Bitten (4 page)

Her stomach quivered. She couldn't escape the sense that this lady prepared to serve her up as the night's sacrifice.
Except I'm hardly a virgin, and she doesn't seem the type.

The stately noblewoman swung the door open on creaking hinges. "After you."

Amelia paused, hesitant to bound inside in her usual reckless, headstrong manner. What would happen? Would they punish Ebenoral and her for their passionate adventure the previous night?

"Oh, good Lord, Lady Fairforth. We don't bite." Lady Grauwolf brushed past then pointed at a bench next to the door. "Sit there. I'll call you when we need you."

Need me? For what?
Amelia settled uneasily onto the seat and scanned the cavernous chamber. It had rounded, gray stone walls seeping water from cracks. A vaulted roof led to a high window where moonlight shined in.

Finely attired nobility stood in a circle at the center where Ebenoral and Youel faced one another. Their hate-filled stares and bared teeth hardly spoke to a malevolent rage emanating from them like heat.

Amelia stood. She wanted to Youel to hurt, too. The rake had proven his strength against her already, however. She sat once more, a begrudging sigh escaping her lips.

"My nephew, it seems, has been less than discreet," said Lady Grauwolf, her voice echoing a bit. Assenting nods and murmurs met her declaration.

"Nonsense!" Youel's head snapped around, and he growled at his aunt.

"Murderer," said an older gentleman, his white hair with gray at his temples lending him a distinguished look.

"What's this all about?" Ebenoral glanced at Lady Grauwolf then toward Amelia. His forehead wrinkled on a frown.

She jerked as a spark of sheer lust careened inside her belly.

Everyone looked her way, as though they knew what had just occurred.

"She's mine," said Youel. He stepped into a thick beam of moonlight and shook himself like a wet dog. "I brought her here."

Lie!
A tremendous power in the chamber electrified the air around her, stifling her shout before it could form. Amelia gripped the edge of her seat. The charge she'd sensed while leaving the mountain range yesterday was about to detonate.

Lady Grauwolf's eyes narrowed and she stepped into the circle. "Every move you've made has been calculated, Nephew. You're entirely too transparent. We all know you're vying for the throne."

Youel stood tall, his glowing red eyes sharp. "I'm the logical choice. I'm a member of an originating family. I have superior strength. And I summoned our queen." He cut his poisonous gaze at Amelia.

Amelia bolted to her feet on a gasp.
Queen? Was that what he said? Of me?
They needed to call her. She had a few words to say about these revelations. Her mind reeled. She pinched her arm and half expected to wake in her bed in Chichester, where she'd have a good laugh about it with her maid then go for an exhilarating horseback ride. But she was already awake.

* * * *

I'll kill you.
Ebenoral took a menacing step toward his new nemesis. He didn't care that Youel had clearly been a werewolf longer than he. He also didn't care that he hadn't yet tested his own strength. Youel Grauwolf wanted to claim
his
woman, and he'd prevent it, even if it meant his death.

He glanced at his beautiful lady. Anger glinted in her large blue eyes and tightened her mouth – exactly what he expected from the virgin who'd faced a deadly beast in the night and laughed
.

Energy coursed through him. This monster would never lay a hand on her again. Then the accusations registered. Murderer. Calculating.

He turned on Lord Grauwolf. "It was you," he asserted. "You're responsible for the killings in Schwarzberg."

* * * *

Youel retreated a step. "So what if I am? We're growing in number. Game is getting scarce."

"Untrue!" called someone in the circle.

"Plenty for all," shouted a woman.

Amelia took a step forward. The threat of violence hung heavy over the chamber. Her heart shuddered and her stomach dropped. She hated her helplessness, but what could she do?

Ebenoral took another step, which placed him in the moonlight Youel had occupied a moment earlier. "You killed a
man.
" He growled, showing teeth lengthening by the second. "We hunted
you
."

"Calculated," snapped Lady Grauwolf. "You manipulated our leaders into a hunt. A trap."

Youel raised his chin a notch, not taking his eyes from Ebenoral. "How else could I create a vacancy on the throne?"

"A vacancy you plan to fill with your own cold-blooded, murderous hide," said Lady Grauwolf. The woman's nose crinkled as her lip curled.

"My father." Ebenoral stood tall and cast his gaze at the faces forming the circle. "You're all like me, and my father was your king." His voice grew louder, deeper, more animal. "Nobody ever thought I might need to know any of this?"

"You would've been told at the time of your turning," said Lady Grauwolf. "Youel turned you before the allotted time."

"Not that it was my intention." Youel sneered. "You were supposed to die."

Ebenoral's face took on an unnatural brown tinge, and the glow in his eyes went from orange to red. "You killed my father, and you meant to kill me!"

"How else was I to clear my path to the throne? You weren't supposed to fight back, much less get away."

Ebenoral emitted a feral roar and transformed. Amelia gasped. Her hands shook, and she fisted them as her legs gave out. She collapsed onto the bench. His clothing shredded, and the circle widened.

Lady Grauwolf squatted, her blue evening gown pooling on the stones. Then she leaped in a single move to a shelf high on the far wall. "The issues have been addressed, and now justice will be dealt. The strongest and the fittest will prevail."

What kind of primitive nonsense was this? Amelia wanted to shout. She'd never felt so at a loss. As a human among super-humans, however, what recourse did she have?

What if Youel was stronger and fitter? He'd killed their king, after all. If he defeated Ebenoral, would he then become king?

And what did it mean for her? She understood from their discussion that she was the next queen. Could she decline? No matter what they said or did, she'd never be anything to Youel Grauwolf. She'd kill him herself if he ever tried to bed her. Somehow, she'd find a way. She clutched the bench and dug her fingernails into its old wood.

