Chapter Eight
Polaris
When Frieda got a call from Typhoon telling her to come to headquarters to speak with him, the first thought that ran through her mind was that Twister ratted her and Stewart out. Technically what they had done wasn’t against the rules, but Typhoon frowned very strongly on relationships between people on the same crew. It was even worse because Frieda was Stewart’s supervisor.
Typhoon would be furious with her. Probably put Stewart’s training to a different crew.
She walked into headquarters with her head held high and her gaze steely. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her into being ashamed. What she and Stewart had done was no more than what others did… She wasn’t going to let her judgment be clouded just because of her feelings for him!
When she strode to stand before Typhoon’s desk—it always surprised her just how office-like his office was; he truly ran the Savage Brotherhood like a military business—he didn’t look up for several moments. She could see his nose twitching, though, and bit back the urge to tell him to just spit it out. He’d speak in his own time.
Eventually, he set down the pen he was using and looked up, folding his hands on the desk. “I have never known you to fuck one of the new recruits before.”
For some reason, even though she had been thinking of what she and Stewart had done as fucking, the way Typhoon said it made her hackles raise. Maybe it was because of his tone. He made it sound so animalistic. There was so much more than lust in what they’d done, though.
Typhoon sighed as he stood. “I have always said that mates make my people crazy. I had hoped you were above that, Polaris.”
“Above it?” Frieda snorted. “You make it sound like there is something shameful about having a mate. What’s Mia going to say?”
“Leave Mia out of this.” He glared at her for a moment, but a slight smile tugged at his lips. “Your point is taken, though. I’m not happy with you sleeping with Stewart, but I can’t say I’m surprised. However, that does make what I am about to say have a bit more… edge, I suppose you could say, to it.”
Frieda sat when he gestured her to sit and nodded.
“I am going to give you and Cyclone a mission. It’s going to be dangerous, there’s no question about that, and if you’re caught I will deny all knowledge of it.”
Ice started to creep into her veins. “So, like a black ops thing?”
“Exactly. You and Stewart are going to assassinate King Rudolph.”
Frieda blinked. Then stared. Then blinked again. Her thoughts tumbled over one another as she struggled to process what she had just been told. King Rudolph. He was a vampire king over near Oakvale. His kingdom wasn’t especially large, but it was wealthy. What in Hell’s Fires did he do that Typhoon would want him dead?
“So you want us to die?” The question came out spitting. “It’s against the treaty! And how are we supposed to get close enough to a vampire king to kill him? Is this because I called you Bobby once when we first met?”
“I assure you, it is not.”
Frieda threw her hands into the air. “Then why? What did I do? What did Stewie do? What could we have done that is so bad that you want us dead?”
Typhoon sighed.
“Not only that, but when Guinevere and Twister find out that you sent us to our deaths, they’re not going to be happy with you, either. So, you’re going to antagonize the only vampire allies that the Brotherhood has and—”
“Calm the fuck down.” Typhoon glared at her. “You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. Stop acting like a hysterical woman.”
Frieda’s nostrils flared. Her eyes narrowed, but she sealed her jaw shut. Hysterical woman? He tells her to go on a suicide mission and then calls her hysterical when she is upset about that? And not just any suicide mission, but a suicide mission with someone who wasn’t even a full-fledged member of the Brotherhood yet! Stewart could handle himself in a regular fight, but to go into the vampire’s nest?
“You calm now?” He arched a brow at her.
That question alone was almost enough to make her lunge at him swinging, but she held herself back, keeping her ass firmly seated in her chair. “My question still stands. This is suicide. And no matter how much you can deny having any sort of knowledge of our involvement, the fact is it’s going to come back to bite the Brotherhood on the ass. What’s going on here? It’s not like you to throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
“Nobody is throwing anything. You and Cyclone have the best chances at this. You are quick on your feet and fast in your head. And quite frankly, Cyclone being Guinevere’s brother-in-law gives him and you the best chance at being held hostage should you fail, rather than being killed outright.”
