The Warrior Vampire (38 page)

“Okay, you can let him go now.” Naya slumped backward, one shaking arm bracing her. In an instant he was by her side and scooped her up into his embrace. “I'm okay.” Her words were meant to reassure, but her voice was weak. Quick, panting breaths rose and fell in her chest and she trembled in his arms. “Besides, I can't get too cozy. I still have to banish the mapinguari's essence and we need to make sure Luz is okay.”

What about making sure
she
was okay? “You're exhausted, love.” Ronan put his lips to her temple, her jaw just below her ear. In the pit of his gut the cold rose once again, but he forced it down. He refused to let that dark force control him when Naya needed him. “Rest. For a couple of minutes at least.”

“No rest for the wicked,” she said with a laugh. “There is one thing you could do for me, though.…”

Ronan smiled against her skin. Didn't she know he'd do
anything
for her? “Name it.”

She let out a shuddering breath. “I need a little of your blood to replenish my magic.”

Gods, how he loved an assertive female.

 

CHAPTER

33

“What my mate wants she gets.”

Ronan's voice was a sensual purr in her ears. Naya's stomach did a little flip despite her exhausted state. His pleasure radiated through their tether, leaving her warm and relaxed in his arms. Binding Paul had taken every last bit of energy in her stores and the night was far from over.

Ronan's smug satisfaction didn't go unnoticed. Until she'd met him, she'd never experienced the magic that could be harnessed through sex or blood. Ronan had given her both. Just like he claimed her blood was an elixir of life for him, his body, his blood, was a source of power for her. It seemed with each passing moment the universe was proving to her how perfect they were for each other. A fated match to be sure.

Tethered.

“You have to promise to behave yourself.” Ronan nuzzled just below her ear and inhaled deeply. They weren't clear of danger yet. It was
way
too early for him to get comfortable. “This is business. Not pleasure.”

“You've got that wrong, love.” Another delicious shudder rippled through her. “Because the business of nourishing my mate—giving her
whatever
she needs—is indeed a pleasure.”

Gods, he could crumble her resolve with nothing more than a few heated words. “Ronan.”

“Naya,” he replied in the same chiding tone.

She felt him smile against her skin and it caused her chest to swell with tender emotion. “Work first. Play later.”

His thumb brushed her jaw. “Promise?”

She smiled. “On my word.”

He refused to let her leave his lap as he scored his wrist and offered it to her. The moment was entirely too intimate for their current situation and audience, but Ronan didn't seem to care.

“Let him watch.” Ronan jerked his head to where Paul lay, immobile. “I want the world to know that you are mine, and I am yours. And that
anyone
who seeks to come between us will suffer for their efforts.”

Who could argue with that logic? Naya sealed her lips around Ronan's wrist and sucked. Before she met him, Naya never would have dabbled in blood magic, let alone taken blood straight from someone's vein. But with Ronan it was comfortable. A natural evolution of their bond. She was careful not to take too much. She needed to be stronger, not buzzed. The punctures closed as she pulled away and Ronan flashed a very male, very self-satisfied smile.

“Do you need to feed?” She could only imagine what having such dark magic inside of his body was doing to him.

“Later.” His brow furrowed as though in pain.

“Are you sure? We have time if you need—”

“Later, love.” Ronan smoothed her hair back and gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his silver-rimmed eyes. “Let's finish this, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Naya sighed. Still so much to do for so many. Could she come through for all of them?

With the mapinguari gone, containing the residual magic was an easier task than she thought it would be. Naya gathered it with the aid of her dagger and stored it within the gold box. Manny was shaken but otherwise unharmed. He muttered under his breath something about staying out of
bruja
business for a while, and though she didn't say anything, she definitely agreed with him. He took off toward the redwood where Ronan tended to Luz. Aside from a nasty bump on the head, she was going to be fine.
Thank the gods.

“Dude. I missed all of the action!” Luz wasn't so hurt that she couldn't let loose the snark. “The least you losers could have done was wake me up.”