Youel morphed as quickly, his rich suit instantly a scattering of rags. His black fur shined blue where moonlight reflected, and his white canines dripped spittle as he bared his teeth and growled.

He sprang and twisted on a snarl. His front legs gripped Ebenoral's ribs. His teeth sank into his thick, brown ruff.

Amelia screamed. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Her sexy wolfman was supposed to win. Frantic, she scanned for a weapon. The chamber was bare.

"Do something!" Why didn't anyone help? How could they idly watch when Youel hadn't even denied accusations of premeditated murder?

Her brain felt ready to explode, but it offered no solutions. No ideas for action she could take. If she entered the fray, those gnashing teeth would tear into her. Sharp toenails would shred her. But how could she sit by.

Ebenoral yelped as Youel bit his shoulder.

Near to tears, Amelia trembled. Her stomach roiled, and she swayed under a wave of nausea. Then it hit her.

Lady Grauwolf had said she could smell my arousal.
That was it. If Youel wanted her so badly, maybe the scent of her juices would distract him enough to give Ebenoral a chance. Her breathing quickened and her muscles flexed, ready to send her to her feet. But she hesitated.

What if she distracted the man she loved? She could never live with the fact that she'd caused his demise. Nearly as quickly as the idea occurred to her, however, she dismissed it. He needed her to do this, and he'd know what to do the moment he had his opportunity. She sensed it in him. Trusted him.

Closing her eyes, she pictured him atop her in the glade. How he'd made a show of teeth. How he'd growled low and stared her in the eyes.

Her thighs went soft. A gentle throbbing began.

His transformation into a hard, virile man. His kiss. His tongue.

The throbbing intensified.

His hand on her breast. His teeth sending pleasure-pain into her nipple.

She cupped her breast at the memory. Her mouth opened on an inhale.
Yes.

Moisture seeped from her hungry opening, soaking her panties and coating her crease.
Ebenoral. I need you inside me.

The chamber went silent for a two-second count. Amelia opened her eyes to find every eye in the place on her. She found Ebenoral's stare and raised encouraging eyebrows.

He blinked then whirled into action. He had Youel belly-up on the ground in an instant. He sank his teeth into the black wolf's vulnerable throat, and blood oozed onto the stones.

"Kill him," cried Lady Grauwolf from her perch.

Amelia stared, stunned. The lady had shown her nephew to be cold-hearted. It apparently ran in the family.

No.
Ebenoral released Youel and stood away. His chest heaved as he eyed the downed wolfman. His panting, canine mouth didn't move, but his thoughts reached everyone in that room.
Get up and slink away. I'm better than you, but know that if I ever see you in the Rift River Valley, or learn that you've committed another murder, I won't hesitate to kill you.

Amelia wanted to run and put her arms around him. He was a beast. No doubt about it. Yet he still showed more humanity than many mere men she knew.
I love you.

Youel rolled but stayed low, his tail tucked and his ears down. Ebenoral turned her way, and the black wolf pounced. She screamed, running to his defense.

Ebenoral crouched then tumbled sideways. The move dislodged Youel. Amelia came to a skidding halt short of the circle. Ebenoral attacked Youel, gouged an eye, sending him to the ground. This time, he didn't hold back. His vicious roar resounded in the chamber as he tore into the black wolf, ripping out his throat.

Some in the circle threw back their heads and howled. Youel slumped. The stones ran red with his blood, and he slowly reassumed his human form. A corpse.

Amelia swallowed against another wave of nausea. She averted her gaze. When she had the strength to look, Ebenoral had shed his wolf form. Lady Grauwolf draped a shimmering green cloak over his shoulders, and he tied it closed. His features were shuttered, but Amelia read repulsion in his energy. It radiated off him like heat. He hated what Youel had forced him to do. That he despised it made her love him all the more.

As if he read her mind, he lifted his gaze and stared at her. Then he held out a hand to her.

Lady Grauwolf called, "Come, Lady Fairforth. It's time for you to take your true place."

Chapter Six

As moonlight poured through the ceiling's sky window, her fair loveliness struck Ebenoral as ethereal. It made him forget the pain of his wounds, if only for a moment. Everything he'd gone through for the past two months seemed unreal, dreamlike. Everything except her. She brought it all into sharp reality. She made it believable.

"Who are you?" he asked, mesmerized by her sparkling eyes.

"Amelia," she said quietly, taking his hand.

The pack circle broke. Some dragged Youel away while others clustered around the chamber.

"Amelia." He liked the feel of her name on his tongue. "You're mine," he said, embarrassed a bit by the possessiveness in his tone.

"I know." She smiled gently. "You're mine, too."

He liked the idea. "I am?"

She nodded. "The moment you gave me this." She slid her sleeve from her shoulder to reveal his bite mark – just a bruise now. "Lord Grauwolf said he'd brought me here, but he didn't.
You
did. I was yours before I even met you. And now, you're mine, too. There's no going back."

He nodded. He'd miss his father, but this was his destiny.
She
was his destiny. He felt it, understood it, down deep to his very bones.

"The bonding." Lady Grauwolf came near and touched a fingertip to the mark. She sent him an astonished look, which went sad. "I'm sorry you had to kill my nephew. It had to be done."

He nodded.

"I'd hoped your father would handle it in Schwarzberg."

"Youel was extremely powerful." Ebenoral squeezed Amelia's hand. "If Lady Fairforth hadn't created such a remarkable diversion, I might not be standing here victorious."

"Indeed. Remarkable." The lady offered Amelia a small smile. "But Lord Malveaux, you were born to lead us." She adjusted Amelia's sleeve into place. "And, my dear, you were born to be our queen. You would've prevailed. You had to. That you worked together to make it happen proves your bond is the strongest yet."