Destiny Unchained (16 page)

Finally he rolled off, collapsing in the snow next to
her, a satisfied grin on his lips. They both lay under the starry
sky, panting as the lingering chuckles died away.

“Goddamn you,” she breathed. She kept her gaze on the
speckled blackness above them. “You’ve undone me.”

He chuckled and grabbed her hip, rolling her to face
him on her side. “You needed undoing.”

“I didn’t ask for this.”

“One rarely does.” His eyes softened as he stared at
her. “You have a beautiful laugh,
puiule
.”

A strange sensation fluttered in her chest. It
beckoned the muscles around her mouth to lift into a smile. She
recognized this emotion, though she hadn’t felt it in a very long
time. Joy.

Lying in the snow with a werewolf who pushed every
one of her buttons, hunting a sadistic killer, and she was grinning
like a fool. Yup, it was official. She’d lost her goddamn mind.

To make matters worse, her hand reached out on its
own volition and touched his face. Slowly. Hesitantly.

Cristian closed his eyes and whispered, “Yes.”

She explored him, stroking his beard, running her
fingertips across his lips, tracing the laugh lines around his
eyes. The world went silent around them. In this moment there was
no Slayer, no werewolf pack or witches’ expectations. It was just
Cristian and Natalia. A man and a woman.

He opened his eyes and gazed at her dreamily. Taking
a strand of her hair between his fingers, he brought it to his nose
and inhaled. “
Rosu
frumusete
.”

“What does it mean?”

“Red beauty.” He tucked it behind her ear. “How I’ve
longed to call you that.”

His hand moved from her hair down her neck, spreading
a tingly warmth as it went. Then he leaned in and kissed her. A
soft caress, as if he were afraid he’d scare her off. But it sent
her soaring, away from the mountains, the hunt, the atrocities that
brought them together. It took her to a place she didn’t know
existed. Happiness. She couldn’t even feel the cold snow beneath
her body.

When they pulled back for air, he kept a hand on her
cheek. The warmth from that one spot swept all the way down to her
toes.

“Why me, Cristian?”

He stroked his thumb across her cheekbone. “Why you,
what?”

“Of all the women you could have – women that would
fit in your pack – why fight so hard for a vampire? For me?”

“Is it so hard for you to see?”

“It’s impossible for me to see.”

“Then you’re blind. Open your eyes and look at who
you are.”

And here it was – the moment of truth. Time to show
him who the Huntress really was. She closed her eyes and inhaled a
shaky breath. When she opened them, she kept her gaze down on the
snow. “A murderer. Empty, dark, unredeemable.” She looked up to
gauge his reaction.

He smiled faintly. “You’re not looking.”

“You’re wearing rose-colored glasses.”

His hand moved to the back of her neck and he tugged
her closer. “If you’re empty, then I’m the water that fills you. If
you’re dark, then I’m your ray of light. If you’re
unredeemable…”

She arched a brow. “You’re my savior?”

He nodded. “As you are mine.”

Chapter 17

The wolf’s howl pierced through the quiet night,
clutching Cristian’s heart with warm fingers. Funny how the world
went silent when it snowed. Like the snow blanketed the noise as it
did the ground.

Natalia, as astute as she was, didn’t miss the small
shudder that swept through his body at the sound of the wolves. “Do
you need to run?”

And leave this moment of near perfection, Natalia
relaxed and smiling? Hell, no. His body shook again, in response to
the new moon’s pull. She smiled wider.

“What?” he asked, sitting up in the snow.

“Nothing.” Her smile turned flirty. “It’s just cute.
Your response to the moon.”

Both brows shot up. “Cute?” Tensed to pounce, he
narrowed his eyes and muttered, “I’ll show you cute.”

She laughed as he tackled her then covered her neck
with love bites. He looked down with a grin. “Still think I’m
cute?”

“Oh, no, you’re a formidable werewolf for sure,” she
answered with a roll of her eyes.

Who was this laughing, flirting woman making his
heart leap in pride? He wanted to howl with joy. His Natalia,
finally melting, for him.

“Go on.” She pushed him slightly. “Go run with your
wolves. I’ll close up the chalet for daylight.”

