Dayhunter

EIGHTEEN

Pulling the heavy doors closed behind me, I paused at the top of the old granite stairs and tipped my head up toward the stars that winked at me as if enjoying some great cosmic joke. The air was warm and moist, and the wind had begun to stir, whispering dark promises of a summer squall that would leave San Marco Piazza under a foot of water. The flood was usually reserved for later in the season, but was not unheard of during late July.

It was only standing in the summer air that I realized I was cold. The chill that had bit at my limbs finally began to permeate the aches and throbbing pains that dominated my consciousness. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d fed. Had it been while I was in London? It seemed all so long ago, but only a couple of nights had passed. Despite that, I needed to feed again, and soon.

With a frown, I started to descend the stairs when my knees decided to no longer obey my wishes. My legs were made of seaweed and completely useless. I reached out to catch myself, briefly wondering if my arms would even work, when I found myself in Danaus’s strong arms. I didn’t see him move. In fact I hadn’t been aware of him being so close, but I didn’t care. I had enough to worry about.

Danaus carefully wrapped my left arm around his shoulders then swept me wordlessly up in his arms. His stride was steady and unhurried as he headed back to the boat. My eyes drifted closed as his warmth wrapped around me, helping to erase some of the aches and pains that filled my body. Beside us I heard Nicolai walking to Danaus’s right.

“My hero,” I murmured in a low voice, resting my head against Danaus’s shoulder. He snorted in disgust, earning a breathless chuckle from me. I had no doubt he would have loved to drop me on my ass right there and let me crawl to the boat, but it wouldn’t get us off this wretched island any faster.

“Was it worth it?” he asked. I could feel his turmoil and worry beating against me as if they were my own emotions. Our connection was still strong from earlier and I didn’t have the spare energy to try to put up any mental walls to keep him out, not that it would have done me much good. Danaus and Jabari could waltz in whenever they pleased.

“Yes,” I sighed. My right hand slid down from his shoulder to his chest, and I could feel his heartbeat beneath my palm. “We know the Coven is not of one mind about its plans and that Our Liege knows nothing of the Elders’ plans. We also know that Jabari will keep us alive until after we’ve destroyed whatever they’re cooking up with the naturi. At least he wants to keep the door closed.”

“Unless you’re wrong about Jabari,” Danaus interjected.

“Thank you for that happy thought,” I grumbled, cracking open one eye to look up at him. It wouldn’t be the first time I had been horribly wrong about Jabari and paid a high price for it.

“What about him?” the hunter asked, jerking his head toward Nicolai. “He wasn’t the sacrifice.”

“Maybe he was, in a last minute change,” I suggested.

“Sacrifice?” Nicolai finally chimed in. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Did you know you were to be handed over to the harpies?” I inquired, letting my eyes drift shut again. Nicolai’s agitation had caused his own powers to swell and brush against my skin. They weren’t as soothing as Danaus’s, and I found myself trying to huddle closer to the hunter.

“Harpies?” Nicolai’s voice jumped from its usually deep, rough tones. “That’s what was in the room with us? No, I didn’t know anything about it.”

“Why tell him when he might put up a fight ahead of their arrival?” Danaus said to me. “The naturi might not have been interested in damaged goods.”

I fought back a snicker by biting my lower lip. It was a cold and heartless way of putting it, but it was also probably very accurate. “I think what Jabari said was true. Nicolai wasn’t part of their original agreement. Maybe it was decided later that he would act as a deposit against any damage done to the female in the Coven’s custody. Maybe he was a gift. I don’t know. In the end the important thing was our appearance and us walking out with Nicolai. It implied that the Coven couldn’t stop us. The naturi now have a new reason to fear us. Nicolai was just a pawn.”

“Thanks,” the wolf grumbled.

“Look at it this way,” I countered, turning my head so I could look at him. “If you had been truly important to the Coven’s plans, I would have never gotten you out of there. And don’t worry. Once this naturi uprising has been put down, Jabari will come to claim your head the first chance he gets.”

