Dark War Chronicles Box Set One (31 page)

Renee opened her eyes and saw Orion coming back with the kit. He met her gaze and raised a brow. "Are you okay? You look pale."

"I don't like the sight of blood, nor the fact that you are going to have to pry a bullet out of her arm." Renee snapped. "Not to mention that I just found out my ex is part of some military corporation that wants me to join them. There are too many people interested in me and no one will tell me why."

Tegan's eyes slid to her. "They invited you to join?" She winced as Orion touched the wound with tweezers, digging for the bullet. More blood dribbled out and Renee swallowed against the bile in her throat.

She turned her back, unable to watch anymore. "He said they could protect me."

"They would try to turn you into a soldier and make you hate all supernatural creatures. They detest anyone that has a tie to our world." Tegan ground out.

Renee tried to think of something happier than a bullet being removed from Tegan. "He was pretty determined to get me out of here, so I guess that makes sense."

"He said something about your parentage, do you know what he meant?"

"No idea." She believed her parents were normal. Sure, there was gypsy blood or witch blood or something way back in her bloodline, but that didn't mean much.

Tegan made a noise. "Great, another dead end."

"All of this started when I received the stone." Renee swallowed, remembering what had happened the last time she'd mentioned it.

"You can turn back around now." Orion's gentle voice came from behind her. "I'm finishing patching it up now."

Tegan took a deep breath. "That stone is the reason the vampires are interested in you. I think they would back off if you surrendered it."

"I can't do that and you know it. I don't even know how you knew to send it to me. It's like a part of me." She touched it and Tegan flinched.

They all jumped when the door opened then crashed shut. Tegan bolted out of her chair. "Not dealing with him." She ran up the stairs.

Renee leaned back in her seat and looked at Orion, who shrugged. "Coward." She muttered.

Coran walked into the living room and froze. The glare on Orion's face stopped Coran from even cracking a smile. "What did I miss?"

Orion motioned to Renee. "You have a brave human. She went out for a walk alone this evening."

Coran's heart skipped a beat and his beast rose up in anger and protectiveness. "What? What happened?" He was having a hard time resisting the urge to run to her and check her over for damage. He walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, keeping his arms crossed and away from temptation.

"Tegan took care of it, don't worry." Renee closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

"You're pale, what happened?"

"Demanding tonight, aren't you?" Renee opened her eyes and cocked a brow. "I was attacked by a Hunter and Tegan scared him off. It's not a big deal, lesson learned, not going out alone. This whole being kept inside thing is annoying, not to mention I'm going to fail my finals."

"Ask her who the Hunter was." Orion stretched. "And don't worry about your finals, I e-mailed all your teachers and came up with a family emergency that you had to go to. The dean of students will contact you to arrange times for the finals. I also called your work, so you don’t have to worry about that."

Both Coran and Renee blinked at him. Orion laughed. “Yeah, I’m good, I know. Okay, I’ll go pester Tegan and let you two love birds talk it out.”

Coran turned back to Renee. "Who was it?" He uncrossed his arms, waiting for an answer.

"An ex-boyfriend."

Coran clenched his fists once, twice, three times before he could speak. "You dated a Hunter? How the hell did he explain his job?" Could she have been any deeper in the world without realizing it? He was starting to think this went further than the stone. "I take it he wanted you to go with him?"

"He threatened to shoot out my knee and drag me if I didn't go willingly."

Oh yes, that made him feel much better. The violent emotions pumping through him right now were familiar. He recognized the fear from so many years ago. That feeling of not being able to protect his mate. Of watching her die. His beast was pacing the surface now. Coran may have issues with taking Renee as a mate, but his wolf did not. He wanted to claim what was his and keep her safe whatever the cost, but just the thought sent panic coursing through him. If there was just a way to keep her safe, away from him and this world. He turned and braced his hands on the sink. His head hanging down, he took a deep calming breath for him and his beast.

“Renee, if something were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” He turned and met her eyes across the kitchen. “You are...precious...in every way. And not just because of the stone or that you need protecting. You are human and fragile yes but I—” he paused and tried to search for the right words. “I’m attached to you.” That was putting it mildly.

