Anger caused her entire body to tremble. “How long will your damn handprint stay on my hip?” She needed to get her daughter the hell away from the vampires.
Talen turned surprised golden eyes her way. “I marked you, Cara. I told you I would.”
“How long, Talen?” she asked through clenched teeth. How could he sound so calm when every cell in her body burst with fury?
Talen shook his head, turning back toward the road and clenching his jaw. “It’s a marking, Cara. It’s permanent.”
“You son of a bitch.” She needed a weapon.
Talen wrenched the truck to the side before snapping it into neutral, and her heart surged to her throat. Silence echoed like thunder. He smoothly, deliberately shifted to face her. His eyes glowed a livid topaz in the dusky light, and the predator inside revealed himself.
Chapter 10
Mother Nature beat her fury against the rapidly fogging windows. Cara’s mouth turned to sawdust as Talen’s eyes blazed hot green sparks through dangerous gold. She reminded herself that she was right. And that he didn’t scare her.
Yet she almost yelped when he reached out and deftly unsnapped her seat belt. Reason gave way to survival as she grabbed the truck’s door handle with both hands and lifted up with all of her might. She didn’t make it. Two hands grasped her arms and hauled her across the seat to perch on his firm lap. The marking on one palm heated her arm. She slammed her own palms against his chest. He lowered his furious face to within an inch of hers.
“Apologize, wife.” His voice was low and controlled as were the hands gripping her arms. He wasn’t hurting her, and yet the rapid pounding of her heartbeat echoed in her head. Spicy pine and male musk filled the air.
“You apologize,” she challenged, forcing herself to meet his eyes and not gulp when the green overtook the gold, as she was learning often happened when strong emotions hit him. Oh God, what was she doing?
His face lowered even more. Several beats passed before he huffed out a sigh. “I’m sorry I didn’t explain the situation better to you.”
She gaped at his apology. She hadn’t expected it. “I’m sorry I called you that name,” she said grudgingly. “Why didn’t you tell me everything?”
He raised an eyebrow at her.
Cara rolled her eyes. He was probably right. She would have run screaming in the other direction. “Does the handprint really stay forever?”
Talen nodded. “Yes. I marked you—changed you. It was necessary for your protection.”
As the warmth drained from her face, she gasped and began to struggle in his arms. “You changed me? Oh my God. Am I a vampire?”
Talen started and then threw back his head and laughed. Even so, he kept her in place. “Of course not.” He grinned at her before placing a quick kiss on her lips. “Vampires are born, not made.” The wind beat harder against the windows as lightning flashed again outside.
She stopped struggling and frowned. “Oh. But …”
Talen took a deep breath. “The mating process involves the marking, the biting, and an exchange of fluids. Besides the mark, your DNA has been altered to match mine.”
“Altered?” Panic rose again in her.
Talen gave her a quick nod. “Yes, altered. My antibodies are now yours. You’ll age at the same rate as me and should be protected from all human diseases.” He turned serious. “And no other male can touch you intimately without having an adverse reaction.”
“Seriously?” Cara frowned in disbelief.
“Really,” Talen confirmed. “My brother Jase tried to sleep with a mated woman a century ago and within a minute of light kissing, he had a reaction akin to the worse allergy you could imagine. He said it was beyond excruciating.” Talen grinned in remembrance.
“A century ago?” She frowned. “Exactly how old are you?”
“About three hundred and fifty years.” He peered outside as the storm swirled around the truck.
Cara was quiet for a moment as she took it all in. “How many women through the centuries have held your handprint, Talen?” The jealousy surprised her. So did the ding to her heart.
Talen turned back, his eyes softening on hers. “We claim one mate, Cara. You’re mine.”
“Oh.” The pleasure swamping her surprised her even more than the jealousy. “So, er, um, it’s not like you were a …” Hmm. There’s no way.
“A what?”
“Um, I mean, you’ve had, um …” Geez, could this be any more awkward?
