Embraced by a warrior

Chapter Seven

Darius turned his head and looked at Brisa who lay on her back, fast asleep. It was almost dawn, and as predicted, he’d kept her up for most of the hours of darkness. She didn’t stir as he carefully slipped out of bed. He picked up his jeans before he silently walked out of the bedroom. Outside in the hall, he pulled them on.

He headed down the stairs. He needed to talk to Anubis again, without Brisa being around. After the quickie they’d had once they arrived back from the restaurant, he and Brisa had made love three more times. Each of those had been longer, felt more intense. And each time his eyeteeth had dropped. One bout, he’d come so close to biting Brisa, he’d nipped her hard enough to almost break the skin.

Inside the mini-temple, Darius closed the door behind him, then approached the altar. As before, after he called out to the god of the underworld, Anubis was quick to reply.

Darius.

“I don’t know if that demon’s spell completely wore off. I’m still having shifting problems.”

In what way?

Darius paused. Even though Anubis was male, Darius still disliked talking about his sex life with anyone. He figured that was his private business. He never bragged about his sexual conquests.

“It happens while I’m in bed with a woman. Well, one in particular. Brisa. When I reach…completion, my eyeteeth become longer, and I have the almost overwhelming urge to bite her where her shoulder and neck meet. I haven’t yet, bitten her that is. But I came pretty damn close once. That’s never happened to me before, which has me thinking the demon’s spell must be having an influence over me still.”

Anubis chuckled in Darius’ head. Let me assure you that the spell is completely gone. That’s not the reason behind this new change in you. It’s the woman.

“I don’t understand.”

It’s Brisa who brings on your urge to bite her. She’s your mate, Darius.

“My mate?” Darius asked, feeling very confused. “How is that possible? I pledged to serve you. There is no room in my life for a woman.”

Yes, you did, but I never expected you to be alone forever. I don’t expect it for any of my warriors, though those of you who were the first to pledge will take longer to find the woman meant for you. You’re the first.

“Brisa is mortal. It can’t work.”

Yes, it can. I gave you all the ability to bind your mate to you. One bite and her life force will be tied to yours.

“That’ll give Brisa immortality, but won’t it also mean that if I die so does she? If I literally lose my head, it’s all over for me.”

True, but I’ve made you strong enough, so the chance of any prey being capable of doing that is next to nil.

“Then why not make her an immortal yourself as you did me?”

For me to do that, she’d have to be near death and call out to me the same way you did, asking to be saved. That is the only way I’m allowed to grant immortality. Would you like to put your mate through that?

“No.” Feeling death slowly closing in, desperate to cling to life, was not a pleasant experience. “No, I wouldn’t want that for Brisa.”

Then you must bite her, but give her the choice first. Tell her exactly what you are. You can’t force her into it. That I won’t allow.

“I’d never do that to her.”

And he wouldn’t. Choosing immortality was a decision that couldn’t be made lightly. As for his feelings about Brisa being his mate, it felt right. He’d already started to lose his heart to her. Now knowing what she meant to him, Darius didn’t want to let her go. Ever. He just hoped she could accept him and the world he lived in. Having to let her go would be beyond hard.

Brisa rolled to her side and reached for Darius. Feeling the spot next to her on the bed empty, and finding the sheets cool, she came awake. A quick look around the room showed he wasn’t there.

She sat up and stretched. It was still very early in the morning. Weak light shone through the crack in the curtains, chasing away some of the darkness in the room. In need of something to drink, Brisa pushed out of bed, deciding to go in search of some water and Darius.

Finding his t-shirt on the floor where he’d thrown it the evening before, she slipped it on. Out in the hallway, Brisa walked to the top of the stairs. She looked down, but didn’t see any lights on. Not letting that stop her, she took the steps to the main floor.

It was easy enough for her to find the kitchen. Her eyes adjusted to the near dark, she didn’t bother with the lights and headed for the large stainless-steel fridge. Brisa opened it, happy to see some bottled water inside. She took one and twisted off the cap, closing the fridge with her hip as she took a big drink before she placed the bottle on the counter.

