Dark Wolf (5 page)

She listened to the trash talk and gave a little sigh. The world sometimes seemed the same everywhere she went. London, South America, the United States, even her beloved Romania had the same types that would much rather rob than earn.

You’re too soft, Sky,
Josef said.
They’d kill you for those chic boots you’re wearing.

The worst part of it was Josef was probably right. He could read their thoughts. She could, too, if she chose, which she didn’t. Sometimes she just wanted to pretend that most people were really good, like Gabriel and Francesca, not the monsters she’d known as a child. Living in a world where she knew vampires and monsters existed didn’t help her fantasy.

The smell of the five approaching them reached her first. Two were definitely on drugs. The reek of alcohol was strong, not a good sign. Her experience with alcohol wasn’t the best. Men who were drunk definitely had an enlarged sense of bravado and very impaired judgment. Most likely, these five would think they could do anything.

She watched them come close, noting the two hanging back were clearly drunk. They couldn’t walk a straight line, but one had a gun. She could see him stroking the barrel, and to her, he appeared the most dangerous. She kept her gaze glued to him.

“Well, look what we found?” the self-appointed leader said. He pointed to Skyler and crooked his little finger. “Come here.”

Josef smiled at them, deliberately showing his longer, sharper teeth. “You’d better leave while you have the chance.”

“No one’s talking to you,” the leader snapped. “Get over here,” he added, his hand on his knife.

“She’s not going anywhere,” Josef said, his eyes taking on a red glow. “I’m giving you one last warning, although I am a little hungry. I just woke up, but you all reek of alcohol and I’m opposed to drinking on so many levels.”

“Look at that ride, Gustoff.” The one directly to the right of the leader indicated the truck. “And a cool coffin. I want that.”

“That’s my bedroom,” Josef said. “And I didn’t invite you in.”

Gustoff had had enough of dealing with Josef. He drew his knife and immediately the others followed suit. Skyler wasn’t so much worried about the knives as she was the gun the drunken man pulled. He pointed it straight at Josef. She concentrated on the object. The gun seemed to take on a life of its own. Slowly the smirk faded from the drunk’s face as the gun began to turn on him. No matter how hard he tried to turn his hand back, the gun kept coming around until it was pointed at him.

“Gustoff!” he exclaimed.

Gustoff glanced over his shoulder. “Stop messing around.”

“I’m not,” the drunken man insisted. His hand shook. He tried to open it, but his palm was firmly latched around the gun, his finger locked on the trigger. “It’s going to shoot me. Do something.”

Gustoff scowled. “Petr, help that idiot.”

Petr sprang into action, grabbing at the gun. He couldn’t budge it, nor could he remove the drunk’s hand from it.

Alarmed, Gustoff turned back to Josef, his knife in front of him, blade up.

“Hey, don’t look at me, that’s all her,” Josef said, indicating Skyler. “She’s got a mean streak. Me, I’m the nice one.” As he spoke buttons began popping off of Gustoff’s shirt. The seams of his jeans split.

Paul snickered as the pants fell down around Gustoff’s ankles. “Nice one, Josef.”

“Get them!” Gustoff shouted, furious.

The others rushed them, knives drawn. One swung a heavy metal chain. Skyler stepped back behind Paul and Josef, extending her concentration to the other weapons. This time she changed the temperature so that even as the drunken fools wielded them, the knives and chain began to grow warm and then hot.

Paul slammed his hand down hard on the wrist of the one coming at him, gripping the knife hand and turning it up and to the side as he stepped forward. The man went down hard, an audible crack signaling a broken wrist. Paul kicked the knife away and delivered another kick to the man’s head.

Two rushed Josef. He dissolved just as they reached him, leaving them standing looking at one another. One of the two had been swinging his chain, but now the metal links glowed red in the night, a bizarre streak of fire spinning over his head. The chain was suddenly wrenched away from behind and just as fast looped around the man’s body. He screamed as the burning hot links touched his skin.

The remaining man spun around, trying to find Josef, nearly hysterical with fear. The metal of his knife began to glow as the temperature rose. He opened his hand fast and the knife fell to the ground.

Paul was on him immediately, smashing his fist into the man’s mouth, driving him backward. He followed up his advantage with a front kick to the stomach, using his steel-toed boots.

