He didn’t even like to admit that to himself. “I didn’t marry Kaja because I wanted to. My father forced me to. I had to get married, or he was going to kick me out of the business.”
“Well, I suppose lots of marriages started off as marriages of convenience. So you explained all this to Kaja?”
Not exactly. “I told her that we would be married for a while and then she could have her freedom back.”
There it was. He could say the words, but there was something inside him that knew he wasn’t going to let her go. He was really only fighting himself now.
Meg pulled her hand back, and he could see her withdraw. “Well, that’s disappointing. I thought there wasn’t a whole lot of divorce outside the Earth plane.”
“I wasn’t planning on divorcing her. I was just planning on going my own way and letting Kaja go hers.”
Meg’s head shook slightly, but Dante could feel her derision. “After you fucked her and fed from her. And does Kaja understand this?”
Dante thought about Kaja’s eyes. When he made love to her they were lit with desire and life. But then he would catch her when she thought no one was looking, and there was resignation there, as though she knew it wouldn’t work out. “Yes, she understands far too well.”
“So, you’re going to use her.”
Yes, that had been the plan. “I don’t know anymore.”
“Really?” Meg looked at him again, her right brow rising in a little question.
“Yeah. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I know I feel more for Kaja than I’ve ever felt for anyone in my life. I don’t know if it’s going to last.” He didn’t even know if he wanted it to. Kaja seemed to be all he could think about. She was rapidly becoming an obsession. Even now, he could see her lying in the grass, her pearly skin in sharp contrast to the green around her, the twin holes in her neck on full display. When he got her back to his home, he would have to give her some of his own blood. It would heal the marks, but damn, he liked looking at them. It was barbaric. It was fucking hot.
“Uh, Dante, you having a little trouble there?” Meg asked, her eyes on his mouth.
Fuck. His fangs were out again. This was why he didn’t want it to last. He couldn’t walk around the rest of his life with a hard-on and full fangs—and this weird, soft place in his heart that clenched every time he looked at her or thought about all she’d been through.
She was so strong. “She deserves more than me.”
Meg shook her head, her hand back on his knee. “No. She deserves you, but she deserves the best you. Don’t you see, Dante? This is what happens. I’ve been where you are. I fell in love, and it changed me for the better. It forced me to grow up. It made me a better person. This is wonderful, Dante.”
It didn’t feel wonderful. It felt terrifying. He should have found another way. He should have paid some fallen royal to marry him. She would have been reasonable. He wouldn’t have been desperate for some royal’s blood and body. He wouldn’t have formed this weird connection to some sad-sack royal. It would have been a neat exchange of money for a convenient, no-emotions-involved marriage. Dante wouldn’t feel all twisted inside.
“I don’t know how wonderful it’s going to be. I’m worried that she won’t fit in.” It had been the chief thing to recommend her in the beginning. He had wanted to find a consort who would send his father running for the lawyers, but now he couldn’t stand the idea that his father wouldn’t like her.
“I think you’ll be surprised,” Meg said. “I think Kaja is very smart and adaptable. And, if you’re worried about your family accepting her, I wouldn’t. She’s different, but there’s a sweetness to Kaja that I think your family is going to find irresistible.”
The idea played around in his brain. What if it could work? The thought of loving Kaja terrified him, but the idea of not having her around caused his heart to knot. He was a mess. He wanted her. He just needed to accept it.
He couldn’t help the little smile that had his lips curling up. Meg was right. Kaja was sweet, and she tried so hard. Perhaps it would make up for her lack of proper manners. It could work.
His mother would view Kaja as a challenge, a sweet baby bird to take under her wing. Susan had always appreciated the odd creatures of the planes. Despite her ridiculous adherence to parliamentary procedure in the boardroom, his sister was actually quite open-minded.
But the rest of society would be hard on her. The press would freak when they found out Kaja spent time on four legs.
How was he going to protect her?
“Don’t worry,” Meg said. “It really will work out. And it will work out for me and Beck and Ci, too. I just have to have faith.”
