Twice Cursed (24 page)

“
All bets are off. As the
Alpha of the Brethren, I hereby dissolve this council and retain
complete rule by right of blood. I also claim Lily Saburi as my
chosen mate. She is, by my decree, the Alpha Female. By clan law,
anyone who brings harm to her, dies.”

“
Leighton! You have no
right!” Ross Stanton shouted over the din of the other council
members.

Sean turned toward him. “Oh, yes I do,
Stanton. I have every right, given to me by each of the clans when
they gave me their blood and their oath. The diplomacy we shared
was by choice—my choice. You and the rest of your cronies abused my
trust and my loyalty. It is, therefore, now my choice to rescind
that diplomacy, and reassert my sovereign right as
Alpha.”

Edward’s face was a still a mask of
calm, but Sean knew the wheels were already turning behind his
composed facade. The tracker was only round one.

Sean turned his full attention to
Parr. “You wanted the return of the old ways, Edward? You got it.
You want to challenge me? You got that too. By decree, fights are
held in a blood arena and are to the death, where there are no
words for you to spin and nowhere for you to hide. Think you could
handle that?” Without waiting for an answer, Sean turned on his
heel and stormed out.

***

The power window whined as it rolled a
quarter of the way down between the front and back seats of the
posh black Lincoln. “Just pull the car around to the back of the
house.” Edward Parr said, his eyes the only thing visible from
behind the smoky glass.

The driver glanced into his rear view
mirror. “Yes, sir. Would you like me to park and wait?”

“
That won’t be necessary.”
Parr pressed his finger to the console on the side of the door and
closed the window between them. The last thing he was in the mood
for was a chatty, inquisitive driver.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and
closed his eyes, squeezing against the pressure pounding his head
from the inside out. Things were not going according to plan, but
then again, when did they ever? Miller had failed, unfortunately,
him ending up dead instead of Sean. To make matters worse, the
tracker hadn’t been astute enough to keep Leighton out of his head,
thus implicating Parr in the assassination attempt. Exhaling, he
ran his hand though his hair and opened his eyes.

His eyes narrowed, despite the dim
light. He’d have to keep a low profile for a while, until some
other opportunity presented itself to take the spotlight from
him.

Parr was used to relying on his wits
to succeed, and over the years had mastered the art of contrivance,
of exploitation and subterfuge. An outcast without a pack, he never
knew what it was to have strength in numbers. He was a loner, a
throwback, a genetic anomaly forced to rely on his own instincts
for survival.

His kind was believed extinct for
millennia. Yet, latent recessive genes, from years of prehistoric
crossbreeding had somehow become manifest in his bloodline. Combine
that with the preternatural nature of shifters, and voilà, the last
American Lion, once the most feared predator in both North and
South America, was reborn.

If it could happen once, then it could
happen again. Parr had experimented with cross breeding and
mutation and eventually found a way to bring the big cats back from
the brink. Of course, they weren’t exactly the same as their
ancient ancestors, but they were close, with a few added talents
thrown in just for kicks. The American Lion would once again rule
all Weres, and humanity would fear them the way they had once upon
a time. Now he just needed the right host. A woman.

His dream was within reach,
and to make sure it came to fruition he’d have to sharpen his claws
even more.
Across Leighton’s
throat…,
he thought with a
smirk.

The car swung wide onto the long
drive, the tires crunching through unplowed snow. The house up
ahead appeared to be deserted, just as he’d requested. Marcus had
done well in choosing this latest venue. One of Leighton’s
‘hunter’s in training’, the Alpha had misapplied the boy’s talents,
keeping him pigeonholed at a computer with mundane internet
searches. Of course, it didn’t take much to coax Marcus into
switching sides, and with the promise of doing real Intel dangled
in front of him for good measure, he gave up the goods on Lily
without question.

The sleek, black sedan came to a stop
just to the right of the snow-covered porch. Its railings and
supports had seen better days, with the weight of the snow adding
to its imminent collapse at any moment. Two icicles hung from
either side of the pitched roof like a set of jagged, crystal
fangs. Parr’s lip curled, and his crotch tightened.

Vampires were a taboo in their world,
but his proclivities had always leaned toward the forbidden. The
remembered feel of icy cold incisors against his skin had set his
mouth to water. His gaze flicked to the small rectangular windows
dotting the foundations edge, and his cock thickened even
more.

“
Are you sure this is the
right address? By the look of things, I don’t think anyone’s been
here for a while.”

“
This is the correct
address, so if you would just get the bags…” Parr’s voice trailed
off, letting the distain in his voice finish the sentence for
him.

“
Been driving people around
these parts for years, but I never even knew this place existed.
Who’d a thought, right off the main road like that…bam, a farm?
Would you like me to clear a path to the door?”

“
No, that won't be
necessary. Just get my bags.”

The driver got out, making his way
around to the back of the car, opening the rear passenger door as
he passed. Stepping out into the ankle deep snow, Parr followed him
around to the trunk.

“
Here you go,” the driver
said, placing the bags on the ground.

He never heard the shot.

The bulkhead door to the storm cellar
opened, and a stocky young man in a fur-lined parka poked his
unkempt head up through the partitioned steel.

“
Get the bags, and then
have someone clean up this mess,” Parr said, as he walked toward
the enclosure, gesturing toward the steaming circle of crimson
spreading under the rear tire. “Good job on the location,
Marcus.”

With a raised eyebrow, he looked at
the young man’s coat. “Planning a trip to the tundra or are you
telling me there’s no heat inside?”

