Prime Obsession (25 page)

The threatening footsteps stopped outside the door.

Silence. Absolute silence settled over the spa once more. It was as if she and the man breathing his hatred outside the door to her hiding place were the only two living beings in the galaxy.

The absolute quiet ruled for long seconds and then into minutes.

The drug fought with her body’s adrenal glands for supremacy. Wulf’s mind-body connection wouldn’t allow her body to succumb. He poured his increasing rage across their connection. He was practically feral now, his low, unceasing growls—the raging ones that made her head hurt and her skin itch—reverberated in her head, forcing her body into survival readiness when her brain only wanted to shut down.

“He’s testing to see if the drug has knocked you out. Stay alert, Melina. That’s an
order!”

“I know what he’s doing. I won’t let him win.”

She’d lost the feeling to her feet once again. Damn, the drug was potent. Good news was she could still feel her fingers and the makeshift weapon she held. Her hands were steady and her head was in the game. She wanted to move, to stamp her feet, but couldn’t allow herself to do so. He’d hear and she’d lose her advantage. He thought she was unconscious, helpless. He’d have an unpleasant surprise.

Finally, the door slid open.

A large, booted foot stepped into the room. The body belonging to it followed slowly. Long legs gave her an estimate of where she should aim her attack. She was going for the most blood loss that she could. The carotid would be a nice target and meet Wulf’s requirement of going for the kill.

She held her breath as he stepped fully into the room. His head turned away from her position, his gaze fixed where he’d thought she’d be.

Stupid amateur fanatic. Never enter a room without scanning. Not military-trained, then. Another advantage on her side.

As he entered, she thrust the sharp point of the crystal stem at his neck. She’d read him correctly as humanoid. So the carotid was where it should be. He was definitely the right coloring and size for a Prime male, but softer. Not a warrior. Another advantage for her.

Her movement attracted his attention and he turned to grab her. She automatically adjusted and kept her forward motion. Her weapon connected with the target; she dragged the sharp crystal across his artery. Blood spurted, hitting her and covering a wide arcing area. Definitely arterial spray.

She’d hit it perfectly, but he kept coming.

Why in the hell didn’t he drop?

Stumbling, she managed to get around him into the hallway. He grabbed the left sleeve of her robe and hung on. She swiped the point of the crystal across the back of his hand. He roared in pain and threw a lucky punch that hit her in the jaw.

She fell back against the wall opposite the doorway of the room she’d just left. Still spraying blood, but with a lesser force, he dropped to the floor. Her would-be assassin now attempted to hold in the blood surging from his body. The blood pulsed out of the jagged wound more slowly now as his heart shut down.

If she could’ve caught her breath, found her voice, she would’ve told him that it was a lost cause. Nothing short of immediate emergency surgery and lots of units of blood could save him now.

His furious gaze focused on her as the life bled out of him. His mouth contorted into snarl, but no sounds ever made it past his lips. He slumped to the floor. Dead.

With a moaning sigh, Mel slid to the floor, landing on her butt and leaning against the wall. She focused her bleary gaze on his now sightless one. She’d won; he’d lost.

The sound of thudding footsteps and Wulf’s much-beloved roar sounded in her ears as she finally allowed the drug do what it was designed for and put her to sleep.

* * * *

On the way from the Tooh seaport to the spa

“Can’t this vehicle go any faster?” Wulf rasped, as they raced from the marina to the resort spa.

He’d monitored Melina’s physical and mental status ever since her telepathic cry for help. She was weaker now than before. Even the battle-mate connection wouldn’t be able to keep her conscious much longer.

And the danger was real and imminent. He read through their link that the assassin was close to finding her hiding place.

His body grew cold at the evil he sensed. His mate had downplayed the danger to herself with her usual courage. But it was there.

“Something has to be done about the rebels,” he growled. “We can no longer discount their movement. They have money and inside connections. They’ll not stop until they kill us and anyone who supports the policy to reach out to other humanoid races.”

