Authors: Rhyannon Byrd
“He isn’t going to hurt me, I promise. But he’s frightened. The blood hunger onsets with the early stages of puberty in males, and it’s imperative that parents teach their sons how to maintain control. But Thomas has been
an orphan since he was five. There’s been no one to help him.”
“And how do you know this isn’t a trap?” he demanded, his big hands fisting at his sides as he obviously struggled to do as she said and stay back, when it was clear he wanted to barge forward and grab hold of her, wrenching her to safety. “For all we know, he could be working for Westmore!”
“He’s not,” she said, shaking her head. “I swear it, McConnell. I can read him clearly and he’s not working with anyone. He’s just a frightened boy who needs someone to help him.”
“You trust him that easily?” he asked in a low voice, and she winced, knowing damn well that the soldier had been trying so hard to earn her trust, and here she was giving it out freely to a stranger. She didn’t blame him for looking…
irritated
with her. Surely that wasn’t pain lurking in his dark eyes. Just because he wanted a fling with her didn’t mean that he cared. She was just projecting her own stupid emotions on to the human, which was only going to make the situation a thousand times worse than it already was.
And yet, he had come after her. Again. That had to mean something, right?
Determined to find a way to soothe his anger, Raine said, “If you could see into his thoughts, Seth, I know you would understand.”
“I seriously doubt that,” he muttered, running a shaky hand over his face. “Just because he’s a kid doesn’t mean he isn’t a killer, Raine.”
She shivered at the coldness of his tone, and couldn’t help but wonder if the soldier had ever hunted a child of Thomas’s age. Had he been that ruthless? That cold?
She didn’t want to believe it—but damn it, she knew how intensely his hatred had burned in the years following his family’s murder. Just because she hadn’t witnessed such an event in his memories didn’t mean that it hadn’t happened.
And if he’d done it once, was he capable of doing it again?
Her heart raced, panic flooding through her system as he came even closer, making Thomas growl. The child’s heart raced, too, his fear and panic flooding through her, as if she were experiencing those raw emotions as her own, and she reacted without even thinking, releasing the talons on her right hand and lunging forward to swipe at the human’s chest. McConnell stopped instantly, stumbling back a step, his eyes going wide with shock as he lowered his gaze to the hand she’d dropped by her side. Looking down, her stomach lurched when she saw the sharp talons dripping with blood.
Ohmygod… What have I done?
she thought, jerking her gaze to his chest while something inside of her screamed in horror, the shattering sound locked deep within, unable to escape. McConnell’s shirt was shredded, his skin sliced open in five long cuts, the sight of his seeping blood making her feel ill.
Dizzy with confusion, Raine lifted her watery gaze to his face as a hard sob broke free and jerked from her throat.
His dark eyes burned with fury, as well as pain.
But the part that cut the deepest was the stark, heartwrenching look of betrayal that he couldn’t disguise.
S
INCE HE DIDN’T TRUST
himself to speak, much less move, Seth held his body locked in place, his jaw clamped against the angry curses burning to be said.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her big eyes tormented and bright in the ethereal moonlight. “I didn’t mean to…to hurt you. But I can feel his fear like it’s my own.” She wet her lips, her jaw trembling. “I can’t…I
won’t
let you kill him. It’s not right. Whatever he’s had to do to survive, it wasn’t his fault. He’s just a child.”
Seth didn’t like the situation, but he understood what she was saying. If the child
had
killed, there was nothing to be done. It would be like punishing a shark for hunting. It was just a vampire’s natural instinct to seek blood.
Still, he couldn’t say for certain how he would have handled the situation a year ago. All he knew was that he couldn’t mete out death to the boy now. Not when those silver eyes were staring up at him, reminding him so much of Raine. Not even when his chest was burning with pain, his blood dripping down onto his stomach, soaking into his clothes. He wanted so badly to be furious, taking comfort in the familiar feeling, instead of this emotional minefield he found himself treading with the crossbreed—but he couldn’t be angry. The kid couldn’t help the way he’d been born, any more than Seth could control the fact he was human. Before the boy was
punished for making the wrong choices, he needed to be shown what the
right
choices were.
