Warrior (Relentless Book 4)

Sara was sleeping peacefully when I walked outside at dawn. I was reluctant to leave her, but she was safe here with the pack. It was clear they cared for her, and Judith had assured me last night they would protect her as if she was one of their own. The two large men stationed outside when we left were proof of that.

Chris was waiting when I quietly closed the door behind me. We didn’t speak as we pushed our bikes down the driveway to the road. Sara had had a rough night, and neither of us wanted to disturb her sleep. It wasn’t until we were a quarter of a mile from the house that we started the bikes and drove into town.

We found a small diner that was open for breakfast, and I sank heavily into a booth with a low groan. Physically, I was good. I’d pulled all-nighters more times than I could remember. My head was another matter.

In all my years as a warrior, nothing had ever gotten to me as much as last night had, and I felt wrung out. Seeing Sara in that mangled truck and knowing how close I had come to losing her had awakened emotions I’d never thought I could feel. Even now, the anger threatened to resurface every time I thought of her standing in the rain in her torn and bloody clothes.

“Two coffees,” Chris said, dragging me from my thoughts. I looked up to see a waitress walking away from our table.

Chris gave me a wry smile. “You remember the big quake in nineteen-oh-six?”

“How could I forget?” Chris and I had worked tirelessly for three days with a dozen other warriors, combing through the ruins of San Francisco for survivors and dispatching vampires who’d sought to take advantage of the disaster. Three days without food or sleep, but we’d rescued hundreds of people from the rubble.

“We looked like hell when that was over. That’s what you remind me of now.”

“I feel like hell.”

He stared at me long and hard. “You almost lost it last night.”

I nodded wearily. “I know.”

His fingers tapped on the table. “You know it’s only going to get worse. The next time you might not be able to control the rage.”

“I will. I have to.” The last thing I wanted was to frighten her.

“Maybe you should tell her the truth, so she’ll know what’s going on with you next time.”

I opened my mouth to argue, and he held up a hand.

“I watched the two of you last night at the party and after the attack. She might resent you for what you represent, but she trusts you. She asked for you when I went to tend to her injuries. She has to sense there is something between you, even if she doesn’t know what it is.”

“No, she’s not ready for that.” It warmed me to know Sara had asked for me, but it was too soon to tell her everything. She needed time to get to know me, and preferably in a situation where she didn’t fear for her life.

He shook his head. “It’s your call.”

The waitress brought our coffees, and I took a drink of the strong black brew. “I have to tell Tristan about the crocotta.”

Chris made a face. “Good luck getting him to stay in Idaho after this. And once he gets here and learns about you and Sara…”

I set my cup down and rubbed my jaw. “I’ll just have to be persuasive.”

He laughed softly. “Like I said, good luck with that. When are you going to call him?”

“In a few hours. If I wake him up, he’s going to think it’s an emergency, and there’ll be no talking to him.”

“Good idea.” He sipped his coffee. “I assume you’re going to stay here, for today at least.”

“Yes.” There was no way I could leave her so soon after the attack.

“I’ll head back to Portland then and see what Erik is up to. I called him last night and told him about the attack. He couldn’t believe it when I told him there were six crocotta.”

I scowled at the memory of all the crocotta bodies in the road. “I think I’ve seen a pack that big only once before.”

He gave me a grim look. “Whether it’s Eli or someone else behind this, they’re not messing around.”

“I know.”

“If it gets too dangerous and she won’t leave, we might not have any choice but to make her go.” He stared intently at me. “Are you prepared to do that if it comes to it?”

“She might hate me for it, but her safety comes first.”

“Then we’ll have to make sure it doesn’t come to that.” Chris pushed his cup away and got out of the booth. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I paid the bill and left the diner several minutes later. I’d seen a small hotel near the waterfront, so I decided to get a room where I could shower and recharge for a few hours before I called Tristan.

Chris knew Tristan well. After I told Tristan about the crocotta attack, it took me well over an hour to convince him to stay at Westhorne. He thought being her grandfather, he could somehow convince Sara to leave everything she knew behind. It wasn’t easy, having to remind him that most of Sara’s dislike for the Mohiri stemmed from her resentment toward her mother. She would not welcome Madeline’s sire, even if he was nothing like his daughter. And if she was able to get past that, she would not leave her uncle.

