Blind Hearts and Silenced Passion (9 page)

Baqir started to move in and out of him, and Remy had a flash
of realization, understanding that his mate was just as lost in this as him.
After that, everything was instinct, the push, the glide of flesh, their bodies
moving against one another, coming together. Somehow, even if they hadn't fully
taken their clothes off, it was perfect. Soon, Remy couldn't focus enough to
cover his mouth anymore. Perhaps he couldn't bring himself to care, not when
his mate could find a much better use for his mouth.

At some level, Remy knew carnal satisfaction would never
suffice. This awareness lay thick and heavy between them, their kisses and
touches electric, charged with a sensual tension that made every breath a challenge,
a sweet burden that buried them in a world of their own making.

Instinct made him tilt his head back and offer himself to his
mate. This time, Baqir didn't hesitate. He simply struck, burying his fangs in
Remy's throat. Orgasm swallowed Remy whole, so intense it went beyond simple,
physical pleasure.

There was just so much to process, too many emotions, too
many memories, blending together in an overwhelming whirlpool that consumed
them both. The pain they'd buried deep inside resurfaced like a dark specter,
and Remy flashed through moments of Baqir's life as a silencer, how and why it
had begun, what Baqir had been forced to do, and how difficult some of those
things had been. It blended with the recollections of Remy's time without his
eyesight, and it would have been so easy to lose himself in it, so easy for his
mind to break under the weight of the bond he'd waited for what seemed like
forever. But the pain coupled with the emotions burning new through them, with
hope, love and desire, weaving a golden bond that glowed between them like a
bridge. They were neither blind nor silenced, not anymore. They were simply...
one.

Their wolves met in the center of it, nipping at one another
playfully before they too blended in the nature of their mental link. A voice
echoed in Remy's mind, or maybe in his heart.
"Mine. My mate."

Remy couldn't have stayed silent if he'd wanted to. It was
too natural to reach out, to brush Baqir's mind with his own.
"Yes.
Yours."

He felt Baqir's knot swell inside him again, keeping them
bound together, and he was thankful for it, because he wasn't willing to give
this up just yet. It was the closest he'd ever been to another person, and the
intensity of it humbled him.

They held onto one another for a while longer, floating in the
pleasurable haze. It couldn't last, though, and when they returned to reality,
Remy was incredibly jarred. The space in the bathroom seemed far too small to
contain what they'd just shared.

Baqir's knot retreated and he slid out of Remy, leaving him
feeling empty. His mate didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Remy knew
Baqir's feelings of self-loathing wouldn't vanish just like that, so he brushed
one last kiss over Baqir's lips and threaded their fingers together. His hand
came away wet and stained with blood.

For the first time, he realized Baqir had covered his mouth,
which was fortunate, given how loud he must have been. Remy had probably bitten
into his palm and broken the skin. Remy analyzed Baqir's hand, but he could see
no sign of the injury—it had already healed. "Sorry about that," he
said nonetheless. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Baqir snorted. "You're kidding, right? I think it's only
fair."

Maybe it was, given that Baqir had claimed Remy through a
bite. Just the same, Remy still intended to fully reciprocate. "Well,
prepare yourself. Next time, I'll be the one doing the claiming."

Baqir made a noise that sounded like he was in pain.
"Careful there, love, or we might keep the bathroom busy even longer. I
think we're already testing the patience of our flight attendants."

Baqir was right, so Remy did his best to clean up. They
managed well enough, better than expected, in fact. His shirt had suffered most
from their impromptu romp, since he'd ejaculated all over it, but Baqir offered
Remy his jacket to cover the wet spot. They were still ruffled and obviously
post-coitus, but at least, they were reasonably decent.

When they stumbled out of the bathroom at last, they ran
straight into a flight attendant who seemed to have been listening in. She
glowered at them, and Remy remembered that, as of late, airplane companies no
longer viewed lavatory sex as harmless fun. They could even get arrested for
it, which, come to think of it, would be a very stupid way to blow their cover.

"Please refrain from occupying the bathroom for long
periods of time, gentlemen," the flight attendant said bitingly.
"There are other passengers who wish to access it."

Remy nodded. "We apologize. We didn't mean any
harm."

The flight attendant didn't seem convinced, but Baqir stepped
in. He turned up his fake smile, this time giving it a self-deprecating hint.
He lowered his voice for extra effect. "We're newlyweds. You know how it
is."

