (6 page)

He placed a hand on her arm. “Valeria. I—”

He didn’t know what he intended. An apology, maybe. Or even to
beg her for another chance.

But her whole body went rigid, and before he could get it out,
she jerked from his grip and slipped into her apartment. The last thing he saw was
Merry gazing forlornly at him over Valeria’s shoulder.

For a long moment he stared at the closed door. He lifted his
hand to knock on it, to say—what? She didn’t have to spell it out. He’d had his
chance and blown it.

Okeanos was watching from down the hall. Rui gave him his back
and walked away.

* * *

Damn the man.

Valeria shut the door with a decided click and blew out a furious
breath. The
cabrão
didn’t want her for himself, but he wasn’t going to let
anyone else have her either.

Well, they’d see about that.

Merry tilted her head so that she could see Valeria’s face.
“Don’t you like Tio Rui, Mama?”

Her chest tightened. “Oh,
querida.
I do like him. It’s
just that I like Senhor Petros better.” Which was a lie, she realized as soon as
the words left her mouth. Nausea welled in her throat, a warning not to continue
in that vein or she’d become truly ill.

“But—” Merry’s small brow puckered.

Valeria placed a finger on her lips. “No more questions. It’s
time you were in bed.”

Merry frowned but didn’t argue, a sign of how tired she must
be. Within a few minutes, she was tucked between the sheets, one arm wrapped around
the tattered clown doll that was all she had from her former life. Sitting down
on the bed, Valeria placed her hands on either side of her shoulders and rubbed
her nose against hers.

“Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too.” She yawned. “Mama?”

“What, baby?”

“I’m
not
a baby,” was the automatic reply. “Can I sleep
as a cat?”

“
Claro
.”

Unlike water fada, who typically could shift into several different
animals, Merry had only ever shifted into jaguar. That she wanted to sleep as her
cat tonight didn’t surprise Valeria. Young shifters tended to feel safest as an
animal; at that age, the human form was by far the weaker. But it hurt Valeria to
know her daughter was feeling anxious. She’d spent the last two years doing her
best to make her feel safe again.

She smoothed a hand over Merry’s head. “Don’t worry, we’ll get
Lord Dion back. Meanwhile, we’re safe here at the base.”

Merry nodded. “That’s what Tio Rui said.” She wriggled out of
her nightgown and shifted into a petite gold-and-black jaguar.

Valeria rubbed her behind the ears. “’Night, big girl.”

Merry butted her head against Valeria’s hand before setting it
on her paws with a toothy yawn. Valeria continued to pet her until her eyes drifted
shut. Giving her one last pat, Valeria closed the door and returned to the
sala
.
Only then did she give in to her anger.

She says no
.

Her claws sliced out. How dare Rui interfere between her and
Petros?

The man was a dog in the manger. She’d smelled the sex on him
and Beatriz—and not for the first time, either. And didn’t Beatriz like to rub that
in her face? Smiling that cat-in-the-cream smile of hers.

Valeria’s heart had felt like it was being squeezed by a giant
fist. It had been all she could do to hide her hurt and shame.

Well, to hell with him. She paced angrily back and forth. If
he didn’t want her himself, he’d damn well better get used to seeing her with other
men, and she was going to tell him so to his face. So he was a dominant and her
superior by several degrees. Sometimes you had to make a stand.

Only the fact that Merry had been present had kept her from having
it out with him right there in the hall.

It wasn’t like Rui was so special. He drank too much and no longer
trained with the warriors. His once hard body had developed a gut. But his face…ah,
his face. It was a little too fleshy now but still striking with strong, sculpted
planes, hooded green eyes and a full lower lip that she itched to take between her
teeth and—

She groaned and threw herself onto the couch, face down. Damn
Rui anyway.

Petros was perfect for her. And he wanted her, Valeria. He made
her feel sexy, beautiful—and she needed that, after being rejected by the man who
was supposed to be her mate.

She curled up in a ball and, retracting her claws, covered her
face with her hands. Her lips moved, cursing Rui again, but it came out as a sob.
She was so tired of this endless aching, this yearning for a man who’d pushed her
away again and again. So very tired.

Because as she’d met Rui’s intense golden gaze over Petros’s
shoulder, she’d felt a jolt clear to her soul.

