Destiny Unchained (10 page)

She stopped in front of the door and spun around to
face him. “My idea of conflict resolution is a knife between the
ribs. Is that what you want? A knife fight?”

“I want to talk to a normal human being.”

“I’m not one.”

“You were once.”

“A long time ago.”

He inhaled an exasperated breath. “It’s called a
compromise, Talia.”

“A what?”

His brows furrowed before his lips quirked up in a
small smile. “You don’t even know what that is, do you?” He ran his
hand through his hair. “Christ, you’re worse than a lone wolf. I
should put you in the teamwork class with the pups.”

She watched his obvious frustration with curiosity.
Would he try to stop her from leaving? Would he deem her a lost
cause and give up?

Suddenly, he burst out with a deep belly laugh. She
scowled. “What?”

“I just had an image of a grown vampire trading trust
falls with werewolf children.”

She choked on a laugh then swallowed it back in favor
of a faint smile.

Cristian grinned. “Careful, Talia. You almost
laughed.”

She stopped herself just short of yelling a childish
“did not!” Their gazes locked and before she could pull away,
something clicked. Her heart picked up pace, a wave of peace swept
over her. She gave her head a shake. This werewolf…he was…doing
something to her.

He pulled out a duffle bag and began opening drawers
and throwing clothing inside. “We’ll take my jeep. I know you need
weapons but do you need clothing or anything else?”

She arched a brow. “Didn’t you hear me when I said
the partnership is absolved?”

“Yes, and I’m calling your bluff.”

Damn werewolf. “Won’t you lose your job?”

He stopped to smile at her. “One of the perks of
being the boss. I make my own hours.”

She sighed. He was relentless. “My bike’s faster than
the jeep.”

“The jeep will hold our stuff.”

“We won’t need the stuff if we make better time.”

“Jeep handles the roads better.” He pinned her with a
steady gaze. “I’ve lived here a long time, Natalia. I know the
terrain. Trust me.”

The idea of spending time in a four by six foot box
with a werewolf made every one of her hackles rise. Besides, there
was nothing better than the purr of a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 between
her legs. She eyed him up and down. Well, maybe there was, but the
bike was the only action she’d gotten in a long time.

But, if she wanted to look at things logically –
which oddly, she didn’t right now – Cristian was right. He knew the
terrain better than she did. Maybe he could be of use on this hunt.
And if he turned into an even bigger pain in the ass, well, she
could always kill him. “All right. Jeep it is.”

He zipped his bag then looked her over. “You didn’t
answer my question. Do you need anything other than weapons?”

“I don’t plan on this taking long. If I need
something, I’ll pick it up on the way. I have cash.”

He shifted his stance, suddenly looking
uncomfortable. “What about food? Do you need…blood?”

She arched a brow. “Are you offering?”

His eyes glittered with desire before he swallowed
and said, “I’m just trying to be prepared.”

She didn’t understand why it pissed her off that he
wanted to take care of her, but it did. “What are you going to do,
Cristian? Do a blood drive? Grab one of your low ranking pack
members and stuff him in the trunk for me to feed on?”

His eyes widened. “Christ, Natalia. You’re a vicious
thing. It’s in my nature to take care of things. I don’t know how
to take care of vampires. I’m feeling a little lost.”

“Good thing I don’t need taking care of.”

“I just want to be your friend.” He stepped closer
and put out a hand. “No man is an island.”

She stared at his outstretched hand. “I’m not a
man.”

“It’s a figure of speech. It means everyone needs
friends. No one should spend a lifetime alone.”

“That’s the werewolf way. Not so for vampires.”

“You have covens.”

“Some.”

“Not you?”

“Not me.”

He grabbed her hand before she could dodge him and
held it tight when she tried to pull away. His fingers slid up her
bare arm. It tingled. She stared at the goose bumps it left
behind.

“Don’t you miss being touched?” His breath whispered
across her cheek. “Don’t you miss the gentle feel of skin on
yours?” He bent his head, his goatee rubbed against her cheek.

She stopped breathing. He was so warm she could have
melted into a puddle on the floor. Her eyes fluttered closed. She
did miss being touched.

