“Just so we’re clear, Ms. Summerwaite. You won’t win. Everything and everyone you love will be ripped from you.”
It was impossible to know which one said it, or if it was even one of them at all. Carey tried to struggle but to no avail.
Then, as Rowan started to beg to make a deal, the person on the right reached into the camera’s range. Carey’s gun held in someone else’s hand was placed to his temple.
“Wait!” she ordered.
The click and resulting boom of the weapon discharge, the thwack of Carey flying apart and hitting the wall, staining the computer’s camera red hit Rowan like a physical thing.
Rowan wailed and nearly crumpled. She threw her body toward the laptop, calling Carey’s name. Someone held her waist, enabling her to keep her feet. Theo, she thought.
In the background Clive ordered China and a full team of Clive’s lieutenants out to hunt the assailants down.
Rowan needed to keep them there long enough for the Vampires to arrive. She gathered herself, shaking with outrage for long moments. “You. There in Vegas.” Brigid had taken over enough to get the words out, make them seem threatening.
* * *
Her voice was deadly calm. The hair on the back of Clive’s neck stood up.
In Las Vegas, one of the sorcerers at the apartment spoke. “You need to understand we can get to you anywhere, anytime. You can play your little games in London, but we’re going to win and kill as many people you care about as we can.”
“Why? What’s your game?” she snarled.
“If I told you that I’d be helping.” A hand shoved Carey over, chair and all. And then the screen went black.
Rowan had gone very pale. “He wasn’t even thirty.”
“Rowan, come sit.” Theo pushed everyone else from the way and took her to a nearby settee. “What can I do?” he asked her as he set her down carefully.
Clive had never seen The First act this way with anyone else. Ever.
“I... I don’t know.”
He reached out to slap her cheek. Clive could see it coming. Felt as if the world slowed down to a crawl.
And then he caressed Rowan’s hair instead and Clive had to turn away for a few breaths, shaking at how close he’d come to assaulting The First.
“I’m sorry you lost your friend,” Theo told her as Clive turned back around. “Now. Snap out of it, Petal. If you lose focus you let this enemy win. You can’t allow it. Pain is useful. Don’t ever forget what you feel right this moment but if you don’t put it away it’ll slow you down and be your undoing.”
David inched a little closer to kneel near her. “I can get us on a plane back immediately. We’ll do what’s right. We’ll get even for this.”
Rowan swallowed hard and then nodded, so lost before speaking to her father. “Okay. I’m going home. I’m sorry, but I need to leave. Normally I’d stay, but he...”
“He was your family. I understand. Use whatever Nation resources you need to get back to your city.” Theo took her hands in his. “These people who’ve just taken your friend. They want grief to fog your choices. You can’t bring him back, but you can exact your vengeance. You can set the balance right again.”
Rowan took a shuddering breath and her gaze settled on Clive. He hurt that she’d had to lose someone so close and important. Someone whose loss she’d feel responsible for until she died.
But he was glad it wasn’t her. Glad she was alive, even if Carey wasn’t. She didn’t need to hear that, but he felt it just the same.
“Alice will coordinate with David and get everything set. Cataline will get you packed so we’re ready to go when we’re set,” Clive told her.
She was going to tell him he didn’t need to accompany her back, he saw it on her face, felt the build up in her energy. But she let it go. Instead, she let herself need him. Let herself be taken care of just a little.
“Okay, thanks.”
Susan took over with Rowan, getting her to eat a little while things got handled. David and Alice made things happen and he got his last bit of work done with the Scions before they headed to the airfield down the mountain from the Keep.
Theo kissed her cheeks and hugged her. “I know your heart is broken. I wish I could take your pain away. Know that whatever means I have are yours should you but ask. Please be safe. Don’t break my heart too.”
Rowan hugged him back. “Thank you. I’m sorry to have to leave early,” she said.
“I’m surprised you held on as long as you did,” he teased lightly.
