His Reign (The Opeth Pack Saga Book 1) (9 page)

He didn't care. Now, back in America, he was free of the drama, at least until they'd dealt with whomever was following them.

Bright lights lit the streets, illuminated the tall buildings. Sitting in the passenger seat, Ilona kept her hand firmly in Józsi's while Lukina stretched out in the back seat and tried to sleep.

Ilona nuzzled his shoulder. “Where do you live from here?”

“I’m about an hour away,
drága.
It’s a nice place, I think.” He'd used a term familiar to her to indicate their closeness but even that fell short.

Ilona tried to reassure Józsi with a frail smile but her scent betrayed her.

"Relax. You'll be okay. I won't let any harm come to you or Lukina. You're on safe land now."

She didn't ask any further questions. He'd made sure she slept on the plane ride and regained the strength she'd lost in healing him earlier. Lukina of course had stronger control over a larger amount of power thanks to plenty of practice.

But if Ilona was trying to change her name and imitate Józsi's behavior, she had a lot to learn in the process. Of course dragging her back here and refusing to call her by said American name hadn't been a sticking point, either.

He could be bothered with extra baggage right now.

Of course the only thing he kept his mind on right now were the people he'd kept an eye on since changing planes in France.

The pursuers following them had no scent he could place. The Opeth pack had enemies primarily because it was supposedly the promised pack, the first group of wolves who would open the gates to Paradise and let the others in. Sort of like a version of modern religion for wolves, only this was rooted more in mystery than anything else.

As far as Józsi was concerned, it was rooted in bullshit myth.

The mysterious people didn't smell like wolf, honestly. That part bothered Józsi the most. Wolves' behavior was pretty predictable. Mate, feed, kill, repeat until death.

Humans also had a certain predictability.

Put the two together in one body and all that shit went out the door but this enemy was an unknown, other than the car Józsi spotted when their following him became too obvious.

The silver Honda that had been tailing them sped up and pulled in beside them on the freeway when Józsi neared downtown.

Józsi looked into the widows, couldn't see past the tint and darkness outside. He turned onto an access road, pulled up to a stoplight and revved the engine.

The Honda revved its engine right back, the machine purring loudly. The window rolled down and a gun protruded.

Adrenaline fueled him now, racing through his body so fast he didn’t bother waiting for the light to turn green. Gunning his engine, he slammed on the gas pedal and the car sped into gear. Flying down the road, he managed to outmaneuver his assailants, or so he thought until he'd pulled back onto the freeway, changed lanes and weaved in between cars.

Gunshots rang out from three cars back.

One car’s windshield was hit, glass cracking and forming a spider web pattern for the driver. The car crashed into the side barrier and caught fire.

Ilona jolted awake, her grip on his hand tightening.

Józsi shoved his foot on the gas, propelling the car faster down the freeway.

Lukina screamed and scrambled to the floor of the car. Her head peeked over the armrest. “What’s going on?”

His tone remained neutral. “We’re being followed.” He turned to Ilona. “Keep your head down.”

Ilona ducked, her hands still on his though she shook visibly.

He looked over his shoulder and back at the road in front of them. Cars maneuvered out of the way and in the distance. Józsi swore he heard police sirens. “Better yet, crawl in the back with Lukina.”

Ilona nodded. Trembling, she climbed in the back with Lukina. The windshield cracked loudly above the girls.

“Fuck!” His tone seemed flat, but his eyes remained focused on the road, though he occasionally glanced in the rearview mirror to see the assailant’s position.

Another shot rang out, this time shattering glass on the back windshield.

Ilona screamed.

Each second spent on the freeway made it much easier for their assailants to catch up and target them with a well-placed shot. He hoped their gunman was a poorly trained shooter.

Of course it had to snow for the first time in Houston in over ten years. Józsi maneuvered the car into the next lane, picking up more speed until the car had topped out at a hundred and fifteen miles an hour. The road was dangerous at this speed and his tires weren’t exactly made for traveling on slick snow covered roads, but he managed to keep the car from spinning out of control.

“Who are they?” Lukina raised her head just enough to peer over the back seat.

Shots fired, puncturing the car’s bumper.

He swore aloud. Obviously his hopes that they were crappy marksmen were somewhat off.

Another two shots punched into the truck.

“Get down Lukina!” He swerved into the next lane, nearly missing the corner of a semi-truck.

Lukina ducked with Ilona.

"Both of you get down on the floor, as low as you can." Honking cars screamed at him when he sped past a few more vehicles and cut them off, using them for human shields. Józsi wasn't truly the type to endanger others, but his lovers deserved peace and safety. He brought them back, now they
were
his responsibility.

