Claimed by the Alpha (5 page)

Perhaps they’d meet in the middle.

If he could hold on that long. Luka meant to enjoy her, to take his time with her, to make her come, screaming his name again and again before his took his own pleasure—but the visual she presented on her knees was almost too much to resist. Especially dosed with her small cries and gasps, the way her body fit against his, the intrinsic trust that he would bring her only pleasure all worked to spur him hotter. His hips pistoned, penetrating her harder and deeper, filling her.

One hand tangled in the mass of her hair, wrapping it around his fist with a gentle tug. She tightened and released several times in rapid succession, so he tugged lightly again, and Marijka growled, “Harder.”

Luka liked that she was a match for him, he wouldn’t break her if he gave in to every wicked thought she’d sown in his head—not only wouldn’t she break, but she’d also like it. How he’d love to run with her beneath the moon, to take her in the way of his kind—animal and primal.

She rocked her hips back to meet his thrust and demand more of him. More penetration, more friction, more pleasure. Luka was more than happy to provide.

He buried himself inside of her again and again, holding himself back until she writhed with need. Until she shuddered on the verge of release. His balls tightened and his cock surged as ecstasy erupted—jetting hot and sure, marking her on the inside the same as his scent marked her skin. Wave after wave of his orgasm crashed over him, and he held her anchored close until the tumultuous storm of sensation had passed.

When he could form thoughts beyond where to lick next, he decided to carry her into the bath with him. She’d still wear his scent, but Marijka handled this thing between them much better while they were skin-to-skin.

Each intimacy would be another memory for her to measure against what waited for them in Ostrava. It was where he believed the source of the infection originated, and he wouldn’t be able to do his duty or protect her bound in his human skin.

“You weren’t kidding. This really is
your
train car. A king-sized bathtub with a view? Who has that?”

“Me.” He grinned. “You.”

“I wish the Guild had the same perks the Aeternali have.” She shook her head. “Must be nice.”

“This is no Aeternali perk. I bought this. I work hard,” he teased. “I am an old, old man and my bones ache.”

“Your bone makes
me
ache,” Marijka answered back.

“You’re just a little bit dirty, Marijka-mine.”

“You don’t like it?” Her eyes widened with faux innocence.

“Oh, I like it very much. Gives me many achy bones.” The hot water splashed over their skin as he sank into the tub and she curled against his chest with a sigh.

“What happened to me wearing your scent?”

“My scent is all over you,
malenkaya
. Nothing can wash it away now.”

“Part of me fears that, but part of me finds it comforting.”

Luka didn’t say anything, only watched the water bead on the skin of her shoulder and wind its way down her clavicle.

“I have to tell you something.” She turned to meet his eyes. “The Guild doesn’t know where I am or what I’m doing. I didn’t follow protocol. When Evan sent me the first samples of infected flesh, he asked me not to.”

“I know.” Luka nodded. “I tried to get him to leave, but he was determined to find out what the Aeternali was covering up.” He tightened his arms around her, knowing she’d reject what he had to say next. “The Guild already knows about the virus, Marijka. The virus was designed by a Guild scientist who now works for the Aeternali.”

“What?”

Luka knew it was no use attacking the Guild—she worked for them. She’d been through their training program, a course designed to break you before it built you back up again into what they wanted. Much of the training was hardwired. So rather than argue against the Guild, he focused on her partner. The man she’d trusted with her life. “Don’t ask why the Guild would do that, ask why your partner didn’t want you to report what he was working on.”

“There are any number of reasons....”

“Yes, there are. That’s one of them. With the Guild’s long reach, how could they not know an entire village had been consumed by a viral outbreak so contagious? The simplest answer, Marijka, is usually the correct one.”

“Okay then,” she said calmly. “I’ve been a Guild cop for ten years. I’ve enforced the law universally all over the world and across dimensions. The Guild has always been on the side of every oppressed or abused people, stepping into conflict and putting ourselves in harm’s way to help those who cannot help themselves. Even those dogs that do nothing but prey and destroy. I have ten years with the Guild and twenty-four hours with you. There’s the simplest answer.”

So many superaturals hated his kind, and he knew they could be brutal, but they kept to their own tribes, their own packs. Only hiring themselves out as mercenaries when they couldn’t feed themselves. At least they had until this virus. “Marijka, what happened to your mother was horrible and unforgiveable. But that was one wolf. Why do you have to hate them all? That would be like hating all Gypsies for one curse.”