It was a grim and ugly truth. At best I extended Nicolai’s life by a matter of days. If he was good at hiding, maybe I gave him a few months. But in the end we both knew that Jabari would eventually hunt us down.

Turning my head back to Danaus’s chest, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of his blood. It wasn’t only the smell of it pulsing beneath his skin, but it was dried on his skin and soaked into his shirt from where the harpies had gouged his shoulders with their claws. Clenching my teeth, his warmth and blood beat against me, tempting me. The beast inside my chest shifted and pushed my soul down into the dark shadows of my body, fighting for dominance. The need for blood swelled within me until it nearly blotted out all thought. My head fell back, my lips parted so I could feel a brush of air across my tongue. It was only then I realized I was losing the struggle to stay in control.

I violently shoved against Danaus’s chest, tumbling out of his strong arms. I hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud, which helped clear my thoughts. Huddled in the grass beside the sidewalk that led to the Coven, I dug my fingers in the dirt and clenched my eyes shut. I wouldn’t bite Danaus. I wouldn’t drink from him if he was the last creature that walked this earth. Wasn’t it enough that he and Jabari had control of me? I wouldn’t be controlled by the hunger as well.

“Don’t touch me!” I shrieked when I heard the two men draw closer to me. “I—I just need a couple seconds.” With my eyes clenched shut, I drew my sore and protesting body into a tighter ball. “Go to the boat. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Danaus firmly replied. “It’s too dangerous.”

“What’s wrong?” Nicolai asked. I could feel the werewolf a couple feet away off to my right.

“She’s starved,” Danaus answered before I could open my mouth. “She needs to feed.” His words stunned me into silence. I forgot that he could sense my emotions. I read his so clearly, but forgot that mine poured into his mind just as easily. He knew I was fighting back the hunger and had taken a chance carrying me anyway. Was he testing me? I had no doubt that he would have cleaned my clock if I’d taken a nip at him.

Pushing down the hunger to more controllable levels, Danaus’s emotions crept back into my brain. I could hear his heart pounding in his chest as if he had run a marathon, his emotions a chaotic mix of fear and…something else. Adrenaline? Hunger? His overriding fear and frustration were crushing the other emotion, so I couldn’t clearly make it out. And in truth I don’t think either of us wanted to know just yet the other emotion Danaus was feeling.

“Mira, can you drink from lycans?” Nicolai asked, kneeling beside me in the grass. Some nightwalkers could drink from lycanthropes. Most could not. I could. I had some guesses as to why I could, but the implications were not the sort of thing that would help extend my life span; not that much could at this point.

“Go away, Nicolai,” I muttered, slowly untensing the muscles in my arms so I could move away from him quickly if he reached for me. I was in better control than a couple minutes ago, but it would be too easy to go back over that edge. “I didn’t risk my neck saving your worthless butt just to drain you a few hundred yards from the hall.”

“The offer stands,” Nicolai said, and then returned to his feet without touching me.

Shuddering, I unclenched my fingers and pushed to my feet as well. The hunger still throbbed in my chest, but I was in control again. As long as I could keep a physical distance from the two men, I could fight back the urge to feed until we reached the main islands of Venice. There, I could blend into the crowd and choose my prey from the hordes that filled the city.

The trip back to the hotel was quick and silent, with Nicolai and Danaus keeping as much distance between me and themselves as humanly possible. I nearly sighed with relief when we landed at the docks next to the Cipriani, but Nicolai didn’t give me a chance. The wolf stood in front of me as I tried to exit the boat, grabbing both of my arms in his large hands. My body instantly came alive with his energy and physical contact. I was holding on by a thread, only vaguely aware of what he was saying.

“Can you honestly hunt tonight without killing your prey?” he demanded, his voice like granite. His large hands loosened their grip on me when I didn’t try to pull out of his grasp.