What he wouldn’t give for an automatic rifle right now. An SKS or something like that…

Pulling off I-45, he turned onto an access road and sped down it, blasting through the green light.

The silver Honda caught up, and followed closely. The hum of the engine was loud in Józsi’s ears. Blood pounded louder in his head, sweat broke out over his brow. If he could slow them down or get them on foot, he’d have the upper hand. At the last minute he turned right off the exit for Telephone Road, hoping to lose them in the barrios if they managed to catch the service road in time.

Naturally, they had.

He swore, kept searching the area for an escape route.

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed heavily. Suddenly he heard the sound of an automatic rifle. Bullets sprayed the car behind him and the driver swerved off the road and into a telephone pole.

“God damn it!”

They were quickly approaching a stoplight and traffic was heavy going across the intersection. He wouldn’t be able to make it through the stream of cars if he tried. Not in this vehicle.

Józsi saw a break in the divide up ahead. He had an idea.

S
hifting
his car into a lower gear, he slowed down. Approaching the break in the divide, he waited patiently until the silver Honda was right on his bumper. His wolf hearing picked up the sound of a clip being loaded into the rifle.

“Hold on!”

The girls gripped the seats tightly.

He thrust his entire body weight onto the steering wheel, spinning the vehicle around the median, fishtailing his car. His head snapped to one side; strength in his shoulders helped prevent whiplash.

Straightening out the car, he slammed on the accelerator and headed back toward the freeway. The other car crashed into oncoming traffic at the stoplight and caught fire.

In the rearview mirror, he saw two men get out and yell at each other before running from the burning vehicle. Sirens could be heard definitively in the distance; the cops would be on the scene soon.

What would happen there was none of his concern. He pulled on the freeway and headed back home.

Ilona poked her head around the seat. “What just happened, Józsi?”

“Ilona, I have no idea. Why would someone follow us back to the States to kill us?”

“Were they human?” Lukina's cupped Józsi's shoulder.

He shook his head, enjoying the brief contact from Lukina. “Don’t know. Didn’t see anything other than a glimpse of the gun out of the window. I picked up their magic at the airport back in France but only spotted them when we exited Intercontinental.”

Coming to a stoplight at I-45 and NASA Road One, his heart thumped loudly in his chest. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He wiped his brow and he realized he’d been on an adrenaline rush that probably took years off his life.

“Kiba doesn’t know we’re gone, right?”

Ilona hugged the seat tightly, her fingers brushing over his skin. “I don’t think so. Why would he?”

“Because the way he was talking earlier, it sounded like he was planning to make a deal with the humans.”

Ilona leaned back against the seat, her hand cradling Lukina’s head. “
Francba!
” Shit!

Józsi turned around and glared at the girls. “What do you know that I don’t?”

Ilona didn’t answer.

Józsi glared at Lukina, then back at Ilona and saw her blank expression. He didn’t like it, but ignored it anyway. "Fine."

The car came to a stop in front of a series of townhouses. Each one looked alike, all brick exterior, brown trim and shingled, sloping roofs.

“Did you buy this place too?” Lukina climbed out of the car, taking Ilona with her.

“Yeah. I own one of these, too.”

Ilona’s mouth opened wide. “I’ve never seen something so big.”

“You’ve never been to Budapest?” Józsi opened the car door, glancing around and listening to his senses. So far it was just chilly outside. Nothing out of the ordinary. Good.

Ilona shook her head. “You know I haven't left the region in several years.”

“Houston will be a change for you. It’s much larger than our village, much larger than Budapest and sadly lacking in old world culture” He pulled his keys from his pocket and strode up the steps to the door. Unlocking it, he looked around to make sure nobody had followed them back here. “I brought us here because I was concerned that someone may have seen Lukina at my other place in Houston. I didn’t like that idea.”

Ilona nodded.

Flipping on the light switch, he illuminated the room. He glanced around and sniffed the air for unfamiliar scents. There were none. So far, so good.

Entering into his spacious living room, Józsi glanced around, his senses on high alert. Józsi motioned for Ilona and Lukina to follow him inside. Lukina shut the door and led Ilona to the large leather couch.

“It’s very nice. Open,” Ilona remarked, looking around.

They stepped into the living area and Józsi pointed to a leather couch seated in the center near the large flat screen TV and coffee table. Two leather recliners sat on either side of the coffee table. The place still had that new apartment smell but given time, cigar smoke would waft through it and give the apartment character. “I wanted this place for the floor plan. Can I get either of you something to drink? Are you hungry?”

