Authors: Elizabeth Kelly
“Just do it already Nicky.” Sophia’s voice held a note of
impatience.
“Sophia, I can’t.” Nicky said miserably.
“You have to. It’ll make it more real.”
Kaden stood in the yard and watched as Sophia smacked
Nicholas lightly on the chest. “You and James punch each other all the time.
Pretend I’m James.” She closed her eyes and lifted her chin.
“Sophia – “
“Gods be damned Nicky!” Sophia growled. She glanced over
to where Kaden was standing and watching them silently. “I’ll ask the human to
do it then.”
She started to stalk towards him. Nicholas grabbed her arm
and pulled her back. “He’s not touching you.”
“Then just do it! Don’t be such a chicken! Just – “
Her head flew back and she fell to the ground as Nicholas’
fist connected solidly with her face. Nicky immediately dropped to his knees
beside her. “Sophia! I’m sorry! Are you okay?”
She rubbed her aching jaw. “I’m fine. Good job Nicky.”
Nicky helped her to her feet as Tristan led a large, black
horse from the barn. Kaden could see the swelling starting on Sophia’s face as
Dani approached Nicky. She had what looked like a few of her dresses in her
hand and she rubbed the material all over Nicky’s bare upper body before
hugging him for a few minutes.
“There cousin, that should help a little.” She wrinkled her
nose. “You smell like horse as well.”
“Good.” Nicky replied grimly.
Tristan smiled at Evan as the young boy approached him.
“I’m going with you dad.”
“No Evan. You’re staying here.”
“No! Bree saved me from the faeries. I’m old enough to
fight the Lycans. I’m going with you.” Evan protested fervently.
Tristan clapped his hand on Evan’s shoulder. “I need you to
stay here and protect your mother and the other humans.”
“Ian and Doran and Leo are staying. They can protect
them.” Evan replied.
“Aye, but they will need your help.” Tristan spoke with a
finality that Evan knew was useless to argue against. He crossed his arms as
Dani put her arm around his shoulder and drew him away.
“Marshall, promise me you’ll be careful.” Maya whispered as
Laura rubbed his naked back with articles of clothing.
“I will sweet Maya. You have nothing to fear.” Marshall
pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. “I will see you soon.”
James pushed Avery’s hands away. “Enough mama. Both you
and Aunt Maya have covered me with your scents.”
She gave him a shaky smile as Martine’s voice, hesitant and
low, spoke timidly from behind him.
“James?”
“What is it?” He asked gruffly without turning around.
“I am sorry that Bree has been taken from you. I – I know
you love her. I’ll come with you, and help you save her if you’d like.”
He turned to the young woman. “Thank you Martine, but there
are more than enough of us.”
She nodded as Avery approached Sophia. She went to gather
the young woman into her arms and Sophia backed away.
“No mama. I can’t. I don’t want to give Nicky an excuse to
hit me again.” She said with a small smile.
Avery gave her a solemn look. “I love you my Sophia. You
know that right?”
“I know mama. I love you too.”
Vivian had approached them as they were talking, and Sophia
gave her grandmother a warm smile. “I love you grandmamma.”
“I will see you soon sweet Sophia.” Vivian replied before
kissing her forehead.
“It’s time to go.” Tristan spoke softly. He handed the
reins of the horse to Sophia and kissed the top of her head roughly. “Are you
ready my sweet?”
Sophia nodded as Avery wrapped her arms around Tristan.
They stood that way for long moments, his face buried in her neck as she
whispered quietly into his ear.
Sophia led the horse to where Kaden was standing apart from
the others. “Let’s go.”
Without replying, he followed her to the edge of the woods
where Draken and his pack had stood. He watched as she closed her eyes and
inhaled deeply. She handed him the reins and walked further into the woods,
inhaling repeatedly. She circled slowly and then pointed to the left. “We go
this way.”
“Are you sure?”
She gave him a pained look. “Yes. I’m sure. Do you know
how to ride a horse?”
“Yes.”
She nodded as Nicky boosted her into the saddle. He
squeezed her leg and gave her a brief smile before stepping back.
Kaden swung into the saddle behind her. He grunted and
wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her and pushing her forward a bit so
he could wedge his large body into the seat of the saddle. He pulled her back
against him, resting his hand against her flat stomach, and she stiffened at
the feel of his pelvis against her ass.
Nicholas gave him a hard look. “Keep your hands off my
sister human.”
“Stop it Nicky.” Sophia replied.
“The rope.” Kaden grunted.
Nicky handed it to him with a scowl, and Kaden wrapped it
around Sophia’s wrists before securing it to the saddle horn. Nicky pulled a dagger
from his boot but didn’t hand it to Kaden.
“Nicky, give it to him.” Sophia said sharply.