He didn’t want to leave her and got ready to say so,
but the howl echoed through the night, closer this time, and he
couldn’t stop his body’s response.

Natalia smiled genuinely. “I’m not going anywhere. I
promise.”

He nodded and stood up, pulling her with him. He
stripped off his clothing, enjoying her lust-filled eyes as she
watched. With a grin and a wink, he shifted to his lupus form – a
large tan wolf.

She stooped down. They stared at each other for a
moment and he could see her curiosity. She reached out, hesitantly,
to touch his fur. He rubbed against her, giving her permission. Her
fingers curled around the thick coat at his neck and her mouth
lifted at the corners. If he were a cat, he’d be purring.

“I’m beginning to see the benefits of keeping you
this way. Foremost, you can’t talk.”

He growled and nipped at her hand.

She laughed, a light sound that bubbled up freely
from her belly. He could get addicted to that sound. He licked her
face, enjoying the salty taste even more as a wolf.

“Stop that!” She shoved him away. “I don’t know where
that tongue’s been.”

He licked her one more time then took off into the
trees, kicking up snow as he went.

She watched the blonde wolf disappear into the trees
while her chuckles faded. She rose from the ground and dusted off
her pants. Maybe the wolfy-ness wasn’t so bad. She was actually
having fun. And there wasn’t even any bloodshed.

She spun around to return to the chalet. Three steps
and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She lifted
her gaze and froze.

The Slayer stood at the tree line, opposite where
Cristian had gone. Her heart thudded in her ears. How long had he
been watching them? And how could they have missed his scent? She
inhaled through her nose. Even downwind there was no hint of him.
She’d heard witches and sorcerers could make cloaking potions that
hid a body’s musk, making it impossible to track them.

As if he could read her mind, he smiled and said,
“You’re not the only one who can make deals with witches.”

He took several steps forward. Instinctively, she
stepped back then cursed and forced her feet to remain in place.
The Slayer stood at ease with his hands clasped behind his back, as
if she was no more of a threat than a pesky bug. He was just as
she’d remembered. Wickedly handsome, well-groomed, and dark. He
didn’t wear a suit this time though he still managed to look upper
class in his black ski jacket and dark wash jeans. Her mind
struggled to wrap around the fact that this attractive man had the
potential for such evil.

The body of the teenager from the woods flashed in
her mind. Not just that girl but countless others. Bodies piled up
in her head. Missing children posters. Pain, fear, loss.

Anger grew in the pit of her stomach. Her fists
clenched and she stalked toward him. It was time to end this.

“Good to see you again, Huntress.” His smile was
taunting.

“You’re here alone. Are you finally ready to finish
this?”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Careful, vampire. Don’t
get overconfident. I’m not like the puppy dogs you’ve fought
before.”

“No, you’re worse. You’re a coward. A sick, twisted,
coward of a puppy dog.”

“And now you insult me?” His smirk was mocking. “Not
very smart.”

She snorted. “What are you going to do? Kill me
harder?”

He smiled then peered around them. “Where’s your
werewolf friend?”

So he hadn’t been there for long. Maybe Cristian
would stay away while she finished this. She couldn’t save all the
Slayer’s victims, but she could make sure he was safe. “It’s just
you and me.” A throwing knife flew from her boot and landed in her
open palm. “Now, stop stalling and fight me, mother fucker.”

The Slayer didn’t bother to undress. One moment he
was human, the next he seemed to burst out of his skin. His clothes
flew into the air in a flurry of shredded fabric. Standing on two
legs, he was the biggest supernatural creature she’d ever seen. All
muscle, not an ounce of fat on him, with patches of gray fur
covering his white skin, giving him the appearance of a silver
creature from hell. His face was entirely lupine – a large muzzle
with three-inch-long teeth. Ten clawed fingers curled at his sides.
And when he growled, she could swear the trees swayed.

She was no dummy. Hand-to-hand would be difficult
with this giant fucker. She threw three knives as hard as she could
at her target. All three punctured his thick skin. He didn’t even
flinch. He pulled them out then tossed them into the trees.
Way
into the trees. Good thing she had at least half a dozen
more.