Dante hoped faith was all he needed.
* * * *
Kaja came awake slowly, brushing away the small bug that seemed to be intent on biting her. Her nose tickled. She wriggled it, trying to hold on to sleep. She was warm and happy. With Dante wrapped around her body, she’d slept better than she had her whole life. Her dreams had been sweet. She did not wish to leave them.
But the small buzzing creature was insistent, and it seemed to Kaja that it had brought some friends.
Kaja opened her eyes and focused on the small thing that had landed on her nose.
Bright blue wings fluttered, and Kaja was shocked to find it had a face. Her first instinct was to eat the little thing. It wouldn’t be much of a meal, but it might be tasty. And then she remembered Dante’s words. She could not eat things that talked back.
“Hello,” she said, hoping the little bug wouldn’t talk back.
Its tiny hands flew up, and Kaja would have sworn that the thing looked grateful. Its mouth opened and a rush of beeps and light, tinkling words rushed from its mouth.
No meal for Kaja.
She forced herself to sit up. The little creature took flight briefly before landing on Kaja’s knee. The winged insect once again began speaking.
“Slowly, little one,” Kaja said, remembering what Dante had told her about the magic.
The insect shook its head, words spewing from her mouth, but Kaja was beginning to catch pieces of them now. “Save…family…bad fae…eat.”
Kaja looked around. She was alone, but Dante’s shirt was folded beside her on the ground they had slept on. Kaja breathed deeply. She could smell Dante and Meg. She opened her senses. They weren’t far away, and they seemed to be speaking quietly.
“Please to help. My babies. The pixies will be grateful always.”
Kaja couldn’t turn that down. She nodded at the blue creature, the pixie. “Where are your babies?”
The pixie took off, her wings flapping faster than Kaja’s eyes could track. She darted away from the camp. Kaja thought about finding her Dante, but then she would lose the pixie and the pixie babies could be eaten. She raced to follow the flying pixie as she moved through the forest. In and out of trees and bushes, the pixie darted. Kaja leapt and feinted around a bramble brush. She could feel her feet being cut, but she feared the pixie would not allow her to help if Kaja showed her the wolf.
Then she stopped. There it was. It was soft at first. If she hadn’t been listening for it, Kaja would have thought that it was just the play of the wind on the trees. A little mewling cry, so soft. Kaja moved forward, keeping her steps light. She didn’t even think about the fact that she was naked. Clothes were something she’d just been introduced to, and Dante seemed to shed his often enough.
The little pixie landed on her shoulder. “There. There.”
Kaja carefully pushed back a branch and took in the sight in front of her. Strange green men stood around a big, black cooking pot. The water was beginning to boil. There were two men, both with squat bodies covered in corded muscle. Very little hair covered their heads. What they had was black and wiry, and these men did not smell at all good, though they stood downwind. What she could smell was very awful.
One stood by the fire. “Almost ready now.”
The second grinned, showing sh
arp teeth. “Yes, I can tell that it is. These pretties will make an excellent soup. Sorry we didn’t catch the mum. She was a nice, fat one.”
Kaja felt a tiny foot stamp on her shoulder. Apparently fat was not a good thing to be. For a wolf, it was nice. It tended to mean a wolf could survive the harsh winters, but the pixie seemed to take offense.
“All right, then,” the First said. “We’ve waited longer than we promised. It ain’t our fault they aren’t out here. If those buggers have a lick of sense, they found another plane to hide on.”
Kaja wasn’t sure which bugs the being was talking about, but she felt a need to save these. The little mother was very upset, and no wonder. Kaja could see the small pixies with their gossamer wings being held in the cage. Her babies. The mother couldn’t allow her babies to be turned into some form of food.
Kaja turned her head carefully. She put her finger to her mouth to let the little pixie know she shouldn’t shout out.
In a blink, Kaja changed, her world moving from two-legged to four. The pixie landed on her snout, looking seriously into Kaja’s eyes. If the pixie was frightened of Kaja’s wolf, she didn’t show it.