“Sophia, it’s silver. Are you sure you – “
“Yes.” She interrupted. “He would not be able to take me
hostage without it. We need Draken to believe his story.”
Nicholas hesitated a moment longer before handing the knife
to Kaden. He took it and held it loosely in one large fist.
“The gods help you if you harm my sister.” Nicky said in a
low, angry voice.
“He won’t. He needs me to find Bree.” Sophia replied.
“Besides, you will not be far behind us. Stop worrying Nicky.”
* * *
“Are you cold?”
Sophia shook her head. “No. Why?”
“You’re shivering.”
Sophia straightened her back. She was trembling but it had
nothing to do with the cold, and everything to do with the human behind her.
She cursed herself for her weakness. Draken and the other’s scents were strong
and she was having no problem following them, but her mind was constantly
wandering back to Kaden.
She squirmed a little but instead of easing away from her,
Kaden pulled her more firmly against him. She was attracted to the large,
sullen human, and it was driving her crazy. Now was not the time to let her
hormones get the best of her. She should be concentrating on finding Bree, and
all she could think about was how warm his hand felt through the material of
her shirt.
She was being ridiculous. He hated Lycans. She wasn’t even
sure that he wouldn’t try and kill her at some point. Instead of being frightened
by the thought, she thought about that moment in the bed. Thought about how he
had looked when he was pinning her to the bed, and staring at her breasts. She
closed her eyes at the tremor of lust she felt. She had never mated with a
human before. She had never found one that she was attracted to and even if
she had, it would be doubtful that they could handle her in bed. She did not
approach mating in a shy or demure way like so many human women seemed to, and
she suspected that a human male would find her demanding and rough. Although
the Lycans she had mated with were more than capable of handling her demands, she
did not believe a human would fare so well.
Kaden might. He’s big for a human and he held you down
easily enough.
She pushed the thought out of her head and squirmed against
him again.
“Stop you’re squirming.” He grunted.
“You’re holding me too tightly.” She hissed.
His hand tightened around her ribs almost painfully. “We
need to make it look real, do we not Lycan?”
He reached up and swatted her long hair away from his face irritably.
“Keep your hair out of my face Lycan, or I’ll cut it off.”
“I have a name. It’s Sophia, not Lycan, and if you even try
and cut my hair I’ll rip your throat out.”
“And how do you plan to do that with your hands tied so
firmly to the saddle
Sophia
?”
She tipped her head to look at him. “I have teeth, remember?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and she had to fight the urge
to lick her lips. “Aye, I remember.”
Was it just her imagination or did his gaze linger on her
mouth? He gathered her hair in one hand, twisting it and pushing it over her
shoulder.
“I’m surprised Draken even wants you.” He said suddenly.
“He hates half-breeds almost as much as he hates humans. He’s even kept them
as slaves.”
“I’m not a half-breed.” She replied.
“How is that possible? Your mother is a human.”
He paused. “She is not your mother.”
Sophia shook her head. “She’s my step-mother.”
“Were you angry when your father took a human as his wife?”
“No. Avery may not have given birth to me, but she is my
mother. I love her.”
“Where is your real mother?”
“She was taken by the leeches when I was a child.” Sophia
said shortly.
He didn’t offer his condolences, and she craned her neck to
look at him again. “How did Draken keep half-breeds as his slaves? Were they
unable to shift?” She was finding it hard to believe that a Lycan, even a
half-breed, could be captured and kept as a slave so easily.
His hand rubbed at his neck. “Draken has special collars
for the half-breeds. They’re made of silver. It keeps them weak and if
they’re even able to shift, the collar has silver points on the inside.”
“Gods be damned.” Sophia breathed. She could almost picture
what would happen to the Lycan who tried to shift while wearing that collar.
As soon as their body began to swell during the shift, the silver points would
embed into their flesh and kill them.
She shivered lightly. Lycans were strong and had healing
powers, but they were not immortal. A Lycan could not survive a beheading or
being stabbed through the heart. The bite of another Lycan, if left untreated,
had the power to kill them. And all Lycans, half-breeds and full-bloods, were
particularly vulnerable to silver. A wound from silver would fester and become
quickly infected in even the strongest of Lycans.
Shortly after her father had married Avery, Jeffrey had told
her a story of a Lycan who had been scratched with a silver dagger. It was a
small scratch, barely bled, but within two weeks the Lycan was dead.
“It spread Sophia. The silver causes an infection that
cannot be treated, and our healing powers are useless against.” Jeffrey had
told her earnestly. “You must always be careful when you’re near silver. Do
you hear me girl?”
She had been both fascinated and terrified by the idea of a
Lycan dying from a single scratch. She had been plagued with nightmares for
weeks, and had woken her father and Avery nearly every night with her screams.
She had begged and pleaded to be allowed to sleep in their bed with them, a
request that Avery had indulged.