And she’d known that whatever she might tell herself, whatever
she might pretend to Sabela and the rest of the clan, she still wasn’t over Rui
do Mar.

Rui turned the shower handle to ice cold. The adrenaline
that had been carrying him for the past few hours had almost worn off. He didn’t
mind cool water—he was a river fada, after all—but this was straight from an underground
well. He sucked in a breath as the water hit his skin. But it would clear his head,
give him the boost he needed to keep going.

Soaping up, he lifted his face to the icy stream and thought
about Valeria and Okeanos. Something had been off about the whole thing. She might
have been allowing the other man to touch her, but she hadn’t been enjoying it.

It had been sheer primal instinct that sent Rui striding down
the hall to drag the other man off her, but now that he was calmer, he knew why
he’d acted like such an ass. It wasn’t simply that his animal had been riding him,
urging him to claim her. That had been part of it, of course, but damn it, she’d
been afraid of Okeanos. Rui had smelled it, an acrid thread woven through her familiar,
earthy scent.

She hadn’t even seemed aware of it, but on some level the S.O.B.
frightened her.

Recalling the other man’s hands on her, Rui squeezed the soap
bar so hard it shot out of his fingers and hit the stone wall.

He retrieved it and tossed it back into the soap dish.
Deus
,
this was fucked.

He didn’t have the right to interfere between Valeria and another
man, but his animal was snarling that Okeanos was all wrong for her. And there wasn’t
just her to consider, but Merry.

Rui groaned and scrubbed his hands over his wet face. Once, he’d
have gone with his instincts, ordered Okeanos to stay away from Valeria. But he
no longer trusted himself. Dion seemed to like the other man. And he’d been accepted
by the clan, had made friends here at Rock Run.

And Valeria apparently wanted him in her bed.

Hell
. Rui admitted that his distrust could be rooted in
jealousy. And what was more, it was selfish. He’d rejected Valeria, but he didn’t
want her to go to anyone else.

That wasn’t fair. Their animals needed touch even more than their
human and fae parts did. Valeria was a loving, sensual woman. Celibacy—and he knew
she hadn’t had a lover since him—must be hell for her. If she wanted Okeanos, he
was just going to have to suck it up.

But he didn’t have to like it.

With a scowl, he shut off the water and grabbed a pair of
shorts.

The two
tenentes
were waiting in his
sala
, Rodolfo
on one of his two chairs, Teresa on the couch. The shower hadn’t done much to clear
his mind. He was exhausted and his mouth was desert-dry. He glanced at the jug of
wine on the sideboard.

Just one glass. Surely just one wouldn’t hurt.

He licked his lips, wanting that wine so badly he could taste
it. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and his hands started to shake. He
dragged in a breath and reminded himself what the clan was facing. Dion was the
only person—man or woman—with the strength to hold them together. And he, Rui, might
be the only warrior who could rescue him. No one else had the right combination
of experience, tracking abilities and knowledge of the sun fae compound. Even overweight
and out of shape, he was Dion’s best chance.

He couldn’t let Dion down. They might not be the friends they’d
once been, but this past year, when Rui had been more interested in drinking than
working, Dion had stuck by him, allowing him to keep his place in the caverns.

So no. For Dion, he could go a few days without wine. Fada bodies
weren’t as weak as humans’. He might feel like hell, but he could function.

He slowly released his breath. Going to a small cooling unit
set into the stone wall, he removed a bottle of grape juice and raised it to the
other two. “Want a glass? Or there’s wine over there.” He indicated the jug on the
sideboard.

Rodolfo’s bushy black brows lifted but all he said was, “Juice
is fine.”

“Same for me,” Teresa said.

It was humiliating, since they were obviously going along to
keep him sober, but he’d lost the right to be proud. After handing them each a glass
of the rich purple juice, he poured himself one and drained it in a few gulps. It
soothed his parched mouth, and he could almost fool himself it was wine.

Almost.

Grabbing a chair, he turned it around and straddled it, resting
his forearms on the back. “Let’s start with you, Rodolfo. You spent even more time
with the sun fae than me. What would you say are their weak points?”

The big man rubbed his neck with a beefy hand. “Hell, Rui. That
was almost twenty years ago.”