That husky tone always worked wonders on Remy, and the woman
wasn't any different. She blushed and cleared her throat, obviously trying to
keep her demeanor professional. "I completely understand, but nonetheless,
there are regulations against such behavior."

Remy gave her a pleading look, and the flight attendant
sighed. "Just this once. I don't want to ruin anyone's honeymoon. But
please, be more careful in the future."

Against all odds, nothing more was said of the episode. Remy
and Baqir made their way back to their seats. They passed Blanchefleur and
Dread. The woman arched a brow at them, but Dread grinned and whispered,
"Next time invite me."

Remy didn't bother addressing that. He knew better than to
take such comments from Dread seriously. The man was and would always be a
complete enigma, and Remy didn't have the energy to focus on him now, when his
interest was completely drawn by Baqir.

They slid back into their seats, whereupon Remy placed his
head on his new mate's shoulder and closed his eyes. His wolf's restlessness
had settled into contentment. He had his other half. The rest would come in
time. Together, they'd figure everything out and find the person who was at the
bottom of this. After all, they'd managed to find one another, and now that
they'd bonded, Remy had faith that there was nothing they could not do.

Chapter Seven

Baqir had not meant to claim Remy in such a violent way and
under circumstances that were so seriously lacking, but he could not bring
himself to regret it. The bond gave him a certainty and a determination he
might not have had otherwise—because this was not something he had faced
before.

The woman they'd come to see didn't really introduce herself.
She was slender and beautiful, her hair tumbling down her shoulders in a fiery
curtain. Her office was hidden in what seemed to be a VIP escort club of sorts,
but she looked for all the world like a queen when she received them in her
lair. Leaning against the back of her seat, she nodded to acknowledge
Blanchefleur's presence, arched a brow at Dread, and then fixed her piercing
gaze on Remy and Baqir. Baqir felt the sway of her magic rush over him in his
bond with Remy. He narrowed his eyes and pushed back, since he didn't
appreciate such invasive touches.

Much to his surprise, she laughed. "Oh, aren't you
charming? Very well, I will help you. My name is V. Show me what you have for
me."

Remy had felt the mental prodding too, so he was visibly wary
even as he set the seal on their host's wooden desk. Her smile faded so quickly
it seemed a different type of magic. "Where did you get that?" she
snapped, eyeing the seal like it was a viper about to strike.

"Off a silencer, decades ago," Remy replied,
shooting Baqir an agitated glance. "Why? What is it?"

"You've had it for decades," she repeated, staring
at Remy with something like awe.

"Well, yes, but I sort of… forgot about it. I didn't
think it was anything special until we all realized we each felt something
entirely different when we touched it."

"And what do you feel exactly?" V got up from her
seat and made a circle with a finger around the seal, carefully avoiding
touching it. "I realize you might be uncomfortable revealing such private
details to me, but it's very important."

"I don't feel anything special," Remy explained
once again, much like he had to Baqir. "It burns Blanchefleur and feels
icy to Dread. Baqir…"

He hesitated slightly and peeked at Baqir, a becoming blush
dusting over his cheeks. Apparently that was enough for V to figure out what
Remy wasn't saying.

"I see. Well… This is indeed complicated, far more so
than I expected. This is a succubus circle."

"A what?" Blanchefleur asked, vocalizing Baqir's
own dilemma.

"You heard me the first time. A succubus circle. It's an
artifact of great power usually imbued with the essence of the demon in
question. It can guide the emotions and thoughts of weak-willed
individuals."

She peered closer to Remy's face, then scanned Baqir's eyes,
as if seeking answers to questions neither of them could hear. Finally, she
nodded in satisfaction. "But you two… You're very lucky. Such artifacts
are dark magic, and they couldn't touch a heart like Remy's. Your heart,
silencer, is protected by your bond with him."

Suddenly, she was pivoting on her heel, and her nails turned
into claws as she pounced on Dread. Even as the silencer went down under her
bulk, Blanchefleur was already flying across the room, hitting the wall with an
alarming crack. "Not so much with the two of you, isn't that right?"

Baqir cursed, gripping his blade and pushing Remy behind him.
Damn it. He was badly out of his league, if only because he didn't know what he
was dealing with. He eyed the exits, wondering if he could get Remy out without
passing their host-turned-attacker.

