Winter's Kiss (19 page)

“Put me down,” she said and he did. His hands claimed her waist to steady her when she wobbled and she smiled in gratitude. “The horse.”

She went to go to Demeter to untie her but Winter placed his hands on her shoulders and then walked past her. Her gaze followed him as he walked to the horse, took hold of the reins and led Demeter back to her.

“Up you go,” he said and she opened her mouth to say that he should ride too but before she could get the words out, he had lifted her onto the saddle. She looked down at him. “I will walk. Are you feeling better?”

Nika nodded for what seemed like the millionth time. She did feel better. The sickness was gone and she felt normal again, or at least as normal as she got these days. He nodded back at her and she could see in his eyes that he was pleased that she was in control again and no longer in any danger. Were the men right? Had she been on the verge of changing into a wolf because of her anger and her desire to kill them? She shuddered at the thought of transforming and killing. In that moment, she had felt as though she had no control of herself. If she had changed, she felt sure she wouldn’t have been able to stop herself from attacking and possibly killing the men who had hurt her and Winter.

Winter.

She looked at him, not convinced that he was fit to be walking. Cuts peppered his face and neck, and she could see gashes in the arms of his shirt.

“Winter?” she whispered as they followed the four werewolves out of the clearing and into the trees. He looked up at her. “I don’t like this place.”

“I will not let anything happen to you, Nika. There is nothing to fear. You need rest and I must heal. We have no choice but to go with them.”

She frowned at the four men walking in front of her. Winter wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She sincerely believed that. But Winter wouldn’t be around for much longer to protect her. What happened then? Was he really going to leave her in a place like this, with people who had tried to kill her? Was he really going to leave her?

Hanging her head forwards, she stared blankly at her hands as they grasped the saddle’s horn. They blurred and she discretely sniffed back the tears. She had told Winter that she had wanted one moment of pure fantasy with him, and that it would be enough. It wasn’t and the distance between them now felt greater than ever, leaving her cold and numb.

Her hand idly rubbed her throat, massaging the soreness away as she lost herself in her thoughts. She coughed to clear it but it still ached. She could feel it bruising. How long would bruises take to heal now? She had healed a broken leg in a matter of days. Bruises probably wouldn’t pose much of a problem for her.

The horse came to a halt and she wearily raised her head. In front of her was a large building. It looked like a castle, with a dark crenellated facade and arched windows. There were large sections of wall missing from one side and rubble littered the ground there.

“What happened here?” Winter said, voicing the question that had been going around her mind.

She looked at the man who had choked her. He seemed to have the most authority out of the four.

“We were attacked by zombies. My lord and lady have gone to see those who fight against this witch and aid her in her battle.” The man stepped towards them. “We received word from our lord no longer than an hour ago. He warned us of your arrival and I am afraid we did not extend you the courtesy he requested. I can only apologise for my men’s actions and hope you will choose to forgive us.”

Nika frowned at how worried the man looked. He wasn’t frightened of offending them with the attack so what had him scared and apologising? The thought of his lord’s anger at his failure to treat his guests well? No. Her eyes narrowed on the man. He feared a wrath more terrible.

He feared the Validus.

Holding her throat for comfort, she frowned at the man and said, “You do well to fear Winter’s lord. When he hears of this, he’ll kick your arse.”

The hoarseness of her voice made it sound like someone else’s. Winter looked up at her, a frown etched on his brow and concern in his eyes again. She read their question clearly.

“I’m alright,” she whispered with a croak. She rubbed her throat again. How long would it be before she could speak normally?

Winter’s eyes darkened.

She hoped it would be soon. Not for her sake, but for the man who had throttled her. Her strained voice was a
constant reminder
to
Winter
of what had happened while he had been unconscious. It would make him angry with the man whenever he heard it. It would make him want to fight, just as he wanted to fight Willem.

Staring into Winter’s eyes, she wondered if he really would have turned her if she had given him the chance. The thought that things could have been so different for them made her heart break and tears fill her eyes. She wanted the dream that he’d had for them—together for eternity as vampires. Reality was a cruel harsh place and she couldn’t help thinking about what might have happened if only either of them had done something differently or met sooner, or had more courage. If she had talked to him more, things might have moved swifter and he might have considered turning her earlier.

A tear tracked down her cheek. The cold air froze it against her skin.

Winter’s eyes lightened and worry echoed in them again. He raised his hand as though he was going to wipe away her tear and then clenched his hand into a fist and dropped it to his side. Her brow furrowed as he led the horse on and she looked at him. Another tear tumbled down her cheek. Winter turned his head to one side to look at the werewolves where they walked ahead of them. Nika slumped into the saddle, feeling useless and self-obsessed when she saw the tears in his eyes. She had never considered that his restraint around her pained him. Anger at the thought of him leaving and not understanding the laws that governed his species had clouded her judgement. She had thought he was being cruel by keeping his distance. In reality, he was being

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cruel by remaining with her so long. He was torturing himself. She closed her eyes and longed to reach out and comfort him, even though she knew it would only make things harder for him.

Winter was right.

This did hurt them both.

Hers wasn’t the only heart breaking here.

Winter remained close behind Nika as they followed one of the men through the castle. He had already assessed a few things about this man. He was a commander of these werewolves and he had been the one to hurt Nika. Her cautious air around the man and the way her hand remained on her dagger told him that.