“Yes,” I hissed, gritting my teeth. It was all I could do to keep from sinking my fangs in his neck right there. He was so warm, with his life and essence beating against me in endless waves. Danaus and Nicolai were slowly driving me insane. I needed to feed before I did something truly stupid.

“You’ve saved my life twice,” he said tightly. The least I can do is offer my services.” Before I could come up with some witty reply, the lycan bent down and tossed me over his shoulder. I don’t remember passing Danaus, going through the lobby, or even riding the elevator up to our suite. My mind was occupied with his tight rear end and wondering if it was worth trying to sink my fangs into one of his cheeks. I decided it wasn’t—his blue jeans would probably absorb most of his blood before I could get it down my throat.

“Mira!” Tristan’s shocked voice tore me from my preoccupation long enough to look up at the young nightwalker through thick strands of my red hair as we entered my suite.

“I’m fine,” I called as Nicolai headed for one of the bedrooms. “Go play with Danaus. We’ll talk before dawn.” My last word was cut off by the door slamming shut.

Nicolai tried to dump me on the bed and take a step away, but I didn’t let him. The second my back hit the bed, I reached out and grabbed a fistful of his dark burgundy T-shirt. I barely scooted out of the way in time before he fell backward onto the bed with a bounce. In the blink of an eye I was straddling his hips, one hand entangled in his long blond locks, pulling his head to one side to expose his beautiful neck.

I wanted to ask him one last time if this was what he wanted. I wanted to give him a chance to back out, but I couldn’t. There was only the red haze of hunger filling my brain. Enough of me was left to be aware of the fact that I was in a safe location with a source of blood. Willing or not was no longer important. I would console myself later with the thought that having brought me up there, he supposedly knew what he was getting into.

The second his warm blood hit my tongue, the world faded away. There was nothing beyond the warm body lying beneath me and his beating heart. All the aches and pains subsided and the beast inside my chest sighed with relief. I relaxed against him, gentling my hold on his head. One of us moaned as he wrapped his arms around my body, pressing me against his hard length. Drinking his blood, I slipped into his mind, sending a hundred feelings of pleasure through his body. This time I was sure it was Nicolai who moaned, his fingers sliding down my back as they searched for the edge of my shirt.

The first touch of his hands on my skin sent me scrambling off his body. Crawling to the top of the bed, I sat with my back pressed against the wood headboard. With my head tilted back, I ran my tongue over my teeth, taking in the taste of him. His heartbeat and heavy breathing were the only sounds in the room. I hadn’t taken much blood from him, nowhere near as much as I needed. I would have to feed again later, but his blood took the edge off my hunger and gave me back a measure of control.

Nicolai shifted on the bed, and I opened my eyes to find him lying on his stomach looking up at me, a wide grin playing on his lips. My eyes drifted to his neck to find that the wound was already healing on its own. That was one of the nice things about feeding on lycans—they healed so fast there was little chance of leaving behind any evidence you were ever there.

“You’ve not fed enough,” he said, his voice a low, husky rumble.

Shoving my right hand through my hair, pushing it back from where it fell around my face, I smiled at my companion. “I’ve had enough to get me to my next meal,” I murmured, feeling a little more relaxed for the first time in several nights. “I’ll not drain you to satisfy my cravings.”

Nicolai chuckled. “I’m not offering all of my blood,” he said, a smile lightening his features, easing back some of the worry lurking around his eyes since I’d first met him. He slid his right hand up to lightly wrap around one of my ankles. “But I can take more than that little snack.”

“For some reason, I get the impression you’re offering more than just a meal,” I hedged, my eyes pointedly slipping down to look at the long fingers wrapped around my ankle. This hadn’t been a part of my plan when I sank my teeth into his neck.