“Don't get your panties in a bunch, Luz,” Naya said. Manny stepped in to help Luz to stand and supported her weight as he guided her back to where Paul lay. She let out a low whistle. That pretty much summed it up. “Because we're not even close to being done for the night.”

“All right then,” Luz said with
way
too much enthusiasm. “Let's get the show on the road.”

Ronan hauled Paul up and tossed him over his shoulder. He led the way down the foot trail with Naya following close behind and Luz and Manny bringing up the rear. There was no telling who else Paul might have corrupted, and they weren't out of the woods yet.
Heh
.

Naya had used every ounce of magic in her stores to bind her chieftain. And though she and Paul had their
many
disagreements, he was still the leader their pod looked to. His actions tonight would ripple throughout not only their pod but the entire Bororo. What in the name of the gods could have prompted Paul to allow himself to be corrupted by foreign magic?

Her gaze wandered to her fingertips and the sparkling light that clung to her skin. When she was a girl, she used to pray to the goddess to take away the music that never ceased in her ears, and instead make her stronger. She wanted to shift like Joaquin. To run at night in the forest, stretch her powerful legs. She wanted to hunt. To prowl. Naya wanted to be respected as a warrior.

Perhaps she hadn't been the only one in her tribe who wanted what they couldn't have.

“Luz, I need a truth powder. Do you have the ingredients to make one at your place?” It would save time if Luz could blend the powder rather than drive to Naya's house on the outskirts of town.

“I think so. I haven't made one since I caught Eric Randall stepping out on me a few years ago, though. Valerian doesn't have an expiration date, does it?”

Naya gave a little laugh. “You're not supposed to be using powders for your own personal use, Luz. Especially on human ex-boyfriends who don't know any better. But no, as long as it's dried, it's fine.”

“Not for personal use, huh?” Ronan piped in from the head of the line. “If I recall, a certain witch used a powder on me to make me nice and drowsy a couple of weeks or so ago.”

“Oh, snap!” Luz giggled. “Vamp boy's got you, Cuz.”

Har, har.
Whose side was Luz on, anyway? “When we get to town, go straight home. Make the powder and then get back to the main house ASAP. Got it?”

“Fine.” Luz's pouting tone would have made a four-year-old proud. “But once everything's wrapped up, you're totally spilling the sleeping-spell story.”

“You don't have to wait until later,” Ronan said. “I'll tell you all about it in the car.”

“Turncoat,” Naya mumbled under her breath.

Ronan chuckled. The sound of his amusement coaxed a grin to her lips. Damn it, she couldn't even bring herself to be mad.

Luz's 4Runner came in handy with their extra passenger. Ronan deposited the immoble Paul into the cargo area and climbed into the backseat.

“Are you okay to drive?” Naya was still a little wired, but she or Manny would probably be the better choice to hop behind the wheel.

“I'll drive.” Manny grabbed Luz's hand and led her around the front of the truck. “You need to sit and relax for a while.” Luz started to protest, but Manny shut her down. “Don't argue. Just do it.”

Naya had never seen Manny put her cousin in her place before. So either Luz was more addled than she'd let on or they truly did have feelings for each other. Either way, it was one for the record books.

The trip back to town passed in quiet reflection. Ronan sat still beside Naya, tension pulling every muscle in his body taut. He fought an internal battle. The sound of his music that vibrated through their tether was erratic, like an orchestra warming up before a performance. Neither sharp nor flat, the pitch was true. Simply … off.

Aside from banishing foreign magic to the gold boxes she turned over to the elders, Naya had no experience with it. She didn't study other supernatural races or their powers, nuances, individual magic. If what Ronan had been infected with had in fact come from Set's chest, perhaps it was safe to assume that it wouldn't transform Ronan into a mapinguari. The chest was a vampire relic; Ronan was a vampire. But if the legends were true, the chest contained a very intense power, very ancient magic. One that hadn't been in contact with any member of vampire-kind aside from Osiris, the rumored father of the vampire race.

