“Huh.” Janie rubbed the still healing puncture marks on her neck. “What about Zane? You didn’t think fate brought us together?”
“Fate, schmate,” Emma muttered. “I figured Zane was a nice, sweet boy you met in dreams who’d always be your friend. Someday, I thought you’d move on.”
Cara focused on Janie. “Do you love him?”
Janie rubbed her chest. “I’m not sure ‘love’ explains how I feel.”
Cara nodded. “I understand that. What do you feel?”
“Too much.” The words popped out, and once Janie started, she couldn’t stop. “I thought he was safe and sweet, too. Maybe a lone shifter trying to protect a small pack, who’d give up war and live a gentle life. One who’d give me flowers, forget our anniversary, and do the crossword puzzles with me. And I loved him like that—who I thought he was.”
A dimple in Emma’s cheek winked as she grinned. “Sounds like a nice human life that goes on forever.”
“I know,” Janie whispered.
“And the reality?” Cara asked.
Janie inhaled and then let out the air. “He’s powerful and dangerous. Deadly and so damn wounded I just want to ease his pain—but he won’t let me. When he kisses me, the world makes sense, and when he orders me around, I want to kick him in the balls.” She plucked at a loose string on a pillow. “And more than anything, I want to be his everything.”
Cara sighed and smiled. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Janie relaxed. “I feel safe with him, and I don’t want to live this life without him.”
Emma grinned. “Nicely put.”
For now, she had to figure out a way to broker peace between her mate and her family. “Mom? You’re the only person in the universe who can deal with Dad, and I need him to accept Zane.”
Cara’s eyebrows arched up. “Where did they take Zane?”
“To the infirmary,” Emma whispered. “Talen knocked him out.”
Cara nodded. “I’m sure he did.” She shook her head like a dog with a face full of water. “Janie, do you have any questions? I mean, you know—”
“God, no.” Janie stood up. “We had the sex talk years ago.”
Cara coughed. “No, I mean about the mating. The actual process.”
Good. Science and biology. Janie stilled. She’d never really thought about it. “Well, other than being a little tired from all the teleporting, I don’t feel much different. What happens now?”
Emma leaned forward. “Your human chromosomal pairs will combine to form several more until you’re immortal, and you might even gain Zane’s gift to teleport.” She frowned and tucked a piece of dark hair behind her ears. “Vampire mates reach twenty-seven chromosomal pairs, but we have no idea how many demon mates reach. You’re unique since Zane is so different. There’s a chance you’ll get enough to be impervious to Virus-27, since it attacks at the twenty-seventh and winds down.” She stood. “I need to take your blood.”
It was just a matter of time until Emma pulled out a needle. Janie nodded. “I know. But first, I really need to see Zane.” To make sure his head was still attached to his body.
The door opened and Garrett strode inside with Logan on his heels. “Are you all right?” Garrett asked, just as Logan piped up, “Where’s my brother?”
Janie eyed the two young soldiers. “Are you two done hitting each other?”
“Yes,” they both muttered.
“I’m fine, and I’m trying to find Zane right now.” Janie frowned. “I’m surprised Dad allowed Logan out of custody.”
Garrett shrugged. “No weapons, and he’s supposed to stay with me. Sam is with their mom.” He grinned at the demon. “Logan can’t teleport.”
“Yet,” Logan groused. “I may be able to soon, while you’ll never be able to move your weak body through dimensions.”
Garrett punched him in the arm. “Shut up.”
“You shut up.”
Janie shook her head. After trying to kill each other earlier, they now seemed the best of friends. Males made no sense. “I need to see Zane.”
Logan cleared his throat. “My mother would like to meet you as well.”
The spit dried up in Janie’s throat. Zane’s mother would like to meet her, of course. She tried to swallow. What if Zane’s mother didn’t like her? She slowly nodded. “I’d love to meet her.” The lie must’ve been unconvincing, because Emma chuckled.
Logan grinned, looking like a young and carefree Zane. “My mom will love you.”
Sure, why not? It wasn’t like Janie’s dad had just caved in Zane’s head. “Where is Dad?” she asked Cara.