She wanted to be furious about that. Wanted to tell him that was a relationship that they couldn’t touch. She kept her mouth shut, though. Blowing up at Typhoon, especially since he was already writing off her feelings on the matter, wasn’t going to help anybody.
“Rudolph is planning something big,” he continued. “I can’t share all the details with you, but the attack on your crew was set up by him. He wants to bring vampires out of the shadows, and now that he knows how to make them human enough to resist sunlight, he’s been experimenting. My sources say he might be close to finding a way for vampires to keep all their abilities with none of the weaknesses. He’s like most of the vampire kings in that he thinks they ought to be ruling over all of us.”
Frieda felt a chill steal down her spine. There were plenty of vamps that thought that way. She thought it must have something to do with the fact that they had to kill humans to survive. It twisted something in their brains; how could they survive the guilt if they saw humans as equals?
“So, you want Stewart and I to kill him before he gets there. But if he’s having it researched, then shouldn’t we be going after his scientists?”
“He is his scientists. He’s had tons of schooling and always keeps his notes in his head. He’s paranoid about it being stolen and the glory taken by someone else. So you kill him, you end this threat.”
Frieda tapped her fingers against the arm of her chair. Her eyes darkened. Over the past few years, things had been going up and down with the vampires. It seemed like every time they got a leg up on the leeches, they rallied back in another sector, throwing everything out of sync again.
“We need to just solve this once and for all!” Frieda snarled. Her hands bunched to fists. “We can’t keep running around like headless chickens, plugging up one hole only for two more to spring open. It can’t keep going on like this.”
“We agree on that one.” Typhoon pinched the bridge of his nose. “And I am working on it. For right now, I need you on damage control. If humans were to find out about vampires and shifters, it would be utter chaos.”
That was for fucking sure. Frieda slumped in her chair. Most shifters themselves didn’t know about vampires. Those who did find out generally had some pretty intense reactions, and that was with one foot in the world of the paranormal already. With humans? It was even worse. Sure, one human here, another human there, they could deal with that. But the whole kit and kaboodle? Not a chance.
Which brought her to another thought. “Brad Duster. Can we trust that he won’t say anything?”
“We’ll have to.” Typhoon’s voice grew hard again and he dropped his hand. “Because the last thing we need right now is an increased cop presence in our way. Now. I don’t want to know how you plan to kill Rudolph. I want you to go back to Cyclone and the two of you can figure it out on your own. Don’t mess up. I won’t be able to help you if you do.”
***
It took three days for Frieda and Stewart, having intense conversations in hotel rooms and parked at make-out spots to avoid drawing suspicion, to put together their plan. Frieda wished that they could have more time than that, but from what she heard from Typhoon, even the three days was pushing it. On the third day, they told Daniel that they were going to have a weekend camping trip. He waved them off, shaking his head and telling them that his dad found the whole situation weird but that he was happy for them.
They drove all day and night to get to Oaksvale, then camped overnight in the forest. Neither slept well and so relaxed themselves by making love until dawn when they finally both fell asleep for a few hours. When they woke, they left their camping gear where it was and hiked up the mountain.
When they reached the barrier separating vampire territory form Brotherhood land, Frieda paused and turned to Stewart. “This is going to be unpleasant. You need to keep your wits about you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got a handle on it.” He smiled at her, that cocky smile that she found so reassuring she couldn’t even tell him not to get cocky.
They knew where to find the entrance to the underground kingdom, a slit in the side of the mountain that would have been unremarkable except for the utter darkness within. As there was no good way to lure Rudolph from his kingdom, the only way to get at him was to crawl into the beast’s belly. Frieda’s stomach wound itself into a series of knots as she reached for his hand. She was pretty certain the vampires already knew they were here.
But from here on out? This was what was going to be the true test. The plan was lunacy, she already knew that. Chances were they weren’t going to survive this. She only hoped that Rudolph would be curious enough as to why a couple of shifters would walk into his kingdom that he didn’t have them killed right away.
The things I do for the Brotherhood, she thought grimly. “Are you ready?”
Stewart nodded, his expression grim.
She bumped his shoulder with hers and, hoping to lighten the dark look on his brow, whispered. “I wish we had time for another stretch before we go in there.”
