She opened her mouth to ask another question.
“Meg would be better to explain the whole shoe thing, sweetheart.” His lustful thoughts were back, and he didn’t want to talk fashion with her. She was lovely and naked and sitting on his bed. She was completely out from under the influence of the aphrodisiac. All he had to do was convince her that making love was a good idea. He leaned over and ran his hand across the soft skin of her arm. She shivered slightly. “Why don’t you come back to bed, Kaj?”
Her eyes narrowed, wariness clear.
He patted the place next to him. She wouldn’t be beside him for long. She’d be under him as fast as he could get her there. He felt his fangs lengthen. The silver was obviously out of her system, too. It was what had kept her from changing forms. There was no good reason not to sink his teeth into her smooth white neck. He could see the faint blue vein that ran up the side of her neck. There was another vein in her thigh that would work as well. He could drink his fill, all the while breathing in the scent of her arousal. His mouth would fill with her blood, and they would be married in the traditional way of a royal vampire.
Gods, he was suddenly so fucking hungry. For the first time in his life, he knew a meal pill just wouldn’t do. He wanted her. He wanted to take her blood and then fill her with his cum.
“Your eyes are strange,” Kaja whispered.
There was the faintest hint of fear in her voice. She backed away slightly. Dante knew his irises were bleeding out, and his entire eye would be a vivid green before too long. He’d only seen himself that way a few times. He knew he would look alien and dangerous to Kaja.
Dante didn’t like her backing away from him. She was drawing something primal out of him. He was a good-time lover. It had always been that way. He enjoyed the sex and had kept many mistresses, but he could easily walk away and find another if they showed they didn’t want him. He knew suddenly that he wouldn’t allow Kaja the same privilege. He would never rape her, but he wouldn’t allow her to leave.
“It means I want you, Kaja. My eyes change when I want something very badly. Look at me.” It was an old trick royals used on peasants to draw them in for a nice meal. Dante had never felt a compulsion to try his hand at persuasion, but the impulse was there now.
Kaja did as he asked. She stared into his eyes, and he knew the moment he caught her. A savage sense of satisfaction filled him.
“Come to me,” he commanded in a voice that sounded foreign to his ears.
Kaja moved forward and placed herself in his arms. She cuddled close to him, tucking her face into the crook of his neck. “You are working magic on me,” she accused.
He forced her head up. “Do you want me to stop?”
She considered the question for a moment. “Yes and no. Yes, because my heart will ache when you set me aside. No, because my heart already aches when I think of never touching you again.”
He pressed his lips to hers. “Don’t think about the future, Kaj. Can’t we enjoy today? And I would never cast you aside. I just think we should let all of that sort itself out. Whatever happens, whatever we decide, I promise, I’ll take good care of you.”
“For as long as you want me,” Kaja said with a little bitterness.
Dante felt the ache she talked about. He didn’t know what she wanted. “Isn’t that all you can ask of a man, Kaja? I promise to be good to you even if things go wrong. You won’t ever want for anything again.”
“But you will not give me your heart.” It wasn’t a question.
He sighed. He could give orgasms all day long, but he had no idea how to deal with this. “I don’t think I have one, sweetheart. Can’t it be enough that I’ll give you what I have?”
She seemed to come to some inner decision. She pressed her lips to his. “Mate with me.”
Her lips were closed against him, but he took advantage anyway. He pressed her down and covered her small body with his. Dante knew he should feel triumphant and thrilled because the night before had been difficult for him. Yet all he could manage was a strange sense of awe. Her clear blue eyes were open as she looked up at him. He didn’t need to remind her what he wanted from her. She spread her legs willingly. There was so much honest, open desire in her face that Dante almost turned away. It was too much, but he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a woman before. Looking down at her, he realized he’d just wanted sex before. Now he wanted Kaja. It was a disturbing feeling.
“What’s wrong?” Kaja asked. There was worry all over her face.
