Beast

Chapter Eleven

Chalen Palgrave felt his blood pressure rise as he attempted to process the words his employee was saying. It had been a rude awakening from a sound sleep. “What exactly are you trying to say to me, Roan?”

Roan’s expression never changed. His face was utterly blank. From what Chalen could tell, the damn Brit never had an emotion at all. “Dellacourt got away.”

Yes. That was what he thought the fucker had said. Chalen forced himself to lean forward when all he really wanted to do was to take his tablet and throw it off his balcony. Hell. That was wrong. What he really wanted to do was wrap his claws around Roan’s throat and squeeze until the Brit died. “What do you mean he got away? Dellacourt’s an idiot. You’re the best mercenary money can buy, or at least that’s your reputation.”

Roan and his men were damn expensive. Of course, Chalen never actually meant to pay them, but Roan didn’t need to know that.

“He proved himself to be quite cunning.” Roan’s face turned thoughtful as though he was trying to solve a puzzle. “I had him in sonic cuffs. They were behind his back, and it was only myself and my second-in-command who knew the code to release him.”

Excellent. “Then your second-in-command is a fucking traitor. You should execute his ass now.”

Roan sighed in a way that set Chalen’s fangs on edge. It was condescending, that little sigh. “Harry has been with me for ten years. I assure you, he wouldn’t help another royal, certainly not one like Dante Dellacourt.”

Chalen knew all about Roan’s little team. They were all disenfranchised royals who had turned their backs on their people. They couldn’t be trusted. He wondered if Dellacourt had offered them more money. “None of you are above turning on each other for a little money.”

Now Roan’s eyes narrowed. His lip curled back to bare perfectly sharp fangs. “Are you accusing me and my men of failing to honor the contract I signed?”

Chalen backed off. He still needed the mercenary. Oh, he wouldn’t for long, but if Chalen gave any indication that he was turning on Roan, things might get dicey. Roan was known as a man who honored his obligations, but he was also said to be a man who believed in revenge. Until he was ready to get rid of his mercenary, Chalen would have to deal with him. “Not at all. I’m just frustrated at your lack of progress. If no one turned traitor, then do you have a theory on how Dellacourt and the consort got away? I assume you lost Meg Finn as well, or you would have led off with that news.”

That bland professional expression was back. “He fled with his cousins’ wife. I do have a theory, but you might think I’m crazy. I believe he has a very well-trained dog.”

“A dog? A fucking dog got him out? You let a dog outsmart you?”

“Well, I admit, I didn’t really think she was anything beyond a very lovely bitch. Nothing about this job has gone the way I thought it would. When I set up the distraction, I assumed I would catch him as he fled the marketplace. I was rather surprised when he managed to kill the ogre.”

Chalen was surprised at that himself, but Dellacourt had always had all the luck. “None of this explains how his dog managed to get him out of sonic cuffs.”

“Harry was close when Dellacourt took down the ogre. He said Dellacourt seemed to be trying to save the dog, and he called the dog Kaja. Odd name for a dog, especially one he refused to acknowledge as his. He tried to tell me that this Kaja was some random woman. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I thought he was just trying to protect the dog. He might have thought I would hurt it if I knew it was his. Foolish, but it makes sense. The dog was with me when I put the cuffs on Dellacourt.”

Chalen was seriously beginning to question the mercenary’s intelligence. “You do realize a dog doesn’t have opposable thumbs, right? It’s sort of a requirement to work the cuffs.”

“Well, she didn’t have them in dog form. Or maybe she was more of a wolf. But what if she was able to shift? Also, I swear that wolf had the faintest glow. It reminded me of a consort’s glow.”

Chalen’s mind was working overtime. “The Planeswalkers have been venturing further and further out to find consorts and bondmates. I’m curious about the wolf.”

If Dellacourt had found an exotic consort, Chalen wanted to know about it. If she was powerful and rare, then he really wanted to know about her. She could prove to be valuable. And if not, then killing her might upset Dellacourt, and he was really interested in making that asshole pay.

