Chapter Thirty-Eight
Under the cover of night, Sorin did his best to remain still. It took all his restraint not to leap to his feet and pace along the forest’s edge. Where were they? The sun had set. He’d borrowed a handcart from a local farm. The hardest part was pulling it through the forest without breaking a wheel. How hard could it be to find clothes and a skunk?
The rustle of leaves announced Peder’s arrival.
Sorin heaved a sigh. “It’s about time. I was wondering if you went back to the den to find clothes.”
Dressed in rough gray cloth, his hair tucked under a cap, Peder appeared much younger and more innocent.
It made Sorin’s heart ache. Life with the Apisi had stolen both of those things from Peder.
“Sorry, I couldn’t find anything that fit. Almost had to steal a dress.” He grinned and the sparkle in Peder’s eyes eased Sorin’s grief.
“You have the legs to pull off a dress.” He grinned back but the muscles in his face creaked with the effort. Rolling his shoulders, he tried to relieve the knots of tension.
A putrid odor oozed among the ferns.
Peder slapped his hands over his nose. “I think Ahote’s close.” He spoke nasally.
Invisible in the dark, the black shifter moved in silence, the parting ferns the only evidence of his passing. He dropped a squirming sack on the ground.
Nausea rose in Sorin’s stomach with the stench and he raised his hand. “That’s close enough.” He glanced at Peder. “Exactly how does smelling this bad help us sneak into the castle?”
“It doesn’t. It deters anyone from wanting to be around us. You need to shift to civil form and roll in the mud.”
Ahote snarled before speaking. “By all that’s sacred, Peder. If this doesn’t work I’ll skin you and wear you on my back in winter.”
Sorin cuffed the hunter on the ear as he stalked by. “Mind your manners. Peder belongs to me. I get his pelt.” He winked at the omega over Ahote’s shoulder.
The small shifter cleared his throat. “Make sure the mud is thick. I’ll meet you by the road with the cart.”
“Mud.” Ahote kicked a fern as he shifted to civil form.
Naked, they followed a trench that led them to a shallow creek. Sorin tossed an annoyed glance over his shoulder. “Stop complaining. We’re here to rescue, not seduce. You can look pretty tomorrow.”
“How can you let an omega lead a hunt?” Ahote grabbed a handful of mud, smelled it and grimaced.
Sorin took a deep breath and held it, counting to ten before letting it out. “You didn’t have a plan and mine would have gotten us all killed. A good alpha listens to his pack.” He shoved Ahote from behind, sending him face first into the mud. A satisfying splatter accompanied his landing. Sorin fought a grin. “Hurry, princess, my mate is waiting for us.”
Sorin jumped in next to the hunter then rolled through the muck, getting a thick layer over his skin. He crawled to his feet and followed Peder’s trail to the road where the omega waited with an angry skunk.
Ahote joined them, wiping his eyes.
“The mud should prevent the skunk’s spray from sticking to your flesh.” Peder bent over the sack. “Turn so it doesn’t land in your eyes.”
Twisting around, Sorin chewed on the inside of his cheek to keep from snarling. Should prevent it from sticking? The strong smell of skunk drove shifters into illness. Even the nose-blind domestic ones in the castle would avoid it, but he had to admit Peder’s idea was sounding good.
A warm spray hit the back of his thighs. The stench slammed into his nose, and his mind went blank from the overload. He gagged, and his knees wobbled. An image of Susan shimmering with sweat in the firelight came to his mind. He straightened and swallowed his queasiness. Something knocked into his legs.
Ahote had fallen, head bent to the ground. “Mother Darkness, save me.”
The world’s scents faded, covered by the stink. Sorin shook his head, disoriented. He could only smell skunk. Nose blind. His heart raced as he glanced at Ahote. They’d lost a sense. It made them less effective hunters. They would have to rely on their vision and hearing more. “Peder?”
The skunk scrambled into the underbrush.
“Climb into the cart and act sick if a guard lifts this cover.” He held up a dirty blanket. “Leave the rest to me.”
Pressed close to Ahote in a cart was not how Sorin had planned to spend his evening. “This bites.” He pulled the cover over their bodies. “Can you act?”