Her thirst taken care of, she went in search of Darius. He had to be around here somewhere. The living room was the first place she looked. Stepping inside the room, it appeared empty, but then she heard the muffled murmur of someone talking. The deep, slightly accented voice belonged to Darius.

Brisa looked around, at first not sure where he could be, then spotted the closed door. She stepped closer. Without knocking she pulled it open. Then felt her jaw drop when she took in the smaller room.

The walls were painted a stark white, whereas the living room’s were a dark beige. There were quite a few ancient Egyptian-looking pieces spaced throughout it. Framed pictures looked like those found on the pharaohs’ tombs in Egypt, painted in jewel tones and gold on real papyrus paper. There were small statues and other works of art. The majority of the items depicted the god of the dead, Anubis. And standing near the back of the room, in front of what suspiciously looked like an altar, was Darius.

“What are you doing in here?” she asked.

Darius whipped around, surprise showing on his face. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“So you came down here and closed yourself in a room that looks dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god, Anubis?”

“I know you’ll think this sounds crazy, but being in here helps me relax.”

“And you talk to yourself too? I heard you.”

“I was…ah…praying.”

She gave Darius a quizzical look. “You pray to a god from an ancient race of people?”

He looked decidedly uncomfortable as he shifted in place. “It’s just something I do sometimes, all right?”

Brisa gazed around the room again. “Well, this explains the tattoo on your chest. You must be into the whole ancient Egyptian thing. At least now I know what I can get you for your birthdays and Christmas,” she said with a smile.

Darius closed the distance between them and reached out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. “Does that mean you’ll stick around for both those things? Do you want to keep me, even though I have this strange hobby you might not understand?”

She chuckled. “It isn’t too strange, except maybe for the praying part, but I can live with it.” Brisa met his gaze shyly and put her arms around his waist. “Of course I do want to keep you. You have no idea how long I’ve lusted after you. You’d come to the bar and I’d spend most of the time staring at you, thinking of all the things I’d like to do to you.”

Darius smiled, making Brisa feel weak in the knees. “Well, I’m glad you decided to serve me the other night.”

“You can thank Janey, your waitress, for that. She’s a friend of mine, and she knew I liked you. She kind of coerced me into going to your table. She figured if it was left up to you, you’d never talk to me.”

“Then I’ll have to thank her on Monday night when I come in. I was a little slow on asking you out, but I did notice you. Why do you think I kept showing up at the bar night after night?”

Brisa lifted her arms and wound them around Darius’ neck. She pressed herself against him. “Janey will like that. She thinks you’re hot too, but don’t tell her boyfriend.”

Darius dropped his hands to her bottom, gripping it under the hem of the shirt she wore. “You’re completely naked under this.” He squeezed each globe of flesh.

“Of course I am. It’s too early to get dressed.” The last word was said through a large yawn. She gave Darius a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

He shook his head with a grin. “And it’s obviously too early for you to be up. I think we both could use some more sleep. Let’s get you back in bed.”

“As long as you join me.”

“I will. I think I’ll be able to sleep now.” Darius picked her up and carried her out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

“You don’t want to do anything else besides that?” Brisa asked as she played with the back of his hair.

“For now. Then we’ll get up in a couple of hours and I’ll make you breakfast in bed. How does that sound?”

“Make it brunch instead and I’m game. Remember, I’m not a breakfast eater.”

“Then brunch it is.”

Brisa put her head on Darius’ shoulder, liking the fact that he could pick her up and cart her around. It made her feel, well, womanly. Very feminine. And when he held her in his arms, she felt protected and cared for. Hearing how he wanted her to keep him did delicious things to her body. At the rate they were going, she just hoped it didn’t suddenly crash and burn, leaving her devastated.

Early that evening, Darius suggested they go for a walk on the beach. Brisa had been quick to agree. Since he had access to it from the back of his property, they only had to step through a gate Darius unlocked to reach the sand.