“I’m sure you’re upset by this setback, Mr. Palgrave. If you wish, I can take my men and leave. I’m sure you can find another squad to do the job.” Roan straightened his flak jacket. “They left by foot with no technology. Dellacourt had a weapon, but I believe his dog ran off with it. He might have it. It seems to be some sort of projectile weapon. Good luck, sir.”

“Wait.” Chalen hated it, but he couldn’t find anyone else quickly. And there was the small matter of dealing with Roan himself. It would be easier to deal with the man if he was close. “Just get the job done. Find Dellacourt and the consort, and get me the twins.”

He cut off the connection and sat back on the bed just as the tablet chimed again. He closed his eyes. Another snake to deal with. This particular snake was Fae royal, however.

“King Torin,” Chalen said with a deferential bow of his head.

Torin Finn was a man in his prime. He looked somewhat like his nephews. The coloring was the same, but there was a thinness to his frame that made him seem less than the twins. “Chalen. I called to get an update on your progress.”

“Make him tell us, My Liege,” a nasty voice said. Torin’s hags. Chalen’s stomach turned. He’d only seen their true forms once, but it was enough. There were two, and they stood behind the king. They looked lovely in this form, but Chalen couldn’t help but see their true faces. Just a glimpse was all it had taken.

“Down, woman,” Torin said with a snarl. He turned back to Chalen. “Do you have the twins?”

The hags retreated, but only slightly. They were always present, a prop to hold up Torin. Chalen had heard rumors that the hags had been very good in putting down the rebellions that had popped up.

“Not yet, Sire, but I have a plan to ensnare them.” Chalen tried to take a page from Roan’s book. He carefully schooled himself to look as confident as he could. “I’m going to use their bondmate to bring them out.”

Torin’s green eyes narrowed. “Yes, I heard they bonded. I rather thought I had ensured they could not. Damn Planeswalker demons.”

Torin hadn’t been able to make a deal with the demons. He didn’t have anything to offer them, and he wouldn’t until he could open the borders again, Chalen knew. He wouldn’t do that as long as his nephews were out there just waiting to get back in. Chalen wondered just how bad it was getting to be on the Seelie plane. If this particular mission hadn’t been about revenge, he would have looked to make a profit.

“They will come for their mate. I’ll have their cousin as well.”

Torin nodded. “Young Mister Dellacourt. His family is giving me hell with the Vampire government. I think they would have formally recognized me if it hadn’t been for Alexander Dellacourt. He’s kept me out for years. I won’t accept it any longer.”

“When his son is dead, he’ll turn his attentions elsewhere.” Chalen intended for Alexander Dellacourt to turn his attentions back on Torin. No one could ever know that Chalen had a hand in Dante Dellacourt’s death.

The hags behind Torin stared through the tablet screen, their dark eyes glittering as though they could see through him. Torin turned to the one on the left. He lifted a brow.

“He will do as he says. He believes this will satisfy that dark place in his soul. It thirsts for blood. He believes the twins took something from him,” the hag said.

Chalen hadn’t mentioned why he was willing to help Torin to the hags. He wished Torin hadn’t told them. He didn’t like them knowing something so personal about him. “They killed my brother.”

The hag on the right giggled. It was a terrible sound. “Yes, you’re a smart one to have figured that out. So smart.”

Chalen had the distinct impression he was being taunted. “What do you know, hag?”

Torin reached around and slapped the hag. Her head snapped back with a vicious crack. A thin line of blood ran down her chin, but there was a smile on her face. Her sister got to her knees and rubbed her head on the king’s lap. Chalen was nauseated at the sight.

“Don’t mind them. They’re useful, but they enjoy causing chaos. We have very firm intelligence that it was the warrior half of the twins who slaughtered your brother. Your brother was a threat to them somehow. I had a spy there. They killed her as well.”

The hag with blood on her mouth leaned in. “Our sister.”

The other smiled a vicious little grin that showed shiny teeth. She looked vaguely reptilian. “The twins will pay, and so will their bitch. They think we don’t see. We see everything.”

“Then you saw how my brother died.” He had to know.

“Oh, yes, dear,” the hag on the left said with her hollow laugh. “We saw the whole thing. Such a messy thing when a vampire dies.”

