[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

or in chunks. Just wait. Don't do it in front of her. We can
do it anytime. We've got nothing but time."
I turned my gaze to her and she stared right back. The
look was challenging. No, it was going to be right here
and right now. She could try to stop me; hell, they all
could, but she was going to watch me tear him apart. I
would paint the floors and walls with his blood before
he died.
The freak laughed. "We aren't without similarities,
Curran and I."
Oh, I had to hear this.
"We both fall prey to lust. We both guard our pride
and suffer from jealousy. We both employ our
resources to get what we want: I use my wealth and my
body, and he uses his position of power. You say I want
you only because you refused me. He wants you for the
same reason. I remember when he became the Beast
Lord. The boy king, the perpetual adolescent, suddenly
at the head of the food chain, granted access to
hundreds of women who can't say no. Do you think he
forces them into his bed? He had to have done it at
least a few times."
What? That slimy cocksucker was telling her I was a
rapist. The guy who would fuck a snake if he could find
someone to hold it still. I never, ever.
Kate, tell him it isn't true. Tell him you don't believe
it. Tell him.
She said nothing.
I had wanted her, and I thought she wanted me. I had
been good, I'd waited. She'd been in the Keep, weak and
wounded, but I'd never touched her. He would say or do
anything. He would use her and throw her away when he
tired of her. I had almost died during the Games for her.
He leaned toward her.
I could clear the distance between us in three leaps.
Two seconds and I could twist his head off his shoulders
and throw it at her feet.
He raised his voice. "You're all mine tonight. Kiss
me, Kate."
No.
He reached for her. She stepped away.
Something inside me snapped, and then I was moving
toward him. He wouldn't leave this place alive. I
couldn't make her love me, but she didn't want his hands
on her. That sick fuck would never touch her again.
She stepped in front of him. He was so drunk or stupid
that he still didn't know what was happening.
"...won't hurt me. Not here."
I was almost there; I could smell the alcohol in his
sweat. She swiped a bottle off a nearby table and moved
toward me. Nice try, but it wouldn't be enough. Maybe if
she had her sword...
"The People greet the Beast Lord."
Nataraja. It took everything I had, but I stopped. If I
killed Saiman now, it would be war. In that moment, I
would have thrown my life away to feel Saiman's skull
snap between my jaws, but he wasn't worth the lives of
my alphas. Saiman would never know it, but that bald-
headed prick Nataraja had saved his life. For the
moment.
I stared at Kate and mouthed a single word. Later.
She stared back at me, her eyes clear. Anytime.
I took a deep breath, turned my back on her, and in a
calm voice called out, "The Beast Lord greets the
People."
AWAKE
(End of Magic Bleeds)
I floated for eternity in a sea of agony. Sometimes if I
concentrated and blocked out the pain, I could hear her
voice from far away. I focused on the sound, willing
myself slowly toward it. Finally, after how long I didn't
know, I came around and could even make out a bit of
what she was saying. "...seems like a decent guy. Now
they're stuck."
He had someone, she had someone, nobody was
talking and Kate didn't know what to do. She looked
tired and battered. Still, I had never in my life seen
someone more beautiful. Nor had I ever been happier to
be near them. For some reason, the answer to her
dilemma came to me far easier than all the things I really
wanted to say.
"Have you tried the Second Chance Law?" I asked
softly. Her eyes still did not open... maybe we were
sharing a dream. I explained as best I could and hugged
her as hard as I was able.
Finally she looked at me.
"You stayed with me," I whispered. She said
something I couldn't quite catch, but it didn't matter as
much as her being there to say it. I smiled and fell back
asleep. Real sleep this time--no red haze, just darkness. I
knew she'd be there when I came back to the world. No
matter what. Eventually I woke again--something was in
my arm and I wanted it out. As I located the source of my
irritation, Kate came into the room carrying what
smelled like soup. "What is this shit?" I demanded as I
pulled the needle out of my arm.
"It kept you alive for eleven days," she informed me.
Almost two weeks! I had lain like that for nearly two
goddamn weeks, and she had stayed with me. It wasn't
the IV that had kept me alive. The truth of it stunned me.
She handed me the soup, but I set it aside and pulled
her close. We held each other for a time. Soon, however,
Derek's familiar knock broke our reverie and short-lived
reunion.
"Kate," he inquired quietly, clearly asking permission
to cross the threshold.
With an authority in her voice that I had never heard,
she instructed him to enter. The once-handsome young
man did so and informed her of another wolf who
demanded an audience, citing some "emergency."
"...probably another challenge..."
Challenge? For me? Every muscle in my body tensed.
Really, were they fucking crazy? I'd almost died and they
were queuing up to get a piece of what was left of me. I
glanced at Kate and her face said it all. She wore a look
of weary resignation, and the fractured pieces fell into
place. Not me, they were challenging her. Hell no, this
shit was going to stop right now.
Sensing the sudden danger, Derek glanced at me and
abruptly fell silent. Before he could recover, I ordered
him to send the challenger in but not to inform them that I
had awakened. The young wolf closed his mouth, turned,
and departed quickly to carry out my command. He'd
always been a smart kid.
Kate helped me to stand; I'd be damned if they'd see
me lying in bed like a weakling.
"Is today Wednesday?"
"Yes," she said.
Pack Council day. Perfect. I picked up the bowl.
As I sipped the soup she had brought in earlier, Jaime
Alicia strode into the room as if he owned it. So eager to
harm my mate and take what was mine. One of Clan
Wolf's best fighters, a boxer in his youth, he was tall and
well built. I had seen him fight; I knew he was strong and
fast. I was also sure that Kate could cut him into little
pieces before the soup got cold. I would never admit it,
but she was damn good with that sword of hers. Not that
she would have to--he would be dead before he touched
her.
None of them would ever harm her again. I would see
them all dead first.
Jaime stared at me, his jaw slack.
I finished my soup and spoke. "Yes?"
The wolf dropped into a crouch and stared at the
floor. Had he hesitated for even a second, I would have
pulled his lungs out through his chest. Claw, reach in,
yank out. It would be easy and I would have enjoyed it
immensely. I could smell his fear. I wanted to roar at
him.
"Do you have anything to say?"
With his eyes still firmly affixed to the floor, he shook
his head no. Now we knew again who was who and
what was what. Order needed to be restored and the rest
of them needed to be reminded why I was the Beast
Lord.
"The Council is due for a meeting in three minutes. Go
down there and tell them to wait for me, and I might
forget you were ever here." For his sake, I hoped he
never forgot how close he'd come to a savage and
painful death, because I wouldn't give him a second
chance.
After he left, I lost my balance and Kate attempted to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]