She looked down at her hands, the hard-ass cop gone. She had the same set to her mouth, like she was holding back sobs, as she had the night before when he’d told her the pack was coming.

Marijka wet her lips, pursed them, wet them again. She obviously wanted to tell him, and suddenly, he regretted the question.

“You don’t have to tell me.” He refused to let go of her when she would’ve pulled away.

“I found her body in our
vardo
. It’s why I became a Guild officer.”

Rage scalded through him. His beast burned to destroy the one of his own who would have done that to her. He clamped down on his beast with an iron will and pushed him back down beneath his humanity, lest she see the animal.

“Do you know his name?”

“No. I don’t know anything about him. Only that he killed her. Ripped her open and took her heart.”

“And you’re going to Ostrava? What if the whole city has been turned and infected?”

“I already told you, I refuse to be afraid. If I die, I die. I have a job to do.” The cop armor was back in place.

He had to admire her strength, he even understood her hatred. Intimately. “And what if it’s the Guild who designed the virus?”

A flash of movement out of the window caught his eye and they both turned to see an unknown pack of infected wolves with gaping, salivating maws keeping pace with them until the largest one launched himself into the air—headed directly for their train car.

Chapter Six

The mutant beast slammed against the window, but the glass didn’t even crack. Two more crashed into the car and water sloshed out of the tub.

Luka’s mouth grazed over hers for a rough kiss. “Whatever happens, Marijka, you should know what you mean to me.” Another solid body thudded against the side. “We don’t use words because they don’t cover the depth of what we feel. But you are not one of my people, and the link between us is still new to you, so I will use the words, pale and flimsy things that they are. Are you listening?”

Another impact, and more sloshes of water spilled over the side. Marijka nodded, even though she was thinking about the carpet. How it would mildew.... They were under attack and he was confessing something to her and all she could think about was the stupid carpet.

“I love you.”

His words gut-punched her, but when she focused on his eyes, it was all there—he was right. The words were like paper, whereas what she saw inside of him was the tree that made the paper, the rich soil it grew in, the water that quenched it—even the sun shining down from the sky. It was earthy, elemental and wholly Luka.

He didn’t wait for her response. Instead, he climbed out of the tub and pulled a pair of guns from a cabinet which he tossed on the couch. “The wolves will derail the train. That’s a given. We’ll be able to hold our own until darkness falls. Then the other packs will come. Ammo’s in the drawer. Don’t waste it.” Luka shrugged into a pair of fatigues and a T-shirt, strapping guns to his thighs and snapping a utility belt around his waist. “There’s a sat-phone as well. There’s only one number. Call it.”

Marijka launched into action, dug similar clothes from her pack, as well as body armor that covered her forearms, shins and throat. The places most likely to be bitten. She dressed quickly and snapped her gear into place.

“What about the other people on the train?”

“We’re going to help them. We’ll fit as many women and children into my car. As you can see, it’s safer. I’m going to see if I can get the conductor to stop the train. If we’re not in motion, the likelihood of injuries—and blood to incite the beasts—drops exponentially.”

Marijka wondered if this was the choice and she’d made the wrong one. Luka said he loved her and she didn’t even acknowledge it. What if he died and she never told him how she felt?

Hell, she didn’t even know how she felt. It was too soon.

Why is it too soon?
Because humans feel that way.
We are not human!
A voice that was hers, but was not, snarled in her head.

She thought it was Luka, but he was already gone.

He wasn’t going to die.

He was strong.

He was fierce.

He was a warrior older and stronger than anything in this world or the next.

Marijka had to get her head in the game. All of these feelings were all well and good, but they couldn’t distract her from the endgame. She had to help Luka stop the infection. She had to do her job. She could feel later.

She grabbed the guns and checked to make sure they were loaded before shoving ammo in her pockets. She had three containers of silver nitrate pepper spray, and an array of silver knives. Marijka knew she’d have to get in close for the knives, but those were more of a last resort.

Marijka found the phone and dialed.

“You can’t be in Ostrava,” a voice drawled.

“No, and we’re not going to make it today. The infected are trying to derail the train. Luka says they’ll succeed.”

“Who is this?”