His fists clenched, and he vowed to kill Beckett Finn slowly. If Kinsey had exploded, then the bastard had caught his heart. It was the only time a vampire exploded. It was said to be a horrific, barbaric death. Yes, the twins would pay, and their bitch and their bastard cousin. “I’ll get you their heads.”

“And I’ll reward you,” Torin said in a soothing voice. “All of the Seelie Fae will bless your name. Trade will flow through our people. You’ll be a hero, Chalen Palgrave. Now, is there any way I can help? Did the ogre do its job?”

The ogre had been a gift from the king. Apparently Torin had made deals with certain factions in the Unseelie plane. “Currently the renegades are on the Refugee plane in the forests. Those forests are vast, Your Highness. If you could, perhaps, spare a search party? My mercenaries will have trouble tracking them.”

“I have a few friends who might be willing to help. They aren’t really friends, of course. They’re stinking Unseelie, but they’ll do anything for gold. Tell your mercenaries to expect a group of goblins. They can be quite devious. And, Chalen…”

“Yes?”

“I don’t expect to see my friends again. Do you understand?”

He would have to tell Roan to kill the goblins when the mission was done. Of course, perhaps the goblins could kill Roan. He would have to think on it. Treachery was a difficult business. “Absolutely, Your Highness.”

When the tablet blinked off, Chalen lay back down in his bed, his dreams filled with blood.

“Dante, get off the poor girl.” Meg stood over Kaja, her eyes rolling as she looked at Dante. Kaja smiled up at her.

“I do not mind.” Kaja liked how Dante laid his head in her lap. She let her hand drift down to rub his scalp. The clothing she was wearing felt odd, but Dante had assured her she needed it. He’d given her some of his clothing. Like magic it had become a skirt and shirt for her to wear, and Dante’s own clothing had grown, manufacturing more so he lost nothing by giving to her.

His eyes drifted closed. “That’s nice, Kaj. As for you, Meg, don’t you have something to do?”

“Well, I thought the point of this exercise was to flee and attempt to survive. You’re the one who’s turning it into a honeymoon.”

Kaja was mightily confused. “Why does the moon need to be sweetened?”

Meg gave up and sat down beside her. Meg laughed. “I don’t guess the translators are completely up on Earth speak. You see, on the plane I was born on, when a couple gets married, they take a little trip together. It’s time just for the couple.”

Dante yawned, his arms stretching and then wrapping around Kaja’s hips. “We call it bonding time. It’s a special and sacred time between a vampire and his consort. It shouldn’t be interrupted by a harpy.”

Meg’s eyes narrowed. “Harpy? Have you forgotten that we were taken prisoner just yesterday? Torin is making his move.”

Kaja had learned a bit listening to Meg and Dante argue all morning. Meg was a queen. It was something like being the First among women. Her husbands were the kings of their plane. There were many planes and many doorways. She had been taken through one of those doorways by a creature called a demon. Dante was going to take her to his plane to meet his pack—family. She was going to meet Dante’s family.

Her heart sped up at the thought. What if they did not like her?

“Well, Torin could have picked a better time,” Dante complained. They were stopped by a lovely brook. The sun was warm on Kaja’s face, and she let her worries drift away. Her skin was still singing from the morning session with Dante. He’d proven true to his word, waking her up by rolling his body on top of hers. He’d kissed her and played with her breasts. By the time he’d thrust his cock deep inside her body, she was begging him to take her.

They’d stopped twice since they had left camp this morning. Each time he’d pulled her off into the woods and had what he called his “wicked way” with her. Once, he’d fed from her.

Oh, she loved when he was hungry. When he’d first caught her with his eyes, she’d lost her fear. After that first time, she had been happy to submit. The pleasure that coursed through her when he fed was like nothing she’d felt before. For the time he drank from her, she felt so connected to him. She felt warm and safe and loved.

But she no longer could see his soul. The first time he’d fed from her, she’d seen pieces of his childhood. It had been a little flash of Dante and his family. There was a bowl of something called punch and candles had floated on top. He was just a boy trying to blow out eight candles so he could have his toys. When she’d been in the moment with him, she’d felt like she belonged. Dante’s parents had loved him.

