“Please put me down. I need to go to the bathroom and I think my head is about to explode from the blood rush.” Dusti didn’t expect Drantos to listen. He hadn’t all morning as they’d marched through the woods. “Remember the puking threat? How do you feel about bladder issues? I can hear water and it’s making it worse.”
“That’s because we’ve reached the river. We can take a short break.”
Drantos stopped to bend over. Dusti had to clutch at his leather jacket when he eased her onto her feet. A dizzy spell had her swaying on shaky legs that suffered some numbness from being in the same position for too long. His big warm hands caged her hips to help keep her steady.
She lifted her chin to stare into his eyes. If she wasn’t mistaken, she saw concern there.
“Are you all right?”
“No.” The dizziness passed. “You’ve kept me upside down for hours.”
“We needed to move fast to put distance between us and the plane.” He frowned, studying her. “You don’t look so well.”
“I don’t feel so hot.”
He opened his jacket and reached inside, withdrawing one of her shots. “Do you need this?”
She’d forgotten about them with all the stress she’d been under. Clearly he hadn’t though. “Probably.”
His eyebrow arched. “You aren’t certain?”
“I was in a plane crash and I’ve been abducted. I’m not sure if the lightheadedness is from you carrying me, the hypnotizing stuff you’ve done, or if my anemia is acting up.”
“Sit down.”
She glanced around and spotted a fist-sized rock nearby. She sat, feeling a bit better that there was a weapon within sight if she needed one. Drantos crouched in front of her. He removed the cap, frowning at the needle. “How often do you have to take these again?”
“It depends. Sometimes I can go a few days, even up to a week. At other times, every day. My doctor told me to take one every other day but I hate needles, so I avoid it when I can. I usually make sure I eat well-balanced meals. That helps a lot. Stress can also activate it and make it pretty bad. I’d say I probably need one, now that I’m thinking about it.”
He offered it to her. She took it and peered at him. “Did you bring my entire case?”
“No. It wouldn’t fit inside my pocket.”
“Did you grab the alcohol packets?”
“No. I didn’t see your sister use one on you.”
“That’s because Bat was freaked-out after the crash and not thinking straight.” She pulled her skirt up a little, twisting her legs to keep her modesty in place by only revealing the upper part of her thigh on the side. She injected the meaty area and winced. “I hope I don’t get an infection from not cleaning the skin first.”
He took the syringe from her and sniffed at it.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out what it is. They aren’t marked. I looked at them very closely.”
“It’s my medicine. It’s called Bord-orallis.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“I’m not surprised. It’s a rare disorder.”
He capped it, and shoved it back inside his pocket. He pulled out another syringe. “I think you take after your grandmother. You know that anemia you suffer from? While you smell pure human, you aren’t. Your grandmother inherited more Vampire traits than Lycan. Your body is starved for a blood source.”
That wasn’t funny in the least to Dusti. “A lot of people have anemia.”
“I’m sure they do, but yours is easily cured if you start drinking fresh blood. I can prove what I’m telling you.”
“How? I’m not drinking blood.”
“We could test it.”
“Forget it.”
Drantos removed a syringe from his pocket. He snapped it in half and Dusti gasped, watching the drug spill out on the ground between his spread thighs where he crouched. He sniffed at the contents of the two pieces he held.
“What is wrong with you? I don’t have many of those!”
“We can get you more once we reach my clan. I’ll personally send someone to fill your prescription in one of the larger cities.”
“You can’t just pick that up at a pharmacy!”
“What does that mean?”
“Only one company produces the drug and it’s sent straight to my doctor’s office, because there aren’t too many people who need it. Pharmacies don’t stock it.”
His eyes narrowed and he lifted the broken vial to his mouth. He stuck out his tongue and allowed some of the drug to drip onto the tip of it. Dusti grabbed his hand, attempting to make him stop.
“Are you nuts? Don’t do that. It could make you sick!”
He pulled his tongue back into his mouth and sealed his lips. He closed his eyes. They opened almost immediately and he looked really angry.
“It tastes bad, doesn’t it? It serves you right. Can you not destroy the rest of my medicine, please?”
He suddenly stood. “I don’t suppose this doctor you see knew your mother?”
“Of course he did. I’ve seen Dr. Brent my entire life. He’s our family doctor.”
