Destiny Divided (12 page)

“We have company.” He didn’t bother to whisper now. It was too late.

Her eyes widened. “Can we run back to the car?”

“No.” He narrowed his gaze, peering into the trees around them. When he saw them, he grabbed Sage by her shoulders. “Do you remember everything I taught you this afternoon?”

She nodded
.

“We’re going to have to fight. Pull as much magic a
s you can and don’t hold back.”

With her eyes wide
, he could see real fear flicker through them. Then she blinked it back and shook his hands off her shoulders. “I know.”

He
was an excellent fighter and Sage had shown some promise earlier. He could only hope it was enough.

Three figures stepped into the
ir path. Werewolves – taller than James, with broad shoulders and tightly packed muscle shoved into archaic clothing made of leather and canvas. Obviously they hadn’t been Topside very long.

He looked at Sage, asse
ssing her reaction. Her head tilted up, her nostrils flared with each breath. Fists clenched at her sides as she stared down the foes.

She
was unlike other women he’d known. Even well-trained sorceress’ sometimes stood panicked, whimpering and wringing their hands when confronted with danger. But Sage looked as fierce as any warrior he’d ever trained.

He smiled inside
.

“Go back to where you come from and we’ll
let you live,” he said to the largest figure.

Werewolves were extraordinary fighters even without resorting to their half-
wolf form, but they relied on brute strength. Vampires were known for their speed – they were the fastest race of supernaturals. James could easily defeat one werewolf. But three, while also trying to watch out for Sage, would be a close call.

The tall
est werewolf – who he guessed was the leader – only snorted. “We’re here for the girl. Hand her over and we might let
you
live.”

“No. She’s
mine
,” he rumbled, surprising himself. Was there a hint of possessiveness in his voice? “I guess we’ll have to fight for her.” He ducked into a defensive crouch then whispered to Sage, “Stay out of the way unless one comes after you. Then you fight like hell.”

She nodded, but didn’t take
her eyes off of the enemy. Smart girl.

One of
the two other werewolves wore a long beard and an eye patch that made him look like he just stepped off a pirate movie set. He spoke to the leader in a language James didn’t understand. Then he and the leader circled James, wearing matching grins.

They attacked.
He fought, moving quickly to dodge their blows and counter.

Out of the corner of his eye
, he watched the smallest werewolf approach Sage. Her eyes were wide, her hands clasped behind her back. She looked so small. His heart raced. Had she frozen in fear?

H
e should’ve known better. The werewolf, thinking her weak, approached her casually. He reached out to grab her arm then flinched back and stared at his hand as if he were burned.

Then she grinned that grin he
knew all too well. With a left hook from her glowing fist, she made contact and the werewolf flew back several feet.

In his moment of distraction
, the leader hit James with a blow that sent him reeling into a tree. Then a large clawed hand pinned him by the neck against the tree trunk. The hand around his throat tightened, cutting off his air as he landed blow after blow to James’ ribs. But he could stay conscious for several minutes without oxygen. He used the opportunity to watch Sage again.

She had an injured
werewolf flat on his back, her foot on his big chest, but she looked strained, like she didn’t know what to do next.

“Snap…
his neck,” James rasped. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would put him out until he could tear off his head later.

She hesitated and pirate-wolf
stalked toward her. James kicked out with his boot and hit the werewolf leader in the groin. He doubled over, dropping James, who landed deftly on the ground.

James
sent a Bolt at the werewolf readying to grab Sage. But he only staggered back, stunned for a few moments.

Damn these were
tough fuckers!

Sage had lost focu
s, distracted by the werewolf behind her and the one on the ground grabbed her leg and flipped her off of him. She landed hard on her back and the cracking sound of her head hitting the ground send James into a fury.

Instinct screamed to run to her and gather her in his arms. But he had his own set of problems to deal with. He was now hand-to-hand with
the leader and the pirate, both hell-bent on destroying him. He tried to watch Sage at the same time.