But then the vision had closed, and though she’d tried to get it to come back, she couldn’t see it again. There had been only pleasure, but none of the spine-melting intimacy of the first time.

Meg shook her head and relaxed back on the grass. “If I get murdered, it’s going to be all your fault.”

Dante’s eyes opened. “Kaj, love, do you sense an army coming after us?”

Kaja took the question seriously. She closed her eyes, because they often lied. Her nose didn’t. She breathed in the world around her. Dante was the strongest scent. She loved the way their scents mingled. He was on her and she on him. She could still smell the scent of their lovemaking. It was a comforting smell. She sensed Meg. Beyond that there was only the forest and the clean smell of the water.

“No, Dante. Though I do smell a small creature.” Her stomach growled. She glanced back around at the brush behind her. There was a slender tree standing right in front of the bush.

Kaja was absolutely certain it had not been there before. She remembered staring at the bushes, thick with brambles, and knowing she could find her meal there. There had been no tree in front of it. She studied the one there now. It was slender. A mere babe compared to the giants around it. The trunk was an ashen gray, and there were lovely, graceful branches sprouting from its top. She noted that the dirt around it was disturbed. It formed a near perfect circle around the tree’s base as though it had been planted by two hands rather than growing in a natural way.

Gently, she eased Dante’s head from her lap.

“Kaja?” Dante sat up, but Kaja was working on the problem. Her brain raced. There was something about that tree. She searched her memory. Trees looked alike. But smell didn’t lie.

Kaja got to her feet and walked to the tree in question. She touched it, feeling the bark. It was a youngling. The bark wasn’t rough yet. It was soft against her hand. She sniffed at the limbs. They smelled like another part of the forest. She remembered it from the night before.

“This tree is following us.”

Dante was on his feet beside her. “Kaja, maybe you don’t understand things on this plane. Trees tend to stay planted in the ground. You see, they have these things called roots.”

Dante continued on, but Kaja smiled. The little tree popped up. It was as though it knew it had been caught and gave up the game. One limb came out and patted Kaja’s cheek with playful affection before turning its attention to Meg.

Dante threw his hands up. “See, that’s just weird. Maybe we should chop it down.”

A single branch extended, and the leaves formed something like a human hand. Kaja thought the tree was going to wave, but it merely closed its “fist,” leaving only the middle finger extended.

“Now that’s just rude,” Dante said. “Since when do saplings give me the finger?”

Meg walked forward, tears in her eyes. “Cian.”

“Since when did Cian become a tree?” Dante reached out to Kaja, his hand finding hers. He pulled her behind him.

Kaja wasn’t sure what Dante was trying to protect her from. The tree didn’t seem to be hostile. And the tree seemed far more interested in Meg.

The tree reached a branch out and touched Meg’s hair. Kaja couldn’t mistake the tenderness of the gesture.

“It’s Ci,” Meg said, her breath hitching. “He found me.” Meg touched the slender trunk, and her eyes closed.

Dante’s hold loosened as he relaxed, but he kept a hand around her waist. “Cian came into his powers a few months back. He’s a Green Man. Do you know what that means?”

She didn’t, but she could infer a few things. “He has power over plants.”

Meg’s mouth curled in a secret smile. Her eyes remained closed as she placed both hands on the tree. “He has power over all things green and vital. He used the trees to track us. He’s coming for me. Always.”

Her face turned up as a light rain started.

“Beck is here, too.” Dante had a smile on his face. “Beck controls storms.”

Kaja knew she should be afraid. Beings that controlled the elements were witches, and the pack killed them. But the pack had been wrong about so many things. Beck and Cian had been nothing but kind to her. Kaja would not let old fears lead her.

“They know where we are?” Kaja asked.

“So it seems,” Dante replied. “Meg, the tree or the rain wouldn’t happen to be able to give you an estimated time of arrival? And tell them to bring my freaking bikes back. It’s a trudge to the Vampire plane, and I’ve been taking us in the opposite direction in order to fool the fuckers who tried to kill me. And they better have charged the batteries.”