“A simple touch from a friend is like water to a
drying lotus. It quenches its thirst, imparting fortitude to
weather the storms.”

Her eyes flew open and she looked up at him. “That’s
bullshit. Where’d you hear that?”

“One of the greatest bearers of wisdom in our day.”
He bent down to her ear and after a dramatic pause, he whispered,
“Chinese fortune cookie.”

She exhaled one, small chuckle.

Cristian leaned back with a proud smirk. “Got you,
didn’t I?”

Before she could pull away he wrapped an arm around
her waist and tugged her flush up against his body. Her whole body
tingled with warmth. Then he kissed her. Gently, but she knew from
their previous encounter he was holding back. And damn her
traitorous lips for moving with his.

He pulled away and with his lips at her ear, he
rasped, “I’m going to crack that shell of yours,
puiule
. I’m going to mess up
your compartmentalized little world. Best be prepared, ‘cause when
I’m through with you, you’ll never be the same.”

She gaped as he picked up his bag, slung it over his
shoulder, and sauntered out the cabin door. From outside she heard,
“Time’s wasting. Move your ass, vampire.”

Cristian spent the first hour of their three hour
journey north attempting conversation. Natalia skillfully avoided
it. He was quick to point out she still owed him another kiss. She
had no idea werewolves were so relentless. If he took too many
kisses like the one in the cabin, she could get addicted.

Talking to him was unsettling, thinking about him was
worse. She played with the radio instead, switching stations as the
reception went in and out. Just before dawn, Cristian reached over
and turned it off.

More conversation? Eighties one-hit-wonders had been
playing for the last forty five minutes. She sighed. Conversation
sounded downright heavenly.

“We need to make a plan,” the werewolf declared,
pulling off the main road and onto a sparsely inhabited side
road.

“Plan is, we kill the Slayer. What’s complicated
about it?”

He tore his gaze from the road to cast her an
irritated glare. “We need a better plan. First off, we need to do
something about your inability to hunt during the day.”

“Hunt at night, like I’ve always done.”

“Have you thought about buying a daylight potion from
the witches?”

She had. Witches and sorcerers could make an elixir
that counteracted the effects the sun had on vampires. But what was
the point? She could hunt as easily at night as in daylight.
Besides, the potion was overpriced and tasted like shit. “You’re
trying to take over. What happened to containing your manly
urges?”

He shifted in his seat and muttered, “You have no
idea the urges I’m containing, woman.”

She glared at him. “First you tried to alpha my ass
in the cabin –”

“Alpha your ass?”

“Now you’re telling me how to go about
my
hunt? I’ve been doing
this a long time, Cristian. If you insist on tagging along, that’s
fine, but your big, bad alpha status gets you nowhere with me.”

He chuckled, which made her glare harder. “You need
to work on your people skills.” She opened her mouth to protest,
but he cut her off. “As much as I’d love to ‘alpha your ass’ –
whatever that means – it’s clear that won’t work with you. So we’ll
just have to compromise. It’ll be difficult for both of us, but I
can put aside my pride to catch this sadistic bastard and spare
more children’s lives. Can you?”

She narrowed her eyes. Devious werewolf, using her
concern for children against her. He knew exactly what buttons to
push. “What happened to, ‘being alpha isn’t just what I do, it’s
who I am’?”

“I’ll try to have patience with your issues, if
you’ll have patience with mine.”

She scoffed. “My issues?”

He tossed her a look of amusement. “You keep people
at a distance to maintain your aloofness. For some reason, you
don’t want to feel.”

Her face flushed and she turned to stare out the
window.

“Someone must’ve hurt you pretty bad for you to shut
everything off. To isolate yourself so much that killing in cold
blood comes easily for you.” He paused. The silence dragged on and
she squirmed in her seat. “Makes me wonder what happened to you.
More importantly, makes me wish you’d seek healing.”

The sound of her hard swallow filled the silent car.
When did it get so
hot and stuffy in here?
And Cristian took up far too much
space. She rubbed her hands on her thighs and shut her eyes,
pushing the strange sensations away.
Focus, Natalia. You’re the Huntress. You don’t let
sneaky werewolves shake you up like this. Focus!