“We need to start somewhere. You may remember something I don’t.”

Rodolfo nodded and furrowed his brow. “Let’s start with Cleia.
I’d say that other than her magic—and she can do some serious damage—her greatest
strength is those bodyguards of hers. The family’s been guarding hers for centuries.
Their loyalty is absolute—they’d die for her and consider it an honor.”

“Agreed.”

“And her greatest weakness is that like most fae, she relies
too much on her magic. Take that away and she’s just a woman. That’s true of the
whole clan. They rely too much on magic and not enough on old-fashioned fighting
skills. If we could somehow block their magic, they’d be dead in the water, other
than the small group of warriors who’ve worked on their physical skills.”

Rui nodded. “Excellent point. On the other hand, that’s what
Dion thought and look where that got him.” Trussed in a net like a goddamn fish,
according to the warriors who’d seen it happen, and taken prisoner by the sun fae.
“And we might be able to block one or two of them from using their magic, but there’s
no way we can stop the whole clan. Only the most powerful fae could do that—and
not for very long.”

“Which is why Dion kidnapped Cleia,” Rodolfo pointed out. “He
knew he had to stop her, but her clan alone is three times our size, and they can
call on the other six sun fae clans as well. On top of that they’re fae. A direct
attack would’ve been suicide.”

Rui nodded. Knowing Dion, that must have chafed, big time. He
much preferred an honest fight to something sneaky like kidnapping a woman, even
if the queen were a powerful fae who was behind Rock Run’s decline.

Teresa spoke up. She was the clan’s expert on the fae, which
was why Rui had included her in this discussion. “That’s true, but only a small
number of fae have Gifts that are useful in combat. Generally it’s the ones whose
Gifts are some kind of primal magic, like Queen Cleia.”

The queen was the sun fae’s Conduit. Sun fae needed the sun’s
energy for life, and they could draw some energy directly from the sun, but they
needed the Conduit to keep them at full strength.

“That’s why they hire the fada to fight their battles,” Rodolfo
inserted dryly.

“What about the illusionists?” Rui asked.

“An illusionist can trick a fada’s eyes and ears,” said Teresa,
“but our sense of smell is too good. They can’t fool us for long.”

“True,” Rui said. “But Cleia doesn’t just draw energy—she can
direct it. They say she can incinerate a man where he stands. And right now, around
the summer solstice, she’s at her most powerful.”

The other two nodded soberly.

“So to recap,” he said, “a direct assault would lead to all-out
war with the sun fae, and might not free Dion anyway. Our best option is a search-and-retrieve.”

Teresa rubbed her chin. “Justino and Ed were in the Rising Sun
compound at the time Dion kidnapped Cleia.” Dion had been there as the queen’s guest,
brought there to become her latest lover, but the other two warriors had acted as
Dion’s backup. It was they who’d helped Dion spirit Cleia out of the compound after
he’d rendered her unconscious.

“Good point.” Rui hadn’t known that until tonight, when Luis
had chosen Justino and Ed as the fada’s advance scouts. It had brought home to him
how far he’d been out of the loop. Save for his interactions with Merry each evening,
he’d spent most of the time in his own little world. He hadn’t even known that Dion
intended to kidnap Cleia until he’d returned to Rock Run with her. “That’s why Luis
sent them to the compound tonight.”

“They’re good,” Teresa said. “Last time the sun fae never even
knew they were there. But this time the fae have probably tripled their guards—both
physical and magical. Still, we need to know where they’re holding Dion and what
barriers we’ll have to go through to get him.”

“Exactly.” Rui smiled grimly. He was the clan’s best tracker.
Being out of shape didn’t affect his Gift. He could find his friend even without
the others’ information, but it was imperative he got Dion out of there as quickly
and safely as possible.

He came to his feet. “All right. Let’s give it a day, gather
all the information we can. Then we’re bringing Dion home—Cleia or no Cleia.”

They nodded. He knew he could count on them. Any one of the
tenentes
would gladly give their lives for Dion.

Teresa left, but Rodolfo lingered. “Are you going to be all right?”

Rui met his eyes. “Yes,” he said firmly. “I promise, I won’t
touch a drop until Dion’s back.”

“That’s good, then.” The big man clapped him on the back and
left.