He should have known better than to even try to make such
plans, precisely because of Remy's pure heart that had protected him from the
dark magic. Remy made a noise of protest and concern and went around Baqir,
obviously planning to stop V. Baqir caught him before he could get too close,
but he couldn't keep Remy from speaking.

"Blanchefleur is the one who told us to come here,"
his mate said pleadingly. "She and Dread didn't even know about the seal
until I pulled it out."

"Indeed." Somehow V managed to smile, even if her
claws were now buried in Dread's shoulder. She didn't actually look at Remy,
instead fixing her glance on Dread's face. "Tell me, little puppet, what
are you looking for?"

"You," Blanchefleur blurted out in Dread's stead.
"We've played enough of this game. It's time to end it. I'm bored."

Baqir gaped when he realized it wasn't really Blanchefleur's
voice that came out. Indeed, the voice sounded old and dark, beyond anything
Baqir had heard even as a wolf-shifter.

V froze, her already fair skin going so pale it was almost
ashen. "Ah."

"Is that the only thing you're going to say?" Dread
asked in the same voice, apparently unaware of the wound in his shoulder.
"You disappoint me."

At this point, V seemed one step away from eviscerating
Dread, even if he was obviously not at fault here. "Is that right? Then
I'd better change my behavior accordingly."

Baqir didn't know what would have happened had his mate not
stepped in, but to be fair, he himself would have stopped Remy had he realized
what his mate had in mind. His only warning was a burst of firm decisiveness
coming through their bond, even as his mate grabbed the seal from the table,
dropped it to the floor, then brought his foot down on top of it.

Some sort of instinct had Baqir moving and reaching for Remy.
It wasn't that Remy was far from him, but his speed had taken Baqir aback and
everything was happening far too quickly even by werewolf standards. Meanwhile,
Remy's actions drew V's attention from Dread and her eyes went wide with panic.
"No, don't!" she shouted.

It was too late, and Baqir grabbed Remy's arm just as his
mate crushed the seal under his heel. A wave of power swept over the room,
throwing both Remy and Baqir back. Baqir twisted midair in an attempt to wrap
himself around his mate. For that reason, he took the brunt of the magical
blow.

His world exploded into heart-stopping pain, an agony so
strong he couldn't even scream. It would have been easier to handle had it been
physical, but that was not the case. His mind threatened to shut down as an
overwhelming whirlpool of emotion flooded his consciousness.

In a weird way, it reminded him a little of the moment he had
claimed Remy. Just making the comparison seemed wrong, but the intensity of
what was happening could not have a different match. It was like a twisted
version of the mate link. Baqir tasted terror in his mouth and felt disgust
flay his skin. The poison of hatred bled through his veins, and guilt and
rejection pierced every inch of his body.

He was no stranger to negative emotions. For the better part
of his life, they'd been his closest companions, although he had always put up
a front and hid every single one of them under his carefully cultivated mask.

There was no hiding this, or rather, from this. His wolf
whined and shied away, trying to escape—but whatever magic has struck him was
stronger and even more ruthless that silver poisoning.

Through his bond with his mate, he felt Remy trying to reach
for him. There was nothing Baqir would have liked to do more than to accept
that offer and that love, but he couldn't afford to—couldn't share this burden,
not when he knew how much it would hurt Remy. Still, just the fact that Remy
was there soothed him beyond belief. The memory of Remy's touch and his taste
tamed the negative emotions, anchoring him to sanity and to life.

He held onto the knowledge of what they shared with all of
his might. At one point, his decisiveness faltered, and he felt his mate wiggle
his way past his defenses.

He tried to will Remy away, to protect him from the wicked
magic, but it didn't work.

"It's okay,"
Remy whispered in his mind.
"I'm
here. You're safe. Come back to me. You're safe. Come back to me, Qiri."

Remy kept repeating that, over and over, until Baqir had no
choice but to believe him. How could he doubt his mate, after all? The bond
they shared was stronger than any spell, went deeper than any feeling of hatred
and disdain could ever reach. Remy had seen his heart, and still loved him, had
still wanted them to be together. That knowledge gave Baqir courage, and at
last, he reached out to his mate—and opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the ceiling. He instantly
registered the temperature and idly noted that he was no longer in V's office.

Instead, he seemed to be lying on a soft bed, with sheets so
fine that contact with them didn't hurt his still aching skin. But leaving
aside all these details, the most important thing was that his mate, his
beautiful lover, was seated by his side, holding his hand in a grip that
managed to be both gentle and fierce.