It was almost noon when I ended the call with Tristan. My first thought was of Sara and how she was doing today. It would take her a day or two to fully recover from her injuries, and I wished I had thought to leave some gunna paste with her in case she needed it for pain.

Remembering I had Judith’s number, I called her to check on Sara.

“She’s doing great. She’s in no pain and healing incredibly fast. I doubt she’ll have any scars at all in a day or two.”

I released the breath I was holding. “Is she still there?”

“You just missed her. She left with Roland. I believe he’s giving her driving lessons.”

“Driving lessons?” The thought of her doing something so normal after last night made me smile at her resilience. “Is she okay to drive?”

Judith laughed. “I hope so. That’s my only car.”

I was smiling when I hung up, relieved Sara was recovering well from last night. I spent the rest of the day combing the town and surrounding woods for any signs of trouble. I doubted there would be more crocotta, but I was taking no chances where Sara was concerned.

Several times I ran into pack members in wolf and human forms, but we acknowledged each other without any conflict. It was clear from their expressions that they were not happy about my presence in town, but their Alpha must have ordered them to stand down.

Later that night, I walked from my hotel to the waterfront to keep watch for a few hours and to reassure my Mori and myself that she was okay.

I’d expected her to be asleep, but light shone from the third floor of the building where I believed her bedroom to be, having seen her in the windows up there on several occasions. A few minutes later, the third floor lights went out and the curtains moved in one of the windows.

My eyesight sharpened, and I saw her outline clearly as she looked down at the waterfront. I couldn’t see her expression, and I wondered if she was afraid to sleep, expecting another monster to come out of the darkness. Facing that many crocotta would give some warriors bad dreams.

Every other time I’d kept watch, I’d made sure to stay out of sight, but tonight I wanted her to go to sleep knowing she had nothing to fear. I stepped into the circle of light from the street light so she could see me clearly.

For a long moment, she looked at me without moving. Then, the curtain fell back into place and she disappeared.

I stayed in the light for another minute before I melted back into the shadows.

* * *

I left New Hastings the next morning with the intention of returning that night, but the escalating situation in Portland demanded my presence in the city. On Sunday night, the body of a young woman was found in a dumpster near the university. Her ravaged throat told us our vampire problem had grown.

Maxwell must have gotten word of it because suddenly Portland was crawling with werewolves. There were a few clashes when our warriors encountered some of the younger wolves who didn’t like our presence in Portland. I had to go out and diffuse several of the conflicts.

On Tuesday, Maxwell called and asked to meet at a small pub in Portland owned by one of his pack members. I met him there alone since Chris was in New Hastings, and I received more than one glare when I walked up to the bar and ordered a beer.

Maxwell arrived as the bartender was pouring my beer. He ordered one for himself and we sat at a booth in the back.

“My wolves don’t like having your people in our territory, and frankly neither do I,” he said. “But we’re all hunters here, and we have the same enemy. So we need to learn to work together to deal with this situation.”

I took a drink of my beer. “I agree. What do you propose?”

Surprise showed in his eyes. “I’m going to send six wolves to Portland every night. You tell me where you’ll be working, and I’ll focus on another part of the city. We’ll cover more ground that way and stay out of each other’s hair.”

“Sounds good.” I sat back in my chair. “I believe the vampire named Eli is behind this. He’s dangerous and slippery, and I need to know if one of your wolves takes him down.”

Maxwell nodded gravely. “I’ll have them take pictures of their kills, although I can’t guarantee there will be much left to identify.”

We talked for another hour about how we could work together to avoid future problems between our people. Maxwell was overly protective of his territory, as any good Alpha would be, but he was rational and smart enough to acknowledge the Mohiri were a strong ally against the threat to this city. I respected that in a leader.

That night, there was a second vampire attack near the university, but it was thwarted by two werewolves who killed the vampire. True to his word, Maxwell had his wolves send us a photo of the dead vampire. There was just enough left of his face to know he wasn’t Eli.

That same night, Erik and I took out three young vampires we had cornered behind a night club. They couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old. When they said they didn’t know who Eli was, they were almost too terrified to speak, let alone lie to us.