“I wasn’t going to kill him,” he ground out. “I just wanted to be close enough to help you handle him. He doesn’t look strong enough to stand on his own, much less walk.”
She swallowed, appearing at a loss for words, and he looked down at the scrawny kid, recognizing the fear in his eyes. It reminded him of the way his baby sister, Alicia, had looked the night she’d been killed, and the bands that had been squeezing his chest seemed to relax a little. “You sure he won’t hurt you?” he asked, looking at Raine again.
She nodded, her face paling as she slid another glance over the wounds she’d left in his chest, and he knew she was in shock.
“I need to make a few calls,” he muttered. “Will you wait for me here?”
She nodded again, and he turned, heading back to the street, where he figured he had a better shot at getting reception on his phone. After retrieving his bag, he quickly slapped some bandages over the scratches on his chest, then pulled out a fresh shirt and changed, stuffing his ruined one into a nearby trash bin as he made his calls. Only a few minutes had passed when he returned to the alley, his bag hooked over his shoulder. Raine was crouched down beside the boy, using a hand wipe from her backpack to clean his dirty face, the child’s gray eyes huge with adoration as he stared up at her. Seth noticed that his feet were grubby and bare, and
something twisted in his chest as he thought of the boy living on the streets alone, with no one to care for him.
They both tensed as Seth approached, but he held out his hands, saying, “I’m not gonna hurt you, kid. I’m just going to help you up, okay?”
The boy shook with a slight tremor, edging closer to Raine. “Thomas, it’s okay,” she told him, her voice soothing and warm. “You can trust him.”
Looking as if he was sticking his hand into a tiger’s cage, the kid took a deep breath and reached for Seth’s hand. As he pulled the boy to his feet, Seth looked at Raine and said, “He’s freezing.”
“He’s too young to borrow warmth,” she explained in a low voice. “Someone Thomas’s age shouldn’t be outside when it’s cold.”
Seth frowned as he pulled his jacket out of his bag, remembering that unmated Deschanel males could only “borrow” heat through sex, until they finally found their lifemate and began “the burning.” Wrapping the jacket around the kid’s shoulders, he picked him up, holding him against his chest. Both Raine’s and the boy’s eyes went wide, but it took only a moment for the child to snuggle against him, burrowing into his heat.
“Come on,” he grunted, jerking his chin toward the street.
As she hooked her own bag over her shoulder, she sent a worried glance toward the homeless woman. “What do we do? We can’t just leave her there.”
“I put in a call to one of the local shelters. They’re
sending someone over. Which means we need to get lost.”
“Where are we going?” she asked, following him out of the alley.
“The Granger brothers just got to town,” he said in a low voice, heading right when they reached the street. “We’re taking the kid to Gideon.”
“I don’t understand,” she murmured, and Seth figured he’d have had to be deaf to miss the skepticism in her tone.
With a sigh, he said, “I’m not lying, Raine. Spark moved locations, so they followed her here to Berlin. He called me just before I left the hotel.”
“Well, I guess that makes sense.”
“What does?”
“Nothing,” she mumbled. “Are you going to have any trouble going up against her?”
Like
hell
he would. Spark was a royal bitch, and one he unfortunately had a past with. What was even worse was that Raine knew he’d slept with the assassin, since the woman had tried to embarrass Seth by telling his new friends about it after they’d captured her in the Wasteland.
Running his tongue over his teeth, he said, “Spark isn’t going to be an issue.”
“And what about Gideon? Do you trust him?” she asked, slanting a worried look toward Thomas, who appeared to have already fallen fast asleep. Seth thought the kid might even be drooling on him, a soft snore spilling
quietly from his open mouth. “As a
Förmyndare,
how is he going to handle the situation?”
“I don’t know what a
Förmyndare
would do, but as a
friend
of ours he’s going to take the boy someplace safe. And if it makes you feel any better, he sounded as concerned as you are. I don’t get the impression that he and Ashe are in the habit of punishing those who need help.”