He pushed down his unwanted emotions. This was just sex. It was just sex between a vampire and his consort. It was the most natural thing in the world. He gave her his surest smile. “There’s nothing wrong, love. Everything is just right now. The only problem is these pants of mine. They seem to be in the way.”
He ground himself gently against her letting her feel his hard cock.
She sighed. “How do you do this to me? Already I feel some pleasure.”
“I told you, love. I know what I’m doing,” Dante replied. He felt surer now. The need to fuck was riding him hard. He wasn’t thinking about the future. He was thinking about how damn good it would feel to pound away at his wife.
His hands reached down to unbutton his trousers. He didn’t want to take the time to get out of them. He’d just shove them down enough to free his cock and then work his way inside. The second time could be slow. They had all day.
Kaja stopped suddenly, throwing her hands to his chest and pushing him away.
“Don’t, baby,” Dante said, not giving an inch. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”
“Dante, something is coming,” she said, trying to get up.
“Yes,” he coaxed. “You can come first. Then I’ll come, and then I’ll rest, and we can both come again.”
The tent flap opened, and Meg ran in. She turned slightly when she saw the erotic scene before her, but she didn’t leave.
“Dante, there’s an ogre coming,” she said breathlessly. She had her gun in her hand. “He’s attacking the marketplace.”
In the distance, Dante heard the screams begin. He rolled off his bride and fastened his pants.
That ogre was going to suffer, he vowed.
Chapter Seven
The world seemed filled with chaos. Every sense Kaja had was on overload as Dante tossed back the door to the tent and walked through. His magic went to work. The shirt he was wearing grew a hood that he pulled up to cover his head. A strange black object flowed over his face, covering his beautiful eyes.
Screams filled the air along with a terrible roar that seemed to come from every angle. Kaja could sense a predator nearby. And he had a very strong odor. Whatever attacked the small village reeked of decay.
Rhys ran up to them, his hair in disarray. His eyes were flared, and he’d lost his cap. “You must run, Mr. Dellacourt. And my queen. You must run for your lives.”
“Which way? He sounds like he’s coming from all sides.” Dante was frowning, his face set in fierce lines. He held his hand out to her. “Stay close to me, Kaja.”
She moved to the First’s side. No. Dante. He was Dante. And she was practical. “We need only be faster than the little ones. This beast will dine on them first. We should keep Cara close when we find her. I can run very fast. I will carry her.”
“No, miss,” Rhys said. “I have a place to hide, but it is very small. You must save yourselves—all of you. I cannot hide until I find my wife.”
Rhys disappeared, his small body fleeing through the labyrinth of tents.
There was a loud roar that sent Kaja’s hands flying to cover her ears. That sound made her ache.
“Where the hell did that ogre come from?” Dante got to his feet. He stood behind one of the high tents and poked his head around the side as though trying to look but not be seen. “Holy fuck, that thing is huge.”
Kaja stood beside him and stared out as well. She swallowed as she took in the sight before her.
She couldn’t see
its whole body, but it was massive. It wasn’t as big as a frost giant, but a frost giant had some intelligence. This beast looked like a creature that only lived to kill. “What is it called again?”
Dante stared up at it, his mouth slightly open. “It’s called an ogre.”
Kaja felt Meg’s hands on her shoulders, steadying herself there as she, too, took a look at the mountain of flesh currently destroying everything around it. The ogre was much taller than the tents, his torso barrel shaped and naked. Thick cords of muscles crossed his body. His arms were bigger around than Kaja’s waist and covered in flesh that had a greenish cast to it.
She did not see how they could battle the creature. Not without a pack. The pack could take out much larger creatures, but there were only three of them. Meg didn’t even possess claws and fangs.
“I think we could safely call it Godzilla,” Meg said. Kaja wondered what the strange silvery item in her hand was. Meg clutched it, holding it close to her body. “Cian didn’t say anything about ogres when he lectured me on all the things to stay away from.”
Dante turned back around. His hand was tight on hers. “That’s because it shouldn’t be here. It’s an Unseelie creature.”