The tension lightened from Stewart’s brow. He turned toward her with a grin and reached for her hand. “Oh, really? If I had known that, I would have put you up against every tree we saw since we crossed that blasted barrier.”
The image of her against the rough bark came to her mind. She could just imagine herself, half-sitting in some branched-off area, Stewart kneeling before her while her glistening parts were open for the whole world to see. There was something appealing about that image, really… A giggle started to build up in her throat, and she quickly stuffed her fist into her mouth to stifle it. Her eyes flashed a warning to Stewart, but he only smiled and leaned in closer.
“First,” he whispered, tracing his hand over her hip, “I’d spend a little time just kissing you. I’d stick my tongue in your mouth and only when you started rocking your hips and grinding against me would I move my hands from your sides. I’d feel my way up your body, testing the weight of each soft breast before pinning you in place and ripping off all your clothing. I’d catch your gasp in my mouth. Then I’d find your pulse.” Here he put his hand around her neck, two fingers pressing into her pulse, which was going pretty fast already. “And I’d find your clit. I’d stroke it into a little hard nub, and then when you were panting and moaning, I’d—”
“What makes you think I’d let you get there without my own actions?” Frieda interrupted. Her whole body seemed to be on fire and her voice was breathless. If it wasn’t for the possibility that a vampire was watching them right now from the inky darkness, she would have suggested that they find a tree right now. “Before we got to that point, I’d be ripping off your clothing myself.”
Stewart hummed, then shook his head. “No, not for this fantasy. Don’t get me wrong, I like you taking control. I really like it,” he winked, “but there are times when I’m going to be the dominant one. Only as far as you are comfortable, of course, but I do want to dabble with some BDSM once this is over.”
And if it ended with them dead? Frieda pushed that thought away. They’d just have to survive it. That’s all there was to it. “I have never tried BDSM. Can’t say that I haven’t thought about it from time to time, though… Never found anybody I trusted enough to try it out with, I suppose…”
One of his big, warm, strong hands cupped her face. He bent in close and brushed his lips across her cheekbone. “It’s a date then.”
Frieda nodded, breathless once more. “Yeah. Once this is over, we’ll get some cuffs and ropes and whips…”
“Sounds good.”
They stood there staring at each other for a long time. Frieda could see in his eyes there was more he wanted to say. She wanted to say more, too. She wanted to tell him things she had never told anybody before. That he was her best friend, that she would give up everything if it meant she could be with him forever. That her feelings had run deep and true for a long time. That if he was still human, she wouldn’t have been able to hold herself back anymore anyway.
“I…” Could she tell him that she loved him? Would she have regrets if she didn’t?
“I know. I do, too.”
Warmth spread through her body. She threw her arms around his neck, pulling herself so close to him that their clothing hardly seemed a barrier at all. Their mouths crashed together with a hungry ferocity. Teeth clinked together as Stewart’s hands roamed all over her body. She didn’t even care if there was a vampire in the darkness watching now. They’d been here long enough for a whole gaggle of them to be waiting. She didn’t care. She just wanted this last kiss. Full of the passion and words that she couldn’t speak aloud.
When they finally broke apart, the two of them stared into each other’s eyes, clinging to one another for a long moment before they stepped back. Then, holding each other’s hands, they descended into darkness.
The sunlight quickly faded as they entered the long tunnels. The smell of blood and rotten fruit surrounded them, and Frieda breathed through her mouth so as not to smell it. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as her eyes struggled uselessly to adjust to the utter black. There was no sound around them, not that it made a difference. In this darkness, vampires could see as well as day and with their flying abilities, they didn’t have to make a noise.
She squeezed Stewart’s hand tighter as they continued. And she couldn’t help but wonder what they had gotten themselves into.Chapter Nine
Cyclone
The pitch darkness around him made his hair stand on end. Stewart fought against his wolf, growling and snarling in his chest. It wanted to come forward, to take control of his body and tear apart the unseen threats in the black. He was well aware of Frieda beside him, her warmth, her scent, the soft sounds of her breath. He clung to her hand in a way that a pulse throbbed in his fingers, but whether it was hers or his or both he wasn’t sure.