Meg’s eyes opened. She seemed so vibrant with evidence of her husbands’ love and care all around her. “Cian is coming. Beck has to deal with things at the village, but Cian will find us. He should be here this afternoon. We’re to wait for him.”

Dante’s arms wrapped around Kaja’s waist, pulling her in front of him now. The danger had obviously passed. Dante’s hands slipped over her hips. “Well, if we’re supposed to wait and we have a little time, I can think of a few things to do.”

Kaja checked her laugh. He was constant in his affection. She let her hands drift over his. If she was gone, would he come for her? She watched Meg smile up at the rain caressing her and wanted so badly what she had. Her men had done amazing things to find her. Their love for each other was palpable.

Dante wanted her. He wanted her often, but what did it mean? Sven had wanted her, too. The feeling had obviously passed. Would Dante’s passion pass?

“And, Dante, Ci says he’s happy you and Kaja seem to be bonding.” Meg smiled at them. Kaja reveled in her approval.

Dante kissed Kaja’s hair. “Not as much as I’d like, thanks to Meg’s insistence on running. But now I can relax because there’s a tree and a little rain cloud to guard her. Now I can get in some serious bonding time with my consort. Tell Ci to hurry. I want to get home to my nice comfy bed and other things that make bonding time special. I hope I’m stocked up on double-A batteries.”

Dante took her hand and started to lead her away. “And Meg, I would be careful with the tree. It looks like it has thorns. I would watch for those branches. You might be better off playing in the rain, if you know what I mean.”

Kaja took one last look at Meg, her smiling face turned upward as gentle rain kissed her skin. If she heard Dante, she didn’t show it. She was lost in her husbands’ love.

Kaja followed Dante, her feet shuffling behind him. The grass beneath was soft on her bare feet, but her mind was in a different place. Meg was so loved.

It was easy to lose herself out here. The intimacy of the woods made Dante feel like the only person in the world. And she’d been the only female available to him. He was young and in his prime. He was male. She’d heard about young males. They mated at every given opportunity.

Was that all she was to him? An opportunity to mate—to fuck? What did any of it mean? Did he feel even the smallest bit for her that she felt for him?

Dante stopped once they were completely surrounded by thick trees. It was isolated, though they would be able to hear Meg if she needed them. Dante immediately pulled her into his arms. She could feel the line of his erection nudging her. “Alone at last.”

Would she be alone again once Dante’s passion was expended?

His lips pressed against hers, his tongue languidly invading her mouth. He kissed her, his hands pushing at the clothes she wore. “Baby, I promise I won’t let you out of bed for a week once we get home. I’m going to fuck you six ways from Sunday.”

Her body was already responding to him. He’d taught her so much in the days they had been together, but almost all of it was about how to receive and give pleasure. Kaja wanted more.

“What does it mean?”

Dante chuckled. His hands clutched at the globes of her ass, pulling her into the cradle of his thighs. “It means I’m going to be all over you, consort. We’ll say a quick hello to the family. I’ll receive praise for finding a gorgeous consort, and we’ll disappear for a week or two. I’ll have the staff bring you food, and I’ll just take my every meal from this lovely neck of yours. Although, there is a really nice vein that runs close to your pussy. Damn, I need to try that one. I’ll be able to smell it when you come. You always come when I feed.”

“That is not what I meant.” Kaja pushed at his chest.

Dante stopped as though he finally figured out that she was serious. “What the hell is going on, Kaj?”

Kaja bit at her bottom lip. “I do not understand what I mean to you.”

His eyes rolled, and a long-suffering sigh heaved from his chest. “Women. Kaja, do we have to do this now?”

She wasn’t sure what “this” was. “When would we do this?”

His shoulders came up, bunching in frustration. “I don’t know. If I had my way, we wouldn’t do it at all. Can’t we just have a good time?”

Kaja thought about Meg. She hadn’t been having a good time. When she’d realized her husbands were with her, seeking her, she’d looked blissful. She’d looked transcendent. Kaja would bet that Beck and Cian had never told Meg that their relationship didn’t have to last forever. They had never offered to buy her a nice house when they were finished with her. They would never be finished with her.

