Callie's Guardian: White Tigers of Brigantia (Book 1) by Lisa Daniels (58)

Chapter One

The first casualties came within a week.  Minor werewolf clans from isolated homesteads got picked off one by one, to deplete the potential reinforcements of the three noble families.

Luelle stood at the bedside of a small boy that Frey Radev tended to, daubing an icy towel over his feverish head.  The boy in question simply stared at the ceiling, the absence of hope in his eyes.  Elinor stepped in behind, drawing the attention of the two women.

“Hey.  Small update.  Negotiations are falling a bit flat.  Heigan Koroslav is acting like he won't talk to us until he gets you back,” Elinor said, jabbing a finger at Luelle, “but in the meanwhile, he's systematically eliminating Bulgarian born werewolves west of Sofia.  Which, if you ask me, is just rude.”

The boy's eyes drooped, to focus on Elinor.  Frey folded her arms, appearing like a hunk of rock, expression guarded.  “Will it be worth trading in Luelle?”

Frey's casual drop irritated Luelle.  Although she identified the woman as an eminently practical individual, being treated as an object sent her mind to dark places.  Heat built up behind her eyes.

“I'm not sure.  We can't have Luelle running off yet.  Not until we know for certain.  If the slaughter grows to unheard of proportions, Luelle, we might need you to bait them or, worst case scenario, trade.”

“You trade me, I'll kill myself,” Luelle said, her lips thinning.  She meant every word.  Her hands shook.  “So it better only be as a last resort.”

“Noted,” Elinor said.  Her apathy irritated Luelle as well.  Of course, they had other, pressing matters to deal with, such as the potential annihilation of everything the Bulgarians stood for, and a slow usurpation of another clan who would return the mountain regions to their barbaric roots and probably introduce a mass extinction event of eastern European clans.

Still, it would be nice for a change to not be treated like dirt.  Luelle fumed as she left the room, fully intending to sulk to her bedroom and huddle up into a ball of anger and frustration.  Along the way, she bumped hard into Evo at the corner, who sought his sister out for some advice.

“Oh!”  The werewolf said, apologetic as Luelle rubbed her shoulder and glared at him.  Sapphire eyes met hers, and it was as if a spotlight now shone on Luelle, illuminating every facet of her body.  The contrast of Evo's light eyes with his dark skin proved an endless source of fascination.  In all her life, Luelle had never met a dark-skinned person in the flesh.  They were few and far in Bulgaria, and in the snowy region of Siberia, dark skin gave those choosing to live in the chill-flecked country a huge disadvantage. 

She kept wanting to touch his skin, to see how it felt and compared with hers.  The puffy frizz of his hair made her think of wire-brushes.  She could likely run her cheek along that, triggering a series of static shocks.  She was pretty convinced that the experience would be glorious.

“Uh, am I distracting you right now?  Because I can cover up,” Evo said, grinning with one eyebrow raised.

Luelle flushed, her thought-truck grinding to a squealing halt.  Already, wisps of anger left her body, dissipating into the air.  Damn him for being devilishly handsome, under a pinstripe shirt and snug fitting brown pants.  “Sorry.  I was actually gonna go and sulk in my hotel room.”

“Oh?  Why?”  Evo peered past her to see his sister and Elinor Spirova in the room with the boy, murmuring to one another.  “Not to do with my sister?  Because she can irritate people for sure.”

“Yup.  And Elinor.  They were discussing about whether it might be worth trading me if the invasion isn't beaten back.  Told them I'd rather die.”

Evo's eyes darkened into an indeterminable expression.  “I know it's why they want you around.  I suppose they just rubbed it in your face.”

Something cracked in Luelle's mind.  Fighting back unexpected, intrusive tears, Luelle managed, “Yeah.  It's been the only reason why anyone wants me around.  So I can be useful.”

Leaving Evo in a mix of shock and ill-concealed curiosity, Luelle whirled past him, bottom lip wobbling.  What was wrong with her?  The last thing anyone needed right now was some kind of emotional meltdown, for her to do something stupid or to snap every time someone even came close to sensitive subjects.  She had survived.  Not always gracefully, or kindly, but she had survived.

Everything's okay.  Everything's fine.  They won't sell me out.  We won't lose.  I'm not a victim.