“So…” He whispered, unable to stand the silence anymore. The vampires probably already knew they were there, after all. “Do you think we’ll come to some light soon?”
“Honestly,” Frieda sighed, sounding a touch put-out but he could tell it was due more to nerves than anything else, “We should have brought a flashlight. It’s not like we could evade the vampires for very long, anyway.”
A chuckle sounded from right behind them, making the hair on the back of Stewart’s neck prickle. He whirled, even though the tunnel behind them was as pitch-black as the darkness in front of them. A cool breeze brushed over his face and he could just imagine a vampire leaning forward, lips pursed as it breathed outward at him. He snarled and swiped at the space before him, but his hand hit nothing.
“A bit late for that, don’t you think?” the voice came from above them now. “What are two shifters doing strolling so casually into a vampire kingdom? Not just strolling casually, but knowing that they are entering a vampire kingdom… One would think that you have a death wish.”
Stewart snarled again, tugging Frieda a little closer to him. She gasped, and he whirled, pulling her tightly into his arms as he growled at the unseen threat. Frieda elbowed him in the chest, growling herself.
“Cool it,” she snapped at him.
The vampire chuckled, this time right before them. “This is interesting. So she’s the one that does the mounting, eh mutt?”
Stewart worked hard to get himself back under control. He could not flub this up. Keep calm and don’t panic. It was cliché, but it was what he had to remember to do right now. “We want to see—”
“I’m sure you do.” The vampire interrupted and laughed. “Luckily for you, my king wants some new shifters for his latest experiments… and you have to be living for his purposes. Hold out your hands and surrender and I’ll take you where you can see. Otherwise, I’ll have to kill one of you to make the other behave. Is that going to be necessary?”
Stewart snarled again. His wolf told him to shift, to find the fucking vampire who dared threaten Frieda and tear him apart. However, this was their plan… being taken prisoner by the vampires so that they could get close to the king. It had seemed like lunacy before, but now it was downright stupid. Why had he agreed to this again?
“I don’t suppose we have a choice,” Frieda said dryly.
She gently removed her hand from his and he could sense her holding her hands out. Reluctantly, he did the same. His eyes hurt from squinting in the darkness so hard. His hands clenched as bands of cold metal snapped around his wrists. Once more he had to wonder at how wise this course of action was, but it was too late now. The metal was right against his skin, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to break free if he tried.
One hand rested on his shoulder, warmer than he expected, and propelled him into the darkness. Frieda’s breathing stayed even beside him, so he knew she was still there, but it didn’t mean that he was any happier with the situation. He kept his footsteps timed with hers, breathing in her scent and reminding himself that she was alright.
Light stabbed into his eyes so suddenly that they began streaming and stinging instantly. Stewart flinched back, squinting as the white light burned against his retinas. By the time his eyes adjusted, the vampire had dragged him forward and thrown him into a chair. It was only then that he realized it wasn’t just one vampire… There was a good dozen of the creatures around them. All chalky-white, with gaunt features and waxy skin.
He glanced at Frieda at once, making sure she was still there. She looked a little nervous, but her expression was hard and determined. He released a soft breath and faced the vampire standing before them again. He was slightly shorter than the others, stockier. Surprisingly, his face was covered in scars. A chill stole down Stewart’s spine. How much fighting must he have done in order to scar?
The vampire looped his thumbs into his belt and considered the two of them. A small smile spread over his face and he shook his head, chuckling. “This was not what I was expecting today. It’s times like this that I love my job… Tell me, shifters, what are you doing here?”
Stewart glared at him a moment before he remembered that they weren’t supposed to be antagonistic. It was just difficult, with that guy’s smug face and the feeling of danger prickling up and down his spine. He glanced at Frieda. She didn’t speak, and so Stewart did.
“We came here to deliver information. It will be very valuable to the king.” He emphasized the word valuable, so that the vampire would know exactly what they were after—or at least, pretending to be after.