“What is Unseelie?” Kaja asked. Her heart was pounding, but she couldn’t let the unknown words pass. She needed to understand.
Dante began walking close to the walls of the tent in the opposite direction from the screaming. “Meg, stay close. Beck and Ci are Seelie Fae. It’s basically a tribe. The Unseelie are the other tribe of Fae.”
Kaja’s bare feet sank lightly into the dirt beneath her. “This is a war between tribes?”
“No, it can’t be,” Meg said. “I don’t understand it. We have a meeting with the Unseelie king in a few weeks. Why would they attack us? And why send an ogre?”
Dante stopped. Up ahead was a wide road. They would be without cover until they reached the forest. As they stood there, the ogre was tossing about the things it found. Large items like tent poles and cages and wagons were being thrown toward anyone who tried to flee. “There’s no reason to send an ogre. An ogre is chaos. No one can control it. It would just as easily turn on the Unseelies. It makes no sense.”
“And it only helps Torin,” Meg said. “King Fergus hates Torin. He would never aid him. Fergus’s daughter was trapped when the civil war broke out. He’s had men looking for her, but he can’t get an army on the plane. He’s sent assassins, but they haven’t returned.”
Ah, now she understood. It was a bit like a pack war. Packs had territories. The Firsts often fought over those territories. These Seelie and Unseelies must be like packs, and Torin and Fergus were the Firsts.
This was not her fight or Dante’s. They were free to leave.
“We should go to the woods.” Kaja pointed to a spot of green trees just beyond the tents. “We can hide there.”
They would have to be fast. Even as she thought the words, she watched a creature fall beneath a large wagon that had been thrown into the fleeing crowd, but there was no other choice. They had to get to the forest. Once there, she could hunt for them. She knew forests. She would be valuable to Dante and Meg there. She wouldn’t be a hindrance in the wild. She wouldn’t feel like a fool there.
“I hate camping. I am going to kick my cousins’ asses when they get back,” Dante muttered. “All right. We need to get out of here.”
Kaja turned back and looked at the tent where she’d learned about pleasure. Dante had made himself plain. He wished to use her for a while, but perhaps a bit of affection was better than none at all. She wasn’t ready to be done with him. She knew she should run on her own, but she couldn’t leave him just yet.
“Cara!” Rhys could be heard calling for his wife. His voice had taken on a desperate wail.
All manner of creatures were running for the forest now. They bumped against her in their frantic flight from the ogre.
“Cara!”
The ground beneath Kaja’s feet shook.
“He’s coming this way.” Dante started to lead her out. “We’re going to have to make a run for it. Meg, can you keep up? I don’t want to explain to your husbands why I lost you to an ogre who seems to be practicing his left-handed slider.”
Meg seemed to steel herself. “I’ll keep up. You won’t lose me that easily.”
Dante’s hand squeezed Kaja’s, tightening as though he was afraid to let go. “Stay together. Kaja’s right. We only really have to be faster than the gnomes. They’re short. The ogre should catch a bunch of them, and while he’s eating his appetizers, the main course will be fleeing as fast as our feet can take us.”
Kaja got ready to run, but a thin wail broke through the chaos around her.
“Cara, no! No!”
Kaja turned and saw the small blonde gnome who had been so kind to her. She was trying to get away from the ogre. She was running down the road toward them, but Kaja could see plainly that she would not make it. Her legs were too short. She wasn’t quick. The ogre roared and stamped his foot. It looked to be roughly the size of Cara’s whole body. He would crush her beneath that foot.
Dante’s hand tugged insistently at hers. “Kaja, let’s go.”
In her pack, the weak were allowed to fall. They were considered an insult to the pack. If a wolf fell, it was because they were not strong enough, not worthy.
