"But think, Todd, when they"re all dead, then what? Do you think the people in this room will follow you? We"re a law-abiding community. We keep to ourselves; we don"t mingle much outside our little town. You know every one of these folks. Do you really think they will follow you? Especially, when they hear about the winged demon these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds have allied themselves with?"
His hand tightened its grip on the pistol. "Doesn"t really matter if they do. I probably won"t be here. But I can still help them from a distance. I can bring them the therapies they need to make their womenfolk whole. I can make you whole, Stasi. Someday, all of you will thank me."
Convinced he wasn"t going to surrender, she determined to keep him talking as long as possible to give Alec time to figure out a way to end this. "At what cost? Do you think I"ll be happy knowing a child of mine was born in blood?"
His lips tightened, then his head canted. His eyes filled with sadness. "You won"t have to settle for being a Weir"s wh.o.r.e, Stasi. You can have your pick of mates."
The front door of the town hall opened and all eyes and weapons turned on the man entering the room.
Alec strode in, a thin smile curving his lips.
No, no, no! G.o.d, Todd will kill him, too! Stasia glared at him for being so stupid, walking into a room filled with men holding weapons. What was he thinking?
"Looks like we"ve got ourselves a mess of trouble here," Alec drawled. "Why am I not surprised you"re at the bottom of it, Todd?"
A sc.r.a.ping sounded from the opposite end of the building and before Stasia had a chance to turn, all h.e.l.l broke loose.
Gunfire erupted and Stasia hit the floor, pulling down the people in the seats nearest her. "Stay down. Cover your heads!" she shouted. Then she belly-crawled toward Max and draped her body over his.
This was all her fault. If she could give Alec one gift, this was it-the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds wouldn"t get his brother. If she died from one of the stray bullets ricocheting around the room, so be it.
Max shifted beneath her. "Get off me, Stasi," he muttered. "Take cover!"
"Shut up, Max." She crawled over him. With her b.r.e.a.s.t.s cradling his head in between, she peered up to see what was happening.
Dark-clothed creatures spilled through the back door and crashed through the windows all along the hall. Their protruding brows and jagged fangs made them a terrifying sight. One, two, three...no, five! "Vampires!" she whispered.
Max grunted beneath her. "Well, halleluiah-the cavalry"s arrived."
Alec rolled behind a pew and came up with his weapon in his hand.
"Use this!" Joe Garcia tossed him a revolver.
Alec raised his eyebrows in question.
"Silver bullets-only thing that"s permanent, right?"
He holstered his own weapon, and crouching low, sped down the aisle toward Todd where he"d taken cover behind the laird"s upended table. He ducked behind the first pew and peered around the corner. Max and Stasia lay in the center of the floor. Max bucked beneath her, but Stasia"s thighs straddled either side of his shoulders and she"d bent low to cover her head with her arms. The woman"s a.s.s made a tempting target.
Around them, the vampires traded gunfire with the masked wolves, some of whom had partially transformed. Fur sprouted, fangs bared and growls filled the air while they clutched their weapons with lengthening claws.
A wolf fell to a bullet, screaming as the silver entering his system forced convulsions and he foamed at the mouth.
Amos Hughes reached for the dying wolf"s weapon and jerked it from his arms as the creature stiffened, his back arching in the final throes of poisoning.
"I take it the vampires are with you?" Amos shouted above the din.
Alec shrugged. "Looks like it."
The old man winked. "I"ll try not miss what I"m aiming at." Then he crawled to the opposite end of the pew and bobbed up to aim his weapon and fire.
Weaponless, most of the people huddled behind the pews while the battle continued to rage around them. A few of the men, including several of the elders were tearing at their clothing, letting the change overtake them so they could join the fight. But one by one, the masked men were taken down by the vampires" bullets, their horrible screams echoing like demons from h.e.l.l in the close confines of the room.
Alec tore off his uniform shirt and raised his weapon above the pew to fire three blind shots well above the heads of anyone behind the table, and then tossed away his weapon. He leapt up on the pew and launched himself, transforming in midair. He landed on two feet, still sentient, behind the table and lunged at Todd McGwyre who rounded on him with his weapon raised.