“
No heat in the concrete
corridors leading down to the bunker, sir. Been patrolling
non-stop, ever since…well, you know…” Marcus answered quickly,
flinching somewhat. Parr’s temper and lack of tolerance was
something no one in his command wanted to incite.

“
Yes, that was an
unfortunate, if not entirely unexpected complication,” he said,
pulling his gloves tighter onto his hands. His gaze lifted. “I was
under the impression you had taken care of that situation weeks
ago, so why the need for patrols at this point? What haven’t you
told me, Marcus? You know how I hate surprises.”

“
We did take care of it,
just as you instructed. But it appears things didn’t go as
expected, again.”

“…
and?”

“
According to tracking and
intelligence, the situation has resolved itself...”

“
Where?” Parr asked,
cutting the young man off midsentence.

New York. Manhattan, specifically.”
Marcus held his breath waiting for the explosion.

Parr’s mouth spread into a wide grin.
“New York City. You’re positive?”

Stunned at his reaction, Marcus
nodded. “Yes sir. Also, the latest report from our mole says the
girl is headed that way, as well. Cochran is being sent as
escort.”

Parr threw his head back and laughed.
“Cochran? He’s a fool. I couldn’t have asked for better
news.”

“
Sir?”

“
Do what I said, and get
the bags. When you have the mess out by the car taken care of, grab
Leon and Tony and meet me in my office. We have a lot to discuss
before I head back to the Compound.”

Chapter Ten

***

It was close to two a.m. when they
finally got back to the apartment. Jack had phased to human the
minute they hit the lobby, scaring the hell out of Mrs. Kwon as she
poked her nose out of her apartment door. The poor old woman
screamed so loud, Jack phased back, probably figuring a big, grey
dog in the lobby was hell of a lot easier to explain, than some
random naked man. Lily shook her head. Jack still didn’t get that
this was New York.

Too tired to sleep and too wound up to
call Sean, Lily finished washing and drying what was left in the
sink from breakfast. There was nothing like mindless work to settle
your brain and help you think clearly—that and a quick shot of
Jameson’s eighteen year old, limited reserve.

“
Can you take this
downstairs to the curb?” she asked, handing Jack the
garbage.

“
Now?”

“
Yes, now. If we don’t do
it now, we’ll miss the morning pickup,” she said, hanging the damp
dishtowel over the drying rack.

Grumbling, he took the bag and headed
down the stairs, smirking as she called after him to keep his paws
off her neighbor’s cat, and his clothes on if he ran into Mrs.
Kwon.

For the most part, Jack had listened
while she reiterated what she saw in Michael’s mind, even though he
had seen for himself via the channel she supplied.

He let her talk as she washed the
dishes, not really saying much, almost as if he knew she needed to
go over it in her own mind just to be sure. Both agreed Sean needed
to be told, but Jack wasn’t too keen on telling the police. Telling
him Martinez already knew, went over like a lead
balloon.

Lily should have known better. No supe
liked to have their existence outed, but her gut told her the
detective was smart enough not to dismiss something outright just
because it was outside the box. Martinez had his own brand of sixth
sense, and that had to count for something.

Rubbing her lower back, she headed
down the hall to her room. All she wanted was a hot shower and her
pillow, but somewhere in between the two, she needed to call Sean.
She gathered up her toiletries and plugged her cell phone into the
charger. Plain and simple tonight, that’s all she had strength for,
so if that meant using human means of communication, then so be it.
Just the idea of a telepathic battle with Sean exhausted her more
than she already was.

He wasn’t happy with her
being in New York to begin with. Add her involvement with hunting a
rogue vamp to the equation, and it wasn’t hard to guess what he’d
say. But she was prepared. If he went all Alpha Male on her, well
then…
sorry
…click.
Sean wasn’t stupid, though. He understood her well enough to know
she would never just sit back and let humans handle things by
themselves. It would be tantamount to signing their death
warrants.

Her apartment had only one bathroom,
and it was in the hallway. Armed with her fleece bathrobe and
pajamas, Lily closed the door behind her and turned the lock. If
Jack had to use the facilities, he’d just have to hold it until she
was through. Then again, he could always head back downstairs and
lift a leg against the nearest tree.

She turned on the tap and
brushed her teeth. Running a hand through her tangled hair, she
grimaced at the dark smudges beneath her eyes and the hollows in
her cheeks. Sean would hate how tired she looked. Not that he would
say anything, though. To him, she always looked beautiful.
God, she missed him.

The bathroom was small, and like most
apartments in the city, it took forever for the shower water to
warm up. The complete opposite of the luxury she shared with Sean
up at the Compound.

With a sigh, she pulled the ivy
patterned lace curtain back and stepped into the tub, making sure
to spread the clear plastic liner evenly across the inside of the
porcelain. The water was finally hot, and she turned, allowing it
to cascade across her chest and back. She drenched her head,
closing her eyes and sighing as the warmth and steam went to work
loosening the knots in her neck and shoulders.

Humming the theme song to Charmed, she
wiped the water from her eyes, and then reached for her shampoo to
lather, rinse and repeat, as the familiar words and tune numbed her
thoughts. She finished up, rinsing the soap from her body, but
stayed in the warmth and the heat, enjoying the peace and the
mindless roar of the water pouring from the showerhead.

As she stood in the spray, a sudden
chill crept over her skin, giving her goosebumps despite the moist
heat. The sensation of wind, bitter cold and howling, caressed her
skin and her mind.

Sean.

He was in wolf form. She’d know the
wild animalistic feel of him anywhere. His need hit her full force,
as did his growing frustration waxing full right along with the
moon. Sean did his best to hide it from her, but they were so
connected, she knew his discomfort the minute their minds
touched.