Coldstorm (Heart of a Vampire, Book 7) (28 page)

Before she knew it, she drew her
saif
. Nearly leapt into the hall. Forcing herself still, she gripped the sword's hilt tightly and watched. Listened.

Matt rubbed his chin, shaking his head. "You look like the pack attacked you. But why would they turn on one of the Alpha's sons? And where the hell you been the last few months?"

Cold confusion crept over her.

One of the Alpha's
sons
? Aligned with the Rogues?

What the devil was going on in this town?

"I don't know what you're talking about," the wolf shifter replied gruffly.

"You disappeared and the pack closed ranks. Now you show up here, all beaten to hell, and you won't say why or even let me treat you further?"

The wolf remained silent.

Anca could have answered the question. Except not all of the damage was her doing. Someone else must've had at him, after he'd left Anca.

The last wolf who appeared and knocked her for a loop? But why would he save this guy only to inflict more damage?

Matt shook his head, his voice weary. "Why'd you even come, Jake?"

"I don't know." The shifter shook his head, opened his mouth to say something, snapped it shut awkwardly, then hurried away.

Anca made her decision in seconds. She resheathed her sword and slipped after the shifter, leaving thoughts of why Matt was helping the enemy far behind.

Because the only idea that made sense put Matt as the traitor.

And that was a thought she wasn't sure she could bear.

***

I
t pained Matt to watch his old friend limp away.

Seeing him, the few ghosts in the hall began to spin wildly, gesturing the opposite way of the injured wolf. Ignoring their antics, Matt stared after Jake.

The stubborn shifter refused any further care, against the recommendation for some tests and at least one night in the hospital.

He still didn't know why Jake had come. Before the knock at the door, the man almost seemed on the urge of saying something. But the sharp rap on wood had turned Jake two shades of pale and sent him practically running out of there.

Matt worried.

George the ghost flashed from tall, hearty lumberjack to mauled wolf victim. He jumped in front of Matt, pointing the opposite way.

When he ignored the spirit, George threw a fist.

Matt barely felt more than a soft hint of energy where the ghost touched him. "I'll make rounds in an hour or so. You can see your wife before she's discharged."

The ghost shook his head violently, waving harder.

"Don't worry," Matt tried to reassure him, not knowing if it helped or not. "She'll be back at least twice a week the next few months."

As far as he knew, George wasn't able to travel the twelve miles between the hospital, where he'd died, and the home he'd shared with his wife.

George shook his head sadly, as if Matt didn't understand anything. He made shoving motions, urging Matt down the hall.

"If you don't want to wait for me, go on ahead."

With a frustrated scowl, George disappeared.

Sighing deeply, Matt caught a hint of an intoxicating scent. Springtime and cherry blossoms. But why would Anca have been here?

He looked at the small box he held. Jordan wouldn't have sent her to deliver this. Matt glanced around the halls again. He could almost feel the prickle of Anca's magic at the edges of his senses.

Had to be all in his mind. There'd be no reason for a Judge to skulk around the back offices of a small town hospital.

Grumpily, he stomped into his office and the door banged shut. Thoughts of the woman had plagued him ever since he'd stormed away from the lake. Grunting, he moved to his desk. Sat heavily in his chair. He flipped the lid off the box and pulled out the thumb drive from his King.

Matt plugged it in to his computer and opened the documents, scanning them first, then reading them more thoroughly.

Twenty minutes later, he swore beneath his breath, "Son of a bitch."

Between everything else he'd found recently, and now this documentation, his unlikely—hell, he'd thought impossible—suspicions were confirmed.

Matt knew who the traitor was.

And he knew why the vampire had done it.

He called his King, only to find the traitor had left the castle over an hour ago

To come to town.

One of the couriers sent to deliver the very proof that had given Matt the last details he'd needed to believe.

"We need to find him. Now." Matt stormed from his office to join the search of Moss Creek himself.

