Heartsblood (15 page)

When they hesitated, looking back and forth at each other, snarling and whining, Nicky heard Tate swear under his breath and a gun cocked behind him. “Go!” Nicky shouted at them, using every bit of steel he could muster to put into his tone. His incisors hadn’t retracted yet and they scraped his lip as he shouted at them. The two young wolves jumped and dove off into the bushes, scrambling for home. He could hear them yipping excitedly to each other as they ran through the trees, headed for the lodge.

Nicky licked the blood from his lips and hoisted Marco closer. Without another word, he turned and continued down the trail. Behind him, he could hear the Hunters dealing with the dead body, but he couldn’t be bothered to care. All his focus had to be on keeping Marco and Logan alive.

Once off Marco’s property, the trail narrowed considerably, but they were still able to follow it to the road, about a quarter of a mile farther on. By the time they reached the cars, Marco had passed out again, and he was losing way too much blood, despite the rough bandages he and Logan had wrapped around him to help stop the bleeding.

Tate opened the back of a big SUV and Nicky laid Marco inside, crawling up beside him. He gave Marco more of his blood, but he knew he couldn’t keep this up much longer. He had to find a way to get Tate to stop the bleeding or Marco wouldn’t make it. The idea of Marco dying slammed into his chest and made it hard to breathe. Logan, who had climbed into the back seat and was bent over it putting pressure on Marco’s wound, must have noticed Nicky trembling a little as the thought struck home. He squeezed Nicky’s arm with a bloody hand and met his bleak gaze with one of his own. Logan, who used to be a Hunter himself, knew these men had little interest in keeping them alive.

Except that Jeremy Tate did. Nicky looked up and met his eyes as he stared at him over the back seat, where he’d taken a place next to Logan. He was staring at Nicky hungrily and watching him as carefully as a hawk, slowly circling overhead, watched its prey. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Tate didn’t want Nicky dead. When Nicky left Marco because he thought they had no future together, he had spoken to Tate on the phone before he left. He’d called to tell him goodbye, and Tate had been frantic, begging him not to go without telling him where to find him. Marco told Nicky that in an argument with Tate he had at the hospital later, Tate had yelled at him that he threw Nicky away like he was garbage when Tate would have done anything to have him for his own.

A lot of water had passed under the bridge since then, but was it possible he still felt that way? Like he would do
anything
to have Nicky? If that was still true, then maybe Nicky could use that, along with the cutthroat hatred he knew Tate felt for Marco, to possibly save all of them. Nicky began to feel lightheaded and sat back on his heels, holding to the side of the vehicle as they rapidly negotiated the curves down the mountain.

Nicky could see that they were on the northern side of the ridge, and if they kept to this route, they’d wind up in Asheville. He didn’t think they’d go all the way into the city, though, and sure enough, before they’d gone more than ten miles, the driver pulled off onto a side road. Another few miles had him pulling down a driveway, protected by a huge iron gate. One of the men in the lead car got out, opened it, and they drove through. The same Hunter locked the gate behind them and got back in the lead car. They pulled up to a sprawling ranch style house and Nicky reached across the seat to grip Tate’s shoulder.

He looked down at Nicky’s hand and quirked up an eyebrow. “If you try to kill me here, Nicky, my men will cut you all down before you even make it outside this vehicle.”

“I have no intention of killing you, Jeremy. I want to make a deal with you.”

Nicky saw Tate’s eyes register his use of Tate’s first name. His lips curved upward warily as his gaze scanned Nicky’s face. “Why should I need to make a deal, sweetheart, when I already have what I want?”

“Do you? Are you that confident in whatever it is you’ve got planned for me? You know, maybe better than anyone, how strong-willed I am. How stubborn, when I want to be. Think about it, Jeremy. Wouldn’t it be better to have my cooperation in this, whatever it is? Might there be a way to accomplish your goals and have the satisfaction of rubbing it in Marco’s face? You can’t tell me that wouldn’t be sweet.”

Nicky could see the conflicting emotions as they crossed Tate’s face. He was intrigued and fascinated by the differences in Nicky—it was evident from his expression, but he was still wary, still suspicious of some trick.

“What is it you propose?” he asked softly, his gaze searching Nicky’s face.

“Operate on Marco. Take out that damn silver bullet and save his life.”