“Son of a bitch.” He spun away. “I was right.”
She stood, already feeling much better. “About what?”
He kept his back to her. “We’ll discuss this later.”
“I hate when you do that.”
“Do what?” He turned around.
“Make some strange statement that makes no sense and then drop it. Either explain what you mean or don’t talk at all.”
“Fine.”
She waited for him to say something else but he just watched her. Her temper flared. “Leave my shots alone. Don’t break any more.” She peered around. “Where is my sister?”
“Close by. Don’t worry. She’s safe. We’d have heard if they were in trouble.”
“There you go again. It’s annoying. What does that mean? How would we know? We can’t see them.”
“We’d hear it if there was trouble.” Then he walked down to the edge of the river.
She glanced around again, just seeing a lot of woods. It was tempting to go search for Bat herself but there were bears somewhere out there. She wasn’t about to forget that anytime soon, and she edged closer to Drantos’s side, going down on her hands and knees. “Do you think this is safe to drink? I don’t want to get some parasitic disease.”
“Go ahead. You won’t.”
She cupped both her hands into the icy water, flinching at how cold it was, but brought it to her lips. It dripped onto her clothes but she didn’t care as she swallowed big gulps of the fresh-tasting water.
“Easy,” Drantos ordered softly. “You don’t want to make yourself sick by drinking it too fast.”
He dropped to his knees next to her, mimicked her position, and sipped from the river. She turned her head to watch him drink until he’d had his fill. He cocked his head to meet her gaze.
The beauty of his eyes struck her hard. They were so dark blue they edged on black. The sunshine reflected off the water, hitting his irises enough to reveal those golden flecks she’d noticed before, seeming to highlight them. His black, long eyelashes were so thick that she felt a bit envious, and they only made him more appealing.
Memories of him touching her the previous night suddenly flooded through her mind. The urge to stroke his skin almost overwhelmed her but she fought it down. It made no sense to be so attracted to him. Sure, he was looking better every second but he’d kidnapped her and told her crazy stories about mythical creatures that she didn’t want to believe existed. That thing he did with his eyes couldn’t be dismissed either.
“I have a few questions and I want answers. What did you do to me last night?”
“Now is not the time to have that discussion.”
She clenched her teeth. “You’re the one who forced me to leave the crash site with you. The least you can do is tell me what I want to know. Did you drug me or something?”
His expression softened. “No.”
“You’re attractive. I’ll give you that, but that was…” She wasn’t sure how to describe it.
“Powerful,” he rasped. “Intense.”
She hesitated. “What did you do to me last night to make me want you so much?”
“Drink more water. I don’t want you to be dehydrated.” He broke eye contact and stared up at the sky. “We need to eat and get moving again soon.”
He wasn’t going to discuss it. It irritated her. “Right. Shut up and don’t slow you down. Got it. You don’t care if I’m confused or freaked-out.”
He stared at her and frowned. “I do care.”
Those three words he spoke in a near whisper unsettled Dusti. She could almost swear he meant them, considering the intense look he gave her. Drantos was one handsome man, in that super-masculine way that would draw any woman. She hated noticing that but she couldn’t help it. Her gaze dropped to his chest and arms. He was also really fit and muscled.
“Stop looking at me like that, sweetheart. Otherwise I’m going to forget the fish and just eat you. This isn’t the time or the place for that. You’re going to have to wait until we reach my home. This is just a short break.”
His words stunned her and they seemed like a verbal slap. She jerked her gaze up, holding his. “Excuse me?”
“You were looking at me like you wished I was on the menu.” He grinned. “Hold that thought until we’re somewhere with a bed.”
“No, I wasn’t. I was just thinking how sad it is that for such a good-looking guy, you’re a few crayons short of a rainbow.”
His amusement faded fast. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means you look really good at first glance but then as you take in the whole picture, you notice something is missing. Like your sanity. You’re crazy if you think I want to have sex with you.”
Drantos shook his head and his gaze softened while he continued to watch her. “I expect an apology for all the insults you keep giving me when you realize the truth about what we are to each other.” Amusement suddenly flashed in his gaze, which matched the wide grin that spread across his face, a reminder of how handsome he could be. “You can give it to me on your knees.”
Her gaze lowered down his body to the front of his jeans. She couldn’t miss the outline of his aroused cock. She frowned in response, refusing to allow him to intimidate her.