“Thank you,” she said, touching his arm with her fingertips, and he swore he could feel that sizzling point of contact all the way down to the soles of his feet.
“Don’t thank me. I’m not the one saving his life,” he muttered, irritated at how easily she could make him react to her, when she obviously didn’t want to be with him. Hell, she’d run away in the middle of the night. How much clearer did she have to make it before he got the hint and gave up trying to convince her to take a chance on him?
They walked the rest of the way in silence, until they reached the Hilton where he’d arranged to have Gideon get them a room. The vampire was waiting for them beside a sleek black Audi in the hotel parking lot, the key cards to their room in one hand, his other hand in the pocket of what looked like a designer pair of slacks, the vampire’s shirt fitting his broad shoulders as if it’d been hand-tailored. His sable hair was windblown, a light stubble shadowing his hard jaw. It was strange, how the guy could look like he’d just stepped off the pages of a fashion mag, and yet, still manage a deadly air, the look
in his eyes too hard to belong to anyone but a trained hunter.
Gideon said hello to Raine, only a trace of his Scandinavian accent shaping the husky greeting, then turned his attention to the boy in Seth’s arms. “Is he unconscious?”
Shaking his head, he said, “Just exhausted.”
“I’ve made arrangements for the boy to stay with a family I’ve known since I was a child. They’ll take good care of him.”
“I can’t thank you enough for doing this,” Raine said, her soft voice thick with emotion.
“It’s not a problem,” the vampire told her with an easy smile, his appreciative gaze doing a quick flick over her body, before he shot a curious look toward Seth, then headed around the gleaming sports car and opened the passenger side door. Seth laid the boy down in the soft leather seat, and together the three of them moved to the front of the car, so they could talk without waking him.
As Gideon casually took a seat on the hood, Seth asked him, “Where exactly does this family live that you’re taking him to?”
A wry grin played at the corner of the vamp’s mouth. “I’m afraid that’s on a need-to-know basis, McConnell.”
“And I don’t need to know?” The words were sharper than he’d meant them to be, but his patience had dried up a long time ago.
“I’m not trying to start shit with you, man. I just want to keep the boy safe.”
Though a low burn of rage poured through him, coiling in his muscles, Seth fought back the urge to throw a punch. He was still pissed enough about Raine running out on him that it would have felt good to go a round with the
Förmyndare,
but he knew they didn’t have the time. So he settled for simply telling him off. “You’re being a prick, Granger.”
“And you’re acting like a cocky son of a bitch,” Gideon drawled. “As usual.”
Raine rolled her eyes. “I’m going to let you two keep trading insults and say goodbye to Thomas.”
Seth watched her return to the passenger side of the car, while Gideon watched
him
. He tried to school his expression, giving nothing away, but the vamp wasn’t an idiot. The Deschanel waited until Raine had crouched down beside the boy’s seat, before saying, “So you and Raine, huh?” He flashed Seth a sly smile. “Anything going on between you two?”
“None of your goddamn business.”
The vampire’s dark brows lifted with interest, his gray eyes gleaming. “Ah, so it’s like that, is it?”
Seth glared. “I like you, Gideon. I really do. So just shut up before I’m tempted to kill you.”
The guy’s laugh was rough as he climbed off the hood and slapped Seth’s shoulder. “I like you, too, man. And that’s why I’m going to give you a little advice.”
Seth ground his jaw, but knew there was no point in
fighting against the inevitable. The vampire was going to meddle, whether he wanted him to or not.
And the bastard was clearly enjoying himself, his light gaze glittering as he lowered his voice and said, “Sometimes female Deschanel don’t come easily, no matter how good a time they’re having. But…there
is
one surefire way to get them going.” He gave Seth a measuring gaze, then added, “That is, if you can handle it.”
Seth held his breath as he waited for the vamp to finish, something in Gideon’s expression warning him that he wasn’t going to like what was coming. When a few seconds had ticked by, he lost his patience and barked, “Well, what the hell is it?”
Gideon gave a throaty chuckle, then turned and headed toward the driver’s side of the car. But Seth caught the vampire’s drawled words as they drifted over the guy’s shoulder, and his insides went cold.