Hand in hand, they walked. Brisa enjoyed the colors of the sunset, breathing in the salty air. It looked as if Darius and she had the stretch of beach to themselves. Given that private residences lined it, she wasn’t too surprised.

Not too far from Darius’ property, Brisa stopped and took off her shoes. She couldn’t resist running to the edge of the water and walking in far enough for it to cover her feet. She could get used to this, having the beach right at her back door, able to enjoy the ocean without having to drive to it.

“How’s the water?” Darius called.

Brisa turned to face him. “Not too bad for how deep I’m only going to go. Wetting my feet is enough.”

She ran her gaze over him, noticing he’d taken off his shoes as well and now held them in his hand. Brisa didn’t think she’d ever tire of looking at him. He was handsome and sexy as all hell. And unbelievably all hers.

Walking out of the water, she headed for the man who was becoming to mean so much to her. Darius held his hand out to her, and Brisa hurried her steps to get to his side.

She’d just reached out, not quite touching his fingers, when a disembodied male voice said, “I found you again, warrior of Anubis.”

Darius stiffened, pulled back his hand and let out a bellow of pain. He gripped his head as he dropped to his knees. Brisa found herself frozen in place as his body began to change. In a matter of seconds, accompanied by the sound of his bones cracking as they realigned themselves, he’d taken on another form. He looked half human and half animal, his body completely covered in black fur. Whatever animal it was, it was sort of wolfish-looking, but she didn’t think it was that. After gaining his feet, he also stood a lot taller. He had to be no less than seven feet, his muscles even more thickly padded. She also took in the gold armbands around his wide biceps and the snow-white Egyptian-styled kilt he wore around the lower half of his body.

Looking this new Darius in his animal-like face, she took a step back. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest. Fear beat at her, especially when she realized she’d seen him like this before. Her eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on her last night. She’d really seen him in this form, confronting another man, who she never saw leaving the alley.

“Brisa,” Darius said, his voice a lot gruffer and deeper than normal. “It’s all right. It’s still me in here.”

She took another step back. “What are you? I don’t understand? I saw you at the rear of the restaurant with another man. What happened to him? Did you kill him?”

“Just calm down. I can hear your heart racing. I’ll explain everything, but right now I have to get back to the house before someone sees me like this.”

Brisa looked Darius in the eyes. They had changed as well, looking more animal-like, except they were the same shade of blue as they were when he was human. He pleaded with them. She knew he wanted her to not freak out, but she was already walking a fine line.

“Please, Brisa,” he said. “I realize this is way beyond anything you expected. It’s going to be all right. Just come with me.”

Looking up and down the beach, Brisa saw how out in the open they were. One positive thing, it was better for her. She had more avenues of escape than she would at the house. But other than the shifting into a creature that shouldn’t exist, Darius hadn’t done anything to harm her. There was intelligence in those animal-like eyes, and he was still capable of speech. He might look like a beast that could kill her with one swipe of his claw-tipped hand, but he’d made no move to come any closer. He stood waiting for her to come to him.

Getting a grip on some of the fear coursing through her, Brisa gave a slight nod. She took a tentative step toward Darius, then another, but she didn’t take the hand he held out to her. She wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

Darius bent and picked up his shoes he’d dropped when the change had started. He silently walked beside her back up the beach to the gate to his property. Brisa kept some distance between them, half watching him and where she was going.

On his property, Darius paused at the gate to replace the padlock on the latch. He turned toward her once that task was done. Then he let loose with a growl that had Brisa ready to bolt, especially when a sword suddenly appeared in his hand.

“Brisa, get down!” he bellowed.

She instantly dropped to the ground, just as Darius closed the distance between them and swung the sword over her head. The sound of it meeting something equally metallic rang in her ears.

“You’re quick, warrior. I have to give you that,” said the same voice she’d heard on the beach. Only this time it didn’t seem to come from all around. It came from directly behind her.