“Guild Officer Marijka Zolinski. Badge number 45602. Send firepower and enough air support to lift a train car.” She hung up and shoved the phone into one of her pants pockets. They would make sure these people were safe.

If it killed her.

As the train shuddered to a stop, she flung the door open and terrified people herded themselves into the space. A faint glow of power from a woman in the back settled around her like a warm blanket. Another Gypsy.

“You.” Marijka nodded and the woman shuffled forward, eyes wary. “Zoranna’s blessing on you.”

She smiled and warmed, taking Marijka’s hand. “And also on you.”

“Can you tell me where the rest of the passengers are? We have room for a few more.”

“This is everyone.”

Dread struck home. “Why are you on the train?”

“We were hired for day work. Good money and they offered childcare and transportation.”

It was a setup. There was no other answer. A train with only a few women and children. This was a training exercise or an experiment. Maybe both.

“When were you hired?”

“Yesterday,” one of the other women called out.

“Stay in here. Do not open the door for anyone. No matter what you hear or what you see. There’s been a biohazard contamination and the infected are highly contagious.”

“They look like zombie werewolves,” a little girl said. “But they’re not because they’re not real.”

Marijka didn’t have the heart to tell her all the things she feared in the dark were real. “They’re just sick. But that doesn’t mean they won’t hurt you. If someone shows signs of infection, you need to put as much distance between you as possible. Help is on the way.” She smiled. “Lock the door behind me.”

She was surprised whatever gods were listening hadn’t struck her dead for such a lie. She had no idea if help was on the way. She’d made the call, but if this were an exercise, there would be no help forthcoming until the game played out—and most likely it would be a bullet to the back of the head. Marijka knew how the Aeternali worked. She’d just always believed the Guild to be above those things. Naive of her, she supposed.

Marijka moved through the train compartments with her gun out and her senses on high alert. Although, it wasn’t as if they were trying to be sly. Chilling howls filled the air, and the discordant resonance skittered down her back like a thousand spiders.

She met Luka halfway.

“Lost the conductor. When the train stopped, he tried to run. They tore him apart.”

“It was a setup. Only women and children? All hired by the same company for day work with free child care? They wanted to see what a pack would do to them.”

“Do you believe me now?”

She nodded. “I called the number.”

Luka grabbed the back of her neck and angled her up for a kiss. She melted against his strength and his heat. The promise of tomorrow in his arms. “Help will come. If it does not, I swear to you I’ll get you out.”

“Don’t worry about me. I know what I signed up for. This is what I do.” She returned his kiss with a quick brush of her lips. “Just get
them
out. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise.”

“You’re so fierce. That turns me on, woman.” He yanked her close and then released her. “Don’t forget to look out for you. Got it,
malenkaya?
”

Words failed her. “You, too,” she choked out.

“I’m going outside. Keep that phone handy.”

“No, you—”

“This is what
I
do. I will not cower behind walls while any of my people suffer.” He smiled, but there wasn’t any joy in the expression. No bitterness, either. It was just this abject sorrow. Like at a funeral when a person doesn’t know what else to say. “Have the same faith in me that I have in you.”

“I do. Luka, I swear that I do.”

The sorrow dissipated, replaced by something primal and hungry for blood. The warmth in his eyes fled and the cold, dark sea she’d once compared them to crashed in waves over his irises. Even the whites of his eyes were drowned in the shadows.

He turned from her and leaped through the door out into the throng.

Marijka was rooted to the spot with sick fascination as she watched her lover tear through the beasts like he was possessed of a demon from hell himself. Long claws sliced through flesh as he fought, his body the most perfect and deadliest of weapons.

Werewolf
, the voice in her head whispered.

“No.”

Yes
,
and he is magnificent.
He is strong.
He is noble.
Look at how he fights for us.

The packs howled and more of the beasts came running from the tree line, all bent on tearing him down. Breaking him. Devouring him. Even as their jaws locked around his flesh, he ripped through them.

“But that night at the inn...” Damn, now she was talking to herself.

You know why.
Who is he that his scent can protect you?
Who is he that even a pack fears his might?
You know.
Speak it.
He knew about your mother.
He wanted the name to avenge you.
Who is he that he has that power
? Speak it
.

“Alpha,” she whimpered.

The voice in her head became the boom of a cannon—exploding through her awareness again and again, until she spoke again.

“Alpha of Alphas. Adam.”

The voice was silent and the war continued to rage outside.