“I’ll make coffee,” Lukina stood and headed into the kitchen.

Józsi studied her for a moment, narrowing his gaze on her. “How do you know where everything is?”

A knock at the door startled them.

Józsi spun around, crouching low and ready to attack.

The door opened and a purple mist floated in. Transforming before their eyes, the mist became a human who stood about five and a half feet tall. Long red hair fell down to her ass. She stood tall for someone so short compared to Józsi.

Stepping inside, she looked around.

“Who are you?” Józsi cracked his knuckles and felt his claws extend.

Lukina set a cup down and ran to the woman. “Selene!” She practically squealed.

Józsi rose, the hair on his arms standing on edge. “You know this woman?”

Lukina looked back at Józsi. “This is Selene. Our resident witch.” She absolutely beamed with joy.

“And realtor. I’m the woman who showed this place to Lukina when she was looking for a temporary place to stay. I ended up selling it to you through another realtor.” Selene looked at Lukina, “What are you doing mixed up with this guy? And where’s your beautiful white cloak?”

“Hey!” Józsi smirked.

Ilona snickered behind him.

Lukina and Selene glared at him.

“Pack business is always fun, isn’t it?” Selene wrapped her arms around Lukina and pulled Lukina to her.

Lukina smiled and looked into Selene’s eyes. “Yeah. It’s been very difficult lately.”

“Kiba’s gone crazy, finally.” Lukina frowned, her nose wrinkling in annoyance.

Józsi relaxed and retracted his claws. “I always said the old man was a fool. Now that he’s gone off the deep end, I’ve had to leave my life for a little while in order to deal with shit I don’t have any business being involved in.”

Selene looked up from Lukina’s hair, green eyes glowing fiercely. “I do not want to hear about your bullshit, Józsi. At least you have had a ten year break from the Opeth pack. Every time I turn my back, someone from the pack is calling me, saying they need my help. My interpretation.” She stepped away from Lukina, bridging the distance between her and Józsi. “My life was interrupted so I could have the pack’s baby. I’m not exactly mother material. So if anyone here has a right to bitch about being at the pack’s mercy, it surely isn’t you.
Capice
?”

Lukina giggled.

“Hush.” Selene glared at Lukina.

Józsi huffed. “Fine.”

“What brings you here?” Ilona stood. “By the way, I’m Ilona.”

Selene took her hand. “I remember you. You and Lukina were always getting in trouble together as children. I’m glad to see you two finally get together, even if it
was
prophesized.”

Ilona blushed.

Józsi did think her blush was cute. Józsi slipped his hands in his pockets. “I take it you are not fond of all the prophecy crap, either?”

Selene removed her suit coat and set it on the back of a chair beside Ilona. “No, dear boy. I hate it. It’s run my life. Ruined a few others as well. Did you hear that my husband actually bested Les?”

Józsi nodded. “Someone mentioned that, I think.”

“I was floored, and I watched it myself.”

“Things are certainly becoming interesting, Selene.” Lukina sauntered back into the kitchen. “Coffee?”

“Thanks, doll.”

“So what brings you here at this hour?” Józsi waved his hand at the empty space on the couch. “By the way, have a seat.”

“Thank you.” Selene lifted up her ruffled black skirt and walked over to the couch. Once seated, she looked around the house.

“What?”

“You need this.” She snapped her fingers and a thick fog appeared outside the windows.

Józsi looked out the window at the dense fog that covered his windows. “What’s that?”

“A protective fog. I just came up with it last week after hunters tried to come after my baby. The fog will lift after a few days, but for now it practically cloaks your scents, your condo and anything related to lupines.”

“Is your baby a wolf?” Lukina sipped slowly from her coffee and looked intently at Selene.

Selene tilted her head slightly, pursing her lips. “That’s the odd thing. We’re not sure.”

Józsi took a cup from the tray. “What do you mean, you’re not sure?”

Selene looked at Józsi, all traces of sarcasm erased from her soft features. “By all rights, Marco and I shouldn’t have been able to mate. He’s a wolf like you all and I’m a human. Or I thought I was, anyway. But we have proof that we did. I only know the end result is that the baby is supposed to take place above you as a pack Elder.”

Józsi blinked. “He can have that and pack ruler. I don’t want to be Alpha.” There was an edge to his voice.

“You don’t have much of a choice, sadly. Most of the Elders were killed recently, leaving Jonas and Gabor.”

He groaned, “I heard. Let me guess. Kiba?”