We were killing vampires, but there was no sign of Eli, and it frustrated the hell out of me. My instincts told me the bastard was still here and he was up to something. I’d seen vampires obsess over a prey before, but why would he risk his life by staying around here with so many hunters in the city? I wouldn’t be happy until I put a blade through his demon heart.

I was in a black mood when I finally left Portland late Wednesday afternoon to ride to New Hastings. I didn’t realize how worked up I was until I got closer to the small town and the tension began to leave my body. It still stunned me how strong the bond had grown in just a few weeks, and how I could miss someone after only three days apart.

It troubled me as well. As a warrior I didn’t have many weaknesses, but Sara made me vulnerable in ways I’d never thought possible. My feelings for her and my need to keep her safe were things an enemy could exploit. Chris had been right the other night when he said I needed to think like a warrior and not like a mate when it came to protecting her. Emotions in battle made you sloppy and distracted, and that could get you killed.

I thought my imagination was playing tricks on me when I sensed Sara on the outskirts of town. Then I rounded a bend in the road and saw a lone figure riding a bicycle past the city limit sign. What the hell was she doing out here alone, especially after the attack a few nights ago? Where was Chris? And the werewolves who had sworn to watch over her?

I let off the gas and kept pace behind her for the three miles to her building on the waterfront. She knew I was there, but she didn’t look behind her once, and she didn’t change her speed. I wasn’t sure if that was because she trusted me or because she believed she was safe in broad daylight.

I saw her shoulders tense when we reached the waterfront, and I knew she was going to try to slip inside before I could confront her. Keeping her in sight, I rode ahead and parked my bike in front of her building. I was standing by the corner, trying to rein in my anger when she rode up. Seeing her soothed my Mori and me, but that didn’t diminish my fear at her disregard for her own safety.

I didn’t give her a chance to speak as I moved toward her. “Did you not learn anything the other night? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Of course not,” she retorted, though fear flashed in her eyes as she dismounted and walked her bike toward the building.

“No?” I hated my hard tone, but I was too wound up after the last few days to soften it. “Do you want to tell me where you had to sneak off to that was so important?”

“No.” She shifted from one foot to the other. She was hiding something.

“There is nothing but woods for miles south of town. What were you doing out there?” And where the hell was Chris? How could he let her go off on her own like that?

Her brows drew together. “How did you find me anyway? Did you put one of those trackers on my bike, too?”

“No, but maybe I should.”

Her eyes darkened with indignation. “No, you should not! I’m not helpless, you know, and I don’t need you guys following me around twenty-four seven. I took care of myself pretty well before you came along.”

A part of me understood her anger and frustration. I wouldn’t be happy if someone entered my life and tried to restrict my freedom in any way. A larger part of me was infuriated that she refused to see reason, and my words came out mocking. “Yes, I can see how well you do on your own. I’m amazed you lived this long.”

She drew back. “I’m sorry I’m such a trial to you, but no one is asking you to stick around here. You can go back to doing your warrior thing – hunting vampires or whatever you do – and forget all about me.”

I could sense she was hurt by my words, but all I could think of was keeping her safe. When she tried to march past me, I blocked her, grabbing her bike so she couldn’t move. I leaned down, and her scent surrounded me. “If I was a vampire, you’d be dead – or worse.”

Her body stiffened, and I heard her sharp intake of breath. As she lifted her eyes to mine, her warm breath caressed my throat. For several seconds, I forgot everything but those soft lips inches from mine.

She averted her gaze. “Does it even matter?”

I blinked as her words pierced the spell she’d cast over me. “What?”

“You said that day on the wharf that you can’t save every orphan. What difference does one more make?”

The suggestion that her life meant so little, that she was nothing more than a job to me, made my chest tighten. If she only knew how precious her life was to me. How did I make her understand that I only cared about her welfare and happiness?

She pulled away from me. “Do you mind letting go of my bike? Nate will be home soon, and it’s my turn to make dinner.”

“Khristu!” My grip tightened on the handlebars until I thought the metal would bend. How could someone make me want to shake them and kiss them at the same time? “Do you not understand the danger you’re in? I know you want to believe you’re safe here surrounded by your werewolf friends, but someone went to great lengths sending that pack of crocotta to find you. If it is that vampire, he won’t give up.”