She'd never felt so damned useless. So helpless. What if she couldn't do anything for Ronan? What if that power was doomed to live inside of him forever? Icy shards of dread speared Naya's chest. Reaching over, she took Ronan's hand in hers and squeezed. The reassurance was trite, but it was the only comfort she could offer him right now.

Hell, it was the only comfort she could offer herself when she was overcome with so much fear and uncertainty.

*   *   *

When Naya offered her vein to him, it had nearly snapped the meager control Ronan had on his composure. The darkness required blood. And though Ronan had taken care with his mate in all the times he'd fed from her, he worried that there would come a time that he would succumb to the urging voice of that darkness and drain her.

To be responsible for the death of his own mate—was there a worse torture to put upon himself?

Her touch was gentle, reassuring, as she gripped his fingers and gave a light squeeze. When it came to relics, Chelle was the expert. In all of their adventures, Ronan's role had been that of the muscle and little else. His knowledge was minimal; he'd only ever learned what pertained directly to whatever treasure they happened to be hunting. The only dhampir with more knowledge of vampire lore and legend was Siobhan, and Ronan would cut his own throat before he'd ask that viperous female for help.

“What do we do with Paul once we get to the house?” Luz's voice broke the tense silence. “There's a hunting party out right now searching for your vampire so they can get their hands on that hundred pieces of gold. The entire block is going to be like a ghost town when we roll up. Sort of defeats the purpose of turning Paul over to the elders in dramatic fashion, don'tcha think?”

“I doubt we'll have to call in the troops,” Ronan remarked as they rounded the corner that began the block of buildings that the pod occupied. “Looks like they're already here.”

“Shit.”

Naya's sentiment echoed Ronan's thoughts exactly. Naya and Luz were technically keeping company with the enemy and they currently had the pod's leader bound and tossed in the back of the truck, looking very much like a hostage. Assumptions would be made and there wouldn't be a damned thing anyone could to do sway the elders' minds. “What do you want to do?” Ronan asked Naya.

“How do you feel about letting me tie you up?”

The sparkle in her dark eyes set Ronan's blood aflame. He flashed her a smile despite the seed of anxiety that took root deep in the pit of his gut. Being bound definitely triggered his fight-or-flight instincts—mostly fight—and he worried that it might wake the darkness that he'd managed to quell. “You're thinking that if they perceive me as a prisoner it'll buy you time?”

“More or less. It's our best shot at this point.”

He could definitely see the merit in her plan. “No silver.”

Naya's gaze dropped. “It'll be suspicious otherwise.” If she bound him with silver, it would weaken him and he'd be unable to protect her if Naya's plan went south. Ronan ground his teeth and the tips of his fangs nicked his bottom lip. He swiped out with his tongue and licked the blood away. “I'm sorry, Ronan. I don't know another way.”

“I have a pair of gold cuffs in my glove box,” Luz offered. They were approaching the house and needed to act quickly. “If they think he's been tainted by magic, gold would be what you'd use, right?”

Interesting.
Up until now, Ronan hadn't considered the possibility that gold might contain the magic inside of him. He looked at Naya, his brows raised in question.

“Taking prisoners into custody isn't exactly part of the job description, if you know what I mean.” Naya spoke for Ronan alone as he bent her head close to his. “But since gold is a conduit for magic, the cuffs will hold a charm. Paul has asked me on occasion to charm gold cuffs for the elders to use if one of the male members of the pod has committed some sort of offense. It prevents them from shifting. No one should know that gold doesn't disable vampires in the same way. You're sort of a rare breed, you know.”

Naya winked and it coaxed a smile to his lips. “Let's do this, then.” He held out his hands to her palms up. “I'm your prisoner.”

Her gaze heated and she didn't look away as Luz handed her the cuffs from the glove box. With the gentlest of touches, she secured the wide bands of gold around each of Ronan's wrists. When she finished, she bent over him and kissed the gold. “I'm your prisoner, too.”

“Gag.” Luz shifted in her seat to turn and look at Naya. “Time to ditch the love-struck routine and get your badass bitch face on,
chica
. And you'd better make it convincing, because Joaquin just showed up.”