“The day I blow you is the day you turn into a eunuch. Do we understand each other?” She snapped her teeth at him to make her meaning clear.
“Don’t threaten to bite someone unless you want to be bitten back—and sweetheart, I have sharper teeth.”
“Stop calling me that. I don’t like it or you.”
He glared. “Go to the bathroom.”
She carefully stood and headed deeper into the woods to find a safe spot to empty her bladder. The fear of bears and other animals made her do her business fast before returning to the small clearing next to the water to wash her hands in the river.
Drantos wasn't where she'd left him, and one sweeping glance around didn’t show any sign of him. Her heart accelerated from the jolt of fear that he might have abandoned her. He had seemed mad when she’d stomped away.
A noise made her jump and she faced the splashing sound. Drantos’s head popped out of the water as he stood up about ten feet from the bank. Dusti gawked outright at the sight of his wide, tan back. He’d removed his shirt to expose his muscular upper body. The guy obviously belonged to a gym that he worked out in a lot to have gained those thick biceps. She’d seen bodybuilders at her own gym with less muscle mass. She had to close her mouth that had dropped open.
He turned his head, seeming to sense her there. His gaze met hers.
“Now is the time to do it if you want to strip down and use the water to get clean. Just splash yourself with water. I’m about to build a fire to cook our meal.”
“No thanks.” No way would she remove any of her clothes for a sponge bath in front of him.
He shrugged those impressive broad shoulders of his before wading deeper into the water, up to his armpits. He took a sharp breath before he pushed up with his legs. His sleek, wet skin showed as he rose to dive into the river. Dusti gasped when she saw his bare, beefy ass flash before he disappeared under the water completely.
She spun away, refusing to see that sight again. That’s when she spotted his neatly folded clothes. He’d left them near a small bush she’d walked right past when she’d left the tree line. A pair of black briefs was on top of the pile.
Water splashed behind her and she tensed. He was probably showing off his body again. Cold water hit her and she gasped, spinning around. Drantos stood in waist-high water and grinned. He shook his hair again, more drops of the river striking her skin.
“Knock that off.”
He grinned wider. “Did I get you wet? It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”
The words sank in. He was referring to the night before when she’d lost her mind. “You’re so rude, and that was uncalled for.”
“Was it? That was for the crayons remark. Be happy I don’t walk over there, strip you bare, and remind you how much you want me. Kraven isn’t here to stop me this time from finishing what I start.”
She wanted to smack him. He was purposely being an ass. Two could play at that game. “Keep being a dick and I might toss your clothes in the river with you.”
His amusement died. “I wouldn’t recommend it. Don’t piss me off any more than I already am, sweetheart. You already insulted me. Get my clothes wet and all bets are off on what I’d do in revenge.”
His tone implied a threat. “Fine. You’re not crazy. Everything you’ve told me is true. Prove it to me then. Turn into a dog. Don’t Werewolves do that? Your brother said something about shifting forms. Show me.”
“You’d be terrified and run from me. That’s the last thing I want.”
“Right. Like I’m currently here because I volunteered to be. What are you going to do if I do toss your stuff in the river? Suck my blood? I’m not forgetting that you said you’re also a Vampire.”
“Damn it, Dusti.”
“Damn you!” She was tired of living in fear and her life had turned to hell since the moment she’d laid eyes on Drantos. He’d appeared next to her seat, and then the plane had crashed, and now she was in the middle of the wilderness worried about her sister. “I want my sister and I want to go home!”
His expression softened. “I’m sure you do. I’ll catch a few fish and we’ll eat. You’ll feel better with a full belly. Let’s call a truce for now. I could use your help.”
“I’ll feel better when I see Bat and we’re on our way back to California.” She glanced at his bared chest. His nipples were hard pebbles. “I’m not coming in there. It looks cold.”
“It is. I just meant I’m going to catch some fish and I want you to prevent them from flopping back into the river once I toss them on the bank. That’s all.” He paused. “You’ll see your sister soon. I promise that Kraven is keeping her safe. They’re probably down river already eating.”
She hoped so. “Fine. Let’s see you catch fish. Where’s your pole?”
He grinned and took a few steps closer to her, revealing more of his body. “I’ll show you.”
She spun around to give him her back when she saw his hipbones. “You’re naked. I’m not looking.”