“I do not think this will be a good time.” Her heart was starting to hurt.

Dante’s face became hard, his jawline a razor’s edge. “Don’t try to tell me you don’t enjoy fucking me, Kaja. I know that’s a lie. I can still feel your cunt squeezing me.”

And she could still feel his arms around her. They still spoke two different languages, wanted two very different things. It was easier when she could feel his mind, but he’d shut that down. The last time they had made love, she’d felt the wall come down between them as though he’d slammed a door in her face. “I like the mating. I just don’t like the way I feel when I know it’s only for now.”

His body relaxed, his arms coming out, coaxing now. “Is that all, Kaja? Baby, don’t worry about that. I promise the future is going to sort itself out.”

Perhaps. Perhaps not. “I have lived my whole life hoping things would work out. They never have. Things do not work out, Dante.”

He smiled down at her, smoothing back her hair. “Of course they do. They work out all the time. Just relax, and it’s going to be fine. One way or another, you’ll be taken care of.”

But she didn’t want to be taken care of. She wanted to be loved. Perhaps he had taught her more than pleasure. If someone had asked her what she wanted weeks ago, she would have told them she wanted a warm bed, enough food to fill her belly, and peace. Dante was offering her all of that, and now she wanted more. She was worth more.

His hands moved to her shoulders, gentling her. “Kaja, it might have already been decided for us, you know. The way we’ve been going at it, you might be pregnant.”

A pup. Baby. Dante’s people called them babies. She might be pregnant, a baby growing in her belly. The idea had panicked her before, but now a strange tenderness filled her. She’d worried that the pack wouldn’t accept a child from her belly any more than they had accepted her, but the world was so much bigger now. Kaja was bigger than before. She could make her way in this world.

And if she could not, then she would find another. She would never stop searching. She would walk the planes until she found the place where she belonged.

She loved Dante.

“Kaj, don’t cry,” he said. His face had fallen.

She felt the tears coursing down her cheeks, but he didn’t understand. She wasn’t sad, not exactly. She was more than she’d been before. She was stronger, and it was because she loved Dante. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t love her back. Her love for him made her better.

A baby. She could have his baby. She could have a child to hold and love and show the world to. The thought blanketed her heart in warmth. It scared her before. Now it was something to want. A child with Dante’s green eyes. A child to pour her love into.

“Kaja,” Dante said, his voice achingly quiet. “I’ll stop. We don’t have to make love again until I can get you on birth control. If you really don’t want to risk it, I can get you some medicine that will take care of it.”

She shook her head. That was the last thing she wanted. “I don’t want medicine.”

The wolf she’d been still wanted to run from him. He could break her so easily, probably would, but the woman she was becoming stood her ground. If she didn’t fight, would she always regret it? How did one fight for a man? Would it even work if he didn’t want to be with her?

She wrapped her arms around Dante, her decision made. She would spend this time with him. She would make all the memories her heart could hold. When the time came to leave, she would do it with dignity. And she wouldn’t slink away to the woods. She would find a home. She would build a life.

“Kiss me.” She turned her face up as Meg had done to the sun when she’d realized her husbands were there. Dante was Kaja’s sun for now.

Dante gazed down at her, his eyes searching hers. “Are you sure, Kaj? I really don’t want to hurt you. That was never, ever my intention.”

“Why did you buy me?” She needed to know the truth.

His face flushed slightly, but his hands tightened around her waist. “I needed a wife. You were the first one I found.”

She’d been convenient. She could accept that. She’d gotten something from the deal, as well. Her life. “But you don’t need a forever wife.”

He brought their bodies together with a little bang. “Damn it, Kaj. I explained this to you. I’m crazy about you. I just don’t think I’m going to be very good at the whole marriage thing. Look, it’s not like I’m going to toss you aside. We’re married forever. There’s no going back, but one day we might want to go our separate ways. I don’t want to lie to you. I just want to be happy for now. Now is all we have.”

Yes, it was. The present was certainly all they would ever have if Dante wanted it that way. She couldn’t force him to feel for her what she felt for him. She couldn’t make him accept her forever. She could only control what was in her heart. She could only want what she wanted—and she wanted him. For as long as she could have him.