“Maren understands this, Wulf,” Huw said from the rear seat. “Father and the Council will be made to understand. A report from you and Melina will help, since you’ve had to battle the fanatics personally. With your battle-mate connection fully formed, you have touched their minds. This will hold much sway with the Council.”

“And serve to endanger my mate even more. They will stop at nothing to kill the only known battle-mate.”

His brothers’ grim expressions proved the truth of his conclusions. Melina would be the prime target of the fanatical rebels. Never mind that she was of the pure blood they professed to desire; she was also the symbol of the alliance with the rest of the galaxy.

“Dammit, drive faster, Iolyn.”

“Hold on, Wulf,” Iolyn said. “We’re almost there. We’ll beat Maren and the Alliance Military unit by minutes.”

“She doesn’t
have
minutes.” Wulf stiffened. “He’s attacking now!” He roared with frustrated anger and pounded his fist against the dashboard of the ground transport.

“What’s happening?” Huw shouted, his hand grasping Wulf’s shoulder.

“Melina has stabbed him in the carotid with a wine glass stem,” rasped out Wulf.

“He’s pursuing—Damn, he hit her … he’s weakening, falling, bleeding out.” Exhaling loudly, he relaxed under Huw’s grasping fingers, his shoulders slumping as the tension seeped out of his body. “He’s dead. The immediate danger has passed. My brave
gemate
has once again shown what a warrior she is.”

Wulf’s body trembled with relief and the aftermath of the overwhelming fear. He vowed that never again would this be allowed to happen. He’d never let her out of his sight again.

“
Ansu bhau
,” he swore. “I should’ve been with her.” Huw sighed and patted his brother’s shoulder. “Melina wouldn’t like it if you hovered.”

“Tough,” he growled. “She can learn to live with it.”

“Melina?” Iolyn urged. “How is she?”

“The drug has taken effect. She wasn’t successful in purging all of it from her system.” Wulf shook off post-adrenaline exhaustion. “She’s unconscious. But fine.” Iolyn pulled the vehicle into the drive of the building holding the spa. Sirens from the military police could be heard in the distance.

Wulf was out of the vehicle before it had rocked to a stop. Huw and Iolyn were on his heels as he shoved into the building, roaring Melina’s name even though he knew she was unconscious. He unerringly found his way to where she’d fallen, following the mental map she’d provided of the spa.

She lay in a heap on the cold, white marble floor, her robe gaped to display an overly large amount of creamy white skin.

“Avert your eyes, brothers,” he snarled. He knelt by her side and pulled the lapels of the robe over her cleavage, then closed the garment about her legs.

With gentle fingers he examined the bruise on her face. She looked so small and delicate. The fact that she had once again defeated a male larger and stronger than she amazed and humbled him.

“But, dammit she shouldn’t have to,” muttered Wulf under his breath.

The sound of men entering the spa echoed down the hallway. “Handle the police,” he ordered his brothers. “Send a medic as soon as one arrives. I’m taking Melina someplace more comfortable.”

Without waiting for their response, he dead-lifted Melina into his arms then stood up.

Cradling her against his chest, he strode away from the bloody scene. He entered a large dimly lit room, then placed her on a massage table, carefully arranging her body so she’d be comfortable. After covering her with several fleecy blankets he found on a shelf, he pulled a chair to sit next to her.

He drew her right hand from under the covers and held it between his, chafing away the cold, rubbing away the imprint of the base of the glass that she’d held so tightly. He’d ask for the piece of crystal. He wanted to keep it; it had saved her life. No,
she
had saved her life, with her improvisation. Her coolness under pressure. Her training. Her reaching out to him for support—as any battle-mate would do.

She was his little warrior—and she meant more than the universe to him.

Huw was correct: Melina wouldn’t want him to hover, to surround her with too many safeguards. But it was so tempting, especially when set against the knowledge he could not survive without her. He kissed the hand he held, rubbing it against his cheek.