Josef emerged out of thin air directly in front of Gustoff. The leader stabbed at him, but Josef caught his wrist in a deadly grip and spun him around, so that his arm was locked around Gustoff’s throat. He was enormously strong, his grip unbreakable. He bent his head to Gustoff’s pounding pulse.

“I haven’t eaten in a while,” he whispered. “And I need blood to survive. Too bad you came along and didn’t heed my warning.”

He sank his teeth deep into that drumming beat, allowing Gustoff to feel burning pain. Fear laced his blood with adrenaline, helping to wipe out the bitter, disgusting taste of alcohol. Gustoff screamed and screamed, horrified at the vampire draining him of his life force.

His band of toughs went rigid, just watching in absolute terror.

You’re always so good at theatrics,
Skyler said, trying not laugh.
You’re putting on quite the show for them.

Josef’s eyes were all red now, glowing like twin embers in the dark. He enhanced Gustoff’s looks, making him grow paler with each passing moment. His body appeared to begin to convulse. Josef dropped him to the ground. Two thin trickles of blood ran from his mouth to his chin.

Skyler rolled her eyes.
I can’t keep this gun pointed at him forever.

Josef suddenly turned his head toward the drunk who held the gun. His gaze fell on the man. “You look tasty.”

“I’m not. I’m not.” The drunk shook his head and tried to stagger back.

Josef waved his hand, and the drunk couldn’t move. Josef floated to him, taking his time, making little swimming motions with his hands.

Oh for heaven’s sake. Must you?
Skyler demanded.

Paul bent over laughing. When one of the men on the ground moved, he delivered another kick, but even that didn’t deter his amusement over Josef’s antics.

Yes, my little dove. I must. What’s the fun in being Carpathian if you can never actually scare the crap out of someone?

Josef, you have a mean streak in you.

Josef reached the drunk. He held out his hand for the gun. The drunk extended his arm and to his shock, the gun dropped into Josef’s palm.

“Thank you,” Josef said with a little formal bow. He removed the bullets and then crushed the gun in his fist.

Paul slipped into the driver’s seat. “Come on, Skyler, let’s get out of here.”

She took the little jump seat in the back. Josef was tall and would need the legroom to stretch out. Paul started the truck and drove around the five men, leaned his head out the window, and called to Josef.

“Come on, man, let’s go.”

Josef waved him away and turned back to gather up the weapons. One by one he destroyed them. Next he waved his hands toward the men and their clothing disappeared, leaving them naked on the ground.

“It’s a little hard to rob and kill when you’re bare-butt naked, now isn’t it? I’ll be watching you. You don’t want me coming back.” Laughing, he took to the air, streaking after the truck.

He was still laughing when he materialized in the front passenger seat.

Skyler smacked the back of his head. “You took their clothes, didn’t you?” she said for Paul’s benefit. Paul was becoming more adept at telepathic communication, but he couldn’t merge his mind and read thoughts as she could do with Josef, although he was learning very fast.

Paul snickered and held up his hand to give Josef a high five. “Oh, yeah, I’d like to see them slinking home in their birthday suits.”

Both men erupted into laughter.

Skyler rolled her eyes, trying hard not to laugh with them. “You’re impossible, Josef. Those men are going to have to make it through their neighborhood without a stitch on.” She pressed her palm against her mouth, but laughter spilled out anyway.

Paul’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror and Josef turned in his seat, his eyes sparkling with amusement. All three of them burst out laughing.

Skyler had forgotten what it was like being with them. At college, she’d made a few friends, but she was guarded with them at all times—she had to be. At home, Gabriel and Francesca were loving and wonderful parents. Her baby sister, Tamara, was the most adorable child in the world and she couldn’t imagine life without her, but she couldn’t be honest with them about her relationship with Dimitri.

She wasn’t Carpathian and she couldn’t wait until she was fifty years of age to be with her lifemate. She was human. Without Dimitri, she might not have gotten through many of the long nights where she woke with sweat covering her body and the memories of men pawing at her, hurting her, beating and using her. She’d been a child, but that hadn’t mattered to them.