“You can’t possibly be leaving to deal with a human! The First has given you this honor,” Thomas said.
Rowan didn’t bother speaking. She just walked over, kicked Thomas in the balls hard enough that he doubled over and stayed down, before heading back to Clive.
His mother hugged them both. “I’m ever so sorry, sweetheart,” Antonia said.
Charles nodded once and they got into the car. She put her head back against the seat, closed her eyes and didn’t say another word until they had taken off.
“Take a pill and get some sleep. It’s a ten-hour flight. You can’t do anything in the air. David is handling everything he can.” Clive steered her toward the small, light tight bedchamber.
“I can’t close my eyes right now. I keep seeing his brains. The look on his face right before they killed him. He knew. In those last moments he knew and I wasn’t there. I couldn’t protect him. Another person who got killed because of me.”
“You can’t do everything. You can’t be everything to everyone. There are bad people in the world who wish to do you and yours harm if for no other reason than you do good for the world.”
“What if it’s David next? Or Alice?”
“Both of them know what they signed on for.”
Rowan clapped her hands over her ears as she began to cry. “I don’t think I can say that and believe it anymore.”
“But it’s true. Everyone takes chances on some level. But you? And those like you? You take life and death chances all the time. I wish it were different! Do you think I like the very real possibility that it could be you? That I could bear the loss of even Alice, but the absence of you in the world would break me into little pieces? I hate it. But you are who you are. You made this choice and you make it anew every day. Just like Carey did. Just like David and Alice do.”
“I’m going to hunt them down and kill them so hard they’ll wish they never even thought about me.”
“Yes you are. I’m going to help you. Carey deserves that.”
She looked up at him after mopping her face with the back of her hand. “Thank you. For being there. For letting me fall apart.”
He hugged her, again, so relieved she was there. Alive. Vibrant and his.
“I’ll hold your broken pieces if you promise to do the same for me when I need it.”
She burrowed in closer, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.
“We’ll make it. Together.”
* * ***
Enjoy this excerpt from WOLF’S ASCENSION
Releasing February 2016
from Lauren Dane and Carina Press
Wolf's Ascension
by Lauren Dane
Kari awoke, feeling as if she was wrapped in cotton. She opened her eyes to find she wasn’t in the hospital. Confused, she looked around and saw she was in a large room with wood-paneled walls. Light shafted over the blankets on the bed. A real bed, not a hospital bed. Flowers burst from vases on every conceivable surface, filling her view with a riot of color. Beneath the sweet scent of the wildflowers was the clean smell of beeswax on the furniture. More distant, fresh air and the crisp scent of pine trees and verdant moss. Faintly, she heard water lapping against a shoreline of some sort.
She continued to study the room until her eyes focused on Dr. Kennedy, who sat on a nearby chair reading a mystery novel.
“Dr. Kennedy? What’s going on? Where am I?”
Looking up, Dr. Kennedy placed her book aside and stood with a smile. “Kari, you’re awake. Good.” Getting up, she quickly checked Kari over and stepped back, apparently satisfied with the results.
“Where am I?” Kari repeated.
Dr. Kennedy smiled and took a deep breath. “Well, Alice, you just fell down the proverbial rabbit hole. I’ll start simple. You’re at Star Lake Lodge. It’s up in the Northern Cascades about an hour north of Leavenworth. You’ll be here for a while.”
“What? Why?” Alarm began to creep through her system.
“Well, the why is pretty complicated and I’m not the one to tell you everything. Your life changed that night in the alley, Kari. It wasn’t a dog that attacked you. It was a wolf. A werewolf.”
“A what?” Kari laughed. “Am I on drugs? My head injury is worse than I thought because I swear I heard you say I was attacked by a werewolf.”
“No, you aren’t on drugs and your head is fine. And yes, you heard correctly. You were attacked by a werewolf.”
She sat up and winced, a bit dizzy. “So you’re the one on drugs then? There are no such things as werewolves.”