He chuckled. “I thought you wanted to see my pole.”
She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“I was hoping,” he muttered.
She turned back around. He hadn’t exposed more than just his upper body and his lower stomach. He had the best body she’d ever seen. It irritated her to notice that. He stared at her for a moment but then turned, walking deeper into the river. She watched the way he moved, his muscles flexing as he lifted his arms and then dived back in. His lower body surfaced, flashing his nice ass again. He disappeared under the water completely.
Primal and beautiful. Those were the two words that popped into her head to describe how he looked. Sexy, she added. Her heart rate increased suddenly at the memory of the night before, and she clenched her teeth. Thank God Kraven pulled us apart.
She had to admit that she’d wanted Drantos so bad, she’d hurt for him for hours. I’ve lost my mind. I snapped when the plane crashed. That had to account for why she was attracted to him.
“Ready?”
His voice made her start, aware her mind had drifted off with her thoughts. She met his gaze where he stood in waist-high river water. He held up a big wiggling fish to show her. Somehow he’d caught a monster-size one with his bare hands. It shouldn’t have surprised her but it did; he had a way of doing that to her often.
“I’m going to toss it to the shore. Make sure it doesn’t flop back into the water. I figure five more and we’re good. If you let one get away,” he grinned, “that one was yours.”
He pitched the fish right at her.
The fish hit the ground in front of her, lay stunned for a few seconds, and then started to flop around on the grass. She bit back a curse and lunged to prevent it from getting close to the water’s edge. Sympathy rose inside her for the poor thing but hunger won out.
“Sorry, pal. You’re dinner.”
“What?”
She turned her head to glance at Drantos. “I was talking to the fish.”
“And you think I’m the crazy one.” He dived back under the surface.
“Asshole.”
He caught all six fish in a quick amount of time, throwing her each one, and then started walking to shore. Dusti presented him with her back again when he came out of the water, to give him privacy while he dressed. She resisted the temptation to glance over her shoulder to sneak a glimpse of that amazing body he had, and he remained quiet until he approached her, fully dressed, to hover at her side.
“We’ll have to set up a temporary camp. It will be risky to light a fire long enough to cook these but we need to move on soon anyway.”
She looked up at him. “You know it’s freaky that you can fish with your bare hands, right? Is that an Alaskan thing?”
“No but you don’t believe me when I tell you what I am.”
“I asked you to turn into a dog to prove what you’ve said but you wouldn’t do it.” She figured that would shut him up about his delusions.
“You’re not ready for that yet.”
“Right. I was only kidding. Like you actually could.” She rolled her eyes. “How did I know you’d have an excuse?”
“You’re already fearful of me. You’d be terrified and fight me even harder if I showed you what I look like in ‘dog’ form, as you call it. I actually don’t look like one. I’m a lot bigger and scarier.”
“I’d have run away from you when you were in the water if I’d thought I had half a chance of surviving without you. I’m stuck.”
“You’d run. Trust me. It would probably get you killed. I’ll wait until it’s safe to give you proof. Let’s go.” He bent, picking up the fish. “See those rocks a little down the way? Let’s head there. It’s far enough from the woods not to risk the fire spreading and I can use them to build a small fire pit.”
“Do you need help carrying them?”
“Nope.”
“Good. I don’t like big wet things.” She wanted to groan the second the words were out of her mouth, the memory of Drantos’s naked body flashing in her mind.
“Really?” He bent over, easily scooping up the half-dozen fish into his big hands. “I like small wet things, myself.” He looked directly at her when he straightened.
“Okay,” she sighed. “We’re going to stop right there on that statement. I totally didn’t mean it in a sexual innuendo way when I said it.” She strode away from him in the direction of where he wanted to go.
“I did,” he called out.
“I got that.”
He made her mad. He was lucky she was the one stuck with him and not her sister. Bat would have probably killed him by now.
Worry surfaced. She hoped Bat hadn’t killed Kraven, or vice versa, wherever they were. She slowed her pace, waiting for Drantos to catch up. He placed the fish on a patch of moss and set to work building a fire. His skills impressed her when he made a small pit with rocks and twigs.
“How do you plan to start a fire? Were you a Boy Scout?”
He reached inside his jacket, withdrawing a lighter. A grin spread his lips. “I could start one without this but it’s easier.”