Remy gasped when he saw Baqir stir. He shot to his feet with
such abruptness his chair fell back to the floor. "Baqir! You're
awake."

Baqir managed a smile for his mate's benefit. "You
didn't think a little thing like that trinket could put me down, did you?"

He'd have probably been more convincing had he not sounded as
weak as a newborn pup. Then again, his mate already seemed very aware of
Baqir's condition.

"You were out for five days," he whispered.
"We... I thought you were going to die."

Baqir didn't tell his mate that he'd have gladly given his
life it it meant Remy could live. He could already see Remy hadn't come out of
this unscathed. The guilt bubbling in Remy's beautiful eyes was more toxic than
the wicked poison that had quite likely ended the lives of so many of Baqir's
men. His clothes were wrinkled and torn in some places, and there were dark circles
under his eyes. Clearly, he hadn't slept, changed—or done much of anything
really since the incident with the seal.

The last thing Baqir wanted was for Remy to torture himself
over this. "I'm fine, and it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known
what would happen."

Remy's eyes filled with tears and he collapsed to his knees
next to the bed. "That doesn't excuse it. I should have guessed, been more
cautious, found another solution."

To Baqir's mind, the circumstances hadn't allowed for too
much cautiousness, and really, at the time of the seal's destruction, Remy
couldn't have imagined things could get any worse. On his part, Baqir believed
that Remy had likely made the right choice, but for the moment, he did not know
what else had happened after he'd been knocked out.

"I'll be all right," he reassured his mate once
again. "But what about Dread and Blanchefleur?"

As if on cue, V stepped out from the shadows. Baqir narrowly
managed not to roll his eyes at her dramatic entrance, but only because it had
become more than clear that he needed to play nice with this woman.

"I managed to shield myself and your companions to some
extent," she answered. "However, they were already affected by the
seal and its destruction caused some... imbalance."

"Imbalance?" Baqir repeated. "I don't... I
don't understand."

"As I said before, a succubus circle holds great power,
manipulating a person's thoughts, emotions and sometimes even their
consciousness. However, the magic's effects are not beyond perception in the
physical body. A succubus circle attacks the nervous system, causing certain
hormones to go out of control and thus making it possible for you to feel
extreme pain or fear without further stimulus."

Baqir's mind flashed to his people and the way they had been
killed, their inexplicable condition. He remembered Reynard's puzzlement over
what seemed to be the use of a date rape drug. Had another such artifact been
involved? It certainly made sense, since he and Reynard had tried to come up
with other explanations and failed every time.

His blood froze in his veins at the realization that his mate
had been completely unprotected and could have been killed before they'd even
met. It was terrifying to even consider, that he could have experienced such
loss and not known about it. His pain and weakness ceased to matter, all of his
focus now on Remy's safety.

"What does that mean, for us, for Remy?"

"As I said, your mate is for some reason immune. Given
that he held the seal for so long in his possession, its energies attached
themselves to his emotions, which is why it reacted differently to each
individual. As for Dread and Blanchefleur... Their situation is more
complicated. This episode has reminded her of the loss of her mate, and thus,
she has become unstable. I deemed it wise to summon her son here and have him
spend some time with her, to reassure her. Your other companion had a brief
stint of incoherence, but has since recovered."

She hesitated slightly, and Baqir knew there was something
she was not telling him—not that it was very difficult to see. "But?"
he prodded.

V sighed heavily. "Your friends will not experience any
long term discomfort or aftereffects because of their interaction with the
seal. However... I am not sure you will be in the same situation."

Remy made a pained noise, but he didn't seem terribly
surprised. Undoubtedly, V had already warned him with regard to these possible
consequences of the magical accident—since to Baqir's mind, it had been an
accident and not something Remy should blame himself for.

"What exactly is the problem?" he asked. "I
don't feel any different."

Remy squeezed his hand tighter, and as if on cue, something
shifted underneath the blankets. Alarmed, Baqir shoved off the material, only
to realize he now had a tail.

This, in itself, might have not seemed necessarily alarming,
or even unusual. After all, Baqir was a werewolf. The tail sort of came with
the territory.

However, as a rule, werewolves didn't randomly grow such
extensions of their bodies when they were in their human forms. Certain parts
of them could change in moments of extreme emotion, but such incidents only
targeted things like claws, fangs, eyes, or occasionally, a brief spattering of
fur. The tail only ever appeared when they completely shifted.