Rui shut the door and turned around, his gaze on the jug of wine.
He didn’t give himself a chance to think, just crossed the room and upended it into
his kitchenette sink. The scent filled his nostrils, enticing, seductive as a woman.
Mesmerized, he watched the dark red liquid swirl around the stone basin and disappear
down the drain.

He was bending to catch the last of it in his mouth when he realized
what he was doing. Horrified, he finished emptying the jug and then dropped onto
his mattress to snatch a few hours of sleep.

* * *

Tiago went to the quarters he shared with several other
unmated males and shut himself in his room. He paced back and forth, a lead weight
where his stomach should be.

What had he done?

With each day Cleia had spent in Rock Run’s caverns, she’d grown
weaker, her energy drained by Dion’s insistence that she stay below ground so that
her people couldn’t rescue her. The only sunlight she’d received were the weak rays
that came through slits cut in the rock ceilings. Anyone could see she was slowly
wasting away. She was a sun fae; she
needed
sunlight.

Tiago had felt torn between his love for his brother and for
Cleia. He’d always looked up to Dion. The oldest of his three brothers, Dion had
been more like a father to him, especially after their own parents had left to ride
the waves when Tiago was still a boy. Just the thought of challenging the much older,
very dominant alpha made his animal cringe.

But meanwhile, Cleia got a little paler and weaker each time
he saw her. He loved her, believed she was his future mate. Okay, there was no sign
of the mate bond, but that wasn’t unusual in someone as young as him. It would come
when he was ready—and then she would feel it too. Meanwhile, he refused to stand
by and let Dion starve her of the sunlight that was the stuff of life to her.

So he’d given Adric the coordinates that he and the sun fae had
used to rescue her, even though he knew that it was a betrayal that could get him
banished for life—if his brother didn’t kill him outright. But he’d never expected
Cleia to take Dion with her. And it hadn’t even occurred to him that the earth fada
might use the coordinates to attack Rock Run.

Now the clan was in an uproar, trying to get Dion back and at
the same time prepare for an attack from either the sun fae or the earth shifters—or
both.

Tiago groaned and dropped onto the bed, his head in his
hands.

All he knew was that Cleia was his mate. He
felt
her—a
constant ache in his heart. If he hadn’t helped her, he wouldn’t have been able
to live with himself.

But what the hell had he done?

One thing he could fix. Opening the top drawer of his
nightstand, he removed the chunk of quartz hidden at the back. It was a cleverly
engineered smartphone given to him by Adric, its smooth, milky white face a screen
that lit up at the touch of a finger. Crouching down, he smashed it against the
rock floor. It broke into a handful of shards laced with a metal that appeared to
be gold. He swept the pieces into his hand and hurried down the hall and to one
of the river exits, only to be stopped by Davi.

Tiago swallowed a groan. No one would leave the base without
permission tonight.

“What’s up?” the
tenente
asked.

He concealed his fist at his side. “I need to get in the water
for a few minutes. My animal—” He shrugged.

Davi waved him in. All their animals were edgy. Sometimes water
was the only thing that soothed them. “You can have five minutes. Hugo’s in the
river, patrolling. Stay where we can see you.”

“I will.” Tiago saluted and dove in. He swam a few yards
before looking around for Hugo. He was a hundred yards away, swimming as a dolphin.

Tiago dove deep and released the quartz pieces into the fast-flowing
stream. They spread out and drifted downward, settling on the bottom with the
other stones. Then he changed to dolphin because his animal
did
need soothing,
and dove back down. Even though it was mid-June, the deep water was cold,
bracing.

His panicked heart stopped racing and he was able to think. All
he could do now was to support the effort to rescue Dion. And then he’d better start
making plans to leave. Because when his brother discovered what he’d done, he was
a dead man.

Hugo appeared nearby. He whistled a hello, which Tiago returned.
They brushed by each other, a companionable touch. Then Hugo prodded him with his
beak, indicating he should return to the base. Tiago obeyed. He was in deep-enough
shit already.

Back on land, he shifted to man and returned to his room. As
a novice warrior, he wasn’t involved in the preparations tonight, but he’d been
ordered to get a good night’s sleep because tomorrow he’d be taking a turn on guard
duty—if the clan wasn’t fighting the earth fada.