“And you’re opposed to the offer?” he inquired, making no effort to keep the sarcasm from his voice. Pushing to his knees, Nicolai sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing acres of tanned skin and muscles pulsing with warmth and life. I think he dropped the shirt over the side of the bed, but I honestly couldn’t drag my eyes from his chest or his arms.

I’d been with my share of handsome men during my extended lifetime; human, lycan, and nightwalker. I’d been with enough to think that my head couldn’t be turned by a nice body or a handsome face. But Nicolai was putting my resolve to the test. He didn’t have the same, almost frightening beauty that Valerio possessed. Nicolai had his flaws. There was a long white scar on his chest, stretching above his heart. His stomach seemed almost too thin for his frame, making me wonder if his meals recently had been too sparse or infrequent. But it was this perfect combination of frailty and strength that was intoxicating.

With considerable effort I closed my eyes, but the image of his chest seemed to have already been burned into the insides of my eyelids. “I don’t want your body in exchange for your life.” I had to force the words from my mouth because something in me simply ached to run my tongue over his chest.

His laugh caused my eyes to open my eyes and focus on his handsome face again. Slowly, he reached down and took both of my ankles in his hands, making me feel very small. With a quick jerk I slid down the bed toward him so I was laying flat on my back with my knees brushing against his hips. Planting his hands on either side of my head, he leaned down until his lips were inches from mine.

“The blood was in gratitude for my life,” he whispered, his lips brushing against mine with each word. He moved his head, running his lips along my jaw as he spoke. “The sex is as much for me as it is for you. We’ve both had enough death and violence during the past few days to last a lifetime. And it’s not over, is it?”

His question gave me pause, waking me up from the spell his husky voice was weaving. I met his eyes and found those large copper-brown orbs asking me the same question I had seen in the eyes of Tristan, Sadira, James, Alexandra, and, for even a fleeting moment, Danaus. Were we going to survive? Was I going to protect them? Was there a hope to cling to? And for some reason, they all looked to me to be their savior. A pariah among my own kind. The Coven’s anathema.

Threading the fingers of my left hand through the golden wave of hair that cascaded down to frame his face, I pulled him closer so that my lips brushed against his. “It doesn’t matter. There is only now,” I whispered. Nicolai smiled against my lips as he leaned in to kiss me.

My eyes fell shut and there was only the feeling of his lips and his warmth wrapping around me like a wonderful cocoon, smothering all thoughts of the rest of the world. My tongue easily slid between his parted lips, and the taste of him reminded me of honey and fresh bread, memories of a home I was forced to leave years too early. My fingers left his hair to slide down along his massive shoulders, taking in skin that seemed impossibly soft. I turned my head and trailed kisses along his neck as I ran my hands down his back, lightly scratching him with my nails as I dragged my hands back up to his shoulders.

“Still looking for a bite?” he chuckled, nuzzling my neck before his lips finally settled on my earlobe. A sigh escaped me as the tip of his tongue ran along the edge of the sensitive piece of flesh. Tension that had hummed throughout my body for so many endless nights was beginning to unravel from each one of my muscles.

“Hmmmm…There are far more interesting places for me to snack,” I teased. Planting my heels in the bed and wrapping my arms around his waist, I rolled us over so he was lying on his back and I was straddling his hips.

Surprise lit his eyes, but he quickly recovered. He didn’t seem willing to relinquish control that easily. His hand shot out to snake around the back of my neck, pulling me back down so his mouth could reclaim mine in a long, deep kiss. His tongue slid along one of my fangs until finally pricking it. There was no fighting the moan that swelled up in my throat at the taste of his blood. Stretching out my legs on either side of him, I pressed the length of my body into his as I sucked blood from his tongue until the tiny wound finally healed on its own.

As a shiver ran through me, I broke off the kiss and slid my mouth down along his jaw near his ear. “You’ve done this before,” I purred.

“Been with a vampire?” he asked, running his hands down my back to cup my rear end. As he pressed my body closer to his, he arched his hips, grinding his hardened body into mine. “Oh, yeah. Surprised?”