Renee was silent for a moment, her eyes locked on his. Standing, she took a deep breath and walked towards him, not stopping till she stood in front of him. "I'm attached to you now too, Coran. But I'm tired of vague answers and everyone trying to skirt around the truth.” She placed her hand over his heart.

He could feel the warmth of it through his shirt.  A part of him wanted that warmth to consume him, to fill in all those parts of him that had been empty and scared since Trisha was ripped from him. But the other part of him wanted to lock her away from every danger facing her right now, including him. 

“Coran, if you want me to be a part of this world, to listen to you and your demands, then you have to be open with me. I want to understand why everyone tiptoes around you. I want to know your story, what you are hiding.”

She continued to meet his eyes, moving her hand down to his and holding it. She hadn’t left him a whole lot of options at this point. But how was he supposed to tell her that he would never age while she grew old and died?

“I’m immortal.” He blurted out.

“Like you can’t die?” Renee asked with wide eyes.

Coran nodded, carefully following the emotions playing out on her face. “I can be killed but I won’t die from sickness or old age.”

“Are you sure you’re not some kind of vampire?”

The innocence and actual curiosity in her tone and expression undid him and he laughed. “Yes, I’m sure I’m not a vampire.” His smile faltered as Renee’s brows drew together as she processed this information.

She turned and leaned against the counter beside him, mirroring his pose. “Well, that’s interesting to say the least. Why were you so concerned about Cody suddenly showing up?”

"Because it means that this goes deeper than the Circle."

Renee let out a frustrated growl. "I've heard them mentioned before, but who or what are they?”

Coran sighed. "They are like the boogie men that are supposed to help rule the vampires. They are corrupt and cruel. I'm surprised Tegan hasn't said anything about them."

"She said she was tortured by them." She glanced up and met his eyes. "You're scared of them, too?"

"They took my mate from me, Trisha. She was human. When Tegan was captured Trisha was captured with her. When they found out that it wasn't within their laws to kill Tegan because she was bound to Lucius, they tortured Trisha to death."

Renee was silent for a moment. "Did you see it happen?"

"I held her as she took her dying breath. We were too late to save her, and like you she was new to our world. She didn't understand what could happen." He ran a hand through his hair and pushed the memories away from his mind.

He glanced down at her and saw she had paled. He could hear her pulse doing double time. He had wanted to scare her. Wanted her to see the true him. That this couldn’t work between them, but he couldn’t stand the sight of her fear and insecurity, it made his beast want to howl. He turned and stood in front of her.

“Renee I won’t let that happen to you. I can’t. I promise I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.” He paused as her beautiful hazel eyes, filled with fear and confusion, met his. “That was centuries ago and I’ve vowed that it will never happen again. The fates had chosen her to be my mate. I failed them and her. But I will protect you, I promise.” And through all the conflicting emotions inside of him, the one that just wanted to hold the beautiful human in front of him won out.

He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head to his shoulder and running his hand in soothing circles over her back. He listened as her pulse slowed and she took deep, calming breaths.  They stood like that for minutes, hours, he wasn’t sure, but eventually she turned her face up to him.

“What’s it like to be immortal?”

Coran smiled. Always his curious human, even in the mist of chaos. "It's interesting to get to see how the world changes, but it's lonely because any human you know eventually grows old and dies. Things change and shrivel; everything has its time. Before the government knew about supernatural creatures we would have to move from town to town to stay hidden. You know, a lot like the stuff you read in all your books."

"Not all like that. Tegan called herself Lucius' servant. What did she mean by that?"

"She is blood bound to Lucius, which means that she is tied to him. If one dies, the other dies." He shrugged. "Simple really. He did it to help her out years ago."

"By years you mean centuries?" She asked, drawing his arms tighter around her and looking up at him with those huge eyes.

He laughed. "Yeah, centuries."

"What was your favorite time period? Your favorite place?"