“Please.” The pixie repeated her refrain.
Kaja nodded, and the pixie took off, her wings flapping.
On soft feet, Kaja burst through the bushes and attacked the first green thing.
“Get the wolf!” A man’s voice shouted, and Kaja could feel what she should have sensed all along. She was surrounded, but they had masked their scents or stayed downwind. The soldiers from before were all around, and more green beings leapt from their hiding places.
Too late. She realized the trap had been laid and baited.
“Don’t hurt her,” the leader said. He was the tall vampire who had been kind to her and fed her treats. He seemed to only have a real problem with Dante.
Dante. He was going to be so angry with her. He was going to punish her, and maybe not in a nice way this time. Dante did not like it when she risked her life. She turned and sought a way out. The little pixie was trying so hard to get the cage open and let her babies free. At least she hadn’t betrayed Kaja.
There was nowhere to run, but she could do what she set out to do. Kaja leapt and pulled down the cage. It clattered to the ground, and the door flew open. Pixie wings fluttered as they all got away.
“Saved them, did you, pet?”
Kaja looked up at the man who had caught them before.
“I rather thought you would,” he said, not unkindly. He turned to his men. “I know it doesn’t make a lick of sense, but that wolf is a consort. She is to be taken care of and protected.”
But he held the magic box in his hand. Light flowed from it and into her.
She felt fire in her veins, and Kaja fell.
Chapter Thirteen
Dante felt her fall. It was like some invisible connection that was always there in the back of his mind had been cut off abruptly. As though Kaja was in his brain, a low soothing hum, and now it was silent.
“Something’s wrong with Kaja,” Dante said, getting to his feet.
His heart was racing, panic threatening to overtake him. Maybe he’d fed too much. Gods, if he’d hurt her, he would die himself. Please, please. He sent out silent pleas. Let her be all right. Let it be a mistake.
But he knew it wasn’t true. He knew something was wrong. The connection between them had been cut. Kaja wouldn’t do it. She didn’t even know how to. Dante pushed through the brush and into the small copse where he’d left her sleeping.
Why had he left her at all? He knew how dangerous it was. He was an asshole who couldn’t even take care of his wife. He’d left her here alone and vulnerable because he couldn’t deal with how she made him feel. He was as irresponsible as everyone made him out to be.
She was gone. Her clothes had been left behind in a neatly folded pile. The grass around them was a mess, but he couldn’t count that as evidence that she’d been dragged away. He’d fucked her on this grass. He’d rolled with her and played and screwed. He’d let her fall asleep in his arms.
Where the hell had she gone?
“Dante?” Meg’s soft voice reminded him that Kaja wasn’t the only female he was responsible for.
He turned and felt his eyes widen. Meg was covered in butterflies. They clung to her hair and sat on her shoulder. Beautiful, winged jewels that glistened in the sunlight. Meg was a lovely picture standing there with butterflies creating a halo around her head.
“She says she knows where they took the wolf,” Meg said.
“The butterfly?” Dante sighed. There was a reason he didn’t spend a lot of time in Faery forests. The animals knew better than to talk back on Dante’s plane.
“They’re pixies, Dante. Calm down and you’ll be able to hear them.”
Dante didn’t want to listen to insects, but if they knew where Kaja was, then he would do it. He moved close to Meg, and sure enough, there was a small cacophony of tiny, musical voices.
“The wolf tried to save us.”
“Pretty wolf.”
“Bad goblins. Mira hates goblins. They smell bad, and they tried to make Mira into soup. I don’t want to be soup.”
“I want my papa.”
Kids. They were just kids. Well, naturally his Kaja had tried to save a bunch of lesser Fae from getting put in a pot. “Where is Kaja?”
“In the woods.”
“They took her. They put lightning in her belly and took her.”
They went on and on, their wings fluttering as they all spoke at once.
“Please, younglings, one at a time,” Meg said, her voice pleading.