“No,” I laughed, pushing up with my hands braced each side of his head so I could look down at him. But the laughter died when I thought about it. He had been held to Jabari’s side while at the court. I knew the horrors the Coven’s court were capable of. “While you were here?”

Nicolai cupped my cheeks with both of his hands and tried to pull me back down to him, but every muscle in my body had stiffened and he couldn’t move me. “No,” he said in a firm but gentle voice. “No one’s touched me while I’ve been here. My experience came well before Jabari.”

I sucked in a cleansing breath of air, trying to wipe away the moment of tension. I agreed that we both needed to heal, and sex would at least give us a moment of that. But doing something that mirrored anything he may have been forced to do with another nightwalker would not help him.

Nicolai pulled me back down and we got lost in another series of drugging kisses that only left us needing more, needing to be closer. The scent of his blood just below his warm skin beckoned to me. His blood was wonderful, better than pure human. It was richer and more potent, but my hunger for his blood was steadily being overpowered with the need to know every inch of his long body.

Nicolai had no problem with my intentions, and was already pulling my plain cotton shirt up and over my head as I sat up. Once again straddling his hips, I reached back to unfasten my lacy black bra. He snatched the opportunity and, sitting up, pulled the bra down to free my breasts.

My eyelids fell shut as his tongue slowly circled the left nipple before taking it into his mouth. The fingers of my right hand fumbled with the clasp twice before I finally used both hands to undo the bra. The wonderful moist heat on my left breast and his strong, kneading fingers on my right had successfully scattered my thoughts to the wind. My hands fell to his shoulders, then of their own will slid into his hair, holding his head gently imprisoned as I arched my back, pressing closer to him. Lifting his mouth from my breast, his breath skimmed over the damp flesh, sending a chill dancing over my whole body before he shifted to the other breast, his tongue briefly dipping into the valley between them.

A soft sigh whispered past my parted lips. There was only Nicolai and his gentle hands and seeking mouth. How long had it been since I had last been touched like this? Weeks? Months? For a heartbeat the memory of the last time I’d had a moment like this drifted through my brain, but I quickly pushed it aside. So many mistakes made. So many lies and denials that only ended in death. I needed this now, a break from the ghosts that haunted me, to escape the pain that waited for me. To bask in gentle hands that didn’t want to hit, stab, or tear.

Forcing his head up, I kissed him deeply as I pushed him back to the bed. “I need another snack,” I murmured when I finally lifted my mouth from his. Inching my way lower, I kissed and licked a long trail down his chest to the waistband of his pants. I kissed the hard bulge at his groin as my fingers pulled at the button of his jeans. I kissed him again, but this time my teeth lightly scraped against the thick fabric. I wouldn’t dare bite a man there. Any sane man would faint dead away in a heartbeat, but the tease had been enough to increase Nicolai’s heart rate again.

“Mira,” he said in a husky voice edged with warning.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I whispered, unzipping his pants. “I’ve got another place staked out.”

Slipping my fingers inside the waistband of his pants and boxers, I slowly pulled them down, climbing down the bed as I went. I paused long enough to strip off his shoes and socks before letting my eyes travel back up his body. Nicolai now lay stretched out before me, all golden skin and hard muscle. Little blond hairs curled along his legs, and I ran my hands up his calves as I settled between his thighs. I kissed his right inner thigh, drawing an infinity sign with the tip of my tongue.

“Mira.” My name escaped him in a breathless whisper, holding an almost pleading tone. He knew what I was looking for; the large vein that ran along his inner thigh, pulsing with life. As my fangs pierced his skin, I wrapped my fingers around his hard length, stroking him as he arched against my hand, keeping him rock hard as I took a quick drink.

Closing the wound after a couple of seconds, I moved higher. I kissed the inside of his hip, running my tongue over the soft tender flesh there. I was drunk on the power I had over him. For once, it wasn’t about physical strength or the power I had gained as a nightwalker. It was solely about being female and Nicolai wanting me as a female the same way I wanted every inch of him, because he was a very handsome male.