This time she couldn’t hide the fear that crossed her face, and guilt stabbed me for making her afraid again.

I laid my hand over her smaller one. “If you are honest with yourself, you’ll admit I’m right. I can protect you if you’ll let me.”

I felt her tremble, saw the uncertainty in her eyes, along with some other emotion I couldn’t read. Just when I thought she was going to admit I was right, she pulled away.

“I really need to go inside now,” she said quietly.

I stepped back to let her pass and followed her as she wheeled the bike around the building to the back door. I watched her fumble for her key. “You can run away from me, but you can’t run from the truth. The werewolves can’t protect you forever, and eventually, you’ll have to leave New Hastings. What will you do then?”

She froze for several seconds, and I knew my words had hit home. There was a slight tremor in her voice when she spoke again.

“When that happens it’ll be my problem, not yours.” Opening the door, she shoved the bike inside. “I don’t want you following me around anymore.”

My hands clenched at my sides. “And I don’t want you to keep putting yourself in danger. Seems like neither of us will get what we want.”

The door closed between us. I went back to my bike, pulling out my phone as I walked. I dialed Chris’s number, and he answered on the third ring. From the rumbling in the background he was on his bike.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“What’s up is that I just found Sara riding her bicycle a few miles outside of town. Why weren’t you watching her?”

Chris sighed loudly. “I’ve been driving around for the last hour looking for her. Is she okay?”

“Yes, but anything could have happened to her out there.” I paced in front of my bike. “How could you lose her?”

“She gave me the slip,” he replied sheepishly. “I followed her home from school, and I thought she was still inside. A couple of girls from her school showed up, and they kept coming over to talk to me. I couldn’t get them to leave. Then one of them mentioned seeing Sara riding away on her bike. She was gone by the time I went to look for her. She’s been so predictable this whole time, and I never thought she’d take off like that. I’m sorry, Nikolas.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll just have to keep a closer eye on her.”

“What was she doing outside town on her bike anyway?”

“She wouldn’t say.” I looked up at her window. “I think she’s hiding something.”

“Like what?”

I straddled my bike. “I have no idea, but I’m going to find out. You want to come back here and watch her place while I go check it out?”

“I’ll be there in five minutes.”

As soon as I saw Chris riding down the waterfront, I set off for the area south of town where I’d found Sara. I drove up and down the empty stretch of road, but there was nothing but trees and rocks in sight. No houses, businesses, or buildings of any kind. I did find an old gravel road that was so overgrown it was little more than a track. I followed it for a mile where it ended at an abandoned mine that didn’t look like it had been disturbed in years.

After an hour of searching, I had to admit there was nothing suspicious in the area. Was it possible that Sara had just been out riding her bike? I quickly banished that thought, remembering her nervous reaction when I’d asked what she was doing out here.

There was another possible answer, one I hadn’t wanted to entertain. It could be that she had met up with someone, a male she didn’t want anyone to know about. The thought of her with another man made my stomach burn like it was filled with acid. I had to remind myself that she was oblivious to my feelings and to the bond, and it was only natural that she might be seeing someone.

I shook off the jealousy as I rode back to town. To Sara, I was the warrior here to protect her, nothing more. Despite her knowledge of the world, she wasn’t ready to cope with the intense emotions of a bond mate. Hell, most Mohiri females who grew up knowing about bonding were unprepared to deal with it at first. I’d do my damnedest to shield her from that until she was ready to know the truth.

* * *

The sound of a phone ringing woke me early the next morning, and I rolled over in my hotel bed to grab my cell phone off the nightstand. I scowled when I glanced at the alarm clock and saw it was only six fifteen. I hadn’t gone to bed until four because I’d been keeping an eye on Sara’s building, and I could have used a few more hours of shut-eye.

A groan slipped out when I saw my parents’ faces on my phone screen. Why on Earth were they calling at this hour? Hoping it wasn’t bad news, I got up and pulled on a T-shirt and jeans before I answered the video call.

My mother’s smiling face greeted me. “Good morning, my son.”

“Good morning, Mama,” I replied, slipping into my native tongue. “Is everything well there?”

She nodded and brushed aside a lock of dark hair that fell loose from the knot she liked to wear it in. “I should be asking if everything is well with you. We haven’t heard from you in a while.”