“Then kiss me.”

His face bunched up, his forehead wrinkling. “I really am crazy about you, Kaja.”

Crazy wasn’t love. Even she knew that. “Kiss me.”

He lowered his head, his lips brushing hers. “I know you don’t believe me. I’ll show you.”

His hands gripped the cheeks of her ass and hauled her up. Kaja wrapped her legs around his body as he walked her to the nearest tree and placed her back against the huge trunk.

“Gods, I really hope my cousin isn’t hanging around in this one,” Dante muttered as he took her mouth again.

She loved the way he kissed her. No one kissed on her plane. She allowed her mouth to flower open under his. His tongue caressed her own, and Kaja sighed. She was pressed between the hard bark of the tree and Dante’s body, but she didn’t want to be anywhere else. When he kissed her, they were the only two people in the world.

Of course, when he bit her, when her blood flowed into his body, it felt as if they were one person. She loved that above all else.

He pressed in, his erection shoving against her pussy. His hips moved as though they couldn’t help themselves. “Gods, I want you, Kaj. I want you all the fucking time. How can I want you so much?”

He kissed her, his mouth dominating hers. One hand found her breast, and he cupped her, playing with her nipples. His mouth ran down the side of her neck. There were still tiny holes from where he’d fed this morning. They seemed to close quickly, but the healing bumps were still there. He licked at them, seeming to find them endlessly fascinating.

Kaja’s whole body threatened to light up when he touched her neck. She’d never thought of her neck as being particularly sensitive, but now she squirmed every time he touched her there. When he licked her neck, she felt it in her pussy.

“Please,” Kaja said, well aware she was begging. She wanted that bite. She wanted to feel him. “Please don’t shut the door between us. Please.”

His head came up. “You feel it, too?”

She clutched his shoulder, staring into his eyes. The irises were wider, but the green hadn’t totally taken over. “I need it. I need to feel it. I’ve never felt so good as when I feel those flashes of you. I don’t know what it is, but I need it, Dante.”

“It scares the fuck out of me,” he muttered.

Maybe her soul wasn’t as nice as his. If she caught glimpses of him, then he most likely saw her. It wasn’t nice to be her. It was ugly and lonely. She was being selfish.

She let her legs drop.

“Kaja?”

“Just kiss me, Dante. You can teach me later how to keep our minds apart.”

His hands softened, cupping her cheeks. “What’s wrong, Kaja? Why did you shut down?”

“I wasn’t thinking,” she admitted. “I believed I was the only one who felt our joining in my mind. I understand. I don’t want you to see those parts of me. I am so sorry.”

His fangs suddenly seemed larger than before. “You want to hide yourself from me, consort?”

Yep, that other part of Dante had come out. His eyes were huge green orbs now. “You cannot wish to see me. It’s ugly. I didn’t understand. I will learn to shut it off, as you do. You can teach me.”

His hands tightened around her arms. “I will not teach you to hide yourself from me. You’ll be open. You’ll give me everything. You look at me.”

She got caught in those eyes. She felt her whole body relax. She knew she should fight him, but it felt far too good to let Dante take control. She trusted him not to harm her physically. Her heart was another manner entirely.

“It makes no sense, Kaj.” He sounded more like Dante now. “It scares the crap out of me, but the minute you start talking about putting up barriers and walls between us, I go a little crazy. Baby, you’re making me so crazy, but I can’t help myself. I fucking need you, too. Gods, you taste like sunshine.”

He gripped her hair and pulled her head back, exposing the line of her throat. Her heart skipped as he struck.

And there it was. She felt him, his soul and being brushing and mingling with hers. They tangled together.

He was beloved. His parents, his sister, his teachers. No one had been able to resist him as a child or even a teen. He’d been smart, so smart. He’d been like a magnet. Popular with everyone because everyone wanted to be near him.

When had it changed? When had his boyish charm become mere childishness?

He had his insecurities, too. What was he worth? Money? That could go away. He’d seen it a million times. What would he be left with? His intellect hadn’t gotten him far. He was lost, adrift without any real thing that mattered.