He allowed me to run my tongue along his engorged penis before entwining his fingers in my hair and hauling me back up to his mouth. Clamping his mouth on mine, he rolled me onto my back so he could more easily kiss me while pulling off my pants. I had no clear memory of it, just his tongue thrusting into my mouth as he fumbled with the button. In the next second, I simply wasn’t wearing pants any longer. There was only his hot soft skin rubbing against mine, his hard body nudging against the entrance to mine.

“Mira?”

I blinked and forced myself to look into his eyes, which were now more copper than brown. His voice was thick and husky, but I didn’t miss the question there. He was holding himself perfectly still, waiting for me. I wasn’t sure if he was giving me one last chance to back out or if he needed to know if I was ready. It didn’t matter. I was well beyond such thoughts.

“Please. Now,” were the only words I could manage, and they escaped me as a shaken, desperate plea. It was enough.

Nicolai thrust into me, tearing a cry from my throat. He was larger than I expected, and my body hadn’t been as ready as I thought, drowning me in equal parts pleasure and pain. It didn’t matter. By his next thrust I was arching my hips to meet him, taking every inch of him I could get. We were beyond soft touches and gentle caresses. Now it was rough and fast, with strong, hard hands pushing and pulling us closer to that oblivion of pleasure that lay beyond the horizon.

My mind was overloaded with sensations. His heartbeat was pounding in my brain, mixing with the sound of his heavy breathing and a so-soft grunt as he thrust into me. I breathed him in, drawing his unique scent along with the smell of his sweat and sex into my lungs to hold him there as well. I leaned up and ran my tongue along his neck and up to his ear, needing the taste of him imprinted on me.

Nicolai reached down and cupped my bottom with both of his large hands, changing the angle slightly, grinding his body deep into mine. Pleasure finally edged ahead of pain in their battle for my body. One last scream was torn from my lips as my body imploded with the force of the orgasm that tightened every muscle. For a moment there was only blinding starlight and an intense pleasure that filled all of my pores. Dear God, never let this end…

It was minutes later when my brain started to function enough that I realized Nicolai was lying on top of me, his body still shivering inside me with the aftershocks of his orgasm. A silly grin lifted my lips as I briefly wondered if it was possible to destroy brain cells with a really good orgasm. Probably not, but I certainly didn’t feel all that intelligent as my brain struggled to pull together a string of coherent thoughts.

Slowly, he began to stir, burrowing his face in my neck. He nipped at my earlobe, earning a chuckle from me before he finally lifted his head. His large eyes had returned to their normal shade of brown, with only a faint hint of copper. Staring at the shadows clinging to his smiling face, I realized neither one of us had bothered to flip on a light. Of course, we both had the night vision of cats, so why bother?

“Feeling better?” he inquired, a cute smugness filling his tone.

“Much.” I smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” he replied, kissing me back. “We make a good pair.”

“You mean when you’re not trying to kill me,” I teased.

The easygoing smile slipped from his full lips. “I didn’t have a choice,” he firmly said before rolling off me. Then he lay on his back in silence, roughly running his hands over his face a couple times, as if it could help clear his thoughts. He finally dropped his hands back to his sides, staring up at the ceiling. “Besides, I’m apparently not the first murderous stalker you’ve tamed.”

“Don’t misunderstand my truce with Danaus,” I said, turning onto my side. Leaning on one elbow, I brushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “If he gets the chance, he means to kill me when this is all over. That hasn’t changed.”

“Despite the fact that you’ve protected him?”

“It’s a special relationship we have.” I flashed him a wide smile, letting my fangs poke out from beneath my upper lips before I rolled off the bed.

“Like this?”