I ran a hand through my messy hair. “I’m only a few days late.”

I talked to my parents once a month, but with everything I’d had going on lately, I’d forgotten to call them. Of course, there was no way I was telling my mother I’d been distracted by my mate. I hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep for that conversation.

“I’m on a job in Maine, and it’s keeping me busy.”

“I know. I talked to Tristan last night, and he told me you found his granddaughter.” Her face lit up. “Such incredible news! To think Madeline had a daughter and told no one. Tristan might never have known of the girl’s existence if you had not stumbled across her. It almost seems like providence, doesn’t it?”

I swallowed a laugh. “You could say that.”

She grew more serious. “You look tired. Are you sleeping well?”

“I sleep very well when my mother doesn’t wake me at the crack of dawn,” I teased.

I was rewarded with a deep chuckle as my sire sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, but he turned his head so their lips met instead.

My parents were bonded years before I was born, and I had grown up surrounded by their displays of affection. Both of them were great warriors and loving parents, always ensuring that one of them stayed with me when the other had to travel. They had pushed me hard in my studies and training to prepare me well for the dangers I’d face as a warrior.

“Good morning, Nikolas.” My sire smiled into the camera, and it was almost like looking into a mirror. We were so alike in appearance that strangers often mistook us for brothers.

“I told her it was too early, but you know how she gets when she wants to talk to her son.”

“Mikhail, shush!” She shouldered him then gave me a stern look. “Perhaps if my son came to visit more than once a year, I would not miss him as much. Or maybe if I knew he was finally ready to settle down and give me my own grandchild…”

My sire laughed, and I knew what my expression must be. I rubbed my jaw, which was in need of a shave, trying not to think about what my mother was going to be like when she found out about Sara.

“Tristan told us about the situation you are dealing with there,” said my sire, coming to my rescue. “Wouldn’t it be easier to convince the girl to go to Westhorne.”

I let out a short laugh. “Trust me; it’s easier to fight a dozen vampires than to convince Sara to do anything. She doesn’t exactly have the highest opinion of us.” I told them how Madeline had abandoned Sara and then Sara’s father had been killed by vampires.

“That poor girl.” My mother’s eyes glistened. “Surely, she must see now that it’s too dangerous for her there.”

I shook my head. “She lives in the heart of werewolf territory, and she’s close to the pack. She thinks they’ll protect her, and I can’t make her see reason.”

My sire laughed. “Someone you can’t command? I may have to meet this girl.”

“A female immune to my son’s charm? Impossible,” my mother chimed in.

I scowled at the pair of them. “Go ahead and laugh.”

“I’m sorry, Nikolas.” My mother’s lips twitched, and she pressed them together. “What can we do to help?”

“Nothing.” I thought about Sara going off on her own yesterday and a sigh of frustration escaped me. “Unless you can tell me how to talk to someone who has a total disregard for her own safety. A few days ago, a pack of crocotta attacked her, and yesterday, she slipped away when Chris was watching her to go off doing God knows what. She refused to tell me where she went, and she got angry at me when I confronted her about it. How am I supposed to protect her if she won’t listen to me?”

My parents exchanged a look, and my mother gave me an indulgent smile. “I think, my son, that you’ve forgotten what it is like to be young and reckless.”

“And to challenge authority,” my sire added.

“I might have broken a few rules, but I –”

Their laughter filled my hotel room, and it was a full two minutes before either of them could talk. My mother wiped her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

“My darling boy, there wasn’t a rule you hadn’t broken by the time you reached puberty.”

“I wasn’t that bad.”

“Really?” She arched an eyebrow. “How many times did you sneak out to watch the warriors train after I forbade it? How many times did you injure yourself playing with your papa’s swords even though you were warned against it? We went through more gunna paste than five warrior units together.”

“I wanted to be a warrior. What was wrong with that?”

“You were ten, a little young to be a warrior.” My sire nudged my mother. “Irina, how old was our son the day he decided he was ready to join the warriors on patrol?”

Her eyes sparkled with laughter. “Thirteen.”

I remembered that day well. I had wanted so much to be a warrior like my parents, and I’d spent every hour I could with the warriors, watching them train and listening to their hunting stories. I started practicing with knives when I was ten, years before my formal training began, and by the time I was twelve, I was already proficient with most of the weapons used by the warriors.