“Nice.” She had to admit she was hungry. Fish wasn’t her favorite but she wouldn’t complain. “I hope you know how to clean them. I don’t.”
The fire blazed as he added some larger pieces twigs. “I can. I have a knife in my boot.”
She had almost forgotten about that, and she still wondered how he’d gotten through security to get onto the smaller plane. His mysterious-eye hypnotic trick was probably the reason. He fed the fire more until it was large and set to work on cleaning the fish by using a semi-flat stone as a table. There were plenty of them littering the ground.
“Will your brother feed my sister?”
“He’ll take care of her.”
She could only hope that was true. “What are you going to do to us once we get out of here?” If we ever do. She glanced around the thickly wooded area, hoping they didn’t die. Animals could kill them or they could get lost, eventually succumbing to the elements.
“You’ll be safe at our village. Decker wouldn’t dare invade it to try to grab either of you.”
“If we find this village.” If it even exists anywhere outside of your head. “My grandfather won’t want to find me. I wasn’t kidding about how much we didn’t get along the few times I met him. He gave Bat hell when she mentioned bringing me on this trip with her.” Memories surfaced of being a young girl and feeling rejected. It still hurt a little but as she’d grown, it had turned to anger. “He’s a jerk.”
Drantos paused in cutting the fish to glance at her with a frown. “Don’t take it personal. He’s cold inside. He couldn’t even muster feelings for his own mate.”
“Your brother told me more about how he’s got some evil plan to kill a bunch of VampLycans and rule the survivors.”
“He is dangerous and greedy. He won’t be happy until he’s destroyed many lives and controls everything around him.”
“I don’t like him one bit but he just seemed like a creep. I think you’re giving him too much credit.”
“He rules his clan with brutality and fear.”
“Why would they stand for it? What is a clan, exactly? And you live in a village? As in, a fishing one?” It would explain how he was so good at catching dinner if he’d been raised by fishermen.
“Our clan consists of a group of VampLycans and a very small number of Lycans. Some of us are related, most of us are not. We live together because there is safety in numbers. It’s not a fishing village. It looks a lot like this wooded area.” He shrugged, his focus back on preparing their dinner. “Village or town, same thing. I thought you didn’t believe anything I had to say?”
“I don’t but I’m bored. Tell me more.”
He arched one eyebrow as he paused in cutting the fish again. He finally looked down, going back to work. “Laws are important in a clan. It’s not a democracy. Each clan has a leader and a group of his trusted enforcers to carry out those laws. Enforcers are the strongest fighters. Decker keeps his people in line with fear and by murdering any who dare defy or questions his orders.”
“So he’s a dictator with a vicious army at his disposal?”
“A small but lethal one. It’s also about traditions. Everyone in a clan swore alliance to obey the clan leader and his rules. It would be dishonorable to break an oath.”
“Even if he’s wrong?”
Drantos sighed. “Even so.”
“That sounds stupid.”
“I agree up to a certain point.” He looked at her again. “You have your ways and we have ours. We follow our clan leaders and the laws they set forth. It’s just the way it’s done.”
“It still sounds stupid.”
“I’m certain there are some laws or rules in your world that you don’t like or agree with. You still follow them. Why?”
“I don’t want my sister to have to bail me out of jail and then ask her to defend me in court. I never want to go to prison.”
“Jail or prison would be the least of their worries if anyone in a clan went against their leader. His enforcers would kill them as punishment.”
“Fantastic.” She hoped her sarcasm was clear. “Why isn’t he in prison if he has people murdered?”
“We don’t live according to your laws.”
“Everyone has to. You live in this reality, right? Or are we back to that another-dimension scenario?”
“Humans don’t live in our village. We keep separate from them as much as possible. They aren’t aware of what goes on with our people. Your law enforcement has no way of knowing who is killed or why.”
“I’m trying to imagine this world you’re telling me about but it’s hard,” she admitted. “Why don’t they just stop voting for Decker to lead them if they aren’t happy having him in control?”
“He wasn’t voted in. He took over from his father when he reached maturity and no one fought him to the death to take his position. Decker has loyalty from his enforcers. Think of it like one of your drug lords with a bunch of thugs who take out any people in town who want the tyranny to stop. His clan members aren’t even allowed to leave. He’d kill them first or punish the family they left behind. They’re trapped, and they send us warnings when they can to stop him from starting a clan war. We were at the airport searching for you after we heard two women had been sent for by Decker, and you’d help him accomplish that war. Our spies informed us of your travel route but couldn’t get your names or why he needed you. We only became certain you were the right ones after you boarded the second plane.”
