Pursuing Paige (6 page)

Magica hunters
were growing nearer and nearer their territory. Torrent speculated
that their mage protectors were endangered, that something was
happening to put their shields in jeopardy. Kaiden wanted to return
to Paige, but he couldn’t. Not now. Not while the hunters were
growing so perilously close to discovering the whereabouts of the
Lycaon.

Something was
up, something bad.

“Where is
Kaiden right now, do you think?” asked Paige, as she stood at the
window and gazed out at the chilly world.

It had grown
colder on their way home from the village. All the parts of her
body that had been touching Jarek had stayed warm, but the rest of
her had nearly frozen to death. When they’d reached home, Jarek had
lit fires in every fireplace in the house.

“He’s probably
settling down for the night, unless there are any threats. He’s in
wolf form. Of that I’m certain.”

“Why?”

“Wolf bodies do
much better sleeping on the cold, hard ground, believe me.”

She touched the cool
pane of glass. It made sense that Kaiden slept in wolf form for
better protection, yet she still worried about him.

Turning from the
window, she went to the table and piled a plate with the cheese,
bread and cuts of meat that Jarek had set out for their light
dinner, and then went to sit in front of the fire. “Who are these
Magica mages, anyway?”

As Jarek moved around
the room, he snorted. “Dangerous, fearful people who carry a
grudge. The Lycaon were wronged by the Magica, there can be no
dispute on that point, yet we were ready to find peace with them
centuries ago. Generations have passed,
hundreds
of
generations, since the original conflict. War is tiring and taxing
for both sides and we’re sick of it. We want to let them be, but
they won’t let
us
be.”

“Surely not all the
Lycaon feel that way.”

He shook his head. “Of
course we’re not all of one mind. There are pockets of hot-heads
who hate just as much as the Magica. There are some who want to
take the offensive, instead of the defensive. These Lycaon believe
we’re weak not to mount attacks against the Magica. The governing
body, however, is in accord.
Peace.
That’s what the majority
of those in governance would prefer, but it’s something we may
never see in our lifetimes.”

She munched a piece of
cheese. “It’s sad. I don’t understand the mentality of the
Magica.”

“They fear. They fear
our power. They worry we will take them over. The Magica don’t
understand the basic nature of the Lycaon because they’ve never
taken the time to get to know who we are. They are a strict,
dogmatic people with authoritarian laws. They see us as wild
chaos.”

“And have you tried
diplomatic solutions? Sending a liaison to the Magica to talk out
your differences?”

“The ones we’ve sent in
the past we have never heard from again.”

Paige sighed and looked
away from him. “They sound like monsters.”

“Not all of them. And,
in the end, you can’t help the rest for fearing us. The propaganda
the Magica feed their people make
us
sound like monsters.
Talk to any mage and I’m sure they’d convince you that the Lycaon
need to be exterminated to the last infant.”

“I have the impression
the Magica are not so inclined to live in nature. You make them
sound—”

“More like your
culture? Yes. They are far more technologically advanced than we
are, but you must understand that we remain relatively tech-free by
choice. We’ve adopted some technology for energy, but that’s about
it.”

“Yes, no cell phones
here. I’ve noticed.” She smiled. “I’m going through
withdrawal.”

“Most of the technology
the Magica use is magick-based, which is another reason we can’t
adopt it. We have no magick other than what they gave us—magick
enough to shift. It’s a cold fact we dislike. The Magica created
us.”

“They created you, but
you’re your own race now.”

He nodded. “We do have
spies over there.”

“Spies? You mean you
have Lycaon who live among the Magica?”

“Yes. It’s important
for us to know what they’re up to. It’s a dangerous job and they
aren’t able to get back often to report. Usually, we select hawk
shifters for this. They travel easier and can get away faster, if
needed.”

“Yeah, well, don’t pick
my sister.”

Jarek just smiled. “I
love your protective nature. It’s a lot like my own.”

The word protective
made her think of someone. “What about that man we met in front of
the house,” she said, in between nibbles of cheese.