Cara stood. “He’s planning strategy in the war room with Uncle Conn.”
Janie nodded. So far, she’d done a pretty crappy job of fulfilling her destiny and saving people. The peace talks had dwindled, and war had broken out in full force across the world. “Any hope for the peace talks?”
“No,” Garrett said quietly. “The demons and Kurjans are still allies.”
“That’ll end once the Kurjans discover Janie mated Zane,” Logan said just as quietly. A flush covered his high cheekbones, and he shuffled his feet. “Though I’m sure that’s not why it happened.”
Garrett cut him a hard look. “I said not to talk about it.”
“We weren’t. We were talking war and strategy,” Logan said. He nodded toward the door. “Come on. You said you’d show me the new weapons that disintegrate flesh.”
Garrett smiled. “Yeah, and we have some new ground missiles that are just as awesome. Let’s head out to the northern tree line.” Chattering away, the two young soldiers loped out of the lodge.
Janie’s shoulders went back. A lot of people would assume her mating was a political union, and that was just fine. Only she and Zane had been in that bed, and she believed him when he’d promised he hadn’t planned the marking. Although, it wasn’t as if he’d declared any deep, abiding love for her. She turned toward the door. “I’m heading to the infirmary.”
Emma hustled by her side. “That’s perfect. Let’s swing by the lab first, and I’ll take some blood and do tests there so we can monitor how your chromosomal pairs react. I’m quite curious.”
Janie nodded and slipped her arm through her aunt’s. She turned to her mother. “Are you coming?”
“No. I’ll go head off your father and see what I can do.” Determination tilted Cara’s petite chin.
God, Janie loved the women in her family. Living with vampires took strength, brains, and courage. More than she’d ever realized. “Thanks, Mom.”
Cara patted her cheek and hustled by. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. This will all work out.” The words came out too brightly.
Janie nodded. “I know.” For really, what else could go wrong?
Chapter 16
Zane opened his eyes, instantly alert. Talen Kayrs hit like a truck. Not a sturdy Ford or even one of those new Mack haulers he’d seen on the highway. Kayrs hit like a rusty, well-formed, farm truck made from solid steel.
A groan tried to erupt from his gut, but Zane bit all weakness down. He’d never have a daughter because vampires only had males, but he could imagine how pissed a father of a mated female would feel. Take into account the fact that Zane was half-demon, and thus an enemy? Yeah. Talen had the right to hit him.
Once.
A quick glance down at his arms confirmed the vampires had cuffed Zane to thick rings permanently set near the bed. Jesus. How often did the Realm give medical care to the enemy?
Better just to go for a quick kill.
He jerked on his restraints, testing their strength. Strong. Very strong. Well, he’d have to teleport.
“I wouldn’t,” came a low voice from the doorway.
Zane turned his head.
A blond vampire leaned against the wall dressed in dark jeans and a pressed T-shirt, a weapon pointed between Zane’s eyes. “I’ll shoot you in the head, and I doubt you’ll reach your intended destination.” Casual boredom hardened his hazel eyes.
>
Zane lifted an eyebrow. “Chalton Reese. Don’t you have a computer to play with?”
The vampire didn’t react in the slightest to his name. If anything, he appeared even more bored.
Zane drew on strength to teleport. His research on the Kayrs organization had included a full dossier on the vampire who was not only the Realm’s prime computer expert but a deadly assassin. Something about numbers lining up evenly. Though Chalton would certainly shoot him, Zane had no choice but to jump.
He gathered his strength and paused as a commotion sounded by the door. “What the hell?”
A bloody Garrett half-carried in a groaning Logan. Cuts marred Logan’s neck, and a wicked piece of re-bar stuck out from his right shoulder. “What happened?” Zane growled.
Janie hustled in from the other side of the infirmary, her eyes wide. “I heard there was a bombing.”
Garrett dropped Logan onto an examination bed. “I was showing Logan the perimeter along the western forest, and all of a sudden, we detonated a bomb.”
Zane glared at his brother. “You didn’t scent the bomb?”
Garrett glared at Zane. “Neither one of us smelled anything.”