The vampire arched a brow and leaned forward, his gaze sweeping from Stewart to Frieda, then back to Stewart. “Valuable information, you say? I hope it’s not just your sexual preferences. As interesting as it was to hear about how you want to tie up this lovely puppy here and fuck her senseless, the king is centuries old… hearing about your kinks will be nothing new.”
Stewart’s lip curled back from his teeth. So, the vampires were listening. And calling Frieda a puppy? Infantilization much?
“What sort of information do you have?” the vampire continued, this time focusing on Frieda. “I know you. You’re a member of the Savage Brotherhood. So. Do you have information on Typhoon or has he sent you here on one of his little schemes?”
Frieda tossed her head back, her long hair flowing down her back. It had been done up when they entered the tunnels. Stewart’s wolf howled and raged as he realized that the vampires must have let it loose. What else had they done? He hated the thought of them touching her while he was mere feet away, oblivious to it all. A snarl started to work its way up his throat, but she shot him a look. He forced himself to quiet.
“We have valuable information,” Frieda repeated. “And yes, it does have to do with the Brotherhood… and your king’s experiments. But we won’t negotiate with anybody but him.”
The vampire’s brow arched. “Negotiate? You think that you can negotiate with vampires, sweetie? Oh, my… Aren’t we full of ourselves?”
Stewart frowned. “If you want our information then we will only speak to the king.”
“Speak to the king,” the vampire repeated in a mocking voice. “Well, now I know Typhoon isn’t the one that sent you. He’d never be so stupid as to send a couple of his people to my kingdom without even letting them know who I am.”
Stewart’s eyes widened. His head jerked toward Frieda instinctively. She looked just as shocked as he felt. This was King Rudolph? Hadn’t Typhoon told Frieda, at least, what he looked like? Stewart had assumed that she would know the king on sight… apparently, they hadn’t discussed everything in as much detail as they should have. He could have kicked himself.
This mission was suicide. He already knew that, but now he was beginning to feel it. Maybe, if he shifted, he’d be able to hold off the vampires long enough for Frieda to get out. She had a good nose; she’d be able to track the path they took back out of here.
But before he could even start to try to shift, Frieda spoke. Her voice was cool and calm. “Well, your Majesty, it is an honor that you would choose to interrogate us yourself. Now, as for the information that we have—”
Rudolph’s hand snapped out. It slapped over Frieda’s face with a smack, causing her head to jerk back. She cried out and Stewart lunged. Several pairs of hands seized him and thrust him back into his chair. White fur started to creep out from his skin, and he barely choked back a growl. His eyes narrowed to slits, though.
“A woman’s mouth is good for only one thing,” the king sighed, sounding bored. “And it’s not talking. Don’t you agree?”
Stewart snarled, hating the way this bastard was talking about Frieda. At the flash in the king’s eyes, though, he forced himself to relax. The vampire guards still held him in place, but their grips weren’t quite as tight. He forced himself not to think about ways he could break free and pulverize the king as he stood there…
“I said, don’t you agree with me?” Rudolph narrowed his eyes at Stewart.
He sucked in a deep breath. “Well, I suppose that depends. Polaris here does have a problem knowing when to shut up sometimes.”
He could feel her glare boring holes into the side of his face but didn’t dare look at her. He knew he was going to have hell to pay for that comment, even if he was just playing along with Rudolph for now. Hopefully, she would understand… The king at least seemed to be appeased. A smirk came over his face as he leaned back on his heels. He, too, flashed a glance at Frieda, and Stewart wondered if this was more about humiliating her than anything else.
A growl started to work into his throat again, but luckily, he was able to stop it from becoming full-fledged.
“Now. What is it that you two have brought to me?” Rudolph focused on Stewart again. “In all the years since the Savage Brotherhood formed, I have only known a dozen shifters willing to betray their own kind. Since Typhoon took over, it’s become even less. He’s a clever boy, that one, and I’ve never been able to figure out where exactly he’s come from. So. How did it happen that you two decided to turn on him and he didn’t kill you before you had a chance to get here?”
