Embrace the Passion (The Blood Rose Series) (3 page)

“You’re talking genocide.”

“Whatever it takes. But enough of your stall-tactics, mastyr. Time to pay your debt to nature.”

He felt the vampire’s power revving up. His wraith-mate joined him, a beautiful female who wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she floated slightly above him. “Sweet music to my ears, darling. Now kill the prick. Do it slow. I want to watch him suffer.”

“Anything for you, sweetheart.”

Seth knew he was about as close to death as he’d ever been in his long life. His Guard was too far away to intervene and Lorelei was no match for either of these Invictus pairs.

But just as the vampire would have released his blast, a white blur came at the vampire from the side. Lorelei, still in her wolf form, clipped his legs hard and knocked him off-balance.

The vampire spun, falling hard to the snow-covered ground.

Lorelei had just saved his life.

When she leaped to attack once more, however, the wraith leveled a hand-blast at her, hitting her in the side. She yelped and twisted midair to land not far from Seth. That she didn’t instantly spring to her feet told Seth she’d been seriously injured. Lorelei whimpered as she crept on her belly in his direction.

Seth breathed hard, his heart pounding. He had to think of something fast. The moment the wraith wound up her power again, they’d both die.

Lorelei pathed,
You’ve got to touch me, mastyr. Now.

What are you saying?

I’ve felt it for a couple of weeks, that we have power between us. Can’t explain.

He pivoted in her direction, but the net prevented him from getting closer.
I can’t move any farther than this.

“You fucking bitch.” The vampire had gained his feet and once more pulled his energy into his hand, drawing the vibrations from the earth itself, from the sky, from the mountains, forest, and rocks.

But Lorelei kept crawling toward Seth, leading with her front paws, blood seeping from the wound on her side. He felt it now, the female shifter’s battle vibration, a core of reserve that could be released if only he could make contact. There would even be enough power to destroy the net.

The wraith shrieked her delight. She could have long since added the killing blow but it was clear she preferred to watch the wolf suffer.

A moment later, the original wraith-pair arrived, no doubt having decided that it was safe to join in the fun.

The second wraith’s shrill voice taunted Seth. “I think the mastyr’s got himself some shifter love. Will you look at that, creeping along with her ribs all bloody and exposed. She probably wants to kiss him good-bye.”

The wraith who’d blasted Lorelei caught her mate’s arm. “Aw honey, at least let them say their farewells before you burn them both to a crisp.”

“You’re so romantic.”

More laughter.

Seth, I’m going to breach the net and it’s going to hurt. Just touch me.

Understood.

Seth got as close as he could to Lorelei. She crawled toward him, inch by inch.

The closer she got, Seth felt her latent power vibrating within her wolf form.
Just an inch more.
Do it, Lorelei. I can feel what you’ve got.

The vampire called out, “Time to die, Mastyr of Walvashorr.”

Seth glanced over his shoulder as both vampires wound up their energy this time.

He felt them release just as Lorelei shoved her paw through the net and made contact with Seth.

Power flared between them, then erupted, blowing the net apart.

Seth’s ribs and knee still hurt like hell, but now that he was free, he released his battle force through both hands. Lorelei crouched next to him, staying in physical contact and streaming her battle energy into him. He’d never felt so much power before.

Even so, facing two such incredibly powerful wraith-pairs had him battling at the full reach of his ability as streaks of his energy repulsed the powerful red vibrations that came at him from both vampires as well as lesser pulses from their wraith-mates. As weak as he was, he didn’t know how long he could keep it up, especially since he could feel Lorelei’s battle vibration begin to weaken.

Lorelei, how you doing?

I’m dizzy. I think I’ve lost too much blood.

Stay with me. I have Guardsmen on the way. They’re almost here.

But he felt her fade as he continued to battle and suddenly her power just winked out. She’d either fainted or worse, dropped into a coma from loss of blood which meant she’d be dead in a few more minutes.

Without her power support, his own battle energy began to subside. The most he could do was hold a battle shield, but a few good strikes and these two pairs together would take him down.

When both vampires, cheered on by their shrieking wraith-mates, stopped firing in order to rev up for a final blow, Seth knew the moment had come.