“If you wanna make her come, just give her your vein.”
An hour later…
R
AINE HAD NEVER
been the restless sort, until now. Maybe McConnell’s pacing was rubbing off on her, because as she waited for him to finish the phone calls he was making out on the balcony, she could
not
sit still. Thankfully, their new hotel room was bigger than the last, with two double beds and plenty of floor space. When she’d asked Seth why he’d changed hotels, he’d told her that he suspected Westmore’s men might have been watching Schultz, seeing as how Spark had rushed to Berlin. And if they
had
been at the bar when Raine caught up with the Casus, she and McConnell could have been followed back to the hotel.
Raine had snuck out a service entrance when she’d run out on him, which had hopefully prevented her from being followed. McConnell had done the same when he’d come after her, which meant that, for the moment, they were off the radar.
Of course, as soon as she clued in on the next Casus’s location—a particularly slimy Casus named Wentworth—they would probably be walking into a trap, since she assumed Wentworth would be under
surveillance, as well. But she wasn’t going to try to run again. A selfish decision, no doubt—but she couldn’t leave him.
And yet, just because she’d had a change of heart didn’t mean Seth would stick around. After the way she’d clawed at him, she wouldn’t be surprised if he finally decided to bail. The moment they’d entered the room, she’d immediately taken a shower, desperate to wash off the scent of his blood, still unable to believe what she’d done. God, how many times was she going to attack the poor guy before he’d had enough and washed his hands of her?
And why does it hurt so much to think of that happening?
It frightened her to admit it, but Raine didn’t want him to leave. Not that she knew exactly
what
she wanted…but she needed the time to figure it out. Time to figure out precisely what was going on between them.
McConnell had told her, point-blank, that he wanted her. There was a part of her that still doubted the truth of that statement—after all, he truly could get
any
woman he wanted—and she thought he might simply be trying to distract her from going through with the hunt in an effort to protect her. If so, it didn’t make him a bad guy. He was just trying to save her life. But…there was also a part of her that was starting to believe he really
did
want her. She could hear it in his voice when he spoke to her, see the hunger in his eyes. It didn’t make much sense, considering she was no great prize—but Raine knew she hadn’t been imagining those things.
And then there was the way that he treated her. The restraint he’d shown when dealing with her. He could have fought back the two times she’d struck out at him and easily taken her down. But he hadn’t and she’d have been lying if she’d said she wasn’t a little in awe of him.
So what the hell was she going to do about it?
Before she even realized what she was doing, Raine found herself picking up her backpack and heading into the bathroom again, the air still steamy from her shower. She set the pack on the counter and rooted around inside for the cosmetics the ladies back at Harrow House had given her, despite her assertions that she didn’t need them. She’d thought her new friends were crazy at the time, considering she couldn’t have cared less what she looked like, but now she was grateful. And while it only took a few minutes, the effect was…shocking. She applied a light tinted moisturizer, some smoky liner, lip gloss, and used a bit of styling gel in her hair to give the wavy locks that tousled, just-rolled-out-of-bed-with-Jude-Law kind of look. All in all, it wasn’t bad, she figured, considering how out of practice she was. Her eyes looked huge with the smoky liner, her mouth glossy and full. Maybe even kissable.
Yes, it was ridiculous to be putting on makeup in the middle of the night, but heck, it was almost morning at this point. And she liked the results. Felt a little more confident now that she didn’t look like a washed-out ghost—a look she’d been cultivating for months, just wanting to disappear into the scenery. But not anymore.
Taking a deep breath, Raine picked up her bag and
walked out of the bathroom to find McConnell sitting at the foot of the bed nearest the balcony, his elbows braced on his parted knees, just staring at some distant spot on the ugly beige carpet. He turned his head toward her as she cleared her throat, then immediately jerked to his feet, his eyes going wide as he studied her face, her hair. His mouth dropped open a little, his breathing sounding a little rougher as he continued to stare…and she could hear the heaviness of his heartbeats, his pulse rapidly gaining speed.
