Page 17

Chapter Fifteen

Dawn threatens the night sky with pale light along the horizon as I make my way back to the Devine estate.

The vampire side urges me to seek shelter from its rays.

My body aches from the night’s hunt, but it’s a good pain, the kind that comes from intense exercise.

The pack ran for hours through dense forest, tracking deer and small game.

I didn’t kill anything, but I ran alongside them, feeling the wind in my fur, the earth beneath my paws.

For the first time since my transformation, I had found peace.

Or at least something close to it.

As the sun threatens to breach the horizon, the wolf in me is sated, tired but content.

Vampire and wolf blood are no longer at war.

They’re two sides of an ancient coin that somehow landed on its edge.

I slip through the magical protection surrounding the estate, feeling it shiver around me like chiffon drapes.

My heightened senses catalog my surroundings as I run up the drive on all fours.

There is the new scent of unfamiliar supernaturals.

Someone has arrived at the estate.

Tension hangs heavy in the air like pressure before a storm.

It’s a palpable oppression.

The wolf wants me to turn around and go back to the safety of the pack.

I resist the instinct.

Beneath it all, a familiar presence pulls deep inside me.

Costin.

I latch on to the feeling, letting the vampire’s logic soothe the wild tendencies of the wolf.

Changing course, I find him waiting in the shadow of an ancient oak that stands sentinel near the edge of the property.

He doesn’t move to approach me, just watches with those ancient eyes that seem to see more than I want to reveal.

I stand on all fours, letting him see this hairy version of me.

I wait for a repulsion that doesn’t come.

If anything, he looks sad.

I latch on to my feelings for him, letting them calm the beast.

They flow through me, helping me to return to my human form.

I cry out as my bones snap.

The pain is intense but short-lived.

When it’s over, I’m crouched completely naked on the ground.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” I say with a deflective laugh.

He says nothing as I stand.

I nervously come within a few paces of him.

Crossing my hands over my breasts, I glance around the empty yard.

“You’re still here.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t be?” His voice is carefully neutral.

I shrug, wincing slightly at the pull of sore muscles.

I think about saying I didn’t think about it, but that would be a lie, and I don’t want lies between us.

I’d agonized over it while I ran with the pack, wondering if he could sense what I was doing through our bond, if he was worried, or perhaps angry that I was embracing my wolf side.

“You ran with them.” Not a question.

He’d be able to smell the forest on me, and the lingering scent of the pack.

“Yes.” I lift my chin slightly, ready for judgment or possessiveness.

Instead, he just nods.

“Did it help?”

The simple question catches me off guard.

“I think so. It was...”

He waits for me to finish.

I sense more than see the struggle in him as he tries to control his jealousy.

“It was freeing,” I finish.

A tight smile crosses his lips.

“Good.”

I study him in the growing light, noticing the tension in his jaw.

His hands clasp behind his back as if he doesn’t trust himself not to touch me.

The threat of daylight causes my skin to prickle in warning and I look to the threat of the horizon.

“We need to get inside,” he states.

“You need blood.”

“You’re not angry?” I study him wishing he’d talk about the fleeting emotions I’m picking up through our bond.

“Would it change anything if I were?” He echoes his own words from our conversation in the library.

“No,” I admit.

“But I still want to know.”

He considers this, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I watched you leave with him.”

My breath catches.

“You followed me?”

“Only to the edge of the property. I sensed him here and wanted to make sure you were safe.” His expression shifts, revealing a glimpse of the struggle beneath his composed exterior.

“I wanted to follow further.”

“But you didn’t.”

He shakes his head.

“You asked for freedom. For trust. I’m trying to give you both.”

The admission touches something in me.

I know what it costs him.

He’s a master vampire accustomed to control, to possessing what he considers his.

I’m his.

The possessive thought doesn’t upset me as it once did.

The connection vibrates between us, warm and alive.

It’s a seduction of my senses, a lure calling me to him, but he’s not using it to influence me.

He’s fighting against its very nature.

“Did you…?” He stops himself.

“Ask,” I urge.

The sun is so close.

I can feel it threatening to burn me.

The dawn causes my skin to itch.

“Did he touch you?” His tone cuts deeper than it should.

I know he’s fighting the vampire instinct to claim.

I think of the battle, of the surge of adrenaline.

It could easily mimic sexual attraction.

“I didn’t sleep with him,” I answer.

“We fought in the trial thing. Sully is the new Alpha.” I shrug.

“And apparently I’m on the werewolf board of directors, whatever the hell that means.”

“I think they call it the Chosen Guard.”

“Whatever.” I shrug again.

The itching is beginning to burn, and I’m propelled to walk toward the side door.

He whips past me almost faster than I can track only to hold open the door to let me pass.

“Thank you,” I say softly.

“Very gentlemanly of you.”

He inclines his head slightly, accepting my gratitude.

“You should get cleaned up. The estate has been active in your absence.”

The careful way he says it puts me on high alert.

I remember picking up the new scent on my way in.

“What kind of active?”

“Your uncle has been gathering allies.”

I sigh.

Of course he has.

“My uncle is an asshole,” I grumble under my breath.

“Mortimer never misses an opportunity to manipulate a situation to his advantage. Let me guess. He’s trying to convince everyone I’m too dangerous to be allowed to roam free?”

“Among other things.”

I run a hand through my tangled hair, highly aware that I’m roaming the house naked.

“I should have expected this. He’s still pissed I didn’t want to marry Chester Freemont and pop out magical babies like a broodmare.”

Costin flinches.

He takes a step closer, his eyes softening with concern.

I feel his nearness pulling at me.