Tate snorted and one side of his mouth lifted in a sardonic grin. “Why on earth would I do that? Oh, wait a minute, I know. Or else you’ll kill me.”

“No, I won’t kill you. It’ll be much easier to just kill myself.”

The smile died on Tate’s lips and his face registered his surprise. He recovered quickly, but Nicky had seen the look in his eyes before he could hide it again. Still he tried to brazen his way out of it. “Why do you think I’d care? You’ve rejected me over and over and have chosen to be a whore for this wolf rather than be with me. What makes you think I’d even want you anymore?”

“I’m not sure why,” Nicky said softly. “But you do. I can see it in your eyes. It’s not just the power you want, is it? It’s me.” He laid a hand on Tate’s arm, hiding his own revulsion at the touch.

“You want
me
, Jeremy. Any way you can have me. And I can show you a way to have what you want, if you’re man enough to go for it. If you have the balls to do it.” Nicky smiled at him. “Do you? This would give you the chance you’ve waited for—the chance to have me as a willing partner.” Nicky heard Logan’s sharp intake of breath, but all his focus had to be on Tate now. He had to convince him if this was to stand any chance of working. “Otherwise, I’ll find a way to do what I said, to kill myself, no matter what kind of drugs you give me. Look at me, Jeremy. You know I’m telling the truth.”

Nicky was weak and lightheaded from all the blood he’d given to Marco to keep him alive, but he watched Tate like a cat watching a mouse hole. He desperately needed him to take the bait.

Tate laughed, but his eyes were still wary, still guarded. “Okay, I’ll bite,” he said, and Nicky realized again how very intelligent the man was. He knew he was being baited, but he would satisfy his own curiosity, or at least where Nicky was concerned. Nicky was his soft spot, his Achilles heel, but Tate was cagey and smart and wouldn’t be easily fooled.

“What’s your proposition?”

“You want Marco’s heartsblood. Maybe to make some crazy elixir, like the old books talk about. It’s what you shot into me, isn’t it? The heartsblood of an alpha, to give me the bloodlust and make me half of an alpha pair.”

Tate shrugged and smiled. “It worked. I wasn’t at all sure it would, you know. I’d read of the other Hunters’ experiments, but no one knew how effective the injections really were.” His gaze moved over Nicky slowly and came to rest on his lips. “You’re even more beautiful than I ever imagined. Strong and vital and magnificent. A true alpha. Even a little full of yourself, like Marco.” Tate smiled and the tip of his tongue parted his lips to slowly lick the bottom one. “But I can work with that. It will be my pleasure to tame you.”

“And now you want Marco’s blood. To make the elixir for yourself?”

“Yes. I’ll have Marco’s essence then and you’ll be
my
mate.” His eyes blazed at the idea and Nicky could see the madness shining in them. How could he have not known that from the first moment he’d met Tate? It was so obvious, so frightening.

“You can have that anyway, without killing Marco. His heartsblood, that is. I know that the wolf you put inside me wasn’t killed by the Hunters. He escaped and went back home, where he lived for another few years. The Hunter scientists found a way to take some of his blood and not kill him. You can do the same.”

“What would be the point of that?”

“I’ve already told you. I’ll find a way to end myself if you kill Marco. You wouldn’t able to stop me—I promise you I’d do it. But if you do as I ask and let him live, you can make your elixir and later you can challenge Marco.”

“Challenge him?”

“Yes, don’t you see? You’ve always claimed to be smarter than Marco. Now you’ll be just as strong too, and have your wolf inside you. Will you also have Marco’s courage? You’ll be an alpha and can present your challenge to fight him in the ancestral ring, if you’re brave enough. If you win, you’ll be the new leader of the pack—and you’ll have me as your willing mate. We’d become the new alpha pair.”

Nicky could see him turning the idea over in his mind, looking for any sign of a trap. The idea would appeal to him. Nicky was sure of it.

“You have to hurry, though. Marco’s growing weaker. He can heal himself to some extent once this bullet is out, but we’re running out of time. Do you accept the challenge, Jeremy? Are you willing to fight for me? To fight for your place as alpha of the pack?”

“What assurance do I have that you’ll go through with this if I agree?”