The Slayer took a step forward then –
plop
. He sunk down into
the snow, just as Cristian had earlier. She used the advantage.
Dagger in hand, she flipped over his struggling body so she stood
behind him. Just as she went to slice through his neck, he managed
to reach behind and grasp her arm.

Suddenly, she was airborne then slammed on her back
in the hard snow. The air rushed out of her lungs and it took her a
moment to heave in a breath. The Slayer kept a firm grip on her
arm. She swung around and kicked him in the neck. He grunted then
released her. Flipping to her stomach, she scrambled up to get out
of arm’s reach. But he was faster and grabbed her ankle. She kicked
at him and twisted, but he dug his nails into her skin. She held
back a scream.

Focus!
Using her gift, she concentrated on pulling
another knife from her boot.

But the Slayer got it first. Her calf exploded in
pain and she howled. The knife cut straight through her muscle to
the edge of her bone.

Just as she was about to reach behind to pull it out,
the claw around her ankle disappeared. A thud sounded from behind
her and the forest shook.

She jumped up and spun around. Her jaw dropped.
Another beast had joined the Slayer. This one was just as tall, but
with blonde fur and, gods, if it was possible, more muscle. The
blonde had the Slayer pinned to a tree, both snarling and biting.
The tree strained under their weight.

Then the blonde wolf flew back, sliding across the
snow. He jumped up and shook with a growl. That was when he noticed
her. He spun, pinning her with a sharp glare. His eyes were full of
rage, like the Slayer, but the only difference…one was brown and
one was blue.

Cristian. She stepped up to his side and crouched in
a defensive position. Cristian grunted then nudged her back with a
solid, furry arm. He wanted her to stay behind him?

“Like hell! You know I’m the better fighter,
right?”

His answering snarl was as threatening as the
Slayer’s. But they didn’t have time for a growling contest. The
Slayer’s body slammed into Cristian, both of them rolling and
flipping through the snow.

With a strangled grunt, she pulled the knife free
from her calf and gripped it tightly in her palm. She watched them
wrestle, a blur of over-sized furry bodies, waiting for the
opportunity to strike. Then the Slayer soared into the trees,
howling when he landed.

She lunged to follow him, but something caught her
around the waist and threw her backward. Jumping up quickly, she
yelled, “Damn it, Cristian! This is
my
fight!”

But he was already gone. The trees groaned, the
ground rumbled as they fought in the forest. She couldn’t see them
anymore, only heard the vicious grumbles and snapping of teeth.
Frustration gnawed at her.

With a huff, she sprinted toward the noise. The
Slayer had Cristian pinned, his clawed hands wrapped around his
neck. Natalia launched herself at the werewolf, slicing through his
side before he tossed her hard into a tree. Stars danced in her
eyes as she fought to stay awake. The savage howl that pierced the
air made the hair rise at the back of her neck. And a blonde bulk
of fur twisted free then blurred as he pummeled the Slayer over and
over. Viciously, ruthlessly. Blood splashed stark red against the
snow. Gradually the growls ceased and a calm settled over the
forest.

Shakily, she rose to her feet. A large round object
soared through the air and landed by her side. A head.
She let out a relieved breath
when the eyes that stared back at her were both dark
brown.

She
opened her mouth to call for Cristian. But something that felt like
a bus rammed into her, toppling her to the ground. For the second
time, the air rushed out of her lungs and she struggled to breathe.
The beast was heavy on top of her, but took care not to crush her.
His powerful arms thrust hers over head, pinning her to the ground.
Even with five-inch-long nails, he was careful not to hurt her. His
chest heaved, blood dripped from a bite mark on his neck. With
every ragged breath, a snarl escaped his throat and blew the hair
from her face. When she struggled, he growled quietly in
warning.

His
gaze roved her over rapidly. Her eyes, her lips, her neck, down to
her breasts, back to her eyes again.

She
could have killed him. Probably. Maybe. But she didn’t want to kill
him, she wanted to calm him. In an ultimate act of trust, she
yielded. Her body sagged underneath him, her pride stinging a bit.
And, in the wolf way, she turned her head and bared her throat.
Male satisfaction burned in his eyes before he leaned into her neck
with his nose and inhaled.