“Yeah. Hunters came on them one night while they were out in the woods. Kiba’s magic is strangely powerful. But he is able to convince others he’s more human than the rest of your pack. Have you grown into your magic yet?”

“What magic?” Józsi shot a glance at Selene.

She put her hand to her forehead and let out a long, slow breath. “You know the legend of wolves, right?”

He hadn't bothered to remember. Nor had he cared. Everything to do with his heritage served as a reminder of a pain filled destiny he'd rather avoid. “Not particularly.” He looked away from Selene and focused on Ilona. Protecting her and Lukina were his only concerns.

“You mean you’ve forgotten on purpose.” She spoke matter-of-factly.

Anything he could do to separate himself from the pack, he’d done up until this point. Józsi took another cup of coffee from Lukina and sipped the warming liquid. “Sure.”

“Long story short, wolves ruled this planet from the beginning of time. Evolution and higher intelligence gave wolves magic. Nobody seems to know the extent of a wolf’s magic. Things like being able to totally mask your presence as a wolf, rapid speed, simple stuff you’re born with. The more difficult things like using and controlling energy, stuff that Les can do, is something you have to come into power with and learn.”

He nodded.

“My next mission is to retrieve your right hand man and he's somewhere in the southwestern quadrant of this country. He's…” She blinked, "special."

"I'm sure," Józsi added dryly.

"All the God damn males of this pack are special. Short bus special.” She took a sip, set her cup down and met his gaze.

He didn't like the menacing stare she gave him. It made his flesh crawl, quite frankly, but she was a guest and a wolf. And the pack witch, meaning she could probably thump him down in an instant if she wanted to, so he gave her the courtesy of respect.

"Kiba seems to be losing his powers. I can only guess that it’s because of the lunar flower that causes some wolves to go insane. Nobody knows why it happens, but it does.”

“Right.”

“You were attacked on your way back by gunmen he sent after you.”

Józsi arched an eyebrow. “How did you know?”

Lukina patted his thigh. “I told you, she’s the resident witch,
szeretőm.”

The gesture comforted him only slightly until he felt the push of magic creeping into his body through touch. “Okay. So, why am I involved with this crap?” Józsi shrugged. He smelled Selene’s irritation, a somewhat bitter taste in his mouth.

Lowering her chin, Selene’s eyes narrowed. “Because you love your two women. That’s why.”

His jaw dropped.

“Kiba threatened one and will come after the other one. You know I’m right.”

Józsi threw up his hands. “I do. Shit, I do.”

He then realized just how right she was. It took him time but the bond in his triad never really disappeared, it just got put on hold so he could be a selfish prick.

He hated himself for his behavior but it had been protective, he thought. Merely a way to avoid the sting of heartache that the prophecy surely would bring once things finally showed themselves provided all this shit was real.

"It's very real, dear boy."

He groaned. For the first time in a long while, Józsi didn’t know what he was going to do. He couldn’t let Kiba or the hunters hurt the loves of his life. Not when he’d finally found home and had considered the idea of letting someone love him. He studied Selene’s face, watching her expression change from urgency to comforting, her eyes widening slightly and mouth opening.

Selene began stroking Ilona’s hair, the motion making Ilona recline against the back of the couch.

Her features showed just how exhausted she'd been. Slumped posture, half open eyes, slow movement and of course slightly slurred speech showed just how tired she truly was.

The fact that they'd gained eight hours to their day didn't help either.

Being shot at hadn’t helped, either. “Lukina, take her into my bedroom, and you two retire for the night.” Józsi patted Lukina’s thigh.

Lukina nodded. “Are you staying with us tonight Selene?”

“No, dear child. I have business to attend to, but I will be back later this week.”

“
Szeretlek.
” I love you. Lukina bowed to Selene and blew her a kiss.

Selene smiled, though to Józsi it looked weak. Something else was up. “I love you too, honey.”

Lukina took Ilona down the hallway and into Józsi’s bedroom. The door shut behind them.

Józsi and Selene sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their coffee. Józsi reclined into the leather chair and stared at Selene. “So, now what?”

Closing her eyes, Selene eased herself against the cushion and rubbed her eyes. Her expression went from blank to annoyed before she opened her eyes. “I don’t know.”

Józsi jaw twitched. “Great.”

“I know Kiba’s planning something big. He’s attacked you once. He’ll strike again. Probably with a local group of hunters.”

Józsi settled into the couch. “What the fuck does he want?”

“What all control freaks want. The undying loyalty of those they control. Or in this case, those they are supposed to control.”