Easy to convince herself otherwise.  All she knew that whatever happened, death was preferable to being tossed into Heigan's liver-spotted arms, to the mercies of his leering pack.  A shudder of revulsion rippled through.  At least the son was dead, eviscerated by Evo Radev, her brother and the Forsythe couple.  That chapter of her life now buried itself under mud.

However, everything about this current situation served to dig at her nerves.  What was even the point of being a werewolf, proclaimed as one of the most powerful living creatures on the planet, if all that happened in her existence was a long period of being stuck behind bars?

I want to be free.  That was the whole point.  Not hiding my head in the shadows, or being held as a bargaining chip for these stupid family games.  Why can't they just leave me alone, for once?

Small chance of that.  The casualties were coming, and slowly filling up the spare hotel beds, from wounded youngsters to wizened old dogs, far past the prime of their feral blood, and left for nature to claim.

To boot, it looked like the Armanev family didn't plan to join in on Elinor's hastily sprung defenses – instead thinking it a great idea to side with the invaders. 

Sure is a giant mess.  Arina is right.  Our kind are seriously fucked up.

Left to the corruption of her thoughts, Luelle stared at the ceiling, with the cracks in the wood from the constant dips in temperature over the years.  Frost built up on the window, which gave her a view of a run-down street, with cars clogging up the pavement on either side, without the luxury of a residential car park to hold them.

The hum of a lonely motor sped past the hotel now, and Luelle suppressed the urge to morph, to feel the wolf crack her bones and tear up this flimsy excuse for a room, or shred the tattered, threadbare sheets that needed three layers to keep someone warm in the dead of winter.

“I want to be in America already,” she huffed to the empty room.  Her lip jutted out like a petulant child's.

“If you want,” Evo said, sliding through the door as the hinges groaned, “certain things can be arranged.”  He gave an incipient grin, blasting maximum charm her direction.  Luelle stirred herself out of the negative funk to gape at him, half amused and half exasperated at the same time.

“I swear, both you and your sister are stalkers.  She keeps approaching me as well out of the blue, quiet as a cat.  And let me tell you, it's hard to sneak up on a werewolf.”

“Well, when you have wonderful parents like ours, you get to learn a few tricks.”  He sauntered over to the bed and smiled down at her, eyes bright in interest.  Having someone like Evo around made the days a little sunnier.  He had that sort of gravitational pull about him, capable of absorbing all shards of negativity in a room.  He held that kind of special quality in his winsome smiles, his easy, unrestrained manner.

It felt nice to have a man look at her as someone valuable and worthwhile speaking to, and not use her as a doll.

“What were your parents like, then?” Luelle waved her hand in the air, stretching her fingers to examine the blemishes.  She needed something distracting, something to take her away from her decaying thoughts.

Evo crawled onto the bed next to her.  He was three years younger.  Luelle didn't know what to make with the information.  Everyone she knew if they started dating always married someone older.  Wiser.

What am I even thinking?  I'm still married.  This couldn't ever work out.

“Not bad parents if you're not a failure.”  Evo fixed her with keen, earnest eyes.  A gentle smile played about his lips.  “But not good parents, either.  My sister took the brunt of the rearing.  She was kind of invisible to our mother and father, because of the shame of being born powerless to pure bloods.  I was spoilt like a brat.  She stopped me being spoilt.”

“Sounds like mine,” Luelle said, stomach twisting in unease.  “Except you need to be a son, not a daughter.  My three brothers were treated like kings.  I've not seen the younger ones in almost fourteen years, so I have no idea how they've changed.  My brother Yanus, though.  He's stayed the same.”

Evo nodded, and held up his hand next to hers.  He possessed a wider, larger palm and long, delicate fingers.  The baby finger on the right side appeared crooked, as if broken one time, without the chance to heal straight.  Her dark hair cascaded about her like a muddy river. 

“He really cares about you.  It's nice to see.  We could do with a little more kindness in the world.”

“Yeah, well.  Most of the time, I wish I hadn't been born like this at all.  I wouldn't even mind being someone like Arina or Frey.  Except Arina got her family ripped apart and she then turned into a cop, and Frey seems pretty hung up over the fact that her parents ignored her.”  Luelle pinched her fingers together.  “Just a little bit.”

Briefly, Evo's fingers brushed over Luelle's.  It sent a delightful twang inside, stretching her nerves as taut as guitar strings.  She hoped they might accidentally touch again.  “My sis is the best.  I hope your brother is as cool as you make him out to be, though.  Because I'm pretty sure those two are doing things in bed together.”