Stewart inhaled deeply. He couldn’t be certain that Rudolph was telling the truth about this. In any case, they had worked out their cover story, as well as the information that they were going to feed the vampires.
“You know Polaris. So you know about the attack that vampires made on her, where they wiped out a bunch of cops. Well, Typhoon decided to throw her under the bus. He was going to hand her over to the cops, as though she was responsible for those deaths. If that happened…” He bunched his muscles and growled under his breath. “I’m not going to sit back and watch her take the fall when it wasn’t her fault. If Typhoon won’t protect his own people, then I have no use for him. He’s always talking about doing what has to be done, taking care of business. But when there is something that he can actually do to help? He acts as though it’s not his problem.”
Rudolph cocked his head and studied him.
Stewart met his eye. “So… if he’s going to hand her over so easily, then he can go fuck himself. We need money, so that we can disappear from this place. Go to Argentina or somewhere. Get away from Typhoon and his tyranny so that we can live our lives together in peace.”
“That is quite the story. Except I know that there was a cop who survived and is blaming a new gang in the area.” Rudolph smiled. “So. Try again.”
“I know that cop survived,” Stewart snarled. “But that’s not good enough for Typhoon… I know that he—"
“I’m not an idiot,” Rudolph interrupted. “You have something else up your sleeves… Or did the female tell you that Typhoon was going to hand her over? This reeks of feminine wiles…” He leaned over Frieda and cupped her face in his hand. “Did you bring him to me for some reason? Not as a bodyguard, otherwise you wouldn’t be tied in my chair… Hell, you wouldn’t have even come in the first place. You’d have sent him by himself. So what are you up to?”
“I’ve already told you—” Stewart started.
Rudolph held up a hand. He glared down at Frieda for another moment before he turned on his heel and grinned at Stewart. “I don’t think she’s going to say another word when you’re here. I’ll have to find out how willing she really is to deal with vampires in another way, I suppose.”
Images of Frieda tied down in a bed while Rudolph stood over her flashed through his mind. Stewart didn’t even care if that wasn’t what the king was thinking of. He reacted on instinct, his form half-shifting as he lunged at the king. Rudolph didn’t even blink. Not that he needed to. Even as Stewart moved forward, the guards reacted.
A fist rammed into his stomach, causing him to choke and collapse to his knees. The chair clattered away as the guards took turns hitting and kicking him. Rudolph chuckled as Stewart curled into himself. He tried to protect his stomach and face. The metal cuffs bit into his wrists. Pain washed through him as the blows rained down.
“You need him.” Frieda’s voice was utterly unconcerned when it broke through the pounding noise.
The blows continued, making Stewart grunt and groan with each one.
“You need him.” There was no worry in her voice, only firmness.
Rudolph sighed. “Stop.”
The blows eased off. Stewart couldn’t help but groan in relief, even as the pounding in his head continued. His wolf snarled at him to shift and attack the vampires, but he held back. The cuffs were digging into his half-shifted wrists, and he could only imagine the damage they would do if he tried to shift all the way. He swallowed and peeked through swelling eyes to see Rudolph and Frieda staring down at each other.
“And what do I need him for?” the vampire asked, sounding bored.
“You’ll see.”
Rudolph snorted. “And how do I know that you’re not saying that to protect your mate? You shifters… you’re always so soft on the ones you love. It’s almost tragic, if it wasn’t so disgusting.”
Frieda smiled. It was a chilling smile that Stewart had never seen on her face before. “He’s not my mate.”
It almost made him flinch. He opened his mouth, a protest catching in his throat. He stopped himself just in time, though. One of the guards nudged him and a shot of pain went up his spine. He grit his teeth and held in everything he wanted to say. Frieda was just playing the game—and honestly, didn’t he deserve it after what he’d said about her before?
“Get him out of here,” Frieda continued and then smiled. “And then we can find out just what uses my mouth has.”
His stomach plummeted. A snarl ripped from his throat, but before he could do or say anything, the king had gestured, and he was dragged to his feet by the guards. They yanked him from the room. The last thing he saw of Frieda and Rudolph was the king pulling her to her feet, a wicked smile on his face.