The cart jerked forward with a tortured groan of effort from Peder.
“Yes. You?”
“No. Be prepared to spring out of this cart if I fail. We can’t afford to get pinned in here.”
“Just clutch your stomach and wretch over the side of the cart if they come too close.”
The cart jolted, and Ahote’s elbow stabbed Sorin in the kidneys. Pain shot across his side and he wheezed through it. With the slow, rocking motion of the cart rolling over uneven ground and the stink, he didn’t think he’d need to act.
A way too long, intimate moment with Ahote later, he heard the wheels make contact with the wooden bridge to the castle gate. The sound sent a wave of tension through his muscles. He clenched his fists. Attacking would be unwise, attacking would be unwise…
Tossed in the air by a hard bump, he landed hard, knocking his head against the cart’s side. Stars flashed in his vision and he groaned.
“What do you have here, pup?” The rough male voice sounded close.
Sorin held his breath.
“My sire and his litter mate, sir.” Peder’s voice sounded higher than usual. “They’re ill. My mam rushed me to bring them to the castle healer.” The omega acted well. Sorin could hear the tears in his voice.
The guard made a reassuring noise. “The healer’s on the far side of the castle yard by Lord Benic’s tower. Follow this road to the right.”
Fresh air assaulted Sorin’s face as the blanket was lifted. His heartbeat charged and he tensed for an attack.
Groans mixed with curses greeted them. “Cover them,” someone shouted. “What a stink.”
The guard’s gaze met his. “You’ve got a good boy.” He tossed the cover on him before he could answer. He knew Peder’s worth more than the guard. The plan was working.
“You’ve got coin?” the guard asked.
“N-no, but I can work it off.” Peder spoke with a meek voice.
Sorin’s heart silenced. They were so close. Would they refuse them access because of coin? What kind of place was this? Vampire society made no sense.
Something jingled. “Here. Take the coin. Return it to me when your da is better.”
Holding his breath, Sorin waited for the cart to move but they remained still. He clenched his jaw to keep from yelling at Peder to move his hide. What was he doing?
“That’s very kind of you, sir.” Peder sounded genuinely surprised. The cart rolled and swayed again.
Sorin released his breath. Domestication didn’t seem to have destroyed the core of shifter honor. What else was preserved of their culture within these walls? Did they continue to live as pack? Was there an alpha? Maybe they hadn’t deserted the tribes as believed but were forgotten by them.
The sounds changed within the walls, and he struggled not to spring from the cart. It echoed off the buildings in unfamiliar ways, mixed together so he couldn’t tell his direction or the spacing around them. Out in the forest, sound traveled in a more linear way. The effect in combination with being scent blind disoriented him further. What a hero.
The cart jerked to a stop and the cover was removed. Peder stared down at them. “What do I do with the coin?”
Sorin leaped out, racing Ahote over the edge. “I don’t care.” He crouched, searching their vicinity—empty courtyard, stables, no torches casting any light. Good.
“It feels like I stole it.”
Sighing, Sorin resisted the urge to shake his sensitive omega. “We have greater concerns. You can donate it to a cause later if you wish.”
He nodded and stuck the coin in his pocket. “There’s water to wash with.” He pointed to a full trough with a hand pump next to it.
Ahote lay in the trough and scrubbed while Sorin pumped water over his body, letting the mud slide off in clumps. The noxious smell helped them past the guards but they didn’t want to attract attention once inside. Most of the skunk washed away. Sorin shook the excess water off and reassessed the area. A stone tower rose above them. The guard had called it Lord Benic’s tower. “We’ll start the search in there.”
Ahote stepped next to him and shook dry. “Where’s Peder?”
Spinning around, Sorin searched for the omega. The cart lay empty with no omega next to it. “Bugger.”
Peder returned in silence with blankets from around the corner of the stable. He handed them over. “I didn’t see anyone in feral form as I crossed the village. I think you’ll stand out naked.”
“We’ll need clothes then.”
A female giggled close by.
The three of them melted into the shadows surrounding the stable.
She strolled into the courtyard with a guard on each arm. They entered the stables.
Sorin scratched his chin. “Peder, you’ll get a chance to wear a dress after all.”