How odd. The young vampire was defending Logan.
Logan hissed and reached for the re-bar, Garrett leaped forward to stop him, and Chalton came off the wall, his gaze hard on Zane. Zane gathered deep again to teleport, knowing he was about to be shot—
“Stop.” Janie held both hands up. “Everyone freeze right there.”
At her soft order, four dangerous, deadly, well-trained warriors all froze.
She moved toward Logan, her face calm, her voice soothing. “First things first, let’s remove the steel from your chest, sweetheart.”
Logan blinked.
Janie paused at a cabinet and drew out bandages, tape, and a syringe. “I have a painkiller here, but if your metabolism is anything like Garrett’s, it won’t work for long.”
Logan shook his head, agony etched into his face. “Just get it out.”
The scent of blood filled the room. Vibrations of terrible pain echoed through it.
Janie nodded. “Garrett, hold Logan from behind, and keep him still.” She turned to glance at the bindings around Zane’s wrists. “Chalton, unbind Zane.”
“No,” Chalton said. “I’ll take out the re-bar.”
“Hell, no,” Logan hissed. “Only my brother.”
“Please, Chalton,” Janie said softly.
Zane could only gape. The woman had taken control of the entire room and somehow kept everybody from turning on each other. She truly was magnificent.
With a pissed-off growl, Chalton stalked forward and ripped off the offending cuffs. “If you bolt, I’ll shoot you in the head.” He backed toward his earlier vantage point.
Zane slipped to his feet, concern for this brother slowing his normally quick movements. “Give him the painkiller, Belle.”
Logan opened his mouth to protest, but Janie was already sliding the needle into his shoulder. She nodded to Garrett as she removed the syringe.
Gingerly, and far more gently than Zane would’ve ever suspected Garrett could be, he slipped an arm beneath Logan’s good arm, tugged his back to Garrett’s large chest, and held tight. “I’ve got him,” Garrett said.
Logan gasped in pain and grimaced. “We’d better not be having a gay moment here, buddy. I like women.”
Garrett snorted. “Ditto, and I bet you don’t even know what to do with a woman.”
Zane reached for the end of the re-bar. “Neither one of you idiots knows what to do with a woman.” He hated seeing his brother in pain, and he was about to cause a hell of a lot more. “On the count of three. One—” He yanked out the projectile.
Logan bellowed and then sagged against Garrett, who placed him down on the bed.
“Holy fuck, brother,” Logan hissed. “You’re supposed to go on two.”
Janie quickly pressed a bandage against the wound. “Zane said three.”
Garrett leaned over his sister to supervise the treatment. “Yeah. You’re supposed to say three but go on two. Everybody knows that.”
“Which is why I went on one.” Zane eyed Janie. She’d surprised him, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. While he’d always felt her nurturing qualities, the woman patching up his younger brother had brains, strength, and serious depth. Her calm in the middle of chaos humbled him. “You seem used to healing injuries.”
She shrugged and finished taping down the gauze. “I’ve worked in infirmaries most of my life, and the doctoring part comes easily.”
“She’s studied for years,” Garrett said, his chest puffing out.
Janie flushed. “Well, field training and Internet classes. I like helping people.” She brushed dirt off Logan’s cheek. “You’re okay. Take some deep breaths and try to heal your wounds.”
Logan’s eyes warmed and his cheeks colored. “Um, thanks.”
Zane bit back a grin. Which he quickly lost as Dage and Talen strode into the room.
“We had a bomb close to the perimeter?” Dage asked Garrett, his gaze silver and hard.
“Yes.” Garrett wiped blood off his chin.
Talen glared at Zane. “Why the hell isn’t he restrained?”
Janie smoothly inserted herself in front of Zane. “Enough.”
Oh, hell no. Zane grasped both her arms and set her behind him. Then he held up a finger to Talen Kayrs. “Give me a minute.” Turning his back on one of the most dangerous vampires in history, he glared down at his mate. “Never, and I mean fucking never, get between me and somebody who wants to hit me. Got it?”
Blue flashed hard and pissed in her gorgeous eyes. “Right now I want to hit you.”