Coran licked his lips. "That's a hard choice. I would have to say Ireland. My homeland will always be my favorite place." Renee smiled at that and ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders. And before he knew what she was about, she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled his lips down to hers. Her hot mouth and tongue explored his and he was momentarily lost.

Every move she made had his cock twitching and his knees growing weak. He ran his hands down her back and palmed her ass, pressing her against his erection. She moaned and he was lost. He picked her up and set her on the countertop in front of him as she wrapped her legs around him for balance. He moaned as he rocked into her. The friction left him aching and wanting so much more. He ran his hands under the edge of her shirt and coasted his hands up her ribs. She was so small. So delicate. So fragile. And there came an image of Trisha’s body lying bloody and dead in his arms. He broke the kiss, pushing away from the countertop and Renee. He met her eyes with something akin to terror filling him. “I can’t do this. We can’t do this.” He was trying to catch his breath and slow his pounding heart. He looked only at the floor. He could feel his wolf, who had been perfectly content just a moment ago, now pacing the surface, sniffing the air and smelling Renee’s tears.

"I'm sorry." He turned and rushed up the stairs, stomping past Orion's room and into his own. He glanced in the full-length mirror hanging on the door, and could see the shadow of his wolf howling in pain. "Fuck you fate. Fuck you."

"That bad? Really?" Orion asked from the doorway. "You came stomping up here like a teenager because of fate?"

Coran sighed. "Renee is my mate, just like we thought. My wolf knows her, but I can't be with another human. I can't watch her die."

"Are you so sure about that? Maybe this is fate giving you another chance."

"Or maybe trying to screw me over again."

Orion shook his head. "Look, everything—”

"I don't want to hear it. Go downstairs and watch her. I'll take care of Tegan’s wound. Lucius wants her back tonight." Taking a deep breath, Coran backed away from the mirror. "I'll deal with my beast soon."

"Tegan's patched up, but it's going to take some doing to get her back to Lucius. You know how he reacts when she gets hurt and if he finds out that she went up against a Hunter?" Orion whistled. "Wouldn't want to be in her shoes."

"He wants her back for a meeting, so she doesn't really have a choice in the matter. Now go. I don't want Renee trying to go take a mind clearing walk again."

Orion saluted him and marched down the stairs, muttering under his breath.

Renee looked up when Orion came down the stairs. After Coran stormed out of the kitchen Renee had sat pondering what went wrong. Had she said something? Or was it the kiss? "He sent you down here to watch me?"

"Yep, I see you used your girly wiles on him, and he freaked out. Shame he can't keep his little freak-outs under control, isn't it?" Orion asked, slouching into the recliner.

Renee glanced up the stairs. "What is he doing now?" She asked as she saw Coran go into Orion's room.

"He's going to try and convince Tegan to go back to Lucius for the night and she is going to deny him." Orion shrugged. "Why?"

Renee didn't answer right away, her imagination trying to run away with what could be going on in the bedroom. Tegan had the advantage over her, she was just as old as Coran, if not older. Jealousy raced through her as she imagined Coran trying to soothe Tegan. "Everyone is close, huh? Since you've spent centuries together."

"Yeah, Tegan's kind of like the baby sister of our family, though she's older than both of us." He laughed. "You worried that there is something more going on between them?"

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "He just seems more worried about her than Cody showing up.”

"Coran is..." Orion sighed. "He's difficult. He doesn't like to show his feelings for anyone. I guess what I am trying to say is that he's scared."

Renee recalled Tegan fighting in the park and being able to protect herself. "Where did Tegan learn to fight?"

"Um, well, after—aw fuck, really?" He rubbed his eyes. "After she and Trisha were tortured, Lucius decided that it was time to stop babying Tegan and had Coran and I teach her how to fight and protect herself. Tegan has the advantage of being bound so her movements are faster and she is stronger than a regular human."

Renee thought for a moment. Tegan was nearly immortal. Like Coran. And she was just a human, someone he had to protect. Someone he thought he couldn’t be with. "What can I do so that Coran stops worrying about me being in danger and will let us...be together?" She blushed. "I mean—"