“I love you, Melina mine,” he whispered, choking back unaccustomed tears. His woman scared the living daylights out of him, she was too courageous.

Maren rushed into the room, his concern for his niece broadcasting loudly in the area. “How is she?”

“Unconscious,” Wulf murmured. “I sense the drug was an anesthetic of some sort.

She’s breathing normally. Her body has already gotten rid of most of it. This is just the aftermath.”

Wulf turned angry eyes toward the older man. “Who was the
apayebo
?” Maren sighed. His ghost pale face looked every single one of his sixty standard years. “It was another one of Darga Caradoc’s sons, Uly.”

“Uly? Wasn’t he a history professor?” Wulf’s brow creased with shock and disbelief.

“Yes.” Maren pulled up another chair and joined Wulf’s vigil by Melina’s side. “At the university.”

Wulf shook his head sadly. “Why?”

Maren shrugged. “Who knows how the rebels recruit the fanatics? The fact your father’s family line has produced several of the rebels, albeit not in the direct bloodline, is disturbing.”

“Melina thinks that there is more to this rebellion than just the spouting of the pure blood philosophy. What do you think?”

“I think your mate is probably correct in her conclusion,” Maren said. “Especially when they can recruit a pragmatic academic like Uly who knows that Prime blood has commingled with every humanoid species in the galaxy for eons, and that the last two centuries plus of isolationism was out of character for our people.” Wulf had learned, as all Prime youngsters had, that the DNA of the Caradoc family, or of any Prime family line, would show intermingling with Terran, Volusian and a few other humanoid bloodlines going back a few millennia. There was not a habitable planet in the Milky Way that hadn’t been explored by their Prime ancestors. Many of those explorers had brought back mixed humanoid children—or left them on the planets they had visited to add the Prime DNA into the planet’s particular bloodlines.

No Prime was a pure blood; it was a convenient fiction the purists used to promote nationalism.

“So, what are they after?” mused Wulf as he absently massaged Melina’s palm with his thumb.

“Power, most likely,” a soft, tired voice whispered. “Although those first two traitors I met—Prolow and Ullyn—really seemed to believe in the pure blood nonsense. Stupid dupes.”

“Gemate lubha
!” breathed Wulf, as he bent over and kissed her. “You scared me, little one.”

“Sorry,” she tried to smile, “I didn’t plan this, you know.”

“I know,
lubha.
I know.” He kissed her once again. “I’m so sorry you’ve been drawn into this mess with the rebels.”

“Not your fault.” She yawned. “Uncle Tor, we’ll need to keep a close eye on the guests tonight. When I appear, alive and well, we might be able to read the emotions of any other rebels in attendance. Then we can have them followed and start rooting out their contacts.”

“We’re not going tonight!” Wulf said, a don’t-mess-with-me tone in his voice. “It is too dangerous.”

“We’re going,” she said, glaring at him. “You’ll be by my side—and we, as a team, will be strong. Not too many know about our abilities at this point, Wulf. We need to take advantage where we can.”

“She’s right, Wulf,” Maren said. “I don’t like it any better than you. But if we could start to trace connections, we have a better chance of figuring out who is behind this mess.”

Wulf glared at both of them, then shook his head. “I don’t like it—and if there were any other way … well, there isn’t.” He let out an angry snort. “We need to get a handle on this sooner, rather than later. I want to be able to go about without worrying that my mate is a target for a terrorist group and their hirelings.” Melina turned her hand within his and pulled it to her cheek, cradling it. “I’ll stay by your, Maren’s, or your brothers’ sides the whole evening. I promise.” She pulled his hand to her mouth and licked the inside of his wrist. The warm moisture made him shudder, reminding him of how her mouth had felt upon his body, of how she completed him. He’d protect her in spite of herself. He couldn’t lose the joy, the sense of belonging she gave him.

She whispered throatily, “Besides, you did want to see me in that dress and the other stuff you bought me, didn’t you?”

“It is my greatest wish,” he whispered as he leaned over to kiss her once more.

That and keeping you alive
.