She rolled over with a groan and rose from the ground.
The smallest werewolf seemed torn between helping the others defeat James and escaping with Sage. But she squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye as if daring him to touch her. With her palm lit up like a ball of blue fire, she beckoned him.

James
ducked a giant claw that came too close as he stared at Sage in shock. But he couldn’t believe the girl actually beckoned a creature twice her size and ten times as deadly.

Once
Sage had the werewolf’s full attention, she took one glowing fist, raised it to her shoulder, dropped to her knees then pummeled it into the dirt with all her might. The ground rippled under the impact and the four of them, aside from Sage, were thrown off their feet.

Sage ran to the
werewolf, jumped on his chest, grabbed his head and twisted it just hard enough to render him unconscious.

James threw himself at the leader but was grabbed
from behind and one long claw sliced open his chest. It burned and blood poured onto his shirt. He liked that shirt.

Enraged, he blasted
pirate-wolf with a Bolt and watched him land in the trees. James crouched, readying to spring toward him, but something caught his eye. The tree roots next to the werewolf twitched and the branches above him swayed.

He
spun around, puzzled. Sage stood behind him, staring at the tree, fire blazing in her eyes. She narrowed her gaze and the creature was pulled into the earth with a desperate roar.

James stepped closer to the tree to make sure the
werewolf was truly gone. There was no sign of him.

Death by tree root. That was a first.

When he turned back around, Sage was squaring off with the leader. He caught her in the mouth with his over-sized fist, sending blood hurtling through the dark at James. They must have had orders to bring her alive or he would’ve killed her with that strike.

Sage
staggered back but remained standing. She narrowed her eyes and spit something on the ground. A tooth?

“I’ll kill
you for that,” she snarled.

But James could
n’t watch anymore. He jumped in front of her and punched through the werewolf’s chest, watching the life leave his eyes before he fell to the ground. With a hand gripping each side of his head, he twisted, ripping through sinewy muscle and cracking bone.

Sage blanched and stared up at him, whether in fear or respect, he didn’t know.

The smaller werewolf with the snapped neck started to come to.

“Come here,” he said to Sage.

She gulped but obeyed. They stood over the werewolf rolling weakly on the ground.

“Your first kill,” he said. “I’ll walk you through it.”

Another gulp then she nodded. She gathered a Bolt in her palms but he shook his head. “A sword.”

“But I don’t have –
”

“With the Bolt. Gather the energy into your hand and picture a weapon in your mind. Preferab
ly something you can cut with. An axe or a sword. Then form it with the light.”

She looked down at her glowing palm. Nothing happened at first and he could see the frustration build inside her. The light started to consume her body
, causing the glowing blue aura that she couldn’t yet control.

“Easy,” he said to calm her. “Slow down.”

She took a deep breath and the light focused back into her palm then started to take shape. It became longer and thinner until it formed the perfect sword. A sword made of deadly lightning energy.

She gripped the lit han
dle and smiled at James, a vision of confidence. And damn if it wasn’t the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. He gave her a proud nod.

“His head,” he said, gesturing to the
werewolf.

She nodded then lifted the sword over her head and lande
d it on the werewolf’s neck, slicing straight through.

“Good girl.” He
stepped back, finally feeling the weight of his injury.

Sage snuffed the light with a snap of her fingers.
Fuck, she was getting good.

“Can you take care of the bodies?” he asked.

“I think so.” Her voice came out strained but she narrowed her eyes and the ground shook beneath them. Panting she fell to her knees, her face crumpled as dirt came apart and swallowed the bodies.

He took a step toward her, intending to stop her before she killed herself, but she waved him away. A squeak escaped her mouth as she strained under the effo
rt of closing the ground again.

Final
ly it was done. Chest heaving as she rested on her hands and knees, she took a minute to catch her breath.

When her breathing steadied,
James hauled her to her feet.

Her lip was cut and swollen, blood dripped down her chin
and neck, but she was standing on her own.

“You okay?”