I can think of several things I’d rather be talking about than Mortimer and Chester.

Or not talking about.

I start to reach for his waist, thinking only of pulling him against my naked body.

“Freedom,” he says.

The word takes me by surprise.

It’s not what I expected him to say.

“You resisted becoming Alpha. You will learn your vampire side. I will help and I will never try to control you.” He touches my cheek.

“When you face your uncle, remember your ultimate goal. Freedom.”

“You’re not coming?”

“The sun rises,” he reminds me.

“I’ll be in the guest sanctuary beneath the east wing unless you call for me. Astrid’s coverings on the windows help, but I cannot be at my full strength if I stay in the light for too long. If you need me, I want to be able to fight for you.”

I nod.

“Wait, we have a guest sanctuary under the east wing?”

Figures.

This house has more secrets than a Devine family reunion.

He grins.

“This house is full of surprises.”

“Maybe I should go down there with you?” I suggest.

It’s not all pragmatic.

I’m feeling a little amped after the run.

“I notice the light affects me too.”

“A vampires curse.” He pushes my hair back behind my ear.

“I was hoping that was one thing you’d inherit from the wolf.”

I shake my head.

“No.”

I press against him.

The firmness of his body makes me shiver.

Every nerve is raw and the feel of him sends a ripple of pleasure over me.

I can’t help the small moan as I rock my hips forward.

Cool hands move along my hips.

“I find my nighttime habits lean toward the vampire,” I whisper, trying to kiss him.

He chuckles, stopping me.

“What does that even mean?”

“It’s seductive!” I slug him on the arm.

He glances down where I hit him.

“That temper would be the werewolf in you.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute, Costin. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother.” I don’t pull away.

I can’t.

My heart is pumping too fast, and he feels too good.

His cock rises in an invitation I won’t refuse.

“You should stop looking at me like that,” he says, glancing down to my lips.

“You should do that speedy thing where you zoom me through the estate to your lair,” I say.

Then pushing back to look at him.

“Can I do that speedy travel thing? It never occurred to me I can do cool vampire tricks. What else can I do? Turn into a bat? To be honest, I’ve been so focused on maintaining control and trying to come to terms with my new liquid diet, it never occurred to me that I’m super badass.”

I close my eyes and focus on being a bat.

It doesn’t work.

I stay human.

“Tamara Devine!” Astrid scolds.

“What on Earth are you doing?”

I stiffen and lean to look down the hallway toward her.

I give a weak smile.

“Go put some clothes on,” Astrid orders.

“Now!”

“Allow me,” Costin says.

He puts his arms around me and the hallway blurs sideways as he carries me with him.

I’m just along for the ride, held to him tighter than gravity.

Unlike the time I traveled this way as a human, the motion doesn’t make me sick to my stomach.

Suddenly, the inertia stops and I’m standing in my room in the protected wing.

The sound of my door shutting punctuates my regained vision.

Costin smiles.

I gasp in desperation, reaching between us for his waistband.

I don’t wait for permission as I yank open his pants and push them down his hips to free the length of his arousal.

Turning so that my back is against the door, I lift my leg in offering.

He doesn’t disappoint.

His body slides into mine and it feels like home.

This is where I belong.

With him.

How could I ever doubt that?

He loves me.

I feel it more deeply than I feel my own emotions.

Sure, it’s dark and a little twisted, and more than a bit domineering at times, but then again he’s a master vampire.

To love him is to love all of him.

Our hearts beat in time with each other.

His eyes swirl with red as he stares into me.

Climax comes too fast, but I can’t stop it.

I cling to him, not wanting to let go.

Costin is the first to release me and step back.

My leg drops to the floor.

There is light trickling into the room from the edge of the curtain.

His skin is looking paler than normal.

The light might affect me, but the allergy is worse for him.

“I need to go,” he says.

“Will I see you tonight?” The question comes out more vulnerable than I intended.

His expression warms.

“If you wish it.”

“I do.”

His hand rises to my face, hovering just shy of touching my cheek.

I lean into his palm, accepting the connection.

He steps back, pulling me away from the door.

“Be careful today,” he murmurs.

“Mortimer is desperate.”

“I can handle Mortimer.”

“I know you can.” His thumb traces the curve of my cheekbone, and he turns me slowly as if in our own private dance.

“But even cornered rats can be dangerous. Don’t underestimate him.”

“I’m more worried about the necromancer.”

“One problem at a time. Don’t forget to drink the blood.” With that, he fades into the shadows next to the door.

The room feels colder without him, emptier.

I instantly want him back.

I open the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of him speeding away, but he’s already gone.

My heightened senses immediately pick up movement somewhere downstairs.

I close my eyes and listen to the multiple heartbeats and the low murmur of faraway voices.

There’s a faint scent of burnt magic and something else…

Fear?

Anger?

I’m having a hard time deciphering the smell of different emotions, but I’m beginning to see patterns.

It’s not like being human.

“Tamara…” I hear Conrad’s voice whisper from the direction of his old bedroom.

I shut the door, refusing to engage with my dead brother.

I smell blood and find a large goblet full on my nightstand next to a decanter.

It’s tepid but I don’t care as I gulp it down.

It coats my mouth like a fine wine and instantly makes me feel more focused.

I catch myself drinking in the mirror and lower the goblet.

A trail of blood runs down my chin before dripping onto the floor.

I swipe it with the back of my hand.

I’m dirty with patches of dirt and dried blood from the night’s activities.

My hair is a wild tangle around my face.

I’m in no state to face anyone, least of all whatever gathering Mortimer has assembled.

I give a soft laugh.

My questionable state didn’t seem to bother Costin.