But the strong wolves of her pack were the same ones who spit on her. They were the same ones who tossed her out. Cara was not strong. She had no fangs or claws. She could not change. The gnome would be a liability during the hunt. But Cara was the one who had held Kaja’s hand when the world had seemed filled with pain. She had brought her raw meat when it was so obvious to Kaja that Cara had been disgusted by it. Even as she’d tossed the raw meat in, Cara had begged her to eat. Cara had cared that she was hungry. She had shown Kaja true kindness. In the pack, kindness was considered weakness.
Kaja no longer believed in the pack.
With a single thought, Kaja changed. There was a moment of pain, but she’d come to almost enjoy it. That brief flaring of heat through her system brought with it a certain freedom. Her limbs shifted, joints popping into place in a quick change. Her hand became a slender paw that slipped easily from Dante’s hold. She fell from two legs to four.
“Kaja, what are you doing?” Dante seemed tall when she was in her two-legged form. Now, he truly towered over her. He looked down, indignation plain on his face.
Kaja barked. She didn’t have time to explain. He should run. This debt was hers and hers alone. Perhaps she could also provide the distraction required for Dante and Meg to get away.
Kaja turned and began to run toward Cara.
* * * *
Dante felt his heart threaten to explode as Kaja sped away from him toward the really pissed-off, man-eating ogre.
What was wrong with her? Did she think that the ogre wouldn’t eat her when she was in wolf form? If she’d asked, Dante would have explained that the ogre would eat just about anything he could catch. And the ogre was definitely going to catch Kaja because she was running towards it.
“What just happened?” Meg asked. She had turned toward the ogre. She had to scream the words now because there was so much chaos around them.
“Kaja went insane.” Dante reached out to hold Meg. There was a crowd rushing toward them. Dante was getting pulled from Meg by the bodies running away. He watched as Kaja slipped nimbly in and out of the crowd.
He felt a growl start deep in his throat, and that ridiculous beast that had taken up in his body the minute he’d laid eyes on Kaja seemed to be clawing to get out. She wanted to run from him? He would show that wolf her place. She would be at his feet and begging for forgiveness before she could even scent the freedom she seemed to want. She belonged to him.
Only one thing kept him from immediately tearing after his wayward wife. He needed a place to stash Meg.
Meg held on to his hand for dear life. She used her free hand to point to a spot close to the
tent where he and Kaja had spent the night. “It’s Cara. She’s going to try to save Cara.”
Dante pushed against the crowd. It was like swimming upstream. A troll with atrocious body odor nearly flattened Dante against a tent pole. He used a good portion of his strength to keep Meg close. He had mere seconds before Kaja made her way to the ogre.
The ogre. It was huge. It was strong. Perhaps Beck could handle the ogre, but it would be a battle. Kaja was tiny compared to that monster. What was Kaja thinking? The ogre’s only weakness was its utter stupidity and a Fae creature’s aversion to cold iron.
Cold iron.
“Meg, what does that gun of yours shoot?” Dante asked.
He’d played around with the gun. Meg had taken him out behind the barn and shown him how to use the weapon. He’d been quite good with it, or so she’d told him. He had a good eye and a steady hand. But did he now have the right ammunition?
Meg’s mouth dropped open as she seemed to reach the same conclusion as Dante. “After I taught Cian how to use the gun, he figured out how to make new bullets. The blacksmith forged them from cold iron. He thought it was the best way for me to protect myself if Torin attacked. I need to get a shot.”
Dante barely averted rolling his eyes at her. “You’re not going to do anything, sweetheart. It’s not like he’ll go down from one little bullet. You’ll just piss him off. He might be dumb, but he has spectacular survival instincts. The minute you start shooting, he’ll turn on you. I can’t risk that.”
He opened the flap to the tent they were close to and shoved her inside. “You have to stay here. I can’t take care of you and save Kaja. Please, Meg. I need you to give me the gun and promise me you’ll stay safe. I’m begging you.”
He was in an impossible situation. He owed Kaja his protection, whether or not she wanted it. But he was responsible for Meg, too. It wasn’t a position he was comfortable with. He’d spent his life without any kind of responsibility at all. Now two women who he cared about could die without him.