Jordan promised help, then said, "You'll tell Anca, correct?"

Fire burned Matt's gut. He snapped out, "No, m'Lord. You can have the privilege of telling the
Judge
that yourself."

"I see." The disapproval in those two tiny words was enough to bow Matt's shoulders.

"Gotta go," he said and hung up. Slipping his cell into his pocket, Matt ignored the weight pressing down on him.

He forced back the instinctual drive to instead, search out another.

Her
.

To share what he knew. Together, track down the traitor. From him, find the Rogues. Most of all, he was filled with the nearly irresistible demand to ensure Anca stayed safe. Surely by now she'd started her own hunt this night.

Primal urges inside him were already certain the whispers in the wind had spoken true.

Fate?

Perhaps.

But could he accept such a thing?

The most damning of all was that he didn't trust anything at the moment. Not his instincts. Not his senses.

Because after the initial shock of finding out Anca was a Judge, Matt found his hatred of the Council still didn't fully extend to her. His mind replayed all he'd seen, had heard, about and from Anca Fieraru.

None of which resembled the hated Magic Council or their bastard followers.

He rubbed his knuckles at his temple, walking faster through the hospitals.

Yeah, she was most likely already on the hunt. And what if, right now, she was in danger? All because he'd walked away and left her to it alone.

Emotions coursed through his veins, stiffening his muscles.

He called himself ten kinds of fool for worrying.
She was a Judge, remember?
he repeated silently.

Except, to a growing, expanding part of himself, that fact didn't seem to matter.

He didn't know why, or even when it had happened. But even finding out she was a Judge, a fucking Judge for crying out loud, and should be his sworn, hated enemy, he just couldn't see her that way.

Not Anca.

Damning himself for such useless musings, Matt burst through the hospital doors and spilled out into the parking lot.

Ice slickened his veins forcing him to a stop.

Because the lingering ghosts all rushed to circle a tiny car beneath a gentle spot of light.

Anca's rental car.

She had been there.

Not from Jordan though.

So where had she gone, and why leave her car?

The wind rushed around him, blowing Matt's hair back. Hands of air gripped him urgently, jerking him toward the street.

Matt resisted a long moment, trying to call a cold detachment.

It refused to come.

As if her earth spirits instead encouraged him to remember the bonds between him and Anca blazed around Matt. The wind swirled with her scent.

Warmth. Springtime and cherries.

His chest burned.

He could deny it no longer. No matter what—who—else she might be, she remained merely Anca to him.

A woman of heat and passion, one who had a heart soft and caring.

She was nothing like the Magic Council.

But she was everything, somehow already, to him.

Matt encouraged her spirits to lead where they wanted.

To lead him to her.

F
or nearly a half hour, Anca watched the sheer rock face looming in front of her. After following the wolf shifter along a rugged trail deep into the forest, the cliffs abruptly appeared. She'd known the town was surrounded by mountains. The higher, more distant peaks rose all around them in a never ending reminder.

Directly ahead, tall shadows nearly hid a narrow crevice in the rock. An entrance into the earth.

Where the wolf had disappeared.

According to the confiscated map, this was also where Leo had seen the Rogues. And now the Alpha's son, back from a clandestine meeting with Matt Dixon, was holed up in the Rogue's camp.

No one had left the caves. No one else had arrived. Anca had no idea how many or even what kind of Arcaine might be in there.

So instead of rushing in, like her instincts demanded, she did the smart thing and continued to wait for the backup that should arrive any moment. Not for the first time, she pondered the idea of carrying a cell phone. If she had one, she could call MacDougal, make sure he'd gotten the report from his young vampires, and was on his way with said back up.

But she thought of Oscar the dragon again, and the untimely notification beep revealing his location.

She rubbed her throat.

Nope. Still not worth it.

She could trust the kids. The clan vampires would show.

Still, a ticking clock echoed in the back of her mind. The spirits pushed and pulled her toward the cave. They definitely knew something she didn't.