The warriors’ stories of the world had enthralled me. I had never been outside the walls of our stronghold, and I longed for the day I could go out and see the world. I started asking to go on patrols as soon as I was skilled enough to ride a horse and hold a sword at the same time, but the warriors told me I wasn’t ready. I knew better – or I thought I did.

One day, I hid inside a supply cart going to an isolated village suffering from an especially brutal winter. It took three hours to reach the village, and by the time we got there my whole body ached from huddling in the cart. I knew by the warriors’ hushed voices that something was wrong, and I climbed out to see the villagers gathered around seven bodies laid out in the village square. Two vampires had attacked in the night and killed six people before an archer took down one of the vampires. The other had fled.

We helped the villagers bury their dead and stayed the night with them. The warriors were furious when they discovered I had stowed away, and they gave me a severe tongue lashing. That was nothing compared to the scolding I got from my parents when I returned home the next day.

For weeks, I’d dreamed of the bodies lying in the bloody snow. Seeing up close what a vampire could do lit a fire in me, and I began to train with a new intensity. By the time I entered the warrior training program at sixteen, I could best all but the most experienced swordsmen.

“Your escapades were much talked about back then.” My mother laughed softly, laying a hand on my sire’s shoulder.

He smiled and reached up to lay his over hers. “You always had a good heart, Nikolas, and you were passionate about your dreams, but you didn’t like to be told what to do. And you always felt ready to take on the world, thinking you could handle anything. Remember that the next time your orphan challenges you. Maybe you two are more alike than you think.”

A faint knock sounded on their end and my mother went to answer the door. She came back wearing a rueful smile.

“I have to go. I have a new litter of weerlaks, and no one else here will handle them. They must be fed six times a day or they become difficult.”

Difficult was a mild word to describe the bad-tempered brutes. Weerlaks resembled a cross between a honey badger and a saber-toothed tiger, and they were just as mean. They were always born in litters of four, and they communicated telepathically with their litter mates. They were fast, deadly, and territorial, and if trained properly, they made excellent guard animals. My mother had been raising and training them for as long as I could remember, and her weerlaks were highly sought after by other strongholds in Europe and Asia.

She blew me a kiss. “I love you. Get some sleep so you are strong enough to keep up with your charge.” Laughter followed her as she left before I could make a retort.

My sire grinned at me. “I’ll let you get back to your rest. I’m sure it’s well deserved. Don’t wait too long to call next time. You may be a great warrior, but she worries.”

I nodded. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

Laying the phone on the nightstand, I slid down on the bed and put my arms beneath my head to stare at the ceiling. Had I been as incorrigible as they made me out to be?

I thought back to my childhood in Russia and then in England, and I came to the surprising revelation that I’d really been as bad as my parents had said. All I’d cared about back then, besides my parents and Viv, was becoming a warrior, and I hadn’t wanted to listen to anyone who slowed me down or got in my way. I’d been so sure I knew what was best for me, and I took foolish risks, believing I was ready for anything just because I could use a knife and a sword before anyone else my age.

I understood Sara’s behavior a little better after talking to my parents. The anger she’d directed at me yesterday was a mask for her fear. Not fear of vampires, but of losing the life she knew. New Hastings was her home, and she felt safe here with the pack. From my observations and my interactions with her over the last few weeks, I learned she was a private person, despite her friendships, and she valued her independence greatly. She saw me as a threat to her way of life and her freedom. I could empathize with that, even though it wouldn’t change my plan to keep her safe.

I sighed heavily. I just wished I knew what she was hiding. Asking her about it only pushed her further away, and I wanted her to trust me, not fear me. I racked my brain for answers, but nothing came to me. Sara seemed too guileless and clean to be involved in anything criminal, and her werewolf friends obviously cared for her a great deal. Werewolves had the uncanny ability to sense malice and corruption in others. Even if the pups were too young to pick up anything, Maxwell would have caught it for sure.

Rolling over, I punched my pillow in frustration. I could make demons cower and give up their own mother, but I couldn’t crack the shell of one teenage girl.