While holding his shield steady, he turned toward Lorelei and reached down to put a hand between her ears.
Lorelei, I’m so sorry.

His heart felt heavy as hell. He didn’t really even know this woman, but she’d been his companion for the past month and he’d gotten used to her being in his life. And she sure as hell didn’t deserve to die like this.
You have one of the sweetest spirits I’ve ever known. Thank you for making my solitary life a little less lonely.

The vampires drew close to his shield. He turned to meet his enemy square, facing death with as much strength as he could muster.

Then all at once, dozens of wolves ran in from every direction, filling the snowy ground all around the Loperz cabin. He couldn’t believe it, but a large portion of his Shifter Brigade had just come to the rescue and by the looks of it, not only from one pack, but from all four. Unbelievable.

They transformed swiftly from their wolf forms to upright warriors, clothed in their Shifter Brigade uniforms of leather, chains, snug black tees, and heavy black leather work-boots. Each fired blue streams of powerful energy straight at both wraith-pairs.

The vampires fought wildly in return, their energy blasts scattering all around them, but they wouldn’t be able to withstand so many shifters all at one time.

Seth threw himself over Lorelei, forming a physical shield against any stray hits. She breathed in light pants now, tongue lolling, eyes closed.

She wasn’t dead, but she was way too close to the edge.

A few moments more and the battlefield fell silent.

When he lifted up off of Lorelei, he saw that the two wraith-pairs were dead on the ground, the stench of burned flesh filling the air.

He picked the white wolf up and turned to Ephyx, one of the alpha males. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you got here. You’ve saved my life and hers.”

Ephyx stood six-five, not as tall as Seth, but bigger through the shoulders, chest and arms.

The powerful alpha glanced around, frowning heavily. He appeared to be confused. “Mastyr, we’re not sure what happened—what we’re all doing here.”

“What do you mean?”

He glanced at Lorelei. “Your bodyguard called the entire brigade from all over the Shauck Mountains.”

Seth remembered Lorelei howling just as the net trapped him. He glanced down at her, frowning heavily. Who was this woman? “She let out a long howl. That much I remember.”

“Yes, she did.”

“And you’re saying that when she howled, she reached the entire brigade? All four packs?”

“Exactly.”

“Sweet Goddess.” He turned in a circle. Wolves were still arriving from each point of the compass.

He turned to meet Ephyx’s gaze once more. “I have to get Lorelei to my Shauck Gorge house. After you’ve disposed of the wraith-pairs and tended to your wounded, you can return to your territories. I’ll be in touch later. Continue on your patrols.” The Shifter Brigade worked the Shauck Mountains all night protecting the realm-folk who lived in the mountains, in the same way his Vampire Guard patrolled the southern part of his realm.

“Yes, mastyr.”

As Seth flew into the air, he contacted Aaron as well, letting him know what had happened and that the Shifter Brigade would take care of clean-up. He then headed in the direction he’d come, back toward Defiance Falls and Shauck Gorge. At the same time, he contacted his realm’s most powerful fae healer. The woman could fly, but even moving at her top speed she couldn’t cover that many miles in under an hour.

He told her to come anyway and hoped to hell he’d be able to keep Lorelei alive until she got there.

Somewhere in the depths of his realm-soul, he knew that he held the fate of all the Nine Realms in his arms.

Lorelei had to live.

When he arrived at his canyon ridge home, however, he found his front door wide open.

Chapter Two

Seth stood on the threshold with Lorelei unconscious in his arms. If the enemy waited for him in his house, he was in serious trouble, which meant he couldn’t risk staying.

He prepared to head back into the sky—maybe to take her to one of his closest neighbors—until he felt an unmistakable energy flowing toward him, something he’d felt in Ferrenden Peace two months ago when he’d met Queen Rosamunde for the first time.

He stepped inside and found the queen sitting on his couch, waiting for him, the woman who never left her kingdom, who for the past thousand years had lived in isolation, just as he had. In order to protect herself and her people from Margetta, she’d created an enthrallment veil that had kept Ferrenden Peace from the rest of the Nine Realms for over a millennium.

