He bit harder. My head fell back and my lips parted as a thrill of sensual anticipation shot through me.
“It would help if you didn’t scream as loudly as you do,” he said before licking the spot he’d bitten. “They might have otherwise assumed we were talking.”
I pushed him away. The reminder of all the noise we must have made was enough to get me moving. We couldn’t do that again, especially not when we were in the middle of a crisis.
“We’ve got werewolf and government problems. How about we focus on those and save the sex for later?”
“It would help if you put on some clothes,” he suggested.
I hurried to put my jeans and shirt back on while he flashed away to grab a fresh set of clothes from my house, where he kept a few things—just in case. There was a small part of me that didn’t want to go back and join the others, but I’d have to face everyone eventually.
After Lucas returned, we entered the living room to grins and knowing looks. At least Kerbasi had fled the house and headed home so I didn’t have to listen to any snarky comments from him. Nik was ready with a wink for me, though.
“You do realize killing his enemies makes Lucas more amorous, don’t you?” the master vampire asked.
Strong arms wrapped around me. “She knows.”
“Young ears in the room,” Diane spoke up.
“Maybe Patrick should leave the room for awhile,” Kariann suggested. “Lucas and Melena haven’t seen much of each other lately. Their lack of self-control could get a little embarrassing.”
“That’s not true,” I defended. “I have control. It’s not my fault if he doesn’t.”
Kariann grinned at me. “Next time I’m recording the sounds you make so you can see how much control you really have.”
“I think I’ll escort Patrick out now,” Diane said, blushing furiously.
Her son didn’t seem all that bothered. In fact, he seemed a little disappointed he had to go, but she had him out of there in no time. Lucas and I moved over to sit with the others. He pulled me close to his side as if he thought I might run off. For a man who’d been a cold and ruthless enemy for the first eight years I knew him, he sure had turned affectionate since we’d bonded.
“Perhaps someone can tell me exactly what has been going on around here?” Lucas suggested.
Nik gave the nephilim a level look. “This could take a while. Do you have the time?”
Lucas glanced at the clock. “I can spare a couple of hours.”
“Where do you have to be after that?” I asked, turning to see his face.
He gave me a look that said this wasn’t the time or place to discuss it. Fine. I’d have to work on slowing down his hunting spree later. At least we had the ball in New Orleans to keep him busy for the coming weekend.
“Perhaps,” Nik began, “Melena should start with the DHS agent she met at Felisha’s shop and we’ll go from there.”
I’d really hoped I could stay out of the spotlight for a while. It was bad enough people were sneaking covert glances at Lucas and me since we’d returned to the living room.
Pushing down my embarrassment, I addressed Lucas. “Do you remember that guy, O’Connell, who I used to work with back in the military?”
He hadn’t been around much during my army days, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been watching. The archangels had ordered Lucas to protect me—though I hadn’t known it back then. All I’d known was he’d pop up at random times and either terrify me or save me. He’d hated having to protect a sensor. Now he did it willingly and I couldn’t get him to stop.
“Do you mean the one who enjoyed criticizing your interrogation methods?” Lucas lifted a brow.
“Yeah, that would be the one.” Funny that O’Connell thought my skills were useful now.
Lucas ran his fingers through the back of my hair. “Did he approach you?”
“Yesterday at the herb shop.” I went on to describe everything else that had happened, including my confrontations with Derrick. It was hard to believe he’d missed that much in the couple of days since I’d last seen him.
Lucas addressed Nik. “What do you plan to do about your trip to New Orleans?”
The vampire’s lips thinned. I’d forgotten that he was supposed to go to the ball as well. He nodded at Kariann.
“She’ll have to go in my stead.”
“Can you afford to lose her for a couple days?” I asked. “It’s not exactly a good time to have one of your strongest people out of town.”
Lucas’ hand paused on the back of my head. “If Nik doesn’t send one of his highest ranking people, it will be considered an insult. As it is, his not attending this particular ball will be considered bad form. Supernatural politics can be rather…complex.”
His expression took on a sour look.
“Can’t we go as his representatives?” It seemed like the logical choice to me.
“I’m afraid not.” Lucas shook his head. “I do not live here on a permanent basis and most would consider me neutral. Except, perhaps, Chicago but that is another matter entirely.”
Why had Ariel and Micah lured him there? And how bad was it? I really didn’t like the way their plans included manipulating Lucas and forcing me to watch. If this went on too long I’d have to find the means to circumvent the vow.
I clenched my hand. Only the faintest trace of magic stirred there now. Would it grow back if I cut it off? I held back a shudder—that would have to be a last resort.
“What about me?” I asked, turning back to the conversation. “I live in Fairbanks and I’m definitely not neutral.”
“You may see it that way, but everyone else sees you as my mate. It ties your loyalties to myself—not Nik. The most we can do is put in a good word for him while we’re there and support Kariann.”
“He is correct, Melena.” Nik got up to pour himself a drink. “I cannot leave town right now, but if you two go with Kariann it will appear less suspect. They know I’d keep all three of you here to fortify my position if I truly believed it was tenuous.”
My senses spiked and I frowned. Emily and Hunter were heading straight for Nik’s house and moving faster than they usually drove. That funny tingling sensation that came when you knew something was wrong ran through me. I stood up and looked at Yvonne.
“I need you to adjust the ward for Hunter.”
Without explaining further, I rushed toward the door.
Chapter Seventeen
Lucas followed close behind me as I came out of the house. Emily brought the car to a grinding halt and jumped out of it to race around to the other side.
“Mel, I need your help. Hunter is hurt,” she said, giving me a wild-eyed look.
She pulled open the door and I gasped at the blood-covered werewolf in the passenger seat. Hunter’s face was covered in cuts and bruises. His eyes were swollen shut and his jaw looked like it might have been dislocated.