Going in without backup would be stupid.

However, ignoring her instincts, and more importantly, the spirits, could cost lives.

MacDougal had a couple more minutes. If he didn't arrive, she'd go inside anyway. She had to. But she'd be extremely careful about it.

The spirits flickered cautiously. Someone approached. Their magic paled into welcoming colors only seconds before Matt stepped from shadows.

Right in front of her. And alone. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'd ask the same of you," she replied.

The magic singing through the forest felt no one else.

If he wasn't here as her backup...

Hurt and anger and betrayal stabbed through her. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you." His tone was strangely warm and comforting.

The last time they'd talked, Matt had been clear, cold. His comfort wasn't for her. Or it wasn't real.

Tension sang through her muscles. "You're not here with MacDougal and the clan?"

He shook his head.

A small flicker of hope she hadn't realized nestled in her heart died. Not backup. That left only one answer.

He was the clan traitor.

For the first time since she'd become a Judge, Anca froze, unable to act. Unable to move.

But duty came first. And no matter what this man made her feel, if he'd had any part in the betrayals, the murders, he deserved no mercy.

She fluidly drew her sword, setting her stance. Her fangs lengthened, her senses grew crisp. She heard, saw, smelled everything. The forest, the magic building between the two of them. The bonds, somehow still connected by a few tiny strands though the man wanted nothing to do with her now that he knew everything.

Matt looked her over without fear. "Your turn to answer."

Unsure why she hesitated to call him out, Anca silently pointed through the trees, to the shadowed cavern opening.

Matt stepped closer, ignoring her sword, and the anger he must surely be able to feel. He laid a hand on her shoulder, leaning close to stare at the cave. "You think someone's in there?"

She stepped back and raised her sword, this time between them. "Isn't that the real reason you're here? To continue your secret meeting with the pack Alpha's son, and the Rogues the two of you are in league with?"

Matt looked at her, emotions flooding his face. Surprise. Confusion. Understanding. Regret and a bit of sadness. "You're certain Jake is with the Rogues?"

"Leo found this place. He saw Rogues here. I followed your accomplice to this same spot."

Matt shook his head softly, as if hating what she said.

Anca called her magic, preparing to attack. What came was weak. She strained for more. "I saw you with the wolf earlier. Now you show up. There's only one logical explanation."

Matt laughed. He actually laughed, loud and full and from his gut.

She nearly unleashed her power right then and there.

"Sorry," he said, laughing some more before he finally quieted. "Only
one
explanation? Lady, I can think of many more than that. Care to hear mine?"

"Not really. But I am going to arrest you. Then I'm heading into the cave and taking down every last one of your cohorts."

But she didn't move.

She hated the idea of Matt being the traitor. She despised the images coming to mind of him working with the Rogues, killing innocents. That wasn't the man she'd come to know.

Matt stepped into her space. Hand on the flat of her blade, he shoved her sword aside and closed the distance until he stood only an inch in front of her.

Her pulse sped, her throat tightened. Her stomach twisted. But she didn't draw back. Or release her magic.. And she couldn't figure out why.

The air around them whirled, shoving her against his solid strength. She inhaled sharply, only to have her senses invaded by the scent of minty male.

Matt gently curved his arms around her waist, whispering, "Like I said. I came for you."

His words penetrated something. Hurt pricked at her. She shook her head.

Denying him, or the pain?

He added, "Your spirits guided me to you."

Magic whirled, the spirits becoming a blur of colors, pushing them closer together.

Anca knew at once Matt's words were true.

He'd been led here.

Led to her.

But... "Then why were you meeting with the wolf earlier?"

"I wasn't. Jake's an old friend. He disappeared about five months ago without a word. Today, he showed up to have some injuries looked at. He wouldn't tell me anything about where he's been."

"And you met with him, no questions asked?"

"I'm a doctor."

"You're a vampire doctor in the middle of a clash between your clan and the pack."