She nodded and wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

“Your tooth?”

“Just a back one.”

He chuckled and reached out an arm.
“Brave girl. Come here.”

When she came to him, he
wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. Surprisingly, she melted into him – like she was made to be there. He lowered his head and planted a small kiss on the top of her head. The scent of her hair enveloped him – the flowery aroma of the shampoo she used and
her
scent. One he was becoming more familiar with than he’d like.

As if she suddenly remembered who he was, she pulled away
and shot him a surprised look. Her gaze travelled down his torso then stopped at his blood-soaked shirt.

“Holy s
h –”

His
hand shot out and covered her mouth. “Shh! We don’t know if those werewolves were alone.”

He uncovered her mouth and she poi
nted to his wound. “You’re really hurt!”

“I
’ll heal. I just need to rest.”

Her gaze made its way up
the mountain then trailed back down. “Now I feel like I should carry
you
up the mountain.”

He
scoffed. “Please. Even in my weakened state I could carry you and barely break a sweat.”

Sage flashed
him a half-smile. “Do vampires sweat?”

He chuckled as they began their ascent to the cave.

Run. Have to run. She was already panting. Her legs screamed in protest. She pumped her arms
, desperate to go faster. She didn’t slow down to wipe the sweat dripping into her eyes. But, as usual, she just couldn’t move fast enough. Without warning, someone tackled her to the ground. A pale creature held her down by her shoulders, pinning her to the cold concrete. She writhed around, trying to get away but he was too strong.

“Sage!” someone in the distance called. “Sage! Calm do
wn!”

The voice was familiar. Her eyes fluttered
open. On top of her, only inches from her face was James, paler than usual, red eyes, hollow cheeks, and…fangs!

She scream
ed. A cold hand clamped onto her mouth, choking off her scream. She bit down.

“Ow! Damn it, Sage.
” James pulled his hand off her mouth and shook it.

She focused her eyes and peered
around her. She was in the cave, with James, and safe. Well, if one could call camping with a vampire after being brutally attacked by werewolves safe. Although it was daytime, the sun was still low in the sky. It was early morning. She groaned. Too early.

“What’s wrong with you?” James ask
ed. “Why’d you bite me?”

She sat up
, unzipping her sleeping bag as she went. “What did you expect me to do when I woke from a nightmare with three inch fangs in my face?” Then it sunk in, how awful he looked. She gasped. “Oh my god. James, you look worse than death.”

He sat u
pright, barely, against the wall of the cave beside her. His head fell back against the hard stone.

“Yes. Thank you
,” he rasped. “That’s why I woke you. I need blood.”

Sh
e grimaced but nodded. “Alright. Where is it?”

“Not here. I don’t have any.”

“Are you kidding me? You didn’t bring any?”

James reached out a hand to cover her mouth again but she easily batted it away. “Wil
l you stop screaming? Can’t you hear it echo across the valley?”

“You have got to be the
stupidest vampire I’ve ever met –”

“I’m the
only
vampire you’ve ever met.”

“Fine. You’ve got to be the stupidest
male
I’ve ever met. How could you not bring food for yourself? You always boast how you’re
sooo
responsible but –”

“I didn’t anticipate getting
hurt,” he said, cutting her off then wincing from having to raise his voice over hers. “I can usually go a long time without it.”

“Well, where do you
get it?”

“Blood bank,” he answered, looking down at the cave floor. She could tell this w
asn’t his proudest moment. He probably hated being weak as much as she did.

Good. Served
him right for being such an arrogant ass all the time.

“Do you know where the closest one is?

He gave her a dry look. “You can’t just walk in there and
buy
blood, Sage. It doesn’t work like that. You’ll have to drive home. I have a guy you can contact and he’ll get it for you. Take the keys from my bag and –”

“That will take
all day.”

“Not if you’r
e quick.” He shifted his body then winced.

