Authors: Doris O'Connor
“Let go of me, Ion, and
stop distracting me. What are you going to do, Lucas?”
“What he should have done
in the first place, little one. Dispose of the evidence and your sample. There
are lots of vamps working the nightshift; it should be a simple matter, and if
not…”
Her sharp intake of breath
should have warned him, she was not going to take this lightly.
“And if not, what? You’re
going to dispose of people next? I don’t know much about the ins and outs of a
police station, but there will be records, right? People who will remember this
case. Humans talk, it’s an annoying little thing we do, we have families,
friends. This was all over the papers. How are you going to silence them all?
Tell me that.”
Ion cursed inwardly at
Lucas’s simple shrug, as his little human literally exploded.
“And don’t give me that
mind control baloney, didn’t work too well on me now, did it Lucas.”
Lucas had the good grace to
look chagrined at that hissed statement and Ion shook his head at him in a
silent warning.
“Lucas will work it out,
little one, and he will do what needs to be done. The pack will help as much we
can without exposing ourselves, you do not need to worry over this. I wouldn’t
let anything happen to you, my sweet.”
“How very noble of you,
Ion. Shame neither one of you can extend the same courtesy to the rest of
humankind.”
The words stung as though
she’d slapped him in the face as she rounded on him.
“You’re not being fair,
Marnie. I have to protect my pack and you…”
“I am not part of your
pack, Ion, you made that perfectly clear, but for what it’s worth I would never
do anything to harm the pack, or you.” Her voice softened at the last few words
and his wolf whined at what he saw in her eyes. “But I cannot stand idly by and
let the two of you plot to get me out of this mess, by killing god only knows
how many innocent humans whose only misfortune was getting involved in my case.
Human life may mean little to you, but…”
He had her back in his arms
before she could finish that statement. He had to make her see sense. He didn’t
want that either, but what other choice was there? If he had to choose between
a thousand humans and her, he would choose her. The only thing he couldn’t do
was to choose her over his pack.
“Damn it, Marnie, how could
you think so little of me? I’m not a killer, but will not hesitate to kill for
what’s mine. I’ve done so in the past and would do so again in a heartbeat, and
damn the consequences. Humans have not exactly been friends to this pack over
the years. For fuck’s sake, I still protect Louisa’s mum even though she…”
“She what, Ion? What did
she do that was so terrible?”
“Never mind, it’s not
relevant to this.”
Her furious growl would
have done any female wolf proud as she stamped on his instep and whirled out of
his arms with a speed he wouldn’t have thought her capable of.
“Fine, I’ll find Louisa and
ask her, even if I have to torture her to get the truth out of her.”
At this precise moment, Ion
had no doubt that she would do just that. She was so furious, the air shimmered
around her and had she been a shifter she would be in wolf form already. But
she wasn’t, so none of this made any sense and he could only stand and stare at
her. It was Lucas who stopped her from leaving. He sat her down on a chair, his
voice low and urgent and Marnie went very still as she listened. He couldn’t
stand here and watch her expressive face change. She would hate him for sure
once Lucas had filled her in on his sordid past––and he had no doubt that the
vamp would tell her everything, down to the last sickening detail. He had been
threatening to do so for days, unless Ion claimed as her his mate and as he
couldn’t do that. Fuck, he had to run.
With one last look at
Marnie, he shrugged his clothes and shifted, jumping out through the open
window and into the forest.
****
Lucas watched Marnie
through hooded eyes. All the fight had left her, when Ion shifted so suddenly
and her expressive eyes shimmered with unshed tears, as she crossed her arms
and legs and raised her chin defiantly.
“You better tell me the
truth, Lucas. I want to know it all, or I’m walking out of here right now.”
“You wouldn’t get very far,
chere. The pack is on maximum alert. No one is getting in or out and even if
you managed it somehow, the police would pick you up in an instant. They have
ransacked your bedsit, alerted all your neighbours and the university. They
even hauled Ellie in for questioning.”
At the mention of her
friend, Marnie shot out her chair, her expression terrified.
“No, not Ellie. Is she
okay? I mean, she doesn’t know anything and she doesn’t deserve this. None of
them does. Oh, God. Lucas, what am I going to do?”
She sagged against him,
when he pulled her into his body and he gently lowered her back on the chair.
Damn, she was crying. Too many shocks in one day and he was about to add to
them, but if Ion and Marnie stood any chance, then she needed to understand his
past.
“The only thing you can do,
chere. Stay here and let us do what we have to do to keep you safe.”
Tearstained eyes settled on
his, but there was steel and determination behind those tears, as she
straightened her spine and shook her head.
“I can’t let you do that,
Lucas. There must be another way. I will have to give myself up and just claim
amnesia.”
She didn’t even flinch at
his barely concealed snarl, just looked up at him steadily and his admiration
for her increased tenfold. And that stubborn wolf thought she wasn’t strong
enough to be his mate, if the situation wasn’t so serious, it would be
laughable.
“And we can’t let you
leave. Ion would never stand for it.”
“Ion doesn’t get a say in
this. As I said earlier, I’m not his mate, he’s not my alpha and one night of
sex doesn’t give you any rights over me either
, Lucas.”
“Not even one night of fabulous sex, chere?
You wound me.” The words meant to tease and sure enough they brought a faint
smile to Marnie’s pale features, as she shook her head at him.
“Don’t push your luck, vamp! There is far too
much wood in this room for you to be so smug!”
“Now, now, chere. I thought violence was never
the answer?”