Talen grinned. “I’ve had sex before, darlin’.”
Yeah, she figured that. “So, how? I mean, why me?”
“Because you’re my mate. We get just one, and when we find her, fate takes over. Or, if it makes you feel better, biology takes over.”
Oh, well, okay. Biology, she could understand. “Always?”
Talen shrugged. “Well, maybe not. There was a time when we had arranged matings involving a ceremony and vows—the brand appeared and those couples seemed as happy as the rest. Just like arranged marriages of your people, I guess.”
Cara frowned. “But we didn’t do an ancient ceremony or vows.” The marking on her hip warmed. The permanent marking.
“I know. Like I said, fate.” Smugness coated his voice.
Her hip began to throb with his words. “So now the Kurjans won’t want me.”
Talen shook his head. “They’re still after you, Cara. They just can’t mate you now.”
She frowned. “You should have explained all of this to me, Talen.”
“Maybe,” he allowed as he gently placed her back into the passenger seat and buckled the seat belt around her. “But it wouldn’t have changed the outcome.”
“You’re awfully arrogant, aren’t you?”
“Don’t make me bite you again.” He flashed a careless grin as he put the truck into drive and maneuvered the vehicle onto the pothole riddled road. Her breasts tingled in response.
“Is there anything else you haven’t told me?” she asked.
“Probably.”
“About the biting …” Her voice trailed off when he shifted to face her.
“You bit me too, darlin’.” His smile was pure sin in a face carved by gods.
Desire loped through her lower stomach as he turned back to the road. How could he affect her with just a look? Cara turned her troubled gaze to the blustering storm outside as she tried to control her libido. Control had been an illusion since she met this man.
Her mind tried to organize and make sense of the changes in her life. She had been married, mated, and marked. She knew deep in her heart the safest path for Janie was with Talen and his family, but she was a woman who had always lived in her head, and Talen wanted that same heart. Had she given it to him last night? At one point she would’ve given him anything, even her soul. Maybe she had.
“You’re thinking awfully hard,” he mused as he upped the speed of the windshield wipers with a flick of his wrist.
“It’s a lot to take in, Talen.”
“It’d be easier if you just accepted it, Cara.”
“You want all of me.”
“Yes.” He tensed as he held up a hand for quiet.
“What?” she whispered while searching the surrounding forest. “Is it the Kurjans?”
“No. They’re about a mile behind us.”
“How do you know?”
“I can sense them.”
“Then what?”
Talen parked the truck into a small clearing between the trees before shutting off the ignition. “I’m sorry darlin’, you’re going to get wet.” Unbuckling her belt, he helped her across the seat, and she grabbed the plant, then followed him out of the truck and into the rain.
The smell of wet pine assailed her as Talen grasped her arm and led her through trees and high brush. The truck faded behind them. The wind beat against their wet faces. She stumbled through the drenched weeds, trying to keep up. He halted, and she collided with his strong back while he closed his eyes and lifted
his face to the breeze. Then he grabbed her arm and hurried her toward an outcropping of rocks set into the base of a tall hill.
She kept quiet as the rain plastered her long hair to her face. Talen leaned in close to her ear. “Just over that hill at least six men are waiting to ambush the truck. They’re well armed.”
“Men or Kurjans?” she whispered back.
“Men. The Kurjans are coming from the south; if we stayed on the road we’d be trapped between the two.”
“How do you know there are six men?” She shivered in the wet cold.
“I can smell them. And hear them.” He lifted his face to the air again. “So could you if you’d stop being so stubborn.” He pulled her toward an opening in the rocks and reached into his waistband to take out an odd-looking green gun, which he put into her hands. “Crouch in there and shoot anyone that’s not me.” He leaned down and gave her a hard kiss on the lips. “I’ll be right back.”
He faded into the forest.
Cara crouched between the large rocks with her back against crusty weeds, placing the plant safely on the ground behind her. Nature surrounded her, grass, bushes, and trees. Safety.