She looked down at his chest but he’d somehow managed to cover the wound with a fresh t-shirt. Still the blood seeped through. “You don’t even look like you’ll make it through breakfast. I can’t leave you here alone that long.”

“You don’t have a choice, Sage. I’ll be fine. Just go. You’re only wasting time sitting here arguing with me.”

She maneuvered her body so she was sitting aga
inst the cold wall next to him then drew her knees up and rested her head on her them.

“What are you d
oing? Go!” Frustration flickered across his pale face.

“Shh! I’m thi
nking.” She couldn’t believe she was thinking what she was thinking. But there was no other viable option. She couldn’t leave him here on the brink of death, nor could she carry him down with her. He needed blood, like, hours ago. She grimaced and shook her head as if fighting with herself over the conclusion. “Aw, fuck me,” she finally muttered.

“Love to
, doll, but I’m sort of numb from the waist down,” he said. “Can I take you up on it later though?”

She picked her head up to meet his dark gaze. “Funny. You pick now to finally have a sense of humor? When you’re on the b
rink of death?” She gave a loud exaggerated sigh then thrust her wrist toward him. “Here. Do it quick before I change my mind.” Turning her head away, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“W
hat? No!”

“Logically this is our best option, Jame
s. You have to know that.”

“No.” He pushed her arm away.

She opened her eyes to see his face twisted in disgust. “Just do it! You’ll heal then we can get on with things.”

“No
.” His tone was unyielding. She might as well have been arguing with a wall.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she said,
“Well now I’m just offended. Here I am offering myself up to you like a
fucking juice box
so you don’t die, and you’re turning me down? I know we’ve had our issues but do you really detest me that much?”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t detest you. I think you’re a hard-headed pain in the
arse who doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut. But I don’t hate you.”

“There now,
” she muttered, “tell me how you really feel.”

His steely blue eyes turned to warmth.
“But I also think you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met. Underneath all the anger and pain is a genuinely good person.”

She arched a brow. “Wow. You better drink up. You’re delirious with hunger.”

“If you were truly a heartless bitch like you let people believe, you wouldn’t be offering yourself to save me.”

“I
could
let you die,” she said tapping her chin, “and I wouldn’t even shed a tear. But then who would fetch me my coffee in the morning?”

His eyes narrowed
. “All right, my human juice box, are you sure you want to do this?”

“No. But do it anyway.” She turned her head away and
thrust her arm at him. “Just try not to drink it all. It seems I need most of it to live.”

H
e took her arm, one hand held her palm, the other just above her wrist. His grip was firm – she guessed to keep her from wiggling away should she change her mind mid-meal. Curiosity forced her to peek with one eye. His fangs lengthened as he gave her one last trusting glance. Then he sunk his teeth into her tender skin.

She winced, expecting to
feel pain and disgust. The initial puncture hurt, but after he took the first long mouthful from her arm, she felt a twinge of something unexpected. Excitement?

No. Lust!

Lust? Here was a man – not even a man, a
monster
– feasting on her blood and she was…horny?

What is
wrong
with me?

But she couldn’t ignore the heat s
preading from her belly down between her legs. Every time she felt the suction of her blood leaving her vein and watched it enter his mouth through his painted red lips, it was like a piece of her was becoming his. Forever.

Christ
,
for some insane reason, that was just fine by her!

Heat flooded her core. A slow throb made her squeeze
her legs together to relieve the aching pressure. Was there a direct line from her wrist that ran straight to her clit?

A
stream of blood dripped slowly down her wrist and across her hand. James released his fangs from her skin but kept his mouth at her arm. He moved his tongue down her wrist to catch the drip then slid it back up her arm, lapping up the spilled blood. It was sensual, like he was trying to wipe away any hurt he may have caused. Shivers raced down her spine. There were better places he could move that tongue.

With his mouth stil
l on her arm, he lifted his gaze to hers. For some reason, the blood resting on his lip –
her
blood – didn’t bother her a bit. He ended with a soft kiss to the spot he drank from. She could have melted on the spot.