However, something knocked Alec sideways and an explosion of light and gunpowder, so close the sound rang in his ears, jerked back the body that had barreled into him. Another explosion, this time from over the top of the table, happened so quick, Alec only had time to roll against the table and hope the bullets stopped.
When the powder cleared, there was a deadly silence. At his feet lay Joe Garcia, gasping and holding his side-but alive.
He glanced up and found Stasia standing above him, a revolver dangling from her fingers. Following her frozen gaze he saw Todd, his back arching as spittle and foam spilled from between his gaping lips, a long wheezing breath sucking into his lungs while a rose of blood bloomed on his chest.
Alec"s bloodl.u.s.t faded and he stepped between her and the sight of her brother"s dying form to take the weapon from her hand. "Stasia, don"t watch."
Her stare lifted to meet his gaze. "I killed him. I killed my brother."
Around them, the vampires gathered and lifted the elders to their feet, setting the tables upright and dragging the bodies from the room. Max walked up behind Stasia, rubbing his wrists. He slipped an arm around her back and leaned close to whisper in her ear. Then he planted a kiss on her cheek and met Alec"s gaze.
Stasia blinked and her gaze narrowed for second, before her gaze finally seemed to focus and she launched herself into Alec"s arms.
"What the h.e.l.l did he just say to you?" Alec said, as he squeezed her tight.
"He said you were going to buy me a collar."
Much later the overlaird"s gavel pounded the old oak table, ending the meeting. The townfolk spilled out of the building and headed to their vehicles.
Alec waited for the vampires. Despite their aid that night, he still had to escort them out of town. The law was the law.
Max walked beside his Pia holding her hand, followed by Joe Garcia, who was walking on his own already, despite the wound to his side. Navarro and Dylan O"Hara were still making nice with the overlaird-or at least as nice and as vampires and werewolves could ever be. They didn"t shake hands at their leave-taking, but all fangs were sheathed.
"I still want to know how you guys just happened to be here tonight," Alec said to the group.
Emmy O"Hara curved her arm inside his and giggled.
Fighting his natural instinct to recoil from the curvy blonde, Alec took a deep breath and relaxed-concentrating on the lively color in her cheeks and the light glittering in her eyes. Max had been right-vamp or not-Emmy"s effervescence was hard to resist.
"Well, it"s the funniest story ever," she said. "You know, Pia and I thought we were being so clever. We"d fly in to rescue Max and Joe and fly back out, and the rest of the guys would never know. I mean, we had a cover story and answered our cell phones when they called-"
"Emmy... " Pia rolled her dark eyes. "They met us at the airport. Your overlaird called them here for a meeting. He"d gotten wind of Darcy"s murder by the boys in the Nantahala clan and wanted to let the vampires know he had matters in hand."
"The guys were shocked to their boots when they saw us walk into that airplane hangar." Emmy rubbed her bottom. "Have to tell you my Dylan was mad as a hornet. Not that that"s a bad thing," she said with a saucy smile.
Alec shook his head. "I still can"t believe Navarro"s willing to lend us the services of Dr. Deats and his team."
"Navarro"s deep," Max said. "If he"s willing to share technology that will help our population thrive, he must have a long-range plan in mind. Don"t you think for a minute this is the end of it-or that there won"t be some pretty long strings attached."
Alec raised his eyebrows. "You sound like you like him."
Max scowled. "He"s a d.a.m.n vampire...but I respect him."
"Well, I guess that"s good enough for me, too," Alec murmured. "Man, I"m sorry for the rash of s.h.i.t I gave you about-" he halted when he realized who was still clinging to his arm, "um, them."
Emmy lifted a finely arched brow and grinned. "Didn"t think you"d like any of us, did you?"
"You saved our a.s.ses. It"s hard to hold a grudge in the face of that."
"Yeah, we did. And believe you me, you"ll be reminded about it every time we see you."
Alec faked a growl. "Plan on visiting often?"
"h.e.l.l, no!" Her laughter tinkled like tiny bells. "But I had you worried, didn"t I?"
Max lifted his chin toward Stasia who was standing near the edge of the gravel parking lot with Amos at her side. "So, what are going to do with her, little brother?"