My groan dissolved into a laugh full of self-mockery. It was no wonder my parents had been so amused. They’d no doubt get a few more chuckles out of it. If I was them, I probably would too.

* * *

Chris and I stepped up our watch after Sara’s little escapade. We no longer tried to hide our presence from her because I didn’t want her taking any more risks. She wasn’t happy about it. But she would have to get used to us being around. Until we eliminated the threat to her, I was taking no more chances with her life. I didn’t like the situation any more than she did, and if I had my way, she’d be living at Westhorne right now where no vampire could touch her.

When I wasn’t in New Hastings, I was in Portland, working with Erik to deal with the city’s growing vampire problem. And it wasn’t just vampires. In the last week, we’d seen an increase in demon activity in the normally quiet city.

Some demon races were innocuous, quietly living among humans who were blissfully ignorant of the world around them. Then there were the troublemakers, the ones that posed a real threat to humans. The vampire presence in Portland had attracted a number of these demons, including the lizard-like gulak thugs. Gulak demons were known to work for vampires, and they would do anything for the right price.

The werewolves were not happy about the growing demon population in their territory, not that I blamed them. Maxwell requested another meeting with me on Saturday to discuss the problem, and this time, I went to visit him at his lumber yard in New Hastings. The Alpha not only led the largest pack in the country, he also made time to run a successful business. I had to admit, my respect for him grew every time we talked.

Maxwell was waiting for me outside his office when I pulled up. He held out a hand when I walked over to join him. “Thank you for coming.”

I took the offered hand that was weathered from a life spent outdoors. “I’m glad we can work together on this.”

We walked into his modest office. He sat behind the worn wooden desk while I took one of the visitor chairs. As soon as we were seated, he got straight to the reason for our meeting.

“I’ve been here for almost fifty years, and I’ve probably seen a dozen vampires in my territory in all that time. In the last three weeks, we’ve killed twice that many between my pack and your people.” He scowled deeply. “There are vampires and demons running around Portland like it’s LA, and I had goddamn crocotta hunting a mile from my home.”

My body tensed. As long as Sara was in New Hastings, the vampires would be in Portland. Had he called me here to ask me to take her away so his territory would be safe again? If so, he was in for a disappointment. Sara did not want to leave her home, and I would not force her to leave unless I felt I could no longer protect her here.

Maxwell rested his arms on his desk. “I know what you’re thinking, warrior. In the beginning, I had my reservations about my son and nephew’s friendship with Sara because she was too fragile to play with two male pups. But she’d just lost her father, and it would have been cruel to take away her only friends. I ordered the boys to never reveal what we were to her, and the three of them became inseparable. Though we don’t share the same blood, I would never turn my back on that girl.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Sara didn’t know you were werewolves?”

“Not until the night she was attacked in Portland.”

“That must have been quite a shock for her.” How was it possible for a girl to know so much about the real world and not know that her best friends were werewolves? When I’d seen her with Roland and Peter in Portland, I’d assumed she knew what they were since she’d known about vampires. And she hadn’t missed a beat when I’d mentioned the werewolves to her that day on the wharf.

The more I learned about her, the more I realized how much I didn’t know about her. Something told me there was a lot more to her than even her friends and family knew.

Maxwell chuckled gruffly. “I’d say we were the ones taken by surprise. We thought we’d have to calm a terrified human girl, and she was only upset that we’d hidden what we were from her. Then she started talking about vampires killing her father.”

He rubbed his jaw. “Did you know she was the one who found the body? She must have been only seven or eight at the time.”

“I didn’t know that.” My chest tightened at the thought of the little girl seeing what those monsters had done to her father. I silently cursed Madeline once again for leaving her daughter unprotected and forced to cope with such a horrific ordeal. “The newspaper and police reports didn’t mention Sara at all. Do you know why?”

“No, and I thought that was strange as well. It’s as if someone went to great effort to hide her.” He leaned back in his chair. “I couldn’t do anything for her back then, but as long as she lives here, she is under my protection. I know she’s one of yours, and I’m not saying this to undermine you. I just want you to know where I stand.”

“I appreciate that, and I’m glad Sara has the pack watching out for her. Until we take care of the vampire problem in Portland, she’s not safe.”