Still holding her arm, he
sat back against the cave wall and she could see a difference immediately. His eyes faded to their natural pale blue, his cheeks filled out, and, if possible, he was even more muscular.

S
he snapped herself out of the waking female version of a wet dream and said, “How do I taste?” as nonchalantly as if she were talking about a dish at a restaurant.

“Divine,
Eirian.” He closed his eyes as if he were relishing the flavor of a fine wine.

She eyed him for a few moments then tried to pull her arm away
. “Okay, you’re liking that a little too much. Gimme my arm back.”

With a wicked gleam in his eye, he kept her arm captive.
“I think you liked it too,
cariad
.”

She yanked harder.
How could he know that
?
She would have denied it – would have gone to the grave denying it – if he’d given her the chance.

T
he moment she opened her mouth, he grabbed her head and pulled her to his. Hunger ignited inside her. She tackled him to the ground, straddling him with knees on either side of his hips. He ran his hands up and down her back while his tongue swept her mouth. Her clit burned and she rubbed against his erection.

“I don’t know,” she said between kisses, “what I’m
thinking. You’re an overbearing, pretentious,” she panted as she mumbled against his lips, “sullen bastard.”

He bit her lip. “Ow!”

A second later, he flipped her over and pinned her to the ground. His hands shackled her wrists on either side of her head.

“And you’re nothing but a wic
ked temptress,” he nipped at her neck, “with a bad temper and even worse morals.” Using one hand, he ripped down the center of her shirt and stared at her breasts. “But I’ll be damned if I ever get enough of you.”

She looked down, frowning. “I liked that shirt.” Fisting his hair with her free hand
, she yanked him down to her lips then bit down until she tasted blood.

He r
eared back with a bloody sneer. “Little witch,” he growled, pulling off his shirt. He wiped his mouth with it then threw it aside. “You asked for it.”

She c
ouldn’t pinpoint exactly what his naked skin smelled like except to say it was pure male. Unabashedly, she raked her gaze up and down his body. The man was sex on a stick.

Before she could say another word,
her bra was in tatters and he had one of her nipples between his teeth.

She gasped as
what felt like jolts of electricity flew straight to her clit. Afraid to move for fear he would bite down, she lay still, burning until she thought she might explode. But he was gentle. His tongue flicked her nipples, first one then the other as she jerked beneath him. He moaned every time she rubbed against his erection.

She grinned. Though he was bigger and stronger, she still had some power
over him. She ran her hands over the smooth skin on his chest then through his hair, pulling him back to her mouth. He obliged her, leaving her nipples swollen and erect.

When she was su
re he was completely lost in the kiss, she pounded him with a Bolt and jumped to her feet. His body slammed into the cave wall and he growled.

It was about time for her to
be on top.

But he rose to h
is feet only seconds after her. “Big mistake,
cariad
.” His eyes were a fiery flame. “Now I’m randy
and
angry. A dangerous combination for you, darling.” His chest heaved with labored breaths and his fists clenched at his sides.

Maybe provoking him had been a bad idea. He took a step toward her, she took a
step back.

“Do you think you can escape me?” he asked, twisted amusement in his voice. “You
’ve nowhere to go, sweetheart.”

Her stomach dropped. Did she really like him dangerous, a little bit mean – riding the line between violent pleasure and violent pain? A moan escaped her and she fought the need to touch herself.
No, she wasn’t going anywhere. She wanted the fight, needed it. She’d never felt so alive. Her knees quaked, not from fear, but from anticipation.

Jam
es stalked toward her like a predator – a deliciously sexy predator that wanted to eat her for dinner. She would have gladly volunteered except her pride kept her from surrendering without a fight.

With his speed and strength, s
he didn’t stand a chance. He pinned her against the wall, cradling her face with one hand, the other locking her wrists above her head. She was stretched out before him, helplessly at his mercy. He studied her face, smiling as if he’d just won an invaluable prize. She melted. He was the only made that ever made her feel worth something.