And then a larger butterfly swooped by Dante’s head. Larger than the younglings, she would still fit in the palm of his hand with room left over. But there was no doubt this one was in charge.
“Stop. The queen is right. We must remain calm.” Her voice was tinny, but Dante’s ears were damn good. Dante stared down at the pixies. He’d never seen one up close. Lesser Fae. It didn’t mean that they were truly less important, merely smaller. The brilliant blue pixie landed on the hand Meg held up. “Your Gracious Highness. I must ask for your help. There was a young woman who came to my aid. She saved my babes, but it was a trap. The goblins captured her.”
“Goblins?” Dante wanted to be sick. Goblins could do just about anything to her. And they would, unless they realized they could make a profit from her. “Where is the chieftain?”
The pixie shook her head. “It’s not a tribe. It’s only a handful of goblins. I thought there were only two of them, but once the nice woman had turned into a wolf, they leapt from the bushes and grabbed her. They had magic.”
No, they had technology. “The vampires caught up with us, and they brought friends. Why the hell would they bring in goblins?”
Meg shrugged. She’d paled, as though she couldn’t stand the thought of Kaja being caught, either. “It’s Torin. We’ve heard he’s made some deals with disloyal Unseelie. They don’t seem to realize that he intends to kill anyone who isn’t sidhe.”
The pixie’s wings fluttered. “Please help her, Your Majesty. She was so kind. I can’t stand the thought of her being harmed for helping me.”
“Where are they?” Dante asked. His voice came out in a harsh rasp, and he noticed his claws had popped out. He felt rage begin to build, shoving the panic and fear to the side. Another fucking vampire had taken his consort. If that mercenary had laid a hand on his consort, Dante was going to tear it off his body and shove it down his throat.
The pixie turned from Meg. She then flew back behind Meg’s head as though begging for protection.
“He’s not going to hurt you, little one. You’re not the one he’s angry with,” Meg said. “Dante, you have to be careful. You’re obviously very upset. Damn, you look scary.”
Meg had never seen him in this state. She’d seen his fangs and claws, but even when they had killed the hag, he’d remained in control. Now, the thought of someone touching hi
s Kaja was making his eyes bleed out. It was something that opened his senses and prepared him to fight.
And he would fight. He would kill, because no one was touching his consort. “Where is Kaja?”
Meg held her hand out, and the big blue pixie landed gracefully. “Take us there. The wolf is the vampire’s mate. He will be grateful to you, and so will I.”
“Meg, you can’t come with me.” He’d lost Kaja. He wasn’t about to lose Meg, too.
Her face hardened, and Dante could believe she was a queen. “If you leave me here, I’ll just follow and probably cause trouble. Kaja is my friend. She saved me too, you know.”
There wouldn’t be any moving her. And she really knew how to cause trouble. “Fine, but you hide when we get there.”
The small pixies fluttered off Meg’s hair and seemed to be talking to the mother. They flew off, more than likely in search of sanctuary, but the mother stayed behind. She flew in front of them, leading them through the woods.
Dante ran to keep up. The pixie was a little dart flying through the woods toward Dante’s target. He longed for a weapon—any weapon. They’d been forced to leave the gun behind. Kaja had buried it. He didn’t even have his tablet. All he had were his claws and fangs, but he charged through the woods like a man with an army behind him.
He could feel Meg running to keep up. When the pixie stopped, he turned to Meg.
“You hide. You watch. You wait for Cian. He can get Beck, and he can save Kaja.” Dante stared at her, letting her feel his will.
Meg frowned, but did as he asked. She placed herself behind an enormous oak tree. Dante felt better when the tree’s braches seemed to move to conceal her. She disappeared, masked by green vines and leaves.
Cian was here, even if he wasn’t a physical presence. He would watch after his wife. It was time for Dante to take care of his.
There was nothing for it. He was alone. He had no weapon but one. He had to turn himself in and hope they would let Kaja go.
They wanted him.
Dante walked into the open and was immediately surrounded by soldiers.