Howl of the Wolf (17 page)

Arand put his long, muscled arm around her and she sucked in a breath, but he was only reaching for the box of salt, not her. She swallowed her disappointment, telling herself she was glad, that this was no time to indulge in hanky-panky.

The door opened and closed, almost silently and she knew he was gone. The air was different and the space emptier without him. “Suck it up and get over it,” she told herself. She grabbed the incense burner and set it on one end of the kitchen table and lit it. The sweet aroma immediately filled the air. Sabrina blew on the end of the incense stick until a bright ember glowed.

She wandered over to the kitchen window and peered out into the encroaching swamp. She caught a glimpse of Arand, the muscles in his back rippling as he moved, pouring a thin line of salt around the house.

As though he felt her gaze on him, he turned and looked straight at her. She couldn’t look away, caught in his potent stare. It was he who looked away first, and he continued his trek around the house, pouring a steady stream of salt as he went.

Flushed and extremely aroused, she turned away from the window and busied herself readying the food. Surely Arand would be hungry when he came inside. The guy hadn’t eaten in more than five thousand years.

Jessica waited impatiently as Tilly gave her staff final instructions. When she was done, Jessica held up her phone. “Can we call Jules now?”

Tilly nodded. “It’s still early, but he should be up by now.”

Jessica dialed the number she’d programmed into her phone an hour ago. “Come on,” she whispered as she waited for it to start ringing. There was one ring. Then a second. Was Jules still in bed? No matter. They couldn’t wait any longer.

“Girl, you’re up early this morning.” Jules gruff voice filled her ear and Jessica had never been so glad to hear it.

“I need a favor. We need a favor. Tilly and me.” Her knees were a bit wobbly so she sat in one of the colorful chairs, wishing she had a coffee. As if by magic, Tilly swooped in and placed a large paper cup in front of her. The rich aroma of coffee was like manna from the gods.

“Calm down, girl. Tell me what you need.” She could hear the clink of a dish and figured Jules was probably getting some breakfast.

“We need to borrow your truck.”

“What’s wrong with Tilly’s car?”

Jessica nibbled on her bottom lip, wondering just how much she could or should tell Jules. “Sabrina has it.”

There was a long pause on Jules’ end and Jessica held her breath, wondering if he’d loan them his truck without more of an explanation. “I’ll be at the store with the keys in about a half hour.”

Jessica released a huge breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Jules.” She hung up and turned to Tilly. “Half an hour.”

Tilly nodded. “We need to stop at Granny Ledet’s on the way out of town. She has some protection amulets for us.”

Jessica nodded, more than willing to take help from any quarter. She sipped her coffee and pulled out her grandmother’s journal from her bag. She opened it and began to read, wanting to make sure she had all the knowledge she might need to help save Sabrina and her friend’s warrior.

Morning had dawned in North Carolina. Aimee Horner stifled a yawn as she started a pot of coffee brewing. It was strange to have a houseful of people after living here alone for so long. Roric, stealthy as the tiger that was part of him, slid behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her. “You snuck out of bed.” His tone let her know he was less than pleased by that discovery.

Aimee laughed and turned in his arms. “I needed coffee.”

Roric grimaced. “I do not understand how you women can drink the stuff.”

She laughed again. It was amusing to her that none of the immortal warriors liked coffee, all of them preferring tea. “Are any of the others up yet?” Marko and Kellsie and Araminta and Leander had elected to stay with them for a week or so. They all had a sense of impending doom, a sense that the final act of the curse was about to play out.

Aimee was incredibly thankful that they were all safe. It was hard to wrap her head around the fact that she and the other women were now immortal, a gift from their warriors. But the Lady of the Beasts was still out there, as was Arand. They had no idea where he was or what was going to happen with him.

They were almost certain they knew the name of the woman who was supposed to release Arand from his animal form and begin the final phase of the curse, but they had no idea when the event would actually happen.

There was no way they could descend upon the woman and tell her what was about to happen. She’d think they were all crazy. And there was always the outside chance if they approached her Hades might kill her outright. With only one warrior left to be set free, and three recent losses, there was no telling what Hades’ state of mind was.