The rain beat down. Tall pine trees slammed bristled cones to the ground around her. She tried to focus her thoughts, but fear made everything cloudy and the cold hacking into her bones didn’t help. The boom of an explosion sounded from the north, and she jumped in fear—only to freeze in place as the wild roar of an animal filled the air.
The scene came into sharp focus as a cacophony of howls blended with the crashing thunder across the dark sky. The scientist within her knew this sudden clarity was the adrenaline plowing through her veins. The woman inside her wished for the cloudiness to return.
A blur of fur leapt over her and landed with a light thud in the wheat-colored weeds. She muffled a shriek. The animal turned and she was face-to-face with the largest mountain lion imaginable.
Wide blue eyes met golden brown as they both froze in place while the rain pelted without distinction on their heads. Cara’s hand tightened on the gun in her lap as she studied the creature. Her instincts warned her not to make any sudden movements. The massive multicolored animal was more than seven feet long, weighed at least several hundred pounds, and had a graceful black-tipped tail resting on the ground. Its colored pelt rapidly darkened from a burnished gold to a wet red in the rain. Its eyes focused on her and its whiskers twitched across a soft white patch of fur spread over its face. Sharp fangs protruded from the corners of its mouth.
Intelligent tawny eyes held hers for a moment. The cougar lowered its head in an exaggerated movement to focus on the gun in her hand. Fur flew as the animal’s head shook from side to side. Then it straightened up to search her face.
Okay. That did not just happen. “You don’t want me to shoot you?” Her hoarse voice barely carried through the storm.
The massive cat shook its head again and waited for her response.
Her mind reeled. She figured they had traveled from DC into the mountains of West Virginia. She was pretty sure mountain lions weren’t indigenous to the area. Even more bizarre, she was communicating with the wild cat. “Okay. I won’t shoot you if you don’t try to eat me.” Her calm voice belied her racing heart. And her disbelieving mind.
A sharp nod came from the cat before it gave two abrupt growls. A higher pitched snarl erupted behind Cara before a smaller lion joined the first. This one was more white than red and obviously a female. She moved even closer to Cara and sniffed the air before lifting her ears in interest toward the male, who appeared to almost grin in response. The two turned and took up what could only be described as defensive positions between Cara and the forest.
She stared in bewilderment at their straight backs while the animals peered into the forest. A series of howls and gunfire erupted from the north, and all three whirled toward the sounds. With a cry, Cara started to her feet to help Talen; she did have the gun after all. A growl from the male lion stopped her as his large head swung around to zero in on her. Startled, Cara sat back down and the lion returned his focus to the forest.
Clarity came with a sudden snap. “I have a brain tumor.” She ignored the loud snort from the male lion. It really was the only explanation. She must be in a hospital in a coma somewhere. She sniffed and wiped the imaginary rain off her face, hoping Emma was taking good care of Janie.
Both lions tensed and sprang to all fours with warning growls from deep in their throats. She forgot her tumor. Cara peered into the forest for what alerted them, but only dripping branches and large pines filled her view. Two figures stepped out from the trees, and the neurons in her brain stopped firing. Fear could freeze the thought processes as a means of protection—her mind refused to believe her eyes. With a mental shake, she forced herself to accept.
They were tall, well over six feet, with long black-tipped red hair and parchment white skin. Razor sharp fangs protruded between crimson lips as they strolled forward. They were dressed armed for battle in all black that matched their fathomless eyes, and besides walking upright, they weren’t anything close to human.
The one in the lead focused on Cara and sniffed the air before peeling its lips back to further reveal its fangs. Then it started forward.
With a bone chilling howl that must have carried for miles, the male lion charged.
