Chapter Fifteen
“How many times do you plan on pacing this room? It won’t make things go any faster.” Dante pushed himself from off the wall and closed the distance between him and Paris. He gripped Paris by the shoulders. “We’re going to find her.”
“The reinforcements should have been here by now. What’s taking them so long?” Paris trusted his friend and knew Dante wouldn’t lead him astray but he had a sinking feeling that something wasn’t right. Dante had called his men a while ago to meet them at this location. It wasn’t a matter of finding the place because they’d already decided when they split up before, that this would be the place they’d all return to whenever their tasks were complete. Something was definitely not adding up about this situation.
“I have someone special flying in that would be of great assistance to us. He should be here any moment,” Dante assured him.
Paris didn’t know why his friend was being so secretive about who was coming but it had to be someone important for Dante to hold this card so close to his chest. “Well, whoever it is, he or she needs to hurry up.”
Just then there was a knock on the cottage door they had taken up as their temporary base. One of the warlocks on Dante’s team had already warded this place so none of their enemies should be able to enter without a considerable amount of power.
Dante placed his hand on Paris’s chest when he would have gone to the door. “I’ll get it.”
Paris grunted in frustration before turning his back to whoever it was.
“Finally. It’s good of you to make it, and I see you’ve found the rest of my team…and what the hell happened?”
“It appears your team ran into a little bit of trouble and as I was heading to this point, I thought I’d offer my assistance. I brought a gift for you.”
Paris would recognize that Russian accent anywhere. He turned to see a tall, blond warlock entering the cottage.
He looked at Dante. “Why didn’t you tell me Steel was on his way?” Paris walked over to the warlock and offered his hand. Steel Romanov hailed from a powerful family and had often fought alongside Paris and Dante in Underground missions.
Steel shook Paris’s hand with a smile on his face. “This was a last minute thing. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it.”
Paris frowned. “I’d heard that your family was having some problems of their own with a rogue warlock.”
Steel nodded. “Yes, a warlock by the name Grigori, who’s been targeting my family of late. Things have been quiet for a moment but we’re all on alert. I just happened to be in France following up on a lead when I got the call from Dante. Of course, I would come to help, especially after all the time the two of you have helped my family.”
Paris’s heart warmed at that declaration. “Thank you. That really means a lot to me to hear that. You mentioned something about a gift?”
Steel nodded. “Oh yes, she’s outside. She’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”
Steel headed outside and came back in, dragging the unconscious hunter who had attacked them earlier.
“How?” Dante demanded.
“As Steel already mentioned, we ran into some trouble. On our way here, we were attacked by several Hunters. We were able to take a couple of them down right away but the others were almost too powerful. I shudder to think what would have happened to us is Steel hadn’t come along.” Felix, a vampire and an agent in the Underground spoke up.
“How many were there?” Paris asked.
“Including her,” Felix jerked his thumb toward the hunter, “there were eight that I counted.”
“Did any of them get away?”
“No. A couple of them tried but once Steel joined us, we made their escape impossible. This one Hunter here seems to be the one in charge as they were taking their directives from her,” Hamilton, another vampire answered.
“How long do you think she’ll be out?” Paris wanted to know. “I feel like the longer we wait, the harder it will be to find Anisa.”
“No worries, Paris. I’ll handle this,” Steel assured him.
The warlock chanted a spell making the hunter jerk awake. It seemed to take her a moment to figure out where she was before she realized she was surrounded by several immortals ready to take her out. When Paris would have charged at her, Dante held her back. “We need information.”
The hunter began to chant, but Steele started to chuckle. “Your dark magic won’t work here. I’ve already taken care of that.”
Her nostrils flared. “If you’ve brought me here to get information then you’re wasting your time. I won’t speak,” she said through clenched teeth.
Steel nodded. “So I see you want to do this the hard way. Very well.” He held out his hand which seemed to compel the hunter to her feet.
Her mouth opened wide and she screamed as Steel seemed to manipulate her body without touching her.
When Steel made a pulling motion with his hand, Paris heard a ripping sound before the hunter’s bloody tongue flew out of her mouth. She screamed, collapsing to the floor as blood squirted from her mouth.
The tongue flew toward Steel and he caught it in his hand. We whispered an incantation over it before letting it go. Paris watched in fascination as it flew back into the hunter’s mouth. Steel smirked. “Now you can question her as much as you’d like. She won’t be able to hold her silence or tell a lie.”
As long as Paris had been alive, warlock magic always took him by surprise.
The hunter seemed to writhe in pain as she rolled on the floor, holding her mouth.
Paris knelt next beside her and grabbed her hair. “Where is Anisa?”
It was clear the hunter was attempting to hold her words back but she blurted out. “She’s in a chalet a few miles from here!” She glared at him with venom.
“Where exactly? We’ve scoured this area for serval miles. We haven’t seen where she’d be hiding.”
“Because it wouldn’t be seen by the naked eye and she’s not alone,” the hunter grunted. “Just kill me now because when Gage learns of this betrayal, his punishment will be far more severe,” she pleaded.
“Not just yet…besides, you don’t get to play the victim after all the countless shifters you and your group have murdered.” Paris glared at her. He itched to end her life right there and then but he knew he had to remain calm so they could get the rest of the information from her. “What did you mean when you said she wasn’t alone?”
“She has a protector. A very powerful one.”
“A hunter?” Dante asked.
“A warlock.”
Paris and Dante exchanged questioning glances at Steel who merely shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter,” Paris shook his head. When they found her, they’d deal with whoever she was with. “If this chalet can’t be seen, how can we find it exactly?”