Inacio watched Kele with hooded eyes. The lazy interest didn’t fool her. Her father played games like this. If the incubus’s curiosity wasn’t stirred by her presence, he wouldn’t be sitting on a cushioned chair across from the bed where she’d been chained.
His dark hair curled slightly around his ears, inviting her to run her fingers through the strands. Warm brown eyes softened by thick lashes regarded her. She didn’t enjoy the lust he invoked. The desire seemed stirred by his scent rather than from her heart.
“I’ve never seen a shifter with pale hair. Your people are more like mine, bold in coloring and passionate.” He leaned his head on his hand.
“Not many are born so blonde.” She ran a finger under the metal bracelet clasped around her wrist, trying to ease the tightness.
“Is it too tight? If you shifted to feral form, it would break.”
She scowled. If she could have, she would have been free already.
“If you’re shy I’ll wrap a blanket around you to cover your nudity before you shift.” He gestured to the bed.
A flush burned her flesh up to the tips of her ears. She didn’t know much about incubi except they fed from sexual energy. Indescribable and unnatural desires for Inacio burned in her blood. They were fake. She focused on the emotions Peder inspired with his shy smiles. Those were true. The need faded but did not disappear.
Inacio chuckled. “I’m well fed, Kele. I have no interest in virgins. The meal would be so scant.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Then ease away from me. Your scent stirs my blood.”
“Forgive me. I did not wash after my last interlude but be assured I am a gentleman.”
She crossed her arms as best she could with a chained wrist. “Why would you help me escape?”
“I don’t see any keys in my hands so I don’t see how I’m helping.” He hid a smile behind his hand.
Her blood boiled but not from lust. “You just told me I’d break free if I shifted.”
“Yet strangely, you haven’t.” He tilted his head. “Is this some sex game you are playing with Benic? I don’t mind sharing as long as I’m included.”
Jaw unhinged, she could scarcely breath. “A game?” The question was almost inaudible.
“You know, a little slave and master role playing?” He batted his eyelashes. “I can be the cabin boy. I give great cunnilingus.”
Clutching her throat, she couldn’t make any sound. Did mates play such games? An uncalled image of her parents playing this flashed in her mind. Dark night, she’d have nightmares for weeks. “Stop it. This isn’t some game.” She whipped the hair from her face and glared at the overly amused incubus.
“So, then, why haven’t you shifted yet and torn out my throat?”
“I can’t shift.” She tossed the words at him as if they were stones.
He sat up, his gaze clear and bright. “Really? You’re always in civil form?” Without permission, he stroked her arm.
She shrugged him off.
“Are you afraid?”
She squirmed, her heart twisting. “What kind of question is that?” Of course she was, but years of practice kept it under control. Better to be angry than afraid.
He laughed, loud and easy. “You’ve a sharp tongue. I’m happy Benic brought you home. I could use a companion and more stimulating conversation.”
She snorted. “I doubt you lack in companions.”
“Then you know very little of my people.” His smile took on an edge of sadness.
“I thought the incubi lived far south from our lands. What are you doing here?”
“The arms of the Vampire Nation are long. I was captured and sold on the black market. Benic was kind enough to rescue me from a worse fate than being his toy.”
Vampires traveled the world. They weren’t tied to the land. She’d been so focused on her little forest that she never gave thought to beyond the tribe’s borders. “Then you are a slave?”
“I must repay my debt, then I am free.” He winked. “I was not cheap. Even then, what will I do? Walk back to South Amerigo? My kind is hunted outside the protection of our nests.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t been aware of such things. “With your—power, couldn’t you persuade someone to help?”
“Fuck my way home?” His smile grew wide as he leaned closer. “That would be dangerous.” His pupils constricted and his scent grew strong.
Musk floated around her. She held her breath but already the muscles in her back relaxed. Her thoughts grew slow and she sighed. Scooting nearer, she strained against the chain and touched his face, but she wanted so much more.
He retreated from her touch, leaving a void.
She almost cried out, the emptiness that sharp.
He watched her while pouring a cup of water from the pitcher. “What would you do for me, Kele?”
“Anything.” She clawed at her clothes.
He tossed the water in her face.