“Ah, but there are, beautiful.”
Kari turned in the direction of the deep voice and found herself looking up into the face of the most breathtakingly handsome and masculine man she’d ever laid eyes on. He was easily six-and-a-half feet tall, broad-shouldered. Thick, muscular arms and thighs and a long lean stomach were obvious markers of his strength. He had large hands with beautifully long fingers. Wheat-blond hair brushed his shoulders, loose, holding a slight wave through the thick silk that made her fingers clench with the desire to touch it. Eyes the gold-brown of whiskey took her in. Lips, full and ripe for kissing, held a natural smile. His voice flowed over her like water over a river stone, smooth and deep. The man was a complete package of devastating attractiveness. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kari felt her body respond to him.
“Kari, I’m Andreas Phinney. Welcome to my home.” Reaching out, he took her hand in his and electricity flowed back and forth between them, bringing a gasp from her lips. Smiling in a cocky, self-assured way, he planted a kiss on her palm.
“Why am I here and when can I go home?” A bit breathless, Kari pulled her hand out of his grasp.
Andreas sat down on the bed next to her. The heat rising from his skin in waves enveloped her, dizzying her. “Kari, the next few days are going to be hard for you but please believe that I will do everything I can to make them easier. Not just me but everyone here. Before we get to any long explanations, let’s get some food into you. Are you hungry?”
Annoyed, she waved her hand at him. “What? No, I’m not hungry. I want to know what the hell is going on here!” Well, she was hungry actually, but fear was overtaking hunger pretty well right then.
Andreas sighed and looked at Dr. Kennedy. “Elaine, can you please go and ask Anna to prepare a tray for Kari and bring it up? She and I are going to talk a bit.”
As Dr. Kennedy left, Kari backed up against the headboard, scanning the room, looking for something to use as a weapon.
“You don’t have to fear me, Kari. Not ever. I would never hurt you.” Andreas’s voice was soothing.
“Yeah, well, forgive me for not believing that. I don’t know you. I’m in your house. And no one seems to want to tell me anything other than some farcical nonsense about werewolves.”
“All right. From the beginning, the unabridged version. I’m a werewolf. The leader of the Cherchez Clan. My father and grandfather before him held the position I hold now. You were marked by a werewolf in that alley on Saturday. Michael—the wolf who changed you—got a bit excited and lost control. He’s very sorry and will continue to be until you are well enough to decide on his punishment. You weren’t supposed to be marked for another few months so that we could ease your transition.”
Mouth open in shock, Kari sat speechless. He seemed so normal. Hell, Dr. Kennedy seemed normal too. Just went to show how people could be totally lucid and yet completely batshit crazy at the same time.
Ignoring her look, he continued. “Anyway, when you were bitten—marked—the saliva that carries the virus got into your blood and is already working. The marks are gone, aren’t they?” He went on without the answer. “We need more female wolves. There aren’t a lot of natural werewolves that are female. So we must, from time to time, find human women who have shown a biological ability in their family tree to not only survive the change but to be able to mate and breed with us once changed.
“Werewolves can be created when a human is bitten by a werewolf. But it’s more complicated than contaminated saliva being introduced into their system. Not all werewolves can do it and not all humans survive. In fact, many don’t because the bite has to be deep and severe enough to cause a certain level of trauma in the body, and many humans die from the wounds before they can transform. Moreover, only werewolves who are born so can create new werewolves.
“You’re one of those very special human women, Kari. Four generations ago your sixth cousins were changed and gave birth to werewolves, and a generation after that one of your ancestors was an Alpha, a leader. You’re meant to be my Alpha-bitch. My Mate.”
Fury pushed down the rising panic. “Your what? Oh no you didn’t! You did not just call me your bitch. On top of being dangerously stupid, are you some kind of cult? Get the hell away from me! Jesus! Bitch? You want to see bitch? I’ll show you bitch! I want to go home. I don’t want to play this game anymore. You need help.”