I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up as I snatched the black silk robe that lay draped over one of the chairs in the bedroom. “No, we’ve just called a truce until we can find an appropriate time to kill each other.” I pulled the robe on as I strolled over to the window and jerked open the heavy curtains. The window faced San Marco Piazza and the Grand Canal. The large campo was aglow with lights, while stars winked in and out overhead. The waves in the Lagoon had grown during the past several minutes and were beginning to whitecap as a storm blew in.

“Speaking of special relationships,” I slowly began, not bothering to look over at my companion. “What hold does Jabari have over you?” I waited for his answer, but there was only silence. With a frown, I turned away from the window and walked to the end of the bed with my arms folded over my chest. Nicolai lay as still as death, his golden body gilded with starlight that leaked through the window.

“Before the Coven, I took you into my keeping. I claimed you from an Elder,” I said, stressing each word. “I have promised to protect you from any and all who would harm you, including the Coven. I don’t know if lycans have an equivalent of such a vow, but it is not something to be taken lightly among nightwalkers. When Jabari comes to claim your head and I sacrifice myself to stop him, I would like to know exactly why he is ripping my heart out.”

When Nicolai finally spoke, his voice was low and void of emotion, but his words nearly brought me to my knees. “Members of my pack were aiding the naturi.”

“No,” I gasped, my voice going hoarse. My mind stumbled forward, struggling to understand the concept. Why would anyone assist the naturi? They were horrid creatures whose only goal was to destroy anything that was not of their kind. “Willingly? Were they willingly helping the naturi?” I asked, grasping at my last few desperate straws to understand what he was saying. Maybe they had been forced, mind-control wiping away all choice.

“Yes.”

I was moving without a thought. One second I was standing at the foot of the bed, and the next I was kneeling beside him, my hands reaching for his throat, my fangs bared. Nicolai caught my wrists at the last second and was struggling to hold me back. “Were you? Were you helping the naturi?” I snarled.

“No!” he shouted. “I would never help the naturi. I know what they’ve done. I know what they’re capable of.”

“Then why did Jabari want you?” I demanded, jerking my wrists from his grasp.

Nicolai pushed up so he was leaning back on his forearms and elbows. “There were three naturi sympathizers in my pack. Somehow Jabari found out and threatened to tell the other packs. Everyone in my pack would have been killed, no questions asked. Instead he killed two of the sympathizers immediately and wanted to keep the third as a pet. I bargained with Jabari to take me instead of her.”

I sat back on my heels, hating his words, despising the fact that I sympathized with him. Of course, if I had been in Jabari’s place, I have no doubt that I would have destroyed the whole pack without a second thought, and not feel an ounce of remorse about the deed. In this war, it was us against the naturi. There was no room for sympathy or betrayal. But betrayal seemed to surround me when it came to the naturi. Trust was a withering corpse in the sun. Vampires and lycans were siding with the naturi. Witches and lycans were with the Daylight Coalition. And I stood alone with a bori half-breed at my back.

“Girlfriend?” I asked after a long moment of silence, pondering the “her” he had mentioned.

“She was my sister,” he softly replied.

With a growl, I climbed off the bed and strode back over to the window, my arms once again folded tightly under my breasts, as if to protect myself against the very idea. There was no questioning the “was” in his statement. We both knew his former pack would have killed his sister the second Jabari departed with him. She had betrayed not only her own kind, but also the pact made by all the other creatures to fight against the naturi. When given the choice between what could be a long, painful existence in servitude to a nightwalker and a quick death, Nicolai stepped in to give her the more merciful option. Would I be so forgiving of someone I loved?

I roughly ran my right hand through my hair, pushing it away from my eyes, trying not to think about the answer that came so quickly to mind. Despite my so-called noble actions in regard to Tristan, I didn’t like myself much when it came to my dealings with the naturi. The blood flowed too easily and the joy too sweet.