Not knowing what else to do, Raine set her backpack on the floor and went to him, stopping when she stood only a foot or so away. He’d taken his shirt off and put fresh bandages over the wounds on his chest, the scent of an antiseptic sharp against the mouthwatering scent of his body. She wanted to lean forward and place a tender kiss against the white bandages, then the healing wounds in his shoulders, but was too nervous. Too ashamed. Instead, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out his knife, offering it to him. “I wanted to give this back to you.”
His brows drew together as he took the knife from her hand. “How did you—”
Taking another quick breath for courage, she said, “I took it when I left.”
He shook his head a little, clearly confused, his eyes lowered to half-mast as he held her stare. “Why?”
“Because I wanted to have something of yours.” She coughed, then forced herself to go on. “It wasn’t an easy decision for me. Um, leaving you, that is. I didn’t…I
didn’t want to go. But I don’t like knowing that your life is in danger because of me.”
The instant the words left her mouth, she knew she’d said the wrong thing.
“Jesus, Raine.” He towered over her, so big and muscular and deliciously male. And so impossibly angry with her. “What’s it going to take to prove to you that I’m strong enough to protect you?”
“I know you can protect me. That’s not the issue.”
He turned away from her, walking across the room, tension radiating off his back as he stood before the balcony’s sliding glass door, staring out at the city’s flickering skyline. It was the first time Raine had ever seen his naked back, and she felt like she’d been punched in the chest, her breath rattling from her lungs as she wheezed,
“Ohmygod.”
“What?” he grunted, sending her a dark look over his shoulder.
“Your back,” she whispered, staring at the multitude of scars that marred his skin. She had no doubt that they’d been made by rogue Deschanel. When a bite was accepted willingly, a Deschanel could heal the wound by swiping their tongue across the punctures. It was only when the wounds were left to fester that they remained permanent.
He stiffened, as if only just realizing that he hadn’t put his shirt back on. “Haven’t you seen them before?” he demanded in a rough voice, heading over to the bag he’d left sitting beside the bed.
“How could I?” she asked, watching as he took a
T-shirt out of the bag and pulled it over his head. “You always put a shirt on if you’re going to walk around in front of me.”
He hooked one thumb in his front pocket, his head angled forward as he used his other hand to rub the muscles in the back of his neck. “But if you’ve seen my memories, wouldn’t you have seen…my body in them?”
“I see your memories from your viewpoint, McConnell. So your back isn’t visible.”
“Guess that makes sense,” he muttered, sliding her a shuttered look from the corner of his eye.
“Why are they…?”
“Only on my back?” His mouth twisted with a bitter smile. “Because a vamp generally sneaks up on you from behind.”
“Guess that makes sense,” she murmured, echoing his words, hoping to make him laugh. But he didn’t soften, and she knew he wasn’t going to make this easy for her. Which meant she was just going to have to forge on and battle her way against his anger. “Seth, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking tonight, and I want…I want you to know that I trust you.”
He turned toward her, his hard gaze locking with hers as he crossed his powerful arms over his chest. “So saving your life didn’t mean anything to you, but it matters that I helped the kid?”
“What you did tonight,” she murmured, nervously tucking her hair behind an ear, “I know that couldn’t have been easy. But you did it, anyway. It was…amazing.”
“Yeah, well, we assholes do what we can,” he muttered, looking away, and then immediately bringing that smoldering green gaze right back to her face, as if he couldn’t help himself.
“You’re not an asshole,” she said softly.
A low, bitter sound tore from his chest. “Sure I am. If I wasn’t, you wouldn’t have risked eternal shame by breaking your Oath and leaving.”
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” she told him, moving a few steps closer to where he stood beside the bed.
“Don’t we all,” he said, pulling a hand down his face.
“Seth, about tonight.” She dared to take another step closer to him, the deep glow of the lamp on the dresser behind her reflected in the molten depths of his eyes, the green so hot it reminded her of wild jungle fauna. “I told myself that I was running because I didn’t want to put you in danger, but the truth is that—” A brusque knock sounded at their door, cutting her off, and she sent him a questioning look. “Were you expecting anyone?”
