Honor Bound (2 page)

Magic tingled through
the air again, and Callisto stood before them in human form, her arms
wrapped around her body as she shivered in the cool night air.
"Don't, Orion. She saved me."

The man behind Amaia
cursed softly, but the knife stayed close against her throat. "She's
a demon, Calli. They can play with your thoughts. Make you see and
feel things that aren't real. If she saved you, it's a trap."

"She saved me,"
the girl repeated, her voice edged with hysteria. "Please.
Please, Orion, I want to go home."

The knife trembled.
Orion swore again and released Amaia, the movement so abrupt she
stumbled and fell to her knees. By the time she looked up he had
crossed in front of her, leaving her to stare at his back as he
stripped off his shirt. Moonlight painted the hard lines of his
shoulders as he wrapped the fabric around Callisto. "Shh,
sweetheart. You're safe now. You knew I'd find you."

"They're still
after us. They're still after
her
."

Orion turned, and for
the first time Amaia saw his face, all strong features and hard
angles, with dark eyes that studied her without emotion. After a
moment he jerked his head once in a curt nod. "If you help me
get my sister to safety, I'll grant you safe passage into the
stronghold of my people."

Any safety he promised
was suspect, but she had no choice. "The commander called off
the search. Loudly. Which means he left at least two warriors
behind." Amaia unsheathed her knife as she rose. "They
would have followed us."

As if to prove her
words, a man burst out of the darkness with a sharp cry. Bakar, her
mother's cousin, who liked to fight with handcrafted spears lined
with poisoned blades. Amaia pivoted sharply, avoiding the pointed
stab of the spear tip, then dropped to the forest floor as Bakar
swept the bladed edge toward her.

Another battle call
rang out, one she recognized instantly.
Endika.
Amaia's belly knotted as she kicked Bakar's knee and knocked the
spear from his hand. Endika was a friend.

Bakar stumbled to the
ground, his hand already groping across the forest floor. Before
Amaia could move a shot rang through the clear night and Bakar's head
snapped back. She turned as he slumped to the ground and found
Callisto, both hands curled around a smoking gun.

The sound of metal on
metal drew her gaze just in time to see the silver dagger fly from
Endika's hand as Orion disarmed him with a casual flip of his wrist.
Orion fought with a blank-eyed, lazy expression, giving the
impression of someone bored with the lack of challenge presented. It
was less than Endika deserved, to die at the hands of someone who
toyed with him, and Amaia hissed her displeasure, even knowing Endika
would kill her if he could.

Before she could move,
Orion brought his arm up in a quick slash. Blood flew, and Endika
dropped to the ground, clutching his throat. By the time she reached
him, his normally dark skin was ashen, cold.

"Nine, Amaia,"
he rasped. "Only nine." Then he died.

Orion crouched next to
her, his face blank. "What does he mean?"

"I abandoned my
unit," she murmured. "My life is theirs, if they can take
it. Eleven others, besides myself." She dragged herself to her
feet, feeling tired and hopeless. "Nine now."

"We're close to
the border of the enclave." He rose and walked to his sister's
side. He slipped the gun from her hands and returned it to a holster
on his hip before glancing at Amaia again. "Come with us, and
I'll see you safe. For her. A life for a life."

"I knew what I was
doing. You owe me nothing." She would only be safe when she'd
dispatched the other nine warriors. Orion shifted from one foot to
the other, and she stared at him for a moment. His shoulders were
strong, the bare skin silvered by the moonlight, and a sudden shiver
of longing wracked her. "But I'd appreciate a place to regroup
for the night."

He nodded and slipped
an arm around his sister's shoulders, coaxing her onto the barely
visible path that wove between the trees. "Then come with me."

Chapter
Two

She was beautiful.

Orion ground his teeth
together and jerked his gaze away from the demon. The moon had washed
out her face, but she looked gorgeous now in the warmth of the
flickering firelight, the shadows caressing her strong features. A
creature of fire, of passion.
A
demon.

The Elders insisted on
holding meetings around the ancient fire pit, an affectation which
drove Orion crazy. They lived in comfortable homes with modern
conveniences and had a well-lit communal building far better suited
to important discussions.

Instead they sat around
a fire pit and congratulated themselves on the purity of their
vision, free from the corrupting influences of the demons in their
lavish cities.
Except
for when you go home and watch cable television in your
air-conditioned bedrooms. Hypocrites.

His eyes were once more
drawn to Amaia. She stared unblinkingly at the fire, not flinching or
recoiling, even when the voices surrounding her grew harsh and loud.

"She's a demon. A
killer." Perseus slammed his fist against his palm and bellowed,
"We should give her no quarter!"

The youngest Elder,
Lucielle, frowned. "She rescued one of our children. She can't
stay here, of course, but she has earned safe passage."

"She's earned a
swift death, no more." The Alpha's low, angry tone made it clear
he'd willingly deliver that death, but there was something dark in
his eyes when he looked at Amaia. Something covetous, greedy. Cavil
might desire her death, but he desired her body, as well.

