Destiny's Path (5 page)

“How do you feel, Sasha?”

The question stopped her in midrise. “What do you mean?”

“Just answer the question. Are you tired, sore? Does your shoulder pain you in any way?” He stared at her, somehow knowing why she hadn’t noticed these things sooner. And she should have.

She sat on the bed, doing an internal exam. Surprisingly, nothing hurt; nothing ached. She wasn’t tired. Then, she looked under the top at her right shoulder, feeling no pain, but afraid of what she might find. Her fears were unfounded. All she saw were a few raised pink areas and healthy skin. No tears, no stitches, no wound.

She touched the area to make sure it was all right. Her eyes didn’t lie. It was like she never had a mark at all.

“You required numerous stitches inside and out to repair the damage to your shoulder. Your collarbone had been broken in two places and you also had a dislocated shoulder. You lost nearly two pints of blood and almost died twice before we got you here. You had a raging fever for three days before slipping into a coma. You have been here for two and a half weeks.”

Sasha sat there staring into space, trying to absorb all that Roan had told her. It was impossible, yet she knew she had been attacked. She had felt the pain of those teeth, the agony of her collarbone snapping like a twig. Felt her shoulder being torn from its socket. She had experienced all that, yet here she was, totally healed in two weeks.

“How?” she croaked, afraid to hear the answer.

“When my grandfather bit you, he transferred a very potent virus, the Lupus Strain, into your bloodstream. It attacks the DNA, altering it, giving us the ability to change shape and heal almost any wound inflicted on us. Though, as you saw, breaking the neck or the brain stem is one of the few ways, besides pure silver and fire, we can die. Otherwise, we age at an infinitesimal rate.”

She nodded absently, continuing to stare at nothing. “Why me?”

Roan sighed deeply. “Unfortunately, Grandfather had been unstable for years. He was on medication, but at his advanced age, it wasn’t helping. Not really that uncommon for our small group of Elders. For some, the older they get, the more they revert, relying on instinct rather than intellect. In the case of our grandfather, his delusions pushed him to seek you out.”

Sasha sat up straighter, although she still didn’t look at any of them. Maybe if she didn’t acknowledge them, it couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be real. “I don’t understand. What do you mean seek me out?”

“We’re not sure. Like I said, he was extremely delusional, hearing voices and such.” Roan’s voice had a sad tone to it. “ But regardless of the cause, you’re extremely lucky. Many attacked by an Elder don’t survive. The virus inside them is so powerful by then that it kills the body of their victim instead of altering it.”

Feeling numb and as if her whole world was crashing around her, Sasha tried to absorb what Roan had said. The idea was unimaginable. But she had to concede the fact that she was here and alive, unharmed. That thought still didn’t make her feel comfortable. Nor did the fact that from what Roan said, she should have died just like the others. And something told her there were more surprises to come. She really hated surprises. They tended to not be good ones in her world.

“How many have survived?”

“You are the third.”

Sasha looked up at him then, his handsome face impassive, light eyes filled with understanding and not a little regret. But she had a feeling there was more to it than that, raising a brow in question.

“And the first female to make it.”

She laid her head in her hands again, her whole body starting to shake with reaction as the reality of her situation finally sank in. “This is all too much. I can’t accept this. I just can’t.”

“You don’t have to worry about anything, Sasha. We’ll help in any way we can. You have my word,” Roan said. Even though she had just met the man, Sasha had a sense he didn’t give his word lightly. If he made a promise, he would keep it.

She looked up again, a thought suddenly coming to her. She just realized how many times Roan had used the word “we” in their little chat. And if she had just survived a Lupus bite, then that meant…

“Oh my God!” She gasped, her gaze darting frantically at all three men.

“Welcome to my Pack, Sasha Edwards.” Roan smiled at her just before blackness edged her vision and swallowed her whole.

Chapter Three

Consciousness returned slowly to Sasha. She heard raised voices around her and felt a cold compress on her forehead.

“That was just brilliant, Roan. Could you have been any blunter? She just survived the attack and bite of an eight-hundred-year-old Lupus. Her body is still recovering. She doesn’t need any more shocks like that.”

“I think she is much stronger than she seems, my brother. And like you said, she has survived. No female in our entire history has ever lived after an attack from one so old,” Roan countered.

“I hate to be the killjoy here, guys, but there is more than just her surviving that concerns me,” Gabe interrupted. “She has yet to go through the First Transformation process, and that is bound to be a great strain on her.”

“We’re in unfamiliar territory here,” Flynn stated, taking over Gabe’s thought. “The First Transformation is always painful, but seeing as Sasha has the virus from an eight-hundred-year-old Lupus, well, the process could be worse. Or…”

“It could kill her,” Roan finished with a huff.