“You have spies?”
“All four of our clans are mixed together by some bloodlines. Not everyone who is in Decker’s clan agrees with what he does. They send word to their families if they hear of anything that could threaten them. They don’t want to go to war with siblings, parents, or cousins.”
Dusti mulled that over, deciding to let that part of his story go. “There were other women on that plane. Why didn’t you pick them?”
“You and your sister were the only women traveling together. It made sense to us that you had to be the ones.”
“I still don’t understand why he wants Bat so badly.”
“I told you.”
“Tell me again.”
“Decker grew greedy as he aged. Now he wants to rule all four of the clans. He probably got fed up with our interference, like when he wanted to kill the humans who lived by his borders. The three clans let him know they wouldn’t allow it to happen. He can’t win a fight against us without the GarLycans fighting on his side.”
“Why haven’t the other three clans just attacked him and ended the threat?”
Drantos paused, staring at her. “Don’t think it hasn’t been discussed. It has. No one wants to fight their family though. And as I said, some of us are connected by bloodlines to his clan. The lives lost would be many. We try to avoid war.” He stabbed the raw fish onto sticks, dangling it over the fire to cook.
The smell had her stomach rumbling. She let his words sink in. It was tempting to keep arguing with him in hopes he’d see how illogical it all sounded but the smell of food distracted her. She’d rather eat. “I am so hungry.”
He finally passed her a stick. “Careful. It’s hot. Don’t burn your mouth.”
She almost drooled as she blew on the fish, taking a tiny bite. It wasn’t seasoned or the best she’d ever tasted, but it was still good. “Thank you.”
He turned his back to her to cook more. “Tell me about your life.”
She debated on answering but felt a little generous, what with warm food in her belly that he’d provided. “There’s not much to say. I work a regular nine-to-five job in an office as a secretary. I live alone. I don’t get to see my sister that much so I jumped at the chance to come with her when she said she was taking time off work.”
He glanced back. “Even though you hated who she was planning to visit?”
“Especially because of him. No way did I want her to be alone with that jack off. Bat comes off as tough as hell but she’s really not. I didn’t want him to get past her defenses just because he’s family. She expects him to be grandfatherly and I think it would hurt her deeply when she sees him for what he is. It would really mess up her head. I wanted to be there for her.”
“Weren’t you worried he’d hurt your feelings if he was still cold to you?”
“My expectations of him are as low as they can be. Nothing he could do or say would surprise me unless he turns out to be a nice guy. He wasn’t there when we needed him. Bat hired a private detective to get his phone number after our parents died, thinking he’d help us. She called him, sure he’d send us money. He didn’t. He offered to send her a plane ticket. Just one. He told her to hand me over to foster care; as if she would ever just abandon me. My sister would never do that. It made her mad but she thought he might be broke or something. But the detective said he was rich. That blew her best excuse.”
“He didn’t come after her?”
“Bat had been accepted to college and had planned to live in a dorm. All that changed when our parents died. The state tried to come in and take me. They didn’t feel Bat was mature enough to be my guardian. She’d just turned eighteen and graduated from high school. We listed the house for a lower price to get it sold within days and moved out of state. She switched colleges so we’d be a little harder to track if social services looked for me. We lived in some really crappy places but they didn’t ask for background checks. Most of the money went to her books, her classes, and I worked part time to help pay our bills.”
“That sounds difficult.”
“It was but we were together. That’s all that mattered.”
“How did your parents die?”
Dusti hated the pain that surfaced when she thought about the evening the police had knocked on their door. “My parents had a date night. They’d go out to dinner and a movie once a week.” She swallowed hard. “A semi-truck ran a red light and slammed into their car on their way home. They were both killed instantly. It had been raining and the cops said the driver had hit the brakes but skidded into the intersection.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She looked up at him. “Thanks. Bat was my rock. I completely fell apart but she held it together for the both of us. We were terrified when social services showed up after the funeral. As I said, they wanted to take me away but Bat knew what to do. She always does. She told them about our grandfather and lied by saying he was coming to live with us. It bought us enough time to disappear. At least he was useful to us in that way, having a blood relative who was alive.”