Outrage warred with an
unacceptable protectiveness as Orion rose to his feet, drawing all
gazes. Many of them were resentful, especially Cavil's. Of course, if
Orion had been five or ten years older when his parents had died,
he
might be sitting in the Alpha's spot of honor right now, a fact Cavil
would never forget. Never
forgive
.

Orion waited until
silence fell before speaking. "We pride ourselves on being
uncorrupted. On having honor. What honor is there in murdering the
savior of one of our pack? If we're going to act like the demons, we
might as well join them in their cities."

Cavil couldn't quite
cover his sneer. "Very well. One night of sanctuary, Orion. And
the demon is
your
charge."

The Alpha smiled, his
pleasure odd considering how vehemently he had been calling for the
demon's death mere seconds before. In that moment Orion knew he'd
walked into a trap, could
feel
it springing shut behind him as he stared at Cavil.

But no one argued. The
Alpha had spoken, and his word was law.

The Elders rose, still
murmuring to each other, and dispersed with unsurprising haste. The
night was cold, even in the circle of the fire, and they would be
anxious to return to their comfortable homes. Callisto had already
been tucked into bed under the watchful eye of their father's aunt, a
matronly woman who would be more comfort to her now that Orion could.

That left Amaia, still
staring at the fire. He cleared his throat. "If you come with
me, I'll find you a place to sleep and some food."

She didn't move. "Your
uncorrupted Alpha's machinations rival those of the Demon Princes."

"He's hoping
you'll kill me in my sleep, I imagine."
Or
fuck me into a coma.
"If you want to ruin his plans, don't try to kill me."

"What would that
accomplish?" She watched him as she stood, her movements smooth
and graceful. "I'm not hungry, but I could use a bath."

The cool night air felt
a good bit warmer when he imagined water beading on her naked skin,
meandering down her body in rivulets that followed the wicked curve
of her breasts, her hips—

Demons ensnare the
senses.
It was his father's voice, echoing the warning he'd received when
he'd reached the cusp of manhood. Demons could do any number of
magical things that seemed outrageous and unbelievable, even to a man
who could turn into a wolf, but their most dangerous, insidious skill
was their mastery of desire. A demon could ride you to exhaustion and
beyond, make you love her even as she killed you.

Amaia met his
suspicious gaze with an air of unruffled calm, and he couldn't tell
if his instant, vicious arousal was by her design or the natural
result of going too long without a woman. He cleared his throat
again, but it didn't help. When he spoke, his voice sounded low and
rough to his own ears. Uncultured and wild, and no doubt everything
she expected from an uncivilized werewolf. "No tricks. No mind
games."

Confusion clouded her
eyes, followed by something that could have been hurt. "What
would that accomplish?" she asked again, then walked past him
into the darkness.

He strode to catch up
with her, feeling both relieved and embarrassed. "I didn't mean
to offend."

"You didn't."
She planted her feet on the path. "I have no idea where I'm
going."

Her annoyed expression
made him smile. He gestured to a path that led away from the village,
into the woods and closer to the perimeter of magic that protected
them. "I have a cabin. I'm sure it doesn't have the sort of
amenities you may be used to, but it has electricity and running
water."

"And what do you
think I'm used to?" Her boots looked heavy, and should have
thumped on the path like this. Instead, they made only the slightest
whisper of sound. "Some huge brownstone with fur rugs and
polished silverware? Servants to attend my every need?"

Orion made a rude
noise. "Honey, I've been to Chicago. Humans toil away in their
dull little lives while you live above it all in your mansions and
penthouses."

Her jaw hardened, then
lifted. "My mother's family is wealthy. And they cast me out
because my father was one of those toiling, dull humans."

"Oh." It was
inadequate for a confession of that magnitude, but he didn't know
what else to say. "And yet you became one of your clan's
warriors."

"What else was I
going to do?" The question seemed more earnest than rhetorical.
"I barely survived childhood as it was. I needed to learn to
fight." She shrugged. "Seemed prudent to let them pay me
for it."

"And what happens
to you now?"

"If I survive the
rest of my unit, I'll have earned my pardon. I can go back without
punishment. If I want." Amaia stopped in front of his cabin and
raised a questioning eyebrow. "This is your place?"

"Yeah." He
studied his cabin, trying to imagine what it must look like to her.
Small, rough, and utilitarian, in all likelihood. He could have moved
closer to the rest of the village, but he
liked
it in the woods. The odd mix of ritualistic magical tradition and
modern innovation in the village grated on his nerves most days,
probably because the rest of the pack couldn't bring themselves to
embrace one or the other.

Two wooden steps led up
to the door, which he never bothered to lock. No one in his right
mind would dare steal from him, even if he had anything worth taking.
He pushed open the door and held it for her. "Lights are just
inside the door, bathroom's straight through to the back. I'm going
to go get some wood and start a fire."