“Not unless it’s the grim reaper coming to slay my ass,” he offered dryly, heading past her and toward the door. He looked through the peephole, cursed something gritty under his breath, then ripped open the door. A second later, Ashe Granger, Gideon’s brother, walked into the room, looking every bit the gorgeous bad-ass that Raine remembered him from their travels across the Wasteland. His clothes were all black, his dark hair
still incredibly short and the gleam in his silver eyes impossibly wicked.
“What are you doing here?” Seth growled, sounding anything but friendly as he closed the door behind the unwanted visitor.
The vampire’s curious gaze shifted between them, and he grinned. “Just wanted to stop by and say hi.”
Seth snorted. “And who’s watching Spark while you’re out socializing?”
“A cousin of ours who’s in town,” he offered casually, his six-foot-plus height making it easy for him to hitch his hip on the edge of the dresser. “I wanted a break from watching the redhead, so I put Liam on guard duty for a while.”
“Is Thomas okay?” Raine asked, drawing the vamp’s attention.
“I just talked to Gideon a few minutes ago. He said the kid hasn’t stopped chatting his ear off.” Looking at Seth again, he asked, “How did you find them, anyway? The boy told Gideon that Raine was alone when she found him, but that you tracked them down. Did you tag her?”
“I would have,” he muttered, cutting her a dark look before returning his gaze to Granger, “but I never thought she’d be stupid enough to run.”
Ashe watched him carefully, a curious tilt to his head as he said, “If you didn’t tag her, then how did you know where she was?”
“I don’t know how,” he rasped, rolling his shoulder. “I just…found her.”
Ashe scratched his chin and “hmm’d” under his breath.
She and Seth looked at each other, then back at the vamp. “What does that mean?” they asked in perfect unison.
Ashe appeared lost in thought. “Nothing.”
Seth popped his jaw, then said, “I hate to sound like a dick, Ashe, but I’m low on patience tonight. So spit it out or get the hell out of here.”
The vampire’s mouth twisted with a smile and he held up his hands. “Sorry, man. I’m not trying to be a pain in the ass. I was just thinking about something that I learned during my
Förmyndare
training.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest and went on. “According to Deschanel lore, there have been cases in history where a human male forms a bond with an unmated Deschanel female. The bonds are based on protection, and he becomes her guardian, willing to risk life and limb to ensure her safety. They call it a
Sangra
bond, and in such cases the human male supposedly develops the ability to find the female, tracking her over long distances.”
Seth shook his head. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”
The vampire shrugged. “Like I said, it was during my training, when all the secrets of our clan are revealed. And it’s not exactly something that the Deschanel want advertised, since they frown upon humans and vamps breeding.”
“But you said the bonds were based on protection,” Raine murmured. “Not…breeding.”
“Honey, when a man wants to protect something that badly, there’s a reason for it,” he drawled, sliding a knowing smile toward Seth. “Usually means the bastard wants to nail her so badly he can’t see straight. That kind of hunger causes all his latent primal instincts to kick into high gear, which accounts for his ability to track her.”
A heavy silence settled between them, electricity practically crackling in the air, while Raine’s mind reeled. She couldn’t believe her physical reaction to the provocative news, her pulse racing, chest tight, while inside she went soft and warm. Desire coursed through her veins, making her burn, while a shivery burst of chills fluttered over the surface of her skin.
“But who knows if it’s true?” Ashe murmured. “So much of the Deschanel lore is just that—fiction.” His voice was deep and rich. “You can’t always believe everything you hear.”
Seth paced his way to the sliding doors, rubbing the back of his neck again. “I just talked to Kierland a little while ago,” he rumbled, deftly changing the subject. “He said there’s been another Infettato attack.”
The vampire muttered a sharp curse, then asked, “Where was this one?”
“Russia. Aiden and Quinn are going to head out and try to handle the situation. There’s also a local Watchmen unit who’s going to help them.”
They talked for a bit longer about the threat of exposure posed by the Infettato, and then Ashe moved to
his feet. “Okay, I’ll get out of here and let you both grab some sleep. We should plan to meet again in the morning, so give me a call when you’re up.”