He sighed. "I"m not sure. She betrayed me."
"Think you can get past that?"
Alec"s gaze swept over her body, remembering the offering she"d made when she"d laid her trap and felt his lips twitch into a grin. "Maybe, after a little more training."
Chapter Nine.
Alec turned off the faucets and stepped out of the shower, feeling a little less tense than when he"d entered the stall. h.e.l.l had come pretty d.a.m.n close to setting up shop on Dark Mountain tonight.
He toweled his hair and rubbed the terrycloth across his chest, shifting his attention to the little problem awaiting him in his bedroom. What was he going to do about Stasia?
With the resolution of the problems between him and Max behind him, he thought he understood how she"d gotten herself deeply ensnared in Todd"s dangerous plan.
Blood ties could wield a strong sense of loyalty and duty.
But could she ever feel as tightly bound to him?
Remembering what he"d learned about the key to unlocking her pa.s.sion, he thought perhaps the same lessons could be extended beyond the bedroom. Was the application of structure and control the answer?
Whether it was or not, the thought of the lesson was having an invigorating effect on his c.o.c.k. Already it lifted from between his legs, filling, tensing-aching for the silken warmth of her c.u.n.t.
Wrapping the towel around his middle, he opened the door and strode into the darkened bedroom just as Stasia lowered the telephone onto its cradle.
"Your sister okay?" he asked.
His weresight adjusting quickly to the absence of light, he saw her nod. "That was Amos. He said she"s already in bed and she"s welcome to stay all night."
"Good. We have a few things to straighten out." He kept any inflection from his voice, unwilling to give her a hint of the direction of his thoughts.
She shivered inside his robe, rubbing her arms as though racked by a sudden chill.
"Take it off, Stasia."
Her breath caught, but she didn"t bother to ask a clarifying question. Instead, she unbelted the robe and stood, letting it slip to the ground to puddle at her feet.
Alex grabbed the front of his towel and tore it away, bracing his feet apart. "It"s the right time, now."
"What?"
He didn"t answer, letting her search her mind for the thread of this conversation. When she found it, her back straightened.
"Crawl to me on your hands and knees," he commanded.
For a moment, she looked as though she"d refuse. Her mouth tightened, her hands curled into fists. Then her gaze dropped below his waist.
Knowing she was staring at his stiffening c.o.c.k, Alec waited for her to make up her mind which course she would take. He was ready for disobedience, but he hoped she"d choose to comply with his command. He really wanted her mouth on him tonight-and he needed to trust she wouldn"t sink fangs into anything important.
Swallowing loud enough he heard the gulp, she slowly knelt, then fell forward on her hands.
His thighs tightened and he tried like h.e.l.l to suppress his delight as she slowly crawled across the carpet toward him.
When she reached his feet, she sat back on her haunches and waited for his next instruction. Her jaw was tight, her gaze wary. He couldn"t read her thoughts in either.
Was she giving him obedience because she feared the consequences of her actions earlier, or because she truly wanted to submit to him? Only him.
"Suck me off, Stasi. Make me forget every other woman I"ve ever known."
Her hands fisted on her thighs. "Have there been so many?"
"Does it matter?" Would she give him honesty? Or would she continue to guard her heart?
Moisture gathered in her eyes even as she narrowed her gaze. "It does if you plan to seek any of them out... ever again."
"You asking if I plan to be faithful to you, Stasi?"
She bowed her head. "I"m sorry. I don"t deserve that any longer. I just want to know how long you"re going to keep me here... with you."
Alec drew a deep breath, relaxing. He"d heard the sorrow in her voice and knew she regretted endangering their relationship. It was enough for now-enough for him to work with. "I thought we talked about this before," he said quietly. "I chose you for my mate. Your disobedience was as much my fault as yours. You lack discipline. I plan to rectify that... starting now."
Her face came up and she blinked away her tears. "What do want from me?"
"I already told you."
A little mewl broke from her throat and she reached trembling hands to his thighs.
She made delicate glides up and down his thighs, her fingers combing through the spa.r.s.e hairs covering his skin. First his outer thighs, then inside, the touch so delicate he shivered.