“Was she angry that he only offered to take her in?”
“Furious, but she said he was old. Like that excused what he did. She felt he might be afraid to take on a teenager with two years of school left, which means he’d be stuck helping to raise me.”
“She probably wanted to try to make you feel better,” Drantos guessed.
“No. She really wanted to think he was just an old man set in his ways, albeit a selfish one. It pisses me off too. She had the detective run his criminal history but he didn’t have one. That seemed to make him a decent guy to her. She believes we should make peace with him because he’s technically family since we’re related by blood. It helps that he’s rich, and she hopes he might leave us something in his will. Money is important to her.”
“But not to you?”
“It doesn’t buy happiness. My sister should know that. She gets the big bucks for doing her job but she’s miserable. She’ll deny that but she can’t lie to me. I know her too well. It’s as if she thinks if she makes enough money, it will make up for the past. And it represents security to her in case anything tragic ever happens again.”
“Was the loss of your parents what made her that way?”
Dusti sighed. “It was a combination of things. It was really tough after our parents died. Bat would have had to fight social services to get me back if they’d taken me away. It would have eaten up all the money from the sale of the house to take them to court. I know she would have done it though. And then living like we did until I hit eighteen was rough. There were cockroaches and the neighbors were less than stellar. The cops were hauling them off on a daily basis. They were either drug dealers, hookers, or addicts who wouldn’t hesitate to slit your throat if they thought you had money to steal to get their next fix. That’s putting it lightly.
“It made her feel guilty because we had to live that way until she could finish getting her law degree, but that wasn’t the most important reason. It was because those places made it tougher for us to be found. We moved back to California and into a nice place when she got her first job. Then she met someone who ripped her up.”
“She was attacked?” Drantos frowned. “By what?”
“Who. She fell in love with this pretty-boy type who was too charming, if you get my drift. She gave him her heart and he really screwed her over. He stole her credit cards to rack up a shitload of debt. The jerk was buying other women jewelry, taking them out to fancy dinners, and fucking them in hotel rooms she ended up paying for. She really thought he loved her and never realized he was a leach until it was too late. It was how he lived. He’d pretend to love one woman, all the while stealing from her while looking for another with more money. Like she was just a stepping stone to something better. He was gone by the time the collection agencies began calling. He’d stolen her identity, racked up a bunch of credit cards she knew nothing about until the bill collectors began to call. He'd had the statements sent somewhere else.”
Dusti still got pissed, remembering what had happened to her sister. “She felt like a fool and utterly devastated. He’s the man she believed she’d spend the rest of her life with. It took her a year to clear up that financial mess and it deeply embarrassed her. She changed after that.”
“She grew less trusting.”
“It was more than that. It turned her mean. She began going on the offense. She never allowed anyone to get close to her again. She keeps everyone at arm’s length by being a total bitch. It’s pissed some people off enough to want to lash out at her. Her law firm employs bodyguards to protect her.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Bodyguards?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Her bosses wouldn’t pay for protection while she was on vacation or they’d still be with us.”
“She really has bodyguards?”
“She defends bad guys for a living who people love to hate. It makes her a target for a lot of nut jobs. Maybe they think if she dies, whoever she’s defending at the time might end up in prison. It’s not as if she’s some sweetheart of a person who apologizes for what she does, either. She tells them to kiss her ass.”
Drantos chuckled.
“It’s not funny. Bat is too good at her job. Once trials have ended, some of her own clients have made death threats. That’s not a surprise, though. They’re assholes and thugs with the mentality that nobody should stand up to them, especially a woman. But you’ve met her. I think the shock of the crash has actually mellowed her out a bit. Imagine how angry my sister can make people when she’s normal.”
A smile played at his lips. “Kraven probably can.”
She didn’t smile back. “Please tell me he’s got the patience of a saint.”
“He won’t hurt her, Dusti. I give you my word.”
What is his word really worth? She could only hope Bat was safe.
Drantos watched Dusti eat. She looked miserable and worried. “Your sister is safe,” he swore. “Kraven will protect her and make sure she’s cared for. He won’t let anything happen to her.”