Nicky shrugged. “What assurance do you need? You’ll have Marco’s blood. You don’t need anything more from me. The only one you have to worry about is yourself—and whether or not you’re man enough to beat Marco in the ring.”

* * * *

Jax held tightly to Cade’s hand, feeling how heartsick he was and knowing there was nothing any of them could do except wait for Tate’s next move. Members of both Marco’s pack and their own had gathered in the yard outside Cade and Jax’s lodge, finding comfort in being close to each other. It was late and night swirled black across the sky as the wind whipped up. Several small fires had been lit to stave off the cold and the darkness, and pack members had gathered around them, not for warmth, but for a feeling of safety, however false it might be.

Jax saw Gabe hovering close to a nearby fire and motioned him to come over and sit beside him where he and Cade crouched by their own small campfire. Zack was with Ian on the mountain, still tracking Tate and the other Hunters. They’d followed the trail, splattered with Marco’s blood and found a dead Hunter. He’d obviously been attacked by a wolf, and the others had rolled his body off the trail and just into the woods. They tracked them all the way down to where they’d parked the cars, but then they’d lost their scent. Most of the others had come back, including Casey, who knew the pack would need him, but Ian refused to give up and Zack had stayed with him.

In the old days, the wolves knew where the Hunter’s Compound was and if that had been the case this time, they would already have mounted an attack. But Tate was smarter and kept his locations hidden. They’d been trying for weeks now to locate one of his compounds but hadn’t had any luck.

Gabe sat down heavily beside Jax, his face white and scared. He leaned closer to whisper to Jax. “They’re dead, aren’t they? Rory told me there was so much blood.”

“We don’t know that. They were all still alive when the patrol spotted them. Cade said the boys told a wild story. They said Nicky changed into his wolf and fought for them, giving them a chance to get away. He was protecting Logan and Marco too. That has to be good, right?”

“Yeah, but Nicky’s always had more courage than sense. What if he pushes Tate too far, and he kills all of them? Nicky’s wolf is no match for Tate’s rifles.”

Jax patted his hand, having no good answer to his question. What he’d said was all too true. Jax had been there that day on the mountain when they’d been attacked and seen that for himself. Jax put an arm around Gabe’s shoulders. “Why don’t you go inside and lie down for a while? I promise I’ll come and get you if there’s any news.”

Gabe nodded. “I guess I will. I can’t think straight anymore, and I don’t want to think about what might be happening with Nicky and the others.” He swiped away a tear angrily and got to his feet. “Come and tell me if anything happens.”

Jax nodded and turned to watch him walk slowly back toward the lodge. He was startled when he felt Cade’s lips against his ear. “You should get some rest too. I’ll stay here with the pack.”

Jax shook his head but got to his feet and stretched. “No, but I think I’ll take a little walk—just to get away from all this for a minute or two.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned toward the woods. He wouldn’t go far, but he needed to clear his head. They had a long night ahead of them and who knew what they’d have to face in the morning.

He’d only walked a little way into the woods when he felt Cade come up behind him and slip his arms around his waist. He smiled as he turned to face him and Cade maneuvered him back against a tree. His eyes began to adjust even more to the darkness, and he looked down as he felt Cade’s hands on his belt, slowly unbuckling it and then sliding his jeans and underwear down over his hips to his knees. Jax’s thick, eager cock bounced out, and Cade fluidly sank to his knees in front of him. Jax sucked in a tight breath. How was it Cade always seemed to know what he needed before he even knew himself?

“I love you, baby. I need you,” Cade said, looking up at him from under his long, thick lashes.

“Take what you need,” Jax replied, surprised at how short of breath he was becoming. Jax rested his hands on Cade’s short, soft hair and heard himself give out a guttural moan as soft lips fastened around his cock and took him in, deep-throating him. His man was talented, he had to hand him that. Cade’s lips kept up a steady pressure, as his velvet tongue slid up and down Jax’s shaft, sometimes stopping at the head to swirl or slip down into his slit. Cade looked up into Jax’s eyes, breathing through his nose. The muscles of Jax’s cock spasmed, and he squeezed his fists, praying not to come before he could really focus on the pleasure of his mate’s mouth wrapped around him. His balls tightened, and he felt a tingling at the base of his spine. Jax was breathing rapidly and trying to hang on as Cade pulled off a little and licked slowly up his shaft, swirling his tongue over the head.