“Allow me to apologise again,” the man said in a voice that held the apology he spoke of. Nika was right about him. It wasn’t his own lord he feared but rather Hyperion. These werewolves had sense at least. When Hyperion heard of the way they had treated him, he was liable to send ten Watchmen to kill every werewolf here. So far, they had passed at least thirty. He calculated there were probably no more than eighty in the castle. Yes, Hyperion would send ten Watchmen. Any more would be excessive. Winter had killed five werewolves before they had knocked him unconscious. There was a reason people feared the Watchmen and the name of Validus.

He grinned at the man, revealing sharp teeth. The man’s eyes widened marginally, enough that he noticed but not enough that Nika would sense the man’s weakness. He wanted her to. He wanted her to see that the man who had hurt her was no threat to him. If she commanded it, Winter would kill him for her.

Stepping around her, he glanced at her to catch her eye and then shot an
arm
out at the man. He hauled him around and slammed him into the grey stone wall, his fingers closing around the man’s throat, choking him as he had choked Nika. The man lashed out at him and Winter twisted one of the man’s arms to injure it and

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pinned the other against the wall. He raised the man off the floor by his neck, so his bulky frame dangled a foot above the tiles.

“Apologise to her,” Winter snarled and his eyes switched as he drew on all his remaining strength. The fight in the woods had weakened him. If it hadn’t, he would have demanded a one on one fight with this man as payment for their insolence.

“Winter?” Nika said, hesitantly stepping forwards.

“Apologise!” He slammed the man into the wall again, until he choked and his face turned red and blotchy.

“Sorry… I’m sorry. Forgive us.” The man gasped at air when Winter tightened his grip, displeased at the apology so far. “Forgive me! I mean… forgive me.”

“Winter,” Nika whispered and he slung the man to the ground with a growl.

Stalking over to him, he grabbed the tangled threads of the man’s shoulder length dark brown hair and hauled him to his knees. He turned the man to face Nika.

“Look at her and apologise.” Winter shook him violently. Nika’s hands covered her mouth, tears trembling on her lashes as her eyes widened to show the white all around her beautiful green irises. The dark purple bruising on her throat sent rage burning through his blood, filling him with a demand for vengeance. “Look at her!”

The
man
raised his head and
Winter
moved to
stand
to one side, so he could see the man’s face and know that he had seen what he had done to her. He had noticed that the man hadn’t looked at Nika since the attack in the woods. The man didn’t want to see what he had done to a woman.

The rage inside him was satiated slightly when the man stared at Nika and pain surfaced in his eyes. It wasn’t his
arm
or his throat or the
grip Winter
had on his hair that was hurting him. It was the knowledge that he had beaten a young woman and almost killed her, that even though he could have easily sensed that she was a werewolf from the scent of blood on her hand, he had blindly attacked her as though she was the enemy.

“Apologise,” Winter commanded and let the man go.

The man bowed his head and Winter was satisfied when he realised the man was trembling. Fear laced his blood. Winter grinned, triumphant.

“I am sorry. I disobeyed my lord’s wishes, the lord of Validus’s wishes and the rules of this house. For that, I will be punished. For you I have only an apology and a promise that this house will protect you, as my lord wishes.”

Nika only blinked in response. Winter studied her. Her scent subtly changed as her fear faded and when she looked at him, her heart was level again and a spark of desire ran through her blood. He walked over to her and stood beside her while looking down at the man.

“Your name?” he said.

The man stood slowly. “Mikael.”

“I apologise. Since the attack, my men have been on edge without their lord and lady. We have rooms ready for you. You must be tired.”

“Blood,” Winter said flatly and stared at the man. “Your mistress is a vampire, yes? Bring me blood.”

Winter’s hand went to his arm and he frowned when he felt the sticky liquid coating his shirt. Lifting Mikael off the ground had taken all of his remaining strength and had reopened the wounds on his arms. He tried to think whether any of the werewolves had bitten him but couldn’t concentrate with Nika so close. His teeth itched with the memory of how sweet her blood had tasted. His gaze slid to her neck.

He felt Mikael’s eyes settle on him and his guard go up. “I will get you blood. Please, follow me.”

The werewolf was right to be cautious. With the injuries he had sustained in battle, Winter would need human blood or strong blood. Nika’s wasn’t strong enough. Mikael’s might be. It would give him enough strength to start the healing process at least.

They passed through another room and in the corridor beyond two women waited. Their long flowing dresses hid their feet and they seemed to be floating as they nodded to him, Nika and Mikael, and then walked gracefully down the hall ahead of them.

This time Nika’s eyes were on him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and swore her irises were a little greener. She had no reason to be jealous. He had been alone for over three hundred years and had eyes for only one woman—her. None of these women could compare to her beauty. They couldn’t make him feel like she did.

He hadn’t felt this way about anyone in all his life as a vampire.

“They will take it from here,” Mikael said with a stiff bow, his voice hoarse and deeper than it had been before Winter had throttled him. “I must attend to my men and answer my lord to say that you have arrived.”

Winter watched him go, relieved to see the back of him. The man was strong. He would prove useful in protecting Nika from Willem, but he had shaken his trust and Winter doubted that he could allow the man to go near Nika now, especially when it came to battle. She wouldn’t trust him. This was going to make things difficult.

The women led the way to two rooms. When they suggested that Nika stay in the first while they showed Winter to the other one, Nika grabbed his hand. He looked at her and then at the women.

“You may show me to my room later. I must attend to Nika’s injuries.”