A warm hand fell onto hers. “I’ll accept where you’re
at. For now. But you should know, I’m not like other people. I see
you.”

She bit back a groan as her stomach churned. The
thought of his creepy eyes piercing through her shields to her very
soul made her shudder.

He gave her hand a squeeze. “Anyway, tell me what
you’ve done till now. How do you track the Slayer?”

Yes, now they were back in her terrain. In her
comfort zone, where she belonged. She could breathe again.

The hunt had started in Louisiana just over a year
ago. If she never saw the bayou again it would be too soon. The
bodies had been explained by gator attacks – ignorant tourists
getting too close while taking pictures. Eventually they’d caught
and killed a fourteen footer they thought responsible for the
attacks. That was when the Slayer had moved on. The missing
children hadn’t started until Colorado. He was escalating. “He has
a signature. Animal attacks and missing children. I stop in the
larger cities to read the newspapers. I visit the bars in the
smaller towns. There’s always talk. I just follow the stories. From
there, I use my nose.”

He nodded. “What does he look like?”

She thought for a moment. Probably like a movie star,
but Natalia wasn’t interested in pop culture so there wasn’t anyone
she could compare him to. “He was...beautiful.”

His chiseled features matched his impeccably designed
suit. Dark skin blended into the shadows of the night making his
perfect white teeth shine. Deep brown eyes pierced through her. His
hair was as black as –

A pair of fingers snapped in her face. “Eyes on the
prize, woman. The Slayer isn’t an appropriate object for your
fantasies.”

No, he wasn’t. But a certain blonde-haired, ruggedly
handsome werewolf was. She shook that absurd thought from her head.
“He’s very powerful. He must be old.”

He arched a brow. “Older than you?”

Maybe. “No.”

“And how old are you?”

She considered not answering. But was it really any
secret? And he’d already proven his loyalty. Maybe he really was on
her side. A disturbing thought.

“Natalia.” His voice, low and steady, pulled her gaze
to him. “It’s just your age. Not your social security number.”

Not that she had one of those. “I was born in the
eleven hundreds.”

“You’re over eight hundred years old?”

“Yes, and you know what they say – wisdom comes with
age. Therefore, we do things my way.”

He narrowed his eyes. “How do you know you’re
older?”

“Please,” she snorted. “I’ll bet you’re no older than
four hundred.”

He was silent, his gaze fixed on the road.

Not
much to say now, huh?
“Well?”

“I’m four hundred and eleven.” He jumped to defend
himself before she could say a word. “But I’ve been an alpha for
over two hundred years. That makes me more experienced in
leadership. Therefore, we do things my way.”

Sneaky werewolf. She almost smiled. But arguing with
an alpha was useless. Actions mattered. And when it came down to
it, she’d do anything to stop the Slayer. Stubborn werewolf or
no.

“How did he catch you this time?”

“Your wolf disguised his scent.” Mentally she berated
herself, again, for her carelessness.

“Did you kill the wolf?”

She nodded. “But it would’ve died anyway. I just made
it quick.”

“And you didn’t drink its blood?”

“Of course not.” She left out the part about her
temptation.

He was so silent she turned to look at him curiously.
His eyes stayed focused on the road, but the corners of his mouth
lifted in what looked to be an expression of pride. She should’ve
kept her mouth shut.

A wave of nausea roiled through her. Dawn was
coming.

Cristian looked her over then punched the gas. “Hang
on. The motel’s just up the road.” He smirked. “Of course, if you
had a daylight potion, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

The nameless two-star motel looked like heaven by the
time they pulled into the parking lot. Nauseous but at least able
to walk on her own feet, she followed Cristian into the front lobby
– if you could call the small room with a desk, grouchy attendant,
and bad carpeting a lobby.

“You’re not modest about sharing a room, are you?” he
asked after ringing the bell for an attendant.

Yes. But she wouldn’t waste money on something so
petty. “No.”

He nodded and paid for the room before she could find
the wad of cash stuffed in her boot. “Just so you know,” he said as
they searched the hall for the assigned room, “I sleep in the
nude.”