Brisa slowly turned her head and looked up. A man stood at her back, holding a sword crossed with Darius’. He might appear human at first glance, but his glowing, red eyes told her otherwise. Her fear returning to its previous level, she crawled out of the way, then gained her feet and went to stand behind Darius, closer to the gate.

Darius growled. “I know what you are, demon. You’re not supposed to be in the mortal realm.”

The man—demon—laughed. “But here I am. And guess what, I didn’t escape the underworld alone. Others are hunting down the rest of the warriors of Anubis. We’re going to get rid of you all.”

Brisa screamed as the demon went on the attack, his sword moving so fast she could barely track it. Miraculously, Darius countered with the same speed. She stood, watching mesmerized, unable to move, as the fight began in earnest.

To her, Darius and the demon seemed evenly matched, but then Darius lost some ground, bringing the pair of them closer to Brisa. She walked backward until her back hit the gate and she stood in a bit of sand that had worked its way under it.

Growls continued to rumble out of Darius as he blocked each hit. He seemed to push the demon back a bit. She held her breath when a gold knife appeared in his other hand and he tried to slip it past the demon’s guard. His opponent ran his sword across Darius’ forearm before he kicked the smaller blade out of his hand. It landed close to Brisa’s feet.

“Your dagger won’t work on me, warrior. It was made only for the mortal evildoers you hunt. But this, on the other hand,” a dagger Brisa hadn’t seen him holding was thrust into Darius’ side, “was made specifically to take you out.”

Darius grunted in pain as he looked down at the dagger sticking from between his ribs. He dropped to his knees, his sword slipping from his fingers. He blinked his eyes, as if he were having a hard time seeing or staying conscious.

The demon laughed cruelly. “Right about now, you should be weakening. The blade is as spelled as your gold one. And from looking at you, I think it’s doing its job. Now all I have to do is finish you off.”

Brisa didn’t think, she just acted. She bent and picked up Darius’ gold dagger with one hand and a fistful of sand with the other. As the demon moved in to make his next strike, she threw the sand in his face, hitting him in the eyes. He cried out and staggered back a step, wiping at his face. Only thinking to protect Darius while he was down, she shifted closer to the demon and cut him across the cheek. He swung at her, knocking her to the ground.

She lifted her head, tasting blood in her mouth where he’d struck her, and saw Darius lurching to his feet with a loud growl. He went after the demon, all teeth and claws. Taking sword cuts to his belly and thigh didn’t deter Darius from trying to beat down his opponent. At one point, Brisa thought Darius was about to take the demon out, but just before he could make the final strike, the demon disappeared. His disembodied voice said, “I’ll be back, warrior, to take out you and your mortal bitch.”

Shaking all over, Brisa saw Darius sway on his feet. He let out a groan before he collapsed on the ground. She let out a shout and ran to his side. What fear she’d felt for him was now gone. The demon scared her more. Darius had done everything he could to protect her.

She knelt beside him and dropped the gold dagger. His eyes were closed. “Darius.” When he didn’t stir, she tried again, louder. “Darius! You have to wake up. I can’t get you into the house by myself.”

Thinking the worst when she still didn’t get any kind of reaction, she held her hand out in front of his muzzle. A puff of warm air hit her palm with each breath he took. Brisa sighed with relief.

Needing to rouse Darius, she took hold of his shoulders and shook him. He groaned. “Come on, Darius. You have to wake up.”

He finally opened his eyes. “Brisa?”

“Yeah, it’s me. We have to get you in the house.”

“The demon.”

“He’s gone. For now. Let’s get you on your feet.”

She grabbed his hand and stood before she slowly pulled him up in a sitting position. Getting him to stand proved a little more difficult. He was so much bigger than her. By the time she managed it, with his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist, she was breathing hard and her muscles were shaking from the strain.

Taking the time to only retrieve the two weapons, she steered Darius toward the back of the house. They stepped through the door at the kitchen, which Darius had left unlocked. That was as far as he made it. He stumbled, then fell. Brisa was forced to let him go before he dragged her down with him.