Elaine showed up with the tray, looking concerned. Andreas shook his head once and motioned for her to set it down on the dresser near the door.
“This is your home, Kari. You are home. I mean no offense by my use of the word bitch. This isn’t a cult. This isn’t a game. I know you can be happy here once you figure out we’re telling you the truth. I’m sorry for the way my cousin brought you over. It’s against all of our rules, you know. But we can get through this. You were meant to be here. Can’t you feel that?”
Kari stood then, nearly tripping over the bed coverings. She realized with a start that they were the ones from her apartment. A sinking feeling dropped like lead in her stomach. Suddenly her life was a bad episode of The Twilight Zone.
“This isn’t happening,” she murmured, willing it to be true. It wasn’t. “Look, whoever you two are, my brother is a cop. He’ll know I’m missing. Please, please don’t do this. I want to go home now.” She blinked back tears.
“I’m sorry, Kari. I don’t want you to be scared or unhappy. Two nights from now is the full moon, we’re having a Clan Gathering and you will transform and take your wolf form. It’ll be painful the first time but it’s also exhilarating and beautiful. You can’t do it alone. Especially not the first time.” Smiling at her sexily, he said softly, “I can’t wait to run with you.”
Kari stood, openmouthed. Okay, she’d take pissed off over terrified any day. She could work with anger. Dropping the comforter, she stalked toward the door. “No way, people. No way, no how. I’m a fucking software engineer for god’s sake. I don’t even read horror novels. I don’t watch scary movies. This has gone on long enough.”
Another man stepped into the doorway, nearly as tall as Andreas and just as wide. He had strawberry-blond hair that twisted in a long braid down his back. His eyes were the color of the summer sky, vivid blue. He had a sprinkling of freckles on his cheeks and nose and was smiling at her like he told people they were werewolves every day of the week. He was also blocking her exit.
“You can’t keep me here against my will. This is kidnapping!” Damn it! What was this place? “What’s next, are you planning to rape me?” She wa
s quickly losing the battle to hold back hysteria. Her heart was beating so fast she could see her pulse in her wrist. She tried to remember if the self-defense class she’d taken before she left Atlanta had covered this type of situation. Was she supposed to stay calm and get trust or was she supposed to be angry? Damn, she knew she should have paid attention instead of watching the sunny day outside the big windows.
“Kari, please!” Dr. Kennedy urged. “You’re getting worked up. No one is going to hurt you. Get back into bed and eat. You don’t look very well.”
“Worked up! Well excuse me.” She snorted. “Who is Mount Dude here and why is he blocking my way?” She jerked her head toward the man in the doorway.
“I’m Phillip, your bodyguard. My life is yours.”
Her eyes widened for a moment and she bit back the sarcastic response that burned her tongue. “Uh, yeah. Well how about a ride into town then?”
“I can’t do that, Alpha.”
“Alpha? Special. You think I’m a werewolf too?”
“A werewolf queen,” Phillip said. Amusement lit his eyes.
Oh, of course, a queen too. If you were going to be in some delusional werewolf cult, you may as well dream big. This kept getting better and better.
Andreas still sat on the bed looking delicious but slightly confused. Why was it always the cute ones who were crazy? Scanning the room, she noted the locks on the windows.
“I have to go to the bathroom. Is that allowed?” Maybe she could find a way to escape in there.
“Of course, Kari.” Andreas pointed to a door. “Right through here.”
Holding the gap in her hospital gown closed, she stomped past. After slamming the door in his face with vicious satisfaction, she frowned, noting the lack of a lock. She also noted that while there was a window, it was at least seven feet off the ground, long and narrow. Even after dieting a month she’d never get through it. There was a skylight but it was even higher up than the window and it had no opening she could see. She quickly did her business while looking for possible weapons but came up empty. Not even a razor, damn.