Now she was here.

Her gaze fell to Lorelei and she stretched out her arms. “Give her to me, Mastyr Seth.”

“You knew she’d be injured?”

Rosamunde sighed, a heavy sound that went way into the past, of a life lived in servitude to her calling. “Let’s just say that I had a vision and now I’m here.”

Fae visions were highly respected in his world. “Where do you want her?”

Rosamunde looked around. “Here will do just fine.”

Seth laid the wolf on the couch beside Rosamunde, positioning Lorelei’s back against the cushions and her head resting on the queen’s lap. This position left her wounded side fully exposed.

She placed her hand gently between Lorelei’s white wolf ears. Lorelei whimpered softly, her snout long and graceful, her winter coat creating a thick white ruff around her neck.

Rosamunde closed her eyes.

Seth felt a profound wave of healing energy pulse through the room. The ache in his knee and ribs lessened because of it.

Lorelei’s breathing hitched, then released. She finally drew a deep breath and the terrible, bloody wound began to knit together at lightning speed.

He called the fae healer and rescinded his request for her to come to him. He didn’t try to explain why he no longer needed her though he assured her that Lorelei was healing more quickly than he thought. He just wasn’t sure Rosamunde would want it known that she’d left her kingdom.

He remained standing in front of Lorelei, his gaze fixed to her. In stages, her breathing eased and she no longer panted.

After several minutes, Rosamunde looked up at him. “Mastyr Seth, from this moment forward, you must open yourself to Lorelei and to what the two of you can accomplish together. I know that you’re stoic by nature, not given to passionate pursuits or anything of a romantic nature, but for your sake and for the sake of your realm, I ask you to be open to all that you’ll soon discover Lorelei to be.”

His gaze fell to Lorelei once more. “I’ve felt her power, which she shared with me while confronting the Invictus tonight. She saved us both.”

“Be open.”

He met her gaze and saw in the weight of her expression not only his need to take her advice to heart, but her own suffering. He could relate. In many ways, he and the queen were alike, but even he didn’t carry the burden that Rosamunde did. She was perhaps the most powerful woman in his realm and had kept her throne safe from Margetta. It was believed that whoever ruled Ferrenden Peace could also take over the Nine Realms.

When Seth had visited the castle two months ago, he’d spoken with the queen about her responsibility to keep Ferrenden Peace out of the hands of Margetta or any other self-serving, realm person who wanted to enslave all the realms. She’d lived apart from her peers in order to preserve the freedom of all.

His own solitude had been a personal choice, while the queen’s had been a necessity for the sake of their world. The least he could do was take her admonition to heart.

“I’ll do as you’ve said.”

She appeared to breathe a deep sigh of relief. “Good, and that’s all that anyone can ask of you, Seth, to just be open.”

* * * * * * * * *

Lorelei hurt deep into her stomach all the way to her spine, then up through her ribcage. She was certain every one of her internal organs had been damaged when that horrible wraith had slung her battle energy in her direction.

She’d never known such pain and while lying next to Seth in the snow, she’d been convinced not only that she would die, but that Seth would as well. And she would have failed at the first important task she’d ever been given in her long life-on-the-run.

But from where she lay, with a warm hand pressing on her head and healing rolling through her body, she knew she hadn’t died after all. For one thing, there was a small spider web in the corner of the broad front window near the grand piano. Surely, the Nine Realm’s version of heaven wouldn’t have allowed spiders.

She pushed her paw against the healer’s knee, a form of gratitude, then sighed deeply. She was still in wolf form, a shape she’d come to treasure since coming to Walvashorr.

How long ago it seemed since she’d made the trek to Ferrenden Peace with Mastyr Quinlan and Batya, through the Caverns of Pickerne, the Dead Forest and the Snowfields of Rayne, all to get to Queen Rosamunde’s kingdom and to safety.

The queen had taught her so much, so many skills that she now employed to successfully thwart her mother’s attempts to gain control over her again. She owed the queen everything.

“Can you shift to your fae form?”

Lorelei frowned. She recognized the healer’s voice, but it seemed impossible.
Rosamunde? You’re the one tending to me?