“And if she dies…” Gabe began.

“If I die, then what?” She opened her eyes to the grim faces around her.

If they were going to talk about her like that, she wanted to be a part of it and not a spectator. She wasn’t sure how she was going to handle the answer they gave her. Lord knew the question was scary enough. She had just beaten back Death; she really didn’t want to take him on again.

Three pairs of eyes leveled on her, all showing varying emotions. The most of which was concern as to how to tell her and her reaction to that news.

“Might as well spill it, boys. As you now know, I don’t like mysteries.” She yanked the compress off her forehead and laid it on the bedside table as she sat up.

Roan started to speak up, but Flynn stopped him by laying a hand on his shoulder. “Not this time, brother. This is my responsibility.”

Roan nodded in understanding as he and Gabe stepped back to allow them privacy.

Sasha really didn’t like the look of this. Something major was about to be dropped on her. And boy, did she need an aspirin.

Flynn sat down on the bed beside her like earlier. She could tell that he wanted to take her hands and touch her but wasn’t sure she would let him. So he kept his hands braced on his knees.

“Do you remember your reaction before I stepped into the room?” Flynn asked.

Sasha felt heat flare in her cheeks. God, she really hated to blush. And at her age.

“I see you do.” He chuckled softly. “How about your reaction after I stepped into the room?”

“Could you get to the point here? My face is going to catch fire,” she grumbled.

“It’s all right. Like Roan said, your reaction was perfectly natural and nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Have women sniff and paw at you all the time, do you?” A burning jealousy swept through her at the thought of any woman touching him.
Whoa, that was a crazy thought out of left field.

“No, only my True Mate.” He smiled, gently cupping her cheek.

She blinked at that. “Beg your pardon?”

“My True Mate. You, Sasha Edwards.”

She scrambled to the other side of the bed, out of Flynn’s reach. Her heart raced; her breath came in short gasps. She felt as if she was having a panic attack.

“Okay, now I know you’re nuts. ‘Cause there is no way you and I could be mated, married, or whatever.”

“Why are you so scared? After all you’ve been told, being my True Mate makes you bolt?” His voice held surprise at her reaction.

“You’re damn right, it does,” she snapped, starting to shake again.

“Good Lord, why?”

Sasha heard his shocked tone, saw his eyes widen as he added, “My people search their entire lives for a True Mate, and very few ever find them. I feel blessed.”

“You’re joking, right? I mean look at me. I’m plain and average, not the type of woman most men would even notice. And you look like some GQ model with a body to match.”

Gabe and Roan snorted with laughter.

“Could you guys give me a moment, please? I need to set my True Mate straight on a few things.”

Sasha stilled at that, Flynn never taking his eyes off her.

“Sure. When you’re finished, come downstairs. Dinner should be ready, and I know Sasha will be hungry.” Roan strolled to the door with Gabe in tow. “Good luck, brother.” The men walked out the door, closing it behind them.

“Look, you’re sweet for saying that about the Mate thing, but I don’t really believe it. And I’m adult enough to say I’m attracted to you.” It was really a waste to try to deny it now, especially with Flynn smiling knowingly. “Okay, more than attracted, but I find what you’re saying a bit hard to swallow.”

Flynn chuckled ruefully and shook his head. “Sasha, you are one of the most luscious women I have ever seen. And even if you weren’t my True Mate, I would still want you.”

She hung her head, trying to hold back the tears. “Please, please don’t do this,” she whispered, so afraid to believe him, yet wanting to her very soul for what he said to be true. Even after just meeting him, she wanted Flynn. Probably more than she should.

“He really did more than just hurt you, didn’t he?”

She raised her head with surprise. The concern in his voice was evident, the look in his eyes knowing.

Sasha didn’t know what to say or how to react to his correct assumption. She so did not want to explain her ex and his little games at her expense. That was in the past, and she wanted it to stay there.

“I knew who you were the minute your body went into the coma,” he began, a look of complete joy on his face. “That’s how I knew you were going to make it. The body goes dormant so the virus can alter the DNA. After that, I cornered Gabe every chance I got so he could tell me everything the two of you talked about. I wanted to know everything so I could put you at ease, then get to know you better.” His face took on a menacing look with his next words. “But I never expected this. That some worthless piece of shit would make you feel unworthy of a man like me. Makes me so angry, I would love to rip his head off and shove it up his ass.”

She saw the truth of his words in his glacier eyes. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

He smiled at her. “There’s one thing you’ll learn about the Lupus—we don’t lie. We can’t. You can smell it just like any other emotion.” Then his eyes turned molten, like twin blue flames. “And believe me when I say that right this minute, I want you so bad, my teeth ache.”