The cold bit through the fog of lust. She shook her head with a growl. Blinking the water from her eyes, she tried to gather what diginity she still owned. “Don’t ever do that again.” She’d fallen under his spell so easily.
Inacio leaned against the table. “See? If I force someone under my will, I have to keep them there. Creating the pheromone is not an easy task. At some point I need to rest. When they awakened from my influence, I would be dead or worse.”
She retreated from him. “Lesson learned.” He spoke the truth. If Inacio had taken advantage of her she would have torn his throat out afterward.
“I’ve never met a wild shifter. All the servants are domesticated shifters. Benic protects me too much.”
She blinked, not sure how Inacio fit into Benic’s life. “He does?” The ferret had never mentioned Inacio once in the years she’d known him. She recalled the kiss—the promise hidden within it. All false. “Are you—together?”
“As in being in love?”
Treachery ripped her guts and licked at her inside. She pressed her hands to her stomach, the pain a surprise. Benic meant nothing to her.
“You’re very innocent to think such things, Kele.”
She turned her shoulder from him. “Then what would you call it?”
“I’m a food source with benefits. A well-fed incubus or succubus can sustain a vampire much longer than any other creature.”
The pain grew worse as Benic’s duplicity deepened. “What about humans?”
Inacio shrugged. “Never heard of them.”
“Benic stole one today when he took me.”
“Oh, that female? I doubt she’s for feeding. He took her to his laboratory where he conducts experiments.”
A shiver ran up her spine. She twisted to face him once more, her earlier anger forgotten. “What kind of experiments?”
He shrugged. “You can ask him yourself. He shouldn’t be long. The laboratory is above us, on the top of the tower.”
“Inacio, please. Tell me what he’s doing to her.”
“I don’t know but don’t worry so. He studies blood, Kele, not torture.”
A knock on the door sent her into a defensive crouch.
A servant girl entered carrying a tray. Food. She was starved.
Two guards stood by the entrance.
Inacio moved out of the servant’s way, turning his back to the door.
Kele’s gaze met one of the guard’s and her heart stopped. Ahote. She gasped.
The incubus spun around as her pack mate attacked and punched him with a quick, hard jab. Inacio crumpled to the floor unconscious.
Dropping the tray on the table, the girl rushed to her. “Did he hurt you?”
Kele looked closer at the familiar face. “Peder?” Not a girl. Her omega wore a dress. He’d braved the dangers of the castle to rescue her. With a soaring heart, she hugged him tight. “No, he was—nice, in an odd way.”
Ahote shouldered between them. “This is all very touching but have the reunion later.” He grasped her metal bracelet, his thick civil fingers barely fitting. The muscles of his shoulders bunched and strained as he tried to force it open.
She gasped.
“You’re hurting her.” Peder wrestled with Ahote’s wrists.
A pop vibrated through her body as the bracelet clattered to the floor. She sucked in a long breath and watched her guardian shake off Peder.
She cleared her throat and rubbed her wrist. “Susan’s at the top of this tower. Benic might be with her.”
Sorin, standing in the doorway dressed as the other guard, left without a word.
Ahote glanced at Kele and Peder then back at the exit.
She waved him away. “Go. I’ll wait with Peder.”
Before he stepped out he twisted around. “You need a better disguise. Wear the dress. Peder, take the male’s clothes.”
Peder knelt next to Inacio and undid the fastenings of his clothes. He glanced at her. “Kele?”
“Yes?”
“You should undress.” He tugged the shirt over the incubus’s limp head.
She nodded. Undress. Yes, she could do this.
“Kele?”
She opened her eyes, surprised that she had closed them. “I can’t. Not with you in the room.” Her voice quivered as she spoke. Weakness. She shouldn’t express such submissive behavior.
Peder took her hands. “I’ll turn my back.” He smiled. “You can trust me.”
A knot in her chest unwound. She squeezed his hands, leaned forward and rubbed her cheek against his.
He pulled the pink dress over his head and handed it to her. “It will look better on you.”
“Thank you.”
“The color suits you.” He turned his back and dressed in Inacio’s clothes, keeping his promise to not peek.
She’d never owned anything pink before. Her mother detested the color. It was now Kele’s favorite.