A small smile crossed her face. At the time, she had
thought her father’s exasperation at having her share their bed for nearly ten
nights had been caused by her childish fear. It was many years before she
realized the truth, and it had only made her love Avery more. She may not be
Avery’s child but the Red had always put her own needs aside when it came to
Sophia and Nicky, as well as her birth children.
When she had finally confessed her reason for the
nightmares, Tristan had been furious with Jeffrey. It had taken many
conversations and reassurances from Avery and her father, before she had been comfortable
sleeping in her own bed again.
She suddenly stiffened against Kaden and he pressed tightly
against her.
“What is it?”
“They’re close.” She murmured.
“That’s impossible.” He scanned the trees around them.
“We’ve only been riding for a few hours. They would not have made camp
already.”
“I’m telling you they’re close. The dagger – quickly!” She
hissed.
He pulled the dagger from his belt and held it one hand as
he used the other hand to unbutton the first few buttons of her shirt. He
pulled her shirt open and rested the point of the dagger over her heart.
She couldn’t stop the shiver running through her body as a
snippet of Jeffrey’s story came back to her. She stared down at the point of
the dagger resting against her skin as Kaden murmured in her ear. “Don’t move
Lycan.”
They came out of the trees, four black wolves that stood
nearly as tall as the horse she and Kaden were riding on. Sophia’s pulse was
pounding, and she unconsciously leaned back against Kaden. She could feel his
heart beating solidly against her back. Oddly, it comforted her a little.
He held the dagger against her chest as the Lycan’s bared
their teeth at them. The horse they were riding on whinnied nervously. Kaden
held the reins firmly with one hand and spoke loudly.
“I am here to speak with Draken. I wish to propose a
trade.”
The Lycans snarled at him and Kaden waited patiently.
Sophia was trembling lightly and he tightened his grip around her waist, his
fingers pressing against her ribs. He took a quick glance at her face. Her
face was pale and serene as she stared at the Lycans standing in front of them.
Finally, the four wolves turned and took a few steps into
the woods before pausing and looking behind them. Kaden used the dagger to
slice through the rope tying her to the saddle horn, and then surprised her by
pushing her roughly off the horse. She hit the ground with a loud thud, the
wind knocked out of her, and he jumped from the horse and wrapped one hand in
her long dark hair. He yanked her to her feet, and she bit back her snarl of pain
as her hair pulled painfully against her scalp.
He held the dagger over her heart again and kept his other
hand wrapped in her hair. Holding it tightly, he pushed her in front of him.
“Start walking Lycan bitch.” He snapped.
She growled at him but followed the wolves through the
trees. It took them only a few minutes to reach the Lycan’s camp. Kaden
breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bree sitting on the ground, her hands and
feet tied together with rope. Two Lycans in their human forms were standing
close to her, and they gave Kaden a surprised look.
“Kaden!” Bree cried.
“How did you survive the blade human?” Draken drawled
sardonically.
Kaden turned towards the Lycan emerging from one of the
tents. “It’ll take more than a sword to kill me Lycan.”
“Apparently so.” Draken replied calmly. He stared at
Sophia. “Hello pretty one. Have you missed me?”
He hesitated and lifted his face to the sky. He inhaled
deeply before frowning. “I smell horse.”
The four wolves shifted into their human forms. “They were
riding on a horse Draken.” A tall, thin man said.
Draken inhaled again. “Did you see the others?”
Before they could answer, Kaden spoke loudly. “There are no
others. This one was treating my wound. I overpowered her and took her hostage.
The other Lycans were out searching for my sister. It was easy enough to steal
a horse and take this one with me.”
“And then scampered off back to me?” Draken grinned at
him. “Do you wish to go back to your old life as my slave then?”
“I am here to propose a trade.” Kaden replied. “This Lycan
bitch for my sister.”
Bree gasped in horror. “Kaden – no!”
“Interesting.” Draken looked Sophia up and down. “She is
very pretty. I imagine she would look spectacular lying naked in my bed.”
Kaden’s hand tightened in her hair. “Do we have a deal then
Draken? I will give her to you in exchange for my sister’s freedom. Let us go
free, and you can do whatever you want with this one.”
He shook Sophia roughly, the dagger pressing against her
skin, and Sophia growled loudly as her eyes flashed a brilliant green.
“No Kaden!” Bree shouted. “I won’t let you do this!”
“Be quiet Bree!” Kaden snapped. He looked at Draken
again. “Do we have a deal?”
Draken regarded them silently for a moment. Kaden could
feel Sophia trembling violently against him, and she seemed to be swelling in
his arms. He yanked her head back and stared into her pale face.
“Shift and I’ll shove this dagger into your heart. I swear
to you.” He spoke loud enough for the others to hear.
She took several deep breaths, and Kaden looked back to
Draken. “Do we have a deal?” He repeated.