“What happened?” I asked.
“The guys in the pack at our school attacked us out in the parking lot.” There were tears in her eyes. “They held my arms and made me watch while they beat him up.”
“I’m going to kill them for touching you,” Lucas swore, pulling her into a consoling hug. “Slowly.”
“It’s not me you should be worried about,” she mumbled into his chest, “but him.”
Lucas looked at Hunter and a grim expression came over his face. He ducked down and lifted the young werewolf carefully into his arms.
“You’re lucky I like her more than I dislike you,” he said to the wounded boy. Then he carried him off to the house.
I checked Emily over as we followed him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “They grabbed me, but they didn’t hurt me.”
I put an arm around her waist and guided her inside. Lucas set Hunter down in the middle of the living room floor and Nik kneeled over him. The master vampire bit into his wrist and let his blood drip into the groaning boy’s mouth.
Hunter would have eventually healed on his own, but he was still young enough it might have taken a couple of days. With the amount of pain flooding my senses, I didn’t think it was just his face that was damaged. He favored his ribs as well and had an arm curled around them protectively.
Emily settled down behind his head and ran her fingers through his hair, encouraging him to drink. He choked after two swallows. The master vampire pulled his arm away and helped Hunter sit up.
The swelling had already started to go down and he opened his eyes.
“Thanks,” he said in a raspy voice to Nik.
“Tell us what happened,” Lucas ordered, standing at the feet of the werewolf.
“They said I better not show my face again at school…or it would be worse next time. I’m officially out of the pack.” He pulled his knees up and rested his head against them.
It couldn’t have been easy. Those had been guys he’d grown up with and trusted.
Lucas started to say something else, but I put a hand on his shoulder. “Let him be. He’s been through enough.”
He worked his jaw. “This has gone too far.”
“I know.” I sighed. It hadn’t occurred to me they’d go after Hunter while he was at school or I might have insisted he stay home—Emily, too.
Yvonne came in with a mug of herbal tea. It took some coaxing from Emily before he agreed to drink it—the pain from rapid healing could be rather intense. As soon as he finished, Nik helped him over to the couch and Felisha worked some fairy magic to soothe his nerves. He’d probably never been doted on so much in his life. At least not since he’d lost his mother.
“We’ve got to get Emily and Hunter out of Fairbanks,” I said, addressing Lucas. “With us leaving for the ball in a couple days, we won’t be able to protect them here and we can’t risk taking them with us.”
“I can still watch over them like we planned before,” Felisha offered. “I enjoy their company.”
Emily gave the fairy a grateful smile before looking up at me. “I’d rather stay in Fairbanks, Mel. You can just check us out of school for a while until things cool off.”
Nik’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his face darkened. “Hold that thought.”
I gave him an inquiring look, but he shook his head and left the room. Smart man. I was going to listen in on the call if he stayed close by and I probably wasn’t the only one.
“I’m with Em,” Hunter spoke up. The cuts and bruises were almost gone from his face. “If we stay away from school we’ll be fine.”
“You can’t be sure of that,” I argued. “And Felisha’s place won’t be easy to defend.”
“They wouldn’t attack me.” Felisha’s eyes rounded.
“Your place won’t be safe either,” Nik announced, returning from his phone call.
“Why not?” She stood up and glared at him defiantly. “Derrick wouldn’t let them hurt me.”
His expression turned grim. “Perhaps not, but there are others who might. The alpha received a tip about an hour ago that two black SUVs visited the home of a family of pixies on the west side of Fairbanks. He checked it out, but they’re gone and lingering scents confirm their visitors were human. He’s got his pack out looking for the pixies now.”
I knew that family. There weren’t many in the Fairbanks area and the only ones who lived on that side of town had moved there last year.
“Derrick is attempting to win favor with your people,” Lucas observed. “If he finds them first it will make him appear the more capable leader.”
Nik picked up the glass he’d been drinking from earlier and threw it against the wall. It shattered into tiny pieces that fell onto the floor. “And this is happening during the day when there is nothing I can do about it.”
“Master, don’t let this get to you,” Kariann said, putting a hand on his back. “We need the werewolves out there looking for the missing family until we can join the search. Finding them quickly has to be the priority.”
He shrugged her off. “Perhaps.”
Josslyn came wandering into the room wearing a knee-length blue dress with a sweetheart neckline. She’d pulled her chestnut hair back into a bun, highlighting the hollows in her pale cheeks. I half-wondered if she’d been feeding enough.
“What’s going on?” she asked, putting her arms around Nik.
He stiffened, but didn’t pull away from her. “I’ll explain it to you later.”
“Now she shows up,” Felisha muttered under her breath.
I’d never heard the fairy say anything rude before, but her mood had definitely taken a jealous turn. Her eyes were practically shooting out green sparks and her fists were clenched tightly at her sides. This was the first time she’d seen Nik’s love interest since returning to Fairbanks.
Josslyn gave her a hurt look before returning her attention to Nik. “Is there anything I can do?”
“There may be something.” He extricated himself from her embrace. “We must call all our people in the Fairbanks area and warn them the government is rounding up supernaturals. Perhaps if they’re on guard they won’t be taken so easily.”
“I can handle that,” Felisha volunteered, giving Nik a sweet smile. “Everyone knows and trusts me.”
Josslyn winced. She’d practically hidden herself away since she arrived a few months ago. Most people had only seen her when she was with Nik and even then she didn’t talk much. Felisha, on the other hand, ran a shop that many sups visited on a regular basis. She would be the better candidate to make the calls, though that wasn’t the real point of her offer. This was the first time I’d ever seen the fairy do anything with malicious intent.