They were all still discussing their options, trying to decide on the best course of action.

Roric’s lips brushed hers, pushing away all negative thoughts. He cupped her ass, pulling her tight against his erection.

“Any coffee? Whoops, maybe I’ll take a rain check on that.” The amused female voice had Aimee jumping away from Roric. Caught red-handed.

The humor of the situation struck her and Aimee started to laugh. “There’s coffee. Come on in, Kellsie.”

Roric growled and stalked out of the room and up the stairs.

“Someone isn’t happy,” Kellsie pointed out. With her lush figure, blonde hair and blue eyes, Kellsie looked good even at this hour of the morning. If she wasn’t such a wonderful friend, Aimee could easily be envious of her.

“He’ll live.” Aimee pulled down two mugs and filled them. Both of them took a sip and gave a sigh. “Roric doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

Kellie grinned. “Neither does Marko. My big ol’ bear can’t stand coffee. He’s very fond of juice, will tolerate tea, but hates coffee.”

“Any coffee?” Araminta, her waist-length hair loose, trudged into the kitchen bleary-eyed and wrapped in her bathrobe.

Aimee and Kellsie looked at her and laughed.

Araminta paused and glanced down at her robe as if to make sure it was still closed. “What?”

“You tell her, Kellsie. I’m going to check my email.” Aimee was expecting an important email from work, and with people working in different time zones and from home, email came in at all hours of the day and night.

She opened the laptop and waited until it was fired up. The muted voices of her friends gave her a sense of pleasure, of belonging. Aimee scrolled through her mail, ignoring the obvious junk mail. Honestly, she really didn’t need anything to enlarge her penis, and Roric certainly didn’t need any help in that department.

One email made her stop. It had come through the website. She clicked on it and the first sentence made her gasp. “Roric.” His name was little more than a whisper. “Roric,” she called again, this time much louder.

A loud roar, like that of a tiger, filled the house, and seconds later Roric was beside her. “What’s wrong?” He glared at the other two women as if accusing them of doing something to upset her.

Two more roars filled the house and before Aimee could blink Marko and Leander were both there, ready to protect their women.

“Look.” Aimee pointed at the email. “Wolf is free in New Orleans. And there are directions too. We suspected the woman who could release Arand lived there. This has to be about Arand.”

Roric stared at the screen for a moment and then turned to his fellow warriors. “This is it, the end is upon us.”

“We go to New Orleans.” It wasn’t really a question. Marko crossed his arms over his massive chest and stared back at Roric.

Roric nodded and glanced toward Leander. Leander’s gold eyes narrowed at the unspoken question. “I’m in.”

“We’re going too.” Aimee knew the other women would want to go as well. “We’re all part of this. We don’t know what Hades has up his sleeve, but we do know he plans to take over the world once he’s dealt with Arand. It’s going to take all of us to defeat him and his army of demons.”

None of the men were happy, but they were smart enough not to try to stop them, knowing the women would simply follow them. Aimee did a quick search of available flights as there was no time to drive. “Okay, if we get our butts in gear there are a number of flights we can get and be in New Orleans early afternoon. We can rent a vehicle when we get there and head out to the coordinates we were sent.”

“But if we get involved in the fight, doesn’t that negate our immunity from Hades’ wrath?” Araminta chewed on her bottom lip with worry. “That’s what Hades told me when he was bargaining with me.”

Leander wrapped his arm around Araminta and pulled her close to his chest. “I will protect you.”

Roric shook his head. “Hades was lying, trying to manipulate you. Neither he nor his demons can touch us. That was the deal, the outcome of our breaking the curse. But there was nothing about us not going after him. I’m not going to leave Arand out there alone if there is something I can do to help him.”

Araminta nodded. “Then we’re all in.”

Aimee dragged her fingers through her short dark hair, saying aloud what the rest of them were thinking. “We’ll need every advantage we can get if Hades unleashes his demons on the world. We might be safe from him, but no one else is.”

Chapter Eleven

Reclining in his enormous mahogany chair, Hades was the picture of relaxation as he entertained his unexpected guests. Inside, he was a seething cauldron of barely restrained fury. The wolf was on the move, the hour of his brilliant plan was at hand, and he was stuck having to chat with his brothers.