Her mind was assaulted with sex. Dante had begun young and hadn’t ever stopped. He loved to fuck, and he was good at it. But he didn’t take it seriously. He made very sure that none of the women he took to bed took it seriously either, until he’d met a wolf.

Kaja reached for those feelings. She was there in his soul, but her place was so uncertain. He wanted her, but he didn’t want to want her.

She was beautiful to him.

She felt his fangs in her neck, her body going languid under his, and she was assaulted with a single memory.

“What do you mean she’s dead?” Kaja spoke the words, but it was Dante’s voice that came from her mouth. She was inside his body looking at his cousin. Cian. It was Cian, and he was so pale and thin. Her heart, Dante’s heart, was sick at the sight of his cousin.

“Torin’s men killed her,” Cian said, his voice a flat monotone. “Bronwyn died in my arms. I couldn’t even get her body out. I had to leave her behind. That bastard probably burned her.”

She felt sick. Bronwyn, sweet, mischievous Bron, couldn’t be dead. Dante loved Bron. He’d spent so much time at the White Palace playing with his cousins, Cian and Bronwyn.

Torin had taken that from him. He’d taken his uncle and his aunt and his sweet cos.

He would try to take Beck and Ci.

A fire was in Dante’s belly. Kaja could feel it. He’d buried it because he didn’t believe he could help, but this was Dante’s passion. Seeing his cousins returned to their throne.

This was the cause he was willing to die for—if only he had the courage to admit it.

Kaja came out of the memory, her back against the soft grass and Dante thrusting gently between her legs.

“Welcome back, Kaj,” he said with the sweetest smile on his face. “I thought all this work would be for nothing. Not that I was going to stop or anything.”

He pushed his cock deep inside. Kaja let herself sigh. It felt so good.

“If I ever meet your pack, you should know I’m going to kill all of them, love. I’ll eviscerate the whole lot.” He leaned his body down, never letting up on the slow slide of his cock. Where had her clothes gone? She was utterly naked and skin to skin with Dante. His flesh pressed to hers, surrounding her with his scent and feel.

What had he seen? Had he touched her soul the way she’d touched his? Did he know how empty she’d been before she’d been filled with him?

“Don’t you pull away from me now, Kaj,” Dante said with a little growl. “I got through the bad part. Now I want the fun part. The connection is weird and disconcerting, but I have to admit, this part feels good.”

He pushed himself at her. Kaja gasped as she felt his pleasure. Their minds met once more, and she could feel the joy Dante took in their mating.

He loved her tight pussy. It felt so small, closing around him and claiming his cock. He could feel her muscles milking him. It was such intense pleasure, and she knew he’d never felt it quite like this before. He loved the way she held him tight. Even her nails biting into the flesh of his back felt good to him. He reveled in her.

Light. She was surrounded by it. She could see through Dante’s eyes. She was beautiful to him. There was a gorgeous golden glow surrounding her. This was how a vampire identified a consort. He thought she looked like an angel from something called the Heaven plane. She was his angel.

Kaja’s heart felt so full. She could see herself through his eyes, and she would never be able to feel ugly again. He was her warrior, even if he didn’t know it.

Kaja opened herself and let everything out. Her pleasure, her love, her joy.

“Oh, baby, oh, baby, Kaja,” Dante said, losing his rhythm. He picked up the pace as though he could deny it no longer. His heart was racing. She could feel it. Her own started to pound in time to his. She pressed her hips up, allowed her hands to cup his ass. She loved the feel of his muscled ass pumping into her pussy. She could feel him rushing toward orgasm.

His balls drew up. There was a tingle at the base of his spine, and it started. His cum shot from him. It flowed out of his body making him twist and turn with pleasure. Kaja was overwhelmed with Dante’s feelings and emotions. She could feel her own muscles squeezing around Dante’s cock. It was so tight. It felt so good to give her his cum. It felt different and right. He wanted to give her all of it. He wanted to fill her up.

He ground out the last of his cum and fell on her.

Kaja could feel the door between them closing as she came back to herself, but just before it winked out of existence, she felt one last thing from Dante.

Peace.

She’d brought him that.