Draken grinned at him. “Aye human, we do. You may take
your sister and slink away like frightened deer.”
“Do I have your word that neither I nor my sister will be
harmed?”
“But of course.” Draken said. “You have my word that no
harm will come to either of you. Of course, I cannot say the same for your
pretty little bargaining chip.”
His grin widened and his eyes glowed red. Sophia swallowed
thickly as Kaden’s hand tightened again in her hair for a brief moment.
Draken turned to one of his men. “Bring me a collar.”
The Lycan disappeared into one of the tents. He came back
out carrying a leather bag that he handed to Draken. Draken pulled both a
collar and a small silver key from it. He unlocked the collar and started
towards them.
Sophia shrank back against Kaden. Adrenaline was coursing
through her veins, and her body was screaming at her to shift. She ignored it
grimly as Draken spoke.
“Hold her still, human.”
Kaden’s hand slipped from her hair and wrapped around her
body. He pinned her arms to her sides and held her tightly. The dagger was
still pressed against the skin over her heart and she shook and snarled at
Draken, her eyes glowing green as the large Lycan stopped in front of her.
Panting and growling low in her throat, Sophia pressed her
head against Kaden’s chest. She could see the sharp, silver points on the
inside of the collar, and it sent a fresh wave of fear through her. She was
close to shifting, and she tried desperately to control it. The thought of the
silver being around her neck was making her panic, and the Lycan within her was
demanding to be released.
“Be still.” Kaden hissed in her ear. She realized that
although his arm was a hard band of steel around her, his hand had slipped
under her shirt and was stroking the bare flesh of her lower back soothingly.
She concentrated on his touch, the warmth and gentle motion against her skin
helping to calm her, and she closed her eyes in defeat as Draken put the collar
around her neck and locked it.
He dropped the key into the small leather bag, and handed it
to one of the Lycans before smiling widely at Kaden. “You may let her go now.”
“My sister first. Untie her and bring her to me.” Kaden
demanded.
Draken nodded and one of the Lycans quickly sliced through
the ropes that bound her. She staggered to her feet, rubbing at her wrists,
and the Lycan dragged her to where Kaden was standing.
She wrenched her arm free and glared at the Lycan before
looking at Kaden and Sophia. Anguish crossed her face and tears slipped down
her cheeks. “Kaden, this isn’t right. Please, I know you hate them but Sophia
is – “
“Be quiet Bree!” Kaden roared. He shoved Sophia into
Draken and yanked his sister to his side.
“Remember your promise Lycan.” He glared at Draken, who
laughed and stroked Sophia’s long dark hair.
“Of course, human. You are free to go.” He made a shooing
gesture with his hand as he leaned down and nuzzled Sophia’s face affectionately.
She snarled at him, her bound hands tightening into fists, and he laughed and
kissed her cheek where a bruise was visible.
“Oh, you’re going to be a handful, I can tell.” He kissed
her bruise again before glancing at Kaden who was slowly backing through the
trees, dragging Bree with him. “Don’t worry my pretty one. I won’t bruise
your lovely face like this oafish brute.”
With a thin shriek, Bree turned on Kaden and struck him hard
on the chest with her small fists. Surprised by her outburst, he stumbled back
and released her. She started towards Sophia and Kaden reached out, just
managing to grab the back of her shirt. He yanked her back into his arms, and
she screamed again as she kicked and punched at him.
“No Kaden! NO!” She shrieked. “I won’t let you do this!”
With a loud grunt, he picked her squirming body up and
heaved her over his shoulder. He winced as she kicked him hard in the ribs and
pounded on his back. Without speaking he turned and strode through the trees.
“NO!” Bree screamed again. “Sophia! Sophia!”
Draken watched with amusement as Kaden disappeared into the
trees with the struggling Bree. He captured a strand of Sophia’s dark hair
between his fingers. He rubbed it gently before raising it to his face and
sniffing at it.
“You are so lovely. I can’t wait to have you in my bed.”
He whispered.
“Lord Draken?” One of the Lycan’s said hesitantly.
“What is it?”
“Are you really going to allow the slaves to go free?”
Draken traced the collar around Sophia’s neck before turning
towards the other Lycans clustered together in a loose group.
“I did give them my word, did I not Terrence?” He asked
quietly.
“Aye.”
Draken studied his hands for a moment before returning his
gaze to the Lycans in front of him. He pointed at two of the bigger ones.
“Go and kill the slaves.”
They nodded as Sophia tensed against him. She opened her
mouth and screamed, “Bree! Run! It’s – “
Draken clapped a hard hand over her mouth and tightened his
arm around her painfully. “Be quiet or I’ll cut your tongue out.” He said
harshly.
The two Lycans shed their clothing and shifted into their
Lycan form. As they started through the trees, Draken called softly, “Bring me
their heads.”