“So, Hades, there have been some troubling disturbances in your realm over the past few months.” Zeus sat on the sumptuous leather couch, which Hades reserved for the few guests he did receive. The legs of the couch had been shortened, so whoever was seated on it was close to the floor. Hades preferred to tower above everyone else. Not that Zeus seemed bothered by the obvious power ploy. If anything, his brother seemed amused, which only pissed him off even more.

“Surges of power,” Poseidon pointed out as he wandered around the room examining the various treasures on display. Hades wanted to rip his brother’s hand off and beat him with it. He didn’t like anyone touching his things.

Shrugging, Hades took a sip of the very fine merlot that filled the gold goblet in his hand. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I slipped into the human realm a few times to have some fun. And I sometimes let some of my demons run free for a spell as a reward for tasks they’ve done for me.”

And that was a bald-faced lie. Anyone who knew him at all knew he never gave rewards for anything. He expected his demons to do what he demanded of them simply because he demanded it. Their reward was in serving him.

Hades wanted to look at his magic mirror, wanted to know what was happening with the wolf and Sabrina, but he didn’t dare. Neither Zeus nor Poseidon knew the mirror was special, that it was more than simply a looking glass. That was his secret.

He’d planned on taking Agmar and several more demons and attacking the warrior and his woman as soon as they were out of the city. But the unexpected visit from his siblings put the kibosh on that idea. Now he was forced to play congenial host for who knew how long.

And Mordecai wasn’t around to send in his stead, and he had only himself to blame for that. For once, he wouldn’t mind the serpent hovering in the shadows.

Philosophical about the whole thing, he gave an internal shrug and relaxed. Arand and his woman weren’t going far, and he knew where to find them. He’d deal with them as soon as his brothers returned to their own realms. There were quite a few hours left between now and midnight.

And just the thought of finally having sufficient power to strip his brothers of theirs was enough to give Hades the patience he needed. Soon, Zeus wouldn’t be able to lord anything over him again. Soon, it was Hades they would all bow to.

“More wine, brother?” He waved to the female demon standing in the corner, and the creature hurried toward Zeus, her head lowered as she offered the wine to his guests.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Zeus waited until his goblet was full before continuing. “So there was nothing more to the surge of energy than a few trips to the human realm?”

Hades shook his head, knowing his expression was one of total innocence. It should be. He’d practiced it enough over the years. “If it’s any more than that, I don’t know what it could be.” He rubbed his jaw and gave his brother a thoughtful gaze. “Maybe one of the other gods or goddesses decided to have some fun.”

“No.” Poseidon’s deep voice filled the room. “The energy bears your distinct mark.” He tapped the side of his nose. “I could smell it.”

Hades wanted to grab one of his jeweled mahogany walking sticks and beat his brother until he could no longer smell anything. Poseidon was always the smarter of his brothers. Zeus was more laidback, relying solely on his powers, confident he could defeat any threat.

But that was before. A new order was dawning, one in which Hades would be king. He’d have to lock his brothers away, of course, but that couldn’t be helped. He didn’t like them that much anyway so it wasn’t as though he would miss them. And there were plenty other gods and goddesses to fawn over him once he became their leader.

Hades set his goblet on the thickly carved arm of his chair and spread his arms wide. “I don’t know what to tell you, my brothers. I’ve made a few trips to the human realm and had some fun.” He wiggled his eyebrows, knowing how his brothers, especially Zeus, would interpret the action.

Sure enough, the randy old goat chuckled and grabbed his cock through his silk pants. “Nothing like a good workout with some prime human female.”

Hades would never lower himself to such a thing. It was an abomination to deplete the bloodlines in such a way. Not that Zeus ever cared about such things. All he cared about was having his dick serviced.

Zeus and Poseidon began to chat and Hades relaxed slightly. A few hours at most and his brothers would be gone. The next time he met them would be on the field of battle. He needed Arand on his side. With the wolf and the serpent, he would have a much better chance of reaching his goal of world domination. Once all the humans worshipped him, he would be all-powerful. Then he would turn his attention to his family.