The hunter blurted out map coordinates before she started to laugh. “It doesn’t matter, Gage is already there. And they’ll find a way inside. He’ll finally have the Seraphim.”
“Gage is near?”
“Yes.”
Now that they had all the information Paris needed he charged toward the Hunter and snapped her neck. Her lifeless eyes stared up when he finished her off.
“We could have learned more,” Dante roared.
“No. We have what we need. We know where to find her and we also know Gage is aware of her location, so we have to get to her before it’s too late,” Paris countered.
The vampire shook his head. “But we don’t know how many of his followers are with him. A man in Gage’s position doesn’t travel alone and something tells me that the few hunters we’ve managed to take down aren’t all of them.
“Then we’ll handle them.” Paris would not be deterred, especially when he was so close to finding his lost love.
<><><>
Nina tried to be as quiet as possible as she slid out of the bed. She and Aries had made love several more times and while her body was still exhausted from his expert lovemaking, she couldn’t sleep. Aries snored softly beside her. She paused for a moment to take in his handsome visage. One muscular arm was flung over his eyes and the sheet that was draped over his thighs dipped so low, Nina could see the root of his cock.
She clenched her fist to keep herself from before reaching out and touching him. But as she gazed upon his masculine beauty her heart was breaking. Nina never thought it was possible to fall for someone in so short a time as she had for Aries. She’d been reluctant to love him because she didn’t believe she deserved to be happy and to some extent, she still thought that. But Aries made her wish for something more, for a future filled with love and laughter.
For so many years, years she’d lost track of, Nina lived in a world of misery and pain. Nina had suffered for so long but she’d relished in it because she felt it was what she deserved. So, being with Aries provided Nina enough joy and happiness to last for her remaining days.
She quickly dressed and headed out the room. Nina looked over her shoulder to see Aries was still deep in slumber. As she headed toward the door, a tear slid down her cheek. She didn’t want to leave but she had to. It was for the best.
Nina was careful to make as little noise as possible as she slipped outside. Once she managed to make it a few feet away from the house she began to run. It took everything within her not to shift which was what her natural instinct called her to do. But as she continued to run, she realized she had nowhere to go. She found herself in the city in an empty field. Aries’s property was in the country where neighbors were far and few between.
Knowing she would be a danger to any shifter within a certain radius of her, left Nina with few options. Now that she was away from Aries and she could think coherently, Nina discovered there was nowhere she could go without being a possible danger to anyone. Perhaps if she could make it to an area thick with forestation, she could live off the land in her second form. Besides, she’d lived most of her life in captivity and though she was aware of the technology that had developed since she was taken, through her observation of the hunters, it was still a lot to get used to.
Wherever she went it would be a life of solitude but then again, she couldn’t imagine it being lonelier than when she was Gage’s pet.
She continued to run until her lungs felt as if they would explode, but she couldn’t stop and it wasn’t safe to shift to her wolf form until she was certain she couldn’t harm anyone.
Suddenly the sound of feet digging into the soft Earth caught her attention. Nina turned to see a large gray wolf charging in her direction. She recognized it immediately. Pushing herself harder, she sped up, trying to get away but it was futile because the beast caught up to her with little effort. He tackled her from behind, knocking her to the ground. The wind whooshed from her lungs as she landed on her chest.
The wolf nudged her side with his nozzle, forcing her to roll over. He immediately pinned her down, placing his paws on her shoulder. He stared down at her with his amber gaze.
Did you honestly think I’d let you go? Aries mind-linked with her.
“This is for the best. I can’t be around you knowing I can harm you.”
You can only harm me if you shift. And at this very moment my uncle is on Anisa’s trail. She helped you once. She can help you again.”
“But what if he doesn’t find her. How long will I be in limbo? You make it seem like not shifting will solve everything. This thing inside of me is fighting to get out. It wants me to shift and I’m not sure if I can hold it off much longer. And it’s because of that, I have to leave.”
Then go ahead and shift.
Nina frowned. “What?”
Shift.
“I can’t do that.”
Of course, you can. You just said that thing inside of you is fighting to get out. Stop fighting it. Let it out.
“No!” she shook her head from side to side. Was he insane? He couldn’t possibly know what he was asking her to do.
Do it! Shift now!
Tears burned her eyes. “No! I can’t! It will kill you!”
If you leave, I’m already dead so go ahead and shift. He got off of her and backed away a few feet. Well, go ahead. I’m waiting.
Nina sat up. “No. I’m not going to do it. I couldn’t bear it if anything were to happen to you.”
Because of your feelings for me. Go ahead and admit it. You do have the strength to fight this thing off for as long as you need to. You might not think you’re strong because of all you’ve endured. But you’re the strongest wolf I’ve ever met. I can think of anyone who would have survived as long under the conditions you have. But you were alone then. You’re not anymore. You have me. And I’ll be your strength when you’re feeling weak because I’m not going anywhere so you’re going to have to get used to that.”
Nina wobbled to her feet and raced toward Aries. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his soft gray fur before bursting into tears.
It’s okay. I’m never going to let you go. You have to believe that everything is going to be all right, otherwise, what the hell are we fighting for? Gage will see his end and we’ll be there to make sure it happens.
Nina clung to the wolf, crying until no more tears would fall. She didn’t know how long they stood together that way. Any human that might have stumbled on the scene would have found the sight of a crying woman hugging a large wolf, an odd thing but to Nina, it just felt right.
She didn’t realize he’d shifted until she felt his arms wrap around her.
“Whatever happens, from here on out, we’ll do it together,” he whispered. “Just promise that you’ll never run away again.”
“I promise.” She held him tight.
And this time she meant it.