Maxwell’s mouth tightened. “No one is. That’s actually why I asked you to come today. I wanted you to know I’ve called in wolves from up north to beef up the patrols around Portland. These guys live a little more segregated from humans, but they are some of the best hunters in the country. I’ve ordered them not to engage your people when they come across them, but there still may be trouble. Some of them still carry the old resentment toward the Mohiri.”

I nodded. There had been a time, a few hundred years ago, when werewolves were not as civilized as they are now, and some had attacked humans. It was Mohiri duty to protect humans from such threats, which meant hunting down and eliminating the dangerous wolves. Over time, the werewolves learned to control their animal urges and had turned their aggression on vampires instead of humans. A truce had been formed between us, but there was a lot of anger and bitterness on their side. Centuries later, the old animosity remained with a lot of werewolves.

“I’ll let our warriors know.”

“Good.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Now, let’s talk about the situation in Portland and how we’re going to clean up my city.”

Two hours later, I left the Alpha’s office, confident that between the Mohiri and the werewolves, we would soon track down Eli and any other vampires in Portland. Maxwell was a lot more strategic than I’d first given him credit for, and he knew Portland far better than I or the other warriors. Our people had better resources, so we agreed to work together against our common enemy.

It was Chris’s turn to watch over Sara, but now that I was here, I wanted to see her before I headed back to Portland. As I left the lumber yard, I called him to find out where she was.

“Nikolas, anything wrong?” he asked.

“No. I just had a good meeting with Maxwell Kelly about our vampire problem. Thought I’d stop by and check on Sara while I’m here. Is she at home?”

“You’re in New Hastings?” There was an edge to his voice that immediately put me on guard.

“You sound worried. Is everything okay with Sara?”

“She’s fine. But…”

“But what?” I asked in a hard voice.

He cleared his throat. “You have to promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“Chris,” I bit out. “What the hell is going on?”

He exhaled slowly. “Sara just left her place with the blond man she was talking to at the party on Saturday. It looks like…they’re on a date.”

I was unprepared for the pain that pricked my chest. I’d known there was a possibility she dated, but hearing that she was with another male was not easy.

“Are you still there?” Chris asked.

“Yes. Where are they now?”

His bike started. “I’m following them. She’s safe.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Nikolas, maybe it would be better if you stayed away right now. I’ll keep Sara safe.”

His unspoken message was clear. Sara wasn’t in any danger, and seeing her with the other man would only agitate my Mori and me. If I had any sense of self-preservation, I’d turn around and head back to Portland. It was the rational thing to do.

No one would ever accuse a bonded male of being rational.

“I can’t, Chris.” How could I describe my need to see her, the irresistible pull from the bond between us? A few weeks ago, I could not have imagined feeling this way about anyone.

He swore softly. “Just promise me you won’t do anything to upset her.” I started to speak, but he cut me off. “I mean it. Sara might be your potential mate, but she’s my family, and I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“I’d never hurt her. You know that.”

“Not intentionally, but if you react to seeing her with the other man, you might say or do something you’ll regret.”

“Unless I see she is in danger, I won’t approach them.” My hands tightened on the bike’s handlebars. “No matter what I see.”

After a long pause, Chris said, “They’re going into a coffee shop called The Hub. Don’t make me regret telling you that. I’ll be at the waterfront if you need me.”

I ended the call and headed for the coffee shop. A few minutes later, I parked my bike down the street and walked toward the busy shop. When I got close enough to see the couple sitting on the other side of one of the big windows, I stopped and moved into the doorway of the nearest building, close enough to see her, and far enough away that I couldn’t sense her presence.

I wasn’t surprised to get a call from Chris barely five minutes after I arrived, and I assured him all was well. I wasn’t happy with the situation, but I wasn’t going to do anything foolish. He offered to relieve me now that I’d seen her, but I said I was good.

Sara laughed at something Samson said, and I realized I hadn’t seen her laugh much since we’d met, and never with me. Not that she’d had much occasion to laugh with the events of the last three weeks. It bothered me that someone else was able to make her smile when I couldn’t, but at the same time, I was glad to see her happy.

Samson got up and brought her a notepad and pencil. She wrote on the pad as they talked, so she didn’t see the warm affection on his face as he watched her. But I saw it clearly, and so did my Mori.

Mine, the demon growled.