At this, Luelle gave a little snort of amusement.  She already knew, and wasn't sure what to make of the news, but they did act happy together.  Unfortunately, it did look like Frey wanted to stay and work in Springmoon Hotel, and Yanus wanted to hop to America with Luelle and leave everything behind, which might put the brakes on their relationship.  He was prepared to give up his entire legacy just so she could be safe and secure in a different place.  Their mother and father had disowned him, made him scum unworthy of inheriting the estates and their vassals.

They continued talking for a little while longer, sometimes delving into the past, other times contemplating the future. 

“What do you see yourself doing, Evo?  Would you continue working with your sister in this hotel? Is there anything for you in your family legacy?  What do you expect?”

A sliver of something crept over his handsome face, leaving the air heavier, burdened.  Luelle cursed herself inwardly – she didn't want to upset Evo or make him uncomfortable, not when he went out of his way to cheer her up.  She didn't like being that kind of person, with the ability to suck out other people's happiness, like her husband did just by walking into a room.  “To be honest, I haven't really thought about it.  We started the hotel to get away from our mother.  As for the family legacy, I don't think we have any, really.  There were plans to make something of ourselves, but dad died.  So that didn't happen.”

“Oh.”  Luelle digested the information.  “So the hotel is all you have?”

Evo nodded, eyes flickering around the small, minimalistic room.  Something shone there, like pride.  “We made it ours.  I used to be complacent, lazy and spoilt.  Being with Frey has helped me past most of those issues.”

“Most, you say.”  Luelle smiled.  She liked the way he talked about his sister, with the soft glow that infused his face and raised the muscles in his cheeks.  She dearly wished someone would look at her in that way, and think about her with that wistful expression on their lips.  Yanus cared, of course – but they had been away for so long.  Their former connection had frayed in the process.  They both needed to relearn their relationship, and come to terms with the new stage of their lives.  If Luelle was completely honest to herself, she never expected Yanus to give up such a position.  Their family had estates worth millions, strung along the Balkan mountains.  Losing all that meant becoming poor, penniless, with only a nice surname to point to the path he once had.

No one in their right mind chose to give something up like that.

“You're a good person, Evo.”  I'm not sure about your sister.  She's a little like Arina.  They don't have such an innocent vision of the world.  “I wish there were more like you.” 

Evo shrugged, accepting the statement.  “Don't mistake niceness for weakness, though.”  Steel wrought his eyes, and he grasped Luelle's hand firmly.  “It's been some people's greatest errors.” 

She examined the muscles bulging under his shirt, the stocky, robust build of his body.  Something about Evo hit all the right spots with Luelle.  Kind, charming, but with a glimmer of something else beneath the surface, that suggested not all was calm seas and blue skies when it came to the younger werewolf's personality.

The charm that emanated from him also contributed to the attractive nature of his virile form.  He certainly set her senses to overdrive, with the steady waft of pheromones from his skin, along with a nutty, fresh taste that made her mouth water.  Heigan gave off an odor like rotting fish, something pungent and awful that made her gag when she slept next to him.  Evo pleased every facet of sensory information at her disposal.  Her heart twitched in a way she never thought it could, and her stomach had something wedged in it, though she didn't think the feeling was anything like butterfly wings flapping in there.  More like leaping frogs.

Wouldn't it have been nice, if my parents had shuttled me off to someone like Evo, instead?  It was, after all, an insane thought; Evo would have been nine at the time.  Not mature or powerful enough to warrant a marriage with a proud old family.

Still, Luelle dreamed of impossibilities, because dreams gave her better feelings than reality did.

Even with her new lease on freedom, she knew she wasn't yet out of the woods.  Until this conflict resolved itself once and for all, she would be under scrutiny of the clans.

Knowing that Elinor had posted extra guards to protect the Springmoon Hotel brought no comfort.

The Hotel housed the wounded, the bloodied, the dying – all of these the scents which attracted werewolves if not contained effectively.

Evo kissed the top of her hand, lips brushing her knuckles.  “Maybe when we're not having shit thrown at us from all sides, we can sit down and discuss... certain things.  If you catch my drift.”  He followed the remark with a boyish grin.  Luelle got the cadence of his meaning only too well.

She permitted herself a smile.  His comforting presence made her want to close her eyes and fall and sleep in his arms.

It would be nice to forget everything, and not see the nameless people coming into the hotel, wounded under the excuse of her name and status.