What was also eating away at me was the idea that Jabari had discovered this betrayal within the United States. It wasn’t my domain, but it felt too close. The Elders never came to the New World, and there only a handful of Ancients in the region. The idea that Jabari had come and gone without my knowledge had left me feeling…violated. Maybe the others were right. Maybe I had begun to see all of the New World as mine. Or at the very least, safe from direct interference of the Coven.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. We both knew her betrayal had left her with no other fate, but that knowledge did little to ease the pain of loss. “I have to get you to my domain,” I said when the silence began to grow between us again. Turning away from the window, I walked over to the nightstand by the bed and picked up my cell phone. Nicolai covered my hand with his before I could pick up the phone, dragging my eyes to his face.

“You’ll still protect me?” he asked, confusion furrowing his brow.

“I promised to protect you. I keep my word,” I said solemnly with a nod of my head. “But I can’t do that here. I have to get you and Tristan to my domain back in the United States. As repayment for this protection, you must guard Tristan during the daylight hours as you travel to my home. You must promise to guard him with your life.”

“I swear I will. No harm will come to him.” Nicolai squeezed my hand as he made his vow. I tried to smile at him, reassure him, but I couldn’t. I believed him. He would die before he allowed anyone to lay a hand on Tristan, and that was reassuring. Yet when I looked at him, my mind now wondered if he had known what his sister was doing. Did he try to hide her actions? Protect her the same way he protected her from Jabari?

“Get some sleep. I have to make some arrangement. You’ll be flying out in the morning.” Picking up my cell phone, I wordlessly walked out of the bedroom into the main living area and shut the door behind me.

It was four hours until sunrise and I needed every minute of it to make my plans. I spent nearly an hour on the phone arguing with Barrett, the Alpha of the werewolf pack in Savannah. He was less than pleased with the idea of me bringing an unknown lycan into his territory; not that I could blame him. Naturally, I couldn’t tell him the real reason as to how Nicolai came to be in my care. It didn’t help matters that the Savannah pack was very peculiar since most of those in it were actually related by blood or marriage, and outsiders were very rarely permitted to move into the region. I think Barrett finally caved in to my request only because I promised him that it would not be a long-term arrangement.

Other than the brief, heated argument, it felt good to talk to him. Since leaving Savannah a week ago, the naturi had disappeared completely from my domain. There were no more attacks, no more deaths. Prior to my traveling to Egypt with Danaus, the naturi had attacked a human nightclub and a private nightwalker club, resulting in several deaths—some at the hands of werewolves being controlled by the naturi. Tension was still running high, but the area was otherwise quiet.

With Barrett reassured, somewhat, it was then on to my human assistant Charlotte, who would make the arrangements for the private flight from Venice to Savannah. She had received enough bizarre phone calls like this one to know not to ask too many questions. After talking to her, I contacted my bodyguard Gabriel, still recuperating in England following our last battle with the naturi. A lump grew in my throat at the sweet sound of his familiar voice. Closing my eyes, I could see his crooked smirk. Gabriel had protected me for years, knew my secrets. He would also grab a flight tonight and be waiting in Savannah when Tristan and Nicolai arrived. My angel would see to it that Tristan was properly taken care of when he arrived in my domain.

I wanted to call Knox. While relatively young, he had proven capable and intelligent enough to manage the region when I was out of town. I wanted to hear his voice, the touch of dry humor that laced his every comment. I needed to know from him that all the nightwalkers I had left behind in my domain were still safe. But Tristan and Danaus returned as I ended my call with Gabriel and sank into the soft cushions of the sofa, forcing me to put aside my phone.

The nightwalker had been considerate enough to go hunting while I occupied myself with Nicolai. Neither said anything about how I had spent my evening because Tristan got it into his head to argue with me for the next hour over whether he would travel with me to the site of the next sacrifice and battle the naturi.

In the end I won and he agreed to travel to my domain. He had suffered enough, and I wasn’t willing to lose him to the naturi. I prayed it was the start of a series of smart choices on my part.