Jarek threw a log onto
the fire and looked up at her. “Torrent?”

“Torrent. You have very
strange names here. But, yes, I was thinking of him. What’s his
deal?”

He cocked his head to
the side and came to sit near her. “Deal? Do you mean you sensed
something off about him?”

“Not
off
,
exactly. Sad, I guess. I mean, I know there’s a crisis, but I felt
like there was something deeper going on there.”

“There is and you’re
not the only one to notice it. Most feel it coming from him.
Torrent is a good man, a good leader. I would have none other in
his place. However he has been denied the one thing that makes the
life of a Lycaon male complete. He’s been denied a mate.”

“A mate makes the
Lycaon complete?”

He nodded. “There are
few females here and our desire to love and cherish a mate is so
strong that a Lycaon male without a mate is a great tragedy.”

“That’s very different
from my culture. Why can’t Torrent find a woman?”

“He’s under a prophecy;
one that means his death one day soon. Because of this hard fact,
Torrent will never take a mate for himself.”

“What does the prophecy
say exactly?”

“It says that he will
be instrumental in helping the Lycaon free themselves from the
threat of the Magica, but he will die in the endeavor.”

“Wow, he’s all
sacrifice.”

“Torrent would give up
anything for his people, including his own life. He may not be able
to sacrifice the life of his mate, however, which is why he will
never take one.”

She played with the
edge of the blanket that wrapped her. “That’s really too bad. He
seems like a great guy. And what about you? What was it like
growing up here? Are your parents still alive?”

“They are. My parents
are incredible. My mother is mostly human, pulled over just like
you were. She and my father were both in governance when they were
younger, as I am now. I had no siblings. Life was good as a child.
They gave me a wonderful education, love, freedom to make my own
choices. I grew up very differently from Kaiden. He was largely
alone, but I had friends, family, and support.”

“Do they live in the
village?”

“My parents moved away
a few years ago. There is another Lycaon village about two hundred
miles from here, closer to the border of our territory. They went
to help against the Magica. I see them as often as I can. I hope
one day you’ll get to meet them.”

“If they raised a man
like you, they must be pretty great. So I guess Kaiden grew up
without parents from the way you speak.”

“Yes. He was raised by
my uncle, but because he was destined to become a hunter, he spend
most of his childhood secluded in the woods.”

“That sounds
rough.”

“I don’t think Kaiden
would have had it any other way. It suits his personality.”

“How did his parents
die?”

“His mother was Lycaon
born, a hawk, and was captured when Kaiden was a baby. His father
went to free her. It was a suicide mission and he knew it. He
should have stayed with his newborn son.”

Her blood ran chilly.
“Are hawks easier to catch than dire wolves for some reason?”

“Are you worried for
your sister?”

“Of course.”

“She’s an excellent
scout and flies better than most full blood Lycaon. Don’t worry
about her.”

“Not possible.”

“You two must have been
very close when you were growing up.”

She smiled. “Us three,
you mean, and, yes, we were. We’re only about a year apart in age.
Our parents got divorced when we were young and we had to endure
the untender mercies of a self-absorbed stepmother for our entire
lives.”

“What happened to your
mother?”

“She was out of the
picture early on. Parenting wasn’t a strong skill of hers.”

His lips twisted as he
rested his arm on top of the couch, clearly delineating the
incredible muscle of his upper body. “That’s odd. That never
happens here. Parents are so grateful to have their children that
they would never just walk away from them like that.”

“It gave us a few mommy
issues to be sure. Our stepmother tried, I’ll give her that, but
mothering wasn’t really her thing either. In any case, it made me
and my sisters very close.” Her throat closed up for a moment and
she cleared it. “That’s why I’m so worried about Caroline right
now.”

“The youngest sister,
the one who will be wondering where you’ve gone.”

“She’ll be frantic.
First Kaitlyn, now me.”

“Yet Caroline also
carries the seed of the Lycaon in her DNA. You and Kaitlyn have
been called over; I think it’s likely she will be too.”

