Chapter 165

ADAN

Kerr descended the ladder into the bunker, grunting at every rung.

“Clarice is on her way,” he said when he got to the bottom. “She has Soren with her. And three humans.”

Adan had been using a very sharp knife to slice up some cured meats. He finished his task before he then took the knife and stabbed it hard into the wooden cutting board with a WHACK!

“Three humans? That was all they could get between the two of them?”

“I asked her about that.” Kerr put the sat phone back in its charger. “She said they had to get rolling before they caught a tail.”

“Who was on her?” Adan arched an eyebrow at Kerr. “And is she sure she wasn’t followed?”

“Asked that, too. She said yes, she’s sure she lost them. As far as who it was…”

“Gamma warriors?”

Kerr frowned. “No. She doesn’t know who, though. Said she didn’t see them.”

Adan considered this for a moment. “What’s their ETA?”

“Ten minutes out.”

“I’ll go up in a few minutes. Help them get the humans in.”

“You sure you should be above ground?” Kerr asked nervously.

Adan gave him a dubious look. “You see anything concerning up there just now?”

“No.”

“You have the energy to handle hostages right now?”

Kerr hesitated, glancing around at the sparse shelving in the kitchen nook of their earthen-walled underground lair. “Might want to brew a pot of coffee before they get here. But yeah, sure.”

Adan blinked at his friend. “Okay, how about this. You want to see me go into nicotine withdrawal?”

Kerr laughed. “Never mind. Head on up, pal. Don’t forget your lighter.”

Adan pushed a cherried cigarette butt into the damp bark of a nearby evergreen, making it sizzle and smolder and go dead. The lights of Clarice’s SUV were distantly visible in the darkening twilight, and getting closer.

He paced forward into the clearing, feeling better than he had in hours. Fresh mountain air whipping against his skin and the relief of a cigarette were helpful. But he was excited, too, for the cargo his allies were bringing him.

He had sent his inner circle out on a mission this morning: to discreetly capture as many humans as possible, and bring them to him.

It was an important strategic move, disappearing these people from their homes. It would send a ripple of fear out into the population of human immigrants in the werewolf nation, making it known that this was no longer a safe place for them.

And having hostages served a couple other purposes, too. If needed, the humans could be used as a negotiation tool. Or, even better – they could be put to work for Adan and his team, be their slaves, do whatever they needed for however long they had to stay holed up here.

Clarice rolled her big vehicle into the center of the clearing, cut the engine and left on the lights.

She hopped out of the driver’s side and met Adan’s eyes warily.

“Welcome, friend.” Adan’s voice was flat and emotionless.

“Adan.” She bowed her head, then jerked it in the direction of the back of the car. “The humans are in the boot.”

“Show me.”

Clarice’s friend Soren, another politician who’d come to their side, emerged and joined her and Adan at the back of the car. Clarice popped the hatch, revealing three live humans lined up side by side in the back of the vehicle. Looked like a family—a man, a woman, and a boy, maybe teenaged.

The humans’ feet and hands were bound together with zip ties, and they had black fabric hoods over their heads that were tied closed around their necks with rope. They must’ve been gagged under the hoods, because the whimpering sounds they were making were muffled and quiet.

“Not a bad start,” Adan mumbled. “Get the hoods off. Cut the ties on the feet. Then we’ll walk them down to the cage.”

Soren set about preparing the hostages per Adan’s orders. Clarice moved to help, but Adan grabbed her arm and gripped it tight. She froze.

“What’s the news about my brother?” he asked.

“You’re not going to like it.” Her eyes drifted up, meeting Adan’s. “They say he’s not only alive, but has made a full recovery. Back to perfect health.”

Adan loosened his grip, let his arm fall to his side. “Not possible.”

“That’s what I said. No one’s seen him yet. Only the Queen, or so she says.”

Adan ran a hand over his mouth. “It’s a lie. They’re trying to stall for time.”

He wished that he believed his own words. But deep in his gut, he knew what Clarice was telling him was true.