Sasha gasped, smelling the truth, just like he said. She also smelled his arousal, like a sweet musk, and saw it bulging at the front of his jeans.

Closing her eyes, she breathed deep, taking his scent into her lungs like before. Her whole body tingled and tightened with wanting him, her nipples hardening into stiff peaks. She felt dampness starting between her thighs.

She opened her eyes, finding him right in front of her as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

“You have to make the first move, sweetheart.”

She could see his body shaking slightly, see the need on his handsome face, and hear it in his velvety voice.

“Why?” she rasped, more aroused than she could ever remember being. And Flynn had yet to even touch her. Boy, was she in trouble.

“It’s the way of our kind. When True Mates find each other, it’s the female’s choice of when and where. She makes the first move and sets the pace for the First Mating. It goes back in our history to the first True Mates. To prove how much he really wanted his Mate, the Alpha male let the female control their First Mating. It was a great show of respect and trust on the Alpha’s part and let his Mate know she was held in high esteem. Now it’s not just a ritual of sorts, but ingrained into our very beings. Because you’re my True Mate, I could no sooner start our First Mating than I could turn the tides or raise the sun.”

Sitting down beside him, she had varying emotions on the subject. She wanted him, of course. Hell, what sane woman wouldn’t? And he most definitely wanted her. The front of his jeans was proof positive of that. But as much as she was aroused by him, she couldn’t make love to a man she just met. True Mate or not.

“I’m not sure I can right now, Flynn. I mean, this is all so new to me, you know? One minute I find out I’m a Lupus, and the next I’m your True Mate. Though you still haven’t given me all the particulars or told me what Roan was talking about.”

She hated to disappoint the man. God knew she hated it.

“Not to mention the fact we just met. I just wouldn’t feel comfortable making love with you when I don’t know you very well. Sorry.”

He grinned, not a trace of anger or disappointment in his eyes. “Ah, sweetheart, don’t be.” He reached out and placed his warm palm against her cheek. She leaned into it, wanting this small contact. “Makes me want you even more because you want to get to know me, not just my body.” He grinned with mischief twinkling in his eyes.

She blushed, feeling heat suffuse her face. “I really do hate to blush. Makes me feel like a naive teenager.”

“A teenager you are not. You are all woman.” His voice was husky with arousal. “And I do hope that kissing you is all right, because if I don’t have a taste of you soon, I think I just might expire here on the spot.”

“Really?” A small kiss wouldn’t go against her rules. “Well, we can’t have you expiring. I don’t think Roan would ever forgive me.”

“Probably not.” He smiled.

She placed her hands on his chest, feeling the hard muscles there, the strength contained under her fingers. Then she ran them up to his neck as she leaned up toward his mouth. She had to pull him down to meet her, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he was more than willing. She thought she would feel awkward about making the first move on a guy, but with Flynn, it felt right. Natural even to just lean in, softly brush her lips on his, then run her tongue over the seam as he parted them. They were so soft, like warm silk. That wasn’t enough. She had to taste him. She slanted her mouth over his lips and plunged her tongue inside to duel with his. He moaned, and she almost lost what little sanity she had left and took him right then and there. God knows she wanted to. Her whole body was on fire with want, with need. But she couldn’t. Her sense of self wouldn’t let her no matter how much she wanted him. Being the good girl really sucked sometimes.

She slowly broke the kiss, hearing both of them breathing hard, as if they had just run a mile-long race. Flynn laid on his back, putting an arm over his eyes, still breathing heavily, the evidence of his arousal threatening to bust from his jeans.

“Jesus.” He panted, his body visibly trembling, face strained with need. “Never have I wanted a female so much.”

“My sentiments exactly.” She wanted this man so badly she was shaking inside and out. She got off the bed and went to the nightstand where the tumbler of water still sat. She almost downed the whole thing in one gulp, trying to get herself under control.

“I never knew, never realized,” Flynn said in awe, calm enough now to sit up and look at her.

She saw how difficult it was for him to manage the feat with his still raging hard-on, saw how he squirmed to find a more comfortable position.

“You’ve never had this kind of reaction to any male before, have you?”

No matter how much she might deny it, he would smell the lie. But then, why lie? She’d always been honest, at least with herself. Besides, there was just something about this man that drew her in.

“Sasha?”

“I’ve always thought that these kinds of feelings were for other people or were found in romance novels, you know? Not for someone ordinary like me.” She paused, taking a breath and letting it out, giving herself time to choose her next words.

“But?”