He barked out a laugh. The woman was asking for a good taming, and he needed to set some ground rules. Later and without witnesses. He turned back around to catch a glimmer of grudging respect in Talen Kayrs’s golden eyes. “I’m happy to go a round or two with you, Kayrs, and I have time now.”
Talen stepped forward, but Dage stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Don’t be an asshole. Either of you,” Dage rumbled. “What’s your plan with Suri?”
The king did like to get to the point, now didn’t he?
Zane shrugged. “I plan to kill him.”
“Any time soon?” Talen drawled.
Irritation clawed up Zane’s throat. “Well, the plan was to get my family to safety here and then go take care of Suri. But it seems the Realm has lost a witch, and now Suri has her, which might be a problem.”
“Are you working with Nicholas Veis?” Dage asked.
Zane’s shoulders went back. So it was true. Nick was still aligned with the Realm, or Dage would never ask the question. Well, there wasn’t a reason to lie. “I was working with Nick, but since Suri now has Nick’s lady love, I’m thinking I’m on my own.”
Janie slid out from behind Zane. “So you can’t go back. It’s a trap.”
“Yes. The trap is most likely being set right now.” Zane tried to soften his voice. “But I have to go, Belle.”
Dage rubbed his chin. “Nick hasn’t reached out yet, but he will. My guess is tomorrow morning, since he’s ignoring our calls right now. So let’s head to the main conference room to come up with a strategy.”
Zane eyed the king. “I’m better off alone in this.”
Dage lifted one dark eyebrow. “Nick’s with us, and we’ll go in for him. Either get on board, or get out of the way.”
Damn, Zane liked the king. “I’m the only one who can get to Suri. He’ll mind-fuck you to death before you get near.”
“I can shield,” Dage said calmly.
“Not against Suri.” Zane shook his head. The demon leader had more mind power than anybody Zane had ever met. “He’s beyond gifted, and even other demons have trouble shielding against his psychic powers.”
“But you can shield?” Talen asked.
Zane lifted a shoulder. “I can shield better than most, and I’ve spent decade
s working on the skill against Suri.” He allowed his voice to lower into its natural state, sounding almost like a pure demon. “Suri frightened my mother and hurt my brothers.” And he tried repeatedly to break me. “So he’s mine. If we’re working together, you need to agree.”
Dage nodded. “And when he’s dead?”
Zane caught himself. There was no way Zane would live through killing Suri. That kind of power unleashed in death would fry Zane’s brain, but it was worth the sacrifice to rid the earth and his family of the monster. “Afterward? Figure it out. Maybe Nick will step up to lead until either Sam or Logan want the job.”
Dage surveyed him. “You’re the rightful heir.”
“Hell no.” Zane shook his head again. “I refuse to rule the nation—I’m a soldier, not a king.”
A wide grin split Dage’s hard face. “Welcome to my world.”
Janie finished her last yoga move while the fire crackled peacefully behind her, and the Pacific Ocean pummeled the world in front of her. The moon peeked through the rolling clouds periodically to illuminate the slashing rain and crashing waves.
A knock on the door brought her up short. Her heart thrumming, she stood and hurried to open the door.
Zane stood on her rough stone porch, his dark hair wet, his fit body encased in combat gear. Black vest, cargo pants, loaded weapons.
She stepped back, her throat drying up. The weapons fit his personality and appeared right at home. Vulnerability swept through her as she looked so far up into his implacable face. In her yoga pants and tank top, she had few defenses. “Come in.”
His boots clomped across the tiles. “You didn’t have to wait up.”
Of course she did. “I have leftover lasagna, if you’d like.”
He shrugged out of the bulletproof vest and placed it by the door. “We ate earlier, but thank you.”
The polite talk was going to make her sick. “Did you come up with a strategy for helping Nick?”
“I think so.” Zane kicked off one boot and then the other. Three knives and two guns then found places by the vest.
Butterflies winged through Janie’s abdomen. She couldn’t gauge his mood and was reminded once again of how little they really knew each other. The man moved with contained energy, and she instinctively tensed. The markings on her back began to burn.