She’d learned to keep her screams silent, internal, and when she had nightmares, she did the same thing. Dimitri always heard her.
Always.
He came to her in the dark of the night, at her worst moments, surrounding her with unconditional love. He never asked her for anything. He never demanded his rights or threw it in her face that he suffered because she wasn’t able to fully be his lifemate.

And he did suffer. As the years had gone by, Skyler was more adept at accessing his mind and memories. She saw clearly the terrible darkness crouched like a monster, whispering in temptation, trying to destroy him.

Dimitri. Beloved. I’m so afraid for you. I’m holding you close to me, pretending that I’m certain you’re alive, lying to my closest, dearest friends, but in reality I can barely breathe. The terror of being without you feels so close—so real.

She waited there in the darkness, grateful for the backseat in the truck, grateful that Paul and Josef fought over the music and thought her asleep. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing even, but her heart pounded too hard, raced too fast and surely, at least, Josef could detect that. If so, he was polite enough not to call her on her pretense.

The silence stretched. There was no answer. Dimitri, even in his worst moments, once even during a battle with a vampire, had always sent her reassurance if she reached for him, however brief it might be. The silence was cold and lonely and absolutely terrifying to her. She’d lived too long in a nightmare with no way to escape until Francesca had found her. But still, her nights had always been spent trapped in those earlier years, repeating and repeating until she thought she might go insane.

Francesca had done everything she could think of to help alleviate the nightmares, including giving Skyler Carpathian blood. She took turns with Gabriel sitting by Skyler’s bed when the nightmares were so bad Skyler could only scream, recognizing no one. They’d called in healers. Nothing worked—until Dimitri. There was only Dimitri to stand between her and her past. Now that shield was gone and as hard as she tried, she could not reach him.

Terror gripped her. Sorrow. Despair. There was no way to go on if Dimitri wasn’t in the world. Her knight. Her other half. She took a breath and reached again, pouring everything she felt, everything she was into her urgent plea.

My love. If you think to protect me from something terrible, it cannot be worse than thinking you’re dead. I need you. Your touch. Even if it’s just for one moment. I can’t breathe without you. I need to know you live and there is hope for us.

The burst of pain was sheer agony. Her body went rigid. Convulsed. The air was driven from her lungs in one long scream that abruptly ended when her air supply did. She couldn’t think, the pain turning every nerve ending to fire. Her fingernails tore at her skin, trying to ease the burn.

She was barely aware of the truck stopping, of Josef lifting her out of the backseat to lay her in the grass. Paul held her hands down to prevent her from tearing her skin open.

“Breathe,” Paul demanded. “Right now, Skyler. Take a breath.”

She had asked for this, and if it was this bad for her, so far from him, what must it be like for Dimitri? She forced air into her lungs. There was no way to push away the pain. Her connection to Dimitri ran too deep.

She looked to Josef. He was Carpathian and he was strong when he wanted to be. She knew what she was asking, pleading with her eyes for aid.

“Paul,” Josef said softly, “she’s found Dimitri and it’s bad. I have to help her. That leaves you to guard us, get us back in the truck when it’s over and give me blood.”

Paul nodded. “I’ve got this, just help her.”

Josef didn’t waste time. “I’m all yours, Skyler, take my strength and energy freely. Wherever he is, help him.”

Skyler didn’t dare take a break and then try to overcome that mind-numbing pain again. It took nearly everything she had to stay conscious while she followed the thread back to Dimitri. If Josef hadn’t been with her, it would have been impossible. He was a great distance away. The Lycans who had taken Dimitri had managed to move him very quickly out of the country. They left no trail behind; Josef had managed to get that information for her.

She knew that the agony she was feeling was nothing in comparison to what Dimitri was going through. He would shield her, trying to block as much pain as he could when he reached for her to let her know he was alive. She felt him retreating from her, breaking the merge to stop her from feeling pain.

Skyler used every ounce of strength and discipline she possessed. She had been forged in the fires of hell as an infant. Honed in those same fires as a young girl. She was Dragonseeker. A daughter of Mother Earth. In her own right she was a powerful psychic. She refused to lose the thread leading to her lifemate. He wasn’t going to last long, not with that kind of torture—and they
were
torturing him. Skyler set her mind on one thing only—staying with Dimitri, following that faint trail back to him.