“Maybe, and that’s a
maybe
, and when? In a year? Two, three years? How can she go
that long wondering where we’ve gone?” Caroline was the youngest,
and the strongest, of all of them. Still, it was agonizing knowing
what hell she was going through.

“I’m sorry this is
happening to her.”

“It’s not your
fault.”

“If there was something
I could do to ease your mind, I would do it.”

She grinned at him.
“Are you thinking you might get lucky again?”

He grinned back. “A man
can hope. One taste of you is not enough.”

She studied him,
thinking of how she’d felt with him back at the theatre. It hadn’t
been purely a physical thing—although that had been indescribably
awesome—it had gone deeper than that. Being intimate with Jarek had
made her feel safe, protected. She didn’t understand the how or the
why of that; she only knew it was true.

Setting her plate
aside, she slid into his lap. “I could say the same about you.”

He pulled her close and
kissed her forehead. Her body trembled with need for his touch,
whether it was sexual or simply caring. He wrapped his arms around
her and held her close. “I know you worry for your remaining
sister, but I’m selfishly happy you were pulled over.”

She’d be happier too,
if it wasn’t for Caroline.

Sighing heavily, she
dropped her head to his chest. “I’ve said more than one prayer for
both Kaiden and Caroline.”

“As have I.”

She wondered for a
moment who he prayed for, being originally a genetically engineered
being as he was. Then she remembered that she, too, was part Lycaon
and therefore also genetically engineered. “What god do you pray
to?” she murmured against his warm skin.

“The one who gave the
Lycaon souls, will and spirit. The one who gave us the power to
procreate. It wasn’t the Magica who did those miraculous
things.”

Smiling, she looked up
into his face. He lowered his mouth and kissed her slowly and
thoroughly, then lifted her to the thick, soft rug in front of the
fire. His mouth worked on hers as he sought to rid her
clothing.

She found the button
and zipper of his pants, but he batted her hands away and gave a
tiny, sexy little bite on her lower lip. “Kaiden is a much
different lover than I am, Paige. I think you should have a taste
of what he’s like before he gets back.”

“What do you mean?” her
voice came out breathless, since he’d yanked her leggings off and
was aggressively stroking her clit to exquisite sensitivity.

“His tastes are a
little rougher than mine. He’s more animal than I am.” His mouth
came down on hers and his tongue snaked between her lips, stealing
her thought for a moment.

“Rougher in what way?”
she finally asked.

He had her completely
naked now. He dropped his head to her nipples and tongued each of
them until she moaned. He raised his head. His eyes were dark with
lust. “I’ll show you just how. Go sit on that table over there and
spread your legs.” He jerked his head at a small table just left of
the fireplace.

She hesitated but the
look in his eyes promised intense pleasure and she was curious
about what he had in mind.

“Go on. Trust me.” He
stood and backed away from her.

She rose and walked to
the table. Locking gazes with him, she hopped onto it. The surface
was chilly on her bare bottom despite the warm fire. Her breathing
growing heavier with excitement, she scooted back until the table
edge fit right behind her knees, and then slowly spread her thighs
as far as they could go.

His gaze was hooded as
he walked toward her slowly, focused on her completely exposed
cunt. She responded to his gaze as though he stroked her with his
hand, her heart rate climbing upward and her pussy growing warm and
sensitive.

"Put your hands behind
you, palms flat. Arch your back. I want your breasts just as
exposed to me as your sweet cunt." His voice sounded harsh and
heavy with lust.

She placed her hands
behind her, forcing her spine to arch and her breasts to thrust
forward.

"Kaiden will want to
take you in ways like this. He will give you sexual commands and
want to be in control. He’ll want to tie you down so you can't move
then take you from behind.”

Her breath shuddered
out of her at the thought of Kaiden taking her from behind, her
wrists tied, while Jarek watched. It excited her beyond belief.
She’d never known she had a kinky side, but apparently it was alive
and well.