She still didn’t look convinced. He ate quickly, studying the area. There had been no sign of trouble so far. That didn’t mean things couldn’t change. Decker’s men might have already located the crash site and begun to hunt for their trail. They would be able to move faster without two women slowing them down but he hoped they still had hours before they could catch up. It would help when they crossed the large body of water.
He needed to get Dusti across the river without getting her drenched. She would become cold once night fell. He scanned the sky. They had some daylight left but only a few hours. He needed to put out the fire and build some kind of raft. She could hold his clothes while he paddled her across to the other side. A few logs tied together should work.
He glanced at Dusti, wondering how she’d react when he got her home and proved that everything he’d told her was true. He’d need to shift forms and hope she didn’t see him as a monster. It might kill every ounce of attraction she felt for him if all he inspired was terror.
He stifled a groan. He wanted to get her naked in the worst way. Memories of the evening before flashed through his mind. Her responses to his touch had driven him out of his mind. Pure lust and animal instincts had taken control. His dick hardened just thinking about how she’d felt under him and how hot she’d gotten when he’d been touching her.
He couldn’t wait to get her home so he could stop fighting his desire to make love to her. He’d have plenty of time to seduce Dusti then and teach her exactly what was between them. She’d learn they were meant to be together and exactly how different from human men he really was. He wouldn’t have to hold back anything.
He just hated that he’d frightened her the night before. She had no idea how much passion their Lycan blood could inspire.
Why in the hell didn’t her mother tell her the truth? It still pissed him off. Everything would have been so much easier if Dusti had known about VampLycans and the kind of real danger Decker posed. He wouldn’t be taking verbal abuse about his state of sanity or worried that she’d refuse to give a relationship between them a chance once she saw him shift forms.
She would fight him every step of the way until she realized everything he’d told her was the truth. Maybe shifting for her wasn’t such a bad idea. He debated it but quickly came to the conclusion he was right before; it would terrify her even more. Long term, it wasn’t worth it. She’d already endured enough trauma. It was best to allow her to think he was a little crazy, rather than her seeing him as some kind of horrific monster. She’d resist harder against her attraction to him. That was the last thing he wanted.
Time spent together would help. She’d get to know him better and he’d be able to earn her trust. He just needed to be more patient and not lose his temper when he became frustrated. He regretted swatting her ass, never meaning to cause her pain. It was a reminder that he needed to be gentler when he touched her. He never imagined his mate would be half human. It didn’t bother him but it did change things. Her skin was more delicate and sensitive than the women he had become accustomed to.
I’ll get her home and we’ll work this out. She’ll have to accept me.
He studied the moving river. That was the obstacle he needed to face next. He’d just take one problem at a time.
“Stay here and finish eating that fish, Dusti. I need to find a few fallen logs.”
“For what?”
He jerked his thumb toward the water. “To cross that.”
“You’re determined to get me killed, aren’t you?”
He closed the distance between them and crouched. She flinched when he reached out and brushed his fingers down her cheek but didn’t totally pull away. She grimly held his gaze.
“I’m determined to keep you safe. We will lose anyone who finds our trail by crossing it. It’s just a little water.”
“It’s a freakin’ river, and I’ve been watching branches floating by near the center. That current is really moving. I’m not totally dumb. That water’s probably coming from the mountaintops that are melting from the winter ending. It means that ice chunks are also mixed in there and I know how cold it got last night. The day is almost over, which means we’re going to get hypothermia tonight, if we don’t drown first.”
He decided to try a new tactic. “I plan to get you naked in my bed, Dusti. That wouldn’t happen if I got you killed. I’m very motivated. Think about that. I am.”
He stood and walked toward the woods. Her shocked expression had him grinning. He’d rather face a flustered or angry woman than a terrified one.
It didn’t take long to find a few dead trees. Some of them hadn’t survived the winter, and the wind and snow felled many. He allowed his claws to slide out, hacking at the excess branches to remove them from the small tree trunks. He’d use his belt to bundle some of them together and it would hopefully keep Dusti dry and out of the water.
I’ll get her wet later. He grinned, imagining stripping her out of her clothes and spreading her out naked on his bed. Images filled his head of making love to her but he pushed them back. Daydreaming about claiming her would have to wait.
One thing at a time. Raft first. Sex later.
He dragged the trunks one by one into the camp he’d made. Dusti watched but didn’t question him as he made a few trips back and forth, and then began to build his makeshift raft.