“I can always make an exception for the likes
of you…”
The words were accompanied by another smile and
Lucas was glad to see that some colour had returned to her cheeks, as she wagged
her index finger at him. The mournful howl drifting in through the window had
her sitting back down again with a thump. The howl belonged to Ion’s wolf and
by the way she shuddered and raised her nose she recognised this fact too.
No matter what happened, he had to get these
two together.
“Ion would never forgive himself if he failed
to protect you, Marnie. He has lost too many people lately.”
“I’m not his to protect, damn it.” Marnie spat
the words at him.
“That’s not the way his wolf sees it. If you weren’t
human, you’d be mated by now and this whole conversation would be pointless,
but as you are…”
Marnie’s frustrated growl echoed round the
quiet room.
“Has it ever occurred to you arrogant males
that I may not want to be mated to him, or anyone else for that matter?”
His answering chuckle and softly uttered,
“Liar,” had her rolling her eyes at him and sticking her tongue out, which
increased that chuckle to a full belly laugh.
“I fail to see what’s so funny, Lucas.”
“Chere, you can pout and act annoyed all you
want, but we’re bonded by blood and I sense your emotions. You’re as much in
love with him as he is with you.” He put his hand up to stop her from
interrupting. “Yes he is, but he will not act on that for fear of losing you
and out of his duty for his pack. Though the way they act around you, I reckon
they would welcome you in with open arms, human or not.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t chere, but let me explain.
Humans have put this pack in danger time and time again.”
Her eyes widened at that statement. “Louisa’s
mum?”
“Not only her, but yes she was foolish enough
to talk to the wrong people. It wasn’t done in a malicious way at all. You’ve
seen how talkative Louisa is…well, her mum is even more so, or at least she
was. She paid the ultimate price: she lost her mate. He died protecting her,
when the hunters came.”
“Did…did anyone else die? The pack? Oh, God.
Lucas, please tell me they were all right?”
The hand grabbing his shook and Lucas wished
Ion was here to witness how much this little human cared about the pack
already. There was no doubt in his mind. She would never endanger any of them.
“Yes, they were fine. All managed to get away
in time, thanks to Louisa’s father. He sounded the warning and his death saved
them all.”
He watched as she processed this information.
“And the hunters, did the pack…” He watched
silently as she struggled to pull herself together. “Did…did they kill them?”
“Naturally, chere. “
“Did Ion?”
“Oui, he did. He was a teenager back then and
he joined the hunt, as was expected of him. They couldn’t be allowed to live,
to bring more hunters. It would have been disastrous for the pack. As it
stands, it started a bitter turf war with the neighbouring pack. They blamed
Ion’s father for the hunters, as they too feared discovery. They never liked
the fact that he allowed his wolves to mate with humans. It dilutes the
bloodline. Let alone, his alliance with vampires and the fact that his son’s
best mate was a blood sucker.”
“I always wondered about that, you know; the
two of you. I may not know much, but it seems odd to me.”
Lucas smiled at the expression on her face.
“It’s simple, really. Years ago Ion’s dad saved
my life. I’d gotten in a stupid bar brawl with some shifters. They weren’t
playing fair. Channing stopped them and together we beat the living shit out of
the bastards. Nothing like a brawl to make lifelong friends.”
He chuckled in amusement, when she rolled her
eyes and muttered something about ‘stupid male bonding crap’ under her breath.
“So, when Ion came along, you took him under
your wing or something?”
“Something like that, chere. Channing was
killed in that war and Ion became alpha. I had grown fond of this pack of
wolves by then, so we stayed in touch. Under Ion’s guidance the two packs
merged, to make up numbers as much as anything, as so many lives were lost. He
founded the club and things were good for a while.”
“A while?”
Lucas shifted uncomfortably under her steady
gaze.
“What makes me think you’re not telling me the
full story? Surely one human’s mistake does not explain Ion’s hang-up?”
“You’re very observant, mon chere. “
He hesitated, suddenly unsure as to whether he
was doing the right thing, but he’d made a promise and she had to know. If she
truly was the one, then it would be up to her to fulfil the prophecy and he
couldn’t stand against destiny.
They had been wrong with Zoe, but with every
fibre of his 3,000-year-old being, he knew that this time it was different.
Marnie went very pale as he filled her in on
all the gory details.
Chapter Sixteen
The last rays of the setting sun filtered
through the dense foliage and Marnie instinctively raised her head to sniff the
air. Curled up on the forest floor, the dampness had seeped into her bones and
her muscles screamed their protest, as she straightened up. Fresh tears fell on
her mud-streaked hands and she resolutely wiped them away. She’d made her
decision and she had to find Ion and let him know. She owed him that much and
she would never get away without his permission. The pack’s territory was
locked down tight. Jenkins had stood firm, his stance almost threatening, when
she announced her intention to leave with Lucas.
They’d been surrounded by wolves in an instant.
For the first time ever, Marnie felt a frisson of fear at the pack’s intentions.
“Jenkins, I
am
leaving. You cannot stop
me.”
“No, Miss Marnie, you’re not!”
Jenkins merely smiled at her frustrated growl
and the circle of wolves tightened further, making her step back against an
unmoving Lucas.
“I told you, chere. You can’t leave and on this
I’m in full agreement with the daft wolf.”
The menacing growls around them deepened and
Lucas threw his hands up in the air.
“Take it easy, furballs. I’m on your side.”
He pulled Marnie into a tight embrace. His
whispered, “Take care, chere. I still think you’re wrong,” did little to chase
away the goose bumps breaking out on her skin. She closed her eyes to stop the
tears. She was not going to cry in front of the pack, she was not! The blur of
air raised the ends of her fringe and she took a deep breath, knowing that
Lucas was gone. Damn the vampire. How was she going to get out of here now?