She knew she had to tell him it was okay to change. He kept his human form because he knew she was afraid.

And she was. Marijka was terrified, but he’d be more effective in his primal form. She remembered Zoranna’s words.

Still another pack emerged from the trees. This wasn’t just a setup, it was an annihilation. This pack didn’t even try to take him down. Instead, they began throwing themselves at a car. Marijka sprinted through the compartments. She had to know what was inside they wanted so badly.

She slammed through to the luggage car. The Aeternali hadn’t even bothered to conceal their precious cargo. The only thing in the space was seven barrels of the virus. Marijka recognized the bright blue fibers squirming through the blue gel clinging to the lids as the same she’d seen in Evan’s wounds—like little silkworms knitting the flesh back together.

Bright light flashed into her eyes as the top of the car was ripped open and the beasts dropped down inside with her.

Brutal cunning flashed on their horrible faces and they ignored the barrels. They only wanted her.

It had been a distraction to get her farther away from Luka—and to infect her.

Marijka now knew exactly what Evan felt before he died—what he’d seen.

Zoranna said she’d have to face her darkest fear, and here she was, trapped in a tin can with a bunch of rabid werewolves.

If she had to go out, it wouldn’t be like this.

She sprayed the canister of CS gas she had in her utility belt, the silver nitrate filling the air. The silver particles filled their lungs, and she hoped the nitrate would start to burn from the inside out. Her eyes watered, but she’d been hit in the face with the stuff so many times, it was more of an irritation than anything.

Marijka was fast with her gun, but not as fast as Luka.

A massive beast dropped between her and the attacking pack. Howls echoed in a devilish song all around them. The rest of the creatures gathered at the top of the hole to watch.

Lid after lid was flung off the barrels and they were overturned on the floor. Marijka crept back to the farthest corner to avoid touching it.

But it gathered around Luka’s feet.

Or what she assumed was Luka. She’d already noticed his massive size, so much bigger than the rest of them. His pelt was a wheat gold, shiny and silky. Healthy. No sign of sickness. She could see the man in the beast. The outline of his jaw was the same when it was elongated into a muzzle. Even the noble incline of his head was the same.

He was still Luka.

His roar was fearsome, shaking the whole car with his fury. Some of the beasts yelped, but they didn’t back down.

Instead, they launched themselves at him like rockets.

Marijka fired shots at those who watched from above. She knew better than to shoot inside the compartment. The growls and yelps as her bullets tore through flesh pleased her. Until she sensed that it hurt Luka as well.

There was no outer reaction to betray his pain, but part of her just knew.

They snarled and bit, gnashed their teeth, tore into him—but still he fought on, fierce and proud until he’d destroyed them all.

He sprang up through the hole in the roof, careful only to grab her where she was armored, and left her on top of the train car as he pounced on the beasts that had stood in wait for the outcome.

They offered no resistance now as he tore them apart.

He must have killed their Alpha.

The sound of chopper blades split the air and men in gear like Luka’s rappelled out from the birds, quickly securing Luka’s train car and lifting the civilians off to safety.

She’d done it. She’d faced her worst fear and they’d come through it.

Only, she didn’t feel the sense of elation that was supposed to come with that kind of accomplishment. Probably because her Gypsy blood knew there was more to it. There always was.

Thirteen men and women stripped off their gear and donned robes as they surrounded Marijka and Luka. Spotlights glared brightly and focused on Luka as soon as he killed the last beast. The group began to chant and the light from the spotlights coalesced into a swirling ball that crackled with light.

They were necromancers and she recognized the chant. It was the same one they’d used at her last day of academy when they’d sent her into the Abyss.

“Officer Zolinski, exit the circle.” It was the same voice from the phone call.

“I will not.” She climbed down from her perch and approached Luka. If they were sending him to the Abyss, he wasn’t going alone. And by all the powers listening, they’d come through the other side and bring a reckoning with them the likes of which no one had ever seen. She vowed this as a woman, and by her Gypsy magic.

“
Krasavitsa
,” he said, stepping back from her. “No. You must go.”

“What do you mean,
I
must go?
” she cried. “That’s a pile of garbage and you know it. We came through this. I don’t care what you are. That doesn’t matter. I’m not going anywhere without you.” Marijka stared at his face, and he seemed unwilling to meet her eyes. “Luka?”