And that meant he was back to square one.

NOLAN

“What’s goin’ on?” Yena came walking out of the bathroom with a soft white robe wrapped around her, running her fingers through her hair. She had been freshening up.

In her brief absence, Nolan’s mind had gotten to turning. He didn’t even realize he was pacing the room naked, running his hand over his mouth anxiously.

He sighed. “I guess I’m just worrying still. I hate feeling like there’s nothing I can do right now.”

Yena climbed up into their bed and sat cross-legged. She patted the space beside her. “Come here.”

Nolan quit his pacing, walked over and sat down.

“There is something you can do,” she said. “You can use this downtime to get stronger. Prepare yourself for whatever’s coming next.”

Nolan stroked Yena’s cheek, then trailed his hand down her neck, then down between her breasts. His eyes followed where his fingers touched her. “I told you I was going to let you rest,” he said.

“And you should. Eventually.” She licked her lips and leaned in close. Her scent washed over Nolan, filling his senses with the sweet smell of strawberries. She almost met his lips with hers, but pulled back an inch at the last second, teasing him.

Nolan growled. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to him, kissed her hard and deep.

Yena let out a little moan, caught his tongue in her mouth and sucked on it.

“Fuck,” Nolan said breathily when she released him.

“Mm-hm. That’s exactly what I was thinking.” She climbed onto his lap and sat into it, straddling him. Untied her bathrobe and let it slip down her shoulders. “Come on. Let me make you even stronger.”

Nolan was helpless to argue. Yena could turn him on like flipping a switch. His body hardened as she pressed her hips against his pelvis, kissed his neck and dragged her sharp fingernails lightly across his scalp.

She writhed her hips in his lap and he spanked her playfully. “More,” she whined.

He smiled, shaking his head. “No. You’ve been a good girl.”

Yena grinned. “Well, the night’s still young.”

With a swift movement, he took her by the waist and threw her onto her back. A moment later he topped her body with his, hovering over her gently. She smiled up at him sweetly.

He buried his face in her neck, breathing in her scent greedily, loving the feeling of her soft hair. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he whispered into her ear.

Yena shivered. She wrapped her legs around his waist and begged him, “Fuck me now. Please.”

He was inside her a second later. She was dripping wet and he slid in easily, filled her completely. The both of them cried out with pleasure as their bodies connected, the magnetic draw between them satisfied, the familiar spark of magic lighting up every cell in their bodies.

“Bite me,” Yena whispered. “Drink more of my blood. I want you to.” She was giving him her most sultry look, her big blue eyes daring him to try to resist. She stroked his scruffy face, the soft touch sending a shiver down his spine. “Please…”

Nolan hesitated. He was struggling against his desire not to overtax Yena. He had only just gotten his princess back, had everything he wished for right here in front of him, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

He gave her another long, deep kiss.

She nipped at him, biting his bottom lip teasingly. It sent him into overdrive, just as she must’ve known it would, and he quickly returned fire with a hard bite into her lip. He tasted blood and latched on, sucking the sweet red syrup into his mouth hungrily.

His hips started moving fast all on their own now, pulsing him in and out of Yena with increasing speed. She clung to his shoulders, fingernails digging into his big muscles, arched her back and threw her head back.

Nolan tongued some of Yena’s own blood into her mouth, making sure she got some of it down herself, so she could heal. She was loving every move he made, moaning and whimpering. Some blood had trickled down her chin and throat. Nolan lapped up every drop of the precious liquid, and he did feel it. He felt himself growing stronger ever second, feeling more powerful than he ever had in his life.

“You wanna come with me now?” His voice was deep, husky and breathless.

“Tell me when,” Yena breathed, her blue eyes locked on his.

“Now,” he growled.

Almost instantly her face changed, her jaw dropped, her body started shaking all the way down to her toes, and he felt her tighten around him.

He pushed himself even deeper inside her, pressed his mouth to her ear and whispered, “I love you” as he went tumbling into his own moment of ecstasy.