Chapter 11
Growls ripped through the air as the male latched onto the neck of the closest monster. A Kurjan—had to be. The monster bellowed in pain before stabbing its long claws into the pelt of the lion’s fur. Cara gasped in shock as the female lion growled low and leapt straight for the throat of the other Kurjan, which pivoted and threw the lioness to the wet ground. The feline bounded to her feet and sunk sharp fangs into the knee of her enemy, forcing it to fall. She descended upon its neck and blood sprayed.
Cara’s stomach revolted as the coppery smell of blood mixed with fresh earth. The male lion turned and flung a Kurjan’s head into the darkness of the forest, leaving its decapitated body lying uselessly on the ground. Blood covered the cat’s thick pelt and whiskers as he lifted his head and howled in fury. Then he turned toward the female just as three more Kurjans leapt out of the forest. He instantly pivoted to charge at the two nearest his position.
The female was absorbed in wrenching the head from her opponent and didn’t see the knife thrown at her from the fifth Kurjan. She went down to the ground with a yelp of pain—the handle protruding from her side. With a fierce grin of yellow, the Kurjan soldier advanced upon her.
Cara cried out and jumped to her feet while pointing the gun at him. She pulled the trigger. The impact of the odd green bursts of light threw the monster back several feet. She instinctively rushed forward to put herself between the downed lioness and the Kurjan, the gun pointed at the threat.
The lioness snarled in protest behind her.
“You’re welcome,” Cara hissed through the rain, her hand trembling around the gun. The Kurjan’s eyes had shifted from black to a deep swirling purple. What the hell? He issued a high-pitched trill as he moved forward in an image reminding her of a horror novel she’d read as a teenager. How could this be happening?
She fired again, and he went down on one knee. With a sob, she kept firing and then gasped as he tensed and sprang toward her. She cried out and braced herself for impact. But a dark blur leapt over her from behind and collided with the Kurjan.
“Talen,” she breathed in relief as he forced the Kurjan to the ground. With an inhuman burst of power, he twisted his body to plunge a large knife into its throat. He ripped the knife through cartilage and bone like it was silk, effectively decapitating the monster. His face hard, cold, and merciless, he remained focused as blood sprayed. How could he be the same man who had held her so carefully that morning? But she was grateful to her toes he had arrived to defend her.
More lions darted from the trees to join in the fray.
Cara turned to help the lioness, only to gasp in shock at the smal
l woman lying naked on the ground. Blood flowed from the knife still embedded in her side. Cara fell to her knees at the young woman’s side and pushed honey blond hair off a wet face. Brown eyes met hers.
With a groan, the woman reached around and grabbed a hold of the knife handle.
“Wait,” Cara said urgently. “I think you’re supposed to leave it in until you’re at the hospital.” She ignored the sounds of growls, hisses, and shouts of agony behind them.
The young woman rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a hospital.” She tugged the knife out with a small yelp of pain before dropping the red-tinted blade onto the wet ground.
Talen heard the sound of pain but didn’t turn as he kept himself planted between his mate and the Kurjan soldier stepping over his fallen comrade. It gave an evil grin of sharp yellow fangs while yanking a sleek gun from its back. Talen returned the grin before concentrating on the creature’s central nervous system and freezing it. He needed very little energy to manipulate the young and inexperienced Kurjan. Its purple eyes widened on Talen as he rendered it motionless with a mere thought.
“Yeah, those aren’t rumors,” Talen confirmed, reaching out to run his knife through the enemy’s throat. Making a quick kill and showing mercy where none would have been shown his mate. With clean, logical precision, he decapitated the soldier before facing the remaining threat.
Blood scented the air around Talen, dark and oily from his recent kill, pure and slightly sweet from behind him. The image of his mate standing before the Kurjan soldier firing that gun would haunt him for the rest of his life. He needed to get her to safety. But first, he needed to end the white-faced monster advancing upon him.
It flashed deep yellow fangs, its eyes glowing to the red of hell. “Kayrs.”
Talen lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t know your name, asshole.” Neither did he care. But, he did wonder why a simple foot soldier would know him on sight.